ProDave

What I found useful was measure the usage over week when you are away. That will give the true base load of essentials, like mvhr, treatment plant, Fridge / freezer, and the few things that must be left on standby (in my test just the router and an old sky HD box because it was set to record some stuff while away) Anything above that true base load is stuff you are using. I also did that another time but left the tv's etc on standby so also had a measure of their standby use.

And I complain at our average base load of about 300W I would suggest you turn the pool off completely for 24 hours and measure your base load for that period. That will tell you how much the pool is using.

Plasterboard as a window sill will not stand up to much use and will wear, dent and chip very easily. As for no overhang, I achieved that a different way. I was using up left over engineered oak floor boards for my window sills, and needed something to cover the unfinished edge so just a bit of wood trim, with the actual board flush with the wall

Talking of rodding, an extra tee and a rodding eye would be a good addition.

What did the survey say when you bought the flat? and how much did you negotiate off the price to correct the issues?

That looks to be the same manifold system as I have, but it is all mounted upside down compared to mine But because yours is upside down, it means your flow and return are backwards, i.e. the manifold leg that comes from the pump is the flow, and the manifold leg that comes from the blending valve is the return. Swap your top and bottom manifold legs over and that will put the actuators at the top and the flow meters at the bottom and it should then work.

Do you have timber floors? If so it would be much better to connect lower down the stack pipe and run a new pipe under the floor.

It sounds like some dodgy dealings during the neigbours extension. They have in effect built over a shared drain, something which is very much frowned upon now. If they raised the pipe to improve the fall you are pretty much stuck with it now. Decking level with your internal floor level should cover it, and fit a proper gulley trap where the sink waste goes. The other issue is the long sweeping rest bend at the bottom of the main stack. It is correct to have a rest bend there, but those brown underground pipes are not UV sensitive. That really wants replacing with a brown or black one, but I have never seen an "above ground" rest bend before. Perhaps painting it black might make it look better?

What is missing from the photo is a a picture of e.g a door or an air brick in the wall so se can see your floor level in relation to the ground level. You definitely want to fill that bit of a trench with some pre gravel pushed under the pipe to properly support it. You don't have much in the way of options and I would suggest decking level with your internal floor level to cover it, I don't understand the story of what the builders did re next door's extension but it does look a recent setup. the owner at the time should have made more of a fuss at what next doors builders were doing.

That sounds like a bargain price. Bite their hand off.

That'll be the flying lead bonding the lid won't it?

I am sure this has been discussed before and there is a real risk of mould and bacteria forming on the inside of the underground pipes and causing serious problems with your air quality. I believe the recommendation for something like this is silver plated pipework that stops mould growth?

A portaloo with a service contract to empty it? I would prefer a caravan type porta potti and just take it off site (to the nearest unmanned public toilet) to empty it.

I wish fridges were sold like hifi, where you could see them in operation in a "listening room" They are not. the best you get is a static display in a big warehouse. I don't believe the spec sheet is anything to go by in reality. It is not until you have bought it and got it home that you find it is noisier than you would like. What are we supposed to do? Keep sending it back for a different make until you find a quiet one?

Not my findings. Our own fridge I find intrusively noisy, which is why I am not a fan of "kitchen / living" spaces. I don't want to sit and watch tv in the same room as the fridge thank you.

I spoke to the home owners today. The decontamination work starts in earnest next week. Apparently there is something like a 4ft crawls space under this house. The plan is to break through an access hatch underground in the gable end supported with suitable lintels, then a team suitably suited with breathing apparatus will crawl in and start digging up the solum and removing the contaminated soil. They have admitted it it may not be possible to successfully decontaminate it this way, with worst case being the house has to be knocked down and rebuilt if this fails.

The hole in your final wall covering needs to be more accurate The lines drawn show the extent of the cover plate so the access hole for the thermal mixer cartridge could nor be any bigger.

Like I say you cannot lump all ASHP's together as the same. My monoblock LG ASHP is very quiet and not a nuisance. But earlier this year I fitted a 12Kw "no name" ASHP that has no inverter so direct online, full power or nothing. It starts with one hell of a "clonk" and the lights in the house dip, the sort of thing the DNO's hate with the big start up current,. and when it's running it is very audible inside the house not least because of vibration transmitted through the pipes. I also fitted a small ground source heat pump many years ago and that had the compressor unit in the utility room and that was very noisy as well. So a small, inverter driven monoblock ASHP well sited outside and with properly done pipework so no noise transmitted through the pipes is what I would recommend.

But that puts the compressor, a large source of the noise, inside the house.

No I am completely not understanding the question?

No just the one on the incoming. and one on the site stand pipe. And one on the feed to the static caravan.

Meaningless without a plan?

The verbal offer I have is the supplier will cover the material, and the plasterer will re do the affected areas for free. The sticking point is the company rep wants to visit the site and see it and agree to that, but that site visit is on hold until they return to normal business. I am not stripping anything off until that visit has happened.

Does it really all have to come off, EPS and all? I have an issue with a different make of thin render where it is blistering in places. the resolution has been delayed by the bug, but in my case I am certain it is just the top thin coat separating from the base coat and I am sure it will just be strip the top coat and re apply.

The broken meter box door is a common issue. The design is really really rubbish. Leave it unlocked on a windy day and the door won't last 5 minutes. You can buy replacement doors easy enough.