Heating Regs

mjtefc9 · 19 Feb 2019

Good morning,

We bought a new build last Feb and since day one we have complained of cold at the front of thr house, mainly the bedroom and En-suite above the garage. The builder actually told us it was our own fault originally for buying a house with a built in garage !

Anyway, they reckon they have done all they need to and washed their hands of it now, and so I approached the NHBC. The NHBC said if the bedroom reaches 18deg.. even if it doesn't hold this temperature for even 2 seconds then that meets regs.. Bonkers ! It may reach it but doesn't hold it.. and for it to reach it the thermostat needs to be on 26deg in the main bedroom.

Anyway they are looking at the en-suite now.. does anyone know what the min temp for that is? This is mainly 16-17deg and is connected to the main bedroom.

And one more thing, when we bought the house, a selling point was the boiler in the garage and not a room.. the thing is when it kicks in it wakes us and can be heard as we are above the garage..?? Do I have any comeback on that ?

The reason it kicks in is because it gets so cold at night in the house.

Mark

wessex101 · 19 Feb 2019

The floor between the bedroom and garage should be stuffed full of insulation, plus there should be a fire separating ceiling to stop fire spread from the garage to the rest of the house.

If the bedroom is getting cold and you can hear the boiler firing in the garage I wonder if there is inadequate insulation in the floor? Although to be fair, my boiler is in the loft above my office and I sometimes hear that when it fires up but it usually doesn't wake me up.

mjtefc9 · 19 Feb 2019

wessex101 said:
The floor between the bedroom and garage should be stuffed full of insulation, plus there should be a fire separating ceiling to stop fire spread from the garage to the rest of the house.

If the bedroom is getting cold and you can hear the boiler firing in the garage I wonder if there is inadequate insulation in the floor? Although to be fair, my boiler is in the loft above my office and I sometimes hear that when it fires up but it usually doesn't wake me up.

Hi thanks for the reply, they have had builders out last week and they have assured me it is packed with insulation, and they are happy with what is in the loft ?

Can I buy more insulation and put more in the loft space?

wessex101 · 19 Feb 2019

mjtefc9 said:
Hi thanks for the reply, they have had builders out last week and they have assured me it is packed with insulation, and they are happy with what is in the loft ?

Can I buy more insulation and put more in the loft space?

Yes but did they actually check? I saw something on the TV ages ago where there was a group of residents complaining their newbuild houses were cold and the builder and NHBC assured them they had been checked and were all OK. When the residents eventually got an independent inspection it was found the builder had missed out all the wall insulation. So things do get missed.

clifford1 · 20 Feb 2019

Surely this is a classic case of the need for separate room radiator thermostats? The boiler has the capacity, but too much heat is going into the main room and not enough to the bedroom?

mjtefc9 · 20 Feb 2019

clifford1 said:
Surely this is a classic case of the need for separate room radiator thermostats? The boiler has the capacity, but too much heat is going into the main room and not enough to the bedroom?

Funny you say that.. I've made them pay for wireless thermostats and I can fit them.. so will let you know how I get on!

^woody^ · 20 Feb 2019

There should not be a central thermostat in one bedroom controlling the heating in another bedroom. Typically the thermostat controlling the system should be in the main lounge or hallway, and there should be TRVs on habitable room radiators.

You need an expert to report and comment on the other issues. The NHBC are wrong in their interpretation of their heating standard - which IIRC should be 18° when the external temp is -3°C and it must be capable of maintaining that.

mjtefc9 · 26 Feb 2019

^woody^ said:
There should not be a central thermostat in one bedroom controlling the heating in another bedroom. Typically the thermostat controlling the system should be in the main lounge or hallway, and there should be TRVs on habitable room radiators.

You need an expert to report and comment on the other issues. The NHBC are wrong in their interpretation of their heating standard - which IIRC should be 18° when the external temp is -3°C and it must be capable of maintaining that.

Hi pal,

What is IIRC ? where can I find this reg?

Thank you mate

Mottie · 26 Feb 2019

IIRC is short for ‘If I Remember Correctly’.

^woody^ · 26 Feb 2019

"Recall, recall, recall"

Mottie · 26 Feb 2019

Remember, remember, remember. Originally........
https://www.dictionary.com/e/acronyms/iirc/

mjtefc9 · 28 Feb 2019

I've just been in the loft and the insulation above the cold bedroom is like below.. should it have this gap?

^woody^ · 28 Feb 2019

Yes. For ventilation.

oldbutnotdead · 28 Feb 2019

Is this a detached/semidetached? How many outside walls has the room above the garage got? My guess is that it is a semi, that the garage wall is a boundary so the bedroom above has 3 outside walls and an unheated space below. the heating system won't have been balanced properly and the thermostat (as already said) is in the wrong place.

wwwebber · 12 Mar 2019

oldbutnotdead said:
Is this a detached/semidetached? How many outside walls has the room above the garage got? My guess is that it is a semi, that the garage wall is a boundary so the bedroom above has 3 outside walls and an unheated space below. the heating system won't have been balanced properly and the thermostat (as already said) is in the wrong place.

If the radiator becomes hot in time with other rads in the house then it is not a balance issue. And yes, the stat is in the wrong place.

Is it a decent sized rad ? and does it warm up as quick as others in the house ?

diynot

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Heating Regs

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