Owning your own home

Just to add to the anecdata, my OH office had a couple of whatever the technical term for the things danstuff has that a layman would call a portable aircon unit.

Two brought a 40m² office down to a workable level when the main aircon packed up. So in a resi setting I can imagine they'd work well. Albeit possibly not an elegant long term solution.

Somewhat annoyingly I may need both a microwave and a washing machine.

I seem to recall that only certain microwaves genuinely modulate their power and the majority simply stutter full power- is this correct? If so, which were the ones that modulate rather than stutter? I want to say Panasonic, but this is all hazy.

Washing machine- I would really like a silent one, based on the collective experience here, who has a silent washing machine and what is it?

Panasonic has the patent, LG licenses it. You want one that says it has an inverter.

Which? probably has a score for silent washers - imma check later.

[Edit]

LG FH4G1BCS2 | Freestanding is the top best buy scoring 89%

• Excellent cleaning, rinses brilliantly, spins well, very easy to use, quieter than most.
  
• Water use is high.
  

Bonza- thanks.

For the microwas:

Panasonic NN-SF464MBPQ freestanding 77% (assuming you don't want combi / grill functions)
+ve

Excellent at heating food quickly and evenly
Outstanding manual defrost
Good auto-defrost
Spacious interior
Quiet
Plenty of features

-ve

Nothing major
But it’s hard to see through the dark glass door

@Howard - how high off the ground are you and what direction do windows face in? As user-something started, if you are getting sunshine inside, solar gain is a huge heat input that you don't want. Preventing overheating can be more effective than "cooling", if practical. (You can't do anything about internal heat gains from people/stuff). Ideally shade should be external but that's not often practical. Interior shade is better than nothing. If it's curtains/blinds and you can open the window without a toddler at risk, that's good. Obvs you want to be able to see out of windows too but you can have that where you are and shade others. Secondly also you know how cross ventilation and convection work?

I was also going to recommend Which? but I'm not sure their tests cover long term reliability.

Do LG make reliable washing machines? I don't know but I have am LG projector which has been great long term.

Top of a four story block. Floorplan is here. There's lots of glass (at least for a building of its age) and being quad aspect you get sun all day long somewhere.

I think there’s mileage in ‘reflective’ covering for the windows as user suggested. They open fully inwards so it wouldn’t be difficult to fit them to the exterior.

Are you familiar with solar control film? A quick google indicated that it’s important to get the right variety based on circumstances.

If it's curtains/blinds and you can open the window without a toddler at risk, that's good

We have blackout blinds and curtains.

We open the windows at night, when the air outside is cooler or similar to that inside. Opening them when it's hotter outside isn't recommended as I understand it.

Secondly also you know how cross ventilation and convection work?

If you mean how air behaves as it heats and cools, kinda, I guess.

The top LG one is 2db noisier then the top Samsung one. However the LG has a 2kg higher load capacity.

I'm well researched on washing machines.

The one to buy is this.
https://markselectrical.co.uk/FH4G1BCS2_LG-Washing-Machine.html

I'm well researched on washing machines.

is there a good combo washer dryer?

I’ve never found them to be good. The dryer bit that is

I was thinking of this washing machine https://www.miele.co.uk/e/washing-machines-frontloaders-wcr-860-wps-powerwash-2-0-and-twindos-xl-and-wifi-lotus-white-10994810-p

If the website worked on my mobile phone I'd be able to say how noisy it is 🙄

Works for me. Good decision on buying Miele.

Mind you, Miele washing machines deserve their own room.

The Miele washing machine we currently have is quieter than the Bosch brushless motor washer we had before that, which was itself quieter than the previous Bosch.

I've not had an LG or Samsung to compare, but the right answer is definitely one of LG, Samsung or Miele.

Fences.

We have neighbours on one side only, but at the moment we've got a very open slatted fence which is probably only a metre or so high between ours and theirs.

We got on well with them and they're friendly (and we often get gifted chapatis and Gujarati sweets), but it means being in the garden isn't particularly relaxing. The man has some mental health issues, and is generally friendly but I've had some incredibly bizarre conversations with him, and he talks to us both any time we go to the garden - recently, he argued with my wife about the age and weight of our baby. They also have a grown up daughter with some severe learning difficulties who has found lockdown quite hard work and is missing the adult education centre she normally goes to.

They're far from neighbours from hell but it would be nice to have a bit more privacy in our garden. Has anyone got any advice for negotiating this without seeming like we're trying to shut ourselves away from them?

Obviously we'd talk to them about it first.

On a related note, how much more cost/effort would a wall be than a fence? We have a wall on the other side and at the back and it looks really nice.

I'm going for freestanding white goods.

There's a wider selection, they typically have more max loads and space inside. Most specifications seem to indicate that they're engineered to be quieter (I guess the assumption is that integrated have noise reduction by virtue of the cabinets... but then that depends on the cabinet).

I also think it's just more "honest". As in... I'll make the kitchen a Shaker kitchen, and for me that's less about the "oooh the woodwork is nice" and more "it's honest in it's function first and foremost and then tries to make the form simple and elegant without compromising the function".

I figure that means freestanding not integrated - a fridge looks like a fridge, a washing machine is obviously a washing machine and isn't hidden in a cupboard - and things that excel at their function and that have a simple elegance to them.

Miele won on function across the board - damn the washing machine was silent during the demonstration, and I've never seen induction work so well and silently (yes I know it depends on the pots, but even with that considered the Miele was virtually inaudible).

Quiet, well engineered, and then doesn't attempt to follow fashions in design (the washing machine isn't trying to emulate Samsungs huge bubble smoked plastic doors).

It's just honest appliances doing their job well.

And I'm nuts enough to even replace the Vaillant boiler with something like this Viessmann https://www.viessmann.co.uk/products/gas-boilers/gas-condensing-boilers/vitodens/vitodens-200-w and not hide that in a cabinet just because I'm obsessively going after the quality of engineering and function more than anything else.

And I'm nuts enough to even replace the Vaillant boiler

How old is it? Vaillant are quite good. Or at least, not shit. Might be worth waiting till it croaks.

It's about 8 years old, but when it was installed the person who installed it set the water filter at the same height as the worktop and cut the worktop to fit it closely.

End result: Filter cannot be serviced, has long ago become useless, and is now releasing clumps of particles into the water stream and is causing some degradation to the boiler.

It can be reversed... once I rip the kitchen out the filter can be removed, a new one placed at a serviceable height and the existing boiler stripped down and fully cleaned and serviced.

But why? I mean... this is already a timebomb, and I need to replace the kitchen to solve this and many other issues that arise from the DIY installation of the present kitchen. I've already got to change all electrics, some plumbing, make good everything around the existing boiler and rip out the cupboard it's in amongst other things... it makes sense to replace the boiler at this point and instead of going with the same thing again, I'll upgrade it to higher efficiency one and leave it on display.

One thing to consider maybe is that Viessmann doesn't have installers in London. When I contacted them they could only give me one company in Cardiff.

I figure that means freestanding not integrated - a fridge looks like a fridge, a washing machine is obviously a washing machine

I agree with this. I've never liked integrated appliances.

Our washing machine is in the utility room, which I don’t mind having a freestanding machine (although we got a unit built around it), in the kitchen both the dishwasher and the fridge are built in as otherwise it’d bugger the aesthetic of the whole thing.

One thing to consider maybe is that Viessmann doesn't have installers in London. When I contacted them they could only give me one company in Cardiff.

Good call... did you go for it anyway?

I asked a heating engineer what he thought, he concurred that installation is hard (extra training he hasn't done) but that maintenance is a dream.

He recommended that if I'm looking at that level of quality that I investigate Worcester Bosch as there were more installers, efficiency is nearly equivalent. He suggested something like this https://www.worcester-bosch.co.uk/products/boilers/lifestyle

Though most of what he told me was not to change the power of it without doing a full site survey as the gas run might not support a higher rating anyway and then it would be less efficient. So his main advice was: Do nothing and make no choices until you've had a full site survey.

So it's not like I'm making any decision for a long time.

I know of at least 1 Viessmann (possibly 2 but the other was in the verge of retirement when I last worked with him ~ 8 months ago) approved installers in London. The one that is definitely still working only deals with Viessmann so not sure why they are saying there is none in London, will have to flag this with him next time I see him. Can dig out contact details if interested.

For boilers I would defer to someone like @sacredhart who actually knows this stuff but availability of people to install/maintain and availability of spare parts at short notice would rank pretty high in my selection criteria. Boxing in is fine imo so long as there is access for servicing etc. There are specifications for the amount of free space you need to have around the unit