markharro

Hi @SimonD how do you normally treat it? Some sort of coating? How much does that add per full size panel in material costs?

Interesting @JamesP any idea where you buy this stuff in UK?

Wood wool is another of my ideas - this time exposed as ceiling panels.

I'm thinking about this as well both to create something more distinct than normal PB finish AND to allow diy (and hopefully to a reasonable finish. I have two ideas - a decent ply but as @jackmentions there is a bit of sting in the materials' cost> Birch seems over £100 a sheet but I am hoping to just some samples of Poplar and Maple which are (from memory ) around £60 at least for the poplar. I have also seen D Fir used which looks pretty rustic and could have its place. Anyway I was thinking to mount with maybe 10mm (shadow) gaps around the panels. Originally with hidden fixings but not thinking making a feature of a star head screw and using those rebated. Other idea is to use Fermacell board again with the gaps as a feature. Either hidden fixtures and leave the exposed face as finish or screw just below surface, fill, sand and paint. My thinking is that I can do all the steps and with a bit of care there is the potential to achieve a quality result that is maybe cost neutral over PB ignoring my labour of course. With plywood I have yet to get me head round (Scottish) building regs re fire hazard so that needs more research

Well I'm the proud owner of a padsaw and jigsaw so all of this is opening up endless possibilities...dont begrudge the cost of proper tools but I'm tending to agree with @Thorfunthat jigsaw with fine blade is the way forward. Another question however - cutting one hole in either the internal or ext OSB will be easy - but how best to cut the matching one so it mates properly in the horizontal and vertical planes?

It does indeed - check the useful link above....

This will be for MVHR ducts through ext wall. I was thinking a jigsaw would be the simplest option?

It can be fun at times too. Atm I am trying to work out how to legally instal an Apple Homepod mini in our bathroom - to be used for smarthome duties eg lowering blinds and music.

As someone who is using MBC Timberframe can I give them my vote. They are a 5* company to deal with. 100% professional and very efficient. Our circs are that finances mean that I am project managing. MBC will be as close to a MC as we'll have. Its good that they will lay the slab and then erect the kit house. We will then, through a combo of DIY and specialist labour, aim to finish the remaining. We are about to start groundworks with MBC due on site in March. Comments from experience so far - 1 Project managing (with no prior experience) as well as my normal job is a taxing combination. And that's before I start labouring as well. 2 It literally takes 1000s of hours of research and there is a huge amount of future planning to have a chance of maintaining momentum. 3 The sheer amount of detail coupled with trying to master the rudiments of tech stuff is "challenging". 4 Remember that MBC don't take you to wind and watertight. After they leave I'll be on the room fitting plywood and then specialist roofers will fit zinc and flat roof waterproofing. The external wall cladding then needs done - again something I am aspiring to do. Then windows to get fitted. 5 On top of that I have to organise ASHP/MVHR/PV/electric and plumbing. We intend to try and do as much of the internal fit out ourselves but I am a bit concerned about how time consuming this will be. The advantages of this approach are not insubstantial - (hopefully) more potential for a fine finish; prob a 6 figure cost saving; and ultimately a huge satisfaction in having played a substantial part in building the house we hope to spend many years enjoying. Oh and its a passive house......in my maybe slightly biased view all new houses should aspire for this rating.

Thanks yes this is what I think I am looking to do to avoid you paying for permission that might be refused. The intent is that (where it makes sense) I can dump the maximum production from the array through the 3 phases. I just have no idea how the system needs to be set up to do that. Hopefully the installer does/

If England is like Scotland then the court will have a role in sanctioning the scale of recovery of costs from the unsuccessful opponent. Its not simply a free for all.

This is a scarily technical thread for me. I may be in the same boat with 3 phase and wanting to instal around 11kw PV to max out. I def want the option for battery storage now or later. I also want to be able to export without constraint ie without having to get the tiresome DNO permission. If there a single recommended 3phase that will do what I need and allow batteries to be added in due course? I really don't have the time to master this particular brief so its really just knowing what I need to be making clear to my proposed installer that I am interested in. Hopefully I can then trust them to set up what I am aspiring to.

Can you remind me is it 5% or 20%?

this....https://eu.store.ui.com/collections/unifi-protect/products/uvc-g4-doorbell ?

I was thinking of setting it up for motion detection only and I think that some at least of the Unifi cameras can be further restricted to record only on "human" motion detect. No USB port - just a slot for a Micro SD card!

Thanks that's very helpful. Our house will be smaller as its two storey and we wont have any metal foil issues etc so I was hoping that the UDR + maybe one more AP might do it. As you say I can power the AP from the UDR PoE sockets and actually @Dan F the UDR also runs Unifi Protect with 128 MB internal storage for video. Not sure how that will cope storing footage from a doorbell cam and possibly 2 other external cameras and prob 1 internal but it accepts additional micro SC storage cards and a quick look shows these are available up to at least 1TB so again hopefully that might work.

Thanks @Dan F No at the moment I have a copper BT landline so its the BT Master socket > Hub2 with the Hub2 providing wifi and I assume modem duties but then I have to admit to not really fully understanding what a modem or or router for that matter. Next week I am getting the FFTP installed so I understand that will bypass the BT Master socket for an ONT box. Is that not the modem? I read this blog which suggests you can do what I hope to do at least with another Unifi product the dream machine pro https://www.techielass.com/directly-connect-your-ubiquiti-dream-machine-pro-to-bt-fibre/ I think the UDR basically is a lower powered DM Pro with wifi added.

This is what I would rather avoid if its technically possible to allow me to take this HUB2 box and its power needs out of the picture. When I asked the same question on the Plusnet forum I was told that I could get rid of the Hub2 as long as I configured the UDR with my Plusnet "PPPoe username" and password?

Understood.....so in the context of me wiring the cabling and terminating the plugs etc I can use anything from CAT5 up and assuming I wire the connections properly the cable will be good for plain vanilla ethernet and also PoE? One other thing I don't understand fully - I will need a big central switch to accommodate all the feeds to rooms etc. I have a stock of CAT5/6/6A cable. I was intending to use it for different feeds so CAT5 for things that just need a slow connection up to CAT6A where I have longer cable runs. Can I plug a mixture of CAT5/6/6A cables into a switch without issues? The issue I am wondering about is whether somehow the whole network then gets throttled back to the CAT5 speed etc? Or does it not work that way? thanks

Don't you just use a standard ethernet cable? I too am thinking of one of these Dream Routers (UDR). I have Plusnet broadband and am shortly upgrading to their full fibre to the house product. They have to instal an "ONT" box in your house for this. My question is - can I connect the UDR direct to the ONT or is it ONT > Plusnet router (Hub2) > UDR? If the latter do I have to make any changes to the plusnet router eg turn off its wifi? Anything else? Is this all easy to do? thanks PS do standard ethernet CAT6 and 6A cables work with PoE or do you need a special cable for that?

Don't get me wrong - I regard brexit as the apocalypse too.....just not expressing myself clearly.

Hi @willbish this looks like a good compact rack solution. Can I ask what products these are and where you purchased? Is that a switch that you have connected the purple CAT cables into by punching the wires in? Do you then connect one wire into the front panel from the router to get internet through to all the purple cables? Is the switch providing power over ethernet?

Do you know that Unifi offer their own video doorbell - indeed two versions! The pro version appears cable of both power and data over ethernet - https://eu.store.ui.com/collections/unifi-protect-cameras/products/g4-doorbell-pro Looks like a very good piece of kit if you can get hold of it as you can record the video locally without paying Ring/google etc £x per month On a separate topic has anyone ordered from the Unify EU store? What are the typical delivery charges and do you get hit by any of the crazy brexit import duties? thanks

Its meant to be both and its to be certified as well so this is puzzling me!!

Hi Ian the initial figures are from the architect and therefore PHPP. I am afraid I cant answer your second question. The ASHP installer is offering either a 250 or 300 litre tank - I am inclined to go for 300l Yes we hope to instal PV. We have 3phase so if the budget will stretch I am thinking about a maxed out 11kW instal of PV with divert to the tank and at some point a battery. I am not sure how much financial sense this all makes but I am encouraged by Octopus' recent announcement of a new tariff that pays 15p per kw for export. We also have an EV if that is relevant and will be fitting UF heating on the ground floor.