mike2016

I'm ordering a Japanese Ofuro bath and plan to heat it with a 2kW electric in line heater for about 2.2 hours per day (21oC->39oC) but keep the water all week. Their approach is to shower first and then bathe and the whole family can enjoy the bath at different times. They then use the warm water for washing clothes at the end of the week. I like the idea of a daily soak and while I could integrate with the hot water heat pump I'm not sure I'll do that up front until I'm sold on daily soakages which is an aspirational project only at this stage for me! Anyway, you only drain your hot tank once and after that top up the heat. With some insulation and a cover it reduces the heat loss and saves starting from scratch each time. Some hot tubs even come with heat pumps, a nice outdoor investment if you have a view to enjoy? For the rest of the loads, winter is the real issue. You could do Vehicle to load via an EV to your house but you have to charge the car somewhere and fast charging is a lot more expensive than off peak which you wouldn't have use of without nice neighbours! It's about transferring energy in it's easiest, cheapest form to maintain the lifestyle you want. Any rivers nearby you could stick some hydro on?! Maybe a community SMR scheme down the road?! Or move to Iceland near a fissure?

I've two last major areas to details for air tightness and insulation - this post relates to one of these - a single rear Oriel Window, an architectural feature that juts out from the rear of the building and is finished externally with a metal standing seam. The plan agreed was to create a 20mm lip of metal for the window to sit against. I was right about to commence work when I noticed dampness and beads of moisture and sure enough despite the window being surrounded by a later of insulation, because I didn't think through this detail on the inside, the 2mm metal is bringing in the cold outside and condensing - even though the inside is only 5-7 degrees or so! It's happening all 360 degrees around the window and dripping down to the bottom of the frame too. Obvious in retrospect why this is the case now and lucky I'm aware now due to the time of year so I can address it. I have other metal in the form of an I beam supporting the side of the porch cantilevered outside (80% inside, 20% outside) but this is dealt with by the timber frame company using a thermal farrat - the beam is in two parts and bolted together through the farrat reducing cold bridging immensely. I'm keeping a close eye on this internally during this cold spell to satisfy myself. Anyway, if anyone is to blame for the detailing it's me, it just happened and I had considered angle grinding off the lip to get a better seal as the 2mm metal meanders a bit making it hard to pin against the window frame with rigid insulation or squeeze sealant / spray foam either side of the metal continuously. The window company didn't recommend the angle grinder as the lip provides a water barrier if the external sealant fails. The company I buy my gutex and air tightness products from were confident that covering the metal lip with insulation and using tape would prevent air circulation and address the issue. So, onto the fix: I'm working with Gutex for some areas of the build, a wood fibre board. Messy when cutting (accumulates inside my circular saw) but easy to work with. Not cheap but I'm trying to stick with breathable, natural products and gain experience in their use. I've used Multitherm which is a T&G product around the windows, this time I wanted to use Thermoroom which is a non flexible flat product (no T&G) that I could stack up around this opening. I plan to finish off with a fire rated (A/B) oak veneer rather than plasterboard so needed batons to attach to (main use for this ply is around the internal picture window separating the kitchen from the bedrooms, hence the fire rating but it will match nicely if use in this other area too. I'm going for an air tightness test soon so my current finish is intello plus only so I can inspect and pinpoint leaks. I packed out the Moy Metac flexible insulation and then cut a few Thermoroom boards to size. The board is a lot smaller than the Multitherm so I cut them in half minus 20mm to get the width I wanted and they stack at 50cm heights on top of each other. Battons to secure although I'm finding it hard to get 150mm screws through the baton at times and then through the gutex to bite into the wood frame beneath. When I could get my weight behind it it helped but overhead was a nightmare. Ended up drilling 5mm holes as the top 50mm of the screw was unthreaded and I just wanted it to bite the wood 120mm away and clamp the baton, this worked fine but I've 180mm structural screws to use under the vaulted ceiling later! Drill was set to 15 but still rapped out a lot of time, any suggestions?! SDS with a clutch?! Needed to get a lot of speed up and push force to work. Once the batons were on I filled out the spaces with 50mm rockwool and stapled on the intello plus and tescon vana joined them. The lighter blue tape is tescon profil which has a separated backing allowing you to seal onto the intello first and hinge the tape 90 degrees before removing the 2nd backing to seal to the window. So all 4 sides are now done. I've 11mm OSB on the floor of the opening rather than batons, this sits on 60mm multitherm on top of 25mm bosig phonotherm, a structural insulation board I had spare offcuts for. As this will be sat/stood on a lot I wanted something more secure to sit the plywood on. Now, it's just a case of monitoring and checking if any evidence of condensation still occurs, maybe peeling back the tape in one or two areas and quickly checking but I'm happy for now! Lots more to do. I've to figure out the 6 x Velux openings next and box out about 400mm of splayed / insulated / air tight spaces and close off the last part of the roof. More tower work for me so!!

Build / buy a corsi-resenthal box for the room you spend the most time in especially with anyone else. Vitamin D3 to boost your own immune system especially in the winter Your main risk is outside your house - shopping / pharmacy etc that have poor ventilation. Get in early when it's quiet and has had less people circulating if you can. Mask up with FFP2 or better especially if you hear anyone coughing although it's not a given, some are silently ill. Listen to people smarter than me!

I'd prefer a small gap and fill this with a suitable caulk resistant to moisture/mould and that allows a bit of movement but can be stripped back if required and reapplied, otherwise replacement windows would be a messier job down the road. I'm curious myself if this gap is needed or not.

I've been out with my back for a bit but now taking Pilates classes and everything feels fine so far. Been crawling around the new attic and installing the Intello membrane and taping for air tightness lying down and in difficult positions without issue. Phew!! I've put a call into the Plumber for first fix and will see when they are next available in 2025. Once they are available I'll book the Electrician. Updates are as follows: Interior stud work for outside walls nearly completed except for open plan area. This is provide additional space for more insulation and a service cavity. 95% of Moy Metac insulation fitted, hope to complete today except for specialized areas (Velux and Oriel Window) 95% of air tightness taping completed except for door thresholds and and Velux/Oriel areas. I've used up my extra rolls of Tescon Vana tape and did a quick run to pick up more from ecological before they shut for Xmas. Needed 2 more rolls, so got 3 !! Very few places stock it and usually I get it delivered but I plan on working on the house over Xmas and needed to have it on hand or I'd have to wait until 2025 to get more! There are some trickier areas to get airtight where studs protrude / the roof intersects, I'm just taping the hell out of it! And using other sealing products to help. The place is a lot quieter with the insulation in place and even though its 3oC outside, the attic work was comfortable as the heat from my efforts is being retained up there! Helps a lot but when I take a break and sit downstairs it gets cold fast and I can see my breath!! Thinking about the outside drainage and have a shopping list as not heard back from groundworker so if I have to do this solo wanted to figure out what I'd need. Tempted to buy now but need to stop distracting myself and work out exact quantities of internal products needed to finish insulation, plasterboarding and to fit out bathrooms I'm the proud owner of three toilets, a wall hung cabinet with sink, tap and led mirror. First time buying any of those! The plan is to get a working bathroom up by Spring so I can ditch the Tufloo outside! I can flush by bucket! So, what a 2024! Slower than I expected but I'm nearly ready for 1st fix and when the trades get onsite they won't hang around. I found an excellent bathroom outfit who can provide a tiler and everything I'm looking for and are local. I plan to let them tackle the main bathroom and all the tiling but may do some of the ensuites myself if I feel up to it! I've used 53 rolls of Moy Metac so far and am the owner of a wide array of power tools. Am proficient in working without main electricity and just off battery power only most evenings (No temp supplies allowed where I am). All the evening work has added up nicely! Best wishes to all planning or executing their projects and hope all goes well for you in 2025!

How old is the unit - was the warranty uplifted (2 years to 6 if you register within 6 months I believe)? If a full power off (disconnect from power) doesn't resolve it then it does sound like a PCB issue. Any power surges recently?

Thanks - am currently looking at separate DHW and A2A solutions from the same company for the new house.

I'm deciding how to finish two areas of my house and wondered if I can use a hardware faced plywood in both cases. Should I add plasterboard into the mix to provide some fire resistance? Or do I layer up with OSB/Plasterboard/Plyood? The Hardwood faced ply may be enough (18mm) and I like the look of wood for the finish of these features when the rest of this space is plasterboarded and painted. Both are in the same space - open plan living/kitchen area. I plan Bamboo Floors throughout. Oriel Window - Hardware Faced Ply around the inside of the window opening and then a cushion or two to sit when using this space, 1/2 dimmable led lights above for reading Window overlooking living area - Hardware Faced ply around the outside with iron on strips to cover edges and match hardwood. Inside OSB with plasterboard on top, painted, no extra lighting, just landing light. Soft bench to sit on / recline. I plan to install windows on the face and on the left side - no frames, I'll make beading to hold these myself and secure the glass inside them. The other openings will be closed off. So do I line everything with plasterboard (fireline or equivilent) and then finish or forgo the extra effort? Thanks!

Are you planning on dismantling one or just adding the heat output to warm your house? I've used one for 4 years. It does keep the Utility room nice and warm while running but you have to leave the door open as the humidity it puts out is too much for a small room to handle and like any heat pump you need a larger volume of air to draw from. Unless you are super passive it's only going to have a short term localized effect though. It does run in cycles of 2-3 hours so time it right and it could help, you just have to balance the noise with leaving the space open to the rest of the house. It can certainly help but not as much as a dedicated heating system.

Is it a single inverter with two strings? Inverters need a minimum voltage to generate power. Are they the same make and model of PV Panels? It feels like the West facing didn't hit the required voltage to generate much. If you can see the raw voltage data for each string it would tell you when they each start producing electricity. At what time of the year does this get really noticeable?

it will cost a lot more to retrofit an A2A / A2W system that you would save on the mortgage switching to a greener rate. Unless you are selling and there is a significant gain to having an A rated home, I'd say continue as you are. See what a heat pump cylinder would cost to install as though that takes longer to heat up the water it is much more efficient (heat pump is built into the top of the cylinder and needs two vents to outside). That might improve the SAP enough but will save you more money on hot water heating, best return?

I've always just used a normal bulb but switched to one that has a flame effect last time I changed it.

The slab is over 8 months old at this point and no wet trades due for some time. It's just a bit cold working there but I can wrap up more. Was curious what heating options would work best but humidity isn't a concern just yet. Maybe I do need to air the place a bit more though despite the cold if 80% is a bit too high?

No Chimney! That's another good option though. I think the condenser humidifiers have issues < 10oC.

Thanks All. I used to have an old oil free radiator, will have a look to see if it's still in storage, good idea. Didn't think about humidity - it's up around 80% currently......looks like dessicant models work best at the temps I'm at but are pricey @ €200+. Only have a 2kW battery on site when I'm not there, no temporary mains as yet.