Gooman

Does anyone have any experiences (good or bad) with any of the second-hand kitchen broker sites?

Because of our budget, there's some hard decisions and trade-offs to be made. Grateful for any constructive comments! Remaining garage size It's a double-length garage - 9m. We could just convert half of it, leaving the front part as a regular-sized garage, but that will leave us tight on space. Instead we're leaning towards taking around 5.5m, making the front part just a workshop and store (and hopefully, micro-brewery ?. Floor will be raised by 100mm using PIR with 18mm chipboard on top, and external walls with timber frame and PIR. Roof to be raised by our tame builder. Shower location Due to the 3-gabled chalet roof, there's not many places where a shower can be put upstairs. There's no scope for an en-suite that we can see (unless we shelled out for a dormer, which is likely to be beyond our budget). The only option for an upstairs shower seems to be to move the bathroom wall into the 3rd bedroom, making it smaller still. The other option is to have a downstairs shower room in the garage, but that's then eating into kitchen/dining room space. Kitchen/dining room configuration The existing kitchen is long and narrow, but we aim to widen the room by taking out the built-in cupboards and moving the door back slighting into the hallway We'll then knock through the current utility room The new space is actually larger than the existing kitchen. Do we move the kitchen into the new space and have the dining room where the kitchen is? Could seem a little odd to walk through the dining room to the kitchen, plus we'd have to install a new kitchen pronto as we'd be wrecking the orginal (and that's not in our short-term budget) Would like big (possibly 4m, 5 door) bi-folds onto garden, and a big (3m x 1.5m) roof lantern in new converted space on flat garage roof. Lowest u-values we can afford. Leaning towards keeping the kitchen location where it is, sink relocated to window, and with a small utility room in old garage space Insulation Uninsulated concrete ground floor - which might be tricky to raise and too expensive to lower for insulation. VIPs too expensive to do throughout (but considering 10mm for kitchen) Cavity walls are already insulated Roof insulation needs topping up, and lap vents installing in roof fabric Heating and hot water Existing system is warm air, with electric immersion and cylinder for hot water. Boiler replaced within last 12 months, but the system can't easily be extended into the new conversion space. So we'd need a combi-boiler just for the conversion. Floor drop in garage isn't enough for the insulation that would be recommended for UFH House isn't well-enough insulated for ASHP As a result we're leaning strongly towards simply a new modern combi-boiler and wet rads throughout

Apart from a lick of paint and a recent bathroom, the house is pretty much unchanged since built: Gas warm-air heating (ducts, and lots of 'em) with electric immersion heater for hot water Parquet floors to lounge, hallway and dining room which needs resanding, filling and sealing (plus filling the gaps left when we remove the warm-air heating outlets) 1970s kitchen, including sliding-door cabinets! Our aspirations are: Immediate - Convert current tiny utility and the end of the double-length garage into a new dining area flowing off the kitchen, plus new utility and (probably) downstairs shower room Immediate - Roof lantern and bi-fold doors onto garden in new dining area Immediate - Replace warm-air heating, ideally with something more environmentally friendly Medium term - New kitchen (self-fitted) Long term - Replace tiling on gable ends with cladding (possibly cement board e.g. Marley Eternit) Challenges are: Three-gabled (T-shaped) chalet roof limits possibilities upstairs unless we put in dormers (which we don't have budget for and which would be tricky anyway due to multiple gables) No space to add a shower to upstairs bathroom unless we make the small bedroom smaller still. Possibly considering downstairs shower Existing ground-floor spaces are concrete floor with no inbuilt insulation Garage floor is about 100mm lower and so when we raise floor we'll have to raise the roof too Extending heating to the converted area of the garage - warm-air ducts can't be extended (and we don't think we're fans of it anyway). Garage floor isn't low enough for UFH and necessary insulation, and we don't have budget for lowering it, so it's going to have to be a combi-boiler and rads Asbestos throughout (we've had a specialist survey) including soffits, boiler flue, roof tile underboard, boiler cupboard door, utility ceiling, Marley vinyl floor tiles in kitchen (only the last three of these areas are likely to be touched though). No asbestos in warm-air ducting - confirmed by survey. Budget for immediate stuff is £30k. Conversion could be £20k, leaving only £10k for heating changes.

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Tasmota doesn't require Internet connection at all. It doesn't "phone home" to any remote server, unless you configure it that way. You can control it via each device's own built-in web page, via the Yeti Android app, or via a Home Automation server. A Home Automation server could be something running locally on the same LAN, such as OpenHAB or HomeAssistant, or a Cloud-based service like Samsung SmartThings. Up to you. Sonoff devices and others (like Koogeek) also have a physical switch on the device that doesn't even need local WiFi. Same for the LightwaveRF dimmers - they work even without an RF gateway.

That hasn't worked for some time - Itead made some security changes that prevented it. See the notes at https://github.com/mirko/SonOTA It's only Tuya-based devices that can be flashed to Tasmota OTA at the moment, though it also looks like that window may close soon.

That's why I prefer to use a built-in light switch for main lights (like Lightwave or the Sonoff T1) - they're easily removable and replaceable with a regular dimmer. Then just use the Koogeek plug-ins for any plug-in devices.

There's also these 1/2/3 gang dimmers in black or white, based on Tuya components so should be OTA flashable with Tasmota (though not tried myself). Looks like it requires neutral. https://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/3-Gang-Black-Wifi-Smart-Switch_60835882431.html?spm=a2700.7724857.normalList.49.4f072620uxEaVH

One more point with Tasmota - you don't *have* to run a Home Automation server like OpenHAB. You can control each device independently via it's own web interface, and set on/off timers on the devices. There are also various apps that will control all Tasmota devices on the same LAN when you're home. Although that approach is much simpler, you don't get remote control away from the home, nor integration with presence detection, nor Google Home/Alexa control. But it's an easier way to start.

Yep, that's right.

It is *very* low cost compared to the main branded solutions. If I was starting again now, I'd use Tuya-based devices as they can be flashed OverTheAir (OTA) rather than using a soldering iron. For me, that would be the Koogeek plug-in sockets (very low profile) and the Tuya-based dimmers I mentioned from Amazon in the last post. That way you avoid the need for a 433MHz gateway (until you want to hook into smoke/heat alarms and window/door opening sensors). I've found the Tasmota firmware to be rock-solid. OpenHAB is quite a learning curve in terms of configuration and tweaking (I'd rate it a 7 on the Gooman Geek Scale), but once it's set up it's solid. There are alternatives to OpenHAB, but they don't have good mobile control options. The system is sound and easily usable by non-techies - they just use the switches or Google Assistant (Alexa reportedly works just as well). Most of my light controls I now have on timer as well, so I have a set of lights that always comes on at dusk. If we're not home, they're set to go off at 1am. If we are home, I turn them off with "Hey Google, night-night"!

I know what you mean, but all the other potential solutions I could find at the time fell well behind in terms of aesthetics. If you're happy with needing a neutral line, and you're OK with white glass finish, there's now a lot more options. ITEAD themselves have the Sonoff T1 line (https://www.itead.cc/smart-home/sonoff-t1.html), plus there's others available on Amazon (https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07FMJHQFF). Both are flashable with Tasmota (the latter being easier as it can be flashed "over the air" without using a soldering iron, if you're savvy with Linux). If you want chrome finish to tie in with other stuff, I've not yet found anything other than Lightwave ... but that also needs a 433MHz RF gateway (either Lightwave's expensive one, or a homebrew using RFlink).

Sorry, yes ... working from memory. Was a while ago! The older LightwaveRF dimmers (no longer available) did suffer from that, but all currently available ones are fine with LEDs.

Yep, I'd seen the Shellys. They need a neutral feed in the light switch backbox, which means rewiring for most houses. The LightwaveRF dimmers by contrast don't need neutral - they keep a tiny current going on the load just to power the circuitry. Neat trick. If you have your own Home Automation server, you can also use LightwaveRF remote switches (as opposed to dimmers) to control something like a Sonoff inline elsewhere ... though as that's likely to be hidden, it starts to fail my design goal of "removable".

Yes, with a huge variety of configurations possible. See these two links: https://github.com/arendst/Sonoff-Tasmota/wiki/Buttons-and-Switches https://www.superhouse.tv/21-six-sonoff-secrets/

You do have to get your soldering iron out (or use Pogo Plugs) to add a header, and use an RFDI interface. On a geek scale of 1-10 (where 10 is highest) I'd put it at a 3. Can't say I've seen it be more reliable - the recent original ITEAD firmware now allows local control, so you can overcome failures of their Cloud server. Main bonuses are *far* more features and finer control, plus never sending your data back to China.

Less of a mix than you'd think, since all of the Sonoffs, Koogeeks and MagicHome LED controller are all now running the same firmware (Tasmota). Tasmota communicates over MQTT, as does the RFlink 433MHz gateway. So my main control integration point in OpenHAB is just MQTT.

My design goals were: Main lights should always be operable with a standard(ish) wall switch. Important for any visitors or house sitters, or even any regular occupant in a panic! But only add automation for those lights where it's actually useful. Accent lighting doesn't necessarily need a wall switch at all - app/automatic control is fine. No biggie if it doesn't come on, can always be turned off at the CU. Default to off when power comes on. "In-use" detection for main appliances, mainly so that I can get an alert if we both leave the house when they're on. Currently includes washing machine and tumble dryer, still thinking about on cooker/oven detection. Window/door open detection for commonly used windows and doors, again for notification when we leave the house. All avoids that awful "Did you shut the back door?" discussion when you're half-way to Cornwall. Presence detection (linked to the above two). Easiest route is via mobile phone detection on the local WiFi. Camera motion detection, active when we're not home. Everything removable and portable so we can take it with us when we move. Integration with Google Home so that you have hands-free lighting control in the kitchen, and a simple way to turn everything off at night. Key components I've used are: Itead Sonoff devices for simple on/off. This is a WiFi gizmo that you wire inline (requires neutral). Flashed with the far superior open-source Tasmota firmware. I've used these for kitchen accent lighting and patio lighting. Koogeek plug-in WiFi devices for simple on/off and power consumption detection. These are based on Tuya hardware, and again flashed with Tasmota. I used these for the washing machine and dryer. Magichome WiFI RGB LED strip controller for accent lights in utility. Dirt cheap, again flashed with Tasmota. LightwaveRF dimmers. Only one 3-way at present - they're not cheap, but they look damn good and are usable by anyone. Controlled either with the LightwaveRF WiFi Hub (again, not cheap) or with a self-build RFlink Arduino-based RF controller (which is what I'm using now). Will be adding more. Yi Home WiFi webcam, flashed with the Yi-Hack firmware. Raspberry Pi running OpenHAB. This is the main "brains" of the system, communicating with and controlling everything. Provides me a control panel on my phone and remote alerting. I'm planning to add more 433MHz RF devices, such as door/window sensors, door bell, and smoke/heat detectors, and an electricity meter pulse counter.

The precise datasheet is here: http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/guidance/a23.pdf Although removal is preferred, the HSE does produce datasheets for encapsulation. There is a legal requirement that, if you're selling a property that you know to contain asbestos, you must disclose this during the sale. The smart thing to do if encapsulating (or even just leaving any in-situ) would be to put a notice somewhere that someone will see in future - maybe in a cupboard (if this is in the kitchen), plus also next to a general utilities space such as the electricity distribution board.

We'd aim to raise the cabinets by the same amount, but not necessarily using the same material. If we go for VIPs, this could save us £400. We'd probably just have small chocks for each cabinet leg, with the same height at the insulation.

The ground floors in our new home are concrete, built in the 1970s and so assumed to have no insulation. So we're looking at top-layered insulation options. VIPs if we can afford it, otherwise Celotex. In the kitchen, will we need to insulate under where the kitchen cabinets will go? Could save a good bit of money there if not.

Cool. Looks like a goer then! For wall insulation, on one side the wall is shared with the house (so heated on the other side) and the other side is a 100mm single skin brick party wall shared with next door's garage (unheated). Would I be right in assuming that the party wall will be treated as an external wall for Building Regs purposes, but that the house wall won't be?

Area is 20.5 m2. No idea of the concrete depth I'm afraid ... it's an early 1970s build if that helps with any assumptions.

I had calculated the floating floor u-value, but just assumed (damn, there's the problem) that other resources that suggested 50mm Celotex and 50mm screed were correct. Guess you've answered my question for me ? Perimeter is 20m. On a related note - Celotex's application note reckons GA4000 at 100mm gives a u-value of 0.18 ... unless I've misunderstood? https://www.celotex.co.uk/assets/garage-conversion_application-datasheet_nov18.pdf Kingspan's TF70 brochure reckons it will give a u-value of 0.17 for a timber floating floor: https://www.kingspan.com/gb/en-gb/products/insulation/resources/product-literature/thermafloor-tf70

The floor level of the garage that we're converting is around 100mm below the rest of the house. I know we can achieve the required u-levels with either 50mm Celotex and 50mm screed, or 100mm Celotex and chipboard floating floor. I can save money on the build by going for the thicker Celotex and floating floor, as I can fit that myself, so that's got a lot going for it. But are there any good reasons why I should go for the screed floor instead? Don't want to regret scrimping if it's a worse result.