Adsibob

Can I just seek clarification on a couple of points? Are you proposing: two extensions, a ground floor and a first floor with the first floor being extended so that its side wall is flush with the side wall of the existing ground floor (and part of the existing first floor)? What is in front of that side wall? Is it a street which is perpendicular to the street that your house is on, because being an end of terrace you are on a corner? Or did you say it was a footpath, i can't remember? Just trying to understand who will see that aspect of your project.

Hi @Omi. This was probably one of the things in our project that I ended up researching the most amount of time into after we had already started breaking ground, having really been naive about the complexities of combining MVHR with a stove that is not anywhere close to an external wall. We haven't installed our stove yet, but we have pretty much confirmed our installation plan, although I haven't actually got an installer to confirm formally it's all okay, just various oral opinions that sounded very encouraging from installers who had plenty of experience. In essence, what I've learnt is this: If you have to have a long air supply pipe, it's all the more important that your exhaust flue is set up as efficiently as possible. One of the changes we made to improve our set-up was to bring the location of the stove closer to the centre of the house so that it was almost directly under the chimney that we want to use to vent out through two storeys above. This means our exhaust flue is about 10.5m long and almost perfectly straight, with just two minor dog legs. The installer who has looked at that positioning thinks that will "pull like a train". Unless you go with a specialist product like Schiedel (mentioned by @dpmiller above) or Poujoulait (mentioned by @Trw144) no manufacturer is going to confirm in writing that it's okay to have vertical air supply pipe drawing air from above the location of the stove. They are basically freaking out that the air supply pipe might end up becoming an exhaust rather than an intake, even though simple laws of thermodynamics suggest that a 2m supply pipe will be overpowered by the much more efficiently positions 10.5m flue I was proposing. But hey-ho, I'm not going to bang my head against a wall repeatedly for the sake of it, so I had to look for another solution. Many stoves will actually have the recommended maximum length and number of bends for an air supply pipe somewhere in the installation manual, but... there will also be some contradictory info like "HETAS approval only valid when installed without direct air feed". Ultimately, you don't need HETAS approval. The one we almost certainly going to go with, the DG Bora corner stove, says it can be up to 11m long and have 4 bends in it. I'm not going to push it that far. We are currently thinking of going straight out the bottom of the stove, then bending once towards a wooden step we are building between our lower ground floor and upper ground floor, going into that step and bending again so as to take the pipe to the side of the house. We have to bend a third time to get out above ground level, but whereas the first two bends are 90 degrees each, the last bend will be somewhere between 30 and 45 degrees. In total, this works out at about 6.75m I think, possibly as much as 7.5m. Can't remember. I was very tempted by the additional peace of mind given by a DIBT certified stove, but... I'm probably not going to go with one. I have found some nice looking ones which are similar in price to the DG Bora, but none that have the corner glass that the Bora has. Ultimately, I put the question to our MVHR company, CVC Direct, and they confirmed that it doesn't have to be a DiBT certified stove, that they install MVHR with wood burning stoves a lot and that it's not a problem. They also said that worst case scenario they can set it up so there is a very slight positive pressure in the room where the stove is. Whether you have a DIBT stove or not, there is always going to a break in the seal when you open the stove door to light or refuel. I don't need to buy my stove for another couple of weeks, so if anybody can recommend a DIBT corner stove that works as well aesthetically for a corner as the DG Bora corner stove, please let me know as I would prefer DIBT, I just realise that it is not a "must". Try and speak to several installers until you find one who will work with you in trying to recommend something that they can happily sign off on and will work for you. This is harder than it sounds. I've spoken to four different companies, and only two of them sound like they know enough about this. Of those two, one is extortionately expensive and the other one doesn't return my calls because he is so busy and booked up! Returning to your specific situation, depending on the kW rating of your stove, I think you will probably want to use a 110mm soil pipe, lots here favour that size and it's also safer to upsize if you are concerned about sufficient air. That means you have two options I think, either: you have a cold part of your floor where instead of UFH you have your air vent. This would mean having slightly less insulation under that as well, so you will need to check with your SE that structurally that will still be okay and wouldn't cause any issues - might be tricky; you go further down and through your concrete slab - again your SE will need to sign off on this, but should be okay i imagine if you add some extra steel rods under and over the pipe, perpendicular to it. I don't think going down any further is feasible as the more you go down, the more you end up with a deeper U shape which the installer probably won't like as not as efficient at the other end when you have to come up; and then there is also the issue of having to go through the DPM, which is definitely do-able, but if not done properly risks damp issues. Of the two options above, I'd be leaning towards going through the slab, just get the SE to spec how it should be done. I'm sure others will have views, as I'm really a complete novice having only just planned my install and not yet executed it. Suffice to say that if you do go down, you save yourself a bend if you install a stove that can already be vented from underneath. Oh, and I'm sure that the link you posted isn't talking about a direct air feed situation. It is just talking about a regular installation, not a direct air supply installation. Keep us posted with what you end up doing, as will be helpful to compare notes.

Thanks. Mine are replacements mainly, not new build. The only new built thing we have is our extension, but we are taking the opportunity to replace all the 1990s early generation uPVC windows which were really quite horrible.

Very helpful @craig, thank you. Having just searched the GGF register of members, it seems that neither the supplier nor the manufacturer of the windows are members. Does that mean I have no cause for complaint? Surely not. The supplier is a member of the "Steel Window Association", FENSA and BFRC. (My windows are aluminium, but the supplier also supplies steel.) The manufacturer appears to only be a member of FENSA.

We are in agreement. That's what I was referring to when I said "mitigate, albeit not eliminate" the problem.

Sorry, what I meant was that will I need to run many services through walls, when there are options to do so easily within the floor structure? Obviously, not all waste pipes can go exclusively through the floor, but I would have thought all water supply pipes and electric cables can? This would then mitigate, albeit not eliminate, most of the issue mentioned by @Russell griffiths.

Is that also the case if I have posi joists?

Presumably @Dreadnaught’s suggestion improves sound isolation by ensuring there is nothing joining either side of the wall?

Sorry to ask a really stupid question, but how do you make a 70mm track work with a 50mm I-stud? Shouldn't the track be only slightly wider than the stud, as suggested here: https://www.buildingmaterials.co.uk/50mm-i-stud-section-2700mm?mh_keyword=&utm_term=&utm_campaign=[LocationSet2]SmartShopping|PlasterboardAccessories&gclid=Cj0KCQjw5auGBhDEARIsAFyNm9EAKd--KgIIKas0jHqQ8TTmb7ouZ4-IfgiSRIyONWcfaih8m1Idz2oaAoy6EALw_wcB You can tell I've never installed a stud wall (metal or wood) before can't you!

Yeah, I wouldn’t share a connection for this reason. We are on a very fast VM package, regularly getting 200mb/s download and 20mb/s upload, but latency is pretty awful. It would be even worse if we had to share it, I assume.

Okay, we are at 75% of respondents here say I should complain, plus my instinct makes 80%, and if @Onoff is referring to an amusement park mirror, that makes 83% so I’m going to complain. I already have to complain about the quality of the installation. Reveals aren’t even on the majority of the windows, and we checked today with a spirit level, and is definitely the installation and not the brickwork. Discrepancy of up to 15mm between the opposites side of the frames.

This is why I decided to go for Grohe instead. Difficult to know which geberit models suffer from that problem and which ones don’t.

Yes, well that was my instinct. I see the forum is currently split on this 50:50, although only you and one other have weighed in... Thanks! It really is impressive and makes me think it's a shame more of the project wasn't brick work, but in a road where every house is covered in pebbledash, it was hard enough getting this approved. You are right that it looks too good, as it makes all the imperfections stand out. If you look at the video, in the top left hand corner there is a minor impection. We had ordered some "specials" to deal with a funny angle, but when it came to fit them it didn't quite fit - either because the architect measured the angle wrong (unlikely) or because on an extension this big building a degree or two out at the corners would result in being out by quite a few degrees in the middle where they were to meet. So instead of waiting for new specials, I agreed for the builder to fashion his own. On the whole it looks pretty good but there are a couple of points where the cut isn't perfectly straight and so where the two angled bricks meet it has left a slightly irregular gap. I think one has to look for the defect to see it, but builder thinks he can obscure it by grinding up some of the facing brick and mixing it with some sort of bonding material and patching up the tiny gaps with that.

I’m not worried about the frames themselves. It’s all the moving bits inside that can eventually fail and cause leaks.

We have gone for some pretty expensive Aluminium 2G windows which mimic the Crittall look. Most of the windows are okay, but on the largest window (which is also the one that will be most prominent in terms of us seeing it from inside when we are in the most used space in the house or seeing it from outside when we are in the garden) my architect spotted an issue with the straightness/flatness of the glass. It’s difficult to see on the video I’ve uploaded here, but effectively, rather than give a reflection like you would expect on a flat shiny surface, the reflection is almost akin to what you’d see in a mirror that deliberately distorts the reflection (like in those old amusement parks). If you play the short video a couple of times and look at the reflection on the glass you will spot the distortion. The windows are PAS 24 compliant, so it’s possible the distortion is caused by the lamination of the glass, rather than the glass itself, although this issue hasn’t come up on any of the other PAS24 windows we have had supplied and installed by this company. Given how expensive these were, should I be expecting better than this? IMG_1120.MP4

So my saga of a search for the right toilet frame and flush plate has almost come to a close. I'm most likely going to go for: Grohe Rapid SL frames bought here in the UK and order flush plates from Europe (as was suggested by @Temp on this thread) One that that surprised me though is that the same product appears to have drastically different warranty period depending on where bought from. The 1.13m SL Rapid frame and cistern comes with a 12 month warranty, or a 5 year warranty, or a 10 year warranty. Contrast this builderdepot product listing versus this victorianplumbing one. Can anyone explain this? Is the customer really being asked to choose to spend more to get the 10 year warranty, or is this just a mistake on the builderdepot site?

+1 for trying to get difficult neighbours on board. I've lost count how many times we applied and how many times the same neighbour unreasonably refused. On the last application, we wrote a polite letter to the neighbour pointing out that despite their last objection the last application was actually granted, and what we were now applying to do was to vary it in such a way that our extension would be some 50cm further away from their property. Only when they realised that, did they stop objecting and we got our plans (which we actually wanted, as opposed to the weird concession the council had forced us into) approved. It was very frustrating though as I was aware of the importance of getting neighbours on board from the outset, and therefore printed all of our drawings in A3 for them and took them over to explain what we were applying for before we actually applied. I invited the neighbours to raise any queries or concerns with me directly before we filed. One neighbour was very reasonable and told me that they would be neutral on our application, whereas the other one refused to engage with me at all and instead wrote vehement objections after our application was filed.

The units I'm buying have a 42mm service void at the back. So i guess i could set them 8mm in front of the wall and create a 50mm gap that way. Or chase into the wall, but I rather not as that will diminish my insulation.

Thanks, this is all helpful stuff. I don't think I have space for a 50mm pipe, but definitely have space for 40mm. Is there a big difference in performance/serviceability between 50mm and 40mm? I think the regs require a minimum diameter of 30mm (table 2, page 9 of this: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/442889/BR_PDF_AD_H_2015.pdf)

An appeal inspector is much more likely to look at it objectively. Don’t skimp on the appeal though. It’s worth getting a Planning consultant with expertise in appeals on board.

Will I be able to hear the trickle of the water from the sink, or can i just insulate the pipe? Not sure i will have much space for insulating a 40mm pipe.

I’m confused, I thought the necessary fall ratio was 1:40 not 1:80 ???

Okay, had a chat with the builder today: it MIGHT be possible to avoid a pump and have a gravity system. He’s going to try to set that up. Query about having the kitchen sink/ dishwasher water waste pipe predominantly internally: will I hear the water trickling down the pipe? Or will the kitchen base units which conceal the pipe, also muffle any sound?

How much did you pay for that?

Okay, that’s good news. Thanks. Couldn’t figure out how to do that on the website but will give them a call tomorrow morning.