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Hi all, we moved into our self build with the basement still not complete and would like to finish it off. As cash is tight, I'm planning to do the work myself, so ideally would be looking at a solution that is possible for the experienced DIYer. The floors are currently rough screed over UFH and I need to decide how to complete the floor, ideally, before taking the project further. The rooms are: 1. A fitness studio. Ideally this would be a spring wood floor but I don't think this would work well with the UFH. My initial thought would be to pour an initial self leveling latex screed and then finish with either laminate or karndean, if funds and experience allow. 2. A den/cinema room. This is also rough screened with the added complexity that there are two large manholes in the room for the basement sump pumps. So I would have to create an access hatch for these,i guess. Again, I think that a laminate initially would privacy be easiest and cheapest here, but open to suggestions. You might see from the photos that the screed doesn't come up to the wall in many places but to insulation boards, and I'm not sure quite how to deal with these. Should the insulation be cut back level with the existing screed, or should I foam any gaps and bring the screed up to the level of the foam? One particular corner has an elevated concrete block, which is a bit of a pain Ideally I'd have a completely level floor for whatever surface goes on to of it. I'd love to hear any suggestions or experiences with something similar. I'm lacking in experience and confidence and don't really want to make an expensive blunder. Many thanks!!

Hi. I have a new underfloor system which got 4 zones, although they are quite close and not really necessary to split. I wonder how I can control it best via Tado and or Alexa. I would like to turn the underfloor heating off when a max temp reached and/or over night. As I have 4 zones it looks like I would need 4 wired Tado Thermostats, which is crazy. Is there not a way to turn of for example the pump via Tado. or if not can I just turn of the pump with a smart socket using the thermostat temperature via Alexa for example? Thank you in advance for your thoughts

Good Evening and Happy New Year My next question for estimation. Once I have listed everything that I think that we need and got my approximate estimate I shall send off, but right now I'm listing everything and pricing it myself, this is what covid does to you when you can't go to the pub. My single storey barn conversion has a flat roof so there will not be any form of header tank, there will be an emersion tank in the utility room. We will have 3 showers for which I need pumps. But, all the ones I look at say 'gravity fed', which sounds to me like they need a higher tank. These pipes will need to be horizontal, one at 2m, one at 12m and one at 25m, all from the DHW tank. It is very rare that multiple showers are used at the same time, but not impossible. I'm not worried about the hot water, we have 2 showers with pumps in the existing house and it has not been an issue waiting for hot water. My issue is that I don't know what type of pump I need. I know one of ours needed replacing recently, at about £200. The existing pumps are on the same level as the showers by the tank, but we do have a cold water header tank and I'm not sure if this makes any difference. Do I need the same as we have now. TIA Jill

So the plan is this. 3 or 4 IBCs buried under the patio linked together at the bottom with the first tank connected to the downpipes using filtered hoppers and the supply taken from the last in the line to limit the sediment transferring between them. I then plan to put a 5 micron filter and an activated carbon block in the garage before feeding the WCs, washing machine and outside tap with the supply. Question is - should I use a submersible pump or a jet pump...? Both will need some sort of pressure switch to sense a tap opening or a WC flush, but there the similarity ends. My thoughts are that a submersible pump will be cheaper and easier to maintain but by design it will pick up more sediment and that means the filters will need changing more often. Also, it will cut out at a higher water level. A jet pump will sit the clean side of the filters so will not be prone to pulling as much sediment - plan to pick up from just below the water surface with a floating pickup - but for a pump with a switch and a pressure tank it is much more expensive. Other option is to pick up from the IBC outlets and balance across all 3/4 tanks with the jet pump that slightly reduces the cost as the links will be 25mm MDPE. The commercial models tend to do in tank pumps but that means you don't get the full water capacity. They also need a separate flow / pressure switch but not too worried about that. So has anyone else used anything like this and have any thoughts ..??