Andeh

Very few options I'm afraid. Thick curtains, ensure trickle vents are well sealed inside and outside (adhesive foam tape). Then something like the below, sleep with music or a good podcast on! https://www.amazon.co.uk/soft-headphones-sleeping/s?k=soft+headphones+for+sleeping

Yes, forgot to add... It is also expensive! Good point that.

Thanks for the posts all & Crispy_Wafer ...I imagine that was back breaking work, & trapped fingers with those blocks is a memory I care to forget.... I think I'm pretty much left to accept it. There are only two 'cavities' under the house accessible to pump it out or inspect, other 5 are now sealed up, so unknown amounts of water / nout I can do. Fortunately, I know how utterly OCD the builder was with the damp proofing, though I will look to do some land drains over the worst part of it. Thanks again

We had a whole setup in our last place. UFH and Radiators and hot water, several zones internet controlled etc. tbh it worked very well, managed it all together nicely and good app. It is an old system though, so is missing a lot of the new systems fancy tricks (Graphing, mesh networks etc) That being said, it is tricky to setup & really finicky to fault find if something goes wrong. There is limited proper support for it, so you are very much left to get help via online forums (ie automatedhome.com) - though there is help out there. I would recommend youtubes videos on it, esp set up & installation. Read the manual very well & follow the instructions. I probably rushed the installation which caused a few headaches, but looking back I would go with it again.

We are after a couple of high end Neff Appliances, Oven & Microwave. (WIFi/touch buttons etc). Everywhere I look I see they are out of stock! Is anyone else aware of an issue behind the scenes here, or a good route to secure them? Thanks

Builder has suggested our new build will enable us to claim back the VAT on fitted appliances, but not free standing ones. Is this correct? How would I go about claiming this back from the likes of Currys or equiv? Building is more or less providing turn key property, so we are not doing any VAT claims ourselves. Going through the build is an option, but he then adds his 9% handling fee. Thanks in advance

A drip for a week is probably within the realms of a DIY dehumidifier & heating on job IMO for a few weeks (dehumidifier for longer). I had over looked the 7 days statement, I have to admit.

Rigid insulation will be very thermally stable, even the wood will be providing it doesn't get wet & is dry when installed. A thick bead of silicone or expanding foam to seal the insulation in will be flexible enough to cope none the less.

Ring home insurance, get them to sort everything out. Pay extra £25 per year for next few years.... Worry not. Or just get a couple of demudifiers, turn up the heating and see how it all looks in 2 weeks.

Yep, exactly that. I would cut and fit rigid insulation tightly between those joists, and expanding foam to seal tight. Then external insulation/cladding right up over it

I just created a thread with exactly the same worry, in exactly the same scenario. Did you ever resolve it, or just accepting it?,

Not sure what a solum is? The walls are cavity built off the foundations, with 100mm thick polystyrene insulation below DPC (so 300mm+ to bottom of beams which sit on DPC + blocks which sit on DPC as well). Beam & block then sit on inner wall, with twin breeze block built from here upwards with Knauf dritherm in the cavity. If that makes a difference? It's a full block built house, no timber until you hit the roof.

We are building a large bungalow, our garden has a slight incline to the peak of a hill above the property. Prob 5-7m total height change over 60m odd as we look out & up. Block & beam, with around 400-600mm space under the beams. Roof on, windows about to go in. Pretty heavy clay soil under a few feet of typical soil. What we seem to be getting is mysterious water appearing under the garage aspect of the house. I lifted up a block for the first time in a month, and found there to be about 4" of water trapped there - this has worried me as I expected it to be bone dry as the roof has been on for the couple of months since I last checked. I imagine rest of the place is similar though I cant check as UFH & screed is all in now. I am wondering if it could be a higher water table when it rains heavily, or water flowing down the hill in the soil and then seeping into some of the blocks and puddling under the floor? There back garage wall is very wet from lack of roof guttering, so it would be getting in via this way as well. Air flow is 'fine' to the sub floor - ie; not perfect as we lost a couple of air bricks due to patio changes, but there is still free flowing air in & out to all cavities under the house. No space is without air flow. Is this normal? How do average builds built over winter (like today when we have had 2cm of rain....) cope with the water getting under there and being trapped? Damp proof was all immaculately installed & maintained, so no risks there.. I'm not sure what I am worried about, just dont like the idea of water underneath? Has anyone ever thought about this themselves? Many thanks in advance

We had a 1970s place that had pvc soffits over ACM ones. Not dissimilar to yours in style. Only cost about £900 odd for full perimeter soffit removal and disposal., (vs like £4500 for architects recommended company). Got all the paperwork for proper disposal and they were registered.

If sealed off fully, the air pocket would prob help!

0.9 is exceptionally low for Aluminium! I recognise that style within the Alitherm range, though we didn't consider it to be honest. One thing I will wish we had done (rose tinted glasses n' all...) is put more thought into the windows. Shopping around, more styles, alternative materials etc etc. I think I was probably a bit too stubborn/decisive in ruling out 'anything plastic' on a high end house after years of living with the very worst PVC in new builds, and then leaving the builder to find the right style/type of window! Not that I am unhappy with the Alitherm and the style - we really like it-. Just that itch I have that I like to research & double check everything, which i wasn't able to do here*. *that being said, when you approach 7 window providers to quote and all either decline or ghosted us/the builder, and the clock rapidly running down.... it does limit this somewhat.

We have the alitherm 600,and managed to get the overall average u down to 1.4 with laminate, low e class and some filling. Nit great, but better then the 1.6 we were looking at. Were due to this, 3 week delay due to laminated now.

Good luck!

I almost DIYd it myself (my other thread from the weekend) having spent some time on YouTube. If you have webbed joists and an extra set of hands, I really don't see it too complicated. Commissioning being trickier, but something that can be figured out further down the line.

Some very large tarps over the roof, screwed down with wood? Not so much dry it out, as stop more rain getting in!

Welcome and good luck!!

We found a local guy, who was about half of the quote builder came through with. Fortunately in very quick succession we confirmed the quote, found slots in his diary and IN THEORY it's only a 1 week delay by the time he installs come 3rd December. Just good fortunate I got quotes a couple of months ago as a precautionary plan B!!! Still a chunk of £2500 materials more then we intended, but a lot less then builder quotes via CEF. Im on my 2nd g&t this evening... Damage recovery mode continues....

Yes, we watch it almost for the 'at least we' re not alone' assurances as we progress our own build. Though I have to admit, I can only really watch it after a very large gin!! Some bits do hit too close to home....

I don't know enough about PIR, is this in case of another grenfel fire spread issue?

Damaging UFH pipe is rare, it's very durable and resistant to abuse. Any reason why it could be damaged? Bricks dropped on it, heavy metal work, revenge/spite?