How essential is a Hot Press?

manufan16

Hi All,

I hope this doesn't come accross as a silly question but how essential is a hot press in new builds nowadays?

I am in the process of finalising Dormer bungalow upstairs layout plan before construction drawings are made and the proposal we like best has no hotpress due to an increase in size on the master bedroom to get some additional morning sunlight in.

Can the hot water tank be placed in the utility room ? and then a pump fitted to compensate

Can the MHRV unit be placed in the utility room or is that best placed first floor ?

Any advice or experiences appreciated...

sinnerboy

Hot presses as we grew up with them are rightly a thing of the past . Hot water is expensive to produce and is required to be stored in well insulated cylinders - the press should not be hot . Located in utility with a pump is the way to go .

Your HRV unit is your buildings lungs - and you should pay regular attention to it accordingly . If filters are not maintained not only will it not operate efficiently it can lead to poor indoor air quality and even pose a health hazard . I would place in the utility and "get to know it" i.e. listen to the sound it makes when operating normally . Any sign of it doing otherwise can indicate a stuffed filter or faltering fan . You want to be on top of that ASAP .

DOCARCH

sinnerboy wrote: »

Hot presses as we grew up with them are rightly a thing of the past . Hot water is expensive to produce and is required to be stored in well insulated cylinders - the press should not be hot . Located in utility with a pump is the way to go .

Sinnerboy is correct. What I often now incorporate in designs now is what I call an 'Airing Cupboard' which may be similar in size to the old 'Hot Press' but does not have the cylinder in it but instead, depending on szie, a small radiator or heating element. People still need space to store bulky items such as towels, sheets, etc., and final drying of clothes, etc.

sinnerboy

Agreed .... but - my own "take" on this is that people are tending to build over-sized houses . (In terms of number of rooms and overall m2 )

So consider instead of creating a cupboard with a rad ( which I have done myself for clients who would not buy my suggestion ) - use the seldom used guest bathroom to dry clothes .

Realistically , most of the time , what other use will it get ?

manufan16

Thanks for the advice guys

mr_edge_to_you

We have two storage rooms off our landing. We have our hot water cylinder in one and we have storage in the other. In the storage room we have our underfloor heating manifold which does provide heat in the storage cupboard. Have to say though that we really appreciate the storage. Nowhere else to store towels, bed linen etc. I'd be very reluctant to dismiss the storage that it provides.

mfceiling

sinnerboy wrote: »

Agreed .... but - my own "take" on this is that people are tending to build over-sized houses . (In terms of number of rooms and overall m2 )

So consider instead of creating a cupboard with a rad ( which I have done myself for clients who would not buy my suggestion ) - use the seldom used guest bathroom to dry clothes .

Realistically , most of the time , what other use will it get ?

Couldn't agree more with this.....huge houses with 4-5 bedrooms and a tiny utility room jammed in between the kitchen and a tiny downstairs toilet.

Best i've seen recently was a girl who kept a decent sized room upstairs for drying clothes, ironing etc.....her take was rather than ironing everything downstairs and carrying it up why not have a dedicated room upstairs for all this....plus she put in shelving for towels, bedclothes, t-shirts, shoes and the likes rather than having over flowing wardrobes in the bedrooms.