scottishjohn

they are mega expensive --will stick with my side cutters with extra notchs to strip std t+e conductors- you can use them on bigger wires just don,t fully close them and they work fine on 4mm as well

I have some side cutters which have built strippers or 1.5mm +2,5mm wires these are very handy for household wiring jobs# will search for link https://www.axminster.co.uk/wiha-vde-diagonal-cutters-with-wire-strippers-504036

I,m not saying you can,t --it was you who started this by taking offence to being considered to be in the GIG economy , which was your assumption I made no such statement due to my taxation situation with private pension +state pension i only take minimum wage from the biz which after tax works out that i get about £1.50 an hour for 40 hr week .LOL just marking time till i can sell the premises , at the right price -could give it way tomorrow and just take on any work that comes in to keep the body in shape for the house build --when i finally get somewhere .then maybe i take a lesser offer for the premises if i need money for build . that would cut down capitol gains on it no chance of a mortgage at my age ,even if i wanted one . I,m at the point now where I am considering de registering for vat - due to low level of work -

I did state not a labour only biz --which that is

does not look like it in this picture I see wall -stud then membrane then stud again in corner--must be a trick of the camera looks like it is over the outer stud .LOL ignore me

as I suggested earlier lay bricks -rake out when still soft, clean all brick faces etc -then point all of it later with premixed mortar to keep colour spot on EG https://www.marshalls.co.uk/commercial/product/coloured-mortar https://www.kingfisheruk.com/coloured-pointing-mortar-item-69dg#69dg what my dad used was pointing mastic -- all i can say is it looked great and worked fine https://www.buildingmaterials.co.uk/sika-trowel-mastic guessing it was something like this a mix of sand and other things

so is old age still I don,t see how can have an income of say £30k from any biz if turn over is less than £85k by the time you tak off all overheads If it all going through the books

only thing I would not be happy with is the steel studs on the wet side of the membrane,they will corroded in time if its damp

self employed and vat registered is not "gig" economy If not vat registered --then you are no way you can make a living if not vat registered,eg turnover below vat threshold and not labour only biz and all is going through the books turn over threshold is so low 68k from memory

Sorry cannot agree with that in way I already have paid tax and paid for this pension as you say you get taxed on it anyway the safety net should be the income level at which you start paying tax . If no other income you don,t pay tax on state pension +lots of other things you can get as well and those that could have and not bothered to provide for their retirement ,just spent it all --get no sympathy from me . now we have mandatory work place pensions as well --which should have happened a long time ago -- but as an employer I find that along with NI contributions is a big cost on employing staff -- hence so may self employed or fixed term contract workers and don,t get me started on uber drivers and other "gig economy workers". who pay sod all tax to anyone ,but will expect a pension as well I understand your view is because you have always been employed in nice pension providing government job of sort type -- good for you I am sure if you were self employed or running your own biz all your life your view would be different If you feel it is wrong to take state pension --then take out a convenant and give it a charity --you will get full tax credits its like the gp,s retiring cos their pension pot has hit the £1,000000 mark where its taxed different would i do the same --probably --but i never had a million pound pension pot when I (technically) retired--that would give about £5k a month before tax+ state pension +earning related up grades --another 1K a month anyway +winter fuel allowance winter fuel allowance --yes that could be means tested ,but would probably cost more to operate than it would save poor bastards !!

this small man made island makes me think lake is shallow . how deep is lake ? how often does it get ice on it in winter? If so then freezing needs to be considered pipe would need to be very well distributed across whole of lake so you don,t get the freezing @JSHarris reported . the more we discuss it the more a ASHP looks like it could be cheaper depending on heat load of house.? start with that ,then work out how much piping you need to get a low temp drop in water from gshp ? could be that overall the average temp of water is much lower than average air temp year round ,so any increase in COP might be wiped out by lower water temp? do you know other man that has GSHP from lake -- ask lots of questions of him and then if he and others are sucking heat from lake is there enough left for you ? a very knotty problem to get a definite answer to and then there is sepa -I was told in scotland i would need SEPA to approve it as i might be freezing the bugs in the lake

I think @nod will think thats OTT but if you do stager joints just to be sure

foam backed plasterboard is pretty rigid ,think you worrying too much about the flimsy studding --it gets stiff once you clad it -try a section and see,

not sure if it would work ,but remember seeing brine gshp systems used in holland ? and now I remember seeing a water supply pipe floating on a lake --typical farmer just ran it straight across the lake to trough as it was less pipe +yes it floated just on surface

certainly foam backed drywall will stop heat /cold from transferring through as easily

I think the answer is yes. you could fasten 25mm or 50mm batons direct to bricks --so loosing only an inch or two and be able to put a VCL in,which is the way I would go but firstly are you really sure there are no damp problems,you need to check carefully , if there are these need to be sorted first .. I,m guessing its not a cavity wall and originally it would be lime mortar if it has been pointed with cement mix then that could be a problem waiting to happen ,cos cement does not breath and is not flexible like lime mortar ,so any cracks in pointing and water runs in and don,t come out. with the change from lime to cement was when they went to cavity walls so any moisture in the wall cannot evaporate outwards only inwards . Yes you could paint or render .maybe ,if you have the money its time to insulate it on outside .then render or brick slips--2 jobs at once! warm +dry

My guess is its will use so little energy that the RHI payment will not be worth having an MCS man fit your system . I got a good payment cos i got calculation done when house was in poor insulated state--then upgraded it I,m guessing if you built it this far you can fit most of the GSHP yourself with some help from the "collective". you could always import a welsh man.but be quick they want to go independant now !! I,ll row the boat round the lake dropping the pipe in .LOL

I,m with him !! you can try a dry run and see how many your mixer will hold from memory of doing the same i think you will find 10ltre size plenty big enough you could always rake out edge of bricks and do final pointing at later date ,or even use a mortar gun for the final pointing and buy ready mixed of colour you want? I know with fancy facing brick at old house my dad used a mix with some linseed oil which gave really nice finish to mortar and did not shrink or crack . It was very dark red colour same as bricks that's maybe not correct name ,maybe even something new and better now

providing there was a proper rental agreement ,the fact she has not actually paid you month by month and that it is deferred to be paid on her demise , that should work . and all debts on an estate are paid before any calculation of inheritance tax Is that not basically the same as equity release? pretty sure something along those lines would work if constructed correctly ,maybe would need a limited company for the rental etc as ferdinand says ==opinion only

If the damp outside of wall is colder than inside and something is touching, like metal I think it could cause condensation on the metal ,like on inside of a single glazed window, that why you need a gap roomside of the barrier ,so any condensation on the barrier will hopefully be on the outside(damp ) where the drain channel is?

OK maybe me being thick to be clear the membrane is fixed directly to the wall all other studs etc which support the OSb wall are on the dry side of the membrane maybe the picture but is there a gap between the studs and membrane or not could touching the steel studs cause condensation to form ? every time i,ve seen these sort of barriers they do not touch anything but have an air gap on the dry side of them,then the stud wall . please correct me if i,m wrong

If you are serious about sealing it and not just doing what the "persimmons" of this world do then the air tightness barrier should be on before any plasterboard and house should be airtight without any plasterboard finish in place. VCL over all stud work and taped around all edges ,joints AND all penetrations of this "plastic bag!" .that should include where wiring and plumbing are penetrating this barrier you are fitting to inside of your house. then plasterboard it and skim get air test before plasterboard ,then its easy to fix any leaks .

I would leave plenty of space for the "smart " meter in the box# when it becomes mandatory ,as it surely will fit bigger backing board than you have now -

is this a damp area you are sealing off with the bubble sheet ? what about the studs behind it ? wood will rot and steel will rust away .?

only worry would be they grip in the osb better than drywall and don,t pull board up tight and strip in the metal stud. pre drilling would be a pain but a solution try a few first on a scrap bit of stud +board maybe dwell a little when you go through osb,so it takes the grip off the board on the screw ,before pushing hard to go into stud ,then that should work