Trw144

Right, so drains were a little blocked (the joys of a son who thinks sixty big rolls per dump is about right). Drains cleared but ironically the drain on which the gurgling sink is connected isn't seemingly blocked. The gurgling sound remains!

So, after 4 1/2 years I have a sink that has started to gurgle. I have put a drain snake down the waste - all seems fine, and I have just been up in the roof and rodded the vent pipe - again seems fine (although the soil vent stack is the opposite side of my bathroom to the sink so I do wonder if it's on its own AAV - I need to dig out my plans to check on this). The issue doesn't appear to be anywhere else in the house so I am scratching my head a bit - is this likely to be a blocked drain issue, or a blocked soil vent issue? Any pointers appreciated.

As @dpmiller says - Dibt is what you should be looking for as the standard the stove meets. Used to be quite uncommon but I would think quite a few manufacturers now have appliances that neet it.

The build element I think I would leave to the professionals, but excavating I will undertake. Its on a hill side so I'm digging a bank out, as opposed to digging down, and have 2 acres adjoining for the spoils to go on. Hopefully concrete and steel prices have reduced when I get around to it. This is what I'm hoping - fingers crossed.

Thanks. Could be doing it myself then!

Can I ask where you ended up on basement cost?

I don't think the design is a million miles out from your moodboard - the windows/metal cladding looks quite dark but this is probably more to do with the lighting on the render. The biggest difference is the stone/bricks - your mood board uses something similar to this product which I have been looking at ... https://www.wienerberger.be/gevel/productzoeker/wasserstrich-special-grijs.html? My view on selecting external materials is to find something I like and copy! Either that or find a design consultant who can help - but for your average self builder it's probably quite hard to find someone who specialises in this (and who doesn't charge a fortune).

If you have been given false information my either the installer or manufacturer then I would be blaming them, not the biomass industry as a whole. As I said, I'm sure there are many ASHP (and even gas boiler) customers in a similar position.

I'm sure there are ASHP owners who say the same! Comes down to the equipment and it being installed correctly.

I know of the Klover product but no direct experience if it. Some general pointers.....Do you plan on installing a buffer tank? Despite what some manufacturers/installers say, I wouldn't install a biomass boiler without one. Heating controls and hydraulics are key to the system working efficiently. Combined with a buffer, this will also stop cycling of the boiler and the associated increase in maintenance.

To be honest I was referring to stoves in general - the Hwam is just the one I know with the automatic controls as an example (I'm sure others are available). Talking specificallly of Hwam, the bi-metallic coil version works very well so I would nt be concerned about not going for the electronic version.

Hi, I can't say I know much about them or have ever used one to be honest so could nt comment either way. As a genera point. I would take most stove efficiencies with a pinch of salt - they are based on test lab conditions with perfect wood, on a perfect flue and most crucially someone who knows how to operate it. This latter reason is why Hwam developed the Automatic systems - it's the people operating the stove that generally cause it to burn incorrectly.

Plus 1 for GSI (timber clad and a flat roof!)

In Loxone the mixing valve with PID control does the trick and solves the issue of overshooting/undershooting - I ve had it in 4 years and whenever I watch it, it keeps a stable temperature with very little movement on the valve. Mine starts off fully closed (no heat going into the circuit) and works it's way up from this position. As a fail safe I have gone old school mechanical (in case of programmer or controller error) so a pipe stat on the flow that the pump is wired through. Admittedly, if the heat pump controller has all this built I would probably leave what I can say within it (I'm on a gas boiler).

Not sure the 3 point bit - appears to be a powered open, powered closed actuator. I have used the Loxone mixing valve control for my heating circuits, using a temperature sensor on the forward flow pipe.