mike2016

Thanks - I think that drain I hooked a right angle into was just done that way to avoid obscuring the yellow markup of the fixtures above it. Surprised there are that many drain penetrations needed to be honest, was hoping some might hook up / converge internally but as that's likely to happen within / underneath the EPS of the raft anyway, probably not much difference in the end! Just need to consider air admittance valves and see where the upper stacks go and how to route that bottom right WC vs the structural wall.

I've been trying to get a plumber to help me with the pipe penetrations all week but need to make some progress on this before the end of the month for the structural engineer. So I'm throwing this out to the BuildHub community and humbling asking for assistance once again!! I need to know where I'll need to install waste/drains through the foundations (Kore Raft) I've overlaid the upstairs WC/Shower/Wash hand basins in yellow so drains can be joined up where it makes sense. I've added the provisional house sewer line around the outside in orange, draining to the left and up to the top of the image where the fall runs Main Bathroom - will all these need their own independent connections to the outside drain? So they head to the outside wall by the shortest path as I've shown? Can any be combined? Utility Room - drain required for washing machine/dryer/mvhr and ideally I'd like one in the center floor in case of appliance flooding / failure Kitchen Island - drain required for sink and possibly dish washer Above Utility is an ensuite - shower, sink and WC - do these require their own connections / can they join any others below them? Above and behind stairs is a WC/Sink only. The issue is there's Pozi joists in use going from top to bottom, but the red line is a structural wall and this will be solid. The SVP might need to be on the other side in the hallway for this to work? I'd appreciate any insights / help so at least I have a rough idea what can connect to what and what direction it should go. I'll ring around plumbers again next week but having some insight on the quantity & direction of foundation penetrations would be awesome! Thank you so much!

So I'm in the middle of the sales cycle for my Home. The first buyer pulled out but after a month I lined up another. The market is doing well enough despite % increases. So I had the estate agent around today to perform a valuation, the Surveyor comes around on Monday for 90 minutes to inspect the property and I'll be ringing the solicitor to get an update on where the contracts are at! I'll feel a lot better with them signed and a move out date to close the deal (hopefully!). In the meantime I've been looking at my timeline. The main constraint is I've to be up at wall plate level by the End of July. Working back that meant getting deposits (through borrowing) to the Timber Frame Company now to do drawings to get line loads so I can supply them to the structural engineer for the Kore raft foundation system. They want a soil bearing test which doubles their fee but another structural engineer I was hoping to use is booked out for several weeks and I can't wait. I sent a deposit to the first one and yesterday finally get a quote from the second and their lead times are actually ok! Too late as I've deposits down but a few K wasted perhaps but what can you do. Time is money and hopefully I can recoup later on. Can't get a plumber for love or money to agree exact drainage penetrations through the foundations which I need soon. Might have to resort to posting plans on here to the plumbing section to get some answers, thank goodness for buildhub! Talked to a heating engineer today and was going for underfloor heating and ASHP with an option for fan coils (cooling mainly) but now am switching to Air to Air in the open plan area and the 1 bedroom I'll use as an office. Then get a dedicated Hot Water heat pump - the built in ones like Ariston Nuos / Dimplex. That'll be 4 x 200mm holes in the wall when I include the MVHR. But at least I'm confident removing the underfloor heating pipe work is not going to bite me and this should halve my heating system costs from 20K to 10K which is a major plus. The issue is ensuring DEAP/SAP software doesn't rule this out and it seems it's very hard to find anyone who can install/service it. The distributor is a few minutes away but they may not have anyone qualified to service it! Oh, the joys!! I've cleaned up the site and it's almost ready for action, once contracts are signed I'll take down the old side fence and gate and pull up the roots / dispose of the remaining soil by renting a digger & skip. Job done! Main learnings: I am going to wake up at 4am throughout this process while I grapple with various decisions and problems but it's only for 18 months (hopefully!) Simplify things where you can - no underfloor heating loop pausing foundation pour and no integrated PV means the flow of trades is easier (doing standard PV instead) Research as much as you can but a lot of the stuff I've learnt has been by accident - I've had an hour session with my Architect (despite not using them for the build), a famous media personality for a general pep talk (Harrison Gardiner) and the heating engineer today. I've to check fire ratings for plasterboard on ceilings and exterior walls and probably take a read through ALL the building regs for good measure. Have some fun! I might work 2 out of 3 nights on this but I definitely need to take time off or I'll burn out too fast. There are breaks here and there for builders holidays, waiting on windows etc I can use to prep for the next stages. Anyway, the fun is hopefully just around the corner!

I think the internal diameter of the chamber gulley is smaller than the 110 pipe diameter that each junction then connects out to. Good idea about the cement. I think this run actually is meant to connect to the washing machine drain but no pipe was ever laid. Builder shortcuts so it's probably all draining into the ground or there's a slight chance its cutting over to the kitchen basin outlet but I'm doubting it. Thats about 5 meters of concrete to dig up to fix if I was of a mind to. Anyway, best seal it I think so concrete it is! Thanks.

I've an inspection chamber with two inputs, 1 of which isn't connected to anything but keeps tracking stones/rubble into the junction. I bought a few 110mm stoppers but these are too big to fit, I think it's a smaller size just under 4" in diameter. Is there an older standard around or what size should I be aiming for that would be common from around 25 years ago? Thanks!

Tell them you want a picture of a mannequin sitting in the bath holding a beer before you purchase!

Some GRP ones here: https://www.essentialbathing.co.uk/deep-soaking-baths/ I'm sure there are more affordable ones around. Also: https://www.omnitub.co.uk

You'll see EPS (U 0.37) used to package some heavy electronic items, it's very dense and doesn't dent easily, stands up well to compression. PIR (U 0.22) uses a foam with foil either side and is very brittle, dents easily and while it has a better U Value wouldn't be my choice to withstand 150mm of poured concrete! And as depth is just the cost of excavating and muckaway, digging a little deeper makes getting the required U value achievable. I've used PIR in my two metal shed floors but with plywood over it. They all have their use cases.

And I'm going 400mm Silver EPS - I guess the house will float if we ever flood....!! Chasing 0.07 floor U values....

I'd agree - if push comes to shove a strip foundation is fine. That's what my Architect specified as its cheaper and it still meets PHPP requirements with about 280mm of phonelic insulation in it. Although we can't get K107 in ROI any more from Kingspan last time I checked. Once it's down and performs you probably won't think about it again, focus on the things you can control and ensure you get a suitable floor U value using the foundation methods available to you. I'm going Raft as that option was open to me but Raft was my fallback....

Discussion here about temperatures and someone linked to aquatica which has a lovely range (pricey though!): My go to will hopefully be here: https://bartokdesign.com Also pricey but the real deal. There are cheaper fibre glass options out there you've probably found via google. I'll have a seat at my shower to wash myself before using so I can keep using the same water all week and a recirculation system to boost the temperature each day running off a flat plate heat exchanger from my air to water heat pump. Then I get to soak every day! In Japan they use the waste water at the end of the week for washing as their washing machines have a hose you put into the bath and uses the hot water to do the wash! Can't find that over here though!

I'd say insulated slab would be more, didn't get any clear quotes as headed for preferred method, that was just anecdotal talking to groundworks guy. Might close the gap after September when concrete levy kicks in....

I'm in Dublin and hoping to use BrazPlant for groundworks and foundations combined. They preferred to do strip but have also done Raft in the past so I steered them that way. Everyone is more comfortable with Strip from quotes, was hard to get anyone doing raft. Wish MBC still built in ROI! The soil bearing tests are costing as much as the structural details for the raft, but I've a May deadline so can't wait for cheaper options. Everyone seems to be very busy!

Are you using the Kore System? If so they will have a local Sales Rep and he'll have contacts for companies he could point you at and drop some names you can contact. You'll need a Structural Engineer to do the design and feed back to Kore, 4-10 weeks, 2 weeks to manufacture, give yourself plenty of time to line this up. You'll need line loads from TF supplier. If using Castleforms / other try same although I've never got through to them on the phone. I'm going with separate groundworks / foundation installer, Kore system and separate TF supplier.

Sure - I've used this in my shed before to power a wireless camera that's POE only when I didn't have a nearly DC supply - use-ip did them for my Hikvision camera - have a look at the range below and see if this is what you are after then look for same in other local places: https://www.use-ip.co.uk/level-one

New Build ASHP Outages: Once or Twice per year, I'll put a filter in as they flush a lot of sludge when they turn things on again. I'm urban so outages are rare enough and usually planned. We have had water treatment pump failures with the council but they have been rounded on for single points of failure etc so hopefully less common in future This is a new system design, just considering if I need rafters or not to hold a tank in the loft. I've never lived in a house without a gravity tank so not used to the idea, did live in an apartment once with a pumped system which was interesting & a bit noisy. Just curious with new builds what's the simplest solution and it sounds like a tank is old school or at least overkill. Thanks!

So, no tank, no accumulator. Unvented hot water system. no buffer?

The only issue I'm fixing is keeping an onsite buffer when they turn the water off for faults / maintenance. Don't like the idea of having no water reserve at all when that happens.

Just approving drawings for the timber frame and wanted to ask about where to put the water tank. They have squeezed one into a tiny attic (warm roof), the alternative is to have a vaulted ceiling in the upstairs bedrooms. Another alternative is a tank under the stairs with a submersible pump (noise). I've 3-4bar mains pressure but I was thinking of using an accumulator as a buffer in the plant room. So - stupid questions: Can unvented hot water systems use a gravity tank in the attic? Is using an accumulator as a cold water buffer a daft idea? Do I just go with the attic tank with a drip tray and keep things simple? Much appreciated! Only 2 showers and a bath in the property, the swimming pool was cancelled....!

Ouch! One of the reasons I'm getting an independent design for my new build in advance and that's what the installer will have to deliver. Try a heatgeek / their youtube channel for some videos and see if there is one in your area you could chat to? There's excellent knowledge here as always too. Just confused about the expected SCOP - if it's a 9kW heat pump and the heating load is 9kW - surely with a COP of 2 or 3 it should be able to ramp up more than enough heat to warm up the rooms? I wonder what size / model the Gas boiler was? Was any grant forthcoming, if so you should be entitled to the paperwork from someone and hopefully access to the figures used? What is the flow and return heat showing on the controller, does it have a big drop, what length of run is it / how many rads? Anyway, sorry to hear it's struggling and hope you get to the bottom of it soon

Considering this question for my own house - it's going to be a new build, quite small only 100m2 and I can get a Daiken with a 90l/120l hot water cylinder water heating option too. I think A2A works best in a retrofit though. Another primary benefit is direct cooling. I could live with the slight noise and draught, in an ideal world I'd get A2A for the bedrooms / office and A2W for the ground floor! Still heavily leaning on A2W for my house as it's a 3 bedroom with a bath and I'm not sure the smaller A2A tanks would work well on the hot water side and take too long to recharge. An A2W is better suited for my situation. The other con though is cost, the A2W is closer to 20K all in with the underfloor heating loop. An A2A would be much cheaper. Treated floor area 101.0 m² Heating demand 14.91 kWh/(m²a) Heating load 11.06 W/m² I could run refrigerant pipe, Electrical & Drains to all the proposed locations so it's easy to retrofit later but would I ever use it? https://www.daikin.ie/en_gb/product-group/air-to-air-heat-pumps/multiplus.html What do people think about using the heat pump manufacturers integrated cylinder vs getting a separate one? Any advantages / benefits there? Thanks!

Hi - just a quick question - until the new house is built & connected to the mains water, how do people get water for use on site by brick layers / renderers etc? IBRCs & fill, borrow a hose from a neighbour or other? Thanks!

I'm hoping to build this year and a rainwater harvesting tank is in the plans but I'm not fully convinced I'll go ahead with it. A proper tank and pump would need to be installed just as the groundworks gets started as the build will block access to the rear of the site after it commences so I have to decide really up front. I could plan to add one to the front garden at a later date but my house is two storey at the front vs single storey at the back so the best roof area is at the rear but it's still an option. I like the shallow tanks but if there's any flooding they could move about. A nice deep concrete tank is better in my opinion for housing water and in laws...... The pump is the weak link, they can be expensive, I'm not a fan of water tanks over my head but if you have pressurized pipes everywhere a leak anywhere is going to be bad no matter what you do! I was thinking of a hydraulic ram pump but that runs continuously so you'd need a gravity tank, overflow (which runs continuously) and a cutoff above that again to avoid flooding the house. The missus will love the constant sound of running water, if it can be made to go that high? Maybe the loft tank should be filled once per day via a timed switch on the pump with a cutout for low supply water? Just size the tank for x flushes and washes and have a low water alert for the gravity tank? minimize the cycles anyway. The tank itself - you can get all the gubbins off a dedicated seller. Someone a few years ago here suggested a concrete ring on a pad that you tank yourself and would cost a LOT less than a precast dedicated model. In a way you're diversifying your water source like you do with mains electricity & solar PV. Both are excellent methods to reduce dependency and you can always upgrade filters to go off grid down the road but that's a different topic. Rain here in Ireland rarely stops, there's only been the odd dry spell lasting 7-8 weeks so unlike PV in the Winter, it's more available all year around. Will water become scarcer due to supply issues / more demand / periods of drought in places like SE England, probably. I can always plumb my new house for rainwater by adding an additional manifold and running mains to it for now. This would feed all the W.C's and Washing machine. I would have a line run out to the garden I could tap into and align the drainage accordingly. Then it's just a mater of dropping a few shallow plastic tanks I can carry through the wide passage, dig a hole with a mini digger and plumb it in and add electrics for the pump, not a big job at all. I'd keep the options of mains into the rainwater manifold with a double check valve to ensure no back leakage into the mains water supply / manifolds then. Can flush it out then for holidays / get some chlorine through it to keep smells at bay.

There was a video about it on YouTube recently: https://youtu.be/zBUvPaY3YOA

My current house living room is sub 9oC tonight (below 0cC outside) but I rarely use it. I heat an hour in the morning, and another in the evening with possibly an occasional third hour somewhere in between on demand with a gas boiler. When working from home I use an oil-less radiator to top up heating in my bedroom/office. That often drains the 6kWh Battery which I fill each night in winter using off peak. The Data above is really inspiring as I'm hoping to build my passive house next year and having those comfort levels in a 24 hour period is my dream! I try to warm the person as much as possible rather than the room but I find that if my feet get cold at all I find I come down with a sudden headcold for the rest of the day. I can only dream of being in a house that isn't frigid for parts of the day anymore!! My house is 25 years old. Anyway, thanks for sharing!