Andeh

Probably when it was installed 12 months ago! Last resort is ringing out the existing plumber, but he is over 45mins away, and funds are so tight I'd like to try and rule out everything first.

Have a red one and a white one, pressure vessels ! The red one connects via the copper pipe below the immersion switch, and I presume is pressure for the heating circuit.... Where it's plumbed into the ASHP pipework. Not sure where the white one connects, can't follow the pipe behind the cylinder?

House & everything operates as normal, we have lived with this 'condition' for a few weeks now, without leak being visible. If I leave it alone - stop cocks open, all valves open..... all is well, and the pressure 'loss'' is topped up by mains incoming I guess, but technically we loose 0.1bar an hour Yes, seems the total water loss is a 1/2 a cup per 24 hours I guess, but over a few weeks that does add up to bucket of water mysteriously disappearing.... We have two expansion vessels below, pictures below? The toilets are plumbed into the 'non softened' side of the water works...which holds pressure fine! No water meter. Nothing via the tundish, even slid a bit of paper in to see if any drips. --------- Over night I turned off everything, all room valves hot & cold just as something I hadn't tried, pressure held fine (because stop cock --> Pressure gauge --> water softener --> several valves turned off). The next thing I opened up was the softened water feed to the heating systems (ie run a hot tap, this back fills the tank) and the pressure dropped to 1.5bar?? This makes me feel that something around the cylinder area lost some water - but with the valves closed leaving it to the taps, that its not them. I will try testing this again when we go out this afternoon. All departing hot valves closed, so stopcock --> Pressure valve --> Water softener --> DHW tank system --> hot valves closed). If there is indeed a leak in & around cylinder this would show with the Pressure valve dropping I think. We do have a very slight drip from one coupling on the ASHP closed loop, with the glycol in it, few drips a day & about 1 bar loss every other month. Small blue stain where the water evaporates off the floor. Seeing as this is a sealed loop, which I need to open 2 valves to top up every other months I presume its nothing to do with my mains water leak?

Mains water. Master stop cock is out of picture, but as the water comes down it goes via the pressure valve and diverts, one to untreated cold water to house (no leak) other one to the water softener (leak). Every room has its own isolation valves, which should make it simple to identify which room... But the readings have been indecisive so far. Turns out it's hard work isolating the water to the house and rooms with 5 people in the house!!

Few pics here....

We have been in the house for about a year now. Brick & block, block & beam bungalow. Due to irrational fears I turn the stopcock off when we go on Holiday. Our plumber also left us a pressure gauge on the main incoming feed after stop cock. We went away a few weeks ago, and I did my routine of turning off the stop cock...and came home to house with no pressure. I am 99% sure previous holidays (many months ago) never showed this level of pressure drop, maybe a slight one which I put down to change in temps or slowest of dripping taps. Over the last few weeks I have been going mad trying to figure out where we are loosing pressure. We seem to be dropping 0.1 per 30-60mins ish? 2.5 bar over night. We have no visible leaks anywhere, and I have used a damp meter to poke around everywhere inc through the carpets, through render, grout lines - all to nout. I am pretty sure I know where 90% of the pipe joints are in the ceiling (john guest) and there is no sign of anything damp. The drains show no trickle of water going through them, checked them all. We have no dripping taps anywhere. We have a water softener, but it isnt passing water through/no leaks near it. The pressure loss is on the water softener side of the house (so toilets, kitchen tap, utility tap and outside taps - all fine) I am really struggling with ideas now...all I can do is disable the water softener loop & the pressure holds fine. Pic below of the complicated , very sensible, plumbing layout. Disable individual zones seems to sometimes show a potential 'starting point' of leak on a section...but then retesting it later gives mixed results. Any technical people that could advise if any of our appliance connected to the Water Softener side of the water- ASHP, Pressure Vessels, washing machine, dish washer, etc could consistently, but unpredictable, influence the mains pressure after our stop cock? I'm all out of ideas

1.2 or 1.3u I think it was? Ill have to look it up

We have some high end Sunflex sliders, large triple track design about 18 months old. The leading slider thought has started to noticeably 'grind' when opening & closing, definitely on one set of the wheels only. I have tried everything from hoovering through to pressure washing without making any difference. I have also managed to ''lift'' the back of the door up slightly and move it in case it was a stone stuck between wheels. There is no obvious adjustment on the door, and I am all out of ideas. I also think there are some tiny metal shavings being deposited after using it. Anyone ever comes across this sort of thing on large ally sliders? Have reached back out to the installers, so we'll wait and see! Thanks,

To update things here, the installers did come back to resolve, very apologetic over the delays & were very good about it, so back in my good books! Would recommend them if anyone needed help ref Sunflex

Still fit air con! Small price for very effective 'feel good feeling' for those few weeks of the year. Never be able to retrofit it properly after the fact. Paperwork no overheating risk is always optimistic IMO. Also acts as a warm boost on a cold winter night! Never hurts resale value as a premium feature as well.

You want cooling? Fit air con, nothing else works as effectively, and a well Insulated house does risk over warming! MVHR and ashp is a good base line, don't rule out the Grant just watch for cowboys artificially inflating the price to take advantage of it.

Thanks both, I assume I'd need to terminate? We ran spares to a lot of locations (cctv and access points) so 50% of then will never be used!

Our plasterboarders were a right laugh, and got on with them well. Only 3 weeks after moving in did I realise they must have been cock eyed.... Some of the bows in the plasterboard panels are unforgivable... Esp down our long corridor.....! Moron electrician, amoung many other things, didn't label any of the Cat6a cables... So now I get the shitty job of trying to figure that one out!

Well done, seems a reasonable outcome! Thanks for updating.

our render finished at DPC, though in some areas where the DPC was much higher (building in a slope and house is half stepped) they rendered further down. Having the render at DPC also reduces dirty splashing into render. Pay in arrears, always. We paid 2.5% on practical completion as one retainer, then a final 2.5% 6 months after practical completion(when we move in) to keep him motivated on snagging and defects. This is normal and the default with JCT contracts, and as our builder suggested we do it. Your builder's cash flow is not your problem, as the second you lose that financial leverage you are exposed. Edit.... If you are rendering, which itself is an expensive packet of work, how close to completion are you?

It'll take decades to recoup the savings made on the PIR. Save the money and look at where else that investment could be put for greater effect. What's the U rating if the wall? (also roof and floor out of curiosity?)

Of all the things to get bent out of shape over. Yikes. Your house is already hugely well Insulated, with running costs of tiny £ a month (mine is £150 a month and very inefficient in design, and only 'above average insulation' - 160mm in floor, 150mm warm roof, 125mm full full wool (which is poor) and we are heavy electricity users anyway). Air tightness of about 2.9. That gap may help, as still air is an insulation, even slightly moving air in that cavity is probably better then cold brick pressed up against PIR. Coldest days are usually windless days anyway. Give yourself a break, know when to stop.... You'll put yourself/your wife into an early grave if this is the level of 0.001% detail you're obsessed over.

The new extensions guttering or foul/waste water?

Sorry I can't, one job I've never tried. YouTube would my next call though.

Hanging lights on very short pendants? Go for black or something contrasting... Match kitchen handles etc? Down lights are over rated.... Also be careful of reflecting light off your plasterboard, any imperfections in the plasterboard, taping or plastering will be shown up!

https://www.comms-express.com/products/lande-16u-19inch-600x450mm-wall-mounting-cabinet/ This is what I got for approx 2 x 48 switches, then extra for Poe for eventual cameras.

YouTube is your friend here. It all feels very complicated and hard work at first glance, but once you figure out what needs to be done.... You're simply repeating that 50x (or however many Cat6a you have). It then looks obscenely complicated due to the sheer volume of cables.

How did the damage happen? Wet vac to suck water out, and I'd be tempted to do as you say. It's a slight niche vs replacement, but as long as done carefully and checked before dealing over.... Its just a drain.

A month! I realise when discuss passive, that's prob an important differential! Direct debit was at £175 but just dropped it to £150, October will be the 12th month for us to see where we end up, but I think £150 should be around the sweet spot, albeit sitting on £160 credit already. What also impacts that is we use dish washer daily, and washing machine daily, tumble dryer couple times a week..... at the very least. We also have octopus cosy for the ASHP.

We built the most inefficient home possible, by the nature of a large bungalow in the shape of an 'H' effectively, with a lot of glazing, very high ceilings everywhere and simply put an extra £6500 ish into upgrading insulation everywhere we could and 'try for good airtightness (2.7)..... Then hoped for the best! (incl MVHR, ASHP, UFH, PV) End result is bills of somewhere between £150 and £175 for our electricity for a warm house. There is a pragmatic middle ground in everything, but don't compromise on a home design for the sack of savings £50 a month on bills....