Alan Ambrose

There's also Controllino as the logic should be trivial. Also Shelly. Agree that din mounted relays / dimmers in a professional cabinet would be good. Also RS485 - there's a bunch of RS485 controlled stuff - I've already installed some RS485 temp / humidity sensors. Bear in mind that I2C or SPI are not really designed for long runs / noisy environments. DMX? Loxone? Keep us posted - I plan to do something similar.

Ah Jill is going to drop in this Thurs after 5, anyone else is welcome too. Site is IP17 2RL and there are only 5 houses in that postcode and one building site...

This kind of thing. It also generates a list of Ubbink components to buy (surprise!) but the calcs apply to any manufacturer's duct of the same approx diameter.

The spreadsheet is pretty simple really. The other option I used for comparison and the one the BC preferred, presumably because they were independent calcs, was the free online Ubbink ‘Aerflux Project Report‘: https://www.ubbink.com/int/advice-service/aerflux-configurator/

FYI you can get geotextile socks which go over the perf pipe rather than sheet Terram.

Congrats. Also, good to think there’s light at the end of the tunnel. 😀

>>> the previous owner did a self-install That’s ok but they should have supplied you with a copy of the BC cert. I went that route by allowing a BC inspection and also detailing how I met the regs and manufacturer’s requirements. About a 6-page doc with drawings, photos during installation, test results etc. Getting anybody to certify after the fact will be hard - nobody wants the liability of someone else’s potentially dodgy work. If you bought recently your solicitor should have been on top of this.

OK I've modified the geometry with your feedback above. I think that'll work, thanks. A useless fact I learnt is that the water falls in a parabola, presumably dependent on the velocity it flows off the roof.

>>> I need a design for my house There's a spreadsheet on BH somewhere which I've used, also manufacturers have their own free calculators. My BC was happy with the latter. Not rocket surgery as they say.

>>> For new-build houses, Consumer Units (CUs) should typically be installed with the operational switches between 450 mm and 1200 mm from the finished floor level Hmm, for Part M i.e. wheelchair access. Thankfully, I think only common sense apples to the other stuff. i.e. you're out of the clutches of NAPIT. >>> otherwise BS7671 - Recommended Height Optimal Height: The operating switches (main switch) should typically be located between 1350mm and 1450mm from the finished floor level. Acceptable Range: A broader, commonly accepted range for accessibility (to allow for easy operation and maintenance) is between 1m and 1.8m from the floor.

>>> water should not pool more than 300mm . 😀 OK then suggest you need MOT 3 or similar. Not all our local aggregate suppliers will / can supply it. That should act as a big reservoir. Is there a way to get that to drain or are you on soil that will anyway? We’re on clay so we needed somewhere for the water to go after the MOT 3. p.s. might be interesting to remove the muddy layer on top (say the first 25mm) and repeat the test.

I'm monkeying with this geometry (below). How do I judge how much the metal roof should overhang the fascia so rainwater slooshes down and goes into the gutter rather than shoots over the top of the gutter (i.e. something like the dotted blue line)?

Maybe this is to drain the water away which runs to the bottom of the gabion. Any manufacturer's perf drainage pipe will do.

@Post and beam - how do you know it fails SUDS and what is your SUDS requirement? I ask because (1) our LPA doesn't seem to care about SUDS and (b) does it drain now (i.e. does surface water hang around for a long time) - if it does, then it's probably not a problem. We did this FYI: + made the levels at the bottom of the stone slope (and therefore drain) towards the ditch at the front of our property. + use MOT 3 rather than MOT 1. This drains fine even during the rainy winter. Various people told me that MOT 3 wouldn't be solid enough and that wagons would cut it all up. We didn't make the greatest job of vibrating this down (I didn't fully understand the vibrate control on the roller we rented). But it works great, 60T crane & dozens of trucks later - no problem.

I feel for you. I spent ages searching for a replacement toilet for my mum's place which had the pan connector at the right level.

>>> PoE cabling has been added to the 4th amendment I guess there's no limits on NICEIC / NAPIT - they'll want to control / make money from setting up your wifi next.

Not sure I get the use cases of all the xELVs (elves ?) described in the link but still - seems reasonably certain that 48V PoE, 24/48V LED lighting, low voltage sensors, 24V Loxone etc etc etc don’t fall under Part P. And, of course, ethernet, RS485 etc. No reason though not to use sensible fusing, smoke sensors etc, particularly in high-current situations. I’m planning to use a bunch of ELV with fewer than usual 230V circuits.

I think that all stove / flue / chimney work, inc refurb, needs either a Hetas-qualified person (who can self-certify) or alternatively BC sign-off.

>>> We'll be managing the build ourselves, as we've decided against having a main contractor. Maybe we'll need a project manager at some point. I’m all for DIY - as long as your skills are up to the job. But it’s good to be aware of the areas where you don’t have skills / knowledge / qualifications / contacts and have a plan for sorting those. Some questions: + do you have a ready supply of good quality trades, if not where are you getting those from? + do you have the time to draw detail designs / do purchasing / calculate quantities / run planning, building control, warranty, cdm etc paperwork / inspect work on site / review contracts and quotes? + do you have great analysis & decision making skills / risk management judgement / know when to take pragmatic choices? + are you resourceful in a jam? Properly practical? Know how and when to push trades out of their comfort zone? Good at managing unsophisticated teams? + ever done anything like this before? Built an extension, done a refurb etc.

>>> I was thinking of appending an external socket onto kitchen ring and an external socket on to ground floor ring. Also a dedicated circuit for external lighting that combines both front and back. We have this in our current place - all as switched fused spurs. Proper outside sockets are fairly reliable, so shouldn’t be a problem. The outside BG sockets have their own rcds.

>>> Been 'a thing' since the 18th Century? I wonder what the logic is as a typical microwave is ~1kW and a Quooker is ~1.8.

I’m using Vantage based in Earl Soham, prob not so far from you. Seem good, but I’m not looking to them for advice (as above) and have solicited their views on only a couple of details.

@billt >>> My system is off grid and AC coupled using SMA inverters. Is that totally off grid? You have generator back-up or something similar?

FSCables has been recommended on 't 'ub for Cat6. Also, I've used them for multicore e.g. for LED strips.

I wouldn’t underestimate the variable quality of these pipes (like everything else). Would you want to be making them for a retail price of £2.50? How would you bring the cost down? Reduce the thickness and quality of the bit you can’t see i.e. the rubber pipe? Make the braid out of shiny metal rather than stainless? Who fitted the ones you have and where did they come from? I would buy the best quality branded ones I could find, probably replace all you have, and see how well those work.