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I've been 'lurking' around here for a few months now but thought it time to make it official. We're in planning for an extension and renovation in North Herts, with goals for EnerPHit. I found the site via searches for UFH and cooling in a PassivHaus and stumbling on a whole world of opportunities and challenges I didn't know I needed in my life! So yes you'll find me mostly posting my questions in the Energy sections.

Also a tip for overhead or eaves. Bang a couple of nails half into side of the rafters or joists. When you push the pir up it snags into these and holds flush while foam gets it

Plaster boarding at least

Hope you find him. I think you can kiss your money goodbye. In a former life i used to use a chinese fella. He was fantastic, had contacts in the police, BT, Tax office, Post office, DHSS, Banks, Building Socs etc. He could find anybody in the Uk within 24 hours. He was a right crafty sod. He used to dig up serious dirt on people. If he couldn't get any dirt, he would set them up using prostitutes, drugs etc. Used to blag his way into any office building, or home. Once he had his dirt, photos etc, he would directly front up to the person and advise them that they had 7 days to pay or he would destroy there lives. Loss of job,, wife, kids etc. He was about 5ft 2 but some sort of kung fu expert. He got me back over a million from about 6 clients in a year. He charged 33% of monies recovered, and would only entertain cases in excess of 100k. Despite the fantastic results, the organisation i was involved with at the time, decided that he stepped over the line a couple of times and stopped me using him. I was introduced to him by a pimp, of high class London Hookers back in the early 80's who was also a large drug supplier to North London dealers. The pimp was a customer of the organisation i worked for at the time. The early 80's was Maggies "If you want it, go and get it" era. London was Madness.

adhesive tape remover https://www.ecomerchant.co.uk/pro-clima-glumex-400ml.html

mobile broadband? as others have mentioned on here, 3 http://www.three.co.uk/discover/devices/huawei/homefi?memory=0&colour=Black now comes with the router which it didn't when we got it. works fine for us.

Just made a switch, and today's joint lucky winner is.... @JSHarris Thanks Jeremy, and apologies to the Octopuses; close, but no cigar...

Bit late to the thread but GB-Sol RIS is the other one I know. AIUI the unique thing with these is, as they manufacturer their own panels they can specify them to fill to any shape and dimensions.

Jimbo, your last name isn't Kray is it?

They used to be called a cleaning lady. Put a postcard in the local shop. You'll get someone easy...?

I’ve used HR Wallingford in the past http://www.uksuds.com/drainage-calculation-tools/greenfield-runoff-rate-estimation

Marnix are really good boards We often use them straight onto caba decking If the floor is uneven bed tgem fown with a bagged adhesive to straighten the floor Then drive 32 mil screws in at 300 centres the following day you won’t have any issues if you tile over the fixings It’s unlikely that any moister will get through the waterproof adhesive If you are using limestone Don’t forget to seal them before grouting and sort through the packs prior to starting So as nor to have clusters of dark and light together

I found when cutting anything above 50mm thick to get an accurate cut , ie 45 degree or whatever I use a cordless circular saw and then finish it of by hand saw. Also agree with cutting, wedging and foaming.

The correct answer should of been I don’t know I’m the guy who makes the tea If you are tanking the walls simply paint over the fixings holes I generally tile straight over them with a good quality bagged adhesive There are all sorts of new tiling products coming out Sometimes I haven’t the foggiest why I’m painting them on Just that they are on the spec Hope this helps

Taking that one stage further.... I usually cut the rips into wedges, and then use them to hold the big bits in place and foam between. Just ram the wedges in and snap off the excess. Toolstation 100mm foil tape is very good too and not too expensive

As above or you could write a polite letter...

Cut them 10mm narrower, fit the whole lot, then foam them all in. Next day, trim surplus foam and tape joins. Tape to the studs as well. Wear a dust mask and goggles. There is no shame in using the rips up, if you foam them in and tape them.

Please ammend the post to say you managed to hold on to them and were carried through the air to the next village 8 miles away. That would be an amazing story... (having said which I hope you weren't hurt)

We went and had a consultation with a planning office before we approached the owner of our plot to get some idea if there was even a chance of planning. We then contacted the owner and after a lot of negotiation we had a solicitor draw up a contract (split the cost 50/50 with the owner) that we would purchase and he would sell to us at a price, only if we were granted full planning and had a favorable ground engineer report. There was a suspicion that the ground may have been unsuitable, turned out it was fine. A number of people had approached him in the past to buy it cheap for a garden but he knew exactly what they were about. We took a kind of risk averse approach and it worked out OK for us. We paid more than I wanted for it but it was still under valuation for a plot with planning.

? The “correct” (i.e, standard) capitalization is kWh. The last column in your table should be labelled “kW” (not “kW per hour”) as watts are already a rate (kWh/h = kW). More details. More substantially: I'm not sure if it's worthwhile but if you want to do more detailed modelling then, yes, the angle of the insolation to the window does make a difference. Of course the simplest reason is the effect of the apparent area of the window being reduced when the sun's off the normal to the glass (cos θ) which is already taken into account by PVGIS. I think it also takes into account the effect of reflection off the outer glass surface using Fresnel's equations. However, if you're being this careful you'll have double or triple glazing so this will have a larger effect. If you want to explore that a bit more I have a calculator which might help.

Indeed @Ferdinand so, its worth reproducing in re-formatted and slightly summarised form here. (Wish I hadn't read your post ....? until later) The summary / Bowdlerisation I supply here should not be seen as accurate. I encourage everyone to read the full text. https://www.buckles-law.co.uk/site/library/planning-news/supreme-court-clarifies-paragraphs-14-and-49-of-the-nppf In respect of applications for planning permission where an LPA does not have a five year supply of land paragraphs 14 and 49 of the NPPF are relevant. Paragraph 49 is about the presumption in favour of sustainable development. Relevant policies for the supply of housing should not be considered up-to-date if the local planning authority cannot demonstrate a five-year supply of deliverable housing sites. Paragraph 14 is about the presumption in favour of sustainable development, which means: approving development proposals that accord with the development plan without delay and where the development plan is absent, silent or relevant policies are out-of-date, granting permission unless: any adverse impacts of doing so would significantly and demonstrably outweigh the benefits, when assessed against the policies in this Framework taken as a whole or specific policies in this Framework indicate development should be restricted Unless material considerations dictate otherwise (what's material and what isn't?) Applying Paragraph 49 – the first stage Judges have adopted a narrow interpretation of what is meant by ‘policies for the supply of housing’. Namely, it is only housing supply policies that are to be considered ‘out of date’ in paragraph 49. The second issue was more simply a question of fact as to whether or not there was a five year deliverable land supply. If there was no such five year supply then paragraph 14 applies. The Supreme Court noted that it mattered not what policies caused the lack of five year supply. Applying Paragraph 14 – the second stage If there is no five year land supply then paragraph 14 is engaged. Paragraph 14 provides for what is commonly caused the ‘tilted balance’ in favour of granting planning permission. Namely, planning permission should be granted unless adverse impacts of doing so would significantly and demonstrably outweigh the benefits when assessed against the policies in this Framework taken as a whole or specific policies in this Framework indicate development should be restricted. Two issues are important to understand in relation to paragraph 14. Firstly, the development plan (including the housing supply policies) retains its statutory force under section 38(6) but the focus shifts to ‘other material considerations’. The ‘other material considerations’ will then be determined in accordance with the national guidance in paragraph 14. Secondly, whilst the housing supply policies are to be considered out of date for the ‘other material consideration’ assessment (the narrow interpretation) planning weight may still be given to other policies in the development plan. However, such weight must be considered on the ‘significantly and demonstrably outweigh the benefits’ test founded on the golden thread of sustainable development. This ‘tilted balance’ test is a matter of planning judgement and the weight to be given to remaining local development plan policies is a matter for the decision maker. The specific policies restricting development in the Framework remain applicable under paragraph 14 includes not only restrictive policies within the Framework itself but also development plan policies for which the Framework refers. The example given being greenbelt policies. Neighbourhood Planning – Written Ministerial Statement. Though not mentioned in the Supreme Court decision, it is worth noting the effect of written ministerial statement of Gavin Barwell (Minister of State for Housing & Planning) on 12 December 2016 (“the WMS”). The statement provides as follows: “This means that relevant policies for the supply of housing in a neighbourhood plan, that is part of the development plan, should not be deemed to be ‘out-of-date’ under paragraph 49 of the National Planning Policy Framework where all of the following circumstances arise at the time the decision is made: This written ministerial statement is less than 2 years old, or the neighbourhood plan has been part of the development plan for 2 years or less; the neighbourhood plan allocates sites for housing; and the local planning authority can demonstrate a three-year supply of deliverable housing sites.” While the WMS is currently the subject of legal challenge, its current effect is to preserve the neighbourhood plan policies as ‘up to date’ within the paragraph 14 ‘tilted balance’ assessment. Therefore, together with all of the other non-local plan housing supply policies, they will remain a material consideration to be weighed under paragraph 14 as part of the planning judgement of the decision maker. Caution to challengers of planning judgement decisions The Supreme Court also took the opportunity to re-enforce the role of the Courts in judicial challenges to planning decisions. On matters of planning judgement the judges noted that the planning inspectorate should be considered analogous to that of expert tribunals and that Courts should not unduly intervene in policy judgements within their area of specialist competence. This highlights the great difficulty applicants will face challenging planning judgement decisions solely on the Wednesbury reasonableness grounds (and especially those of the planning inspectorate). The Court continued by noting the judges of the Planning Court ‘are entitled to look to applicants, seeking to rely on matters of planning policy in applications to quash planning decisions (at local or appellate level), to distinguish clearly between issues of interpretation of policy, appropriate for judicial analysis, and issues of judgement in the application of that policy; and not to elide the two’. Lesson: there are no real winners and losers in the Supreme Court’s clarification of the interpretation and application of paragraphs 14 and 49 of the NPPF. For local planning authorities the Court has helpfully retained the material relevancy of non supply of housing policies in the planning judgement of the decision maker. However, at the same time decision makers may likely attach less weight to such policies (as they affect the supply of housing) in their planning judgement under the ‘titled balance’ test in paragraph 14.

Looks OK to me. The reflectance of most surfaces would be pretty low, unless they were specifically made reflective (like solar film on windows, or reflective glazing). Also, the transmittance of glazing can vary quite a lot, so also needs to be taken into account. Overall, the heat that gets in through the glazing will probably end up being around half, maybe less, of the radiation hitting the outside of it, mainly as a consequence of the reflectivity and transmittance for the specific type of glazing used.

@Big Jimbo @recoveringacademic The way in which "relevant policies" in that 'presumption in favour of development' para are evaluated has been changed by Case Law since, and also by a famous "Ministerial Statemeny", following iirc a Supreme Court ruling. Here is a commentary: https://www.buckles-law.co.uk/site/library/planning-news/supreme-court-clarifies-paragraphs-14-and-49-of-the-nppf What I think that means practically here, is that you should look for examples of wording more recent than @recoveringacademic's which is an application from a few years ago. The commentary linked is turgid, but it does seem understandable (ish). Ferdinand

Row 77 is heat loss power, in Watts not the heat loss energy. Row 84 is the heat loss energy (power x time) in kWh.

It's the start of it looking like a house rather than a building site. Exciting!

This image best illustrates coverage and overlap. Weight is another factor - perhaps not so important. Its roughly one third of its slate equivalent, I think.

I share @JSHarris concerns regarding spending money chasing shadows. Perhaps more detail is required as to the circumstances would be useful. Was it a simple case of money being paid up front on the promise of work which was never carried out? If so, then the case would be worthy of pursuing. Or is it a case where work has been carried out but doesn't reflect the money paid? If so, this could be a touch more difficult. My personal experience of this type of behaviour goes back a number of years - In a former life, I arrested a builder on the basis of a fraud after a couple had been left with a part built extension. They had paid money up front and in advance of works. The building work wasn't fit for purpose and few other builders wouldn't take it on in its current state - they much preferred a complete knock down and restart. Bottom line was the builder claimed incompetence rather than anything criminal. He argued the money spent did represent the work carried out. Who was to argue this wasn't the case. Certainly the CPS [Crown Prosecution Service] weren't interested.

We've been surprised at how good the LG condensing washer drier we bought just over a year ago is. We bought it in a hurry, as our old washing machine went wrong just before Christmas, so no time to look around, just had to buy what we could get delivered quickly before the holiday. It has a very solid feel to it, a nice wide door (makes it a lot easier to load and unload) runs quietly, washes and dries well, has a timer so it can be set to run at off-peak times and has an easy to use operator interface. My only criticism is that the damned thing plays silly tunes when you turn it on and when it's finished a programme, and I've yet to find a way to stop it from doing this. It seems to be the plague of our time having things playing tunes and going "bong". My car does it too, and I can't find a way to stop it sounding like an amusement arcade, either.

what you need is a good contact in the under world someone who will give him a limp if he don,t pay up that would better way to spend the money .LOL

It's an awful lot cheaper than Screwfix are selling it for.

Welcome -we are also planning to build with ICF and have spent the last few months deciding on which our favourite ICF flavour is. Lots of useful information on here to help your decision making process.