Find the right air conditioning for your home

The most straightforward install we do. The outdoor unit goes at ground level beside the house, on the flat roof of a rear extension, or on brackets out of sight of the street. Pipework follows the wall line to a single core hole, then runs to each room.

In most cases this is permitted development and needs nobody's permission but yours. Listed buildings and some conservation areas are the exception, and we tell you which you are before a survey is booked.

Indoor units in the living room and bedrooms, a short pipe run to the balcony or to a bracket on the rear elevation. Once a block has an agreed position, every flat in it becomes straightforward.

The managing agent, not the neighbour, is the decision-maker. We write to them with the same pack we give freeholders, and we've been through it enough times to know what they ask for.

Newer homes are airtight and well insulated, which means smaller units and lower running costs than the same room count in a period property. Cable and pipe routes are usually cleaner too.

The catch is the development's own rules. Many have a design code covering external fixtures, so we check the position against it before survey rather than after.