Bramco

Interesting - ours is MBC and they're coming to put in the slab from the middle of next week. Not sure I understand about maximising the water volume - won't this also increase the number of loops? Simon

@Nickfromwales Thanks Nick. One last question, should we get them to lay the pipes in a snail shape or as them have them, serpentine? (If those are the correct terms of course) Simon

Great help - thanks Simon

Talking to myself here but I think it's normal in a 2 storey house to have a manifold for each storey - this may not be true of course... But if it is, then having a 2nd manifold in our utility room for the living space zone would be analogous to what is done for a traditional 2 storey house. Simon

@Nickfromwales passive raft/slab Simon

Sorry if I didn't write that well. I meant that I could do fewer loops but keep them about 100m or a bit less. So 6 loops of 80 to 100m could become 5 loops of around 100m. We'd be losing the runs from the living space through to the plant room - so 6x2x say 6m is about 70 odd metres less. Hope I've explained that better this time. Simon

@joe90 and @Russell griffiths Just been looking at this again and wonder actually whether it wouldn't be better to have 2 manifolds, one in the utility to feed that area and the living space a total of 6 loops which could actually be reduced maybe to 5 as the long runs would be a lot shorter. That would leave a manifold in the plant room itself to handle the remaining 7 loops. Would require a feed and return from the buffer tank across to the utility which could run through the ceiling. And 2 separate pumps the living space would be one zone, so that would be good - I think... Simon

Thanks for the good ideas. I'm still wondering though whether I'm worried about nothing. Would be interesting to hear from anyone that followed a plan like the one we have as to whether it was OK or whether it caused problems. Simon

Hi, We're about to get the slab laid and have the UFH layout from the timber frame contractor. As you can see the plant room is to one edge of the layout and therefore almost all the UFH loops have to go through the hall and the doorway into the living space (off to the right of the diagram below). The proposed layout has the flow and returns for about 7 or 8 loops all bundled together as you can see from the diagram. I'm concerned that this will cause that area to warm up very quickly and therefore warm the returns before the slab at the ends of the loops are actually up to temperature. So measurements of the flow and return temperatures wouldn't give a true indication of the temperature of the slab. Would it be better to have the flow and returns more evenly spread across the hall area. They would of course heat this area as they are heating the rest of the zones.

Not in south Notts they don't. Haven't seen one in months - and then only flying over.... ? Simon PS Actually, thinking about it, that's a lie. I did see a seagull sat on a street light - a la seaside - but in the next village. It looked quite lost!

Thanks Tom, I'm hoping I've tracked down a couple by looking through magazines, web trawls etc. One is very local, the other by the welsh border I think although they say they have often worked across this way. Just waiting for the quotes to come in - fingers crossed.... I'll try to remember to report here if we can actually get things done. Simon

@Tom's Barn Did you ever find a contractor? @Visti Did you ever find a contractor Anyone else who has installed corrugated roofing and cladding - can you recommend any contractors? Simon

Exactly!!!

Trench and they've agreed to bring the supply to where we're planning to put the cabinet. Sounds like just what we need to do - thanks for the info. Thanks @Jilly very useful in case we go that route. Simon

That's the issue we have - I guess I could pay them to go further but then I don't want a naff plastic box on the side of the house anyway, so perhaps cheaper and more aesthetically pleasing to drop a box into the hedge... Simon

Thanks Do you have a link? Simon

That looks good. I guess the advantage over a brick built one is the triangle key access. Simon

Hi, We're some way from the road and were planning to put a free standing meter cabinet alongside the drive about as far as Western Power will go and then lay the rest ourselves up to the house. There seem to be loads of options for free standing cabinets, GRP, steel etc. and obviously various sizes. We were thinking that we could put a small CU in there as well to have a couple of sockets halfway up the drive. Has anyone done this and if so what cabinet did you use/recommend? Simon

Ours isn't but it's south facing and very well aired - it's a raised deck. So you might want to see how it goes before applying antislip. You can always pressure wash it if it does get slippy and apply it later. Simon

Well that's not going to happen - we can't be alone in having some 60's rental properties, ex council houses as well as originally privately owned (9 inch brick). There is no way we could get them to EPC C unless they lower the criteria or give us large grants to wrap them in insulation. And for a couple either side of a narrow drive to the garages at the back, you can only just get a modern car through, so there's no way you could slap a foot of insulation each of the houses either side of the drive. Just watch this be reeled back in when they realise the impossibility of making it work. Simon

Their units are excellent!! Rows of holes allowing you to put shelves at any height as opposed to Howden's etc. where if you don't want the shelves at the few heights they have decided you're stuffed. Also units go back to the wall, so you don't lose the 'service' gap that most other manufacturers build in to make it easier for the trades - must be 10%+ of the volume of the cabinet gained. Their worksurface choice pretty good - but if you want to tart it up with something else (walk on glazing for example) then the choice is yours.. Simon

I can see some from where I'm sitting!! House built in the early 60's. But they are going to freak out the next owners when we sell up before moving into the new build... But I'd say use normal sockets and wifi switches, or wifi sockets - also saves on having to buy the old round pin plugs... There are lots of variants around. Simon

+1 for WD40. Simon

Lucky you. Our village has had NTL and then of course Virgin for a long time. But..... They only cabled up the houses on public highways - the house next to our plot which is the 1st house on a private road managed to get them to cable them up. Our plot which is the next one along, they won't entertain... On top of that it will be some time before we get Openreach full fibre in the village - why would they invest when Virgin have the place sewn up. So it's back to dial up speeds for us on the new build ? And 4G reception isn't bright, so that's not really an option. Simon

Maybe.... And don't worry it goes on and on and on.... Hopefully our TF will go up in the next few weeks - contract signed last year. But today, we heard that our groundworks contractor had been contacted by his lorry driver who is due to do the muckaway to a local farmer. The lorry firm is worried that they haven't the usual certificates about the soil.... This is from an open field that has had a few sheep and horses on it for the last 100 years or more.... to someone who is happy to take as much as we can send them.... The joys of self build! Simon