Cpd

What a bloody fantastic project ! all power to you man, I am very envious!!!! I live on an island on the west coast of Scotland at the end of a non pubic road to absolutely nowhere with the nearest neighbour about a mile away, feels remote at the best of times. Not off grid as I have electric supply and phone line (which I dug in Myself by hand for a Mile....) but beyond that I might as well be of grid - no shops - no pub - nothing ! I intend to work towards less reliance on the grid as the years go by. The pic is of the view from the top of my garden. Best of luck with the renovations and look forward to seeing how you tackle things.

I just checked back on your other threads quickly and this seems to be an ongoing theme for you but put in different ways to try and find an answer that works for you ! It must be very frustrating that this is not easily achievable. I would warn against doing something dodgy in a wood where ANYONE might poke there nose into your business as I have seen this done and a whole house had to be removed (after many years of habitation) at the occupiers cost and all in all a sole shattering experience..... If it was me I would buy (for cash) a nice big remote piece of land in remote Scotland with a rundown / derelict house on it that was still classed as habitable only because nobody from officialdom had looked at it in a very long time and start from there.

Sorry but I can’t help it..... why can’t you just go and sleep In a room ( or a tent) that’s not noisy while you conduct the experiment that people suggest ? I have various health issues, sleep very poorly and need complete quiet for a good nights sleep but can still manage to sleep in the back of my landrover in a sleeping bag when it’s -5 by the side of a road without whinging..... come on man, stop finding excuses why you can’t do something and come up with some solutions so you can. People are here to help but you need to rise up to the occasion and show some fortitude and a willingness to work with people.... Don’t bother having a rant about how I am picking on you bla bla bla .... it’s a public forum and I actually want to see this thread come to a happy ending but it’s sooooooo hard being an armchair critic and not saying something !

I put 70mm of kingspan under my shed rafters and 200+mm frametherm or something similar.... above it and was surprised at just how much heat wast trapped between them, it was toasty warm on the back of the kingspan ! It was a reminder that on general you can’t have to much insulation. Where there was just kingspan it just felt like the ambient temperature and one would assume it was working great as it was not warm but that was only because the heat from the room must instantly disperse into the air as there was no secondary insulation layer to trap it. I taped all the insulation sheets on the front so it acted as the VCL.

Just caught up on this thread after leaving it alone for a few days.......... I worry I have some sort of twisted addiction by my repeated visits....... the solution is well above my pay grade but living in a house that is far worse that the one in question it does capture my interest .... mostly for the wrong reasons though.

There is one on the island....... I am praying to the manito gods that the owner will see fit to help me out, good bloke just very busy with his own self build so I will need to wait patiently. I got given the pavers for nothing and they loaded two pallets at a time onto my trailer at the yard but I had to unload every single brick by hand at my end....... access issues meant I had to unload in the most convenient place which very quickly became the most inconvenient place to have 30 pallets of bricks... anyway I live in hope that I will get them moved before April !

I would have an excavator on site any day over a telehandler so many more jobs it can do and places it can go. However I have 30 pallets of paving bricks in the wrong place right now and absolutely no (easy) way of getting them moved......

I think the cordless will be fine, I opted for a dewalt corded version which has a really long cable. I was trying to get as much tool as I could for the cash I had and did not really need the cordless version as I have power wherever it’s needed.

If it’s not broke and does not smell I would leave it alone. Spend money on the house and access. If your really interested then put some food grade dye through the system and see where it comes out or not as the case may be. I have three old cottages on a remote bit of Scotland and do all my own building and maintenance and have to go by “if it’s not broke don’t fix it” as my list of important jobs is so huge I can’t afford to get distracted.......

People are spending a lot more time indoors this year and as it’s winter condensation is the obvious one, a good dehumidifier would be the best quick fix, if not then put a temp / humidity sensor in so that the tenant can report back on relative humidity. I except it will be high with the tenants encamped in there rooms all day and night.

I am sure @joe90 has the best intentions and is actually trying to help..... and as an ex outdoors man I expect he knows what cold is..... i KNOW what cold is and I also know that it’s easily fixed with warm clothes and a short sharp burst of exercise and some food to recharge the body’s battery. If this does not work then your sick and need to do the appropriate to get better. Taking measurements of the temperature in various rooms and telling us what heating you are actually putting on and fir how long will help people give good advise...... if you have a wide open door into a cold house with no heating on overnight in your room or the main house and it’s a baltic outside then it’s obvious why it’s cold.

Another vote for Freud, recently replaced my table saw blade as I was not happy with the finish, the Freud blade is a bit slower than the makita blade it replaced but the finish was really super smooth and just what I was after.

If it’s not failed in the past and the overflow still works then I would just have it pumped out and then back fill with clean “ish” rubble, I would not bother with trying to get in there and crack the bottom as these old tanks were pretty permeable..... don’t over think it in my opinion. Others may have something to say but KISS - keep it simple Simon would be my approach.

have to agree..... life is just to short to get bogged down in “ if but maybe “ Not that I would do anything as naughty as not ticking all the right boxes..... grabs his coat and leaves quickly.

That’s a non starter then on that product, well done @joe90 fir spotting my dodgy internet grab.....

a possible foam option. https://www.dortechdirect.co.uk/tremco-compriband-tp600-3mm-7mm-gap-size.html

What a cracking job.

This will only work for a very short time, before you know it the trees will be covered in grass. As someone said if there are rabbits or dear or lots of voles then you also need deal with this in advance. I have seen so many plantings fail due to weeds and vermin. Just saying....

I would second the spade technique but would also add that it is so very important to have some sort of weed management in place. Young trees grow much faster if they are not competing with grass and other vegetation, especially in the first few years. I have planted thousands of bare root trees ranging from eucalyptus to hazel and everything in between and the ones that have weed suppression do the best by far. There are many ways to do this from covering the ground with fabric to the use of chemicals, you just need to use the one that is best for your situation.

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Can I jump in .... as this thread is about minimal cost hot water systems.... due to living on an island it’s cost prohibitive to get someone in to inspect an expansion vessel on a yearly basis, the cottage that i want to put hot water in is empty at the moment without any plumbing. I wanted to put in an ASHP for UFH and DHW. The building has open vaulted ceilings...... there may be one place to squeeze in a roof tank but it would be within the warm envelope of the house. In this situation what would be my best option. @Jilly i expect we are in similar situation with a very tight budget .... so I am interested in your solution but I expect you have access to G3 inspection much cheeper than me.

@Onoff Is it better to use PIR for the up-stand as it’s better insulation or do you just use a wider EPS ?

Totally get this, I have used the leg ones but built a timber frame under it as well........ kind of misses the point I know ?‍♂️ I just did not want to spend £1000 of my dads money on shower tray, mixer shower, wall board and shower surround to then have some shite door that did not open...... hence the reason I was looking for recommendations. I really like using the trays with up stands where the wall board is going to be used as this is what I have used before and am happy with the results, I would not be confident using a tray without them ! I will look into what people have suggested thanks

@TonyT was the tray also from Mira ? Did it have upstands?

When I installed my new UV and filtration system I needed to do a full chemical flush of the system so that it was starting from clean, I also took the time to empty the header tank which was just like yours but had a very fine layer of silt in the bottom and staining from the peaty water, luckily my access was better and I was able to get in about it without taking it out. That’s one nasty looking job you’ve got there......