MikeGrahamT21

it did cost a small fortune, around £300, and annoyingly I’d forgot about the Zhender modular solution which comes in at same price initially but filter changes are cheaper, so will have to take a hit at some point, the curse of having a bad memory! Lol so many houses round here have stoves, or coal can’t blame any one person really. only having a small bungalow means my flow rates are small anyway, so I wouldn’t say the change of filter has made much impact, though I have yet to test and balance the system, so don’t know true airflow rates. I raised the supply by 2% just in case which also helped to recover more heat from the exhaust, but overall seems same as before filter box, still get the fresh air smell ? at some point I’ll add everything to my blog, but haven’t been too well lately so have just done stuff and not taken any photos

To add my further experience, I started getting smoke ingress, so invested in a Blauberg CleanBox which has reduced it by a good 90%, still can be a faint smell if the smell is full on pungent outside, it has G4 > F8 > Carbon

Yeah thats the ones, you get a kit like this with each toilet to properly fix it: https://www.toolstation.com/rawlplug-wc-or-bidet-side-fixing-kit/p71320 Just don't sit down on it in a hurry if you catch my drift, as the only thing holding it where it is, is the silicone bead to the furniture!

I'm with @Moonshine, had a similar problem myself a long time ago, and only identified as toilet as used to put those Bloo blocks in so the stain was blue. In my case the cistern's weight had caused it to sag a little and pull the supply pipe out of the back of the toilet, blob of expanding foam behind it soon sorted it out! Also as a side note, your toilet pan is missing the screw fixings to hold it to the floor on that photo.

This may sound a bit extreme, but hear me out. Do you actually use your chimney? Or have any intentions of using it? If not, why not remove it completely and tile over the hole. If you are using/planning on using it, then definitely get it all pointed up, and consider changing the cowls.

Taken from the Paul website: MVHR Systems provide controlled ventilation with slow but constant air movements. In contrast, natural ventilation through background ventilators (trickle vents) is a form of uncontrolled ventilation, which fluctuates with wind speeds, temperatures, internal obstructions, such as the opening or closure of internal doors, trickle vents, blinds and curtains. Therefore, it is recommended to install such systems only in properties with relatively good air tightness. We recommend an airtightness of at least 5 m3/(m2*h) at the pressure test (q50), ideally below 3 m3/(m2*h). Air tightness targets should always be set for new built and refurbishment properties. E.g. in a refurbishment project where windows are exchanged and other measures to increase the insulation and air tightness are being undertaken, MVHR system can definitely be a beneficial addition in the aim to increase the energy efficiency and avoid black mould infestation and the proliferation of house dust mites.

Without other photos i'm not sure what to suggest as a next step. If the chimney needed pointing you would hope the roofer would have suggested it? Oddly enough I have a very similar leak down the side of the chimney stack at the moment, just waiting for the weather to warm up a bit before I venture up onto the roof to have a look, lead flashing is the cause of my leak. How about the chimney pots, are they open at the top or do they have a cover on them? There is also the chimney cap cement to think about too. Does the damp ever clear up? Even a little when its not rained for a while?

A good selection here: https://www.sterlingbuild.co.uk/category/sun-tunnels

?‍♂️why did i not think of that ?

Thanks for the heads up. Yes, plan on using some kind of conduit for the few cables which will come up to the TV, 32mm flexi sounds ideal. How do you deal with airtight membrane onto the MF? or should I make airtight before the MF system goes on, thats probably easier to achieve.

I think for the MF System i'll need the following: 50FEC50 - Floor and Ceiling 48S50 - C Stud for the verticals 99FC50 - Fixing Channel, could be used instead of plywood for mounting TV on? Does anyone know what centres these run at? 400 or 600?

Will have a look into the MF system and see what components i may require. Had a quick search for the MLV, seems fairly expensive, but perhaps worth it if it adds a lot. Would this be stuck to the existing surface, and then topped with acoustic rockwool?

Starting to make plans to gut the living room this year, and one thing which is on the must list is to add acoustic insulation to the party wall which leads onto next door. Luckily at the moment my neighbour is pretty much stone deaf, but if its quiet in my room, i can almost clearly hear his TV and telephone conversations, so keen to do something in case the next resident have better hearing. I have a home cinema, which I have measured on my iphone using the A filter, and seem to peak at around 61dB at a volume which I would normally listen at, watching something i would normally watch. Have 7 small speakers and 2 100W subwoofers which are set at 1/4 volume (previously had just the one sub which was at 1/2 volume). Currently wall situation is 100mm block either side, with a 70ish mm cavity, which has been retrofit filled with party wall insulation pumped in (Knauf product). On my side there is then solid plaster on one alcove, plasterboard mounted on timber battens on the other alcove (false wall for cabling to go down), and then dot and dab plasterboard on the chimney breast, which is a solid square that runs between the 2 properties with no cavity. We each have a fireplace which is set into each others living rooms seperated possibly by just a single brick, mine is currently blocked up. The plan is... Open up the fireplace on my side, board out with 15mm acoustic PB, this will house my AV receiver and other boxes Drill a matrix pattern into the dot and dab on the chimney breast and fill with FM330 Remove the false wall PB, timber, and stick the PB direct to the wall with drywall adhesive (full bed) Install 2x2 timber battens to the entire party wall, 600mm ctrs, and fill with Rockwool Acoustic slabs Airtight membrane taped to ceiling, and floor membrane 15mm Acoustic PB Skim Hoping this will fix any potential future issues. Thinking to keep the existing plaster/PB in place firstly to save having to throw it away, but also to keep it as additional acoustic mass, good idea? Losing 70mm of space isn't an issue, and filling all the existing empty cavities should help to reduce sound bouncing around and potentially amplifying before travelling to next door. Anything anyone would do differently? I had thought about using the metal framing system with the runner tracks screwed to the ceiling and floor so that there is no contact to the wall, and if you think this will be a better option i'll look into it, but it will need to hold a TV (which at the moment is an old LCD, approx 25kg). Thanks for any additional ideas.

Thats probably a bit top heavy but depends on product. Take a look here: https://www.jewson.co.uk/medias/00505-99-Price-increase-Poster-A5.pdf?context=bWFzdGVyfHJvb3R8NDIyMzV8YXBwbGljYXRpb24vcGRmfGhhMC9oOGMvODk0MDEzNzMxNjM4Mi8wMDUwNS05OSBQcmljZSBpbmNyZWFzZSBQb3N0ZXIgQTUucGRmfGIwOWVkM2ZhMWQ3NmMwNDMwYTZjMzJjNjcwMDhiZTIxOTY0OTliN2E1NDFjNDRhNTVjNzdjYjU0N2NhMmIzNzA https://www.jewson.co.uk/supplier-updates

If you have somewhere secure to store them, you will be better off buying the materials now for sure, but the price rises are a yearly occurence, not a new thing, and its never been a huge rise. How much you will save, only time will tell. If storage is an issue, and they risk being weather damaged, stolen or something, then its probably not worth the risk IMO

I can't see manufacturers of MVHR units being bothered about vent locations to be honest, happy to be proved wrong though. Certainly nothing relating to vent location in my manuals, not even a suggestion of anything to do with the ducting at all.

House prices up 8.5% on average in the last year, so your valuation is probably near on 20% lower than it was

Cross ventilation is just good design to move the most amount of air in each room, its nothing to do with the MVHR unit itself, that just needs to be sized correctly for the volume of air in the house. Take a look here: https://www.eco-home-essentials.co.uk/whole-house-ventilation.html

You looking at the Hybris product? I've never come across anything like it before, seems to rely on low-e air gap on both sides to perform its best, which could be difficult to achieve.

it certainly sounds it. I suppose you could always go back to brick, but that is a huge messy job!

I don't know much about distemper, that article i linked sounds like its certainly best removing it before doing anything else otherwise you'll be fighting it forever.

Recommendation is to remove the distemper coating: https://propertyworkshop.com/paints/distemper-paint/

the cove adhesive is a bit poor until it sets. As long as it doesn't move when its had time to dry i'm sure it'll be OK, just caulk the crack before decorating. I find using drywall adhesive is much better than these cove adhesives

What did you stick it up with?

New build house, leave well alone and log with the builder, if you start messing they will use it as their get out, this needs properly sorting and it will likely be a big job. Luckily the weather is going to warm up a lot from tomorrow so shouldn’t be as unbearable while you wait. also consider enlisting a snagging firm (snag sure is one which comes to mind) to do a full survey of your building. They can help getting the house builders to resolve issues. If you absolutely can’t cope any longer, get some really thick curtains and try and hang them around that window