Matt60

Hi, This is giving me a real headache, the kitchen was easy, sent the MAG design to DIY kitchens - done. The bathrooms are proving more difficult... The "design" service I have received from MKM builders merchant has been laughable and the one from Graham Plumbers Merchant is non-existent. I've come up with my own basic layout designs and just need a recommendation of a good place to buy all the brand name components. My plumber has recommended Plumb Centre (Wollesley) but they do not have much choice. The same plumber also warned me about online companies as he's experienced a lot of damaged items and delays - makes sense. I'd like Ideal Standard AquaBlade toilets, ceramic sinks and Mira Flight shower trays. I'd also like a decent choice of vanity units for the sink and loo's to back on to. Lots seem a gloss finish, who wants gloss finish in their bathroom, I'm guessing not those with children and who work full-time... Any recommendations would be gratefully received. Thanks, Matt.

Thanks for the replies, I had to make a decision on this quite quickly as the window firm need to know for the reveal thickness etc. I've gone with the Cedral Click Classic in black. Fortunately, I've used my carpenter for years and he is very careful and fussy - I will give him the heads-up re the scratches. Thanks again, Matt.

Thanks gents, has anyone used Clado product that is made from recycled wood/plastic? It looks really good.

I have been told that as ASHP's are far more popular (because most people don't have the space for GSHP's) than GSHP's, that all the advances in technology and development will and are going in to ASHP. Also, because of that popularity, getting an engineer to service and repair a ASHP is much easier too. I don't know if that is true but it is logical and I think probably quite likely. For reference, I am getting a Mitsubishi ASHP and Cylinder and every inch of plumbing in the entire house including the UFH, all with quality connections and control system by a very well respected firm for £28k. Now que all the people who say I could do it myself for £2k with a big hammer and an adjustable spanner... ?

Hi, I will order my cladding soon and the two names being mentioned are Cembrit and Cedral. There is conflicting information, I have been told that Cedral does not require repainting and that Cembrit does but have found some site that say Cembrit doesn't need painting. Cedral is 2mm thicker but both boards look to be pretty much the same to me. My question is, has anyone got experience of these products and what are your thoughts on either or both? Thanks in advance. Matt.

They should just require you planning permission number and what authority it relates to.

This is what I have found, plumber, windows and roof all 0% rated but everything that has come from a builders merchant has VAT added including Velux's which are just supply rather than the normal windows that are supply and fit. I do find it's worth asking the supplier on things that you're not sure on. For instance, muck-away is not VAT reclaimable (the HMRC guidance specifically mentions this) but my muck-away firm were happy to do it which saved me £500. I appreciate the firm may get caught but I can live with this having paid him £2k to take away good top soil only for him to sell it to someone else...where there's muck, there's money as they say... What I have done to help with the VAT claim is to make an excel spreadsheet that is the same format as the HMRC form and then add each invoice to it as they come in. I also print the invoices out and them put them in the same chronological order. It means come claim time I can more or less just put my name and address on the claim form, print the spread sheet and post with the receipts (having made copies of everything just in case) via Special Delivery. It should be a 20 minute job once the house is completed.

Thanks for the replies to this, I thought I had already replied but obviously not. Incidentally, in the true fashion of building, my bricklayer wanted all this decided and the materials to execute by the 10th of August but today on the 4th of September he hasn't started that bit yet... Thanks again, Matt.

I have bought a Parkray Aspect 7 LPG gas stove from my friend who deals really only in wood burners and as such is unable to advise me on chimney and flue specifications. He bought the stove at a show on a whim because he was so impressed with it. I have called my Gas Safe registered plumber and he has advised me to contact the manufacturer but I cannot afford to wait for potentially no reply or no info. Simply, I need to know how big to make the internal chimney diameter (my chimney breast is being built right now) to suit this stove and what type of liner it needs to have. I really need this information as soon as possible as my bricklayer has already started the chimney breast, wants to continue, but can’t until I supply him the info requested above. I see that the Aspect 7 has a 127mm diameter flue (or 5”) so should I make the clay liner 6”? or 8”? I would be really grateful for any help you can give me so I can set my bricklayer building it again, I have attached the brochure and installation instructions for the fire. Thanks in advance for any wisdom on this. As a side note; I chose this over a wood burner because I can't be arsed to source wood, load the thing or clean it out. I know this is not quite as nice as a wood burner but the convenience for me far outweighs any negatives. It also makes it easy to have a gas hob and therefore I will save some money there verses an induction hob. FINAL_Hunter_Gas_Brochure_2019.pdf HUNTER_STOVES_6KW_GAS_INSTRUCTIONS_JIN06KWGAS_REV_E_05072019.pdf

Thanks for all the replies on this, that is much clearer and actually more straight forward than I was expecting. There's some good advice here that I have already acted upon such as asking for the quotation to acknowledge that I am zero rated. Thanks again.

I've had a look through other VAT threads, and the VAT reclaim form, but cannot really make myself certain with regards to the answer to my question; If I have a quote from a plumber and or an electrician to do a full install on my new build and their quotes are + VAT. Presumably, I need a breakdown so I can claim VAT back on the materials element and tell them I should not charge me VAT on the labour element. Is that correct? That appears to be what the form says although it does not give this combined service/labour type example. One of the quotes I've received mentions prices being + VAT unless there is a a valid VAT exemption certificate in place. I'm assuming that is something different to simply being a self-builder? Many thanks, Matt.

Thanks, was that will all the other plumbing in the house, rads, towel rails, underfloor heating + user interface etc? Thanks again, sounds like you can make a fair comparison.

Hello, Attached is the latest quote I have had for a full plumbing, heating & hot water quote for my new build which is a 250m2 detached house with underfloor heating to the whole ground floor, including the double garage. This firm come very highly recommended by a friend of mine who is a director of a very large building firm. The attached quote is for everything, supply and install all pipe work, underfloor heating, rads upstairs, towel rails, ASHP, HW tank, user interface, manifold, thermostats - basically everything. The quote is £4.5k cheaper than the last one and uses better components but (as you will notice) it's still a decent wedge and so I'm interested to hear from people who know if this is a fair price. I am aware that if I split it down I could reduce the cost, but I like the idea and convenience (and come back) of one firm being responsible for the lot and I'm happy to pay for that provided the price is fair. This like the last quote, this one didn't specify a buffer tank which I see are frequently recommended on here, should I ask them to price for one? I will ask for a Magnaclean and an extra tap outside to the front but that's obviously neither here nor there really. JFYI - My intention is to mate this to a PV system which has batteries but that diverts to the emersion prior to charging them. This part of the build has given me the biggest headache from the start, I'm just trying to get a great system that's fairly priced. I hope this is it, I notice from a quick Google that to buy the ASHP and cylinder alone with nothing else & no controls etc is £10k. So really, I guess the question is, is all the other stuff they are supplying and fitting worth another £17k? Thanks in advance, Matt. Plumbing & Heating Quote.pdf

Hmm, condensation, I read that as long as it isn't below 12 degrees it won't happen but I think that might have been regarding the hard floors. The radiators will almost certainly condensate, I might just look to plan for a future separate air-conditioning unit or two.

Thanks, by coincidence I ordered all my thermally broken lintels today. ?

Brilliant, thank you for your replies - very much appreciated.

I'm try to plan several headaches ahead and headache number 5-ish is my roof. I was i'll advised about the costs of a zinc roof which I picked (and still like) and which is now part of the detailed planning and discharged materials. My plot is next to 2 others all with the same condition and the planners will only let us change if all 3 do and that is not going to happen. I don't really mind tbh as I do prefer it. What I need to work out is whether to go for a warm or cold roof, I'm told that there isn't much difference in the U value but that the cold roof will be several thousand less as it requires much less materials. The house is storey and a half and so at 1800mm from the upstairs floor, the roof starts to make it's makes it's presence felt, if that makes sense? I'd like to know the pro and cons of both roof systems, and if one has better sound deadening qualities than the other, and if the cost difference between cold and warm is correct. I've attached a cross-section of just one part of the house to make clearer how the roof interacts with the walls.Roof section example.pdf Thanks in advance for your help.

I'm new to self-build myself but a fair bit further on from you. My own experience re the architect has been very positive and I can only imagine the mess I would be in now without him to be honest. I'm sure going it alone for some is the right thing to do, but I certainly do not have the confidence to do that. Our architect has been brilliant to deal with in all regards and comes in at a total of £3500. I'm more than happy with that and guess like many thinks it's different strokes for different folks. As far as build costs, you could ask 10 people and get 10 different answers in my opinion. It depends on the complexity and design of your build, whether you're simply going to pay a builder to do it for you or project manage and become the main contractor yourself. Plus, material costs are increasing massively at the moment but there is talk that might start to correct by the end of the year. Whatever, sounds like you're past the point of no return, try to keep your design simple and try not to spend more than you need to while targeting a quality of build that you will be happy with - that's what I'm doing. The Builders Bible has some good advice re construction costs and how design can affect them.

Thanks for the replies, certainly from what I'm able to ascertain, I think you're right. I've had some stainless ones priced and the difference is now £2000 less, that's a huge difference. I'll put that £2k towards my heating and PV system I think. Thanks again, Matt.

@PeterW & @Dudda It will mainly be K-Render, 100mm 3.6n Outer block, 150mm full fill Dritherm32 and then 3.6n aircrete type inner block, slurry coated with dot and full width dabs, socket cavities sealed etc. Very similar to what you have posted Dudda. The ties I was looking at are the Ancon BF2 that show a 0.7 W/m2K rating but I don't really know 0.14 difference is worth having. I'm guessing that as that is a Watts per meter squared (and the total area of these ties must be significantly less that that) that it would be a total waste of £1900 extra? Is that right? Ties for Brick-to-Block Construction | Ancon Thanks for your replies.

Hi, I have calculated that I will need roughly 1500 wall ties and have been looking at composite ones to avoid thermal bridging. The cost difference is £2430 verses £555 for stainless steel versions. That price seems crazy to me but the house is a keeper and I'm trying to do the fabric of the build to a good spec. I'm building a 150mm cavity with full fill Dritherm 32 insulation, good air-tightness and a MVHR. 1500 pieces of steel that span from inner or outer cavity sounds a lot but then, the total surface area is not that big. Does anyone know if these are worth pursuing for near 5 times the cost of steel, near £1900 extra? Thanks in advance.

@ Joth - Excellent, thank you. ?

Hello, I am looking at an Ecodan unit and hope to be able to use the cooling function. Obviously, doing so is not RHI compliant and installers have their reservations and so this is probably best done by myself after install. I've taken a look at; PAC-IF041B-E_IM1.pdf (mitsubishitech.co.uk) but I can't see how you access the dip switch to change it over to cooling. I also can't see if you can leave it in cooling mode during the summer but still have it heat the hot water. That is not necessarily an issue because I plan on having PV system that will auto divert to emersion heaters when all the produced power is not being used anyway. Can anyone tell me how to access the dip-switches and if it can still heat the DHW when in cooling mode? Thanks in advance.

That's excellent - thanks for all your replies, much appreciated.

I am having a highly recommended local firm provide a quote for the full plumbing system including ASHP. Their preferred unit is a Mitsubishi Ecodan system as they say they are very reliable and the after service is miles better than Daikin etc. When I asked for the quote, I told them that I wanted a system that I can run backwards in the summer from the PV in order to cool the house via slab cooling. This firm have spoken to Mitsubishi about it who where not keen on the idea at all and essentially said it couldn't. This is the 4th firm I have spoken to about a system and none of them have ever heard about running a ASHP backwards let alone have done it. My question is simply; Has anyone got any experience of running an Ecodan backwards or another ASHP, either way, could you provide details of make and model and how you did it? Thanks in advance.