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Just adjusting and trimming the bales to prep for rendering. The persuader ended up being very effective - the walls are a lot more level than when I started. Dug out the hole for the circular window more as well - it's looking pretty convincing, although it's not fixed in place yet. I got the left hand side done last weekend, and the right hand side (mostly) done this weekend. The hedgetrimmer works (but isn't amazing) for the middle of the wall; the alligator saw works wonders at the corners. At the corners, you're alternating between bale end (where there's strings) and bale side (where there isn't), so trimming off overhanging straw is a bit involved. For the ends, you can cut the strings, rip a load out with your hands and retie; for the sides, you can cut ~15cm off without encountering them, and not even I'm that far out. It generates a lot of loose straw; it's very pleasant to be able to take a good proportion of that and stuff it back into gaps in the wall ^^. More details expose themselves... before I render, I need to cover over the sides of the baseplate and roofplate, where all the raw edges and fixings are, with wood fibre board; put up the wood underside to the roof; sort out eaves ventilation; and get some kind of bead fixed close to the top of the baseplate. I also need to put down chicken wire to cover the gaps, and I was thinking about getting a roll of 600mm wide DPC - like https://mkm.com/product/pvc-damp-proof-course-600mm-x-30m-b012378 - and using it to fashion a skirt, fixing it behind the render bead and allowing it to go down to the ground, maybe with a bit of wood at the bottom of the box beam to encourage it to 'belly out' a bit. That'd hide the chicken wire and the blocks and the void quite tidily, I think. The replacement square window has been ordered - pine, double-glazed, bottom-opening, toughened glass. Nothing fancy; apparently it will either take ~7-10 days to arrive, or 6-8 weeks. Maybe twice the price of an equivalent uPVC window, but I just couldn't pop one of those in. Render mesh (10mm openings, which is better for lime apparently) and hessian has also arrived. I've got enough mesh to do a layer over all the walls, inside and out, so will probably do that. I've not rendered before, so I'm looking for every bit of help possible to keep it from shrinking, cracking, and falling straight back off the walls.

.31 ACH. It needs attention to detail mind you.

Most of the site houses I work on seam to aim for 2 It many years since I’ve actually seen an airtightness test being done Most are done as a desktop study We’ve built traditional)Solid) the last two times Our present home is extremely airtight and the one we are currently finishing should be the same When we are ready for sign off Probably six months after moving in We will tip up our 200 quid and get our pass certificate Get your house as airtight as possible But don’t take the corrupt testing to seriously Because Red Row and Barratts will hit a lower score than you without trying

There are zero mechanical advantage to the threads beyond the 2nd thread overhanging the nut. In fact aeronautical engineering would only have 1.5 threads out of the nut. The strength from bolted assemblies come from the bolt/stud being approx midway in the elastic range. This is why it's important to torque assemble. Bolted assemblies fail more from being under torqued rather than over torqued.

Hot paddling pools! On weekends when we have lots of sun, PV and an ASHP we turn the hot water on and use the DHW to fill large paddling pools and water slides with the hot water for the kids! Bath time outdoors. Two weekends we ago managed 1200L of hot water for less then £3 daily usage. Fun all day.

Polite letter as suggested above but, the Planning officer's mind being set, addressed to Head of Planning and chair of Planning Committee and copied to Plg Officer. Ask them how a start as described could *not* be seen as a start and a locking-in of the permission. Copy it to the complainant too?

They're saying that clouds of pollution create shadow and protect us? But they will also keep the heat in, between earth and cloud. I'll settle for the cleaner air.

Hi everyone, New to this forum. I find brickwork really interesting, and so far, I have built a gate pillar, a tree ring and a garden wall. Looking forward to learning more! Have a great day!

My mate's on a train in Malaysia:

Welcome What is being quoted and for what, I do they access or is it difficult?

@alexo Sorry, I can’t figure out how to adjust the blinds (without too much experimentation that might screw ours up!) They do come out really easily though. If you want to take a closer look yourself. There are two black plastic catches that turn through 90 degrees to release the blind. Turn those towards the hinge side of the window and the blind plus motor/solar PV etc will drop out so be prepared to catch it! Here’s pictures of the catches in the locked and unlocked position. I can’t see where the adjustment would be, maybe someone will pipe up with a good idea. Where exactly is that water you’re talking about? Is it between the hinged pane and the 3G unit?

I’ll have a look at ours in the morning see if I can figure anything out.

Check the shower mixer instructions they should have a flow temp tuner (normally hidden inside) to ensure the centre of the temperature knob is at 34 or 36 degs. You can normally adjust this to it takes in less cold water and more hot. I found storing in the cylinder at 48 the shower was just a little cool, while 50 was fine and could get it hotter than I required. It just a matter of a little fine tuning to get the sweet spot.

To answer my own question, a quick Google suggests that pumped storage or compressed air offer around twice the round trip efficiency of hydrogen. And with much simpler technology. Obviously pumped storage is location dependent. I can feel a Heath Robinson project coming on... I've got land 50m above my house...

For that small height change, I would not build a retaining wall, but cut the turf back a bit a re profile it so it slopes down to the slabs without a step.

Heat your domestic hot water is the easy and obvious one. It will reduce your HW bills to close to £nil for much of the summer. The next obvious one is use all your big domestic appliances like washing machine, dishwasher etc one at a time at around mid day.

I really like the idea of hydrogen generation (hydrolysing water) and storing that for winter heating. I looked into it a few years ago but the tech just isn't there yet.

Good morning and welcome, I would be raising it slightly above the lawn, stops turf migrating onto the patio area and helps drainage

This one has the greatest utility value as your home is quite energy efficiency already. You don't mention charging and EV?

Ditto, all your interactions should be in written format. I presume you have had a letter from the planning department and not just a verbal request from an enforcement officer. If you used the LA for building control I'm amazed that they have let this go this far. Threats of enforcement action should never be made lightly by a Council (normally the planners would have run the scenario past their legal department) so you need to be professional in response and stop this nonsense in it's tracks. Put your position in writing and insist on a response likewise in writing.

That's an internal photo and the other side of that lintel is external onto the porch. The builder is saying he will effectively make another wall outside.

At least the mine engine houses perched on the cliffs are quite picturesque, unlike the slate quarry remains at Blaenau Ffestiniog. And the Eden Project is an imaginative use for a humungous clay pit. Promising new process for recycling old concrete into new cement here https://www.cam.ac.uk/stories/cement-recycling.

Warranties & PCCs basically have two purposes. First is “insurance” in case something very catastrophic goes wrong with your build eg foundations fail or house falls over or whatever. Your risks against that will be mitigated by who builds your house. If a reputable builder architect and traditional construction on stable ground then what’s the chances of that happening. Second is loans & finance. If you are not requiring finance and are unlikely to sell house within period of warranty validity (10 years ???) then that is a factor. as I had a reputable builder, very unlikely to move, but did need finance I was happy with PCC and didn’t see point in warranty. Bear in mind the vast majority of houses bought and sold in UK don’t have any form of warranty as are over 10 years old. I do see the temptation of a warranty, in some circumstances. Just a case of assessing your risks in your circumstances. My biggest concern is that as others have reported the warranty companies inspections aren’t inspections, which tells me a lot about how they assess their own risks of paying out. I think others have highlighted warrant companies going bust too.

What about making assumptions based upon computer models/political pressure/availability of funding

Also to be fair the sealing tape is the least of our problems. The windows were 2cm too short but that’s another matter and a different thread.

Wee Love maybe.

Take up some kind high electricity hobbies. Maybe smelt some steel or do some evaporative desalination.