ProDave

A discussion with relatives recently revealed most of them don't like ANY of the choices on the ballot paper and if there was a "none of the above" box on the paper that is what they would choose. I get the impression that Reform, will take the mantle of that none of the above choice, simply because it is something different to what has been tried before and deemed by so many to have failed.

Yes it's shocking. Put a well insulated roof on top of a well insulated wall, but detail it so badly that cold air just gets in and negates it. Shocking that so many builders just do not understand that.

And to add to that. Once ALL the bits of PIR closing the gap are the right size (they reach the OSB layer) AND are properly sealed so there are NO gaps for air to pass through, that will have got you reasonably air tight so no fear of cold draughts coming in from outside, then you need to go outside and add as much more insulation as you can behind those relatively thin bits of PIR. It is this sort of detail that needs to be got right NOW while you can get at everything. There have been at least 2 threads on here recently where the builders have been left to it and done a shoddy job and cold air is getting in and it can be a VERY invasive job to fix it later if not done properly now.

I too wanted to self build in my 20's, but I was thwarted. At the time, looking for my first house, I could buy a cheap developer built 1 bedroom house for £36K (late 1980's prices) or there was a detached 2 bedroom bungalow being sold as a building plot for £20K. I looked at the plot, and it was a timber lath and plaster built bungalow clearly sub standard even by 1980's standard and it had subsidence issues so was being sold to knock down and rebuild. I was thwarted because I could not find anyone willing to lend on the plot, but several said if you buy the plot we will lend the money to build. And I had no bank of mum and dad (they did not have the money either) So reluctantly I bought the developer box. I was 40 before I got to scratch that itch and built my first self build. I hope you get a more favourable answer from financial institutions.

Solvent weld is good, BUT. It can't be undone. So make SURE before fitting the solvent weld coupling that you have the height right and you will never ever want to remove it again to adjust the height with respect to finished floor level. AND make sure you use plenty of solvent weld adhesive and do it thoroughly. Otherwise a poorly done joint that leaks cannot be undone to re do it. If in doubt practice on some scrap pipe and fittings first.

It's a failure of all governments over my lifetime. The basic problem is we have 5 year parliaments, so nobody, ever, pledges to do something over a long period. It is all about what we will do for the next 5 years that will be popular enough to get us a win next time. So there has never been any long term planning. The fact there are more pensioners than ever and fewer of working age is entirely predictable as the ongoing result of the post war baby boom, but no one has planned in advance how we will invest and adapt to cope with that change.

You are never going to do a perfect job sliding it down from above, but if you don't want to strip the plasterboard off it is a case of doing the best you can, accepting it won't be perfect. I would try solid batts of rockwool type material. they should be stiff enough to push down the gap but with a bit of flex to hopefully take up the irregularities. Buy a small quantity and try it, if they work buy the rest. PIR is so solid with no give, you will end up with gaps around all the edges. If you use that, the most important thing is get the face of the PIR down flat on the plasterboard, i,e, no gap between the plasterboard and the PIR, then foam in as much of the edges as you can reach from above. Buy some thin plastic tube and experiment using that to extend the reach of your average foam gun.

In fact, from next April, ALL pensioners under the new scheme will pay some tax, as the pension will go up to just above the tax threshold, but the threshold is not rising. So over the next few years pensioners will pay more tax. Add in a personal pension as well (shock, horror, current pensioners are more likely to also have a personal pension) that is more tax to pay. I know my circumstances are not average, but by the time me and SWMBO reach state pension age, our combined income will be more than we have been earning for the last 25 years.

Looks like you have identified the problem. Now lets hope they agree and swap the pipes over. Keep us posted how it goes.

I got mine from stairbox, but I don't recall ply being an option.

If you study a female - female coupling when mated to the respective pipes, there is literally nothing for "passing material" to hit on it's way past.

Do what I did, make it clear to the planners you want it to stay and in my case they agreed the 'van could remain but not for habitation.

Can we have a closer / clearer picture of the jumble of pipes coming out of the floor bottom left of the photo. Following the copper pipes between the 2 manifolds, the left manifold has the hot pipe connecting to the right hand manifold cold. These are the flow and return to / from the manifold. So either one is connected with flow and return swapped (which is wrong) or they are connected in series, which I have never seen before.

The annoying thing is why was the warranty issued. The worst case suspicion is there was some detail done wrong on your half that the warranty provider was not happy with, but it was done correctly on the other half. Warranty providers inspections are often more stringent than building control.

Question. Has the downstairs UFH ever worked properly? i.e. are we trying to solve a fault (it used to work but has stopped working) or is it a new install that has never yet worked on the ground floor? Post some pictures of the ground floor UFH manifold please.