crispy_wafer

Depends on the builder, if it is a small firm, then Stage payments and make sure money paid is for work done and not work to do. They'll usually buy materials on account, so no need for you to pay up front for this either. Hold a percentage back for when the job is finished too for snagging. Worked for us, infact that's what my builder at the time suggested to me. Its in their interest to get the job done in as few hits as possible as they'll no doubt have a diary full.

Drop a pump in and use it to water the garden.

Not sure the orange stuff is UV protected, so may degrade over time, but I guess your application will suggest whether that's a problem or not... Ventilation systems generally use 4,5,6 inch round ducting so you may need to transition.

Ran 45m of 25mm from new build to old bungalow, 80A switched fuse in the meter box. No complaints from the electrician. I did feed it through the ducting 60mm ish I think before burying it though. When Western power came in to move the supply the main supply went through 100mm ducting that I laid for them quite easy, I left a nice thick piece of rope in there though.

if the higher level is in a particular part of the property you could use a slightly thinner layer over this to mask the base difference, if its all over then beware as thicker PIR sheets are quite rigid and like to rock over undulations . I think others may get round this by using thinner PIR in multiple layers.

I used one of these to get me from 3/4" to 25mm Plasson 77017 universal coupling 20-27 x 25mm | Wolseley I was fretting about it for weeks as the 3/4" wasnt in the best state being buried under earth and rubble, bloomin amazing, they come with a range of input sizes so just pick t he one that suits the 1/2 inch pipe and make sure you clean and square up the 1/2" pipe before if not already done so.

It's fine Our builder did the same, but did spread them out a bit. Not too many pallets on the same span of beams, and closer to the edges rather than middle. He did come and set the blocks out quickly though as he was keen to get a crack on. Not too many images of this but found one. edit: Reading George's post, I guess it depends on the type of block too, some weigh a bit less than others, maybe you could ask when they are likely to set out the blocks, Not sure I'd want pallets sat on there for weeks on end...

I've to core 5" holes through brick&block for the supply and extract, access externally is a bit tricky as it's about 5m up in the air. I plan on doing this from the inside out. I'm a bit scared of making a mess of the external brickwork, any tips? Also with the mind of doing the job right, I dont want to just wang the pipe through the wall stick the cowl on and leave it, what's an appropriate way to seal up and make an airtight seal around the penetration. Any products I should use to make a proper job of this? Curious to know what others do?

and here she is, in all her glory 🤣, just enough room to get to get the flexi coupling bit of duct then a couple of 45 degree angles. It's a bare unit, so what sort of add ons are worth buying, I've got 3 bathrooms and a kitchen to extract from. They do a pcb with 2 extra switched lives on, and another pcb for volt free accessories, pirs/timers/humidistats etc. Thinking I need it to boost when any of the bathrooms are in use, as well as when cooking, and needing extract.

Looking to install the main unit in my loft, is there any issue with the MVHR unit being the highest point in the system. I'm building a small frame to attach to a gable wall rather than on the floor, to help absorb any vibration. The loft is insulated at rafter level, so all the gubbins is inside the thermal envelope.

Been following this very closely, taking notes along your journey, I dont see the point in isolating locally, think it's overkill, as long as the manifold is accessible easily. Changing Tap's or washers or flush components down the line it wont be too much of a hardship to pass by the manifold on the way to the job...

I'd heard that a slight thicker slab will act more like a slow release heatstore but never experienced in practice so could not comment further. Here's some prelim prices I had for screed if it helps for comparison, I think these are a bit on the high side though

When we finally get the last window in, and the UFH down, we'll be pumping in about 60-65mm - bit of a halfway house, as I'd read others doing 50mm and others going thicker, then I managed to get 150mm boards as good seconds so that made my mind up. Have you already laid the insulation? If so I'm not totally sure of the minimum thickness boards you can get hold of at reasonable money to build up the level, I've seen 20mm, not sure if you can get any thinner.

Emptied the brick unit and yes found an old outlet from the brick chamber, clambered in and had a good look and poke at it, it's been concreted up and the newer outlet cut a couple of bricks higher, can only guess that the persons who installed the fibreglass unit had an issue with depth or another reason. Feeling a little deflated by this, one of the reasons behind building my own, was to get away from the general lash up of other people and this sodding bungalow. I'll call out a drainage company to see what options I have. A little unexpected, no doubt be on beans on toast for a few extra months. Thankfully I guess we can install downstream of the brick chamber and day to day usage wont be disturbed.

Getting the brick chamber emptied today fingers crossed. I'm hoping to find evidence that suggests the out has been altered (moved) in the past to suit the inlet of the fiberglass onion, I wonder if one of the previous incumbents who installed the fiberglass tank had an issue with getting the depths. Either that or it was built back to front... I do have a land drain running through the field about 50m away I suspect a treatment plant and outlet to drain might be an option

Sorry, using the forum as a sort of blog of my exploits. Another little milestone crossed off today. So, struck a deal with Western Power to remove my old overhead power line to the bungalow and class it as 'a hazard, or dangerous' to replace with a new supply to the new build. Today, finally after managing to synchronise WPD and my electrician we have power moved to the new build and a 'Temp supply' to the old. Success! Only without power for 3 hours, and that was an hour too long as WPD naffed off with my 100A fuse from the PME. Total cost to me... 50 pound for the new 100A switched fuse. 250 for 45m of 25mm2 of SWA 350 for the sparky, 80'ish for the ducting - 2 years ago Digger was already on site... I guess it could have been a lot, lot more.

I think it does help, thanks, it's good to understand these things, those before us had good knowledge and experience of how things 'work' on a less 'technical' level, whereas these days there is so much book theory and reinventing of the wheel to sell us something new that we 'need', sometimes we need to understand the ways of our fathers.

I've given the poo'berg in the brick chamber a good monching today with a bit of roofing batten and loosened it up, we've got a company in tomorrow to suck it all out. I've drawn a diagram of the setup and for the life of me, cant understand why it is as it is. I dont know alot about drainage, but to me out should be lower than in, but It's always worked and must have backed someway up the pipe, just because I've now interfered with it have i seen the issue of the backing up, inspection chambers upstream have never shown the issue either which is the reason I say it's always worked, and i've been here 25 years... I guess this causes an issue with any future building inspection, and signoff. Guess I now know why my back garden has always been so green 🤣 I dont really want to spend, if I have to, then I have too but any suggestions. I'm thinking maybe a suspended pump in the brick chamber to lift to the outflow, but it will be running alot when the levels rise so maybe not a long term solution.

Go for it, I've nothing against air con, it's all about comfort at the end of the day, and if it drops the ambient by a couple of degrees and makes you feel more comfortable in your home then money well spent.

👍 On the case, thankfully I know which direction the drainage to drainage field goes, in the paddocks you can see where the ground is ever so slightly lower, and the grass is greener...

As it was a weekend of water in's and outs, I started my attempt at connecting the new house to the old waste. I was finally getting fed up with the mound of earth on my patch of grass. The septic tank we have is a strange affair, I dont know much about these things really, but we have like a big brick built chamber before the onion. and its chokka full of 'stuff' The septic tank hasnt been 'serviced' for what must be nearly 30 years... My missus got both barrels (I guess I'm at fault too) for not organising and getting it all vacuumed out. Anyway as soon as I cut the pipe... Lets say, I was glad I was wearing wellies and not trainers (happy fathers day). At the minute the inspection chamber is full, backed up, going somewhere but not in a hurry, must have been like that for a while, I'm hoping that once the tank is cleared that it will all flow nicely, otherwise it could get expensive, It would be a cost I've not really accounted for. I'll look back and laugh at this one day. Following this guide mainly - Inserting an Inspection Chamber | Pavingexpert

Yep all insulated, pipe insulation from edge of build to rise, about 12m worth. Did it as I was laying the ducting and pipe, probably one of the only jobs I did in the correct order... I didn't fancy shoving insulation round the water pipe down through the bend. I do worry that If I/someone ever needs to replace then pulling the pipe out + insulation then replacing might be a hell of a job though... Found this factsheet if it's of any use to future readers. Fact sheet - laying a new supply pipe.pdf

Perfect, that'll do nicely.

Following this up. Used a selection of Plassons finest, to transition from old 3/4" to 25mm, supply to the build and a supply to the stables. I probably laid the ducts too close together not leaving much room to get the 2nd stop tap. The idea was to have the two stops close together for logistical purposes... Now because I have connections here, I think some form of chamber where this can all be accessed would be best, rather than a couple of the skinny stop tap chambers. Any advice?

Really simple question, I've got 25mm mdpe pipe coming out of 110mm pipe/duct in the build. Is there a widget/grommet that I can use to seal the 110mm pipe round the 25mm mdpe pipe, thought about expanding foam but not sure if the chemicals are safe to use with mdpe? Thanks Marek