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lots of people have a qualification, unfortunately that doesn't mean they are at the top of their game, nor even competent in that profession.

At the end of the day if the self builder is happy with his design who can tell them they are wrong?, others may have a view but they don’t have to live there. I am very happy with what I designed but I am sure it’s not everyone’s cup of tea. Telling self builders if they design it themselves they will end up with garbage is pompous crap.

He’s over thinking it Tell him to get on with it

I think the first thing you should do before you hire someone, is check their credentials and that they/their company are presenting themselves truthfully. That’s my helpful advice.

Same with doctors, but the fact is ‘Architect’ is a legally protected term. If the company OP is using is claiming that they have architects if they do not, then it’s illegal.

Make sure you have someone else with you to haul you out if it gets sticky, harness and rope might be good.

These are just about safe from slugs and snails now. They don't eat the stems once they get woody, and seldom climb above the bottom leaves.

It wasn’t an accusation, but definitely a query and a twist of doubt. I don’t really like it when people claim to be architects when they haven’t done the qualifications. It’s about customers getting what they are promised as well as professional integrity.

We have a Quooker Combi (7L tank to supply the kitchen DHW as well as boiling) and yes it looks like it has a larger element: 2.2kW vs 1.6kW And yes, I misremembered: looking at the dashboard ours draws 2.3kW (slightly over its rating) when reheating, not 3kW Agree. We settled on it pre-pandemic. Now there's always someone working at home, and often 2 of us, it's even more appreciated. And possibly even pays back, in terms of working hours saved!! In the context of this thread, yes: the lower the peak power it draws, the more easily it be satisfied from the battery or PV inverter (so cheap / free cuppa). The more it draws peak, then more of it will on average will have to come from the grid. Over a whole year it draw about 90kWh in background load (keeping the tank warm) plus whatever you use in hot water.

I suspect Stanley would be shocked, and give you a new one.. For very, very accurate measurement I was taught not to use the end, so we would start at 1m or whatever, as long as we remembered to add that to the number. Some special tapes have a long pull handle to allow this to be done from a proper zero. There are different categories of accuracy and some are remarkably approximate to be considered to be to a standard. That is understandable for a rough survey through undergrowth where a fibre tape is better and an approximation will suffice. BUT I once bought an own-brand steel tape from TS which was out by over 100mm over 30m. (The worst Class 3 would have allowed 15mm error). Could have been expensive and we had all the foundations, bolts and walls in using it before, fortunately, using another tape. I got the money back but declined to take it back to the shop. Presumably that level of error is known at the factory but deliberately overlooked.

we can't wait. at the moment it's in a box in the basement but every time I flick the kettle on in the current house I think 'one day I won't have to do this!'.

we picked up our Quooker at Grand Designs Live the other month. got 20% off which was a massive saving! and then I can claim the VAT back to make it even cheaper.

@pocster The Quooker is definitely worth it. Stupid expensive, will never pay itself back but worth it. @joth I’ve only ever seen our Quooker draw 1kW after a cuppa however I’ve never looked to see what it’s drawing after filling a saucepan etc. Have they got 2 elements?

You shouldn't need any for a bit. meanwhile make your own miracle mix. Collect fleshy weeds, esp nettles, groundsel, dandelion. You can add coffee grounds, banana skins etc if you want. Put in a bucket with a lid. Cover with water and a weighted lid and wait 2 weeks. with it outdoors! Drain off into a container and chuck the solids in the compost heap. It really stinks, but seems to work very well, is gentle on the plants and the earth. I add about 10% to watering can but perhaps should be more/less/ Then keep making more. It keeps ok for a decent while in a sealed container.

I occasionally watch woodworking videos on Youtube. Watching Americans doing mental arithmetic using combinations of quarters, 8ths, 16ths, and 32nds is physically painful. I mean, it's clever that they can do it at all, but if I'm working on something, I want to focus on the work, not the maths.

If you are using imperial units of measurement, you have greater issues.

Can see schematics below but basically the hot side is an oversized tee as per 2 pipe, the bottom cold connection goes into cylinder and back out same as a 4 pipe. Has all the advantages of a 2 pipe and 4 pipe.

https://www.backerelectric.com/shop/domestic-immersion-heater/?index=24

No it will be more like 700W

Not the original poster, but I've also got the luxpower 3.6+pylontechs, and yeah - 3.6kW is fine. Obviously it's not hard to exceed if you try - kettle + oven would do it - but in practice even when I'm cooking it doesn't tend to go much over 3.6kW, when you've got multiple hobs plus the oven on it tends to be with the hobs on well under maximum power. Putting the kettle on can easily push usage over, but that's only for a couple of minutes each time, so not really significant. I suppose it does require a bit of thought if you're trying to optimise your usage ... e.g. hold off running the washing machine until after you've finished cooking ... but it's not hard to stay under 3.6kW of draw the vast majority of the time. I guess in mid winter when the heat pump is drawing 1-2kW a lot of the time it'd be harder to stay under 3.6kW, but that's also going to drain the batteries down fairly quickly so there's less need to care - I expect to have to draw on the grid for a substantial amount of power each day anyway once the heating is running and the batteries will get fully used regardless, so no real point in trying to avoid the grid at that point.

I assume that's a meme off the internet, not @pocster's own tool failure They're both imperial only, so presumably a USA meme.

It's a bit like watches. Ask a man with one watch what the time is, and he is sure. a man who has several watches is never quite sure. If you measure a gap with one measure, then mark the bit of wood with the same measure, all will be fine. Work out which one is missing a bit and throw it in the bin.

Last photo showing, at least, this 1/2 of workshop complete. T'other 1/2 a jumble of stored xyz / will come back for ideas on this later / a future thread maybe. Thanks again- zoot.

There are three ways to plump the buffer, 2, 3 and 4 pipe, each has its own advantages and disadvantages. The 4 pipe as drawn, has to be hot before it will deliver heat to the system hence the need to have a thermostat on the buffer. You heat buffer as Joe90. Or you could do it like this as a 2 pipe without buffer thermostat. https://www.kensaheatpumps.com/installer/tech-focus-part-2/

I think maybe because the link breaks due to all the // in a job number. I can search your application and see the pdf. No idea how to fix it thought sorry, I think it’s the fault of the planning website.

I installed wall hung toilet (not Grohe) and basin frames and clad using 12mm Hardiebacker board. I pre dilled the Hardiebacker to ensure the board pulled in tight to the frame and didn't have any movement. I had the board Venetian plastered and the plasterer would not have been happy about the board flexing. I would check that the board is tight to the timber.

It used to be more clear, simply putting a fence anywhere between the building line and the road needed PP. Then it changed to "adjacent" which is very subjective. I remember one similar case here, where they had set the fence back from the road / path slightly, and the planning officer stood at the edge of the path and reached out and he could not touch the fence, therefore it was determined not to be "adjacent" If it would not make your garden too small, you could leave your low wall where it is and place a taller fence, just on wooden posts (in case it needs moving again) say 1 metre back from the low wall. But you still won't know for sure if your particular council claims that to be "adjacent" unless they come and inspect it. Or just plant a quick growing hedge right by your low wall.

He sounds quite inexperienced There is hardly any flex on 12 mil CB As long as he seals it and uses a BAGGED flexi adhesive It will be fine

What horse shit.... I designed something no architect was able to give me which is what I want and a way I want to build it. I brought it to an architect( award winning) who is a relative of a good friend to put into planning and BC drawings and to ensure I wasn't missing anything and he reckoned he wouldn't change a thing Where most Architects fail is they are more interested in what they like and disregard their client opinions as inferior... hence alot of self builders treat them with less than the respect good ones deserve... P.s I'm a big fan of good architects and if plot was different or I wasn't in the game and had such a clear vision I would definitely have used one.

So I have been tinkering with my collection of "stuff that will come in handy one day" Anyone reading beyond this point has to make a promise not to laugh, at least not out load. So put together a test water wheel entirely from bits you have to hand: The business side, that will collect the water. Yes that is a bicycle wheel, and the trial set of "buckets" that will go around the outside to collect the water and so cause it to rotate, are indeed baked bean cans. Looking at the other side, that is the pulley and belt from a dead washing machine. It is driving a little DC servo motor as my trial generator candidate. Initially I tried the pulley from the washing machine motor, but that only gave a 9:1 ratio, I felt it wanted more, so I made a very much smaller pulley for the servo motor and I have got to about a 17:1 ratio. The whole lot is mounted to the end of a length of aerial pole. The shaft is a length of M12 threaded rod and the bearings are old idler bearings left over from a previous cam belt change on my car. They mount to the aerial pole with a heavy duty aerial pole clamp set. The proposal is to mount the aerial pole pivoted about it's mid position giving somewhere for a counter weight and easy height adjustment. And since the motor is right in the "splash zone" it will have a plastic cover to keep it a bit dry A similar one will will also be fitted over the bearings We need to eat some more baked beans before there are enough cans to give it a water trial.

In my previous house the entire place was decorated in F&B. Its not only the chalkiness its the depth of pigment and how the colours change in the light you are paying for. The copies cannot match it in any way, at one point I tried the copies in Johnstone and Dulux no-one who knows would mistake it for true F&B. Decorators universally hate it because it needs more care and coats to get an even finish. In my new house I am going for Dulux Trade Ulramatt tinted to my preferred shade....not a F&B copy colour. Having had F&B in all its glory I said never again. It is a nightmare to keep looking perfect and I am a perfectionist so every little mark drove me nuts and cost me fortunes in redecoration. We are a 2 adult household no kids so didnt have any real wear and tear but still every little mark shows. If you want F&B in a wipeable finish go for the modern emulsion not the flat estate emulsion. It was not for me its the hint of shine in the modern I dislike I want the flattest flat matt. One F&B product I would and will use in preference to main stream paints is their eggshell for wood. Its brilliant. Nice alternative to F&B if you want to pay the premium for designer paint that is a bit more robust is Little Green. I love Craig and Rose paint but its even more difficult than F&B to keep perfect. Join the million discussion boards on Mumsnet about F&B and the pros and cons and the best copy colours. Hours of fun!

I have always fancied an outdoor fish pond, with colourful tropical fish in it. Goes back to my time as a kid living in West Indian islands where we used to get guppies out of ditches and cross bread them to make them colourful. So why not dump the power into a small pond. Kind of thing @ProDave would do just to stop the DNO having any. He you use it to rear trout in the winter, then boil them up for supper in the summer.

You've been sold short

actually it does: the quooker blasts on its 3kW load immediately after you pull each and every cuppa so it has the same issue. TBH I wish it had an eco mode where it just used 1kW to slowly reboil after a cuppa, and only cranked on the 3kW element if you pull several litres from it. And for periodic reheating, even more so: having a 500W element to gently re-boil would be far more efficient throughout a dreary PV day than short-cycle blasting 3kW into it. As it stands it's actually really inefficient if we're heating water for pasta etc, as we pull boiling water from the quooker then put it straight on the inductions hob, resulting in them both being on simultaneously, making a 6kW+ load which very likely pushes over the inverter output.

Your kids will be grown ups by then.

Have Mitsubishi given any explanation why some of their heatpumps have 5W background usage and others have 250W? Until they address that I frankly don't believe a word they're saying. The margin here is wildly beyond simple manufacturing or situational variation. What's particularly impressive is of that 3300 kWh, approximately 2000kWh of it was wasted on keeping the compressor warm. So it only used maybe 1,500 kWh on useful work, vs 21,000 with the old gas boiler. This is starting to sound like the discovery of cold fusion