Mr Blobby

We have internorm KF410 windows with one large window in two sections, one fixed and one opening. This coupling is actually very good. It is invisible from the front of the window and our fitters actually fitted it correctly (although I am a little concerned it sticks out at the top) unlike our very expensive internorm entrance door to sidelights junction that is a very different design and fitted very badly. You big windows will be supplied without the glazing units installed. For the installation of the glazing units into the frame Internom supply a sealant type stuff, fix-o-round to be applied around the perimeter to supposedly improve stability and sound reduction/airtightness. Our fitters didn't use it (they used packers) hence we have a box of fix-o-round on site. Fitters claim the fix-o-round isnt necessary but I suspect they just couldn't be arsed.

.. but there is no mould on the treated grade 3 ply. Only the cheap substitute sheets. Which are not to the listed spec. I just find it intensely frustrating when trades substitute specified materials for cheaper alternatives to make a few quid at my expense.

Phantom braking, insurance : Agree with both of these, although I don't do long long motorway drives very often so the phantom braking is not a big deal for me. The rest are all things I like. I like the app-service-system, and the suspension feels just right, and I like no-buttons. I hired a Mercedes eq recently and hated the sea of buttons. I'm on my second model 3 and very happy. Although with Musk turning to the dark side this may be my last.

I've just done some basic maths from the builder's invoice for the ply and there is no way that he ordered enough Grade-3 ply to cover the whole roof. I am quite certain that there has been, for whatever reason, a bit of substition here. 🙄

Exactly this. If I was ordering windows again I would get supply only. Then get a few joiners to take several days to install them slowly and properly how you want them fitted.

Yes it is. I should add some context here. The builder ordered the ply and subbied the roofers. My guess is that the builder, as usual, ordered the absolute minimum amount of ply to try and maximise profit. I suspect he didn't order enough so the roofers ran out of material and, to get the job finished on the same day, got a couple of extra sheets from the local builders merchant. Which is less than a mile away. The pictures show just a small section. Only about 10-15% of the sheets look different. Oops, I just noticed the two pictures in my original post are actually the same affected area, so here is the other affected area on the other side of the garage. The mouldy sheets are much lighter in colour (where they are not mouldy!) Is this a big deal? The roof is watertight and so replacing the ply is not easy.

Another day another issue on site. So on our garage flat roof drawings WBP ply is specifed. I checked with the builder and, sure enough, the invoice lists "MALAYSIAN 8 x 4 x 18mm Complies with EN13986 EN636-3 Structural use" Which I think is ok and meets the WBP spec, right? So far so good. However.... Not all sheets are the same colour. Some are lighter in colour and are affected by mould, where the darker sheets appear mould resistant. Some questions: 1. Am I right to suspect that the mopuldy sheets are not the same as the other sheets and not to the required specification? 2. If the answer to (1) is yes, then apart from being really annoying, how bad is this? 3. If this is a problem, then what should I do about it?

For our connection application the DNO wanted to know the big appliances, so car chargers, ASHP, oven, and list the kVA for each. For us the 3-phase cost was almost the same as single phase but that is because of our location I think, with three phases running down the street outside. Out primary reason for 3-phase was to get more solar PV on the roof and the 3-phase car charging. We have, I think 80A per phase (still to a temoprary cabinet) which is more than we need, but the DNO has a fixed price for up to 80A per phase and is quite happy to connect at that level almost as standard practice. The DNO was more concerned about startup current for the (7KW!) heat pump, so I had to send them the technical specifcation. If you do get a 3-phase connection, remeber you need a bigger permali box and hockey stick. Our DNO is a PITA about this stuff.

Thanks for this. Please let me know how you get on and the end result.

Moved the house 5 metres back. We have a massive garden now, way too big, but hardly any turning circle at the front onto a main road. I was so focused on the interesting stuff that I overlooked the basics 🙄 I would have said no to full height windows. Terrible to get the thresholds thermally broken, leak lots of heat in winter, too much solar gain in summer, and don't increase light much. But architects love big windows. Be warned! No bay window type rooms poking out. Nightmare. I would have thought about room sizes and solar panels earlier. I thought I did but we should have made the rear return wider to accommodate more south facing panels. If doing it again I would do things simpler.

The first statement is correct but it does not follow that increasing demand will always uncrease co2 emissions. In Ireland, where admittedly wind penetrations is much higher than GB, at about 50%, and almost all on-shore with no nuclear here, then wind is regularly curtailed at night when demand falls off a cliff. Wind is curtailed because the increase in demand at 6 am requires fossil fuel plant to remain on, close to min gen, to ramp up quickly and exceed total wind capacity. Any increase in demand here overnight when wind is curtailed is satisfied with zero extra co2 emissions as the turbine blades are not feathered. Wind is not curtailed just because of cost (ok there are start costs in the market for fossil plant) but there is just more wind generation than there is demand. The grid stability question here is an interesting one. Ccgt plant running near min gen during periods of low demand is less efficient and increases emissions per MWh. For such ccgt plant the increase in demand would improve the heat rate and reduce emissions per MWh generation. The increase in domestic batteries and EVs charging overnight and smoothing demand will ultimately reduce overall emissions per MWh.

Our internorm AT540 entrance door is an ongoing headache. The door is connected to 1m sidelights either side. The first time it was installed the window fitters didn't bother with the coupling unit but just glued the door frame to the sidelights with silicone glue stuff. Messy to look at and I could see daylight between the door and sidelights. Fitters also pinched the electrical cable in the join and the electrics are knackered. Reinstalled now but where the cable was pinched this has prevented the sidelights and door frame from fitting tight together, either because the cable is pinched again or the frame is bent from the first install. The coupling unit is a set of bubble seals and small plastic "H" shapes that fit in internal grooves in the frame. Fitters reapplied silicone at the joint in the second install. Not sure if that's a good idea. Its still a crap job and we need to decide waht to do. As far as I can see the installation instructions for the entrance door coupling units are not in the public domain. They would be useful to show the installers! Does anyone have a copy or some experience of how the coupling unit should be installed? For anyone with an internorm, or similar entance door with big sidelights, how was your door coupled to the sidelights, and am I right to think the use of silicone here is just wrong?

We want a big, 1800 shower tray and our local bathroom showroom tried to sell us an enamel one. This one https://www.my-bette.com/en/product/shower-trays-and-shower-areas/betteultra-1600-2000-mm This is the first time we have seen enamal trays. Has anyone on here installed one in their bathroom? Should they be avoided or are they ok?

Is there any reason why I shouldn't put the extract manifold on to of the supply manifold in the picture? Unit is on the loft. Plenty of room but would use less space if stacked. I ask because every installation and design I've seen has the manifolds adjacent to each other.

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I don't think your house was rendered when we visited. It is reassuring that you are happy with the sto rend on your build. I guess ours would have a different base coat on a block build? Which sto product did you use? Yes please PM me Kevin's details. This rendering looks dead easy. I think I'll just do it myself in an afternoon and save a bucket of cash. 👍

Thanks @nod, this is exactly as I suspected. I like my builder but he does love to do things as cheaply as possible. You think K rend is ok then? With the proper backing coat, which I assume is the first (of two?) coats over the blocks? And would that typically have mesh in it? (I am neurotic about cracking)

For us we have screed going on top of hollowcore slabs so easy to lay the UFH pipe. I just don't know how we'd plumb in a second manifold without adding another pump. In our passive house I agree that first floor UFH is probaply unecessary. Our builder struggles to understand this however, and keeps telling me we should put the UFH pipes in the bathroom floor so the tiles aren't cold in the morning. Is he right? Will the floor be cold?

Our thoughts exactly. The world has changed since we did our original kitchen design with two integrated ovens. Counter-top air fryer and microwave just seems to make more sense for us now.

Sorry to hijack this a bit... @Conor, Do you mean an integrated air fryer? We are thinking of dropping our planned combi microwave/air fryer for simpler stand-alone units on the worktop in the pantry. ... I agree with other comments on here, hob on island, sink behind is a good layout.

We need to decide on render to go on block house. Our builder is a big fan of K Rend, but I'm not so sure, having read horror stories about algae growth etc. Also builder says he puts down a base sand/cement layer and then sprays K rend on top. I did ask him about mesh to resist cracking but this doesn't seem to feature in his approach, leaving me a little concerned. So what are the other options? And then there are options within options, like monocouche, silicate? What about sto, or weber? I have no idea about this so please help!

Our builder keeps telling me I should put some UFH loops under first floor bathrooms to have a warm floor. Should I? And if so, then how is that connected when running an otherwise very simple single-zone system with no additional pumps? A second manifold in series?

No. I remember our M and E consultants tried to persuade to install a combined buffer/DHW tank some time ago. I didn't like the idea then and still don't. Call me old fashoined but I like to keep these things seperate. And also at 285L DHW maximum capacity is perhaps a little smaller than we would like. And now it looks like we will bin the buffer all together and go for a single zone UFH.

What flow meter do you use? What do you use to read the data?