Jude1234

The house is timber frame if that makes any difference?

You are correct that there is some mortar that has come away on the other side as well. Would it just be a case of getting the pointing done?

Thank you all for the feedback. I would not know where to start to resolve it, what sort of tradesman would I get in to look at it? I definitely do not have a 10 year NHBC certificate. unfortunately.

Hi, Please see pics below of the inside and the corresponding outside corner

Hi Ali, Please see pictures below, it is near a downpipe.

Hi Our house was built 5 years by a small building company who has recently gone out of business. As part of the mortgage application we had to get an architect cert and obviously it was signed off by building control. There is visible damp in one corner and I suspect there might be more in other areas but I haven't checked. What are my options? Is there any point contacting either building control or the architect, would the be in any way liable? Due to divorce I will be selling the property when my son goes to uni Sept 2025 so I don't want any nasty surprises when potential buyers get surveys done. Any advice greatly appreciated.

Thanks for the links, good to know it is possible to buy something if a mortgage provider demands it

Thanks for the advice. I wonder if it would put off potential buyers? They probably haven't heard of an architect certificate and would probably be sceptical/wary about purchasing?

Hi All, We had a contractor do the majority of our house build then fell out with them and I got individual trades to finish off. For cost and because we had no plans to sell we did not get a 10 year guarantee, only a 7 Yr architect certificate as it was a requirement of the mortgage provider. We moved in Nov 2018 although building control sign off was slightly later. Now, due to relationship break up, we may need to sell. But will anyone buy it, or be able to get a mortgage on it? Any experience gratefully appreciated.

It isn't going to be the final layer I just wanted something cheap as I have to make up the external ground level to about 2 bricks in height.

My OH will love that, men and their machines lol

Thank you all. This site is amazing ?

I am now looking at finishing part of outside so I can get BC sign off (need the entrance to be wheelchair accessible ). I need a lot of material to bring up to floor level. Have read on here about tar planings that can be really cheap but how do I find them? And roughly what is a good price for them?

Hi @AliGas you say it has warmed up outside so the temperature inside is fine. An experienced heat engineer did come to assess and verbally told me that there should have been some sort of heating installed upstairs as the ground floor heating wasn't set up to heat the entire house. I am just waiting for this in writing then I will discuss with the contractors who originally advised me that no heating was required upstairs. I will need to have some electric heaters fitted in the bedrooms at some point before next winter when money allows. In parallel I have been going round sealing up any leaks ie where the main electricity comes in.

The better insulation is primarily for sound insulation rather than heat (on a flight path) Thank you all for the guidance, I think I have understood. We need to increase the UFH input temperature and run for longer, and have the lower temp down only to 18C rather than 16C. Is that correct? From the manifold the pipe spacing is 150mm. Tonight the input temperature is actually 40C (not changed anything, must just be that on a weekend the heating is on all day)

So I have some technical information for you from the SAP and EPC that I have just received: Predicted Energy Assessment Energy efficiency 80, CO2 rating 82 U values of upstairs 3G 0.80 U values of downstairs 2G 1.20 U value Bifold 1.40 Walls downstairs 0.24 Walls upstairs 0.14 Roof 0.11-0.18 Ground floor 017 100% LED lighting MVHR 84% efficiency ASHP flow temp <35C House is 230 sqm On the EPC it states that the annual space heating is 11,645 kWh and water heating is 2,169 Currently the UFH is zoned and each zone has its own thermostat and timer. The majority are 'on' for 3 hours in the morning and approx 6 hours in the evening. The rest of the time they are set at 16C so they are not left to go cold. The house is feeling warmer since there was an adjustment to the heat curve (whatever that is) on Monday, but it is also milder externally so it is difficult to tell if it is just coincidence or not. Looking at the manifold the temperature in is currently 32C and the return is about 28C. Not sure where I would find out about the COP? Is it on the technical spec of the ASHP?

I don't mind the thread going off on tangents if it helps other folks. I am pursuing my builder for the design SAP report and then the EPC. Also they are getting someone in to look at the ASHP to see if that is working properly. Will also pursue the poor airtightness test (in reality it was actually 5.25 I found out today☹️) until we get teh bottom of it. Luckily the builder still has not invoiced his last bill so is now keen to get everything resolved so I will pay!

So unfortunately I have very little information to provide. No trickle vents, MVHR. Airtightness result of around 4.5. Still not got EPC so don't know what any of the SAP calculations are. It is a timber frame house, with dg downstairs and triple glazing upstairs (for noise rather then insulation primarily). Someone has been here today and changed heat flow curve???? The expert from the ASHP manufacturer says run it at a constant temperature 24 hours a day, but that seems a bit wasteful as during the week we are only up and in the house from 6.30 - 8am and the 5-10.30ish. I just don't know who to believe.

Well apparently the reason the downstairs is not getting up to temp is because we don't have any heating upstairs so a lot of the heat is going upstairs. So much for our builder saying we won't need any heating upstairs as it will be so well insulated. A heating engineer is coming in a week to assess what additional heating is required, sounds costly. We did have electric points fitted in all the bedrooms upstairs just in case but we had an electrician quote to supply and fit to 3 of the bedrooms and they said it would be £1500. So currently we are just using convector heaters to warm up just before bed and when getting dressed in the morning. Not exactly what I envisaged for our ultra modern super insulated house. Regarding using UFH throughout the night unfortunately I am not on E7, locked in now for 12 months. Something to think about for the future though

It is supposed to be really well insulated, especially upstairs (to insulate against noise as well as the cold). It is 200sqm but the ground floor is larger than the first floor. WE still haven't got our EPC (long story). The only heating is water UFH on the whole of the ground floor. We also have MVHR. The ASHP is Master Therm BoxAir – BA26i. Not sure about the flow temperature. I have been trying to get the contractor out to take a look but not getting much response.

So we have an ASHP taht was chosen and fitted by our main contractor. It heats our DHW and also our UFH. However in this cold spell (and previously when it was nippy) it seemed to really struggle to get the house temperature up to the set thermostat temp (21C). Our builder says as it is our first winter in the house it takes a while for the slab to warm up. So glad we have the WBS, at the moment it is the only room that it is warm. So disappointed as we deliberately moved out of an old cold house and built this one and thought it would be snug whatever the temperature. The upstairs has no heating as we were assured that the heat would rise and with the insulation we wouldn't need it. But it is absolutely freezing. Is there anything that I can check easily (I have no idea how the controls of the ASHP work). Is it possible that the pump isn't the right size for the house. On another point our electricity bill is massive. Using about 1300 kwh per month is this normal for an 'energy efficient' house. Any advice appreciated

Thanks for the advice. I went with a Command hook upside down inside the door and a piece of string around the wreath and over the top of the door?

Resurrecting this thread. Anyone got any recommendations for good quality and reasonable price? Also pondering on what colour to go with, our house is white render with anthracite frames etc. However the rooms which open onto the garden have bamboo flooring. So I am torn between pale decking/paving or wooden effect composite decking. If anyone has any pictures of either that might help the decision.

Thanks for the ideas. I work for 3M so get a discount on the command things so will go for them?

It is good to know I am not the only one @lizzie