1930s Semi Refurb - Part 11 of ... (Summer House)

This isn't for the solar install - this is just for the garden room. No solar there. Just a 32amp ring and 6amp lighting circuit - actual load will be a laptop charger, split A/C and an AP.
Cool ill soon find out what my sparky recommends. Then I'll probably say upsize it :D. I'm being a coward and getting someone else to look at it.

Ps what is AP
 
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4mm is typically good for 32A but the cable length and installation method needs to be considered.

What protective device do you have on the house-end of the SWA? That’s what protects the 4mm SWA, regardless of what you fit in the Garden Room.

Your electrician may decide you need a larger earth conductor regardless.

It’s good you’re getting it inspected and tested
 
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4mm is typically good for 32A but the cable length and installation method needs to be considered.

What protective device do you have on the house-end of the SWA? That’s what protects the 4mm SWA, regardless of what you fit in the Garden Room.

Your electrician may decide you need a larger earth conductor regardless.

It’s good you’re getting it inspected and tested
What do you mean, protective device? It goes into a BG Consumer Unit. It is fused at the house end and on an RCBO.

Edit: oh you said house-end; missed that bit. It is wired into the house CU on an RCBO. It is an existing circuit that was already there; I've just uprated it from 2mm to 4mm as it was cheaper. I have another thread on the electrics
 
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@dlockers where did you get to with this? Final pics? Final costings?
All finished mate. Well, bar skirting board, which arrives today. And guttering which I've bloody forgotten again :cry:. Once the guttering is fitted I can final fix the outdoor AC unit (currently just freestanding).

Total cost was £14528 but that includes the TV/Sonos/Computer Desk (£2.5k). Also £3k of that was the bifolds. So roughly £9k for the super structure (as doors are quite a personal choice).

Big items were...
* Wood (whatever is left over once you subtract all the other bits)
* EPDM (~800)
* Doors (3k)
* Floor (600)
* Cladding (1k)
* Plasterer (700)
* WiFi/Smart Lights (400)
* AC Unit (700)

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Wow. Nice job. The AC unit was only £700 including the interior blower thing and the exterior fan unit? Does it warm as well as cool? What's power consumption/cost like?
I'll go back and re-read the thread but how did you do your power stuff? Did you connect this summer house up so it has its own consumer unit, then do a light circuit off that, 13A socket circuit and an AC unit circuit? Was the electrics DIY?

Also random one. Have you heard of SIP panels? Not suggesting I will use them if/when I do a build, just only just discovered their existence when a friend pointed them out to me the other day. I don't know in what applications they would be used but found the below youtube video where they do a summer housey thing with them.

 
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Total cost was £14528 but that includes the TV/Sonos/Computer Desk (£2.5k). Also £3k of that was the bifolds. So roughly £9k for the super structure (as doors are quite a personal choice).

£12k then

How much would a "professional" charge for this, £40k?
 
Big items were...
* Wood (whatever is left over once you subtract all the other bits)
* EPDM (~800)
* Doors (3k)
* Floor (600)
* Cladding (1k)
* Plasterer (700)
* WiFi/Smart Lights (400)
* AC Unit (700)
Insulation comes under wood? Or you got it all for 50p from matey Facebook?

I'd hope to keep mine under 10k, and looks like I can provided I don't go mad with cladding. Not into fancy doors TBH, prefer insulation to light.
 
Wow. Nice job. The AC unit was only £700 including the interior blower thing and the exterior fan unit? Does it warm as well as cool? What's power consumption/cost like?
I'll go back and re-read the thread but how did you do your power stuff? Did you connect this summer house up so it has its own consumer unit, then do a light circuit off that, 13A socket circuit and an AC unit circuit? Was the electrics DIY?

Yeah the split A/C is a specific "Easy Install" model from Electriq. It is propane filled rather than F-Gas and it is pregassed. It warms perfectly - currently enjoying 20 degrees.

It is powered from a 4mm SWA that goes into my main CU in the house. It terminates in the summer house into a "garage" mini-CU with a light circuit and socket circuit. I did all the electrics DIY but it is only "first fix" at the moment (I need to formally wire it into the house CU, but I have a workshop I need to sort at the same time, and a potential solar install happening).


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Also random one. Have you heard of SIP panels? Not suggesting I will use them if/when I do a build, just only just discovered their existence when a friend pointed them out to me the other day. I don't know in what applications they would be used but found the below youtube video where they do a summer housey thing with them.


Yeah they look pretty good. The Oakwood Garden Rooms guy is developed a SIP kit where you can buy either the instructions or the full kit cut to size. I was going to go that route but it felt more complicated (ironically).
 

Is that stats for the summer house AC usage? Do you run it 24/7 or have it set to maintain temp at certain times? Also how have you isolated just the power to the AC to get those stats if it's wired directly into your garage mini consumer unit rather than via a smart plug?
 
Is that stats for the summer house AC usage? Do you run it 24/7 or have it set to maintain temp at certain times? Also how have you isolated just the power to the AC to get those stats if it's wired directly into your garage mini consumer unit rather than via a smart plug?
Just the AC --- it just plugs into an smart plug rather than being hard wired into the CU.

I have it coming on at 4am for cheap electricity to take edge of, then on from 0830 till I finish work (6/7/8pm).
 
OK. Interesting. I wonder how the usage is when it is cooling in summer more than heating. I would assume cooling costs less. So some days in Jan you are pulling 5Kw a day. That's about £1.25 a day. It's not cheap tbh but then... my daily train commute is more than 2 months of usage so it fades into insignificance on those grounds.
 
OK. Interesting. I wonder how the usage is when it is cooling in summer more than heating. I would assume cooling costs less. So some days in Jan you are pulling 5Kw a day. That's about £1.25 a day. It's not cheap tbh but then... my daily train commute is more than 2 months of usage so it fades into insignificance on those grounds.
Yeah exactly....it's a lot cheaper than petrol too. It's my cost of doing business for the day. Still a fraction of a coffee/lunch/train ticket day.
 
I'd hope to keep mine under 10k, and looks like I can provided I don't go mad with cladding. Not into fancy doors TBH, prefer insulation to light.
but if it's a summer house/home-office interior light will make it much more livable ; security could become an issue though.
 
I want minimal windows and doors as well for a few reasons:

- More heat loss. Depending on the door obviously. More/bigger the glass = more heat loss.

- Less space on interior side that is usable. One of the issues with my current summer house, is one entire side, plus a bit of another, has windows or doors on it. The windows are long ones down to less than a foot off the floor. On the interior, I can't really push anything up against them otherwise I can't use the windows. Fairly obviously can't push anything up against the doors. Also it limits the ability to hang stuff on walls internally, like tools, cabinets, shelves etc.

- Cost.

- Sound proofing.

My build will be small. About 4.5 x 2.5 metres as I'm very space limited. I'm thinking of having literally a door one end, and a window at the other. Possibly a fairly high horizontal "viewing" style window just to let light in. Or just simply one single set of double doors in the middle. I know I need to think about ventilation as well. @dlockers if I install the A/C like you've done, is that essentially also taking care of ventilation as well? Then I wouldn't have to worry about trickle vents and/or a vent hole somewhere.
 
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