Gone West

Exactly what I did. Complained about the Planning Dept. to the Chief Executive of the Council. When he supported his Planning Dept. I complained to the Ombudsman, which wound them up a bit. They continued to refuse my applications so took my application to the Planning Committee, with the support of my local councillor, and won unanimously. Now that really did wind up the Head of Planning.

The closest I've seen is a post puller. https://uk.vevor.com/post-puller-c_10219/vevor-t-post-puller-fence-post-puller-jack43-3x5-9x5-9in-fence-post-remover-p_010177485256

I would do my own hardness test as their results appear to be ambiguous. https://www.toolstation.com/water-hardness-test-kit/p91729

Could you use a plinth brick on the outer blockwork. It's poor design and you shouldn't have to sort it out.

I would question why you have two different values for mgCa/l. Total hardness is just mg/l.

IIRC when we were in Kent and had a softener we looked at total hardness which was well over 300mg/l. The figure you have been given of 76.9 is for Calcium only. Total hardness consists of Calcium and Magnesium.

I've done that without problem. Best done when the weather is cold so it doesn't expand too quickly. I have heard that putting the Compriband in the fridge before doing it, helps, but I've not done that.

Wickes have red Onduline sheets. https://www.wickes.co.uk/Onduline-3mm-Red-Corrugated-Bitumen-Sheet---950mm-x-2000mm/p/236397

We are thinking about the possibility of installing A2A as a replacement for oil. We are in a bungalow so all the pipes can run through the loft to each room. The only problem we can see is how to run the condensate pipes as none of the heating units will be on an outside wall and we don't want internal ducting. Did you have a problem with the condensate pipe?

We only had one area that was an attic, the rest had vaulted ceilings. It didn't overheat a lot but we had reflective film on the windows. Decrement delay wasn't a factor in our area as we were only a couple of miles from the coast and we had sea breezes everyday. We had the Icynene installed in 2015, and we moved in, in 2018. We lived there for over three years and we found it very comfortable.

I would have thought it would have to be poor quality stainless steel if it was likely to corrode.

As I said in another thread, anodes are fitted in enamalled steel tanks to prevent corrosion. The anode has to be removed for inspection at intervals and to do that the tank needs draining down to below the anode so it can be removed.

I like: Why do elephants have Big Ears?

We went to appeal after the second refusal and the Inspectorate refused and made recommendations that we included in our third application. When we were told it was going to be refused again I asked our local councillor if he would recommend it to go before the Planning Committee. It was passed unanimously much to the annoyance of the Head of Planning. No, it wasn't fortunately one of the conditions. That's tough, as from my experience they're a bunch of incompetents. My Head of Planning admitted that none of his PO had any design qualifications and that one PO could justifiably allow something which another PO in the same office might refuse. Good luck.

Yes it was. I tried not to have contact with the planners once I had got approval due to a less than good relationship with them after I had got planning approval against the Head of Planning Department's recommendation. I just carried out the conditions and did the build.

You're right there. There was no way I could get rid of roof drainage on site due to size and a high water table so our BCO and Highways agreed that I could run the water straight onto the road. It just ran down the road until it found a ditch. You just need a pragmatic BCO.

Not enough emphasis put on comfort I think. Feeling cold air near poor glazing or draughts around door, window frames or skirting. Sorting those out will help a lot with heating.

Generally if the tank is enamelled steel then an anode is fitted to prevent corrosion. The anode has to be checked at intervals and to do this means draining down the tank to below the anode so it can be removed for inspection. In the Genvex Combi I had, the EASHP extracts heat from the MVHR exhaust which provides heat for heating the DHW, and if required, the space heating by heating the supply air from the MVHR to the rooms. When the EASHP is running the exhaust air from the MVHR is extremely cold and can cause small amounts of ice to form around the exhaust vent. This sort of system is very different from the older type DHW EASHP which uses air from inside the house to provide heat to heat the DHW.

There are different types of spray expanding foam. We used Icynene in our passivhaus which is open cell and with 350mm in the walls and roof we achieved an airtightness value of 0.47ACH without any tapes or membranes. The U value for the walls and roof was 0.095W/m2K and we heated the whole house to 23C with three electric towel rails and warm air from an EASHP in the MVHR system. The house was in East Kent.

@Cognis0 I used a Genvex Combi 185L which was a combined MVHR and EASHP which heated the DHW and the air through the ventilation system. I wouldn't necessarily use a single supplier for both MVHR and EASHP. I contacted ADM Systems who were very helpful when I was looking into MVHR systems. Genvex were also helpful. I can't recommend an EASHP for heating DHW but from what I have read the aroSTOR seems OK. I would check that which ever EASHP DHW system you use doesn't have an anode in the tank.

I fitted three electric towel rails at my last place and the instructions said to leave the top vent open and heat the towel rail to it's maximum temperature collecting the liquid overflow. Then let it cool down and close the vent.

Have you got hiccups? 😃

We unwrapped everything, checked it, and wrapped it up again. We had been caught like that before. We have also, as @MJNewton said, asked the supplier to hold the items for a couple of months before delivering.

That is good, but water can get behind the vertical hinge frame and if the bath isn't well sealed against the wall, water can get down behind the end of the bath. Although all these gaps are very small they will allow a significant amount of water to get onto the floor over a peiod of time.

Our BCO said our soakaway should be 5m from the boundary, but as it wasn't possible he let us put it next to the boundary, as it was just an orchard the other side.