House Help

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The heating and hot water is relatively straightforward. The gas boiler (in the cupboard in the lobby) runs on standby all the time. There is no need to touch it.

It supplies a large hot water tank in the utility room (behind the wooden doors) and the underfloor heating. There is no need to touch the tank.

In that cupboard, at left hand end, there is a programmer. There are instructions on how to use it fixed to the wall.

Heatmiser programmable roomstats are then in each room. Again, you probably won't need to touch these but there is an instruction book by the programmer.

There are heated towel rails in each bathroom and WC. These are set via a thermostatic valve on each one. Around 2 seems to be popular but they are easy to adjust. They are all on a separate circuit from the underfloor heating so they can be on even when the heating is off.

There are several ways to ventilate the house.

The background ventilation is provided by the mechanical ventilation system. This extracts warm moist air from the kitchen, utility room, WC and bathrooms. It sends that outside but before it does, during the winter it takes the warmth from that air to pre-warm the fresh air that is being drawn in and sent to living rooms and bedrooms. In the summer, the system doesn't pre-warm the air so as to reduce overheating risks by bringing in cooled air from the underground "earth tube".

When the system detects higher humidity levels it will boost the extraction rate automatically. You can of course open the windows and roof lights in the bathrooms if you wish. The roof lights have rain sensors and will close if it rains.

There is also a roof light above the stairs that is connected to a thermostat. It will open if the temperature goes above what you have set. It also has a rain sensor.

And finally, the windows and patio doors open to give more fresh air.

We have two Sony TVs which we chose because they natively allow both iPhone and Android users to connect and show photos, videos etc from their phones or tablets. 

There is a DVD player attached and also a spare HDMI cable from both TVs that should allow connection of video game boxes - I have not got one so don't know how it works.

WiFi is available - details are in the house file. Please leave the hub alone as it also connects the TV, heating and other systems. 

There is a Bora induction hob which is very effective once you have understood its little ways. Basically get the extract system going first, then sort out the individual hot plates. 

There is a Siemens double oven with the top one pretending to be a microwave as well as a conventional oven. I found it less than brilliant as a microwave so we bought a simple microwave oven that sits on the worktop.

In the summer, there is a gas fired BBQ complete with utensils, cleaning gear and so on. If you need more gas, contact housekeeping.

Standard Siemens dishwasher with a fast wash for lightly soiled crockery. We put everything in including the glasses.

Frankly these things terrify me but we have one for those people who love them. Please let the Habitat Escapes team know when you book and we will make sure it is turned on for you.

These are in the utility room/corridor. Both Siemens and actually not too complicated. The tumble dryer is a condensing unit so it might need its water tank emptying and of course do clean the filters after every use. It's really simple and quick and it means your clothes dry much faster.

All doors and windows have keys. Please lock up at end of the stay. We recommend that you lock the windows in children's bedrooms either closed or tilted open.

The estate has gates and security so we do not have any burglar alarms or anything you need to set or not set.

Please remember to leave the access cards in the house please. Habitat Escapes charge for new ones.

Also it would be hugely appreciated if you could strip the bed linen and leave it and the towels neatly arranged for the Habitat Escapes cleaning staff. They have very tight turnaround times so you will become a favourite guest if you can help them.

And finally, please let us know how the stay was. If there are things we could add or improve we want to hear from you.  Do also leave ideas for places for future guests (and indeed us) to visit along with any comments on previous suggestions.