Gone West

I've got a roof slate PV panel. Never been used that you can have to play around with if it's of any use. Output details:- Pmpp 14.0W Impp 4.89A Vmpp 2.96V Isc 5.07A Max Voc 3.70V Max

I wouldn't say large, it's only a few square metres. We have had most success with leaf cutter bees when the box has been at head height and facing anywhere from south to west. At the moment it's in a temporary position facing north and there haven't been any takers. I didn't know before but on Gardeners World, this week, they said the canes should be replaced every year.

We are levelling our back garden ready for turfing and are using earth from a pile stored in the garden. Originally the pile was around 12m long, 4m wide and 2m high. We used half of it to landscape the front garden a few years ago and the remainder has sat there being colonised by miner bees. Over the last two or three years we have had more and more Ivy Miner Bees nesting and this year we have thousands of them. Unfortunately their site is slowly being decimated by us and we uncover nests with females waiting to hatch out. They are amazingly robust but as soon as they fly off they are grabbed by the males that are waiting to mate with them. It's very interesting watching them but it does slow up the work being done. The area I videoed is about a foot square. https://www.bumblebeeconservation.org/ivyminingbee/ Ivy Miner Bees.mp4

I was a member of the AECB and GBF and looked at Ebuild, I guess, around that time and didn't like it. I didn't join Ebuild until it had improved. Then a while later it shut down.

Not around here. The farm workers from the EU who live in 'caravans' on the farms nearly all have flashy cars. A couple of years old Lexus, Mercs, BMW etc, it's what they spend their money on.

I bought some ball valves which were listed as being BSP and when they turned up were BSPT. When I asked the company they said their default was BSPT so they were listed as BSP and they would have been listed as BSPP had they been parallel. I was surprised as I thought BSP meant BSPP so I always check now.

I have only ever connected parallel to parallel thread or tapered to tapered not sure what would happen in your case. Would be a good experiment although it may not end well.

Non-traditional construction usually refers to older houses which may be all timber construction but could also be concrete such as Woolaway type houses. It is difficult to obtain mortgages for properties of that type. Modern all timber houses shouldn't be difficult to mortgage nor insure. We have built a house with a plinth of brick slip on render board and cedar cladding for the remainder and had no problem insuring it.

Hi Fiona, I have replied to your message. Our Fontanot staircase meets all the UK requirements and the pictures are not specific to the UK. Did you visit the UK supplier in Rotherham to order the staircase?

We have a timber I-beam portal frame. It was designed by the SE, TF company and myself. We didn't have any insurmountable problems.

We've got one of those. I didn't know it was called a vestibule door frame either. I just asked for an entrance door with a sidelight. Everyone seemed to know what it was.

We had an architect do our full plans building control drawings which were based on our detailed planning drawings. He didn't know anything about low energy houses so we held his hand through the process.

If we fit a system, I'm still thinking about whether it's worth it, it will be using Enphase IQ7 micro-inverters.

I don't think you would want an inverter inside the house. It produces most electricity and therefore heat in the summer when the weather is hot. Adding more heat to the inside of the house in the summer isn't a good idea.

Fortunately my panels would be on a single storey roof. I intend to install them from my scaffold tower. If you use their system, IIRC the Enphase software will tell you about faults.

It's not something that I would want inside my house nor mounted on the outside of the house.

Although it looks like some micro-inverters have warranties twice that of standard inverters.

The Morris 1300 was FWD and initially ran on crossplys. Radials started in the 1950s. IIRC the last MM were 1100cc. Sorry cross posted.

We also have an AEG induction hob which is a good push fit in our granite worktop.

Well that's just jealousy speaking. That is an amazing looking property, well done and good luck with the rest of the landscaping.

+1 Ours was a few of years between the frame going up and boarding and skimming. No cracking. The same with fitting the windows. They said I should leave a gap at the top of the window to allow for settlement but I explained that the frame had been up for some time and they were happy.

We have a PIR operated front door light which annoyingly occasionally comes on when a tractor drives past with high level front lights switched on. No other road traffic does the same and I can't understand the reason why. So could it be reflections of the tractor light in the window switching the PIR which is above the front door and out of line of sight of the tractor.

Just to add to the pictures.

Harveys make the TwinTec as well as the MiniMax and Crown.

They are Steico I-beams and IIRC they are treated. I would have to check the specification.