Nestor

The kitchen has a 10.5 metre steel ridge which protrudes into the vaulted ceiling by 50cm. I also attached the ventilation 75mm pipework along the side of the steel to supply the living room at the opposite end. So a curved ceiling to run underneath the inside of the ridge. A simple explanation is imagining a skateboard halfpipe upside down. I built a frame out of ply with cutouts for batten to run the entire length of the ceiling. I then fitted a layer of 6mm red faced ply to create a curve. Then the final layer of 4mm birch plywood, glue and pinned and treated with Osmo oil. Well, it took a while. I know my building is not 100% square as one of the long kitchen walls was leaning out when we fitted the original rafters but overall the sheets all butted up square with only one sheet needing a little fillet added. I started in the middle of the room to allow any discrepancies to dealt with at either end. Then it was back to more plaster boarding and a novice bee keeper. More to follow.

Seemed to spend most of the winter and spring fitting plasterboard. At times I struggled to keep motivated. About 275 sheets later and still a bathroom and living room to board out even now. The plasterer did a great job, I have great admiration for the skill. Did some drainage and fitted the Vortex treatment plant and rainwater harvesting tank aswell as the. mains supply to the house as the ASHP arrived ready to be plumbed in. My dear Father built the staircase which went straight in. I showed him a photo of a staircase without stringers and he just got on with it. Thank you Dad. Its nearly May 2019 and the kitchen ceiling issue is nearing a solution.

In response to @Russell griffiths post about blogs, here goes. It is still 2018. I finished the Tata Colorcoat Urban roof, tricky around the Velux windows and fitting the ridge trying not to get sealant everywhere. No leaks 2 years later. Kwikstage very useful, heavy but a worthy purchase on a long self build. I made up one of the roof trusses for the garage and thats where it sat for another year. Back inside and started to put down 150 Celotex on the ground floor, taped and polyethened ready for the screeders. All UFH supplied by Wunda, about 1200m of 16mm pipe on the ground floor for 14 ports from 2 manifolds. All cliptrack and staples. Take care not to kink the pipe and take photos and measurements if you might be fixing anything to the floor. The electrician arrived and made great progress and then the screeders in early December 2018, 200sqm of 45mm anhydrite down in 2-3 hours. Once the electrician had finished first fix I started battening the OSB ready for the plasterboard, I notched out around the wiring. I fitted some resilient bars to all the ground floor ceilings, little cost apart from fitting time. It's now 2019.

Just started fitting some mdf pencil round architrave / skirting. Bought a few new tools, fine cut saw 9tpi and a coping saw. The Mitre fast is excellent for fixing the door architrave together before nailing to the door frame. Nailing which is a novelty in my build. Pink grip goes off quite quickly and Toupret wood filler excellent. No nonsense caulk for filling small gaps. I use a damp sponge to clean excess off as you go. @Oz07 What foam do you use as I find the Pinkgrip a little hard?

Hi Joth, I must be clear we have only been in since Feb 2020 so our experience is limited, @Stones has far more knowledge than I do as do others here. No Wifi module or online cloud service here. Its just personal choice so much so that I want the option to be able to live off grid here or another build in the future. Sorry I cannot be more helpful.

@Bitpipe Just had this response from the BCO " I will check point noted regarding the commissioning of the MVHR". I will let you know the outcome.

@Bitpipe I just emailed them saying I would be providing the report as no qualification necessary. I have same Vent Axia, our floor area is about 290sqm though we have some high ceilings so might need to crank up the flow rate when commissioning. Thanks for your help.

Thanks @Bitpipe that is just what I will provide to the BCO once I can confirm its ok for myself to complete the commissioning.

Advice please as just been sent this from the BC who mentions a specialist contractor required. @Simon Brooke @joe90@Jeremy Harris I installed the whole system and want to confirm that no legal requirement for a "specialist contractor" to complete commissioning. I plan to do the testing myself with the help of Jeremy's spreadsheet. Thank you. Air flow rate testing and commissioning of ventilation systems 4.42 The Regulations require: mechanical ventilation systems to be commissioned (where they can be tested and adjusted) to provide adequate ventilation and a commissioning notice to be given to theBCB; air flow rates for mechanical ventilation systems in new dwellings to be measured and a notice to be given to the BCB. 4.43 For dwellings, the procedures approved by the Secretary of State for measurement of air flow rates and for commissioning of mechanical ventilation systems are in Sections 2 and 3 of the Domestic ventilation compliance guide. Section 5 of the guide contains air flow measurement test and commissioning sheets which should be completed by the person responsible for commissioning.

The reality of using a 12 port manifold will fill at least half the hallway, I agree with @JFDIY about using two manifolds, It would reduce the long lengths. You have over 1100m of loops to fit and will have some excess from each. The 16mm pipe is a bit of a wrestle. As @ProDave says, I would run a simple loop into each bathroom from the bedrooms.

Hi Russell, I see the boot room and study will have a separate thermostat to the main room hence the loops are run very tight to the wall so they do not effect the output of your lounge if you turn off RS3. I had 5 long loops to the kitchen / dining. Not a problem. Very pleased with Wunda.

My thoughts, All sounds very exciting. Personally not sure about first floor living unless you have stunning views, want a vaulted ceiling or access to the dwelling via the first floor is due to being on a steep plot. Outside space off the main living area would be essential with a large balcony / decking. Easy access to outside would be a main priority for most people. I would keep the stairs totally separate from the the main living area as open stairwells seem to intrude in the general ambiance of the living space. Increase the size of the main bedroom as @AliG suggested and reduce the pantry and move utility to downstairs plant room. Have fun.

Hi Russell, I had Standard Gyvlon Anhydrite Liquid Screed, 50mm. I gather it would need sealing before tiling. Very solid, level floor on 150mm celotex with UFH.

@SteamyTea Sunniest April on record according to the Met office.

Early days as we only moved in March but as of today we have a CoP of 6. Delivered energy 4070 kWh, Consumed energy 677 kWh. Ecodan W85. Well insulated, minimal heating and existing PV array with a diverter all helps in reducing demand. No gas here.

I recommend the BPC quote, you really do not need to pay any more. MVHR is very straightforward to fit and set up. Flexi is easy to install and the system just runs very quietly in the background. Depending on the possibility of overheating in your property it might be worth considering a water coil or cooler. Lots of info on the forum.

Hi @joth No information in the supplied UK manual. I found some supplementary info for cooling online. Its very easy to move the dip switch though I did need a magnifying glass to see it. We only tried it for 24 hours so can only say it was having a minimal effect. The floors were noticeably colder as the flow temp was set to 12*c. Will try again in next warm spell and report. The Ecodan is excellent, we have the 8.5 for a 285sqm home, well insulated. Its also very quiet when running. We moved in beginning of March and up to today the delivered energy was 4070 and consumed 677 so a COP of 6. We have a PV diverter so that will have had an impact on the figures. Try this link : http://www.mitsubishitech.co.uk/Data/Ecodan/Controls/PAC-IF041B-E_FTC3/PAC-IF041B-E_IM1.pdf Cooling ASHP.pdf

Can anyone help? Have the Mitsubishi Ecodan W85 installed and would like to try the cooling function. I have moved the DIP switch SW2-4 cooling mode to the on position and reduced the flow temperature to 12'c. Do I need to change the room thermostats to call for cooling or is another adjustment necessary on the Ecodan like the compensation curves? UPDATE: I have adjusted the room thermostats up and now it calls for heat / cooling.

+1 Wunda.

@Pete Great, just about to ask the same question. About to try cooling option using the ashp first.

@Stones @DOIGAN Can you advise? I have same unit with summer bypass which I assume avoids the heat exchanger when the temperature outside is warming than the inside room temp. Where are the sensors for the inside and outside temperature? I think I want the summer bypass to be on permanently as I would rather have colder air in the house, below 19c if possible and especially at night. Do I set the inside temp as low as possible? I find the Vent Axia manual a bit lacking for my brain. Thank you.

I would increase the PIR by up to 50mm. Do double check your levels and thresholds. My floor build up was 150mm celotex on top of the slab, 16mm ufh and 40mm screed. Check with the screeders minimum screed recommendation.

Similar spec, supply only. http://www.stovesonline.co.uk/ Had a quote to supply and fit = £2040+vat. I will fit myself after sign off. 1 X 2-150-005 ** (150MM) SW-TW FLAT ADAPTOR AKW TWIN WALL CHIMNEY STAINLESS STEEL £25.75 1 X 2-150-018 ** (150MM) 100MM LENGTH AKW TWIN WALL CHIMNEY STAINLESS STEEL £28.75 2 X 2-150-010 ** (150MM) 1000MM LENGTH AKW TWIN WALL CHIMNEY STAINLESS STEEL £150 1 X 15-150-051 ** (150MM) 50-80MM WALL BAND AKW TWIN WALL CHIMNEY STAINLESS STEEL £14 1 X 2-150-031 ** (150MM) 45 DEGREE BEND AKW TWIN WALL CHIMNEY STAINLESS STEEL £51.25 1 X 2-150-011 ** (150MM) 500MM LENGTH AKW TWIN WALL CHIMNEY STAINLESS STEEL £55.75 1 X 2-150-031 ** (150MM) 45 DEGREE BEND AKW TWIN WALL CHIMNEY STAINLESS STEEL £51.25 1 X 15-150-051 ** (150MM) 50-80MM WALL BAND AKW TWIN WALL CHIMNEY STAINLESS STEEL £14 1 X 2-150-016 ** (150MM) 250-350 ADJUSTABLE LENGTH AKW TWIN WALL CHIMNEY STAINLESS STEEL £57.5 1 X 2-150-010 ** (150MM) 1000MM LENGTH AKW TWIN WALL CHIMNEY STAINLESS STEEL £75 2 X 2-150-073 ** (150MM) WHITE VENTILATED FIRESTOP PLATE AKW TWIN WALL CHIMNEY £68 STAINLESS STEEL 1 X 15-150-075 ** (150MM) WHITE FIRESTOP COVER PLATE AKW TWIN WALL CHIMNEY STAINLESS STEEL £25 1 X 15-150-069 ** (150MM) GUY WIRE BRACKET / FLOOR SUPPORT BAND AKW TWIN WALL £10.75 CHIMNEY STAINLESS STEEL 1 X 15-150-067 ** (150MM) ROOF SUPPORT AKW TWIN WALL CHIMNEY STAINLESS STEEL £18 1 X DFE106B ** 125-230 BLACK SQUARE ROOF FLASHING £24.75 1 X FX901 ** DEKTITE FIXING KIT 1 £10.25 1 X 2-150-090 ** (150MM) RAIN CAP AKW TWIN WALL CHIMNEY STAINLESS STEEL £42.75 1 X CEM ** BLACK FIRECEMENT £7 1 X STO-NP-CL ** STOVESONLINE NOTICE PLATE AND CHECKLIST £8.5 DELIVERY FLUE £46 SUBTOTAL £784.25 TOTAL NET VAT @ GROSS 20% £653.54 £130.71 £784.25

I purchased all my Rockwool flexi from https://www.ccfltd.co.uk/Rockwool-Flexi-Insulation-Slab-1200-x-600mm/p/9000218706 I had about 200 packs as my walls have 3 layers of 140mm, 70mm and 50mm. Really great product, very dense. Easy to fit and cut with a saw. If you are working at 600 or 400 centres all works well. Stays in place even in the rafters.