ash_scotland88

There's not but they do an IP65 box. I think some models the sensor is on a cable, and other units can't sync to have multiple control points. Found the website a tad over complicated.

Found a solution. Hypertronik HC019V http://www.hytronik.com/products/dual-photocell-microwave-motion-sensor-hc019v.html which can be synced together Which will then be paired with a 24v dimmable driver eg https://www.bltdirect.com/osram-60w-optotronic-24-2v-programmable-led-driver Along with 24v e27 dimmable lamps (and housing) I was hoping I could run one 7core armoured cabled, but there's conflicting quick reading suggesting this is ok. 7 core= L240v N240v E240v (not required) L+ 24v L- 24v Sync cable. Thoughts? Have I miss understood?

Thought I'd ask here to see if anyone has an understanding of the Home Energy Scotland Loan scheme and RHI payments before giving them a call tomorrow. First, anybody with experience of HES loans and RHI? Moving into a property without CH or a gas supply, some windows secondary glazed, needs insulation etc EPC guide is G1. I've used the RHI calculated that works out as £1300 per year, £9100 over 7years. Now let's keep things simplified and only be interested in an ASHP install for this example. HES says the maximum loan amount for ASHP is £10,000 (£2,500 loan plus £7,500 cashback) Where there are clauses for cash back, but let's pretend in this instance cashback is received at the full amount. A loan of £10,000 can be taken above 12years. Is this amount the original loan value? Am I correct in saying after cash back would the loan amount to £2,500? So this would become £2,500 over 12years? On a different webpage I've also found this information: If you install a renewable heating system and apply for Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) payments you will need to declare any cashback funding. This will be deducted from any eventual RHI payments. So would this make the RHI payments actually £1,600 over 7years? I think now I've typed this out it's all made it simplified and easy to answer my own questions.

Not sure if it's been said but I would push back the stairs. They look incredibley close to the front door, as in you have to open the doors fully to get around the bottom tread. You have a large spacious entrance hall that your immediately making feel cramp in a pinch point.

Really don't want two sets of lights, will need to install even more to achieve that, and I think would look pretty poor, like half/third of the lights are broken. I think it will be a custom build job. There's a while to go till move in so plenty of time to keep researching.

Been deep into Google and looking for a way out... Looking for a stand alone hi lo sensor. By this I mean something that will sense night fall, turn on at eg 20% then when it senses movement turns to 100%. I know all in one lights exist, we have one. Found manuals from a company that no longer exist, websites that mention they sell them but can't find the listing and some-one on an other forum looking to build his own... Our new house has a long 30m+ front garden including stairs, so will including multiple lights. My plan is to have it running dimmed dusk to dawn, and a PIR at each end so when the front door opens or someone comes off the street they'll come to full brightness with sufficient time to get to the end. Any suggestions?

In Edinburgh you need PP to convert a residence to a short term rental, it is a business use after all. There was a recent study (I've been harping on ages why the inept council couldn't assign an admin junior to trawl the web to do so) the uncovered that only 1 out of 500 properties listed on Airbnb had planning to do so. I think they've now started going after the worse offenders. Edit with further info: "The council’s position is that commercial short-term letting is a material change of use requiring planning permission. If these results were replicated across Scotland, that would suggest 99.7% of short-term lets in Scotland could be unlawful" https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2020/mar/15/many-short-term-lets-in-edinburgh-lack-planning-consent https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com/news/people/bombshell-report-reveals-only-1-500-airbnb-properties-edinburgh-have-planning-permission-2909921%3famp

Is this to "standard?" Planning on my own garden install and I thought power had to be burried to a depth, gravel, marked etc. Or is that only for running mains to out buildings?

What do Welsh building regs say about the way doors open at top of stairs?...

@zoothorn cheers for coming back and correcting me. Looking at your pictures posted I thought there was a door entrance next to the old cottage with a timber stud wall going in to block it off, creating that hallway space. It sounds like you have a bunch of stuff to check first, to rule out possible issues. Checking insulation/adding more and trying to figure out why the radiator isn't getting as hot would be the top of my priority. Have you went back to basics and checked the thermostatic valve is correctly working on the big rad upstairs? Is the pipe going to the radiator feeling the same as the pipe in the room below?

I've looked through your posted topics and from an "in progress" thread it looks like you extension downstairs has a small hallway separating the new downstairs room and the wall of the old house. While the upstairs room abuts directly to the old stone wall of the cottage. Is this correct? If so, and those that may understand these principles better than me, could the cold 4ft thick cottage wall be acting as a giant heatsink, or even a "coldsink"? It's a big old thick bit of stone that is taking a lot of energy to heat up while constantly being re-cooled from the outside and coldness moves along its mass from outside to inside. This is then acting as a giant cold radiator in your room. You're not getting this downstairs as you have that small hallway separating the new room and the old stone wall, here you have 4 newly highly insulated walls there and only 3 upstairs. My house, a 1950s semi with cavity wall insulation, I can feel a very small change of temperature from the corner of an internal and external wall to the middle of the internal wall, it's colder towards the exterior wall. Infact my kitchen, which is like your extension has three external walls, the shared internal wall is colder to the touch than an internal wall say in the lounge. If my theory is correct, and happy to be corrected, I would be looking at what the insulation is against the old cottage wall and if this is sufficient. Even if a damp barrier was installed, and even though it may not show physical signs of damp, stones are great for drawing it out the atmosphere and passing it along to each other (and dampness I found always make the air feel colder.). An internal cavity up here may even be the way forward, or you may just need time to allow what was a cold external wall (thats had hundreds of years to get that cold) to heat up to become a warmish internal wall.

Out of curiosity did zoot ever post drawings or plans for the extension? Apart from this possible not enough insulation I'm wondering if there's a physical/design reason why the room may be colder.

Looks like it could be the MC4 connectors/cable. Quick google suggests places that may have stock, or buy the component parts and he can make what it needs.

Personally I blame my parents generation. By luck they grew up where "daily" purchases were getting cheaper and house prices were getting higher, during their time they purchased happily in the middle, when these two graphs met on their way up and down. They're now obsessed with getting the biggest profit from their house and investing any extra funds into BTL properties. My original analogy was admittedly very much making it black and white. But to counter what you said young (maybe my age in recent terms, 32?) also can't read read and unserstand that PCP for cars have balloons payments to own the car then kick off the fuss about that.

Poor hungry me going into a cafe and having to pay their profits so I can eat!

??? I've noticed our gas boiler is quite noisey these days- cupboard off under the stairs in the hall, can hear it in the lounge through a brick wall. And pretty sure I can hear the water moving around in the "master" bedroom too.

Makes the Vilroy at £550-600 look a bargain!

Is there such a thing as 1.5 butler/Belfast sink? My Google is failing and closest I can find is a 1.75 vilroy and Bosch at a crazy price!

In some more useful advice engage with a local independent architect that's a sole trader. They have less over heads so pricing may be less to facilitate this, but then any specialisation may be charged out as a supporting office isn't there. An architect technician can save you some money in the design stage. Also look into off the shelf products and standardisation. Eg don't go for custom sized windows, design around standard sizing.* Also design with maximum lengths in mind too, timber comes in a fixed length, dont exceed this. * Although this comes in compromise of design quality. We viewed a late 1800 house that had a 2010 extension, massive rear and side. The side was pent roof/vaulted. Original plans submitted the side extension had floor to ceiling glass and shaped to the angle, at some point budget had to be considered and what was built had 6 standardised PVC windows equally spaced (4along the length two to the front) and standard patio doors to the rear. The space ended up feeling like a 60s/70s community or church hall inside and the choice of cladding made it look so on the outside.

I'm not sure what you're asking or trying to achieve? An architect has to charge fee's to cover local authority fee's, structural engineers etc let alone their own wage and business costs. Builders require labourers and buying of materials. You could PM yourself and source all materials but then you'd be paying a quantity surveyor to "count all the nuts and bolts" so you know what to order, but then will you get the same trade discount as a builder? If you want reasonable quality your paying for quality in materials and the labour to achieve the best results. If you want quality of design, guess what you're paying for the architects time. As an other note a builder has to quantify their material costs to you, unless your well knowledged and verse you won't know the price of materials and amount required, so theirs an element of trust involved when receiving quotes, but that's the thing you get various quotes. Or you could pay that QS fee who'll also go over quotes to ensure your not being over charged on material quantities, but then you don't want to pay fees so the circle continues... The only way to incentives them is to make them aware that budget is low and they'll design and build appropriately. There's not a magic hand shake and phrase to get the same design for cheaper when it comes to the structure of a building* A good architect upfront will save you money in the long term. * Apart from when it comes to things like kitchens or bathrooms where thousands can be saved from researching alternative looking products similar to the big high-end brands, but then it's often looks over quality.

I hate this. It's ignoring the problem, even when the combustion engine is long gone people will still have cars. There's a few new build estates near me where car parking is a car park in the corner, unfortunately houses still need to look over these spaces, or they often plonk the block of flats next to them. The other common theme is having the front of the house accessed via a pedestrian path, parking and alleyways are to the rear. I wonder how many of these houses just use come through the back?

This inside reminds me of a stretch tend, and I quite like that. I totally appreciate the workmanship gone into it, but I think the exterior rood is overly fussy (a mess) and doesn't sit well the the flat exterior walls or landscape.

I could be wrong but PD can't be saved like that. I believe (up here atleast) it looks into previous extensions to the house and calculating total new floor area of proposed PD compared to original property/property on a certain date. But it's been a while since I've read into it.

It reads like it's priced based on the RIBA plan of works stages. And reads like a decent break down of what's is what and how much. You may need the architect to get the ball rolling for stage 5 before you take over as PM.

If it was me I'd be swapping around the laundry room and showerroom. Laundry looks same size as those two bedrooms, bathroom and laundry could take up the same space as shower room and bed3, which would allow reconfiguration of those two room sizes.