Happy Valley

We've moved in and loving it!! Old house, adjacent, completed sale yesterday so can now pay off the build debt. Getting used to running ASHP and MVHR but no heating needed so far. Here's some pics

Finding the right plot/property/project is probably going to be the hardest thing even in an economic downturn. There's a lot of cash out there with upper middle classes waiting to pounce on the right project for them irrespective of the economic climate. There is never a good time to do most things if you look into them heavily so I would personally just keep looking and get on with it.

Wasn't around when he left unfortunately - we have two large double glazed sliders at 3.7m and 4.9m whilst all other windows are triple glazed so would hazard a guess this is where the majority comes from. We knew it would be a factor but it is worth it for the view that we have.

All done now and came in a 3.16 which I was told was good.

Just getting the fittings to put the 32mm pipework onto the drain from the bottom of the MHVR. The drain goes directly into a soul pipe. Do I need some form of trap to stop any smells getting up into the unit? If so what type please.

Congratulations on the certificate. We are not quite there yet although moved in this week! Not a great time to re-mortgage unfortunately

We had our Vent Axia commissioned last month and was told that you just need to turn it on again and all the settings will be as he set them. We have just moved in and the turned the unit on. The start up noise which I was told is normal does not go away and the boost extractor did not work when my son had a shower earlier. Nor did it boost when I manually switched it. Have tried to get hold of the chap who commissioned it but not luck yet. Any pointers for an utter novice please.

Find out from the manufacturer of the glass mineral wool what specifications their material has for 200mm

This is booked for in a couple a weeks time. House is very efficient but not built to Passive Haus standards. We do have ICF, warm roof and have foamed up any gaps whilst the build progressed. Is there anything else that needs to be done/temporarily sealed to ensure a good result?

Spend well on the oven(s) and hob. Dishwashers and fridge/freezers do not perform that differently in comparison. We went for Neff oven and microwave grill, an AEG induction hob and Hisense dishwasher and fridge freezer (both integrated)

We have posi-joists with UFH on part of our 1st floor ICF build. In the end we went with Wunda's insulated trays that sit between the joists and backed this up with further insulation (more for noise than heat) before plaster boarding the ceiling below. 22mm caber board on top before the LVT flooring went down. There is some noise transmission but is acceptable no where near as much as I thought. The two slabs (one ground and one 1st floor) both have 70mm screed.

We have a "miserly" 4m x 1m balcony in steels with plastic anthracite cladding deck and bottom hung glass. Came from Diomet in Sheffield - who do many other sizes but maybe not to what you require. Ours cost around £5000 ex VAT excluding the labour to fit.

Thanks - what is the reasoning for sealing the back of each tile?

Does @nod have any expert view on this?

As per the title - looking for the best (to work with) grout or similar for over 100 sq m of porcelain tiles. Ideally something that's easy to work with as well being frost proof.

Have you employed a local planning advisor/consultant? The good ones where you live should know the local policies to comply with and possibly the people in the planning department. For a small outlay in the overall scheme of things they can get you over the biggest hurdle. We hired one who was an ex local authority planning officer.

Which way does the driveway face in the morning? This can massively effect ice melting. If it is in the shade all day then ice could be constant in a harsh period in the winter. Seem to remember you are in the London area so winter temps are generally pretty high in comparison to most of rest of the country.

Thanks - I thought the temps were high having read a few threads on here. Shall ask them to reduce the max and min flow temps.

We have a well insulated house ICF walls - 200mm concrete raft with 200mm insulation and 70mm screed. Triple glazed apart from the sliders. The installer is suggesting we run the UFH at 45 degrees with a lower level of 35 degrees. Temp requirement will be 21 degrees What range of temps do you run yours at?

Yes another Ecodan 8.5kW system here!

The installers are finishing off and today will run through how it all works. Yesterday they mentioned that the hot water demand should remain on constantly so that it just tops up (from say 35 to 50 degrees) occasionally rather than running it in the night once from cold. We have a 210 litre tank in a very well insulated house. 3 people who don't use much hot water. Is this how anyone else uses theirs to maximise efficiency?

Have just had the MVHR commissioned for the same money.

One has quoted £205 + VAT and up to 2.5 hours on site.

Just had a quote for £300 + VAT for one hour 😬

... on a two storey 160 sq m home? Anyone know of a good one around the North West? Thanks