Mr Blobby

Im pretty sure the black foam stuff is there, I saw it on site and we poked some conduit through it for the PV cable. I haven't checked the whole roof of course. I don't like heights.

On the VMzinc directions (that appear to be the way my aluminium roof was installed) there are screw details that mean nothing to me...

Agreed, definetely the wrong screws. Yes the gap in the ridge annoys me too. Totally avoidable had they tried to do it properly.

You're quite right about the galvanic corrosion. What are the options here then if not stainless steel screws? Aluminium screws look like the only choice. At least it will be easy to check with a magnet if the right screws are being used 😆 I have a bad feeling that standard VMZ stainless steel clips may have been used to fix the aluminium panels. There are some spares kicking around on site to check. Interestingly enough, however, the prefa site lists stainless steel fixings for the aluminium panels. I'll email Prefa for some guidance.

So I found the ridge construction and its the G3 standard ridge construction for zinc roofs. Which I'm ok with. In theory. Looking at the G3 roof installation, I recognise this as exactly how our roof was installed. The G3 ridge detail is described very nicely here https://www.nealroofing.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Ridge-Installation.pdf This is the bit I like best at square 7. Stainless Steel screws Must be used. I think our metal roofer will be replacing the screws soon. That'll learn him to try and save a few quid.

It annoys the hell out of me already. And all to save a tenner on screws. Its so obvious that screws here should be stainless that you shouldn't have to check. Which is difficult anyway. How do you know for sure if a screw is stainless before it starts rusting?

The ridge vent, yes. Aluminium. Prefa. I don't think so. https://uk.prefa.com/fileadmin/user_upload/_EN/Downloads/Technische_Zeichnungen/Details_Roof_PREFALZ_PREFA.pdf I'm pretty sure its not like this... Me neither. In fairness, it's hard to see the fixings unless on the roof but I can see the rusty screws from the scaffold easy enough because of the colour difference.

It looks like the metal roofers wanted to save a few quid on screws when installing my very expensive metal roof. Am I right to be a bit naffed off?

Single zhender 600 unit, 90mm ducting. 8 extracts. 9 Supply. Voids designed in to new build house for ducting so there should be no routing problems. I've been quoted £1500 to install only. Is this a good price to save me the hassle? Or save the money and do it myself? * *I have no idea how to install this but reading the posts on here its just fixing the ducts with metal strap to the holllow core slabs. How hard can it be 🤷‍♂️

We've not bought our tiles yet but our architect says some of his other builds had floor tiles from Tile Expert and they were ok.

Cancel the screeding

Where's the steel?

There has now 🤨

I get a sense of deja vu here 🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️

Please tell me more. What's good about them over the 5 quid vents? Need to decide this quite soon 🤔

Whatever you do don't get a 4k monitor at 27 inches. The font's don't scale right at 4k on a 27" monitor and it looks awful. I use two 27 inch monitors at 2560x1440 on an amzon basics dual mount and that works great for me. As @Conor mentioned, multiple monitors with a single app maximised on each is a lot easier than messing around resizing windows on a single big screen. Before doing anything, make sure your desktop/laptop can support monitors at the desired resolution with the proper port(s). Which may or may not need to carry audio as well.

They've had other problems with their build, including leaky plumbing, so you are probably right that the root cause of their pantry condensation is not the ventilation.

Hi Conor, yes, I remember you were putting JA Solar panels on the roof when I visited your build some time ago. Your panels are nicely integrated with GSE frames and look bang tidy. We have a standing seam roof. Our panels will be mounted on S5 clamps so not quite so invisible, hence the desire to get pretty panels. We can get 20 panels on the NE and SE elevations at the back but the biggest SW elevation at the front, where the sun shines, is I think too nice loooking to spoil with PV panels. That;s our problem and our reason for looking at fancy panels. I had thought that maybe if I install the prettiest panels on the rear then they may not spoil the aesthetioc of the roof too much. I can experiment to see how they look on the rear and then make a final decison about the front. Our builder is horrified that I am thinking about spoiling the front roof with panels. I think he is probably right. I'll test out the rear first to be sure to be sure 🤨

This is a really good point. I hadn't thought of it this way, that a supply would stop the warm air from the kitchen entering the pantry but it makes complete sense now you explain it. 🤔 Supply in the pantry it is. Thank you. That's the answer I hoped for. So no supply/extract in the void then. A freind of ours who lives in a new build down the road with MVHR complains of condensation in their unventilated pantry so I naturally want to avoid the same. A large ventilation company in Northern Ireland, who did our neighbours ventilation plan, also drew up a ventilation plan for us and similarly excluded any pantry ventilation. On our ventilation plan this company also omitted an extract from the plant room (where the DHW tank sits) but has added an extract on the landing at the top of the stairs. Which we won't be implementing. Agreed, it would be impossible to reduce the temparature in the pantry with the sort of insulation we have, we just want to keep the kitchen humidity out. 👍

This week I need to decide on solar panels. I will be installing about 20 on the roof, and maybe a few on the garage too. This afternoon I got to see a JA Solar deep blue 4 series panel. This is, I think, typical of the "all black" panels, with wires visible on the face: Its a fine 435 Watt N-Typw panel but its not really "all black". AFAIK most black panels use this same technology except for Maxeon/Sunpower who recently released a new black panel with a glass face and no visible wires. Which looks great (although I haven't seen it in the flesh of course) but is three times the price https://www.renugen.co.uk/sunpower-maxeon-3-420-blk/ Aiko sell something similar for less https://shop4electrical.co.uk/panels/12211-aiko-a-mah54mb-mono-glass-n-type-abc-black-hole-series-photovoltaic-solar-panel-450w but look like they are being sued for patent infringement https://mediaroom.maxeon.com/2023-11-15-Maxeon-Solar-Technologies-Files-Patent-Action-Against-Aiko-in-Germany I like the look of the Aiko panels but are they worth the extra dosh or should I save my money and stick with more tested technology like the JA solar? Will anyone ever see them on the roof apart from me anyway? What other panels should I consider?

To my surprise and delight, SOLIS have actually completed the G98 Northern Ireland tests for the new series 6 inverter that is unique in having 4 MPPTs. The G98 NI certificate is on the ENA website. 😀

This week its all about MVHR. Most of the plan is sorted and I've read all the topics on here but a few stupid questions remain. Please help... 1. Voids From our ground floor kitchen we have a void that runs up through the first floor and into a vaulted ceiling with a velux. There are no openings in the void above GF so it is effectively airtight to the rafters. The void sits above the dining table and between the kitchen and living space. There will be kitchen extracts on one side and supply valves to the other side of the void. There will therefore be some passage of air across the bottoom of the void, but what about higher up where there is no ventilation? Should there be a supply or extract valve near the top? Would there be a condensation risk without ventilation? Would natural convection currents control humidity and I don't need to worry about this? 2. Pantry Should the 2m sqaure pantry have an extract or supply valve. The pantry has a single door to the kitchen with an extract about 2.5 metres away in said kitchen. 3. Fancy valves I quite like the look (and claimed acoustics) of some of the outragously expensive supply/extract valves like Lindab airy or Frankische or ergovent. Are they worth the extra dosh? Does anybody on here have them? 4. Balancing at the manifold I read on here somewhere that its better to balance at the manifold because there is less noise. Is that true?

You can now get sky stream, no dish and freedom to get a decent tv set instead of the glass TV. The TV with sky glass is pretty crap. Its LED. A decent OLED TV (LG) will be far better and weigh far less. That's what we'll be doing and with sky streaming so no dish. In my experience a cheap stereo HiFi amp and two speakers is cheaper and sounds better than a soundbar but some prefer the looks of a soundbar. Which isn't really the point. Our TV will be on a cabinet.

Thanks @Marvin, that's what I thought, it's the costs of bailing out the failed suppliers that we all have to pay for now. It's not a green levies thing it's a privatisation blunder. Privatise the profits and nationalise the losses 🤦

Do you have a source for this?