Gone West

Some UPVC windows drain along the bottom edge of the window, so if it is that sort of window, then no, it shouldn't be sealed.

This is a copy of a post I put on here seven years ago which may be of interest. When I was researching into how to install MVHR around eight or nine years ago I made a list of rules I found relating to connecting the unit to the outside. I'm sure these are not exhaustive and nor are they prescriptive, but it's what I used to install mine. 1. The inlet and outlet grilles should be 3m apart to prevent cross contamination of air. 3m was the distance I found mentioned most often. 2. The inlet and outlet grilles should be high enough (2m) to prevent interference by animals or children. 3. The inlet and outlet grilles should be on the same wall so they are affected equally by the wind. 4. The free flow area of the grill including insect screen should be at least as great as the cross sectional area of the duct. 5. The duct should be smooth wall to reduce air flow restriction. 6. Any ducting bends should be large radius of curvature or two 45 degree bends to reduce air flow restriction. 7. The ducting should slope downwards slightly to ensure any moisture drains to the outside.

They look good, as long as the rectangular area, minus the mesh area, is larger than the circular area, no problem. I did my build a good few years ago and there wasn't so much choice, so I made my own. It was ok for me because the vents were under the verandah and well protected.

Make sure the vent you choose has at least the same flow area that the pipe has. It's a bad idea to restrict in any way the air flow into the unit. The main restrictions can be 90 degree bends, which slow the air flow, and/or insect screens, which reduce the area.

This was back in 2009 and the planners were being awkward so I put in a lot of detail that I don't suppose they understood. What we ended up with, bore only a passing resemblance to the plan, and nobody ever checked it.

@HanleeHouse I had an insulated raft foundation and all the 110mm soil pipes had long radius bends with feet and came up through the insulation and were around 0.5m above concrete level. That is except for the downstairs wet room shower waste where the 110mm pipe finished around 150mm below concrete level and was surrounded by a large block of polystyrene which finished above the concrete level. This enabled me to remove the polystyrene after the concrete had set and adjust the pipe length for the sunken shower waste. All the pipes had AAVs which were hidden behind false walls as the upstairs rooms had vaulted ceilings. We had our own STP and didn't have a vent on the house but on the STP.

I had never seen a Willis heater until around sixteen years ago at a building exhibition. Then when I moved into my current house I found that the solar thermal panel was connected to the vented hot water tank via a Willis Solasyphon. It seems a clever external heat exchanger and I'm surprised it doesn't seem more popular for retrofits.

🤣🤣🤣 It's not about numbers, but comfort. If you feel most comfortable at 18C that's fine, if like me you feel most comfortable at 23C, that's also fine. What I'm not happy about is being told how comfortable I should feel. There are a lot of factors determining comfort, such as age, health etc.

We used Lindab guttering with Anthracite Grey polyester coating and had Western Red Cedar cladding and fascias. We didn't have any problems.

I wouldn't use washing up liquid or Vaseline on rubber seals, as over time the seal will be degraded. Use silicone grease which is the correct lubricant for rubber seals.

I used Floplast.

I'll follow this with interest.

That's a picture of my old place in the second link. I put all the details in that thread, but they were glued.

I built our house in the garden of a bungalow, which we lived in while building. I just Teed into the supply pipe in the garden and ran it to the new house. When the bungalow was taken down I used that supply as a garden supply. I never asked or told anyone.

All my flooring joists were 5.9m long and 254mm deep, but depending on position, had flange widths of 72mm, 97mm or 122mm. The flange width is as important as the joist depth, but I haven't seen the flange width mentioned, although I must admit I've only skim read this thread. I would ask whether it's possible to use a less deep joist with a wider flange. I used Scotts, https://www.scottste.co.uk/