Nick Laslett

I’ve got a question which I thought might be better here than in a new thread. ASHP flexible pipe connecting to my underground pipe. I was just going to get the Intaflex Pre Insulated Heat Pump Hoses. But my 32mm underground pipe terminates with a male 1” BSP, not 28mm compression. As a non-plumber going from 1” BSP to 28mm seems like a real ball ache of different bits. Might be wrong, just my ignorance. https://www.bes.co.uk/air-conditioning/installation-equipment/air-source-heat-pump/intaflex-pre-insulated-heat-pump-hoses-1-bsp-f-swivel-x-28mm-comp-x-750mm-pair-25802/ I asked about the internal bore and BES replied that it was 18mm, you can see it on the website. Intatec have no detailed spec on their website. 18mm seems a little tight for high flow systems that suit ASHPs, again might be my ignorance. Anyway after a little reading on BH, I came across Jeremy Harris comments, where he was very relaxed about these connections. So I’m thinking of fitting Water Softener flexible hoses like these: https://fountainsofteners.co.uk/28mm-stainless-steel-hoses-pair---straight-x-elbow-800mm-1000mm/ They have 1” BSP at both ends which suit my requirements and are 25mm bore. Is there any reason why these will not suit being used with an ASHP? @Nickfromwales, @PeterW your thoughts on this matter would be appreciated. The ASHP is only being used for running the UFH, so max temp should be no more than 35°.

My pipes are in the ground, but when researching the topic, I thought Primary Pro had a good wall sleeve solution. https://primary-pro.co.uk This Ovo Forum thread also had lots of advice and lots of pictures. https://forum.ovoenergy.com/my-smart-home-138/heat-pump-pipe-insulation-energy-efficiency-starts-with-the-pipes-9477

Placement of projector is dependent on model specs and screen size. You need to select a projector and then use an online calculator. https://www.projectorcentral.com/projection-calculator-pro.cfm Distance from screen affects overall brightness, but reduces contrast. Have the projector too close and you might get hot spotting. I have a fixed screen, so no experience of motorised screens. The projector section at AVSForums.co.uk is friendly and helpful. https://www.avforums.com/forums/projectors-screens-video-processors.43/ If you are looking at DLP projectors, make sure you and your other half don’t see the rainbow effect. This is nowhere near as prevalent these days, but if you see it, you won’t enjoy the projector. Each projector type has it strengths and weaknesses. 10 years ago you had bulb projectors and needed to worry about all sorts of issues. Laser has really simplified everything.

I used Ursa acoustic roll. Very good price from Profile Store. I also used two bags of Knauf whilst waiting for the Ursa delivery. I would say that it is very hard to choose between the two products. The Ursa may have needed a little more fluffing before it reached its true depth, but it is strong and holds itself well.

I was lucky, I was able to have most of the penetrations in place before the concrete pour. I did however have to drill one 110mm SVP hole through 150mm ICF concrete wall and two 50mm waste pipe holes through the same wall. I used my Makita SDS drill with the Erbauer diamond tripped core drill bit from Screwfix. https://www.screwfix.com/p/erbauer-diamond-core-drill-kit-3-cores/96229 The one hole killed the core bit. If you can, I would pay someone to do it for you.

Here are some useful threads, that you might have already seen. This is the one where Russell talks about using Triton TT Vapour membrane paint for prepping his window reveals. You have already seen this one about ICF and windows. There is a link in this thread to another thread about ICF windows. My ICF build is 9 miles from Diss, you’re welcome to come and visit for chat. Just send me a private message

My original plan was to affix cement board to finish my EPS foundation plinth. But the guys doing the rest of the ICF rendering, recommended this solution, Mosaic render from EWIPro. https://ewistore.co.uk/shop/external-wall-insulation/mosaic-render-ewi-050-25kg/

Just for people’s general reference the Hep20 FAQs warns against using expanding foam to seal around the actual Hep20 plastic pipe. I think it invalidates the 50 year guarantee. Not sure what the expanding foam actually does to Hep pipe, but Wavin don’t like it.

That is a real shame. I’m sure many build’s have minor mistakes like this, I’m sure mine does. What gnaws at the back of your mind, is how big a deal is this, as laypeople we have no easy way to quantify. We took the insulated foundation approach which has some advantages if people drop the ball later on in the build.

The success of any build method is rather dependent on who is doing the build. Do you want low cost, or high quality or quick execution. You can’t have all three. I wanted the simplest build process I could get. My ICF supplier Thermohouse was happy to do the build as well. I think this is very much location dependent. They have a flooring product, which is also poured concrete. They will do a poured concrete stairs as well. They also have a roofing product, and an in-house structural engineer. They designed and installed the roof steels. The good news for me was that gave me a finished shell relatively quickly. I only had one person to deal with, and the same crew of three guys did all of the work. The whole process was very straightforward. They gave me a fixed price, with phased payments. There is a big but, ICF is just not a common build method in UK. You won’t get follow-on trades familiar with this system. Unless you are very confident on how to finish the shell, there are a lot of potential problems that won’t be solved optimally. I knew that I was going to be doing all this work, so it was not a problem for me. Going into my self build I prioritised the build method over execution. It is probably more important to figure out who is going to do the build and work to their strengths. If you have a builder with a lot of experience with Precast Insulated Panels then that approach could work.

Same here 😩. My wife is a life saver listening to me babble on about insane house build problems, that make no sense. The number of times I’ve stopped in mid-rant, when the answers comes to me. The very definition of a sounding board. Anyway @Thorfun, this thread is a goldmine of information, I sure there are many silent readers that have appreciated it.

Hello @JohnMo, is the buffer tank a recent change? I really appreciated your ASHP commissioning topic, lots of useful information. How much water volume did you have in your UFH pipes?

Because I used ICF for the walls and EPS for the foundation, I have a mild bias for EPS over PIR. But putting aside thermal properties for a moment, neither EPS or PIR are very good for acoustic insulation. It might not be relevant for your current purpose, but it is another dimension to easily overlook.

Yes, this fitting worked for me. Between Thorfun’s thread and MortarThePoint Hep20 threads, a lot of pushfit plumbing questions are very well covered.

I’m actually trying to import a Berbel Cooker Hood from Germany. At some point after 2021, Berbel stopped supplying to the UK. Probably not enough sales, rather than any other reason. These are expensive cooker hoods. I have had two different couriers pick up the item from the German kitchen shop, hold it for 5 days, then return it to the shop. My freight forwarding specialist is trying to find out what mysterious piece of paperwork we need from the German seller to get this to work. Something about goods with a value of more than €1000. All the usual paperwork was in place both times.

Hello Tom, What did you use in the end to stick to the PIR? I have some Pro Clima primer.

What does the AEC (annual electricity consumption) comparison actually mean? The OSO SUPER XPRESS VIP 300L has an AEC of 4490kW/year The Sunamp 300 ePV has an AEC of 2701kW/year. Is this just because the Sunamp uses 50° temp for its AEC measurement and the OSO uses 70°? Or is this a standardised measurement for all devices? BRE talks about 55°. Does the Sunamp need less electricity because the volume being heated is smaller and the material is easier to heat? That was my original assumption, but my physics knowledge is very poor. Or is it just the heat loss calculation difference annualised?

Folks, any thoughts about when it is too cold to commission an ASHP? @Jenki, @Conor, @JohnMo, @Nickfromwales My gut feeling was no lower than 6°. I am going with anti-freeze valves. I am a few weeks away from being ready, no water in any of the system, just empty UFH loops. I am waiting on the electrician, I thought it best to have the machine connected before filling the system. The unit is still boxed up in the garage.

These guys are good for a lot of window related stuff https://www.wholesaleglasscompany.co.uk/shop/butyl-glazing-strips-flexistrip-georgian-bar-mounting-tapes/foamsekure-bms-georgian-bar-mounting-tape.html Searching for “astragal bar tape” seems to yield a lot of good results.

You can achieve near Passivhaus like levels in a build without going through the whole process. For walls, windows, foundation, roof and airtightness you can spec passivhaus levels of materials. The successful implementation of all this is what is key. Neither your architect or PHPP consultant will really be much help there. If you have gone for passivhaus levels of insulation, the other area that might need some attention is overheating in the summer from solar gain. This is why most passivhaus designs have overhangs for the south and west facing windows. As @IanR says, there are no short cuts to actual Passivhaus certification.

Hi @Tom, I completely agree that your steels are now in a C1 environment. My steels developed their rust during the period they were in a C2 environment.

I know very little about this topic. But after a buildings control visit, we had to re-paint 2 of our steel beams. There is an NHBC note on this topic. https://nhbc-standards.co.uk/6-superstructure-excluding-roofs/6-5-steelwork/6-5-3-steel-grade-and-coatings/ Specifically Table 5 on this page. There are obviously a lot of paint coating options for steel and many differing opinions. Farmers forums seem to be especially animated by this topic, also classic car restorers. 😉 I just keyed in the phrase “zinc phosphate epoxy primer”, which led me to this product Johnstone's Quick Dry Zinc Phosphate Primer Red Oxide. Reassuring expensive ☹️. https://www.brewers.co.uk/product/AF12502310J I then bought a poly disc from EBay to strip the rust and old paint using my angle grinder. Very messy approach, I would not recommend, but I had to do a 5 metre long beam. They come in 3 different colours, which indicates strength of abrasion. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Polishing-Effective-Remover-Abrasive-Grinder/dp/B08YZ286F5

I would not worry about it. You have been penalised for the gas and not having solar. You will actually have real financial savings in your monthly bills due to the good insulation.

We went with a Kore foundation designed by Tanner. This was for an ICF build. Raft was 150mm thick, with 250mm ring beam. Total depth of footings was 800mm. The breakdown was as follows: 300mm - MOT Type 3 50mm - Sand blinding 300mm - EPS 150mm - concrete raft The ground make-up was sandy gravel. I’m not sure if Kore still ship to the UK, I asked them directly to recommend some UK based installers. Back then Kore were being used by MBC Timber Frame for their foundations. I was very pleased by the shallowness required for the footings. I feel like any experienced ground workers could put in an insulated raft. The actual execution is quite straightforward.

I think this answers my question in the other thread, about insulating the cold pipes to taps, showers, etc. So thanks in advance. This is a thread that keeps on giving. Any pointers for what indicates a potential problem with uninsulated cold pipes?