ToughButterCup

I use Windy's Solar Radiation (Power) layer ( solar power and UV index) to help me predict how much to boost our water heating once the sun has gone down. So I'm almost always well aware of how much 'water heating ' I can get out of the sun on any one day. Yes, I know, its not for everyone. Most will just want the system to tell you how much hot water you have left . But. I know for sure (at least I thought I knew until the stats below became available) that this month, we never generated enough solar power to fill our SunAmp - trees in the way and lack of sunshine. And then I saw this: I'm actually EXPORTING to the grid ... not much, but I am. And that tiddly bit of power is worth more to me as heated water than exported From Octopus I get this and checking on my EDDI I get this The only thing I know for certain is that power is being exported to the grid when it could have gone to heat our water. (The EDDI will not give me a readout for last week's export value) Am I doing anything wrong? Could I change any settings to prevent small amounts (20p worth) going to the grid ?

Will you lot stop with the Maureen please....... she was, as well as my teenage nightmare (one of those so called duty girlfriends) , -twenty years later- the self-same Maureen was my nightmare of a line manager also. Christ-on-a-Bike - she could pick holes in sheets of polished stainless steel. All Debbie has to do is to start saying the name, and in remembered mental agony, I clutch my withers still.

YooChube is your friend here.... a good few videos showing how others solved exactly the same problem..... Good luck

I'm sucking my teeth for you.... I don't know the answer. But an SE will do. Question is; which one? Don't forget all SEs are not the same. SEs habitually err on the side of caution. See if you can find an SE with experience of a similar problem. I am almost sure that our SE (Tanners in Eire) will give you a well-informed answer, or will know of someone who could answer your problem properly. +353 (0)25 51000 Good luck! This is one question that needs a properly expert answer. (And we aren't experts .. )

No. There is no requirement for them to survey neighbouring properties. How do I know? I asked before our piles were driven (62 of them) However, ask the site foreman directly if they are recording the shock levels caused by the piling (seismometer) On our piling day, the company hitched a seismometer to our house (we were living next to the build 12 meters away) and those results were recorded on site and transmitted simultaneously to the company head office. The question to ask is - Does the company have a seismometer recording during piling ? They do so -in part- to protect themselves from unfounded claims from neighbouring properties. I have forgotten the shock threshold for stopping piling - the foreman did tell me. I filled a bowl with water and food colouring and recorded the wavelets on the surface. The size of those wavelets increased significantly when the rig hit some underlying sandstone. Its a very uncomfortable process, especially when you have no control over what happens. You have my sympathy.

The bigger the hearth the more generous the 'feel'. Go to the pub. Get your laser measure out and measure the hearth. (Laser? Because many won't notice the laser spot. Everyone will see a yard stick or tape measure)

Wimmin aren't banned.

Compromise is a very common build method.

Questions so many questions. Lemme fink.

SWMBO on the subject..... "Its the very best thing we bought for the build". We maintained ours (Kubota 209 alpha) properly (Kubota agents) and covered the maintenance costs in the re-sale price. And we pulled next door's the JCB out of a hole at least twice - and his cars twice also. Until at moment, I covetted my neighbour's JCB. There is something very attractive about a JCB. Maybe its the generosity of her buckets? In the JCB Snog Marry Avoid stakes, snog one purely for reference and research purpose, but don't marry it.

Shouldn't?

The only place we've had issues is where I got that wrong. -

@Indy, the process is a Character Test as well as an administrative one. Only sleepless nights, digested for a fortnight or more can answer the questions you raise above. We waited 35 years from first twinkle-in-the-eye to breaking ground. Maybe let it stew for a while?

No. 'A' grade is almost irrelevant: it's the depth of the shelving - and the support it gets - that counts; 15mm will sag with the average amount of stuff families cram into a wardrobe. Thats why we use the Elfa storage system now - you can't cram stuff in that system without it being obvious that that's what you have done. We are retired / retiring and trying hard to downsize everything. Our family has 'disappeared', all three of them have their own houses now. Thank goodness. There is lots of advice on YooChube ....

Very interesting post @SteamyTea .....

In a Kingdom, the first of those is a ..... Couldn't agree more with the second.

Here is the list of approved stockists who, according to the SunAmp website The key term is Approved Stockists. My Sunamp was installed by an Approved Stockist. Every bit of technical information I needed was given to me by the stockist.

Whats modulation please? I have an EDDI too - how, using the EDDI , do you specify a limit to be drawn from the grid ( in your case 2Kw) ? I merely press Boost and let it run for an hour. I have no idea how much that draws ..... but then I do know that two successive boosts allow us to shower and bathe from cold.

Exactly what we're doing. I realise that we are over-privileged in self build terms: all I've done for the last eight years is get up and try to get on with the build. We've had some horrible lows - but some very heady moments too. It takes focus, persistence and a rock-solid partnership. There comes a stage when you are so committed to the project (sunk costs, emotional and financial) that you just can't stop.

In haste: Peter Millard will help you here. Search for his channel on YT.

You might like to have a look at a series of posts by @VIPMan. His project is local to us (Lancaster). We're not all that far up the M6. You might like to PM him. I'm almost sure he'd be pleased to talk to you about his experience - and maybe suggest a visit. The project was superb - I visited a couple of times.

That comment smacked me on the face like a wet fish. Bang on.

In this thread @Conor and @IanR helped my thinking about how to build a proper threshold across what appears to me to be a Really-Easy-To-Cock-up-Expanse-Of-EPS. Two full years later, I'm getting roundtoit. ( Besting @Onoff by a fair bit I expect - 2 years FFS) @IanR suggests some sort of reinforcement (in his case) using GRP. @Conorsuggests a concrete nosing bridging the EPS...... like this perhaps? This is what I'm thinking might work; I'm thinking a metal slot-drain embedded in a concrete 'jacket' . I have a 'feeling' that the left-hand bit of concrete needs to be big enough to support one complete (shortish) flag stone. My questions are: does there need to be a liner between the EPS and the concrete? DPM for example? the width of the concrete to the right hand side of the slot-drain: 100 mm ? how much concrete under the bottom of the slot drain? 50mm ? In the research I did for this post I bumped into this YT video At about 6:30 the author suggests an insulation strip is added like this ( see the middle arrow) I have a feeling that might be a good idea. Any thoughts welcome Thanks @Conor, @IanR - I do think about what you say ...... Ian

When I go there, it feels much more spacious than the UK. Trick of the light?

Anytime. But. Read this