Kelvin

Their EV charger does use the cloud so the advice is put it into manual mode (plug and charge) just in case the cloud service gets switched off and you then can’t access it to change it.

My concern about SigEnergy. Ours has an insurance backed warranty whatever that’s worth in practice. It does still work without the cloud in a ‘safe’ mode. They are much bigger and better funded and are looking at an IPO. It is undeniably a slightly risky world PV/battery storage.

I wondered about that too. The software side of it is a separate company apparently. Unclear how that survives if not enough people take up their subscription service. The good thing is it’s completely controllable locally with no phone home requirement. How you get spare parts remains to be seen. Bit of a nightmare for the installers as the responsibility rests with them for the first two years.

GivEnergy has gone into administration unfortunately. Not clear what this means for customers.

It’s likely fine without it however we used it and we only had one relatively small crack in the Cemfloor. Both the tilers that quoted for ours said they’d prefer to use it though were happy to quote without it. One of them said he’d just done his house and used it. There’s very little labour in it so it’s not as if it’s an unnecessary upsell.

Not around us. If there’s a power cut the fibre goes off line.

No issue with it on the ground. It just needs clear line of sight. You need to do something with the cable as it would be more easily damaged on the ground. Mine is buried in a duct that goes into the garage. You could also pole mount it. Starlink have changed their payment plans recently where they have cheaper plans for a slightly slower service which is fast enough for most people. I now have a reasonable 5G connection so thinking about trialing that to see how reliable it is. Openreach have also laid fibre all around us so that will be an option later this year albeit it’s susceptible to our frequent power cuts whereas Starlink isn’t (we have off grid capability) As much as I can’t stand Musk Starlink is fast (has become much faster over the last 4 years), reliable (we’ve had one outage), doesn’t seem to suffer from much contention, latency is good (low 20s), and has reduced in cost. We also got a free Starlink Mini Roam.

No it ended up being slightly longer due to useless plasterer delaying me. I did run the ASHP in floor drying mode which I think took about 10 days. We had one small crack in the screed across the floor from a doorway into the kitchen.

No just made sure the floor was as clean. 164m2. Yes across the longest room and at every door junction.

Hence the importance of receiving a final window schedule that you approve. There were several errors in our window schedule. Why can’t they still be painted whichever colour you want? Negotiate a discount and for them to cover the cost of painting. Windows have a long lead time so you really want them installed. Ours are clear coat, which was an option, raw timber wasn’t an option as it impacted the warranty.

All of that was done by the vendor as a part of our purchase of the plot. All of the subsequent plant equipment we installed was zero rated.

I wouldn’t. I gave some leftover sheets to a friend who stored them in a garage with no door. I told him not to but he reckoned it would be fine as it was just a short time. All ruined.

Two of the private water companies I dealt said they don’t use water diviners as they don’t need to but offered contact details for anyone that still wanted to use them. We had a go. It worked for my other half, and didn’t for me (we both knew where the pipes are) and it didn’t for the two other people that tried (and we didn’t tell them where the pipes were)

This although we have two UV sterilisers, the treatment plant compressor does switch off and on, borehole pump although that probably only runs once a day, control panel for that, our water is pumped into the house. Other half wfh so there’s three screens, and a laptop. I also have a bunch of networking stuff and Starlink consumes a bit. We’re np about 450W background load. It was higher but have put everything on standby when idling or off overnight.

Ours is about the same.

Agree with @JohnMo We run the house at a lower temperature on no schedules but it stays at that temperature pretty much rather than heating up and cooling down which you will feel more than a more constant but slightly lower temperature.

Cold here yesterday (below freezing all day) Heat pump consumed 11kWh of electricity but we have the temps set at 19.5°C. Very bright though so a bit of solar gain.

Jeez that’s bad. The detailing on ours isn’t the neatest but I’m reasonably confident in its robustness. I did also have to have the trims redone. There was gap between the flat roof getting started and finished. The stuff won’t weld if it gets dirty so has to be thoroughly cleaned with a specific product which they never did so the welds all failed. The manufacturer signs the work off and he wasn’t happy with it. I did fall out with the company we used for various reasons. I’ve looked at a few flat roofs using single ply and they are all a bit crap in the detailing. I have subsequently been up on another flat roof which was done well with very neat corners so I know it can be done well rather than it’s just the nature of this stuff.

There’s been examples of the BCO dropping by on here before now. Mine did once just because he was passing the house. I have experience of one house build and one BCO and he was excellent, very helpful and pragmatic and saved me money. I did everything by the book though.

Same score as us. I would have thought curiosity, if nothing else, would encourage you to get the air tightness test result. Bit late to do anything about it now of course if it’s crap other than switch off the MVHR. Like @JohnMosays it’s been a requirement in Scotland for final sign off for some time. You are right about you being the only person interested in it. The next buyer likely won’t be unless the cost of electricity gets high enough that low running cost houses attract a premium. Even my other half wasn’t that interested other than what was required to get the final sign off.

Ours is a little like a Larsen truss. Full fill and deep walls.

If I as building again I’d quite likely go ICF I think.

I’ve been in a few SIPs built houses (all Heb Homes) and also noticed they weren’t very sound proof from outside noises. I’d already decided not to use SIPs for other reasons but it added to my list of why I wouldn’t use it. The space frame we built is very quiet however it does suffer a bit from vibration but only at the French doors in that if they are shut quite hard you can feel the vibration very slightly upstairs.

You want BC in your side not pissing them off before you’ve got started so I’m with the above. It doesn’t stop folk from doing it of course. Some get away with it some don’t.

It’s better to reduce the extent of the glazing. However we bought the plot for the view and full height windows are nice feature in my opinion. Most of our south elevation is glass so the temperature in those rooms varies a lot more and more quickly. The temperature in the other rooms tends to be a lot more stable and consistent. As always it’s a compromise.