Roger440

Yes, insulation under the floor would be nice. But to dig up a perfectly servicable floor to insulate is unlikely to make any economic sense. You could use an overlay system, but that can create knock on issues with the extra floor height. Or, you can hire a machine to grind grooves in the floor and fit the UFH pipes into those. Yes, you will lose heat downwards, but you will be doing that with rads too to a lesser extent. If the floor is uninsulated, then its uninsulated. I will be cutting grooves. Even as a DIY job, in my small house, if be looking at £5k plus to dig up and insulate the floor and replace the concrete. Ill be dead by the time i see break even on digging up the floor in reduced heating costs. I will say, having done UFH before, its so much better than rads, especially with an unisulated floor as you will always have colder air at floor level. UFH will dispense with that.

ill remember that. But dont hold your breath, its likely to be 2027 before i get that far. Outside and barn work first. Got to get ones priorities in order!

Sounds almost too good to be true! Be sure to keep us updated if you do get to see this used. As im planing to strip and refurb my house in one hit without living in it (so completely empty), might be perfect for what i need.

In which case, given your other challenges seems like a no brainer to me.

+1. Never made any sense to me either. Extra build up depth, extra costs, for no gain that i can see. Beyond a faster responding UFH? Still seems popular though.

All good stuff, though way over my head!

£1600.

Well, i guess if you gear it down enough, anything will work! Not really getting in to ramp modifications. Ill live with what i have. Anyone need a really nice 2 post 3 phase screw lift?

Lifts are cheap! £20k for a connection from 50ft away is robbery. Its not happening. Plus its even more expensive (as though that were possible), and uncapped. Yes, almost 6 meters to the apex. Working on the solar. Need a tame electrician to sign of my install though...... Not sure DNO will accept my qualifications! The hobby might be expensive, though its not that bad as you think, i do it all myself, But over the next 20 years, unless i do something im going to spend over £70k on electricity at todays prices. And prices can only go up. And i really would like 3 phase, which a genset would give me.

Complication. Its a screw lift. If it was hydraulic, sure, easy done. A screw lift has 2 motors (both 3.2kw), one each side, and if theres a car on it already, you are starting it at full load. Unlike a hydraulic ramp. Single phase screw lifts are liking rockig horse doo doo. And i hate hydraulic 2 posters. Pain in the backside for accurate lowering of, say a shell, over a subframe.

Not entirely, as electricity prices were what i was posting about. But, yes, mostly

300sq/ft. Its big, but not THAT big. I wasnt referring to the pool, more the waste heat, as you (and Johnmo) suggest plumbed into a massive tank. Supllemented by an oil boiler. I was coming from a different angle though, ie, my electricity bill is bonkers, therefore looking at generation. "if" i had a genset (and solar and batteries) its still cheaper to buy from the grid. (ignorig a non gen set solution for now) But i hadnt factored in using the waste heat. Which rather changes the calculation. Without that waste heat factor, yes, oil is still probably the way to go. The electrics cant cope with a big ASHP. Not in addtion to everything else. Im not paying £20k for a connection. Thats just silly. For a 2 post lift, demand on start up is too high for a static convertor, Would need to be rotary. Which the manufacturers demand a 60 amp supply. Not do-able. Zoning of the building is in process, to a point.

One wonders how noisy a silenced genset would be inside. Probably too noisy, but would be fine at night. It also would neatly solve my lack of 3 phase for an awful lot less than the £20k that National Grid want for a connection from a pole 50ft from said barn. In my own field.

Hmmm,given I have a barn to heat as well, and that my only realistic option is oil, that much waste heat, collected, in a huge tank, would massively skew the figure in favour of self generation. Even without attempting to use the exhaust heat. If said genney was IN the barn, you would capture still more, ie, that which is radiated off the engine block. Time for some more number crunching.

I like that idea.

I priced up usin red diesel, so a bit over half the costs you used. Which helps significantly. Yes, capital costs if you just buy a turnkey set up is significant. No need for that. Found a big silenced, low hours, Kubota genset for £4k. Second hand solar panels are a tenner a pop now. Just the batteries to fund. Maybe a small domestic set plus a EV too for some proper capacity. That im even thinking about shows how messed up things are........................ But i cant keep paying for electricity at current prices as a releatively heavy consumer. Something has to give.

Surprised? No. So bills will be coming down then? Err, no to that too. And so the never ending increases in electricity prices keep on coming. I was crunching the numbers on generating my own power with solar, batteries and a (proper) gen set. Currently not cost effective, but we are not that far away now. Another 20-30% increase and it will make sense. Madness for a developed country. One wonders how bad it has to get before something happens and people start demanding action. 30p, 40p, 50p per kWh?

What he said^^^ The average welsh stone cottage isnt going to be remotely air tight. Start here. As far as the bifolds are concerned, normally everything is adjustable. However, the problem ive run into 3 times now, is the frame being so far out of true, that no amount of adjustment can sort it. In which case taping them up might be the sensible option.

Dry stone walls are indeed not terrible. Problem is, most a sdamp or wet as a consequence of inappropiate choices made in the past. Whatever else you problems, if its not dry, thats the first thing to address. OP, you make no mention of this? There are pretty much no circumstances under which PIR or the like is a good idea on such a house with no DPC.

Sensible advice. After all, if you have it removed, they are taking it away to be buried, not to be magic-ed away. Might as well stay buried where it is.

The government doesnt want to bring prices down, and they are not going to break the link. Ive just calculated ive spent just over £3k in 12 months on electricity. Absolutely bonkers. Though quite what i do about is is another thing entirely. Hoping that prices will come down, however, looks like no solution.

Going to be hard. In England. However, you might want to consider Wales. They have the one planet scheme that might be suitable for you. https://www.iwa.wales/agenda/2022/09/one-planet-smallholdings-a-new-path-to-rural-sustainability/?gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAiA2JG9BhAuEiwAH_zf3jDnvlaLXX8aSzNQcgHM_OPzeBI0vPhv525kt4_WJ9Gt1fs__gn5FBoCne8QAvD_BwE I think this was how youtuber Kris Harbour did his place.

Ive got (well did have until i moved) a Vortex. I wouldnt get another. But as you asked earlier about maintenance contracts, no i didnt. I looked after it myself. Its not rocket science. Im inclined to agree you are over thinking it. Install, turn on, put the plugs in the sinks and leave. Im not a fan of turning it off. That was when i had issues, with stuff settling, and blocking the sludge return, and on one occasion the bubblers. Easy enough to fix, but its an intervention you dont want or need. Other plants maybe be more forgiving of turning it off.

Coconut husks or similar i believe.

To be honest, the life time of the steel is the least of the problems. The sleepers will rot out long before the steel either way. Unless you are using real, second hand hardwood railway sleepers.