SteamyTea

" It looks as if it was put in by an Indian. " Prince Philip

Welcome This all depends on what experience you have in both areas. From what I have read on here, and my own experiences as both a project/production manager (different industries, but sometimes related), I would go for a project manager and a timber frame until made weather tight. Then organise your own subcontractors. Initial design is where you can save the money. Make it complicated and it will cost you, make it high tech and smart, it will cost a lot and probably not work. All a house is, is a thermally insulated, airtight box. Then you start to put 'holes' in it for things like doors and windows, heating and ventilation systems, wires and plumbing (and a cat flap). I often get the feeling that people start thinking about designing a house the wrong way around. The interior can become more important than the structure and this complicates things no end.

At least that is a start. There are only 6 houses where I am, we have 3 different meters, but only 1 DNO. This is something that the industry sort sort out, not exactly an anticompetitive move.

Why is it so messy in the DNO boxes. I would have thought by now that they would have come up with a nice neat design that incorporated a DP switch after the fuse and meter. Really is ridiculous that they have not moved on since the 1940's.

All I got for that sort of money was a Penguin Job, which sort of sound Welsh!

welshwife@interuptus.com It was just me mucking about, but got some interesting contacts

Self cleaning glass, a combination of toughened and laminated (they fail differently, bit like carbon fibre and kevlar combination, one snaps, the other holds the bits together).

Oh, I was once asked (in the late 90's) to make a transparent stair case for a show. The company was based in Amersham. Not sure if it is the same people (I dealt with an Architect). Had to point out there was a big disadvantage, all their staff should wear trousers. There is an Art Gallery in Penzance (The Exchange) that has some 'posh glazing'. Looked good when it was new, now it looks a bit tatty (silicone has discoloured, a few panes are broken, lighting now mismatched). Was a nice idea at the time though.

You could be a bit more subtle than that and put up a large pair of beady eyes looking down. Doing this at a university bike shed reduced the number of thefts and vandalism. Maybe a little sign under it saying "Like what you see, want to know more, email us at xxx@yyy.com"

I have a nominated and clearly defined parking area, don't stop the neighbours using it. There is one space per house here. But for some reason, neighbours feel they can park where they like. Even across the access and in the turning area. So take any cash for it and just keep using it

Jeremy's ASHP is very quiet. I have a sound meter and logger on my phone (AndoSensor). It is currently showing around 15 dB. Turning my fan heater on (about a metre away) and it shows 30 dB. Not sure how accurate it is , but good enough for comparison I should think. Just got to go out and find some ASHP that are running now.

I suffer from increasingly worsening tinnitus, silence is the worse thing there is. Not that a modern ASHP that is designed, installed and maintained is noisy at all. I am tempted to go and measure the noise levels from a few to see what it is at 1 and 10 metres distance.

Has it faded at all there. Can't say I noticed the floor when I was there, which is a good thing. I tend to notice things that are wrong, not right.

When looking at life cycle kWh costs, always compare them to a gasoline generator as a reality check. Never compare them to unobtanium.

Possibly, but this way they only pay out at the end, so if inflation rises, then it may be cheaper. Without looking into it more, and I cannot be bothered, is it offering 8% a year, or 8% on your total investment after 5 years (1.6% before compounding)?

Would be interesting to follow this one for the next 5 years.

Convert them both to electric and save on having to get the gas checked and certificated each year.

So about 36 kWh of storage which is enough to run my house for a couple of days.

How much do you discharge them?

Not sure about self installation in the UK. You certainly can in the USA. I am a bit of a fan of I Beams and H columns. Was admiring a stairway that used them just yesterday. A lot of people also use wood fibre board for insulation. I think it can also be used structurally too. As for having a service void, you could fit conduit inside the wall panels and then just pull the cabling though. Have you thought of your cold bridging and air tightness details yet, especially around windows and doors (which should be easy for you).

Have you looked into pumped cellulose insulation? It has good thermal resistivity, a high SHC and good sound insulation.

That chart is just mortgage approvals, which is only part of the market i.e. the people that can't afford a house. There is also the technical definition of a recession, it is something like a reduction for two quarters. So prices will have to drop every month for 6 months to make it a recession.

I have not had a telly for over 20 years. Do you need one to look trendy?

The alternative is taxation, not sure that worked either. I bought 3 new cars and had to pay a 10% premium on each of them. Indications are that the London market is slowing, and that is what is skewing the figures, along with relatively low volume of sale.

Yes you do. It pays off later in life. All the accidents and adventures I had in vehicles taught me valuable roadcraft skills. I now get cheap insurance and very really scare myself these days. Glad it is not just me. 30 years of the indicator on the right and then they have to change it. Like my mothers fridge, for 22 years it was hinged on the right, now it is on the left. After 7 years, I still open it the wrong way (actually, I don't open it, just rock it a bit till the pot plant falls off).