Russdl

@JohnMo yeah, good point. I couldn’t find any data regarding temperature/humidity when it would activate but even so it appears to be off with no way (that I can see) of setting it to auto

If it doesn't have a preheater, I've been had.

That very same thought had crossed my mind. Pretty sure it is, but I've not laid eyes on it so who knows! Just trying to fathom that out now..

I was just browsing through my MVHR stats, wondering how often the preheater had been on in this cold snap and it would appear that it's not been on at all, well at least for the last week which I find quite surprising. I then see that it has 4 different settings: OFF - AUTO - LOCK CURRENT - LOCK MAXIMUM. Of course mine is set to 'OFF' the problem I have is that I can't find any way of selecting it to 'AUTO' not on the wall mounted control unit, the app or the web access. Does anyone have any idea how I can set my preheater to 'AUTO'? Also, how much preheater activity have others seen in these current conditions? Does it come on just now and again or is it on almost permanently?

Yep.

Here’s a pic from inside the house looking out (taken from inside my pre filter box)

Nope. No fine mesh until it reaches my ‘pre filter’ box inside the house.

@LA3222 I’ll see your ice covered intake and raise you with an almost completely blocked intake vent. Looks like a combination of spiders webs and frost. There was no noticeable effect in the house but I was very surprised to see it.

@gmas2001 Have you seen Ali Dymock's YouTube channel? If not I would thoroughly recommend it. He documents a highly insulated timber frame garden room built from scratch with every detail discussed and explained, it's brilliant stuff.

@anonymous it may be worth looking in to vacuum double glazing, apparently can be as good as triple glazing. Thinner, lighter, no idea of price comparisons though.

@Garald sorry I can’t offer any opinion on the internal installation of an external heat pump but regarding the price, if they’ve lopped €3000 off the price without too much effort then they were clearly coming in at a mad high price and there may be some more discount available bringing the price down to a less eye watering one.

Could the fire burning too hot have caused the flue joints to fail? Do you have a flue thermometer? I would have thought it would be difficult to get a blazing/roaring fire going with a blocked chimney and plenty of evidence that it was blocked whilst trying to light it (unless the lighting process was ‘accelerated’).

Agree it’s probably a mouse, but look on the bright side, if it is a rat then you won’t have mice because the rats will eat them. As already said, mice can get through tiny holes, I watched one go through a gap after scaling a brick wall and I couldn’t get my little finger in the gap it went through, quite astonishing. (I’d vote for poison. In the past I used humane traps but that gets tedious after a while).

@build_a_bear 1. Sorry, can’t help with alternatives as we’ve got a Brink but there are negatives to the Brink from my point of view. All the good stuff is good but the app is poor as is web access - all seems a bit last decade, but not a game changer, hardly ever need it. 2. No. A silencer before the manifold should suffice. The manifold has baffles that help as well - not 100% effective on a quiet night, maybe 95% but that’s subjective. There will be a tiny bit of ‘white noise’ but you’ll have to try hard to hear it. 3. Don’t pay too much for it. Can you DIY the pipes? A day of fun and save a fortune?

Excellent! Something for me to worry about if I choose block 😂 (I think I will...) I was getting worried that I couldn't think of much to worry about.

Thanks for that - so it was an imaginary worry. 👍

There really are loads out there! I didn't realise there was a specific one if you were going to paint it.

@BenP stick build was always top of my list, mainly because I think I could do it all. The concerns were the fire regs affecting three elevations. The >8m walls without any partition walls adding strength. If I pushed hard enough would they fall over? (I don't know if that is a real or imaginary worry?) So the block option looks like I get a couple of 'goal post' steels made up, medium weight blocks between them (and no piers on the two long walls), EWI on the outside and I'm home and dry. @Adrian Walker yep, just garage/workshop etc. No plans to annex it later.

So, if I find a retired bricky who's up for it I can labour for him whilst he builds me a fantastic block wall which will be external insulated and rendered and probably just painted on the inside. But what blocks should I use? There seems to be quite a choice.

No. That would turn into a running goat... The Geocell, yes. I'm not even vaguely into social media, but it's not a bad idea at all @joe90and there are alternative social networks (the pub springs to mind).

That's a plus for block for sure. Indeed, but I want the garage insulated so if I went block then I'd go EWI and render that adding complexity/costs. On the house its batten/counter batten, render board, silicone render. No issues so far but added complexity and costs, apart from the render I can do all the rest. I will need building regs but I reckon I can choose my method. Blockwork would easily please them but they're au-fait with timber frame as well, they oversaw the house construction. The timber frame house has an elevation 1m from a field so we had several modifications to that elevation to satisfy the fire regs. Yes, steels spanning, timber joists, warm roof. Now that's a good point. I presume then I wouldn't need piers along the the two >8m walls? piers would be getting in the way of the side opening sectional door. Insulation and ease of use. By that you mean no re-bar?

The future garage/workshop so far... I've decided on: Geocell foundation and a reinforced concrete raft. Flat roof supported by UB steels. External render finish to match the house. Next on my list of decisions is the walls. Plan A: Stick build on site (I can probably do the vast majority of that). Plan B: Block work walls (I can probably do about none of that). The garage will be irregular in shape to get the most out of the space available (trapezoidal is a word I've not used in decades that doesn't exactly spring to mind?) dimensions below. It will be within 1m of the boundary on three sides. Questions, questions, but I'll start with: Are there good reasons why I should choose stick build over blockwork or blockwork over stick build?

@Roger440 thanks for that link, interesting reading. My GAB will serve a similar purpose to yours but I only have the one car to put in it plus other stuff. Oh. Really? that’s very useful to know. I’ll be using the same inspector that we used for the house build who was, um, easy to put it mildly. I’ll check with him before I start. Likewise, and to stop tools going rusty etc etc.

Yep, that's the plan, a sideways opening sectional door. I won't have enough room for a conventional roller door what with my restricted overall height and warm roof construction.

I have, I’ll see how my plan evolves but it’s highly likely I’ll install the pipes and pop a Willis heater in there. Any extra solar would be PV, I won’t be adding solar thermal. I’ll also explore @saveasteading’s suggestions