Gone West

I wouldn't have thought so. I would come at it from the opposite direction. If they say you need, let's say a 10kW heater then you need that size to heat your house, but you could increase the volume of the system by putting in more radiators and not require a buffer tank. I'm no expert on ASHP heating systems so that may not be feasible, but I would ask them.

Hi @zoothorn. I wouldn't worry about noise from the buffer tank. Ask yourself if your hot water tank makes any noise, ours doesn't. The buffer tank just holds a volume of water and doesn't have to be 1m x 0.5m. It's the volume that's important so could be taller and slimmer and fit where the hydraulic unit is housed.

IIRC we had an email telling us our billing would change from quarterly to monthly and a relative had a note on their bill telling them it was changing from quarterly to monthly. We are with OVO and they are with EDF.

We have been told the same, and I know other people who have had to change to monthly billing. I suspect it's across all suppliers.

Thanks, both. Interesting to know.

Yeah, it would. It's a right pigs dinner of a setup with bits added at various times by the look of it. When we get a new boiler, or A2A, it will all be replaced. There are hot water pipes that zigzag along the utility room wall, all the pipes uninsulated.

I don't think it is. I think the diverter is bottom front of the picture.

It's not something I've seen before, but this place is a plumbing and wiring nightmare. Still deciding whether to stick with oil or go to A2A.

No, it's three pipes going in, two on the flat end and one on the curved surface. There's one pipe out on the opposite flat suface to the pump.

Perhaps someone can tell me, is the silver coloured circular component to the right of the picture anything other than just a way of joining three pipes together before connecting to the pump? TIA

I have a large sandstone chimney breast I would like to remove, but I thought that they were usually structural in old cottages, which is what is putting me off.

I put three lines of Stixall under the plastic wood and the rain still ran under in a few places as well. So I sealed the outside of the join of the plasic wood to concrete with Soudal Fixall Crystal Clear and it's been OK since.

It's under the eaves storage above the single storey utility and wet rooms. It's not very high but Wendy arranged it with stacked Really Useful storage boxes and kept a lot of stuff in there. The only other storage area was above the two smaller bedrooms accessed from the landing.

We had three areas with vaulted ceilings. On the ground floor we had a sitting room with a split level ceiling half of which was vaulted. We also vaulted ceilings on the landing and in the main bedroom.

A few years ago just after it was clad.

I had old asbestos roof tiles many years ago and found the surface of the tiles would slowly break down and they would start to absorb moisture. This then allowed moss to grow and eventually the roof would became covered in moss. As asbestos hasn't been used for many years I would be surprised if there are asbestos tiled roofs that aren't covered in moss. If worried you can always send a sample off for testing. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Asbestos-Sample-Only-Test-Testing/dp/B095PCZJ4X/

Very basic, but I just bought a load of these years ago. They were only around £2.50 each when I bought them. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/134402838169

How many Passivhaus have you worked on? In the PHPP it requires the insulation levels for hot water pipes. The last thing you want in a PH is heat being introduced into areas where it's not wanted especially in the summer.

No, it will encourage them to to grow more side shoots and thicken up. If it's Cherry Laurel they should grow to around 30 feet eventually. They will still grow to their maximum height if you chop the tops off ocassionally. I planted a Cherry Laurel hedge many years ago and it was hard work keeping it at only eight feet high.

I've got a Bosch DNM120L bought 13 years ago and I also think it's good, especially as an inclinometer, not as posh as yours but didn't cost as much. Don't think they make that model any more.

+1, You beat me to it. It was like being on a fairground ride watching that.

I glued sheets of OSB to OSB using Everbuild Premium Wood Adhesive. The bond strength was amazing but it was for use in my shed though. https://www.toolstation.com/d4-wood-glue/p61864

It certainly has gone up a lot in the ten years since I last used it.

I used BluClad board to clad our plinth. It was around 450mm high so I covered it with brick slips. https://www.insulationshop.co/10mm_bluclad_60min_fire_resistant.html

I'm looking to do the same, but as a chimney breast is often structural, providing bracing to the wall, I will get a structural engineer to check it out first.