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Thanks @Nickfromwales The Vaillant Ecotec Plus looks good. 30 or 37kW heating output?

Me. Based on research done here! It's not being installed for another 3 weeks or so, and nothing has been bought yet, so a little bit of time for changes to be made. The current plan is: Veissman Vitodens 200 35kw some other system boiler!?! "appropriately sized low loss header", whatever that means Telford Tempest Horizontal unvented cylinder, 300L with one heating 3kw element (which is how Telford make them - do you think I need a second element as i see some come with two? A secondary loop with a timer running 1 min every 25 or 30 minutes during the day to keep outlets providing hot water instantaneously underfloor heating on ground and first floor (in the ground its inbedded in screed, on first floor it is routed through Cellecta XFLO extruded polysterene boards). A couple of small rads in the two bedrooms on the loft and 1 towel rad in each of the three bathrooms, except the ensuite is big enough to have two. All pipes will be insulated. I have not specified any more detail than that really. I showed it to my builder and asked if his plumber and heating engineer could confirm whether they could supply and install such a system and make sure it worked well, and ... well he's never come back to me! Originally I had designed it so everything was very close to everything pretty much, but then the MVHR design company pointed out that their Flair 400 would need much more space than I had allowed for it because of all the pipes, and so we've had to move the cylinder quite far away... but that is the subject of this other post.

Thanks, that's helpful @PeterW. The website I was finding was this one: https://protecboilers.com/. I note the Alpha E Tec S only gives you a 10 year warranty if you install their "Alpha Premier Pack Extra". Didn't know what that was, but digging around their website I found this: The Alpha Premier Pack Extra is only suitable for use with Alpha boilers originally supplied with threaded type isolation valves. It must be installed in accordance with these instructions and the installation instructions supplied with the boiler. The kit comprises of a wall jig fitted with a magnetic cyclone and pipe clips, wall template, flow and return split tails, bottom tray, screw pack and wall spacers. The wall jig has been designed to be fitted to the wall before the boiler, allowing the pipework to be pre-fitted. The pipework can be installed vertically upwards and downwards using the flow and return connections supplied on the jig. Apart from the magnetic cyclone - which I presume is something equivalent to a magnaclean - how does this prolong the life of the boiler? Also, anyone know why the specs don't reveal the flow rates its capable of? Isn't that important in terms of knowing how quickly it can fill the hot water tank and supply the rads?

So which Vaillant and Baxis do you recommend to supply hot water to a 300L tank, heat 5 towel radiators across the three bathrooms and a couple of rads on the loft floor and do about 100m2 of underfloor heating? Modulation abilities and efficiency are key, as heating and hot water demand is variable in our house.

@larry I was also attracted to the Veissman because of its superior modulating abilities. We need to heat a largish 5 bed house with 3 bathrooms (although only two bathrooms will be in use regularly). Hot water demand is going to be HIGH because I just bought a ridiculously large bath from Lusso Stone and plan to use it regularly, so a Combi Boiler is not feasible. All the boilers I've ever had have been Vaillant Combis. They are okay, but they do fail. It's a shame Veissman is that much more complicated. I did originally go through a Veissman approved company to get the whole heating and hot water system designed, but I was put off by the sales tactics and they were also unreliable. @Nickfromwales are your negative comments about the Veissman based on real world experience of it, or is it just a theoretical aversion to it based on what you've read about it? I have just googled Protec following on from @PeterW's recommendation and they seem focused on Wakefield and the surrounding areas. No good for me as I'm London. The Alpha E Tec seems to be a combi boiler, so that won't work for me either as I need a system boiler really. My builder has recommended Keston, but my father in law has had bad experiences. Obviously this is all subjective opinions formed on anecdotal evidence. Which magazine purports to provide more independent and scientific views, but actually much of their "best buy" recommendations is based on limited survey data as opposed to thorough tests. Any further thoughts welcome, anecdotal or not.

I've decided on a Kinetico or Harvey water softener system, but I don't know where to buy one from and looking online there seem to be a lot of suppliers peddling myths like "you should only use our salt tablets because other suppliers might dilute the strength of theirs with fillers". I also rather not pay for installation as I've already agreed for my builder's plumber to install a water softener and I just have to supply it - or do all Kinetico and Harvey water softener systems need to be installed by an authorised installer. Any recommendation as to where I can get impartial advice on which specific model is going to be best for me and at a fair price, please share. Thanks

What are you planning on putting on the floor that is heavy? Any cast iron bath, for example?

@pocster I will pray for you and your stairs. When you achieve this feat, do update us on your success story as I'd love to know what you end up doing. I have a 140kg stone resin bath coming next month and no idea how the builder will get it from the kerbside delivery point to the first floor bathroom.

Thanks for the quick reply. They do do a switched version, but we like the aesthetic simplicity of the switchless one. Is it a safety thing then? I note that in continental Europe one hardly ever sees a switch on a socket. Same in the US I think.

I'm considering installing these as our main sockets: They are made by varilight, so I'm hoping the quality is okay. But is the absence of on/off switches an issue, whether from a Buildings Regs or safety point of view? The only place where I think it would be safer to have a switch might be where we plug in kitchen appliances like blender, toaster, food processor... just in case there's an accident/fire one can switch it off. Although in those circumstances presumably one could just pull the plug out from the socket almost as quickly. Maybe @ProDave or one of the other electrically gifted members can weigh in on this...

@Mikey_1980, just wondered how you feel about your floor 5 years on? We are considering designsinresin and would be good to know whether you still like it and how it has aged/weathered with five years of use.

Thanks @Nickfromwales. I can only guess that the reason they've put them on top is that that way the immersion heater can be removed for servicing/replacement without having to drain the cylinder. Is it a pain to drain the cylinder when you service one like the one you've photographed? What does the annual service actually involve?

@Nickfromwales looks impressive, but didn’t you need to leave more space above the cylinder for removing/servicing the heating element? I’m looking at a horizontal Telford Tempest which requires 11 inches clearance above it for that purpose.

Wow. I would love to see a photograph of that!

@larry this is good to know; I am also considering this very boiler. Which size Vitodens 200W did you go for? Did you consider setting up with a Tado system to control it rather than the ViCare app? What other boilers were you considering and why did you go with this one? Are you still happy with your choice?

No, but neither do the measuring cups.

+1 for Alexa. I also use it to call my wife when I'm out and I know she is in but won't hear her phone. We don't have a landline, but I can just "drop in" to the Alexa. Also useful for weather forecasts, telling the time (in any city), setting reminders, adding to my Ocado shop, checking my diary. It really is a personal assistant.

But that's not the same as building regs. Building Regs = the law. NHBC = an optional home warranty and insurance service.

We are renovating and extending an old 1930s house. Regulation 3 of the Building Regulations defines ‘building work’ as including: the erection or extension of a building the provision or extension of a controlled service or fitting the material alteration of a building or a controlled service or fitting. Part of our renovation includes the knocking down of an old wooden porch with a ceramic tiled roof and building a new porch out of brick with a ceramic tile roof. We've had to serve a building regs notice in respect of the whole project anyway, as we are basically doing everything to the house so the project overall is easily caught, but I'm trying to work out if our new front door which is going on the external part of the porch (we're not having an additional door between our hallway and the porch) needs to comply with Approved Document Q. This is what Approved Document Q says: "Regulation 4 states that building work should be carried out in such a way that, when work is complete: For new buildings or work on a building that complied with the applicable requirements of the Building Regulations: the building complies with the applicable requirements of the Building Regulations. For work on an existing building that did not comply with the applicable requirements of the Building Regulations: (i)the work itself must comply with the applicable requirements of the Building Regulations (ii) the building must be no more unsatisfactory in relation to the requirements than before the work was carried out." Building work was defined in Regulation 3, as set out above, so our new porch is definitely "building work" in that it is the extension of our original building (the wood porch structure we are replacing was an addition). But this part of Approved Document Q is just so badly drafted! On the one hand, we are plainly not in the situation described in category (1) of Regulation 4 as we are not a new build or doing work on a building that was previously compliant. So we must be in category 2. In that case, is all that i have to do improve on the security of the flimsy front door that was there before, in which case all the stuff about non-timber doors having to either comply with PAS24 or comply with similar or better performance to PAS 24, including the follwowing is just non-applicable to my situation. STS201Issue5:2013 • LPS1175 Issue7:2010 securityrating 2 • STS202 Issue3:2011 burglaryrating 2 • LPS2081 Issue1:2015 securityrating B Is that right? Don't get me wrong, I'd love to have a PAS24 door, but I'm finding a lot of companies say "we can provide you with a door that has both laminated glass and multipoint locking, but we can't give you a PAS24 certification because we haven't had our doors tested."

Have you considered Pergo laminate flooring. It is probably the best laminate plank out there that is the best approximation to real wood. Go to the pergo website and request samples - they are all free, even postage. It costs about £30 a square metre and even comes in wide plank if you like that. It will basically look like a brand new wooden floor for the life of the product. The only way you can tell it is not real wood is that it is slightly colder to the touch to real wood and it obviously doesn't "age" in the way wood does. It comes in hundreds of varieties/colours/widths/finishes so you will definitely find something that you like aesthetically. The one we went for in our last place was 9.5mm thick and required an underlay of about 2mm. Really easy to install too. I was going to install it in my new place but the architect keeps banging on at me that for a house that I plan to live in for the rest of my life I should really get a product that will "age beautifully". Pergo basically doesn't age. It's virtually indestructable. We once thought it scratched, but it was actually the leg of a plastic chair that had scratched off onto the pergo. Easily cleaned off with a damp cloth.

Hi @Temp which regulation are you referring to here? Presumably this only applies if one is using the the engineered board as the structural floor?

I was advised by Cellecta, the company supplying our extruded polysterene UFH boards that anything you put down between that and the finished floor would slow down the heat transfer time. Engineered wood is already going to slow down the responsiveness so if you are going down that route then definitely avoid slowing it down further. Just put a 6mm layer of rubber matting, such as the one shown here, underneath the UFH boards. That will still absorb sound from impact of footsteps, without compromising your heating. If you don't have space for 6mm of rubber, they also do a thinner cork version, but I've not tried that.

Thanks @Conor. I’ve asked for the u value comparison, and am waiting to hear. They seem to only have the values for the glass to hand. I looked at aluminium, but the frames are far too thick to look anything like Crittall. RK doors for example can’t do anything thinner than 75mm. Although MetTherm have a beautiful thermally broken option in Aluminium that has only 26mm thick frames, they won’t sell them as a front door. No idea why, as they offer pas24.

Thanks @PeterW. Which pump do you recommend? I need something very quiet.

I’m trying to work out whether it is worth spending extra on a thermally broken steel double glazed crittal style front door with side lights and top lights into our 1930s semi that we are in the process of upgrading. The alternative is to get the exact same door, with the same glass units, but the steel frame will be shallower as it won’t have a thermal break. Aesthetically, both alternatives look identical, except when the door is open the thermally broken one is about 40mm thicker. The dimensions of the opening which im glazing is about 1925 wide and 2400 high. Of that, 925 by 2025 is the door and the rest is fixed. It is almost entirely of double glazed glass, except for a steel kick plate occupying the bottom two fifths of the door. By the time we are done with it, the house will be very well insulated. Not passive haus standard, not close, but pretty good for a house that was built almost 100 years ago. We are putting quite a bit of insulation in, throughout the house, thermally broken double glazing which is A+ rated, whatever that means, insulating the loft, under the floors, insulating externally, putting in MVHR etc. Whether we get it thermally broken or not, the door comes with built in draft excluders and is pretty airtight. Given about 80% of it is double glazed glass, the thermal break/no break impacts only 20% of the area. The difference in cost is staggering. Something like £2.5k! I will never make that back will I, or is a non thermally broken door and window this big really going to make that much difference?