Three different systems from the Omnie range have been employed to provide invisible warmth throughout the sumptuous interiors to a painstakingly refurbished country house in Norfolk, now regularly rented out by its owners as a high class wedding venue. Fishley Hall, located in beautiful grounds near the village of Fishley, has been owned by the Molineux family since the middle of the last century and actually dates from the Georgian era or earlier with its elegant brick elevations and sash windows beneath a hipped slate roof. Amazingly all the restoration work on the eight bedroom property - which includes such spaces as a reading room, a very large conservatory and cellars, has all been carried out by Phil Molineux and two local tradesmen over a four year period. One of those two very able assistants, plumber and builder, Godfrey Langham, recounted: “The owners decided early on that they wanted to use underfloor heating, not just for efficiency, but to keep the walls to the rooms clear of radiators and chose the Omnie range as offering the best solution.
“I have concentrated on plumbing and heating work for quite a few years and have used a number of underfloor central heating systems in the past. Although this is the first time that I have worked with the OMNIE system, it is definitely much easier to install. For instance the Staple system - which we used in downstairs rooms like the dining room and conservatory – you just clip the pipe in place and then later cover with a pumped screed. All the three systems are connected back to a large biomass boiler, located in a plant room next to the conservatory, via a series of four manifolds with up to 16 ports. While Omnie will provide help if you need it, I did all of the commissioning and balancing of the various zones, which went brilliantly. I would use them again.”
Omnie provided a full set of floor-by-floor plans for the project, showing the position of the individual pipe runs around a total of 21 different zones, together with the positions of the manifolds. The ground floor, which features the use of Toron Floor as well as the Staple system, is the most extensive with a total pipe length of just over 1,600 metres. On the first and second floors, a further 1,300 and 510 metres of pipe were installed into LowBoard profiles, as well as more Toron Floor panels suspended between the joists. All of the circuits are designed to run at a flow temperature of 55o C, with a 450 C return temperature.
Owner Phil Molineux confirmed: “This has been a challenging four year project to refurbish Fishley Hall, originally purchased by my father in 1953 but it has been very worthwhile and I have enjoyed being so closely involved in all the work. I first saw the OMNIE underfloor heating systems at the Jewson branch in Norwich and realised they would suit our needs perfectly. The systems have proved simple to install and helped create the interior look we wanted, while ensuring anyone who stays here will be warm and comfortable.”