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I’ve found numerous fans that would work, including some very small ones. Do I need them to be IP68 rated? The easiest way to install a 60mm diameter fan for example would be to drill a 55mm diameter hole in the steel shed, probably at the top of one of its sides, and affix the fan from the inside against that hole. But when it’s raining and very windy, the fan would still get a bit of rain on it, even though it is installed on the inside of the shed. so should I be considering IP68 fans only? Or is there an easier choice?

@Clark Kent are you fitting MVHR and making the house fully airtight? If so, this may help keep your bills down. We extended and renovated a 1930s semi, and although we did add EWI to the walls and 100mm of PIr under the floors , it is not anywhere near passiv standard, yet I’m convinced the MVHR saves us quite a bit of money, because we don’t need to run our UFH very long to warm up the house. Even in the depths of winter it’s only on 4-5h a day on ground floor and 2.5hr a day in kids bedroom. When I’m working for the day in my study I maybe switch it on in that room for half the day. Occasionally switch it on in the bathrooms, but they are all on the upper floors of the house so get indirect heat anyway from downstairs.

So Edwardian houses aren’t insulated very well, so unless you are massively upgrading the insulation, I’m not sure UFH is the way to go here. What’s the current heat loss the house?

Why so many different floor finishes. I get that you want tiles in the wet areas, but I would choose just one finish for the remaining areas, otherwise you really will have a patchwork effect that will look silly. So match the finish in the corridors to the living and bedrooms.

Yes Hire a certified professional who will need to either certify your work or tell you that he has to do it himself to certify it. Probably Yes, can’t be any downside, as long as you use the correct heat proof sealant. If it’s not combustible, then as long as it’s not a wall attached to another house, eg the party wall between two semis, then you should be fine. But the heat may darken the colour of the wall slightly, so better to have a gap if possible.

So if I wanted a RAL 9005 coloured spray, would that be possible? Anyone able to recommend a brand?

@joth sounds like you have experience of burglaries. Sorry to hear this. I’m not really bothered about monitoring or anything fancy. I’m just considering whether to get something to deter a long burglary as opposed to a short one. I don’t think the presence of an alarm is a deterrent to an actual burglary, but it may hasten the crime if the intruder gets in. That certainly was the case in respect of the burglary I witnessed in broad daylight across the road. Although it was clear the thieves were only after the keys of the Audi Q7 parked in the drive. My car’s a Seat Ateca so hopefully much less blingy. We don’t have pets at the moment, but will be getting a dog in a couple of years (a soft a cuddly one, not a guard dog, although an American Akita would tick both of those boxes), so something that was limited to door and window sensors might be good. I’m thinking of the Ring system, just because I am already on their ecosystem for doorbell and cameras, the app works well, and the kit is well reviewed. The only thing I don’t like is that all our windows and doors are black and Ring only supply white door/window sensors, unless you go for the outdoor rated stuff which is much chunkier and unnecessary. What systems do people have and what do they like/dislike about them?

And amending the inputs to a self installed alarm, or an alarm that was professionally installed but not by an approved contractor made no difference, it was still £150 more expensive than no alarm. Is it possible, a burglar may prefer to target houses with alarms, because that way he (or she) knows there are assets there worth protecting, and therefore worth stealing? Just a possible explanation for the large increase in risk perceived by the insurers.

I just ran two quotes on compare the market dot com for buildings and contents insurance. With the details of our house WITHOUT an alarm, the quote is £150 a year CHEAPER than the exact same details WITH a fully approved professionally installed alarm. In other words, the insurer considers a house in our postcode with an alarm to be a riskier risk than the same house without.

The whole experience has made me rethink our decision not to get a burglar alarm. Can anyone recommend an alarm that is good enough to get you a discount on your home insurance, and reliable in terms of not triggering false alarms. Something with minimal wires would also be good.

We had this nightmare last night. At 9pm, only 14hr before an international flight, I go to retrieve the passports from our safe only to find out that the key is not where I left it. 120 minutes of frantic searching, first for the keys, then for an emergency locksmith, available late at night on the last working day before Christmas. What a mess. He turned up c. 11pm and managed to get into the safe by drilling through the cylinder, after first unsuccessfully trying to pick it. Horrible experience. This morning my six year old admits to having “played with the keys in daddy’s drawer”. I’m so stupid. Should have set up the key code, rather than just rely on a key it turns out my daughter had access to…

So I experienced this today. Avidly searching options. There is an electrical supply to the shed, so it would be fairly easy to rig up a fan. Was there a reason you suggested solar?

Here is the plastic version (which according to the Q and A is stackable): https://www.screwfix.com/p/stanley-stst1-72359-tote-tray-19-1-4-/4254j

I’m interested to understand how a container that is essentially pyramidal in shape stacks, without having to tip at least one of the containers upside down, which would surely defeat the purpose.

What about something like this? Anyone have experience of this style? Only downside according to the reviews is that there is no cover, but that isn’t an issue for me as it will rarely leave my house: apparently it’s been “reduced” by 30%.

Or there is the open style: https://www.diy.com/departments/stanley-fatmax-open-tote-l-340mm/1820386_BQ.prd?storeId=1051&&&&&gad_source=1&gbraid=0AAAAADt-XHmsBIRQ67tc69CfUnY18wWKA&gclid=Cj0KCQiAsvWrBhC0ARIsAO4E6f91Pl8MWdIThWdsKwXaIh84F0BCdNg-oTzs_yNZ2CL7nE1mgD1UukwaAk-XEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

Saw some good deals at Home Sense today: but this seemed slightly too big… not sure. And also, no cantilevering.

I’m sure it’s good value for regular use. I’m more of once a week kind of guy, at most.

Only £272… what a bargain! https://www.epicair.co.uk/products/veto-pro-pac-tech-pac-workhorse-full-size-back-pack-tool-bag?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=20361695990&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQiAsvWrBhC0ARIsAO4E6f9EyPYIrtQiSAk9fFquy_eb9kW-dVYljAZ-rV7wANv4Pwom2dBFfecaAmIvEALw_wcB seriously though, I was hoping to get two tool boxes for £60 max. So either two X £30 or one for £24 and the other for £36.

I’m after a pair of tool boxes. I don’t have a lot of tools, but something big enough to hold some small boxes of drill bits, a few screw drivers, two hammers, some pliers, a role of electrical tape or two, a stanley knife, a set of chisels, a metal file, a couple of tape measures and a few small 🔧. The pair doesn’t need to match, I just don’t want to carry it all with one hand. When I was a kid my dad had a thing of beauty: it was a cantilever toolbox made of wood, with brass ironmongery. Apart from being beautiful to look at, it was highly functional as when you opened it out you got seven storage compartments: the main one at the bottom then three pairs of smaller ones, each half of a pair opening up in a tiered way. This is the style of toolbox I’ve been looking for, but I haven’t been able to find a modern day-wooden one that seems as good, though there are plenty of plastic and metal ones available. Most with five compartments; seven is probably overkill anyway. In the local hardware store, one of the sales reps said to me that “they don’t make them like they used to” and when I asked him to elaborate he explained that these work great when empty, but once you put in some heavy tools the cantilevering/opening action is no longer as smooth, and sometimes one side opens whilst the other side jams, causing the tray to jerk off centre, which can then lead to spillage of small items. So my question is: What is your preferred toolbox?

Yes That sounds a bit advanced for my plumbing skills. What’s an actuator?

Thanks. The temp difference between A and B is definitely noticeable, but it is not huge. I turned the temperature up and now the gauge is saying the water entering the loops is in the low thirties, so could possibly increase it further, but I will leave it for the moment and see how I get on today. Do I need to top up the system to correct the small water loss I had yesterday when I lost about 200ml or so?

Thanks @JohnMo but would you mind explaining, Sorry for my ignorance but I think of the whole manifold as “the mixer”. ok switching brain on, is this right: A = after? B = before?

Weirdly, I see that the water temperature gauge of the UFH manifold is showing 26C (looks like 25C on the photo, but camera angle is out). I will check back on my notes (buried on this forum somewhere) but I swear it’s not meant to go below 35C.

And now some close ups of the gauges on the manifold: