sgt_woulds

Replace the hardcore with a sufficient depth of foamed glass aggregate (e.g. Geocell) and you remove the need for additional insulation under the slab and also for a DPM. (Unless it is a radon area, all you need is a geotextile membrane seperating the concrete from the foamed glass). I'd be interested to know more about RRP of SCC. I used floated conrete over Geocell, but unfortunately it still required a leveling screed since my builders were a bunch of amateur monkeys.

Why not a retractable canopy? Less faff than shutters or brise soleil. Need about 300mm above windows to allow fixings which you have. Rollar shutters fitted external to the opening and above the reveal shouldn't block access for a leaning ladder (gutter access) either. If you are set on using shutters, why not fit strips of a less reactive timber either side of the windows and flush with the existing trim. Screw non-stainless into these? (with stainless screws right through into cladding). This would also spread the weight accross the Chessnut boards that already have visible shakes/splits

Cut some EPDM gaskets to fit between the hardware and the boards? And use double dipped galvenised hinges to stop any ferrous run-off (not the so called 'galvenised' stuff sold in the big sheds). If using stainless screws it is also wise to pilot dill the boards before screwing them in, as stailness has a habit of rounding off or snapping the heads off - nearly always when they are 7/8 of the way in so a PITTA to remove again!

Shifting spoil at 7pm last night I cut down the cheap cotton work trousers they sometimes sell in Lidl / Aldi just below the knee pad pockets. They work quite well as pirate pants; all the extra rips and tears just add to the ventilation potential and I still have all my pockets and a hammer loop and knee pads. Cut upwards behind the knee for extra relief. Drives the girls mad... Straw hat with built in solar power fan Work boots was the worst bit. Last time I was in Hungary I found a shop selling steel toe sandals but didn't have enough pocket money. I'm deffo buying them the next time I visit!

That's right. It tends to be stronger in pine / spruce /cedar woods due to the high resin and terpene content, and yes, it does smell nice! But it also drops of quickly to background levals after cutting and airing. Even quicker with LVL due to the production process. Thinking about your list of 'desirable' VoC, we can add historic smells, like the aroma of freshly laid Tarmac. Of course, we don't experience it that much these days in Pot Hole Britain, I doubt if Gen Z even knows what smell like! Creosote? I'm pretty sure that Brut aftershave could fall into this catagory too! Personally I prefer the 'old car smell' (pre-war) to the new car smell, but I'll never be lucky enough to have either on my (non-resin) driveway...

They still outgas VOC, albeit at slightly lower levels than 50 years ago. In France & Belgium they have mandatory VOC warnings on furniture containing PUR and strictly enforce VOC emission limits. Ditto for construction materials. All has to go through mandatory VOC testing (28 day testing). We have had some dealings with this as a supplier of LVL and woodfibre to a major flat pack furniture company. (Even natural wood emits VOC, the difference is that it tails off below safe after a very short period). They couldn't sell furniture already supplied to the UK into Belgium until they had swapped the facing materials and foam padding, (our LVL/woodfibre was fine though 🙂). I personally would not have a resin based floor in a well sealed house unless it met the Belgium standards.

Without NIMBYism, we would all be living in modernist monstrocities and concrete landscapes: no St Pancras Station, no protected view corridors that ensure that ensure that St Pauls is not smothered by high rises, no greenbelt, no ancient woodland. The environs we grow up in are as important as the culture, and a big part of what it means to be British. I don't think we'd sing a song about the the wonderful 'White Container Ports of Dover...'

From the perspective of a sassenach, the Scottish government seems to do a better job of providing for their citizens in a manner that makes the majority content. We look slightly enviously at some of the more joined up thinking that seems to prevail north of the wall. Most of the issues there seem to stem from deciscions further South... I'm not a fan of Adam Smith - even for his time (when there was a greater sense of civic and brotherly duty in all classes of men), he overstated how well self-interest promotes the common good. His neo-liberal free market ideas have a lot to answer for in recent governments policies, and they have hastened the predictable decline of societal cohesion and the rise in social economic inequality. With modern political and societal morality norms, he wouldn't earn enough shillings to pay for a single sandal he could stand on. The amount of aggregate employment depends on the amount of aggregate demand. The amount of aggregate demand is composed of the sum of the amounts which the community spends on consumption and on investment. The propensity to consume determines how much of a given level of income will be devoted to consumption, and consequently determines the amount of employment which can be sustained for a given level of investment. Thus, for any given state of technique, resources and costs, the level of employment depends on the level of effective demand. John Maynard Keynes Or in the contemporary language: Low demand (or competition) = unemployment / low pay / lack of incentive to do better for the customer Private sector won’t spend enough Therefore, government must regulate demand or mandate outcomes Pure market economies always fail to deliver socially desirable outcomes. Therefore, government intervention is necessary to ensure fair access and prevent abuse of market power. But it does depend upon a sense of civic duty in those who govern, and the idea that making the poorest lives better can raise all the boats so to speak.

Lots of issues with the way we deliver houses. Perhaps we need to create public housing corporations to manage access to building land, rather than let the large housebuilders buy it up and dictate the market. Regional corporations could also ensure that we aren't building 'anywhere towns', and keep to the local vernacular, which would keep the NIBYs happy and make for nicer environs. They could also ease the burdon from BCO if managed holistically. Of course, we'd need a sensible country like Holland to manage it all for us. We just don't have the skill base or personalities in our population to make things better for our selves. Toby-Lloyd-2.pdf

More details, please! Maybe in a new thread. I personally would not put resin in any house I planned to breath in, but every day is a school day... I live on chalk rather than clay, but we do have wychert-built houses in the area which apear more durable than clay-based cob, so it is worth some experimentation. I'd like to try it in my workshop (with UFH) since earthen floors are less fatiguing to stand on for long periods. The cost of linseed oil is gives me pause though, as does the amount of time required to experiment and finish. I'm 12 years in on my build and really want to see an end date!

Why no underfloor heating with an earth clay floor? It seems to be the ideal time to install it: Earthen Floor Applications — The Earthen Floor Company

I meant to type 3000 - 10000ft ceiling height. Our blimp was limited to 3000ft. And less than 1300 feet after it was condemned. Being shot full of holes did not help either... (Watching the duct tape pop of the holes as we flew over the Alps was a sight I'll never forget)

Not a chance. I used to work as ground crew on one of the Goodyear Blimps (considered the second most dangerous job in avaiation (after test pilot), as it is the only role where you are required to run towards a turning propellor!) The Zepellins NT and Airlander are a world away from the crappy old balloons we used, but they still have most of the same problems: Helium! this is a finate resource, and desperately needed for medical and manufacturing purposes. Won't be long until we have a world shortage. Airships (even modern ones) leak like a teabag and it get worse when they get older. The lightship (BC A-60+) we had was end of life (the ballon was condemned and patched with aviation duct tape all the time I worked on it) and it leaked more than 90m3 per day of Helium per day! Speed Unlike our blimp, Rigid and Semi-rigids like Airlander can make headway in higher wind conditions, but that ballon is a huge wetted area to drag through the sky and top speeds will always be limited. Think of it more like a seagoing vessal than and aircraft. Air lander is a lift-body design with better aerodynamic controls, but even they cannot fly in the same conditions as a standard aircraft. Handling/Landing Even the latest airships struggle in high winds, and once they are staionary they are effectively just kites. Zeppelins and Airlander cannot land in higher wind speeds, or gusty conditions, despite their vectored thrust nacelles. Unliked fixed wing aircraft, loading/unloading (or just removing engines for maintenance) is an issue and needs careful ballasting. Boyancy also changes with air pressure. Putting them 'on-shed' is easier with these, due to their mast vehicles, but is required every time you do major maintenance, unlike fixed wings. (Hands down one of the scariest things I've ever done in employment was try to put our blimp into the Friedrichshafen hanger) Airspace Airports shut when airships land due to the handling issues. They have priority over all other craft except for emergency landings. They have limited ceiling height due to gas expansion (around 300 feet), limited by lift, air density, and envelope strength so airspace and landing slots will be vastly reduced. I've seen concepts for giant solar powered airships proposing emmissions free travel. You'd still need to find a replacement for the Helium to make this true - nothing wrong with Hydrogen of course. It was the airframe and fabrics that burnt on the Hindenburg, not the gas! But try and convince the public of that... You'd also need vastly more efficient flexible PV panels and lightweight batteries. It won't happen in time to help with the climate emergency.

I spent lots of time working on green roofs, commercial and domestic. From what I'v seen both domestic and managed commercial roofs, unless the sedums are on deep soil (intensive roof) they just get scorched and die. Even the best managed extensive roof will die unless you run sprinklers continualy. You end up with a brown mess and worse albedo than a reflective roof covering. The only sedums that seem able to cling on in these conditions are super fuggly. Not olives! Have you ever eaten a UK grown olive. Yeurgh...

Also make sure not to have doors that automatically lock when they close - lift to lock only. Although these don't always work easily single handed, they are still easier at waist height than yale lock handle combo. A single key for all locks is a boon as well.

Yes, that's what I was thinking! I should have put 'rather specific applications' in air quotes. I was once given a tour of one of those dodgy 'specific applications' (don't ask🤫) and they applied the most rigerous scientiffic approach I've seen outside of a lab! It was all chemical testing, clipboards and graphs... They had also had the most jerryrigged and terrifying electrical system I ever came accross (and I once worked on a house without a fusebox that was wired by Victorians, so that says something). Lengths of rebar rod wrapped in newspaper...

I remember a billion years ago there was a requirement for 5m distance from ground to blade tip (and from any windows) for building mounted units. Not sure about free standing rules. This will only be 3-400 watt max turbine. Noise will be zero unless you stand right under it.

What building regs requirements would apply to a lampost on a public throughfare?

Ah yes—when I finally move from the building works into the garden, the greenhouse will get some special attention. I’m thinking along the lines of compost heating, like the Victorians used for fruit houses—possibly even combining it with an outdoor composting toilet! I’m still not entirely convinced by the whole hydroponics approach. It seems to be most successful in rather specific applications, rather than as a broadly useful growing method. I was actually thinking more about changes on the house side of things. For example, I’ve incorporated more external greenery to create a kind of “cool island” around the house—the fruit and nut production is a nice bonus.

Since that article is behind a paywall, could you provide a summary or link to an alternative source?

In light of current and future changes to UK environs, what other provisions should be looked at. I already considered these when building my extension and upgrading my house (unfortunately Covid restrictions meant that some of these were unavailable/unaffordable at the time of build) : Larger roof overhangs for better shading and and rain protection Larger gutters for higher rainfall (I went for deepflow, but I now think that was a mistake as we still get over flow, so may change to industrial or import some of the larger metal gutter systems they use as standard in Hungary Breathable and high decrement delay materials for roof insulation - along with an agressive roof ventilation stratagy to ensure that any moisture can wick away in winter / damp periods High Albedo roof coverings. (I wanted to buy white EPDM but this is unavailable in the UK and expensive to import from the EU. Now looking for reflective paint suitable for use with standard black EPDM) High maintenance 'green' roofs are probably not an alternave that is sustainable in the UK climate going forward As much rainwater storage as possible to allow for garden watering (and 'other' activities when the privitised water industry has sucked every last penny into shareholder accounts and bonuses and shuts down) Composting toilet for the same reason. Breathable (sorbative) insulation and high decrement delay wall materials wherever practicable House designed for level access and services suitable for old and infirm residents (raised socket hights, wide doorways, provision for stairlift or through floor lift) Plenty of fruit trees and bushes to provide shading, localised cooling, and dependable food supply External shades or shutters on South and West facing windows (Probably better make that steel shutters on all windows to deal with the innevitable civil unrest when the economy collapses...) No 'smart devices' whatsoever to go wrong/be held hostage to Sorry, that got a bit bleak at the end! I wan't to be a 'Positive Prepper' What else?

It's a street lamp. You can see the lamp above the solar panel (maybe it is self powering at night 🙂)

Not just boilers. When I finished with the solar industry (which by then was was full of cowboys - shocking installs in the literal sense) I moved into stairlifts. It was supposed to be a temporary job but I ended up doing it for 5 years. The most depressing 5 years of my life. Anything to do with the elderly or infirm seems to be a licence to print money by unscrupulous salesmen and uncaring stairlift 'engineers'. If you thing BG is bad, try dealing with Acorn. I could tell you so many stories...

Ah OK, I re read Part G and you are correct, it is 125 litres of 'wholesome water'. But we should never let the facts get in the way of a good discussion... 🙂

Our Building regs assume up to 125l hot water per person per day. Presumably because we will all be washing the sweat off more often... 🙂