SuperJohnG

The ecodan from all reports seems to be a great choice. However...their website is just diabolical, its the least intuitive website I've come across. So hard to find info or break out the options available.

Following this with interest especially the last part about punching through into the insulation

https://www.linesearchbeforeudig.co.uk/ Should be of some help. Has all th records and notifies everyone .I used it to check our rural plot. Although it doesn't pick up BT stuff.

I wanted to add some info about Amtico/LVT as I couldn't locate much when I was searching previously. We are going to specify Amtico for our whole house downstairs (130Sq.m) however had never actually had any so wanted to ensure we liked it before committing to FFL's to suit this as it is considerably thinner than tiles and has a big impact as we are doing an insulated foundation and no screed to pour at a later date. The reason we were veering towards this is, we didn't want engineered wood as it will mark - I know you can rub it down etc. But I have two young kids and we are in the country etc. We didn't want tiles throughout either just as it's cold underfoot, albeit we have UFH, but we still preferred not to have it. Hence Amtico fitted the bill on paper being warm, high wear layer etc. I wanted to try it out for 4-6 months before finally committing. I bought a box of White Oak, Spacia to fit in my current porch. £70 quid off ebay, with another 30-40 in levelling compound and adhesive. I levelled the floor which was about 9mm out in places with Mapei renovating self levelling from Screwfix. Worked really well and easy to use. I then spent an hour drawing up the design in ACAD just to make sure it was all correctly laid out. I was doing a parquet style. Originally I wasn't going to add a border, but after laying it out for a test. The fact that two of my walls ran off, made it look bad. So i added a border which finishes it off better. It took me ages to to lay it out, I must have quadruple checked the measurements to get it right, making sure cuts were in the right places and would look good etc. Measure twice..cut once all that Jazz. I was using the smallest size (76 x 228mm). I laid out the border first, lots of cuts here and tapers as my walls are off. But allows you to then start with an inner square where you have fixed all the running off issues. Then I laid the parquet effect. The main planks are easy, but if you get out of shape butting them up it can run off a little so be mindful of this. My first few cuts were a little shabby, and left spaces. However once I got going I could cut them to match perfectly with no spaces. There was a trillion cuts to take......around the edges as I had the parquet effect, but finished up really well. I'll see how it fairs over the next 2-3 months with the abuse of being the porch (dirty, wet, stones etc.) When I was laying, I put some extra glue in the shoddy cuts to fill the holes but it looked rubbish and just made all the dirt stick there. So after a couple of days I used Colorfill (for kitchen worktop sealing) in grey in any tiny spaces. Worked really well and fill them perfectly to cover up my initial amateur-ish cuts. All in it took me 2 full days to lay that floor (not including self levelling), my knees were dead (no pads). I'm no stranger to DIY, and very practically minded but it's the first time I've laid a floor that's stuck down with adhesive (I've never tiled). It has told me to add a cost in for supply and fit in our main house budget now as I think 130 sq.m might break me....this was only 2! If anyone is looking for costs it's 50-80/m^2 supplied and fitted for Spacia or signature series (that is the final price with zero VAT) 50 being simple plank laying, with 80 being basket weave, parquet etc. Which for me seems to be reasonable. This is Glasgow area Some pictures below. Ill try and update in a few months with my experience.

Thanks @Stones. Out-of interest what is the reheat time?

Thats a cable I woukd say. My last car was a 330D BMW. You can start it with the key in the car..then remove the key leave it in the house. Then get in drive 30 miles....turn it off.....and then and only then realise you have no key to restart it. I learned that the hard way

In typical Scottish language....that sounds like a sh!te idea....

hmmm... I wonder if thats something they have recently recognised and why they've done that. I suppose the solar would have a bigger heat exchanger which makes sense. But I haven't read anyone on here having issues. With 8.5kW ans 300l standard pairing.

One downside here is that it is likely beyond most plumbers to set it up, in terms of them being interested in doing it or having the appropriate training on a building site to complete the task. A specialist plumber or interested person would have more luck.

Its sounds like its short cycling, have a search on the forum for that phrase and you should find some possible reasons .

It's weird - a few months back it was there as a pairing, but I can't see it now for some reason online. I haven't phoned any suppliers as of yet.

Thanks Peter I thought thst would be the case. Interestingly I just noticed @Stones you have a 8.5kW with the 300L (I'm sure I'd read that before on your blog but forgot). I was sure id seen that pairing for sale on numerous places but now seems to be the 300l offered with the 11.2 and 14 only ( admittedly I havent tried really realy hard to find someone selling that combo).

Just reopening thus thread somewhat. I have been planning on the 8.5kW Ecodan unit, paired with their pre-plumbed cylinder, for some time. I had thought I can get that with the 300L but seems I can't. Only seems to be the 11.2kW or 14kW units with the 300L. I had done the the infamous calcs for heat input and I 'think' it says I only need 6kW max heat input (If i have read it right). 250 sq/m SIPS build. Hence - the 8.5 would be ideal, but if I get the 11.2kW it's not the end of the world, slightly more expensive. But would it run less efficiently?. the main thing here is - I want 300L DHW storage. thanks

I'm just planning budget and cashflow. However I hadn't thought about reclaiming VAT for purchases in Ireland. I.e. Kore insulated foundation - Circa £8k BPC - MVHR - Circa £3.5k I did ask the KORE Sales rep the other day but he wasn't quite sure? I know a few have used Kore foundations and BPC kits, hence any advice?

@Pete that looks great.....I'm away to find out where I can put some of this!

It wouldn't seem to make sense to me. As if you have a DPM below the EPS then water could get inbetween the two and never be able to drain out. Having the EPS sitting on the compacted base allows any water below to easily drain down to the perimeter drain.

@eandg can I ask what you ended up submitting to the Lender? I'm assuming it was ecology. I'm just at the stage I need to do this with them, I have got a lots of prices already for big ticket items however still working on my budget which I've been dragging my heels on and didn't know whether to just use estimators online to tick the box just now and combine what they provide with my supplied quotes.

I haven't actually. But I would buy direct and coordinate the install myself with my electrician. Id read @ProDaves experiences previously and it didn't make sense on payback terms however maybe I do need to look again as I presumed at wouldn't last 25 years. I've zero chance of coordinating consumption though I've two young kids and swmbo will think ive finally lost it putting in timetable for the washing machine.

I'd read bits and bobs over the last 6 months on sunamp and the last two pages of this thread. I still don't fully understand it...but there are far too many red flags and niggles for it to even be considered. I'll be going 300L UVC with ASHP. reliable and you know what you're getting. I did consider gettinga 4kW PV and a divertor as I want to have some form of reducing energy consumption but from spending some time reading I'll never recoup the cost and seemed a bit pointless now?

Thanks @Bitpipe certainly helps rule it out as a problem to be concerned about. Interesting I'm assuming it being battened to SIPS OSB skin not a problem.

@ProDave this was one that had played on me initially I think. But I had put this down to technical issues with that specific house and the battens rather than it being a fundamental problem with render on tendrbkard and TF houses. @Bitpipe did it all get resolved in the end? I'm assuming now it's summer again youll have some feedback?

I'm now at the point of getting the Architect to start on my building warrant drgs and hence have some key decisions to make to freeze everything. We are still between SIPS and TF and this will figure itself out in the next week or two when I talk with my two shortlisted suppliers. I have decided to go with an insulated foundation from KORE after I now have prices and I have a good plan together to achieve this on a semi DIY basis with experienced trades where required (I.e. pouring the concrete). We will have a white render finish externally, likely to be K rend silicone or similar (with Siberian larch on our main kitchen living area) , however I have spent weeks toying back and forth on whether the outer skin will be render on block work or on render board. I am based in West coast of Scotland...so it is pretty wet, it gets windy but we are not very exposed, surrounded by trees mostly but we are in the middle of our big say 1.5 acre plot. I would prefer it do on render board for the following reasons: 1) Simplifies the Insulated foundation with no external ring beam required - cost saving of approximately £2-3k overall. 2) Easy to fit render board and I could DIY the battens if I wanted to, theoretically should be quicker. 3) No wet trade required (which is hit and miss here as I don't have anyone I know specifically) 4) No requirement for lintels etc above windows. 5) From what I can gather - blockwork will end up more expensive.(I haven't gathered all the costs to compare them yet, this is perception so far) However before I take the final step and confirm render board I am trying to identify potential issues that I can foresee and niggles in the back of my head. Some are justified some aren't. Listed below: 1) Render on render boards has a higher tendency to crack - I have seen this mentioned regularly. However I think it's a red herring and linked directly to bad application and workmanship. If you follow the instructions and undertake careful detailing I am sure this cannot be true. I fully intend to find the best tradesmen I can for applying the render. 2) High street Mortgage lenders - less likely to lend against not having a blockwork outer skin? would I be limited and not able to a access the best rates? 3) Buildings insurance - As above, would I see increased premiums? limited options? 4) Blockwork is just more sturdy - This has to be correct, but really is this just in my mind? I am struggling to understand what difference I may actually notice? 5) Decrement delay - The only technical issue I can see might be that I would get a better decrement delay with blockwork, which is helpful for those hot days, especially considering I am aiming for high levels of airtightness. But not wildly a problem I would think..this is Scotland after all. So is there any other reason i shouldn't do it? thanks.

Just adding to this thread a little. @Carrerahill I'm just south of Glasgow and trying to figure out rates just now. (Don't have any bricky pals). I assume your 1.50 proce is just labour, not including the block? That would seem to make sense then I can just add the block price. @bassanclan s comment above threw me off a little mentioning that would be a built wall including labour and materials. cheers.

I've just completed this first stage (this thread has also just reminded me to sign it and send it back!) Its based on affordability and not multiples it would seem as we have a ratio of 5.1 x our salary which she has said we could get up to.

That was direct. So I was hoping that was a cheap price.