Thorfun

I do have solar pv (10.5kWp array) and batteries (LuxPower with 6.4kWh storage) but the LuxPower has a max 13A on the EPS so we only have a few emergency items running from it in case of a power cut. I didn't want to put the whole house lights through it hence looking for 24V batteries so Loxone can run and can power the low voltage lighting which is enough to allow us to see in all rooms of the house if needed. I also found that the LuxPower is not quick enough to react to a power cut (despite what their manual says) and my computer equipment did not remain on in the last power trip we had. and so I have bought a dedicated UPS for that simply to keep the equipment going until the LuxPower kicks in. yet to test it in anger yet though but it should mean that our wifi and router remain active allowing me to wfh in a power cut. my advice is to make sure you know how much power the battery system for your whole house backup can run.

Wise words sensei

Lucky to get away

can't believe you beat me. I thought you'd be still at it for another 10 years! congratulations. I'm only a couple of weeks behind you.

Had a thought (which I’m now considering) can you use expanding foam injected in through a hole or two?

if they're coming in through the garage and then in to the house rather than the multiple other entrances then there's something much worse happening!

cork seems to have a thermal conductivity of 0.036-0.38 W/mK which isn't too bad. i'd probably still want to put 6mm/9mm ply over the top so i can screw the handle to it so if i'm doing that i might as well stick 25mm PIR which has a thermal conductivity of around 0.023W/mK. that is my current plan unless i can find a reasonably priced proper insulated fire door.

4k seems a little excessive. i actually need one as our firedoor to the garage from the house is just a standard internal FD30 door. so i've been thinking about sticking some celotex to it and putting a piece of ply over the top! but i will research "proper" doors but if they're even half of what you say then i will just go with a similar solution to yours.

Tbh, I like @Conor’s suggestion the best.

not a great lambda value though, but better than nothing! Thermal Conductivity – 0.07 W/mK. i believe cellulose is around 0.040W/mK?

when i was looking for warranty providers NHBC no longer dealt with single self-builders so had to look elsewhere.

We agonised for ages over the same dilemma. Then I realised that after I sprayed water on the various shades of different slate samples they all looked exactly the same. ended up going for the cheapest option we had. I’m sure I wrote a blog and a few posts about our slate journey. A quick search will find them but I came to the same conclusion as the others above.

my Erbauer SDS+ has done me very proud. cored multiple holes through concrete blocks too.

no. these were pre-occupation conditions. we are demolishing the existing property after the new house is built so i submitted the demolition notice and the council sent me an email saying "we've received a demo notice but you've not discharged these pre-occupation conditions you naughty boy". if your builder is starting in Feb i would say that's plenty of time to get the conditions discharged. i'd even go so far as to say that as long as the application to discharge is in place chances are it won't be a problem. but you've got 3 months so i wouldn't worry. just get it in as soon as possible.