Andeh

Where our external stop cock is, we want to put a bike shed, a 7ft by 7ft sized one. I'll build it off a wooden deck, and have the shed over the stop cock housing, then cut a hole through the floor so you can access it from inside the shed. It got me thinking though, the stop cock itself is about 2 ft down a 10-15" wide plastic tube, brass valve on blue pipe. It sits very very near the edge of our driveway, and a small bin store we have off the driveway. When they fit a water meter, will they need to excavate out the area, or can they do it all from inside the plastic tube? How do they shut off the water flow, to the stopcock itself? We built on a knock down of a 1970s property, so the builder/water company will have reused the water supply inbound.

Don't get one. You will regret it. ASHP should only be considered once you've ran out of ways of insulating your house and know . You don't have sufficient insulation to really make one work without compromising your comfort in my opinion.. I love ours, and we can really maximise it's benefits... But I would dream of recommending one to a family member who wasn't willing to really lean into it properly.

Really cool! I like it, and much neater then the sail. Please keep us updated! We have a similar alcove that would work well for an identical setup....

Have to admit, someone highly recommended, who you like, and who has provided such detail... Sometimes it isn't all down to cost! Especially on something as critical as a roof.

Figured as much, was just hoping for something more seemless, but makes sense! Thanks

Also to add, put radiators in there unless you are intending to heat it all the time. We have 2 x big rads in there, and even running at 45 degrees odd (without UFH on) it only takes an hour for it to warm up to comfortable temps.

We have a large 45 sqm garage, no insulation in the floor... 125mm cavity bats in the walls and 60mm PIR warm roof. Even during the coldest January days it never drops below double figures. Running a dehumidifier keeps it around 15 degrees. Insulated sectional garage door Gets used 4 x a day as we leave and arrive at seperate times.

Would flexible grout be worth a shot? We have 2 x 7 seater cars, and it's block and beam so some slight movement may occur?

We had a large tiles patio, laid on 125mm + slab, it must have sunk or settled slightly, as the gap against the house opened up several mm in the last 2 years. Now I could fill it with grout, and resilicone, but we have a large thermal bridge here, so having this air gap could actually help slightly by disconnecting the massive heat sink that is the patio. Any recommendations for a filler material? Or just expanding foam? Trim back, then silicone?

We had some movement where a subbie used insulation under the screed in the garage floor. Found out after a year of use, but builder came out and dug out and redid the area. However, I now have this slight join between the two different slabs, and with my epoxy resin coating it really shows. Before the builder rectified it, when the original crack was there I tried some two part crack filler but it was gritty and impossible to get a smooth/flush finish. Any recommendations for how to make it as seemless as possible, but also slightly flexible with the two different slabs?

Also from memory Money Claim works on "balence of probabilities", so OP has a fair case with everything said to date. Just needs to be well laid out, and structured accordingly. I don't suppose you paid any of it on a credit card!? That's an even easier route, and I banked £9k when an air con company went bust on me mid job. Was even able to claim 'making good' and supportive rectification work from a posher company who came in to resolve it all.

I thought it was £5k, but it's been several years since I went down the route! Inevitably with a case like OP's, I expect them to wait till last minute then accept their internal legal teams advice and pay up the invoices and quotes put to them, and wash their hands of it all.

Money Claim online time OP, with some copies of the paperwork trail to date, the SE assessment and quotes for rectification from another reputable company. Then let the system resolve, and I'd expect OSO to buckle at the last minute and pay out.

How long have they been down for? Any movement in them?

Are you sure you can't get a sectional garage door, and fit it to the inside of your pillars? You'd lose width, but you'd gain your 100mm and spare? .... I'm pretty sure you can!!

There really isn't a good way around this! Removing all that would not be without the need for a structural engineer type assessment. Would probably be easier extending the garage forwards somehow, as unappealing as that may be... You're not dabbling with wall collapse risk that way!!

Give them a good brush and gentle power wash to remove dust, then dry thoroughly!!!!

2.7 for us, but then we have a few sliding doors which suck(!) for air tightness.

Always worth maintaining a focus on the payback period, and perspective. End of the day the UFH will work fine as OP has designed it, and for a large retrofit, the extra £30-50 (??) per month in heating costs for the heating season isn't a disaster vs spending 5 figures digging out a subfloor to increase the insulation. OP has accepted the compromise, and I see his reasoning, as there is more to a design then raw efficiency. Buildhub is biased towards the raw efficiency to achieve top top 1% performance, but not everyone is as focused, and a top 15% performance vs average housing stock is fine for them!

Lots of love for this thread!!!! Yep, I'm another one. 10min applying sealant.....30mins trying to get it off everything I've managed to smeer into! Expanding foam is another one... One does not simply apply expanding foam, without making a mess of everything within a 5 foot radius!

For our porcelain, hot soapy water and a good broom keeps it perfectly clean! Even under a willow tree, and bird shit.

What about waiting for the hottest, longest dry spell possible.... And pour several litres (and several litres more...) of clear water sealant/weather proofing type stuff over the entire suspect area. Absolutely drown it in the stuff, in the hope it trickles through all the tiny joints and soaks in.... Then sets?! Preventing water soaking through. Nothing to lose, other then a £50 note! Ps... 3am was me wondering if we've over spent on a dining table, but (expletive deleted) me it's nice to have normal people problems vs wondering if the main sewer is deep enough to avoid the need for a pumping station, or the sleepiness nights over £40k of windows which weren't per our design....

Trickle/ladel more of the black stuff to give you an extra couple of inches then relay blocks!

One day human kind will create technological magic that will enable us to trace leaks properly. We can put a man in the moon, explore the deepest oceans.... but leak detection still involves trial & error and lot's of poking around and hoping for the best!!!!

UFH everywhere, and A2A in key rooms for short boosts of heat, and cooling during the summer. Unbeatable combo!! Slept like a (chilled) baby last few hot weeks!