ToughButterCup

... badly. For a self-builder, it takes a lot of courage and attention to detail to do well. The Devil is always in the detail. I agree entirely with the rest of your post.

Yes, @Mako, I am too. Its easy to conflate two problems: builders' inexperience and product- related issues. If a builder who only ever does Velox installations were to experience 'constant ... problems ' then the builder would either go out of business, or use some other build system. And presumably the manufacturer would value feedback from that builder. Feedback such as described above of boards braced breaking and blowing out as frequently as indicated would mean - if the issue were to become generalised - the end for the product. Where many factors are in a problem description, it's important to control for all variables before drawing a valid conclusion. So, let's see what the size of the evidence-base is please.

Seen this? There are those of us who wouldn't touch a SunAmp ever, not no how, never never never never, and those of us who are happy with ours. It is common to hear the argument that they are overpriced. I have also heard the argument that SunAmp insist that a trained fitter install them, but at the same time allow their units to be sold in outlets where anyone can buy one. If thats the case, then SunAmp need to get their act together. I think that in addition to the answers you get here, it would be an idea to ask the manufacturer the same questions you have above. Mine is the 14kW version, absorbs all the pv I can throw at it (3.8 Kwp, northern England) , and is slowly repaying the outlay as forecast. For us space is at a premium. I have no idea how long it takes to heat up from cold.

I'm about to put up a flat porch canopy stile 'roof' to cover a bike rack. The apex of that canopy roof will be tucked under the gutter and eaves of our piggery. At the top of the rafter, therefore, I won't be able to nail slates - I'll have to fasten them some other way..... How? Stick them ? With.... ? I'm intending to use OSB under the slates instead of battens. Thanks.... (PS I've already thought of fastening the slates to the OSB first, and then raise the 'unit' and fix in place. I'm not strong enough to do that on my own) Damn, got the slates on the wrong way up .... eejit.

Thanks for making the effort. Where to you delight in radiative models, I delight in learning to be a better carpenter. I can see sawdust and shavings . But heat, temperature, warmth, joules, kWh, Ergs, pv .... I'm with @Jilly

Deliberately, I feel. It just can't be kept simple because it's not in the sector's interest to be so. You really can disappear down soooo many rabbit holes, and for your troubles, be pulled this way that way (... over the Irish sea ...) by one charlatan after the other. Read @TerryE's posts and blog. At first, go for a percentage of understanding, and work up from there. I think I've re-read his stuff more than anyone else's. He sticks to facts, and keeps it simple....ish. You can read this board about heating until your eyes bleed, cross themselves and die. And still not know what the 'king hell to do Bitter? Me? Know why you are choosing the heating design that you want : and - more importantly - why you are not choosing any other from all the designs available.

There are more qualified people than I to answer your plumbing question. I wish merely to pass on a conclusion drawn by one member ( well regarded, technically ueber-confident, not so active on this board these days) who remarked that he wish he'd kept it simple(r) ... in terms of costs and diminishing returns from time and effort invested.

No ghosts then?

Welcome. Keep hold of the dream. It took us 30+ years from dream to reality. Kids, life, mess-ups got in the way. If we'd had buildhub in the early 2000s, we'd have [....] Help? - persistence . Self building tests persistence. A lot.

Sounds like some of you are starting your second childhood.......

soon as we get a bit 'to spare', I'll have a peek .....

Exactly..... The above and this ... ... make the point so much more powerfully than I could ever have done. Had you both lived in Germany, you would have had the opportunity to move schools (as of right) at the end of the academic year to one more suited to your skills, attitudes and abilities. But, as it is as a result of your own efforts , you've both turned out fine ... I think

Change might above for is and I agree with you. And - to me - the cause is simple. The English education system is the root cause. Young people in the Secondary Education system are locked into schooling in one of two (or three if you count Private schools) types - academic or not academic. That divide causes an almost irrevocable split between people who, until 12 years of age, went to the same school. Suddenly one group is told they are 'better' than the other group. Between the groups, globally there is no parity of esteem. Success is going to (locally) a grammar school. And few seem to recognise that (also locally) that there are excellent secondary schools. I know I bang this drum an awful lot, but the German Secondary Education system has a lot to offer. Young people can swap school type (academic, practical, practical-theoretical) at the end of each academic year. That leads to parity of esteem between the groups. Young people with A Levels (Abitur) are held in the same regard as those with practical qualifications.

On advice from @Stones, I bought two. The evidence from one saved me paying an invoice for £8500. Interval ? 30 seconds. Downloading and organising the images can become an annoying job - because its easy to miss a day and then the next day have double the data to transfer and file so that the images are meaningful to you. And by that I mean, do you want the images as a general record, or do you want to know whether company [x] delivered what they said the did, or do you want to know if employee [y] is just taking the pees while you are off site? Or in my case, was an employee deliberately smashing blocks just sufficiently so they burst on a pour..... in that case 30 seconds was fine.

Declan, you can just see it in the middle tile of the top image and the left hand one of the lower image ....

Looks exactly like mine, except the gaps between the ridge tiles seem to be larger than I would have liked..... but I don't think they are going anywhere. Your question is about water-tightness. That isn't provided by the ridge tiles (in this case) Its the membrane under those tiles that acts as the waterproof layer. And we can't see how well (or otherwise) thats been been fitted. Short of taking the ridge tiles off and looking at that , we can't (I think) be of much help. The other thing you can do is ask another (local) roofer for an opinion. But you'll likely have to pay for that. What concerns me a bit is why did the ridge tiles fall off at all? Is your roof in an exposed position - open to locally strong winds?

Morning..... Welcome A photo would help us help you, please.

Have you read many posts on this forum ?

Determination, persistence. Face misogyny head on. Loads of it in this sector. Save money. Start very small, then modest, then bigger. Plan for growth. Think long term.

Lets start with the basics, and then move down the hierarchy: Naivety Optimism bias Great Crested Newts Male learned helplessness Mendacious tradespeople Criminal behaviour Exceptionally bad weather Osteoarthritis @pocster's car-crashes. If you can be bothered, detailed evidence of the above items can be found in my previous posts. Delay can , with a bit of effort, easily be turned to advantage.

Learning styles vary. So presentation should vary to take account of that: written, aural, diagram(s), visual, oral. (Kinaesthetic isn't relevant here) In terms of the document presented, make sure that the information structure is logical. But whose logic? Are you given a format to follow? Then follow it. If not how does the panel ensure uniformity of opportunity to get the message across? No format offered? Ask for one. Try to access previous presentations. And try to get clues as to what went well or not so well, and why. Any online? At all costs, keep emotion out of the presentation. Hard facts. If on site, then you have a first class opportunity to present via poster. Presenting on site needs practice. Know what barriers there are / will / might be on the day. Heavy rain? Bright sunlight? Background noise? Electricity supply for lighting? WiFi signal? Make the password easily available. Offer a QR code so people can scan it and login quickly. Also offer the password in clear text ( in the footer of any paper-based handout). Practice the presentation in front of a sympathetic audience first. Ask for feedback. Watch the time. No waffle. Research (online) poster presentations . There are some brilliant online examples of that presentation format. Big: bright: simple. Well designed Good luck. Date?

I have no idea about the DRP panel. But I do know about how to present information to the best effect. I taught people how to do that for years. First: make the presentation where you can make your case most powerfully. It may be that you need two locations to do that - the site and (say) an office. And the office could - have to be (?) - the minibus that you hire to take everyone to the site ... bit of a nightmare that. Second, present the information in several formats. You might want to make a video, or an information pack, or a poster - I'm groping here because I'm not sure what your presentation involves. Thought about putting together a website to support your application? Choose the colours of your site carefully - reflect your message . Online, use the Information Pyramid: sniff> nibble > lick > bite > chew > swallow Don't forget there are always those who '.... want it on paper ...' If you decide to make a written presentation to keep it short, focused, accurate and evidenced. If in doubt cut, cut, cut written content to make it as short as you can. One sheet of A4 - tops. Consider laminating it - presenting information on paper outside on a rainy day is ..... Bets of luck - looking forward to your next few posts. Ian

Yes. The lads that come out for one service couldn't give a stuff about any other services. Do as suggested above. It'll be reet lad , it be reet ... (as they say 'oop 'eer in't norf west)

That @Ralph is self-build porn. MODS, please delete. I'm not showing this thread to Debbie. Not ever.

I really hope you haven't paid the plumber yet..... Others will come along and give you chapter and verse, but : No, it's not good enough. Pay him something less the cost of putting it right