Marvin

If you 've got this problem then you have the wrong fuse box (sorry consumer unit)?

I would speak to neighbours who have had work done to try and find a suitable team, although this is not always going to work. I assume you have given out the architects details and the specification and details of the site and access? Another one I have used acting as a estimator for a large company trying to inspire subbies to quote was first to check they had all the information they needed, secondly 2 weeks later I would give them an out by checking up if they had the time to quote or if they were busy no problem but I only wanted to give the tender out to 3 companies so let me know if you are not going to quote because I don't want to waste your time and I can approach another builder. Of course on big jobs there was always the return date information sent with the documents. If its common work and materials than 1 month is enough to do the quote in, but if there is specialist works then 3 months upward. What I would say is communication is paramount and the more clear, helpful information you supply the easier to quote. Limit / make choices about as many items as you can. Best of luck M

I'm not sure if this is right or wrong I was just looking at the Valliant layout showing 9r isolating valves before 10i the flexible pipes (flexible pipes to reduce vibration down pipes and to stop metal fatigue due to the vibrating of the unit). Here's page 3 with the key:

Basically longer than you are prepared to wait. You can always pick up the phone and ask if there is any further information they required, however, when I get about 12 months ahead or booked up in the next spring for work requiring groundworks I think there is no point in quoting. Sorry. So many things will have changed by then material prices for a start and the client has probably gone elsewhere. What do you do spend your time pricing work for no pay or get on earning money for the work in front of you. I am only a small builder but that is how I work (except I usually discuss the situation - not always though). The only exception for me is repeat clients who I have a good working relationship with, and they with me.

That's wording I have not heard before! Reading it I thought it meant things the sellers had to do/not do so the buyer would agree to buy - like fence off the land being sold from the rest of the field. ? M

did you find the answer to this problem?

Hi Bruno Sorry if I missed this but are there isolating valves on the pipework outside the building just before the wall mounted unit?

Hi Bruno. Yes Rockwool really good. The thicker the wall the better especially outside. I use metal outside wrapping - see pictures. Yes also resistance from UV and rain is a good idea for the pipes outside. Guess which ones are the hot ones??

In my experience Temp is right! After installing 326 bathrooms in 12 years I can say spot on! I used Bal primer! Also when the poor sod comes to change the tiling years later the plasterboard walls don't disintegrate when the tiles peel off the plasterboard surface. Most often water ingress happened at the joints of tiles to shower trays or baths where a good silicone was not used and rotted the walls both timber frame and solid (plaster bubbles) or in corners of the room where silicone was not used to allow for movement. I learnt a lot of my knowledge working for a big company who sent me to repair all the failed jobs other people did. I am still not sure if they sent me to learn or if they thought I couldn't make it any worse. ?

Sorry, I meant this one.

Hi Bruno I would especially insulate all the pipework, if possible, shown in RED inside and outside the building.

Hi Bruno I am sorry if you have already answered this question: Do you have a valve that blends the hot water from your hot water tank with cold water to ensure that the water that comes out of your hot water taps is not too hot (scalding?) Marvin

Hi Bruno I would insulate the pipes as much as possible. It will do no harm and only help. I wouldn't worry about industry standard, only a better standard. The only thing I would say is to avoid insulation around electrical parts like the box on the port valves next to your tank. Marvin

Thanks ProDave. We're still thinking of using the ASHP to produce cooling in the summer (if this is possible) so I will look further at the internal ASHP at present. Quite right though if we were wanting winter heating only.

Hi PeterW Thank you for your reply. I must admit our plans are based on what we would prefer. I was quoting information I had read from various manufacturer's installation manuals like the Daikin altherma installation manual pages 7 and 8, which I assume may be out of date technologically by now? I will look at other manufacturers installation details. Any particular ones you were thinking of? Agreed that 35 to 50 decibels is not loud but 3 foot from an open bedroom window in summer is not the best arrangement. The pipe distance issue is important to keep the coefficient of performance (COP) as good as possible during the coldest period of winter. Having looked at the heat loss from pipes outside the bungalow thermal envelope over about 16 metres one way, I think I would rather use a 4 bar fire in my living room. The complications of waterproofing pipe insulation underground to get to the bungalow is too much for my little brain. Whilst I think about it I understand that there is a 10 meter limit on the MCS 020 standard required to be met to avoid planning permission: https://www.microgenerationcertification.org/mcs-standards/installer-standards/ I will keep my options open but at the moment we are still looking at the inside ASHP option. Kind Regards Marvin

Thank you for your reply ProDave I am aware of such internal ASHP's. Some have been indicated before on this site and I wondered if there were any updates. It may be that there are some ASHP that don't have outdoor units which are not exhaust air heat pumps (I have MVHR installed and it works very well. (with 3 exceptions) The tubes I refer to are of course the Inlet and exhaust (150mm diameter tubes) Oh how technology moves on in the world! I've only just caught up with the (hot) benefits of solar hot water. Regards Phil.

A

Sorry Conor. Complicated answer. Screwfix will supply all the parts you need but if the "40 mm waste pipe that you have " is from another supplier you may find it slightly bigger or smaller than the screw fix designed bits. I will see what I can photo for you M

Yes you are right. Just leaving the batten out in the rain can be bad, but, If you saw the colour of my hands you would know I treated it. ?

Yup! Here on the isle of Wight : Timber batten? Damn no! Cut up joists to make some for roof repairs. M

Andy is quite right! And rubber (or what ever they are now) seals, perish over time (ok over a shorter time than solvent weld pipes would) and would leak first. Embarrassed to say but remember the waste pipes suspended under floors will sag unless properly supported... ? Marvin ( I know I failed)

Hi. (sorry for my ignorance of terminology) Requesting Help: Before I go ahead and fit an internal ASHP (air to water) to my own home I wanted to know if its possible to purchase an internal ASHP unit separately form the hot water tank usually supplied to fit below. If so where from. Just to confirm: I am not interested in obtaining grants - just installing the system I want. I am looking for a small unit of about 4kW input, with some hot water capability and if possible some cool air possibility in the summer, however I am open to alternative suggestions (I have a plan B to use excessive PV to cool the the bungalow in the summer) The boring technical information for guidance is below. Any further info you need please let me know. Thanks Marvin Existing energy considerations: Our bungalow has mains electricity. No mains gas. Bottled LPG for the gas boiler. Very small amount of PV (to be increased...) Whole house MVHR Good insulation Good air tightness. Design considerations that effect the choice of ASHP : We have a 3 year old existing central heating system run on LPG. The radiators are oversized.(about 50%) We have a 205 litre hot water tank and the recent addition of my own design solar hot water (still tinkering around the edges but plenty of hot water unsupported for the last 10 days). We are mildly effected by solar gain (even yesterday) although our windows and glazed doors only total about 18m2 but because of the thermal resistance of the building the heat gets trapped a bit. We want to get rid of the gas boiler and replace with a ASHP and stay warm. Positioning considerations an external ASHP After reading manufacturers installation instructions on various models we find there is no where externally that we are prepared to install an external unit for one of the following reasons: We live nearish to the sea (can hear it if the wind is in the right direction) The wind can be quite strong and would effect the inlet outlet on a large fan however we can place the tubes from an internal ASHP elsewhere. Too near the neighbours bedrooms for us to be satisfied that we may cause a noise nuisance. Too far from the hot water tank to position outside because of the heat loss along the pipes. Flat roof too exposed to wind and rain. Heat requirement: Our results show that the present total LPG energy used to heat our bungalow (100m2 bungalow) and water, is approximately 5800kW per year. The results, when extrapolated from the temperatures down to -4C (degrees centigrade), also suggest a heating peak of 4kW (before any COP calculations are taken into affect) required for an internal temperature of 23C against an external temperature of -8C. The calculated energy used to heat the building does not take into account the following: The added solar heat gain through windows, 3382kW per year used for all household electrical equipment most of which generates some heat (not including any EV charging), the now redundant (for a lot of the year) hot water requirement covered by the Solar water panels, and about 200 watts of heat per hour produced by us sitting in the building or about 280 watts per hour if were arguing.

Four types of data: Damn that failed! (I have one of those now) It's working pretty much as expected. Theory = practice Unexpected results / challanges I could improve this.

Oh yes! Otherwise how would I know how wrong I was?

Made one of the best decisions of my life when I renovated a 1970's bungalow to incorporate disabled access throughout and whilst doing this insulated as much as I could at the time in anticipation of our retirement. We have lived here now for a couple of years with an MVHR system. Now with a grey water system feeding loos and/or garden and a solar hot water system - presently on trial - both run on photovoltaics. Please be aware I have designed and installed all these myself sometimes following convention sometime radical. I have been in construction for over 30 years. Happy to share my experiences if it helps. Hope to gain further knowledge about the ASHP system I am designing. Marvin. Oh and we have an electric car and happy to discuss the results of using that.