Crofter

Same here. We've spent four out of the last five years living at anchor, using solar/lithium for cooking, and rainwater collection to supplement dock water. Hopefully we can get our recalcitrant watermaker running this year, we have plenty of power for it. We still have gas for cooking but it's strictly a backup option. Likewise, we can in theory charge the batteries from the engine, but the solar can put out six times as much power so we don't bother unless we're using the engine anyway. What makes this viable is that the boat isn't in the UK. Remove space and water heating from the equation and everything becomes much easier!

We've just taken delivery of a Neo sliding door. It was absolutely unbeatable for u value (0.74 uW) and was considerably cheaper than any aluclad iron. Haven't installed it yet but the quality looks good. Mine are dark grey on the outside, and as far as I can tell this is a solid colour rather than a foil wrap. I also took the option of having the glazing units delivered separately, which has made handling much easier. It will also allow me to install the frames by screwing straight through the frame. The glazed units were delivered in robust transport frames, unlike the cheaper units I bought from Modern UPVC Glazing. All in all, I'm quite impressed so far.

Floor: 300mm mineral wool Walls: 150mm wool+ 50mm PIR Warm pitched roof: 150mm wool+ 100mm PIR Plus airtight membrane battened and taped. Windows are 3G with u values of 1.0 or less.

Due to damage I've had to replace a couple of aluclad units, and have decided to go uPVC this time. I was able to improve from 0.98 to 0.74.

I think as you approach very low u values it's better to switch your attention to better airtightness detailing, because that's going to be where the bulk of your heat loss occurs. But it's not just about saving money. You're creating a comfortable house without damp, drafts, condensation, and mould. And it's extremely hard to improve insulation and airtightness later.

So just to conclude this, I finally made a decision. Went with the DHP490 drill and DTD153 impact, both a decent upgrade from the base models. Plus the 186 recip saw. Only added a single 3Ah battery, because once my tools are all reunited I'll have plenty of batteries. Powertoolmate won out in overall cost, there were only a few quid in it. If I'd wanted to, I could have split the order between two or three different places to get the absolute lowest prices, but I'd have lost out any savings in additional delivery charges. Looking forward to my new toys

I believe so, but it would get pretty frustrating waiting on them.

It's possible you ended up with the 'SD' charger, which looks similar, but has no fan.

This is the one I'm looking at, same as I already have. Definitely has a fan. https://cnspowertools.co.uk/makita-dc18rc-18v-lxt-li-ion-charger.html

Yup. I can get the Makita fast charger for as little as £14 if I shop around. The double charger is nearly £100!

Ok just about to click the button, but before I do, does anybody have a discount code they could share?

I would start by looking at all the background heat you expect to be generating in there- two humans, a fridge, some cooking. Then do a basic heat loss calculation based on notional insulation values and the surface area of the hut. This will be dependent on outside temperature- do you want to use this all year round, or summer only? Just to give you a data point, my little place needs no heating for about nine months of the year. The fridge, hot water tank, and a bit of solar gain seem to be enough. I've got u values of between 0.1 and 0.15, with the windows at about 1.0.

I've been using a corded electric chainsaw for my log pile, and I *thought* I was keeping the chain sharp enough. Recently switched to a brand new chain and what a difference... knife through butter. It only cost about £8 as well. Worth every penny!

Fair enough. I wish I had a note of what my first pair were, as they were perfectly good.

Haha, I'd already looked at that one! I'll probably just buy new though. These things just don't depreciate at all- that one is about 75% of the new price!