MikeGrahamT21

Wow, yeah just a slight gap! lol Had a look other day with the Thermal Image camera, and could see a point on the bottom bar around half way where the temperature differed on each side, so I'm guessing there must be a flow restrictor in there. The big ones of these are 8 bars wide, the first 4 bars were slightly hotter than the second 4 bars, which married up with the point where it seems there is a flow restrictor, so it seems in my case this may not be the issue, and the whole of the rad generally showed quite evenly hot. If they ever come off for any reason, i'll be sure to check this, very useful thank you

Its certainly been cold this past month, especially for the amount of water involved in plastering. I feel any mould and the smell has come through rather quickly, even given that scenario. Are there are plug sockets/switches on this stretch of wall that you could maybe remove, and have a chance of some additional investigation, whether that be with a camera or just your sniffing gear? https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1019707/iwi-guidance.pdf This may help answer some questions, one example which may be appropriate: You may have inadvertently left a small air gap between your insulation and the old plasterboard, giving a space for condensation to collect. Was the original wall completely flat? I've been through a few guides for retrofitting and none specify that you have to remove any plasterboard before application, its not recommended however, the emphasis is on ensuring no gaps are present. How about getting in touch with British Gypsum, or Kingspan and ask for a potential solution for IWI, with existing plasterboard and see what they specify? Examples of differing opinions: https://www.kingspan.com/gb/en/knowledge-articles/can-you-fix-insulated-plasterboard-to-existing-plastered-walls/ (though this is from 2022 and guidance has since changed) https://insulationgo.co.uk/blog/insulated-plasterboard-over-existing-plasterboard

First off, you can continue with carpets and doors as you've suggested, this is normal practice for MVHR ventilated homes. What sort of temperatures are your bathrooms at currently? My bathroom tends to sit around 22C and any condensation clears really quickly, its quite a large space so have 2 extract vents in different locations with 1x 75mm flexible pipe into each. The soft gentle airflow from the vents is how its supposed to be, its an incredibly low throughput system that does its job by doing both the push and pull of the air on its own, rather than traditional extract which creates low pressure which has to be balanced from air leaks. I would not expect an MVHR to be whistling under the doors, that in itself would be wrong. Please take some photos of your MVHR install so we can spot any errors!

Have also just discovered that the flow diverters aren't always included as standard, will attempt to use the thermal camera to see if i can see any signs of one in them. The radiators do get evenly hot, but take some time to heat all of the bars, maybe this is part of the issue?

Went through this spreadsheet, as i'd got some incorrect values in there, and also changed the room temperatures to what i like them at Any further thoughts on my original idea as to whether it would be feasible to do this with the flow circuit to manifold?

Absolutely, it’s partly for their benefit. Ask for a full quote showing how much for each component of the works, that can sometimes beat them into submission when they have to prove what the money is going towards

Target temp is 18.7C which I find more than warm enough, today is another miserable day but milder, and already above this target. Overnight i've had it set to Off for some years now, which works in most cases, its just the cold cold days where it struggles a bit. This year, from 1st to 28th (so far), this room has consumed 347.51 kWh in gas according to the Tado calculation. I'll have a mess with overnight temps rather than it being off completely, and see how it compares. There are 4 controlled zones, Dining room (this one which also includes snug and kitchen), Bedroom 1, Living Room and Garden Room (includes Bedroom 2). Other zones are Utility and Bathroom which just act as bypass radiators taking whatever heat they can whilst the system is on. I hadn't heard they were poor, they were amongst the highest in heat output when i was looking at new rads for a given size. Wouldn't be able to swap for anything else really as don't want to mess with flooring and break airtightness, so restricted with width. There is the possibility of getting a triple version of the vertical, currently have double. This was the calculation I did a while ago, but the flow temperature has been reduced 10C compared to 55C which i was originally aiming for. Having lived in it, i don't think it needs a huge amount more output, which is why I was wondering if a small radiator branched off of the flow run would work, and not compromise flow to the rest of the system? And this is more future planning than anything else.

I have one area which is quite large in total, covered by a fairly big double vertical radiator, i was hoping once i'd finished and everything was fully insulated and sealed up, it would be up the job of heating the whole space, but I think the kitchen lets it down (furthest away from the rad), which is dot and dab (which i've tried to foam behind, but still get air leakage, probably due to thermalite blocks shrinking), and poorly fitting spot lights (which is on my to-do list), with 4 double glazed circa 2011 velux windows. Heating graph shows a fairly normal, dark winters day: When its sunny the thermal gain is good enough to help heat the room quickly: I've no more ports available on the manifold, and the days of taking the floor up to feed pipes through is now gone, however I've had a thought, and wanted to know whether it was feasible... So the boiler is on the wall right next to where the kitchen is, and i'd wondered about drilling two holes through the wall and tapping into the 22mm flow feed (which goes to the manifold), and making it another bypass radiator to go with bathroom (though this goes via manifold). Had a look and found some 22mm valves, with a 3/4" inlet fitting, but radiators with this seem few and far between, will keep looking. Boiler Flow Pipe > Small Rad > Flow Pipe to Manifold > to rest of rads > and then Return back to boiler Another idea, which would give out much less heat, would be to make a radiator from 22mm copper pipe. What I want to know is basically is this feasible? I'm thinking it could impact flow rates to the manifold hence why i've gone looking for large bore fittings? Any one ever done anything like this before? Radiator sizing would have an output of between 1000 and 2000 BTU, just pinching a small amount of energy on its way to the rest of the bungalow. Just to add current flow temp is set at a max of 46C, but my Tado optimises this based upon the weather, and it generally sits around 42/43C. Of course this could be turned up which would help, but i'm trying to future proof in case I have to have an ASHP at some point. Thoughts? Cheers Mike

Yeah, white vinegar is a traditional solution, but a proprietary mould remover is also ideal, just not bleach

probably a bit late, but bleach on mould is a no-no, it doesn't get rid of the mould, just hides it away. Use a purpose made mould killer or equal parts white vinegar and water solution to properly get rid of it, leave it to sit for an hour before wiping, and don't forget to extend the treated area beyond the bit you can see, for all the bits which aren't yet visible to the eye.

I'm pleased with my windows from Modern UPVC Windows, but I self installed. They do provide installation now however: https://www.modernupvcwindows.co.uk/

And if your messy like me, swap number 4 and 5 around! lol

Mine is like that and have no issues. I have an AAV outside, so after all of the connections on its way to sewer

Doesn’t look lime based, not light enough. as @nod said, 4-1 sand and cement will be ideal for granite

Consider how your thermostat is connected too. The gradient (unless I’ve got the wrong gradient meaning) which @JohnMo speaks of is relevant when the boiler is connected to thermostat via an analog method (on/off), but once you connect via digital (opentherm/bus) the thermostat can then take over, and it’s basically weather compensation, a heating curve which tells the boiler the flow temperature for a given external temperature. how is your stat connected?

Some boiler controls have a hardwired minimum burn period, I know I’ve read it for Tado which I have, and I think this was set at 3mins, so maybe worth checking which the manufacturer of your controls. another thing you could try is seeing if you can turn down the pump speed on your boiler, I read about this whilst reading the Tado stuff and it can help with short cycles, with a few additional benefits, less pump noise, power consumption and presumably it’ll help it last longer. Most boiler pumps are preset for max pump speed from the factory, and with your oversized boiler, turning it a lot lower may be a really good idea

If you’re wanting to replace your floorboards, go with OSB 18 or 22mm Tongue and Groove, and then cover them with diluted SBR bond for additional water resistance. This can then be topped with @nod‘s suggestion before tiling

Soudal flexi foam is another product in the same category as IB330

Yeah I know that’s what the guide shows but was meaning without the pipe, sounds like they’ve been installed correct anyway. Cross ventilation will be the key here, as ETC says, get some air flowing through the eaves, many different ways of achieving that

I’ve got the B01 model, same manufacturer

I’ve been doing exactly the same this winter, decided to buy a very similar model of camera to you. Be warned…it becomes rather addictive! 😂 I’ve found a few air leaks I didn’t know were there, and a few areas where I’d not settled the insulation quite right leaving thin areas, all really easily sorted with the thermal camera

No evidence on the photos that those vent tiles have been properly installed, at present they'll be venting the bit between the tiles and the felt, not much use if its non-breathable. See here, this is for connection to a vent in the house, but you should be venting into the loft space: https://www.roofgiant.com/resources/files/srv10u_srv10-20_updated_feb19.pdf/?gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAiAp4O8BhAkEiwAqv2UqB9fneUWJcPJHrCEtULX3YEKj8pgurFjbm9ZRjvhn452GNYmdHg2ThoCuFUQAvD_BwE I guess you may have already done this, just not shown on the photos

Ahh yes thats not MVHR ducting, just ventilation ducting. I had assumed it was this style ducting which is the correct 125mm thermal ducting for MVHR: https://www.i-sells.co.uk/product/kair-self-seal-thermal-ducting-125mm-1-metre-lengths-box-of-6/ The pressure drop with the one above is more to do with unsmooth internal surface and susceptibility of being squashed, bent too sharply etc

I think you've got that mixed up, larger ducting wouldn't give a pressure drop, it would just mean the air speed flowing through would be lower for a given flow rate. Pressure drops come from restrictions, filters being blocked etc would give a high pressure drop than a brand new filter as an example.

Don't read too much into this... Although an outright ban has been dropped, for now, it is likely that other methods will be used to ensure that ASHP remains the most obvious choice for all households, and the government has just setup a 'nudge' department to do just that, Psy-Op. I would imagine the gas tax will make a return at some point too!