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Really grateful for everyone's continued help with this, though I'm still confused and I'm not sure if that's because of earlier contradictory responses from others or just my general cluelessness. Agreed, sorry. The cloud key is for access by 3rd party and my IT guy did indeed set everything up on his laptop. So are you @joth saying something different to what @Nickfromwales and @Dreadnaught were saying? After seeing the cost of the dream machine, I figured I would set my virgin "superhub" router to have no wifi at all and just act as a wired router and then link that to a switch and then link those switches to the APs and everything else. I haven't bought the Ring PoE camera yet, but have already bought into their doorbell and so thought it made sense to get their camera instead of a Hikvision one, for example, as that way the ring cameras (the doorbell one and the PoE one) would be on the same software. I knew that meant paying Ring a hefty sub each year, but i figured that would be cheaper and more future proof than going down the NVR route. With no requirement for an NVR the dream machine becomes really an unnecessary luxury. But maybe I'm missing something here.

That is a very expensive setup and not one I can afford unfortunately, particularly when an unmanaged solution would probably solve all my problems much much more cheaply, eg.: https://www.broadbandbuyer.com/products/41041-tp-link-tl-sf1009p/ I say probably because I haven't really given much thought to the PoE budget yet. At present, i plan on using PoE to power the following: Tado hub (using the this Active PoE Splitter I mentioned previously: https://amzn.eu/d/hpNsulI) Philips Hue hub (not sure if they do or will do a PoE version, but if not I will use a splitter) Ring PoE camera Velux Netatmo hub (not sure if they do or will do a PoE version, but if not I will use a splitter) First AP Second AP Third AP (if necessary - i'm hoping two will suffice, but who knows until it's actually installed) connection to further switch for non PoE devices So 8 PoE sockets should suffice but there is little room for future proofing if I think of something else. Having said that, I'm not planning on laying any more cable so there isn't much more I could install without making the house really ugly with trunking. How did you choose the number of PoE ports? Is it possible to add additional ports by adding switches later down the line (as i'm provisioning with item 8 on my list above? This would be for everything that needs ethernet but no power, so two PCs, two TVs and a printer.

I thought that if i'm forking out £350 for two market leading APs it makes sense to get a decent switch from the same manufacturer. Won't that assist with managing it all from the ubiquiti app, or is that not required for compatibility with the app? I have no real idea about any of this. Way over my head.

Surely if you have multiple zones running off the same thermostat, it effectively just becomes one zone, right? In that case, what is the point of zoning?

I think that’s not a safe assumption. My house is not a new build but I covered the solid brick walls at the side and back with 50mm EWI and the rear is almost all brand new as we did a two storey extension, so it’s all double wall with cavity insulation. Loft has tonnes of insulation too. The second floor is considerably warmer than the rest of the house. The first floor is always 1 to 1.5C Warner than the ground floor, and there is also quite a bit of variation between the rooms with windows at the front elevation (East facing) and the rooms at the rear elevation (west facing). I’m sure our MVHR is doing something but don’t imagine it will equilibriate everything everywhere. I would suggest you have more thermostats. I have 12!

The confusion prevails. Was about to purchase two ubiquiti in wall APs, as recommended by @Nickfromwales , and a switch and on the ubiquiti website I come across the below infographic which suggests I also need a “Unifi OS Console”. Do I and if so what the hell is it and why are the others on here managing without one?

I really need to just get on and buy this. Anybody recommend any good websites that have a good idiot proof guide to the ubiquiti kit? Still struggling to find the right switch.

Do your concerns about malware Apple to the Apple family of devices? I find that they are pretty immune to these kinds of threats, although I might be blissfully ignorant of the truth.

I thought about this momentarily, but quickly concluded I didn’t understand what the fuss was about. If somebody is invited into my home, why wouldn’ti trust them with my password. I guess the upside is if a stranger has to come in momentarily to service something that is connected to the internet and needs internet for that reason, eg the boiler (and in theory, though still not working, the MVHR) are connected to the wifi, so boiler engineer. But it still seems overkill for that. The only other consideration might be that next month we have a 21 year old distant relative coming to stay. She might lock herself up in the guest room and stream HD tv all day, but would that really impact a 300MB connection?

Cheaper and easier sounds appealing. The only advantage of a managed switch that I think would apply to me is it might be helpful to give certain devices priority for download and upload speed, e.g. each AP should each get at least 15% of the available bandwidth and after that my PC should have priority over the kids' TV, etc. But is this really necessary with a fairly decent internet connection? Will my PC ever have to fight for bandwidth with other devices. In terms of usage: we plan to have two PCs and two TVs wired to the internet, at least two APs (possibly three), a couple of hubs that need ethernet connection (e.g. tado and phillips hue), a printer and a PoE camera. Then there will be at least 12 devices that are regularly using the wifi, including crucial smart switches and a smart doorbell, though I suppose this will grow as kids get older and start having their own devices.

Surely that’s just wasteful

I picked it because I want to power a Tado hub which is 5v without frying it. What PoE switch at the head end do you use @MJNewton?

Interesting… I had no idea this tech existed. Does that mean I can power my Tado hub (which is powered by a micro USB cable) with this Active PoE Splitter: https://amzn.eu/d/hpNsulI

Can you translate “dumb” in this context please? I need something with at least 8 ports because the 4 on my Virgin router are woefully insufficient.

Can you elaborate on this please. What are you tinkering with and why would I not need to?

very much doubt it.

Prior to joining this forum I was recommended a Netgear Orbi mesh system like the RBK852 and was going to do that. My preference is fit and forget which means something consumer friendly but that still works at a high spec, but if I had PoE capability that would help as it solves a couple of issues I have for an external IP camera and also to power to access points / mesh routers as the optimal positions for these are places where I forgot to include power sockets, albeit it might be possible to retrofit sockets now, as I think there is a power ring nearby.

So what’s been launched in the last 4 months that might dethrone Ubiquiti?

So through some fairly diligent purging schedules, I’ve managed to get the temperature in most of the loft down overnight to about 17.5C or 18C. Depending on how sunny it is during the day, it rises to about 25C to 26.5C by the late afternoon. I think an external awning blind or roller shutter on the east facing Velux will help delay the heat rise to much later on in the day. But what is the difference in solar shielding performance between: an external awning blind like this and a significantly more expensive external roller shutter like this The roller shutter is complete blackout, whereas I think the awning blind cuts out about 85% of light. Will that equate to the cheaper awning blind being 15% less effective than the roller shutter at reducing solar gain?

The law already says that. All goods must be fit for purpose. So as long as the supplier of the ASHP knows that the purpose you will use it for is to heat your home, there is an implied term in the contract that it is fit for that purpose. Ergo, always get the supplier to survey the house the ASHP is going to be fitted in. See https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2015/15/section/10/enacted

@AliG is right to say that you should check the deeds (for both your property and the property of the neighbour in question) but it is important to keep in mind that easements can also arise outside of the deeds. I can think of at least two types of easement that might have arisen here on which you could try to rely: 1) rights of way (on foot or by vehicle); 2) rights of access for maintenance purposes; Query though whether this is "maintenance". Also query whether you could circumvent all of this by just bringing in the materials through your house. Is that possible? Issues are likely to be RSJs and large items like sliding doors.

My suggested response: Dear Sirs I refer to your email of [date]. In your email you suggest that “Any use my clients have made of their own property or the passageway is entirely without relevance” as “It would not set any legal precedent on which [I] can rely". You appear to have misunderstood the point. My argument is that all residents on that side of [name of road] have a right of way over that passageway. Therefore, the fact that your client has made use of that passageway to cross other neighbour's land is entirely relevant since it supports my assertion that a right of way exists over the entire passageway, including your client's land, for all residents on that side of the road. I would therefore be relying on your client's use of that land as a matter of fact to support my legal argument, not as a legal precedent. Indeed, the fact that you yourself are referring to the “passageway” as such is telling. It is a passage that shows the way across your clients land for others to make use of to access their own properties. Your client’s position has no legal merit and your correspondence on this point is misconceived. It is patently obvious that your client's purported objection on the grounds that no right of way exists is a thinly veiled objection to my development proposals, as evidenced by his prior objection to my planning application, in a new guise. I urge your client to reconsider his position, failing which I will have to escalate matters to protect my rights, all of which remain expressly reserved. Obviously litigation is a costly endeavour, but I will resort to it if necessary and seek my costs of doing so from your client. Yours [@woz]

So it was @jack’s fault? Surely not

I’msure you must be gutted, but there must be a solution as to how to easily change grout colour. Particularly as you are trying to darken the colour. Maybe @nod can advise.

Alas no equivalent integration for Brink Flair. Though I probably wouldn't be able to get nerdy with it if there was. Many many years ago I took a programming course at university in C aimed at solving problems in computational mathematics. Failed miserably. It's the only programming I've ever done and I found it rather difficult. I hear most programming these days is easier than C, but the experience scarred me.