Alan Ambrose

Oh I see now: That's meant to be a little house, so it doesn't mean the flow is in the direction of the arrow (no, sirree) it means the flow is into the house. The flow is actually the opposite direction in the pipe. That's clear then 😁.

Looks to me like the arrows on 1 and 3 are the wrong way round, no? And what is it with their multiple brand/product names - is this not confusing enough already?

Yeah, we thought we would try and be a bit more modern than traditional braces. You're IP14 from memory? Want to join us at our next meet?

>>> Unless this statement affects that? My understanding is that you must use a TT earth (ground rod) and RCDs (you're probably going to have those anyway) on a temporary supply while building and the DNO (or your sparks) will connect up the PME earth when you've finished your build (maybe your kiosk will stay). This is to address the risk of a PEN fault. 110V or 220V equipment as you prefer - most tool use will be battery anyway. I'll leave you to find the original regs, but e.g. see here: Temporary supply TT earthing Here's what my DNO (UKPN) says: Document Library - Connections quotation (ukpowernetworks.co.uk)

>>> Why not just go 4/5G? I could do, but the fibre ducts & router kiosk are ready to go - at least, until OR decided they would refuse to go any further. So, if I could get a 3rd party to encourage them a bit...

@Beau / @BotusBuild I'm still trying to get a proper net connection - fibre access still seems like the Wild West. For your connections where you got a provider to deal with Openreach rather than deal direct - were these new connections for a new plot or some re-arrangement of an existing service (e.g. adsl or fttc to proper fibre)?

@Nick Laslett I thought that BC required one 'proper' SVP vent, no?

>>> a ground spike You should have one anyway while you're building and in some instances (car chargers etc) afterwards too. My DNO put a label on their feed to that effect and refused to connect up their own earth. >>> Is that to stop any chance of voltage leaking back down the grid when there is a fault? No, it's so you have an earth/neutral bond in both cases and never two bonds. It's not totally clear to me why two bonds would be a problem, but it's just possible that would risk some extra leakage current. >>> AC coupled will provide whole house with power. I guess it's possible to only power some circuits if you like - and that strikes me that's a useful option e.g. power to the whole house except the really heavy users: HP, car charger, oven etc.

>>> Heatmiser Neo Hub It's v. helpful for remote access. Also, fiddling with any schedules / settings etc is far easier on an app than on the stats themselves. I can set everything to 'holiday mode (off except for frost) in the app in 2 secs, which saves some power and £ - pretty much nobody can be bothered to do this by fiddling with every stat.

>>> turning trees into flooring and doors! Yeah, that would slow you down. You have your own sawmill?

The frame was by Carpenter Oak - I was really impressed. As we did the floor brackets ourselves and laid them out and levelled them exactly, the whole frame went up in 2 days and was super-straight.

>>> Not sure I have a read a single thread on here where anyone says Heatmiser are good I've two set-ups that have been working well for years. These are wired. There is the odd software bug, the bug/feature request 'forum' is a bit 1984, I found the relays are a bit cheap and downrated and the physical design is a bit flimsy in parts. But I'm pretty critical of any product. It does allow us to have a schedule on each room, to set rooms to schedule or standby, a holiday setting (all off except frost protection), remote access etc. I even have a stat in my shed running a blow heater that I can set going in winter sometime before I do some work😁. And Heatmiser don't upgrade the xxxxing software every 5 minutes.

>>> Isn't that just a skylight. Ooooh - what's the philosophical difference between a skylight and a sun tunnel, nice? Not much as there are round skylights. Some sun tunnels just direct light, you can't see out. Circular skylights are usually bigger. I guess the big thing is that skylights nearly always have their aperture parallel to the roof. I'm looking for a vertical tube to put above my showers so that I can see the sky 😁 ... preferably with ends that are parallel to the roof and the internal ceiling.

I would like to be able to see a patch of the sky...

>>> grandchildren Shhh, don't tell them - otherwise your LPA might add them to the protected species list.

Ah, welcome back @GaryChaplin how's your build going? On the subject of new people, I'm seeing a small number of local applications approved for self-build, maybe half-a-dozen in East Suffolk in 2025 - should I contact them?

Short of buying one of each - does anyone have an opinion on the best looking MVHR valves? Most functional? The plaster in ones like Ergovent? In general, does any 125mm make valve fit any make valve adaptor?

@G and J - walked past your place after a sunny breakfast today. You must be pleased at the speed it’s coming along. Yeah understand the pressure to keep moving. OK straw poll peeps - who can make next Thursday?

>>> is it membrane or board It's board. Has nobody used wood fibre recently?

Anyone have any recent experience with blown-in materials? Quality, price, suppliers etc? Also is there much to choose between cellulose / wood fibre / mineral wool? Anything to look out for like ensuring full fill? We have a roughly 50 m^3 new posi-joist 30-degree roof to fill.

Probably not too hard, but you’ll need a Hetas-qualified person to move it. Some flue work, refix the seal into the stove, ensure there is a hearth of the right dimensions and correct distance from anything that can burn. You have a CO alarm? It’s just possible that they need to ‘re-install’ to modern regs, which might make it tricky. Easy enough to get a Hetas guy to give you a quote?

Ah, maybe we should chat about the next meeting for the last 5 mins of the previous one. Does next Thurs work @G and J?

@Gary Martin - can I ask - was there are residue or other weirdness after the Aero Barrier guys left? What stage did you call them in? After painting maybe?

Next Thurs maybe?

>>> buy the best That's what I thought too until I actually got them in my hands. Another negative : the roof is black, the panels are black and the rails are .... yeah, silver. Probably cheaper for Renusol to silver anodise rather than black.