joe90

Yes, I need an off switch. It was about 3am this morning that I concluded I needed to redesign the roof ( again), I just need to ring the builder to find out how high the block work is?.

Yes, I do believe I need the additional pump and I am waiting to get the whole ASHP, UFH, DHW designed soon ( so watch out guys, questions are coming).

I think the trouble is most of us on this forum know 1000% more than the average punter about ecobuilding and the kit behind it. Personally I would rather ask advise on here from people in the know than be sold something by a rep with a vested interest in their product.

That's interesting as I bought a UFH kit from Wunda and because I told them I was using an ASHP their kit contained no pump!! Others on this forum have pumps and blending valves to control their UFH. So I shall follow this thread closely.

Having just read another thread about how to put temp sensors in a slab, my mind quickly produced a picture of a plastic sparrow on Iain,s chimney with a probe up its a***. ?

I didn't realise the instant water heater would cause a restriction!!! So this is making me re think using one. Jeremy, does your inline heater cause much restriction?, perhaps it would be possible to just put it in line with one shower and/or kitchen tap so that If you run out of hot water you don't have to wait for the immersion. Also the modulating water heaters top up warm water to hot!!!

I have just had the first floor for my new build laid and it was 22mm chipboard, plastic coated so that it can be peeled and left clean after plastering and decorating, and glued ONLY to the Finn joists with D4 glue, my builder has used this system for quite a while and never gets a squeaky floor.

I am on yellow clay that does not drain at all. The BI said I must provide a soak away and I told him that would be a pond in our clay. We had strip founds and when I backfilled them I used geotechto line the area and filled with 40mm clean stone, then at a point closest to the boundary ( where a ditch exists in the lane and flows most of the year) I laid a 150mm drain pipe also in 40mm stone. The BI signed off the garage without asking about the drainage. The area has never been so dry in winter, a very good result which I am repeating around the house. I am waiting to see if the BI wants a soak away for the house and hopefully I can repeat what I did with the garage.

I was a bit supprised to watch the Wunda underfloor heating u tube vid showing them using and advocating Ptfe tape for all joints including those with rubber o rings!!!. I like to use a little lubrication on olives and rubber o rings or washers to stop "grab".

Just go talk to the guy, if he kicks off then so be it, yet another neighbour that's not speaking. This is all probably a storm in a tea cup. Let us know how you get on.

It depends on what is happening on the ground, I.e. Garden, path, drive etc. It's all here, happy bed time reading ( I know because I had to read it all). https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/442889/BR_PDF_AD_H_2015.pdf because I was limited to the depth i could go, I started at the shallowest pipe ( garage toilet) and worked my way downhill, I just hope by the time I get to the treatment outfall I am ok, if not I will have to have a pumped solution ?

I have already painted the floor which is good, not as flat as I would like but because the surface of the concrete is not as tough anything sharp tends to scratch the paint. As it's being used by the builders I am going to wait till they have finished then decide what to do. Do you think the latex will take on top of the floor paint? ( single pack).

I was annoyed when I built my garage as I wanted a power floated concrete floor ( had one before and it's great) then painted but the concrete went off faster than we guessed so the power floater just bounced off the surface. I have painted it but the surface of the concrete is not as tough as would be if smoother ?.

Thanks Peter, just had a word with the EA advise line to say " how do I prove the ditch carries water 24/7" and they do not need proof. My ditch carries water nearly all the time and the EA chap seemed to think as long as building control were satisfied then it won't be a problem, yes I think a reed bed/nature pond/ditch to be an acceptable solution. I think I will contact the BI who has been great so far and see what he says.

I disagree, you are not responsible for him losing "his" parking space, the council/planners are. No one has the right to park outside their own house anyway, in our temp house we can rarely park outside our own house and a couple of neighbours further up the road has vans and cars so it's first come first served. I can't wait to get my build done with my own drive and garage space.

With regard being a Good Samaritan, why should you tidy up his house?, the planners created this problem and they appear to be letting you sort it out for them, frankly they should have issued him a letter stating "his" parking space is being deleated by them. You need to be seen as the "good neighbour" that has spotted this issue and wants to not fall out with anyone over it.?

They lied!!?, just contacted the distributor for the vortex as in their blurb it says " can discharge to a ditch" but on further reading the vortex installation manual says "discharge to a watercourse or leachfield" and they confirmed it cannot discharge to a ditch that may be dry in summer. They did however say that I may be able to apply to the EA for a bespoke licence?. I must confess that I fancy creating a wildlife pond in the same spot as the ditch leaves our property/ the outfall enters the ditch so if I used reeds as in a reed bed then it would be even cleaner ?. Anyone ?

A difficult one. We have a " neighbour from hell" who has objected to everything we have done ( but we won) . I think you have to have the courage to knock on his door and broach the subject armed with all the docs you have that the planners have deemed his parking space as wrong and how is it best to deal with it, chances are it might all be fine but if not then you will at least know what you are dealing with. It appears you have the planners on your side. If he chooses not to speak to you that's his loss. Chin up and best foot forward.

Also just came across this http://www.wte-ltd.co.uk/asp-sewage_treatment_plants.html. Interesting bedtime reading. Also this http://www.wte-ltd.co.uk/vortex_sewage_treatment_plant.html, makes the vortex a good contester for our site, especially the " being able to discharge to a ditch" which is what we have, not a watercourse.

Just came across this. https://septictank.clickfunnels.com/clearfox. Is it as good as they make out?, no good for me as the outlet pipe is 1.6 mtrs below ground level which puts it below our water table ( my biggest problem).

Dave, great minds think alike, this is what I was thinking. In fact I am having a small inglenook built so hot air would collect above the stove and this would be where it would be ducted from. Perhaps I should resurrect the plan?

Well we had a similar situation, we have a well on site ( may or may not use it but have put water pipes into the build if we decide to use mains water) we suddenly got a bill from the water authority so I called them and asked why they sent me a bill?, they told me the planners had informed them of the development and so we MUST have had water connected. I explained we had our own supply but had also run a water pipe around the site in case we wanted mains water in the future. They agreed they had no record of an application for a connection?????They deleted the account!.

I think it depends on the foundation type, if it's " normal" I.e. Trench then the BI will know what he wants for that type of ground, if it's anything else he may well require an S.E. to sign it off, Triassic have you been in touch with the BI yet, ours is great and very helpful and just a chat may sort this for you. Are you not using an architect? As a local architect should already know what's required.

Well we have bought a wood burner for our new build but not with a back boiler as I can't see it being lit long enough to heat the water. I am sure we are going to overheat when it's lit but we have large French doors opening to a large conservatory so I hope this will " suck" some of the heat out of the lounge and heat the extra space which is very poorly insulated. ( I will let you know in about 9 months. p.s. Just had a thought, I know MVHR does not shift heat very well but like Declan above I can see us opening all the doors to distribute the heat around the house. Our lounge has an " input" from the MVHR , if this was put on boost would this over pressurise the lounge ( slightly) and aid distribution of heat? I did think of putting ducts from above the stove to upstairs to spread heat ( with intumescent sealers) but decided not to on account of air being a poor transporter of heat. ( er indoors loves the smell of a wood stove and the thought of this smell and heat in the bedroom appealed for a short time.)

I had no S.E. for my foundations I simply asked the BI before digging what he wanted and he said 800 deep and 700 wide ( normally 600 wide but we had 200 cavity) for our type of ground.