SimonD

This is technically a retrofit so 1st floor is new build comprising a buildup of: Inside Interior timber cladding (to be fitted) Service void 11mm OSB - airtightness taped and no additional vcl 140mm stud wall filled with Thermafleece sheepswool insulation 50mm cross battens filled with Thermafleece (this layer is meant to be on the outside of the frame) Breather membrane Battens and ventilated cavity Cladding Outside Roof buildup similar but thicker insulation and thicker cross batten layer outside the joists. Plywood as ceiling finish Ground floor, mostly existing except for some new extension work: Inside Plasterboard/skim (quite a bit still to be fitted) Service void Gypsum plaster parge coat for airtightness Clay brick Cavity - varies 35-75mm Clay brick or sandstone (depending on which wall) 140mm Woodfibre EWI Lime based Baumit thin coat render Outside Ground floor suspended floor buildup: Inside Floating timber floor Cork underlay TG4 18mm OSB Joists filled with 150mm cellulose insulation Breather membrane Outside Interior volume is about 500m3 Occupancy is family of 4. Wife works mostly from home. I work a lot from home. Boys are around pre and post school minus evening sports clubs. 1 dog. No trickle vents anywhere. I've used acoustic vents through the walls so that I can have both cross ventilation through the house in two directions and have ventilation through each individual room when a window is opened. I have a centrally located staircase acting as a stack with two large tilt and turn windows giving ventilation out of the top of the house sited on the North face. We have large windows on 1st floor which are North and South Facing but use a designed large roof overhang which almost completely shades the windows from direct sunlight in summer. Solar gain right now is brilliant but need to work on something for late spring and autumn as had some heat issues during those periods last year but wanted to leave it a couple of years to see how it goes over time and work something out. I'm currently running with only one vent completely open in the kitchen area and had a peak of 907ppm CO2 in the TV area after everyone was watching TV for a while during the evening, now settled down to 780ppm as I write this. As the weather gets warmer I'll crack open a couple more vents. I've actually still got some to install on the ground floor.

But it isn't logic, it's based upon research and models used to design MVHR, especially in low energy houses like Passivhaus - see for example PHPP. Here is some research with plenty of references regarding variations in temperature if you want to read. As always the picture is more complex than much of the argument on this thread: Link: https://www.mdpi.com/2075-5309/3/1/61

I've just taken CO2 readings and currently in the space I've been doing admin most of the day it's hovering between 650-660ppm and downstairs it's about 430ppm. PM2.5 & 10 are at good levels and HCHO is at healthy level. Having just cooked some dinner and eaten, kitchen RH is 60% and downstairs is 55%. Even though I haven't used a lot of wets in the build, RH was much higher and is still gently on its way down, month by month. In terms of approach, it was mostly a research based with just a few numbers to crunch. I read a lot of material not just on ventilation but also on building fabric, finding some real world research showing the reduction in RH coming from moisture buffering materials that either simply temporarily store excess moisture and/or pass it through the whole fabric of the building (I'm avoiding the terms breathable and vapour permeable on purpose here due to common misconceptions). This fabric approach means that my ventilation requirement is significantly reduced (I can provide a link to recent research showing this in real world buildings if you want). I do wonder whether this is really important for well functioning natural ventilation. In terms of natural ventilation, I was dissappointed by a lack of recent good quality research on the subject specifically in domestic contexts so my starting point was The Handbook of Domestic Ventilation by Roger Edwards: https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/mono/10.4324/9780080454580/handbook-domestic-ventilation-rodger-edwards In weighing up the evidence, Edward's book comes out reasonably in favour of natural ventilation. After this I found some books from the middle to end of the 1800s dealing with principles of natural ventilation including some specific figures re flow rates etc. These weresome of the best things I'd read. Putting this all together including current recommended ventilation rates, I found some papers using computational fluid dynamics to model air flow through buildings and rooms (almost entirely non-domestic) and drew upon these together with my local climate to size and locate my vents and stack (stack is just for cooling). I also had to make sure they're sized in a way that keeps BC happy. I spent a few years designing motorcycle exhaust systems so although now rusty, I got a reasonably good feel for fluid dynamics basics which, once you've played with some numbers actually becomes quite intuitive instead of computational.

Yes,it is possible, but I'm wondering whether you're missing the point in terms of how this works. You build for airtightness in both scenarios and then in each of those you design for a defined number of air changes per hour to maintain a healthy environment. This means that even if you build a passivhaus that achieves maximal airtightness, you're going to have to change the air in the house with something from outside, even if some of it is preheated using heat recovery. Why not? It's actually about occupant health and the principles were certainly backed up by the architect I spoke to who indicated a review of modern build methods (because they don't work that well in the context) and instead using principles developed and then forgotten from over 100 years ago. It's absolutely relevant to our undertanding of indoor air quality as well as the maintenance of human health. The reason the research is going on there is down to budgets, hence why more work is being done in the commercial construction field - do you think our major house developers would have any interest in funding this kind of research for their builds? Of course not, it's easier to just chuck in a mechanical system, just like defaulting to a gas boiler and using the loopholes to continue doing so.

It depends on how you define control as it works very differently. Essentially you design a certain number of vents to provide a sufficient flow of fresh air, using the natural pressure differences between the inside and outside of the house - e.g. still air within the house has a higher pressure than air moving across the surface of the house, so pressure equalization ensures a flow of air. You can also use the similar approach as per passiv stack vents. The difference is that you have to consider the natural variation in, for example, humidity levels. For example, whilst an MVHR system might be able to clear a peak in humidity almost immediately, it takes time with natural ventilation, but over time, research has shown it to be just as effective. What you then do is design the size and location of your vents to that you are highly unlikely to experience high flow rates, or flow that is perceived by inhabitants to be a draft. Additionally, it's helpful to make these vents controllable so that each room can be managed for its own environment. This is probably one of the biggest advantages of natural ventilation versus whole house MVHR in that you can design in controlled ventilation zones. I have an upside down house that has an 18C downstairs and cooler which is better for sleeping, whereas the living area is 21C. It's almost impossible to zone in this way with MVHR due to the way the system distributes air throughout the house. Interestingly, some major research in Europe found that in housing developments where MVHR failed to provide the forecast benefits, it was because inhabitants preferred to open their windows at night for the fresh air while sleeping! More and more research is going into using natural ventilation in commercial buildings due to the benefits it can provide for energy efficiency, user comfort, control and air quality. This includes hospitals following Covid where they've found old Victorian natural ventilation strategies for hospitals could have reduced transmissions amongst other things - I had a long conversation about this with an architect who designs modern hospitals and how they're looking back to older ventilation strategies to understand how they can improve hospitals.

Exactly, I'm an outlier in that I designed a house for natural ventilation and have been called a heretic even by a number of people in the green building field because apparently I'm destroying the planet by wasting heat..... For me all it took was to look at the inherent fallabilities of MVHR technology together with reading a lot of research on the technology too. Then I designed the fabric of the house in such a way that it would naturally reduce internal RH by as much as 25% (most ventilation system work load is required to remove moisture) and design a natural ventilation system to work with the local microclimate and house. I have not a fan in the house and we have no problems with condensation, no drafts or anything like that. It's lovely and warm when it's cold outside, so much so it's maintaining its indoor temperature with only 1/3 of the designed number of radiators and for when it gets hot I have a ventilation stack. Unfortunately, Building Regs have recently made this more difficult as they're trying to force MVHR by default, probably because research findings show that the majority of newbuild houses do not comply with the basic natural ventilation requirements. If you now want natural ventilation you've got to demonstrate specialist design. The thing is that proper natural ventilation does require a different approach to the fabric and some thought at the design phase - given how we approach much of house building in the UK, I wonder whether right now it's simply a stretch too far?

The number of failed rivet like fixings I come across behing radiators is ridiculous. For ultimate strength where there's good room behind the plasterboard I use Geefix fittings - https://www.geefix.com/ Otherwise I use Toggler Snaptoggle fixings - https://toggler.co.uk/snaptoggle/ Snaptoggles are the easier and quicker to fit but the Geefix ones are super strong.

That should do the job, I've started to take a liking to some of Milwauki's 12v stuff. Otherwise Tacwise staplers tend to be a good balance between price and performance. I've got some blinding Tacwise kit I never expected to last as well as it has.

A cordless stapler can be had for less than £30 or perhaps a hammer tacker? Depends on what you're stapling and how much. My preference is to use air staplers as they'll do 1000s in a day with no sweat, but they obviously need a compressor.

It also applies to: Glad to see you've had some progress, with CH part load and maybe playing around with that will yield a resolution to also achieve set room temp.

Have you read this? https://vaillantcyclingproblem.blogspot.com/p/problem.html I don't know if it'll give you direct answers, but it appears to be a known problem with your boiler/controller combo

Not really, in my experience the planning process must have been the original inspiration for IT project management approaches, especially Prince, but then they gave up and decided on the make it up as you go along, which had to be called something that sounds like it's well intended...and along came Agile. I think you have the right experience.😉😁 Do you have the chance to attend a committee meeting in advance? Can be useful to determine the trouble makers and who seems to influence the rest of them. I had a funny experience with mine in that the most troublesome and cantankerous took me totally my surprise and loved our project - once she'd shouted out her like of it, the rest just fell into line like dominos except for the weaker ones who ducked under their desks and abstained. If it weren't so sad, it would be a comedy. This particularly councilor had only 5 minutes earlier stressed that the committee must respect and go by the Parish council's view, thereby denying a different application. In ours she didn't give a mickey about the Parish council's objection. Edit: Ah, I see that @Temp got in there with this as I was writing.

Nobody said you needed to put a load of holes in the wall, someone just needs to do the calcs. How do you know if the appliances are getting enough air? Usual calculation for what is called adventitious ventilation - e.g. leaky house - is assumed 7kW and equivalent to 35cm2 open area. The reason for the ventilation is in part to ensure you have enough air to breathe and the appliance has enough air to breath so that it combusts the gas properly - if it doesn't then things can get even more dangerous. As above, you clearly don't know this and are just guessing, nor do you know the answer to your original OP. 😉 A Gas Safe engineer would be able to do the calcs in less than 20 minutes - so a cost of probably less than £60 and then at least you're not left guessing any more.

TBH I wouldn't touch Tado with a Vaillant. It looks like you're pretty profficient with these electronics things and as far as I know, the VR65 has ebus so you can run different flow temps for ch/dhw and it allows for boiler modulation (it is very amusing that the old Ecotec 418 manual says don't use low voltage ebus connections in UK - I wonder why? - but the wiring is all there). From your graph it looks like it's installed using just relay (230V) or have you wired itall up on low voltage ebus control?

A Gas Safe engineer will have knowledge of the ventilation requirements of each appliance within specific locations which take into account the volume of the room and the heat input of each appliance. Some, like cookers also require an openable window in the same room.

I think it's almost impossible to picture how the space will be, even with 3d rendering. I would suggest that if you can (e.g you're having stud walls), you delay the decision until the space has actually been built then you can properly get a feel for it. However, something that jars with me looking at the drawing is the positioning of both the french doors and the accessible doorway - there's something very odd about the flow and balance of these together with the french doors. It makes me wonder who has designed the layout and their experience in design as it may affect the balance and function of the rooms as a whole. Just a thought..

I know, neither are google or Onedrive for me!

So, to break it down a little, I've totted up what a basic one man band tradesperson non vat registered might just spend on a monthly basis, with some assumptions. These are the kinds of costs involved which obviously aren't exhaustive - e.g. no tools/plant/equipment/premises costs as that can be a bit more complex - but representative. You'll see that the total below is just under 1.5 weeks work per month for the basics at £200 per day so essentially after these costs it's a mere 31k/pa, minus tax and NI and to cover any sick leave. The other important thing to consider is cash flow. For example, for February, my expenditure is 3x my revenue due to work on a large project where I supply all materials and which has only just been invoiced - there's a significant cost associated with this which is so often overlooked by newbie business people, especially if and when customers are slow to pay up - this is why so many young businesses fail in the 1st 18 months! In terms of estimating/quoting, I've recently spent several half to full days working things out because they're for large whole house heating system replacements that whether I like it or not require at least basic whole house heat loss calcs which I then caveat with a full calc included if they accept the quote. I'd say I spend at least 3-4 days per month just doing basic pricing work. And today, my afternoon was blown out because one customer wasn't there when I arrived for an appointment and then it took me 1.5hours just to get across town to pick up some bits for a job on Friday (To save time I mostly use a supplier that delivers directly to site either morning or afternoon provided I order before midnight or midday, but they didn't have the specific bits I needed) Some basic monthly costs: Accounting software 25 Customer Management app 25 professional insurance 35 professional registration 15 advertising 80 website 15 van 600 vehicle tax 12 fuel 300 accountant 50 equipment calibration 15 tyres 30 checkatrade 50 van insurance 40 bank transations costs 42 clothing 25 phone 35 IT 50 1444

I keep on getting similar stuff asking me to look my memories from 3,4,5,.... years ago. My recollection say different which is why I hate both google photos and MS Onedrive...

Consult the Blum catalogue and then choose the most ideal hinges for the look - e.g. overlay (the typical Ikea type), inset or dual overlay. The catalogue will also give you mounting options for achieving the overlay you're looking for - e.g where to drill the mounting plates from the edge of the door/carcass. Remember that if you have two doors opening back to back the Blum hinges typically have opening angles of 110 degrees so they'll fowl each other. Sometimes when working with this together with thicker carcasses/cupboard frames it can be better to use an overlay hinge - e.g. using a face frame cabinet design. Blum catalogue will also tell you how many hinges you need for your doors. Go to page 69: https://publications.blum.com/2022/catalogue/en/ TLDR; most of the standard hinges have 2-3mm adjustment but as @markc says, setup is important, especially the mounting plate spacing as this is what determines the overlay.

At those rates you're most likely to find a grumpy and bordering on broke tradesperson, depending on where you are in the country, of course. At that rate, take home pay after costs is going to be pretty lousy because to run a trade business successfully you can't just be on site to earn your money. The tax situation would depend on whether they're sole trader or Ltd company, and if they opted to be voluntarily registered for VAT. So many variables, it's difficult to provide a generalised figure. As @nod suggests the sensible ones do priced work as that can much better cover all the overheads without customers questioning the day rate (as many like to do).

This is my first attempt and I'm not a tradesman with plastering or similar products, just what I've learned through the self building experience. It's a tricky product to get to a high standard of finish, particularly a floor, so it depends on how much you're willing to practise and risk yourself. Many of the suppliers are selling with installation which is understandable as there's so much that can go wrong when you've got so many layers to complete to get it right. If it were for a large floor area, I would recommend getting someone in to do the work. At 240m2 it'll be both back and knee breaking!

It really depends on the pipe manufacturer. For example, Pipelife ( a huge manufacturer of plastic pipe) technical department say that any fittings and inserts can be used with their pipe as long as they carry the correct British Standard BS7291. Technically, all plastic pipe needs to comply with BS7291 as that gives the pipe dimensions which also ensures they're consistent with the copper pipe standards and dimensions - BS EN1057. Of course manufacturer's are going to say you've got to stick with their fittings and pipe for compatibility, probably with warranty exclusions, but the truth of it is a bit more flexible given the standards.

I have a couple of silverline's surveyor's tapes and I swear they stretch when pulling the tape straight.

F75 typically relates to the water pressure sensor but can sometimes also be caused by a faulty pump. To get rid of the error, you usually have to re-pressurise above the normal 1-1.5bar to get it working again. It's common to see people having to re-pressurise so much it ends up out the prv when the system gets hot. It won't blow up. However, if your boiler is just 14months old, it's not your plumber you need to call but Glow-worm as they'll sort it under warranty - your plumber shouldn't really touch it.