PeterW

With 8 batteries (or 4 strings of 2) you can get 400Ah at 12v but that’s not that much capacity. A decent Victron charger inverter is going to cost you at least £400 to make it grid connected. Do you have some sort of outbuilding that you could make “off grid” and use them for that ..? Stick a couple of cheap panels on the roof of it and for change of £250 you’ve got a full off grid storage and charging solution for the batteries.

Warmstar https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Electric-underfloor-heating-mat-kit-150W-m2-All-Sizes-in-this-Listing-PRO-TRADE-/324704384942

How many ..? As this will alter what you may want to do with them or how you make things “work”.

Bin the TRV at the return end - horrid things !!

Mendez and JB Kind do something similar although I’m trying to work out how you’ve ended up with different height doors ..? Has the builder not standardised as handles will move about if you’re trying to hit the stile.

Armaflex (or any Nitrile Rubber insulation) is not UV stable. You need to use the correct ones for outside or cover them with a coating. Been discussed recently

If you’re only using it in the summer then use a manual switch over valve but don’t forget you will need to put a non return valve in to stop the cold feed bypassing the tank and flowing back into the loop. Something like this will do https://www.vip-ltd.co.uk/Valves/VIP_Brass_Ball_Valves/00_0033/mobile_small.html

Fit 6x2 rafter tails to the existing and drop a row of bricks off to give you a decent soffit and fascia.

again - check his credentials .. if he’s never seen one, on a UVC the HRC goes back about 150mm below the top level so you only really circulating 5-10% of the tank capacity. If it is PIR driven too, then you are about to de-stratify the tank anyway running the taps and putting cold into the bottom of the tank. Also, check the pricing on the tank as the Gledhill is normally more expensive than the same spec Telford

Eh..??? Slab can hold it easily. And he’s said earlier you’ve got low losses so something doesn’t add up. Have you spoken to any of his other customers ..??

Don’t bother - on a 1:50 scale plan, 200mm difference is aboht 4mm, or roughly twice the thickness of a pencil line at each end. Just crack on..! If you were going to put 4 rather than 3, or make them 160cm instead of 98cm then that’s a different story.

do the plans clearly note the size ..?? If not, you can argue that the dimensions measured on plan and on the roof plane are different and just do it … as @nod says, no-one will climb up and check…

sorry but this is wrong. And you need to read and understand the domestic client element of CDM2015 - in fact if you don’t appoint as per regulation 5 then the architect becomes principal designer by default, and each stage contractor becomes principal contractor. It is clearly noted in regulation 7. Appendix 6 also refers It is also worth noting since it’s inception in 2015, there have been no instances of the HSE prosecuting relating to CDM2015 and self builders failing to notify or act according to the regulations.

Any of the graphite EPS beads tbh are fine as they are all made by one or two manufacturers.

EPS bead all the way as long as the brickies keep the cavity clean - easily done but they need to be watched so you dont get lots of mortar in the bottom of the cavities. Beads flow very well so you get a decent coverage. Batts need care when being installed and can end up with gaps.

Right. Leave the top connection as is, remove the bottom pump connection and the manifold connection and blank the manifold where the red lines are. Then use a standard pump valve to connect the hot from your new valve to the pump, remove the other valve from the other end of the manifold (one with a white cap) and then return that to the buffer.

Ok so they think their mixer isn’t up to it. And I don’t like those so I would do something really simple here. Remove the heads, and then mount the pump direct to the manifold (think these are 1 1/2”) and then from the return line remove the other end, blanking off the manifold so the flow goes back to the buffer. Then put one of these in the flow - to blend the correct temperature - and use this to control the flow into the floor.

That is an interpretation - that website has been quoted previously and it’s not entirely accurate. I know from experience of a number of smaller contracts that anyone using the term Principle Contractor needs to understand all the legal implications. I know that on reviewing options on PI Insurance, adding in any type of CDM accountability (designer or contractor) more than tripled the premiums as the insurers see the risk being transferred, and one of the major insurers required that certain key personnel held specific qualifications or had undertake specific training including things such as COTS and WAHR certificates or insurance wouldn’t be offered. None of this is in the realm of a self builder, and it is one of the areas where dragons lie !!

Drying out needs a dehumidifier not a fan heater - all you will do is increase humidity not remove it. Hire an industrial dehumidifier - £35/week and seal the basement up and let it do it’s job.

That is not correct - there has to be someone competent in charge and a self build client is not that person unless they are a construction professional and hold the correct qualifications and insurance. Pass the risk to the contractors - they have a duty of care at that point for H&S.

HSE do not have a role in self build and you are not required to register for CDM2015 ! And in the event you do, and you have an incident on site even if you are 500 miles away you may find yourself on the end of criminal proceedings that are entirely not your fault. The majority of Self Build Insurance products do not cover you for being a Principle Contractor under CDM2015 - registering yourself as such would need you to take additional insurance products that you will find eye watering in price.

It’s fairly easy to mitigate. Make the ground worker the principle contractor for that phase, have no one else on site and tell them that (in writing) all site safety is their responsibility during that phase of the project.

Lumi have brought a new one out but it isn’t great… https://www.electricpoint.com/lumi-plugin-lp110wh3kmbwsa-8-5w-smoke-alarm-downlight-3000k.html

Use offcuts of airtightness tape around the cables and behind the rose but the better option is just use service voids below the VCL/ACL where possible.

Not just small companies going - North Midland Construction and Wildgoose have both gone in the East Mids recently. Some of it has been down to labour and material shortages and they have been held to contracts that they just couldn’t deliver in time and the penalties are pretty fierce. Some smaller outfits are more able to ride it out but I know of one working weekends just to catch up on delays on materials as they have a full 2022 order book and can’t afford any delays.