New Development Royal Canal Park D15

alanbyrne123 · 17-05-2018 1:50pm

Hi, does anyone have a picture of carpet on the stairs in the showhouse or in their own house. We are in an ash and got carpet done but not happy with the finish on the stairs. Would be great to see what other people did. If you could pm a picture it would be great thanks

cronos · 17-05-2018 1:58pm

alanbyrne123 wrote: »

Hi, does anyone have a picture of carpet on the stairs in the showhouse or in their own house. We are in an ash and got carpet done but not happy with the finish on the stairs. Would be great to see what other people did. If you could pm a picture it would be great thanks

I'd be interested to see yours also. I haven't got to the point of putting carpet down yet, but would be good to see what to avoid. Thanks a mill. PM is fine if preferable.

bluemc · 18-05-2018 2:48pm

cronos wrote: »

I'd be interested to see yours also. I haven't got to the point of putting carpet down yet, but would be good to see what to avoid. Thanks a mill. PM is fine if preferable.

We're not planning on carpeting the stairs, but see below from the showhouse

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1vE2oDgtVWDq6G9ypti8kjjJDIUonrKwD/view?usp=sharing

RandomAccess · 18-05-2018 3:12pm

I presume it's the open (cut) stringer that you are having issue with.

Not sure of exact terms, but if you look it up you get the idea. You can PM me if I'm in the right track.

dovetail · 18-05-2018 3:28pm

Hi all, I know before there was a post about hardwater / limescale filtering system. could anybody please recommend a company that can supply and fit this system? and the approximate cost also please

Forumsie · 18-05-2018 8:20pm

dovetail wrote: »

Hi all, I know before there was a post about hardwater / limescale filtering system. could anybody please recommend a company that can supply and fit this system? and the approximate cost also please

I saw about 5 different vendors selling them at the ideal homes show. We were interested in the salt block systems rather than the big bags of salt which are heavy and awkward. The cost was around 1600 euro and the yearly expected spend on salt was 60 euro for 2 people. I haven't got one yet so I can't recommend but a colleague told me they are usually a few sellers at Bloom in the summer too

Keithchap · 20-05-2018 10:23am

Keithchap wrote: »

I got a water softener installed, think it was about €950 and they threw in 6 bags of salt, I got a reverse osmosis filter fitted at the same time for drinking water with a little tap at the sink, total cost was €1225 for both. I can see the difference straight away with the water softener, previously there was lot's of residue on taps, glass in the showers etc. I'm sure it would destroy appliances fairly quickly too. For the drinking water there is a massive difference with the water straight from the tap which actually has a taste, the filtered water is like bottled water, the filters for that need to be changed once a year, costs about €80.

Here you go, that included installation by a reputable company.

Keithchap · 20-05-2018 6:03pm

Keithchap wrote: »

The softener is installed in the utility room, between the mains and the boiler so the only water that isn't softened by it is the mains where in enters the kitchen. The water filter is off the mains at the kitchen sink so it isn't softened.

P.S. we only got the softener put into the utility room because we put the reverse osmosis filter under the sink, otherwise we would've installed it in there.

gloria6232 · 21-05-2018 11:12pm

Has anyone had issues with their water pump turning on and off repeatedly? It is turning on every minute for about 10seconds and turning off again. We are in the house about 6months now. Thanks

cronos · 21-05-2018 11:15pm

gloria6232 wrote: »

Has anyone had issues with their water pump turning on and off repeatedly? It is turning on every minute for about 10seconds and turning off again. We are in the house about 6months now. Thanks

The issue I had with my water pump was it was very loud for the first couple of months. I pushed to get the guys who installed it to return. In fairness they eventually did, they had put the pressure too high when it was installed. They just turned down the pressure and that resolved it for the most part.

So you have a different problem. But I'd suggest that the solution is the same, get the guys who installed it to give it a look.

gloria6232 · 22-05-2018 7:11am

cronos wrote: »

The issue I had with my water pump was it was very loud for the first couple of months. I pushed to get the guys who installed it to return. In fairness they eventually did, they had put the pressure too high when it was installed. They just turned down the pressure and that resolved it for the most part.

So you have a different problem. But I'd suggest that the solution is the same, get the guys who installed it to give it a look.

Thanks Cronos. Could you PM me the contact/company please?

cronos · 22-05-2018 8:33am

gloria6232 wrote: »

Thanks Cronos. Could you PM me the contact/company please?

Sorry but I don't remember. I think it was in the welcome pack.

Bandana boy · 22-05-2018 8:34am

gloria6232 wrote: »

Has anyone had issues with their water pump turning on and off repeatedly? It is turning on every minute for about 10seconds and turning off again. We are in the house about 6months now. Thanks

We had that problem and it was a leak in one of the upstairs toilets causing it , get onto Balkymore right away

tradesman · 22-05-2018 11:48am

If your pump is cutting in constantly then you are losing water somewhere as the pump replaces what is used. You could gave a problem with a toilet cistern & the water recycles into the toilet bowl where you might not notice it flowing. Maybe a second toilet which is rarely used.
There could be a leak from a pipe inside a kitchen unit, wash hand basin unit, dishwasher or wsdhing machine. A case if tracing pipes etc. But best get onto the builders as it is their problem to sort out.

IrishGirl12 · 24-05-2018 8:29am

Hi Guys, just checking if you are finding the electricity bills reasonable? Our latest one was €328, I suppose I thought it would be less but I could be wrong.......

fret_wimp2 · 24-05-2018 8:51am

IrishGirl12 wrote: »

Hi Guys, just checking if you are finding the electricity bills reasonable? Our latest one was €328, I suppose I thought it would be less but I could be wrong.......

No, I dont find the electricity bills reasonable.
I flagged this to joule in December, they said it would cost more in winter but come down considerably in warmer weather.
This months bill was as high as December.

Tom in the site office promised an "education session" wtih joule back in November but never got it arranged, said they wouldnt give him a date. On contacting Joule ,they said Ballymore wouldnt give a date for the session.

I am trying turning down the temperature the system keeps the hot water at, although i think my guessing at how to optimize the system wont help.

Please get on to Tom, and contact joule support, I think its something as simple as configuration or lack of knowledge on how the system should be configured, but need to get the lads on both sides to pull the finger out and set up a session.

fret_wimp2 · 24-05-2018 9:19am

Update: I logged a call with Joule today and they replied pretty quickly.

Summary:
- dont touch anything, heat pump system manages itself. it should be on 24x7 and temperature controlled by thermostats on ground and 1st level. its more efficient this way.

- Controller in the hotpress has two modes, comfort set to keep water at 50 degrees and eco which comes on at night and is set to 60 degrees. it needs to be at 60 degrees to kill certain bacteria that can grow.

- it is their opinion that running costs are low relative to the house size, and we need to get used to the fact that we are heating a big house.
I advised that i was in an E rated building before now, an A rated highly insulated timber frame house should not cost double what an e rated property cost. they disagree.

-they will contact ballymore to arrange an education evening.

RandomAccess · 24-05-2018 10:24am

My latest bill was an estimate rather than reading. I presume yours are also.

It's probably worth checking what the meter says vs the bill.

Also we haven't been using our heating for weeks now as it's been very warm and I would say my bill might be less than the estimate, will check this evening.

fret_wimp2 · 24-05-2018 10:40am

RandomAccess wrote: »

My latest bill was an estimate rather than reading. I presume yours are also.

It's probably worth checking what the meter says vs the bill.

Also we haven't been using our heating for weeks now as it's been very warm and I would say my bill might be less than the estimate, will check this evening.

My last one was an accurate reading, not an estimate.

cronos · 24-05-2018 10:40am

RandomAccess wrote: »

My latest bill was an estimate rather than reading. I presume yours are also.

It's probably worth checking what the meter says vs the bill.

Also we haven't been using our heating for weeks now as it's been very warm and I would say my bill might be less than the estimate, will check this evening.

How do you define not using the heating? Like have you just set a very low temp or turned it off. As far as I'm aware you should not turn it off.

Keithchap · 24-05-2018 10:41am

I was in an G rated house before this, of equivalent size and kept quite warm, combined electricity and gas, bills in the Winter were typically about 800, the central heating was an old Gas boiler and everything else electric. If you turned the heating off the temperature would drop off quite quickly as a result of the bad insulation, it was a very old house. That said I expected a modern A rated house with an a2w system to do a lot better than bills of cirqa 400.

RandomAccess · 24-05-2018 10:54am

cronos wrote: »

RandomAccess wrote: »

My latest bill was an estimate rather than reading. I presume yours are also.

It's probably worth checking what the meter says vs the bill.

Also we haven't been using our heating for weeks now as it's been very warm and I would say my bill might be less than the estimate, will check this evening.

How do you define not using the heating? Like have you just set a very low temp or turned it off. As far as I'm aware you should not turn it off.

Yeah I just set at a low temp and wasn't triggering the heating. We've actually been leaving the windows open in the evening because it can get too warm with the sun on top floor.

Dunno really.

slayerking · 24-05-2018 10:58am

We've been completely switching off radiators in some rooms we rarely use at the mo (e.g. guest rooms/top master room - its always roasting anyway) and it does seem to help a good bit (Joule will prob tell you not to do this, but it does seem to help for us as the pump comes on less as a result).
We keep our thermostats at about 19 degrees constant. If were ever away for a few days, we use holiday mode.

We also switched via onebigswitch.ie a little over 2 months ago.

Our bills are monthly and coming it at 70-80 euro per month (most recent one was 72).

IrishGirl12 · 24-05-2018 11:03am

fret_wimp2 wrote: »

Update: I logged a call with Joule today and they replied pretty quickly.

Summary:
- dont touch anything, heat pump system manages itself. it should be on 24x7 and temperature controlled by thermostats on ground and 1st level. its more efficient this way.

- Controller in the hotpress has two modes, comfort set to keep water at 50 degrees and eco which comes on at night and is set to 60 degrees. it needs to be at 60 degrees to kill certain bacteria that can grow.

- it is their opinion that running costs are low relative to the house size, and we need to get used to the fact that we are heating a big house.
I advised that i was in an E rated building before now, an A rated highly insulated timber frame house should not cost double what an e rated property cost. they disagree.

-they will contact ballymore to arrange an education evening.

Thanks. Would be great to have the session as the system is complex. I had been messing with the heating timers etc but a Joule guy checked the set up for me a few months back and explained I should leave it on 24-7 and to adjust the thermostat when required.

I thought that maybe after that the bill would be less than the winter period.

Keithchap · 24-05-2018 2:02pm

If you recently moved into the latest block of the development, i.e. the block that has 33-42 Royal Canal Ave, can you please pop me a pm?

Forumsie · 29-05-2018 7:29pm

Hi guys,

Our house is due to be ready for snagging in the next 2 months apparently. We'll also need to arrange a valuation for the mortgage. My question is who did you arrange this with on site? I assume someone will need to meet the valuer to let him into the house, same with the snagger and we won't have keys at that point.

Thanks

cronos · 29-05-2018 7:54pm

Forumsie wrote: »

Hi guys,

Our house is due to be ready for snagging in the next 2 months apparently. We'll also need to arrange a valuation for the mortgage. My question is who did you arrange this with on site? I assume someone will need to meet the valuer to let him into the house, same with the snagger and we won't have keys at that point.

Thanks

Arrange access through Tom from Ballymore. My valuer never needed access or sorted it themselves. Snagging I arranged, but by the time snagging is ready they Ballymore will be contacting you.

Manion · 30-05-2018 10:46pm

fret_wimp2 wrote: »

Update: I logged a call with Joule today and they replied pretty quickly.

Summary:
- dont touch anything, heat pump system manages itself. it should be on 24x7 and temperature controlled by thermostats on ground and 1st level. its more efficient this way.

- Controller in the hotpress has two modes, comfort set to keep water at 50 degrees and eco which comes on at night and is set to 60 degrees. it needs to be at 60 degrees to kill certain bacteria that can grow.

- it is their opinion that running costs are low relative to the house size, and we need to get used to the fact that we are heating a big house.
I advised that i was in an E rated building before now, an A rated highly insulated timber frame house should not cost double what an e rated property cost. they disagree.

-they will contact ballymore to arrange an education evening.

Can I ask why you think you high electricity bills are due to the heating system? I don't know if you kept the kitchen appliances but if I recall the energy rating was extremely poor.

slayerking · 30-05-2018 11:35pm

Manion wrote: »

Can I ask why you think you high electricity bills are due to the heating system? I don't know if you kept the kitchen appliances but if I recall the energy rating was extremely poor.

All the appliances are A rated, even the default install.

Manion · 30-05-2018 11:52pm

slayerking wrote: »

All the appliances are A rated, even the default install.

That's wasn't the case when we bought. Are you sure ?

cronos · 31-05-2018 1:41am

Manion wrote: »

That's wasn't the case when we bought. Are you sure ?

When did you buy? Mine was A rated and I bought a couple of years ago. There are multiple levels within A rated products though. I think these are the lowest of the A rated aspects.

My largest bill was 270 when we had the snow. But 220 was the latest. Hoping to see it drop a good bit more during the summer months.

RandomAccess · 31-05-2018 8:58am

Our appliances are A rated with the exception of the extractor hood.

That has a fairly poor rating.
In a previous comment way back someone thought that rating was for the oven. But it was just a mix-up.

Also the appliances are perfectly fine, they seem no different to the Neff Oven and Hob I had in my previous place.

The Microwave we have is a combination fan oven & Grill. Which has been useful.

The appliances fitted for each block can vary a little bit from what I've seen.

Our Dishwasher is a bit barebones, my previous one had more functions and ours is missing a start timer, but tbh it cleans the dishes.

We can upgrade if we need but right now don't see any need.

It was one less thing to do when we moved in.

slayerking · 31-05-2018 9:11am

Manion wrote: »

That's wasn't the case when we bought. Are you sure ?

Yep, double checked again and all A rated, some even A+ and A++.
Couldn't find the extractor fan manual or the model number on it to check so that mightn't be great.

RandomAccess · 31-05-2018 9:16am

cronos wrote: »

My largest bill was 270 when we had the snow. But 220 was the latest. Hoping to see it drop a good bit more during the summer months.

I meant to post an update about that,
My bill was €200.79 and was estimated.

From the actual reading, it should have been €169.13

A better comparison than price paid would be units used.

However it's still apples and oranges.
Lots of variables.
Number of occupants,
Use a tumble dryer,
Hot water usage,
TV & DVR power use.

There are some great new power monitoring products which monitor the main feed and can actually learn the signature of individual appliances.

However it seems most target the US market which is 120v not 240v.
E.g. https://sense.com

Might get one in future if I can find one that works and doesn't cost the earth.

There are older solutions but they only show the total power in use. So impossible to determine how much is used by heating or oven for example.

IrishGirl12 · 04-06-2018 8:16am

Hi all, we have no hot water. Has this happened anyone? Any ideas on how to resolve? Thanks

maciektok · 04-06-2018 10:49am

IrishGirl12 wrote: »

Hi all, we have no hot water. Has this happened anyone? Any ideas on how to resolve? Thanks

hi. you'll find instructions how to do it somewhere a little bit earlier in this thread. generally you just probably need to reset both the pump and the control panel by the cylinder

IrishGirl12 · 04-06-2018 10:54am

Thanks will have a search now. We seem to be having an issue with the water pressure also

IrishGirl12 · 04-06-2018 10:57am

Has anyone got curtains made for the master bedroom in a Heron? If you have any recommendations please pm me.

gloria6232 · 04-06-2018 10:52pm

IrishGirl12 wrote: »

Has anyone got curtains made for the master bedroom in a Heron? If you have any recommendations please pm me.

Pm sent

cronos · 04-06-2018 10:56pm

gloria6232 wrote: »

Pm sent

Can I get this information also. Would be great to see some pictures also

Bruncvik · 05-06-2018 7:49pm

One of the Herons from the second phase is currently on sale on Daft. This should establish a market price baseline once it's sold.

janeybaby · 08-06-2018 5:36pm

gloria6232 wrote: »

Pm sent

Could I get this info too please? It would be very helpful - thanks!

Keithchap · 08-06-2018 7:43pm

We were looking at perfect fit blackout blnds as the wooden Venitian we got installed aren't very good at blocking light, perfect fit are very expensive and I didn't want a frame sitting outside the window. Reasonable darkness could be achieved with rollerblinds but they would need to be again installed outside the window frame to stop light pouring in the sides. Roller blinds with blackout material that are inset in the window block some light but the gaps at the side are very big, 25mm on the side the chain is on so the light pours in anyway. So to keep everything neat and still achieve close to total blackout we installed rollerblinds with blackout material and did some diy to go darker, as I see a lot of people have gone for the wooden Venitian or roller blinds inset in the frame I figured it would be worth sharing.

What you need:
Some no more nails or screws to attach it to the wall
Get yourself some corner protectors, plastic, wood or aluminium, whatever you fancy. Width dependent on the gap your trying to close, I got 30x30 + glued 20x30 to it.

For example:

Hot do do it:
Measure up you window, obviously.
Cut your protectors to fit
Glue your two pieces of protector together to make a channel for the blind to run through, I went for a 5mm channel
Cut the weight at the bottom of the blinds so it fits through the channel
Glue/screw your protector to the wall
Hey presto, total darkness.

It would be a bit easier to get a ushaped version and just cut and attach but I haven't found one yet that'd do the trick.

As they say, a photo is worth a thousand words:

Forumsie · 09-06-2018 9:39pm

Has any hung a tv on the wall in a Heron master bedroom? It looks to me like the door would hit it based on where the sockets/tv points are. And where does the sky box go?

I'd welcome any other tv hanging advice/experience or recommendations. We want to do a proper once off job with the right brackets on the tvs and not have the mess of cables we currently have! Thanks

engineer0 · 09-06-2018 9:41pm

Hi All,
Prospective owners of Ash type for the Feb 2018 Phase of Camden RCP, It's great to see everyone sharing their experiences and providing a ton of info here ! Thanks all !

We had some questions about the house, we're complete beginners in house market, so please forgive if some questions are just too basic.

First one is the layout of Ash, we think in the latest phase they tried to come up with a modern kitchen, but ended up making things very difficult for layout, Has anybody had any experience in changing the kitchen to a usable model they like ? Current model photos I took at the viewing are here : photos.app.goo.gl/Ab4mHh19U6e2YEo28
Would you put a round table or a rectangle one here ?

Did you try removing the wall between the living room and the kitchen ? Or any significant changes that you are very happy with ?

Have you tried putting a dining table to family room ?
For what purpose are you using the family room ? Children's playroom ? Small office room/Tv Room?
Do radiator covers come with the place ?
Thank you so much !

cronos · 09-06-2018 9:53pm

engineer0 wrote: »

Hi All,
Prospective owners of Ash type for the Feb 2018 Phase of Camden RCP, It's great to see everyone sharing their experiences and providing a ton of info here ! Thanks all !

We had some questions about the house, we're complete beginners in house market, so please forgive if some questions are just too basic.

First one is the layout of Ash, we think in the latest phase they tried to come up with a modern kitchen, but ended up making things very difficult for layout, Has anybody had any experience in changing the kitchen to a usable model they like ? Current model photos I took at the viewing are here : photos.app.goo.gl/Ab4mHh19U6e2YEo28
Would you put a round table or a rectangle one here ?

Did you try removing the wall between the living room and the kitchen ? Or any significant changes that you are very happy with ?

Have you tried putting a dining table to family room ?
For what purpose are you using the family room ? Children's playroom ? Small office room/Tv Room?
Do radiator covers come with the place ?
Thank you so much !

1. Ballymore won't remove the wall between the kitchen and living room.
2. I have a different style kitchen similar to the heron show house in which I use a rectangular table
3. I'm using the family room as a TV room. Plenty of space for an L shaped couch. Also, have an office desk in there.
4. Radiator covers don't come with the place, just the radiator it's self

PhoenixParker · 09-06-2018 10:06pm

The Ash has doors as standard between the sitting room and kitchen as standard doesn't it?

The Heron has the wall.

cronos · 09-06-2018 10:08pm

PhoenixParker wrote: »

The Ash has doors as standard between the sitting room and kitchen as standard doesn't it?

The Heron has the wall.

I assumed that removing the wall meant totally removing the wall, not just having the opening with the doors.

Bruncvik · 10-06-2018 7:52am

engineer0 wrote: »

First one is the layout of Ash, we think in the latest phase they tried to come up with a modern kitchen, but ended up making things very difficult for layout, Has anybody had any experience in changing the kitchen to a usable model they like ? Current model photos I took at the viewing are here : photos.app.goo.gl/Ab4mHh19U6e2YEo28
Would you put a round table or a rectangle one here ?

I'm not entirely sure whether they remodeled the show house, but the kitchen layout there is different from what we got in an Ash in Phase 2. Our island is pushed farther towards the garden. If you look at the photos, our island is shifted by roughly one overhead shelf; on the living room side we actually have two doors under the counter.

This creates even less room on either side of the kitchen for a table. Still, we found that a four-person oblong table fits comfortably along the wall between the garden door and the family room door. The extra space between the island and the living room door is also welcome, for children stuff - pram, playpen, etc.

Forumsie · 10-06-2018 7:30pm

Forumsie wrote: »

Has any hung a tv on the wall in a Heron master bedroom? It looks to me like the door would hit it based on where the sockets/tv points are. And where does the sky box go?

I'd welcome any other tv hanging advice/experience or recommendations. We want to do a proper once off job with the right brackets on the tvs and not have the mess of cables we currently have! Thanks

Or if anyone has any information on tv brackets, the tilting/pivoting ones look great but not sure if they're suitable for every wall type. Thanks again!

New Development Royal Canal Park D15

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