Kelvin
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Everything posted by Kelvin
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Nervous much? (airtightness testing...)
Kelvin replied to markocosic's topic in General Self Build & DIY Discussion
They don’t really think 3 is good it’s just the line where you do need to do something else about ventilation if the builder achieves it. They know that UK building companies have no aspiration to be better hence why airtightness building regs are so poor. Good effort though. It’s a nice feeling. -
The top one is a circulation pump. It can either be set for radiators (left side) fixed flow (top) or under floor heating (right side) each option has three settings depending on the number or rads of square metre size of the UFH. The LED displays a number of things including flow rate and energy used (in Watts) It’s hard to see but yours looks like it’s on the middle setting for rads. Do you have the manual as it will likely give you some idea there.
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Self-build mortgages for timber frame and timber clad
Kelvin replied to thaldine's topic in Self Build Mortgages
80% of Scottish new builds are timber framed. We’ve had no trouble insuring ours either (timber framed and clad) In fact we tick all the hard boxes, flat roof, metal roof, timber framed and timber cladding, private water supply, treatment plant. There might well be reduced mortgage options should we come to sell limiting the sales market. I’ll either worry about that in 20 odd years or it’s a problem for the kids to sort out. -
I started sealing the screws then read you posting this before and stopped wasting my time. We got 0.44 on the final test.
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I extended the sewerage line to the garage (shower and loo in there) and took the SVP through the garage roof. I also have an AAV in the house inside the coomb void where I just had enough height to be higher than the sink. We also fitted the percolation pipe as per the bottom picture. I called Graf about that and they recommended that’s the best way to do it. It’s all been fine since we moved in 6 months ago. The main advantages for me were no holes through the roof so no air tightness problems to deal with, cold bridges (albeit small), leaks, damage to the metal roof, and it leaves the roof looking really clean with no pipework.
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The advice I was given by someone who works for a DNO was to keep questioning the estimates you get from them and get a breakdown of the cost. Although they are reluctant to go into detail until they move the estimate to a quote. They all seem to start off high. My initial estimate was £26500. In the end it cost us less than £500. I did need to do all the trenching etc myself.
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Advantage of an induction hob.
Kelvin replied to SteamyTea's topic in Kitchen & Household Appliances
Yes it is good. I don’t have the twist pad version but our Neff hob is excellent and I use the frying sensor most of the time. -
Happened to a friend. Bought boards and left them in his barn. The top boards were fine as they went on the walls. The bottom boards got damp and fell off the ceiling shortly after fitting but weren’t plastered.
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Nice. I didn’t have the wherewithal for that so used DPC lapped over the head. It doesn’t have the side upstands but seems to be working. I had cause to take a few boards off recently on the window that gets the worst of the wind and rain and it was dry.
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It should apply the profile you’ve set up to the thermostat. Easy enough to check just be going to the Neostat.
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You don’t need the Heatmiser Neohub to control the system though. It’s an add on to give you remote access and ‘easier’ control. Mine is still in the box somewhere.
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Ensuite refurbishment & bedding a stone resin tray
Kelvin replied to Gringo's topic in Bathrooms, Ensuites & Wetrooms
Stone resin. Here’s the install instructions -
Advantage of an induction hob.
Kelvin replied to SteamyTea's topic in Kitchen & Household Appliances
Neff have a puck type control https://www.neff-home.com/uk/discover/design-highlights/twistpad-and-twistpadflex -
Ensuite refurbishment & bedding a stone resin tray
Kelvin replied to Gringo's topic in Bathrooms, Ensuites & Wetrooms
Ours is slightly bigger than 120cm x 80cm (was cut to fit) and it’s fixed with low expansion PU foam as per the instructions. I was rather sceptical but seems to be fine so far. -
Ensuite refurbishment & bedding a stone resin tray
Kelvin replied to Gringo's topic in Bathrooms, Ensuites & Wetrooms
One of ours is a grey blue colour and hard to keep clean. The other is white and much better. -
Ensuite refurbishment & bedding a stone resin tray
Kelvin replied to Gringo's topic in Bathrooms, Ensuites & Wetrooms
The shower try makers normally have instructions on how they want their trays installed. One of ours was on flexible tile adhesive and the other expanding foam. The main thing is a strong level base. -
Can the flow temperature be too low?
Kelvin replied to JohnnyB's topic in Air Source Heat Pumps (ASHP)
What’s prompted her awareness is more about her attitude that water is a precious commodity rather than necessarily heating it as we’re on a borehole. What’s prompted that change in attitude is a neighbour down the hill from us has lost her water supply due to Iron Oxidising bacteria problem with her water source. She was about to sell her house which she obviously can’t until this is resolved and even then it might be difficult. But, yes I get the ‘stop going on’ reply too. 😂 -
Can the flow temperature be too low?
Kelvin replied to JohnnyB's topic in Air Source Heat Pumps (ASHP)
Rather than heating more water we’ve been trying to reduce how much we use. Our showers can report on length of shower and amount of water used etc. My other half was averaging 10 min showers whereas I am less than half that. Since becoming aware of this she’s reduced her time in the shower by 3 minutes. Over a week it’s a huge amount of water. -
Insulation is easy to understand at a basic level which generally is more is better (forget about diminishing returns for a moment) But that’s as much understanding your typical builder/trade has. Even then they don’t get the importance of fitting it correctly. Air tightness is almost other worldly to most of them alongside controlled and uncontrolled ventilation. I could tell from my conversations with whichever trades were on-site that they really didn’t understand it. The number of times I heard them saying ‘a hoose needs tae breathe’ Consequently I banned anyone on-site from drilling holes in anything.
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LED strip causing MCB tripping! Reason?
Kelvin replied to markharro's topic in Consumer Units, RCDs, MCBOs
I don’t have that many LED strips and those I do have are under cupboards with the driver easily accessible. The recessed LED in the kitchen was a little harder so I extended the cables through a flexible duct (cable tidy) and fitted the driver in the cupboard behind the kitchen behind a wall plate. -
Enforcement of Pedestrian Visibility Splay
Kelvin replied to Stephen Crowe's topic in Planning Permission
I suspect we don’t have all the facts -
Enforcement of Pedestrian Visibility Splay
Kelvin replied to Stephen Crowe's topic in Planning Permission
So this really a boundary dispute? I’m not sure why you are seeking the local authorities to enforce this. Your neighbour has trespassed onto your land and erected a fence. Take legal action to have it removed or accidentally drive a tractor into it. -
Mr
Kelvin replied to nelly's topic in Self Build VAT, Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL), S106 & Tax
No idea. However some questions for you. How involved have you been? Are you just an enthusiastic amateur DiYer or do you have any professional qualifications in the area?
