Russdl

@Mr Punter yep, all cut to size. Each one 100mm shorter than the previous. The longest/heaviest was 30kgs so very easy to move around.

For comparison if it helps, in Jul 23 I got 18 cold rolled C section joists delivered, all different sizes (7.4m down to 5.3m) for £1552. And they’re relatively light.

Definitely readily available, find your local metal fabricator or order direct on line. As for span tables they must be out there, I however relied on the professional help of an SE (Gus Potter of this Parish in my case) to do those calculations for me.

I used galvanised C section joist and timber firings for my almost flat garage roof. Maximum width of 7m reducing to 5m.

Yep, we went with the similar Phantom Screens, I cant remember where we found them, either the NSBRC or a www search. Wouldn't be without them.

@RedRhino do you have external shading for your windows/doors? External shading and a (very manual) ventilation strategy is without a doubt what does the trick for us in keeping the house at a comfortable temperature throughout these little heatwaves that keep turning up. We only have heating downstairs and no cooling of any description. No heat pump either so the cold UFH utilised by many here is not an option for us but, fortunately, that has not been a requirement either. (So far 🤞🏻)

If you make it easily put up-able and take down-able it shouldn’t be a massive issue. Big heat (strong sun) normally coincides with high pressure which normally coincides with slack wind. At least that used to be the norm.

If it’s just temporary then an old sheet will do, anything that will stop the sun hitting the glass will do. Long term, the sheet is probably not the best option.

The suspense is killing me!

Our DD has just been reduced from £29.17/month to £8.00/month. A more accurate figure for our import over export would be £0.00/month We are only in this position because of solar PV, battery storage and an EV. The EV gives us access to cheap overnight rates that we utilise to run everything when required plus charging the house and car battery. I don’t obsess about RoI and I don’t ask anything else to return the investment (car, kitchen, hi-fi stuff etc etc etc) but on the current trajectory the solar and battery should be paid for in a total of 8 years.

Ours is less than half of that, similar 'non standard' construction. We used Homeprotect

@marmic if you are going to do shutters do louvered shutters if the primary aim is to keep the sun out. Louvered shutters will still let the light in and you’ll only need to keep the sun out in the summer plus a month or two either side. If hinges are proving difficult to source, how about a rail system, a bit like out door curtains? The shutters won’t need to fit snugly if it’s just the suns UV you’re trying to defend against, so a louvered shutter each side of the window that you can just slide across when needs must would fit the bill, and be easy to open and close.

Not the same materials, however we had a cast iron seat on our porcelain tiles, when I moved it there were little rust marks where it had been stood. Nothing shifted those rust marks, tried everything… …and then I used a Brillo Pad, and that did it. May work for you?

I reckon it’s identical and as you say the distance from the ground that the photo is taken makes it look different. Not much though, smart set up.

No, the panels pretty much sit on the standing seams using the S5 clamps that @Mr Blobby mentioned. There is no space underneath for birds.