jack

I'm on a break from this book. I got (from memory) about halfway through it last year after my wife raved about it, but eventually put it down because some of the generalisations and conclusions annoyed me. I may to get back to it one day.

Lots of potential reasons: Because they can afford to (ie, extra costs make no difference to their lives). Virtue signalling. Genuine desire to encourage and support wider adoption - if there are no early adopters of a new technology, it'll never take off.

The Enphase microinverters that we have used to allow per panel reporting (I think) but that function's been cut back. I believe installers and Enphase can still see it. You can still see which panels are producing more power than other panels in real time, based on their colour. This was last night at 8:45 - very little power being produced per panel: You'll also get an email if there appears to be a fault. We had that when it snowed earlier this year - the system was expecting the panels to produce power, and when they didn't do so, itsent me an alert. I watched over the next day or so as they individually woke back up as the snow cleared from them. Our microinverters have a 20 or 25 year warranty. Of course, this is only as good as the company that backs them, but Enphase seems to be pretty solid. There's also the issue of longevity of the system itself: what happens if in 10 or 15 years one of them stops working - will they be in a position to provide a drop-in replacement? Having a flat roof means that we can access them pretty easily, as long as the company's still around and replacements are available. As for why we went with this rather than a regular two string inverter, we have various trees shading parts of the roof at different times of the year. The company we used spent quite a bit of time standing on our roof mapping out the surrounding trees, and then modelled the output of the course of a year. The microinverters were a clear winner over the standard inverter approach. I think another thing they do is produce a bit more at the start and end of the day - from memory, it's something to do with the minimum string voltage required for the inverter to turn on in a regular system.

Genuine question: if it's permitted development, don't you need to wait until the house is built and signed off before you can exercise this option? Otherwise you'll be trying to get something signed off that differs from the plans. If it's not gong to be finished until December, how far along are they with the garage? Seems crazy to have to another builder in to knock bits down and rebuild afterwards.

What an utter ballache - really sorry to hear about this. Let's see how well they respond this time - keep us advised.

It makes the original post even funnier if you go back and read it. In the least creepy way possible, I'd like your wife to make me a G&T. Was it a pint?

You've identified about the only advantage I can find for having a flat(ish) roof with parapet wall - no scaffolding needed to replace a microinverter!

Bang tidy mate!

If reflections are an issue, go for polarised. I prefer polarised for driving, for example, as a lot of the brightness is reflections from cars.

Beat me to it. Obviously someone had a good time at the festival!

No-one will ever talk me back into a petrol chainsaw for occasional small-medium tasks around the garden. A decent electric provides more than adequate performance, with none of the drama if you don't use it all the time.

Oh, I agree. But as a matter of principle, I'm even more against local councils ignoring the law when it suits them.

There's a town-centre development near us in a place called Farnham (west of Guildford, and south of Farnborough). According to family friends who've lived here since the early 90s, this development has been a political football for over 25 years. The current scoop: http://farnhamherald.com/article.cfm?id=127472 "WAVERLEY Borough Council has been accused of handing Brightwells developer Crest Nicholson “a licence to kill” - after councillors agreed to relax measures safeguarding a colony of protected pipistrelle bats set to be displaced by the redevelopment of East Street." At least they aren't GCNs, eh @recoveringacademic?

I don't like leaving windows open overnight due to insects. If I were building again I'd spec insect screens on at least the bedroom windows. We open everything up first thing in the morning and close up once the outside temp warms up. Peak temps are much lower than if we'd kept everything shut up.

@JSHarris is your man, having been through this in some detail. He details some of what he did in various posts on his site, such as: mayfly.eu/2016/07/part-forty-two-water-treatment/

From memory, ethanol can softens seals and fuel lines in older cars. Most newer ones are okay.

Ah yes, I remember that feeling, before my innocence was ripped from me by the rest of the build Gorgeous setting. You got me with the building inspector comment too, until I scrolled down.

Nope, you're good.

He's still stuck up there.

ICF, as mentioned by @PeterW above, can be done DIY, and is also quick (not TF quick, but quicker than B&B)

Wonder whose house they just coated in foam? Not theirs, I assume!

You got me. For nearly three full seconds, I was about to do my usual trick of silently editing to correct typos...

Manchester it is then!

I have no advice, but thanks for the laugh to start the morning. What's that old joke about asking a farmer for directions and being told "Well I wouldn't start from here..."

"Always forgive your enemies, nothing annoys them so much."