Nestor

I have friends doing similar. Purchased 25 acres, which is probably the minimum, have farmed cows and pigs and now have planning to live in a temporary agricultural dwelling, a mobile home. They had to justify farming is the main source of income, it isn't. Employed a specialist planning consultant. Took 5 years before they moved on to the land. Will now try for permanent dwelling. Its all bit of game so think think long term.

Any ASHP will create some noise, bit of a hot topic here. We have a Mitsubishi Ecodan W85 and I would say it is a quiet unit to others I have heard running. I chose this unit for the pre plumbed cylinder and reputation from others on the Forum.

Can you explain what this means, I did use the dip switch last year and and it did cool without altering anything else. I have just installed plumbing and electrics for AC split system for upstairs bedrooms just before I closed off a ceiling.

@MortarThePoint If using Pert/Al pipe, try putting a soft bend in the middle of each pipe away from the floor, this should push the end of the loops down.

Noise concerned me about the ASHP (Ecodan) and the original plan was to site the unit behind the garage some 8 metres from the house. The installers suggested as close as possible to the UVC and it sits just outside the side door. It is not intrusive probably being in a rural location with no fixed objects in front of it, might be different in an urban garden bouncing off the neighbours fence. Looked at GSHP (slinky's) and just could not accept the disturbance of digging hundreds of metres of trenches. Insulation and airtightness first.

@Kesoolhe If you do fit PV, invest in a PV diverter if your cylinder has an immersion.

Hi Keith At first glance your costs seem about right. What EPC rating is your home? An ASHP is possibly more expensive to run than an equivalent efficient gas boiler due to the unit cost being 3 to 4 times the cost of gas. Is your home all electric? Can you separate out the ASHP units from the rest of the house and can you then break down DHW and heating. You might be running a fan heater in your garage.... I have been running a 8.5 Ecodan in a well insulated similar size home with MVHR and Solar PV accommodating 5 adults. This sunny April the PV generated more units than last July and August which all helps reduce the electricity consumption. For the month of July 2020 the ASHP used 140 units for DHW, no heating required and in January 2021, 242 for DHW and 421 for heating. Anyway it is all about reducing our consumption.

Inclined to agree with your comment. I enclose a picture of where I removed the waste pipes and then shoved a pressure hose down the vertical to clear the SSR. Wish I had paid a bit more attention to the design of the internals before filling. If and when emptied I will throughly clean out and take note of internal parts.

Hi Simon Have a look at this link, any questions do PM me.

Yes, Birch Ply and intumescent coating for Building Control.

I am not sure if it needed to be emptied as its only been in use less than a year. Using a long batten it does not seem heavy at the bottom of the tank. I wish I had taken some photos of the interior before I fitted it as very little clear information from WTE on their site.

We have a Vortex and recently the settled sludge return became blocked. Not quite sure why, possibly a power cut might have not helped. Had to spend bit of time with a pressure washer to clear it.

Hi @PeterTweeter Glazing we used Internorm for the slider and Kastrup for all other doors and outward opening top hung windows. All triple glazed, timber and aluclad. Velux 3G roof lights.The fitters were awful and a lot of the glazing was replaced because of roller marks. PM me if you want the suppliers name. Tools were Dewalt DWS780 Mitre saw, 305mm. Makita 18V power tools, impact driver, drill, grinder, jigsaw, multi tool and the best one the DHS680 circular saw, just brilliant. Also purchased a Senco DS5525 for fixing OSB and plasterboard. Great tool just a bit too heavy. Whole building just screws except nailing strip on metal roof. Finally a table saw, ancient but with sharpened blades has been really useful for the Cedar cladding. All tools faultless. Tata was straightforward for me though many others had difficult communications with them. At the time the product was about £25 / sqm which suited our budget. Over 300sqm required. The workshop became the kitchen - dining.

@PeterTweeter I stick built my new build as it was feasible with my limited experience, a pleasure todo though a little niche. I cannot imagine large house building companies doing the same. Takes along time to be water tight. Also fitted a Tata Steel roof. Work in progress.

Thank you, I thought so. Yes they have, recently being a little picky but won't complain. I think just fed up with self-self builders taking 4 years + to complete.

@PeterW @ProDave My Building Control has asked for a sound test certificate. I read somewhere that detached dwellings do not need one. I cannot find confirmation of this in Approved Document E. Your responses appreciated.

Couple of threads here.

It will be fine. Now go have a drink and relax.

From my limited experience I would say don't panic. With Celotex on top, the final screed will determine the level for your final floor covering. What thickness is the final screed?

I am planning to put in some through the wall ducting before I close off a first floor bathroom ceiling to enable fitting later, a multi split AC to provide cooling for the upstairs bedrooms during the warmer days. The UVC is usually back to full temperature by 10am via the PV diverter so the PV can offset the AC during the later daylight hours. Would you let me know what system you fitted? Thank you.

The Tata / Catnic panels are fairly rigid, oil canning is inevitable but minimal in my experience. I did not want to puncture a solid deck with yet more fixings. The only downside to supporting the panels with just 3 battens is the noise when windy as the panels do ripple. I cannot confirm this but laying panels directly onto a solid structure even with matting must create condensation. However Zinc roofs have been fitted and lasted for decades.

I fitted a warm / vented roof using Tata - Catnic panels. Insulation above the rafters, breather membrane, batten and then panels. Unconventionally I did not use a deck to fully support the panels.Air can circulate directly underneath which I hope also keeps excess heat away from the warm roof. Zinc was not an option due to budget and a task beyond my abilities.

I have vaulted ceilings, a warm roof with 305mm of insulation, it was not difficult to build. 200mm Rockwool in the rafters, 70mm Rockwool above the rafters then 35mm Pavatherm T&G. Wall, floor,roof buildup.Sept 2017..pdf

I fitted an 8 port manifold in an 800mm wide cabinet. I did put the manifold to gather first just to double check it would fit.

We have an additional Access Point in the house ( Cat6 in all rooms) and external cable running overground (temporarily) with another Access Point in a shed. All works fine for 9 people using Zoom, Playstation etc. .