Omnibuswoman

I’ve heard that Totem timber in Plymouth is good for straight wood…

No, we didn’t have any problems with water, this was just part of the original plan for the house, to protect the foundation slab. Shillet tends to have water sit on it a bit, then it will drain away given time.

Thanks for your replies. This is the description given in the quote: This doesn’t describe the pipe having a sock or being wrapped. However, my understanding was that it is simply part of how a French drain is installed. We did discuss the pipe being wrapped in membrane when he came to quote for the job. The ground is shillet, which is a sandy/stony type of soil.

We paid a company to come and lay MOT/membrane and gravel, install a French drain around the house, and drains from the downpipes to the rain pond. Some of the work was to a good standard, but some we are having issues with. We discovered that some of the weed membrane hadn’t been placed under the gravel, leaving patches where weeds were starting to come up. This has caused us to do further exploration of the hidden aspects of the work. I have dug out a couple of areas of the French drain, and found no membrane or sock on the pipe, meaning it will become silted up. Can I get views on whether to get the company back to put this right, or just let it be and hope for the best?? There are no inspection chambers so no way of accessing the pipes other than by digging down into the stone, which is a mighty PITA! photo attached of one of my test digs…

I’m also up for this! Weekends in June better for us…

An inspiring testament to the benefits of working very hard and paying attention to detail. Looks fantastic!

I’ve just completed the survey Cem. I noticed a typing error as follows:

@BotusBuild I’ll take your used paint pots! V handy for storing things in the shed away from the mice.

Taking an alternative view, why do you need UFH at all in a house with such a low heat demand? We considered all of the options, and found that the cost of installing UFH and ASHP would not be recouped by the savings we would make. Our heat demand is (in theory) 1.8kw at -4C outside. I’m using one 2kw oil filled rad in the ground floor hallway, and a greenhouse heater (300W) in the open plan area. Both have an integral thermostat. It is noticeably and consistently warm in the house - every time someone comes round they comment on the warmth - yet it’s only 19.5C. Our old Edwardian flat with gale force drafts and single skin brick walls had to be kept at 21.5C to feel bearable. We have OIG 7p overnight which I use for the hot water tank. Solar panels supplement the daytime electricity demand. You may be better off with a minimal cost low tech heating solution if the house is as highly insulated and air tight as you are aiming for.

I remember the last time this lot were in, and the Future Homes standard was put into legislation, raising air tightness and insulation standards for new houses, with a 7 year lead-in time for the house building industry to adapt. Due to commence in 2015, Cameron’s govt scrapped it just before it was due to start. Presumably due to some effective lobbying from men in sharp suits on behalf of the house building industry… imagine - 10 years of houses built to a standard of efficiency that would be instantly suitable for heat pump based heating. What a political disgrace that we are a decade down the line, and no further forward.

@SteamyTea I don’t, but I do get hiccups when I’m hungry!

We have this every time we go out to the shed and back in again!

Oh I see, thanks for clarifying. I had misunderstood that this was PP for an extension at the back of the house only.

I’m not sure that I understand why, when the front wall came down, it was rebuilt with the front door and window openings in a different place?

i think this will be my first port of call!