Jimbouk

Noted, probably almost full already!

@ProDave i was hoping you would reply That is just what i am planning, just wanted to check i was not going to unleash problems. I had intended filling it with fresh water initially primarily to check that discharge pump works correctly. Then leave it to its own devices... Thanks

I have my Condor ASP sunk in the ground with the sewage pipe connected from the house. Next week hope to connect up the power and waste ‘clean water’ outlet. The manual makes reference to commissioning, just wondered what this entails, do I need to get an engineer out? Looks like minimal adjustment available... What have others done?

What a great start to a Monday morning! Hoping we will not have to rent it out, as you suggest would put a pair in the megaflow. The UFH Heatmiser Neo system is going to be remote controlled over the web, so just need to check that they do an immersion load switch in their range. Then I can use the setting to configure only having the UFH working at night when the house is empty, just to keep the chill off, but enable daytime use if required when being lived in. Equally should be able to remotely enable the immersions so that we have hot water on arrival. Whilst not in Passivhaus territory, hoping to be far better than building regs in terms of airtightness and insulation, combined with some deliberate Winter solar gain, MVHR too. Looks like I might not be needing the gas supply pipe we laid after all! Not had it connected yet and always like a bit of future proofing.. @Grosey sorry for hijacking your thread!

Intriguing, is this really a viable heat source for UFH medium term? I have circa 85m2 of floor area, was going to have a megaflow for the hot water store, now wondering if I can ditch / postpone the mains gas connection and boiler? it is for a holiday home, so not too much constant use, but will need to get up to temperature when using in the Winter.

As we move on to the second fix, I'm at the stage of trying to convert from dusty / muddy floor to a cleaner environment. Gradually vacuumed out areas and sealed the screed with a watered down pva to stop it dusting, mist coats will be going on the plaster. No muddy boots allowed inside. Now debating between the large dirt trapper mats on the outside and inside and or the plastic tacky surface sheets/ mats. Thoughts?

Thanks, we have now poured a concrete footing all the way around. Will build a block wall on this and the cap with narrow pavers, flush with decking and lawn. This should avoid the damp issue and add a bit more structural integrity to the deck, it will have the blocks just under the leading edge. More time and expense, but hopefully worth it in the long run.

Thanks for the responses. I think it is now on 'the list', albeit quite a long way down after carpets and curtains.... Anyway phase 1 looks like this.

I had a lot of wood onsite, however the mates that I left there working yesterday evening, have now let slip that the 'had a bit of a bonfire'.... apparently no lasting damage.... they are declining to send me photos.

Well it looks as if we have successfully installed our Condor ASP 08 in the ground, actually it is not powered up yet as we have not completed the house wiring. So so whilst I have a digger, dumper and a couple of mates, we started moving all the soil we dug out for the footings and slab back from the bottom of the site, looking to build up a level lawn running out from the decking. However we seem a bit light on old spoil, so made a few calls to get 100m3 of type 1, sadly the price was eye watering and no one can deliver until next week.... We have a decent size plot, so are now pinching some from the bottom for the time being. You can see where this is leading.... Anyone any experience on low budget external swimming pools? We appear to have excavated one!

How awful. At least no-one injured... Any idea as to the trigger? We have had some fierce thunder storms over night, along with torrential rain, have you? Best of luck!

Weeks hire of a new 5t digger and dumper for £250 delivered... getting well used!

@Vijay no experience at all! That's why I want one! Fortunate that for the period of the hire I have a couple of friends with lots of experience helping out... they too keep on looking at digger manmaths, think they were hoping I might have purchased one! @ProDave have access to an estuary at the bottom our site, it is inevitable, just not a priority in the way a kitchen is.... @recoveringacademic this isn't helping.

Please stop encouraging me to buy stuff ! It is a wet Saturday morning, surfing eBay, currently trying to convince myself not to bid on a boat, I dare not start looking at diggers.

Thanks , I fear my timeline would read buy digger, use it, gets stolen, claim on insurance, argue lots, lose some money...

@Crofter I'm just about to have the same decision, have some very large gulam beams. Leave or treat? I've been converted to Osmo products over the years on other properties, and am in the process of treating all my cedar cladding with Osmo UV protection oil, so far it is doing a fantastic job. Really bringing out the colour and grain of the cedar. Have used their polyx oil on some oak floors for the last decade, so suspect I'll be using that on the inside here. I agree the price is painfully, but at least the products seem to deliver!

I think there is a limited window of opportunity, so renting makes sense.... Have debated buying a digger, man maths at its finest. Biggest deterrent is the frequency that they seem to get stolen... Will try not to roll anything!

All I can say is 'four sleeps' until I get a digger and dumper for three days .....

Our decking runs the width of the house circa 8m and extends out 3m, as we have dug the house slightly into a hill, we are looking to use the spoil to reprofile the ground adjacent to the decking. This will raise it circa 40cm by the decking, giving a continuous level surface from the internal finished floor, across the patio door threshold, decking and then grass. (Many sleepless nights getting those levels spot on so far!) This will mean the lawn is adjacent to the sides of the decking, will this be ok? Joiners have suggested fixing some dpc membrane vertically between the two, I'm wondering about some acro drain (not very attractive). Any better solutions welcomed!

Started the task of treating the cedar cladding today, found the fact that the scaffolding is being taken off hire on Thursday a good motivator! Having spent end most of the day doing the top half of one gable and the facias and soffits on the sides, I'm not looking forward to doing the second coat on a ladder!

Can any one recommend the best supplier for the Condor? We will be installing it ourselves... TIA

Sell the project, take the loss. It is probably a better option. They really are last resort, they will fail, there is another make with a much better reputation, sorry my memory fails me.... I really would not put one behind any plasterwork, or inaccessible, also be very carefully what you pour down the plug hole into it. Our existing kitchen is lower than the external drains, so we have a sanitive. As you can probably tell I'm not a fan....

Thanks, it stays at the top of the list then

@prodave Just wondering on your thoughts on the Condor system? Still consuming more power than anticipated? I have to decide on my system soon...

I've already put in most of the back boxes and cabling, in conjunction with electrician. Hard to believe how many KM of cable are being consumed! So soul destroying installing one, then realising it is the wrong side of a noggin and not building regs distance compliant.... always happens to the neatest ones!