ProDave

Well done. Now ENJOY it.

If the ASHP installer just connected the HP to the HW tank in a location not chosen by him, then he is not at fault. It still sounds like an excessively long pipe run. Did you ever do that test when cold, measuring just how much cold water comes out of the tap before the hot water arrives?

Pictures?

When I read the rather wooley description I thought "ah it's just a thermal store" But a thermal store is actually not the best match to an ASHP. I would personally steer clear as I don't like people trying to sell me something with a lot of waffle and obscurity about what it actually IS you are buying.

It can happen even with mains water. Our supply went off a few weeks back due to a local burst main. Shortly after it came back, one of our toilet cisterns would not stop filling. Dismantling the fill valve revealed a similar sized "foreign body" that must have come in with the water jamming the fill valve open. It must have got into the pipe during the repair. Thames water are well known for their leaks, if they actually fix them, the same could happen to you.

Seen on a plumbers van: "Don't sleep with a drip, call me instead" Seen on an electricians van : "Let us remove your shorts"

Yes that is aluminium spreader plates for under floor heating. The UFH pipes clip into an aluminium sheet that dissipates the heat.

If it is dropping pressure slowly, you have a leak, that might be hard to find if it is just a drip. However if you get the heating up to temperature, turn the heating off and let it cool down, and then it drops pressure quickly, it is likely to be a failed expansion vessel. Your plumber will be able to check that when he comes.

The chimney if you look is two pieces one slides inside the other like a telescope. If they won't slide easily is there more paint / ither sealant got in the gap between the two parts? The bottom part needs to slide up, get a screwdriver, chissle etc under it to try and get it to slide. Only when you have lifted it a bit to clear the lip of the lower fixed part of the hood, can you spring the sides of the chimney apart and pull it forward to get it off. Watch out for sharp edges.

You have more issues there. Is there a door in that stud wall separating the shower? If so it is a separate room and needs a separate fan. If there is not a door, then you could just put a glass screen like any other shower in the corner of the room, BUT your issue there is a room containing a shower, all sockets, e.g. for the WM and boiler etc need to be 3 metres from the shower and I don't think the room is big enough.

When thinking about a previous extension at one point we considered a loft conversion but the layout of the house would mean the stairs to the loft were not above the stairs to the first floor. The planning officer got very suspicious "oh 2 staircases, that hints you might be planning to split it into 2 properties later"

Ask him WHY you need 2? Is it because the extract rates for a utility room is higher than a bathroom, and he thinks your fan is not powerful enough? So he has suggested 2 fans rather than change the one fan for a bigger one, often a 6" fan rather than 4" for a utility room. If you do go for 2, fit them in parallel after the (waste of space) isolator switch.

Why 2 staircases? Is that a tree in the entrance hall?

If you genuinely deserve it, e.g you have mains gas available but heat your house with oil, there will be a mechanism to apply for it individually but the details have not yet been announced.

Beware of floating insulation if the predicted flood ever happens https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-37600533 If I remember from the time, the slabs of insulation was used as a cheap infill to build up the floor level and the flood in this case was a burst water main.

I was going to suggest if noise is a concern to put a glass front on your projector pocket / tunnel, but you would then seriously have to look at ventilation. I assume modern projectors use LED's net energy hungry and hot halogen lamps?

You can't repay it. you could donate it to a charity of your choice if you wish. Well at least it seems for me the government has paid for the cost of my new chainsaw to prepare my "alternative fuel" The Alternative fuel payment was automatically paid to any house in a postcode that does not have mains gas and where the census data says the majority of houses uses something other than electricity as their main heating. I wasn't expecting it but in view of the debacle of the price cap falling but bills rising announcement will gladly spend it for them.

And pencils.

He did not get the tile spacing right, known as the gauging. He should have measured the length of the roof and worked out how many rows of tiles were needed and what gauging (spacing) was needed, and set the battens to that. Instead the second tile down is way too close to the top resulting on only a little bit of tile showing and the knock on effect is the bottom tile does not reach the gutter. Basic error but to correct it the whole lot has to come off, the battens positioned correctly and then the tiles put back. I am not seeing any lead around your half of the chimney like there was before and still is around next doors half of the chimney. That will surely leak. I hope you have not paid his full bill yet?

Try trading standards more like. I assume he has some contact details, this is FRAUD.

With all the pipes cold, run the hot tap collecting it's output in buckets, jugs etc, and measure the amount of cold water that comes through before the hot water arrives. Some plumbers don't understand this issue. I remember refurbishing my first house, my father was the plumber doing it. Installing a new bathroom in the opposite corner of the house to the HW tank. Dad ran 22mm from the tank to the bath tap and then a 15mm branch from that to the basin tap. I argued with him but just could not get him to accept that running a separate 15 or even 10mm from the tank to the basin hot tap, would waste less hot water getting it to the tap.

In Scotland, you have to get a building warrant to build. It's the formal process of building control approving your plans and saying you may start. Equivalent to full plans approval in England and Wales.

Ah so it's not the blind top fitting expansion fitting used on back to wall pans where there is no rear access. So if it is a screw and wing nut, you must get round the back to hold the wing nut still.

That is 3 core and earth but it would do, just ignore one core.

So is the one you linked to but it is also LSF so hard springy insulation.