@toodles I think a trowel probably would have achieved a better finish. The reality is I don't think they attempted anything, other than squirting it in various places.

This was how they left some internal pipework installation (that I made them redo)- the pipe runs being in an unheated part of the house so even more important that they are done correctly. Master craftsmen they are not.

@benson I found that British Gas were always reluctant to actually test and if necessary, top up additive levels after draining and replacing a radiator on the basis that it looked fine to them! I wouldn’t give them dog kennel space these days never mind house room. Regards, Toodles.

@benson I can’t help but feel that the policy makers at MCS should be compelled to read this and similar RHH topics; perhaps they would then have some idea how their high ideals are actually being executed in their name! Regards, Toodles.

Posted by: @toodles

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@benson I can’t help but feel that the policy makers at MCS should be compelled to read this and similar RHH topics; perhaps they would then have some idea how their high ideals are actually being executed in their name! Regards, Toodles.

Indeed. But as established, this company aren't doing any of this under MCS accreditation, or not yet anyway. 

Let me just pick up that photo of where a pipe enters through the double-skin thermal envelope of the house.

There's quite a few things to consider to get this right.

It looks like the pipe has been insulated throughout the entire distance of the hole using closed cell Climaflex (or similar),
but there was so much space left that they had to fill the gap with expanded foam.

There should then be an outer-pipe which carries the weight of the wall.
But that doesn't seem to be present.

The through-wall hole should slope outwards at a slope of at least 1-in-40.
Any ingress of water then gets directed to the outside.

At the end of the day it's more a question of 'common sense' rather than cross-referencing the regulations.

Posted by: @transparent

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Let me just pick up that photo of where a pipe enters through the double-skin thermal envelope of the house.

There's quite a few things to consider to get this right.

It looks like the pipe has been insulated throughout the entire distance of the hole using closed cell Climaflex (or similar),
but there was so much space left that they had to fill the gap with expanded foam.

There should then be an outer-pipe which carries the weight of the wall.
But that doesn't seem to be present.

The through-wall hole should slope outwards at a slope of at least 1-in-40.
Any ingress of water then gets directed to the outside.

At the end of the day it's more a question of 'common sense' rather than cross-referencing the regulations.

@transparent there is a solid outer sleeve and that isn't expanding foam. It is just surface plaster that had flaked off.

If they had drilled a hole that untidy (and oversized) through my wall I literally would have exploded at them 🤣 .As for the slope that is a good point. I will check.

Last query for now, and would again appreciate some advice.

I am being told by them that it is a manufacturers requirement to have such long flexible hoses/pipes running from the ashp itself. Clearly if they were shorter, and the base and ashp shifted to the right, it would look a lot neater. 

Is there a minimum length? Again the vast majority of the photos that I can find of installs look a lot more aesthetically pleasing than what I have ended up with, with the flow and returns running nice and close to the unit. Furthermore I would assume that these external pipe runs should be kept to a minimum. They showed me day 1 where the ashp would be placed which was quite a bit further to the right than where it has ended up.

Thanks all. 

@transparent excuse my slightly tardy reply. I can confirm that those exposed elements have been taped up, and I will check regarding the conduit.

I have spoken to the company and there are positive indications that the gripes will be rectified, and I have asked for some adjustments as well to the flexible hosing and base. I pretty much know the answer to the above query I believe, which is that flexible hoses can come in a variety of different lengths and certainly in our case two shorter ones would have been much more suited.

The homely is....interesting! I'm not quite sure the arbitrary setting of routines is the perfect set up for us as the default drop back periods during the day quite often change if one of us isn't at work for example/school holidays etc. Thus, it would be nice to be able to make small adjustments without going through the rigamarole of setting a new routine each time. Maybe an addition for future app updates...

Another interesting development. I contacted my home insurance today to enquire as to whether the ASHP itself was installed against theft and damage. We don't live in bandit territory by any stretch but just wanted to check. This triggered a notification to their buildings dept who quickly declared it buildings work, and thus I had inadvertently potentially voided my policy by not notifying them. Luckily our installers could quickly provide proof of their public liability insurance which should satisfy that side of things.

The main point of debate was the ASHP itself. They initially suggested that it was simply a 'content' outside of our building and they only provide cover up to £350. When I queried this, they spoke to the underwriters again who defined a permanent structure ie something that is insured as [part of] the building rather than contents as follows. Needs to be permanently attached, and removal of which would result in damage [to the structure]. They seemed reluctant to fully accept that an ASHP therefore was a permanent structure albeit we did go through that it is fixed to the flow and return pipework which is in turn connected to the building. An interesting, and slightly concerning turn of events and therefore it may be worth people querying with their insurers as to whether they are covered. Albeit possibly not mid install like I have done.

Posted by: @benson

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They initially suggested that it was simply a 'content' outside of our building and they only provide cover up to £350. When I queried this, they spoke to the underwriters again who defined a permanent structure ie something that is insured as [part of] the building rather than contents as follows. Needs to be permanently attached, and removal of which would result in damage [to the structure]

Yes.... hence my comments about theft-prevention on p.1 of this topic!

Having longer hose connections also makes it slightly easier to maneuver a trolley jack beneath it and use a bolt cutter on the connections.

You need to do something which makes your ASHP external unit less attractive than those elsewhere in town.

Just to update on this, the company director turned up unannounced at our house a week or so ago. The installation work has been completed apart from commissioning/balancing, and rectifying some snagging issues (external pipe lagging). We have no paperwork for guarantees etc. yet.

That said he told me that he will be doing no more ASHP installations and they have no intention of becoming MCS accredited again. He made some slightly vague assurances they'd come back and finish it, and when I queried what they were doing with the BUS grant he said he'd need to essentially sub contract to another company who are MCS accredited and they could claim it on their behalf.

Final payment remains outstanding. Furthermore if they can't claim the BUS grant they will have made a huge loss on the job. I am personally thinking that there is a reasonable chance I won't see them again and thus am starting to plan for this scenario.

My current issues are:

- they have the homely installer app and presumably I'd need to essentially reset and set this all up again to get access. I'm probably a little out of my depth doing this, but there are some odd fluctuations with the flow temp anyway. Sometimes it will shoot up to 50 when it really doesn't need to, which I can't figure out as I think it should be coasting at 35/40 with current outdoor temps and the house is plenty warm enough when it does this. Presumably if I did have access I could just change the max flow temp, reduce it down, and then gradually increase it if the house doesn't get warm enough when o/s temps are at their coldest? Does anyone have any knowledge of setting it up at all?

- I also need to balance the system. The rads downstairs have lockshields either side. What is the best way of balancing? One fully open and then just tweak the other side to get a consistent room temp in each room?

I was debating just getting an independent specialist in to see if they could finish it and set up the homely again for me, and maybe balance if that can be done in a day...