Delicatedave

Err! good idea but the pipe shoot of left into the next door. I was all one house you see. No way off doing that with starting a completely separate branch from the street up my drive, into the hall and then into the bathroom. That's about 300 yards of digging and fixing for one bog.

What might the problem be you all ask. Well I was rather hoping you would tell me but from my own thoughts more use going along a single pipe which only the person next door can fix when it blocks. Also I'm not sure that if the toilet downstairs get blocked and the one upstairs is flushed where is the stuff going to go? on my downstairs bathroom floor maybe?

If the clothes are still wet when they come out form the dryer/washer you have a bad model. We have separate washer dryer and after the spin our clothes are only damp. I hand my stuff on the door and they are dry in a few hours. Even the towels I've dried off in the bath throw it over the shower cubicle. Our washer is a LG I would rec those to anyone, works with hot or cold water. In this house I might try a little experiment by feeding it was a solar heated pipe system on the roof above the washing machine. Then again I also want to look at rain water collection so might wash with filtered rain water one day ?

As a footnote folks please remember to cover up and use a proper p3 mask when handling weedkillers and stuff. I've just had 5 years of treatment for bladder cancer, I don't smoke & don't drink but as a french polish and renovator I've perhaps been exposed more than I should. Always put your health first.

The mrs goes though ironing board at a rate of at least one a year. All she has to do it remember to put the iron on the metal things but she never does so a big brown pack arrives till in goes though the cover. The she replaces the cover a few times before she decide she want a new board. So bloody annoying!

So we bought half a cottage which had been separated in the 90s. The toilet got blocked and our nab told us it's a shared drainage, something she failed to reveal when we was buying form her ? but ha ho ! she a nice lady and good nabs are hard to find. Anyway that seems to have put the nybosh on my idea for a onsuite in the bedroom I think. But I thought I would you lovely people on your thoughts, problem in the future, if I should investigate going it alone so to speak with regard digging up the bathroom which is downstairs in the middle of the house.

Mmm... more than my life's worth to suggest a washing line. When I do the washing all my clothes I put on hangers to dry in the house but if I put hers like that she doesn't like as it makes the material scratchy. I never iron anything either it drive her mad and don't tell her but I never put washing power in unless the is a stain to get rid of ?

As a camper personally I think you would be going the wrong way with Glamping. It's an impulse even may be a fad. Far bigger market in a decent no frills camping and hookup site with clean showers, wifi and eco friendly. I'm no expert but I've seen plenty of unused pods and Gypsy type setups go empty on my travels. Do plenty of research.

Can you have them delivered, then paint them and then get them or someone else to fit the painted window. Suppose you'll need space and time to do that. Personally I never use undercoat or primer, I always put a coat of 75% thinners, then two 50% coats then a light rubber to bring up a shine.

What is the rate, we are econ 7 - Our rate is 8.x & 12.X with SG 21 a day with symbio Currently we have no hot water because the emersion tank has been taken out. Decided the space in the bedroom was worth more than the cost of heater water to wash hands & dishes. We have an electric shower and we'll be fitting in instant hot water in the kitchen. Juggling the electric bills is a nightmare and it's one of the reason I want to get as far as I can from relying on the grid. When we move din here the last couple were paying £2,000+ a year, I've already got that down to est £900 and I want it down to £500 by next winter. Of cause to do that I'll need to spend money now to save later ?

I'm interested in this too, did some nieve research and spoke to some companies but it all get tangled in gimmicks and they can't seem to understand saving money is not the be all and end all for some people. The are some system that use econ 7 as backup to charge the batteries others are not compatable.

The way the extention roof is orientated we could put supporting struts on the walls for the panels with no need to touch the roof at all. It would just look like a glass roof ?

I just bought some new oak doors from a company who were off loading their seconds on eBay. For an idea of the price I got a mexicano solid oak for £93, 6 panel glass for £110 and a stable door for £125. company name were deal4doors. They had been slightly damaged in storage, just the odd scratch or corner dent. As I'm a French polisher no big deal for me but having had them delivered I don't think anyone would turn them away.

I tend to think I'm scared of heights more than I am, as a kid I would to climb out of our attic skylight and sit on the roof of a 3 story terrace. How good is the copper sulphate? I think I'll have to have a go because when it's repaired I aim to put some solar panels up, it's just fear really. Perhaps I could hire some scaffolding.

Yea but do the break if you walk on them. To be honest I'm thinking get up on the extension only and then blast off the moss with a pressure water (making sure I down go under the tiles). The cement in the ridge? tiles and fix the flashing. If do that I can get a roofer to do the high roof and fix the chimney pointing etc.

Well until about an hour ago that was impossible but I've just had some trees removed and here goes. The roof is not that old, maybe early 90s

My tiled roof needs some work, the is a lot of moss and the "ridge tiles" look as if they need refixing. Problem is I've never done a roof. The are no broken tiles and it's not that high, well half of it's an extension. What do ya think?

I really didn't set out to do that ? After giving up my first job because I wasn't valued I setup as self-employed. Few years at that I went to uni at the age of 40. They discovered I was dyslexic and I discovered I could consume technical knowledge like most people consume cake. Got my 2nd job and then was overlooked again for promotion again - even-though I was tasked with setting up that new department the promise of me managing it wasn't kept! and although they managed to keep me there for 2 more years by giving me money, in the end it was either me leave or me end up with a mental health problem. Since then I've done what I enjoy only. I'm now ready at 60 for something new.

Yes it is a minefield, I've found keeping an eye for a new company is beneficial as I think what happens is they invest as little as possible in their staff so can give a cheap price. But as they gain customers the rules say they have to employ more staff and that's where they get in trouble. On the other side the big companies understand the market better and they'll push their prices up to get rid of of customers so they don't have to employ more staff. Your information is most welcome Jeremy thanks.

Well yes I'm not really disagreeing, as for the oil price franking and LGP gas have had a impression on that market. The energy market is corrupt and I'm happy to take advantage in the knowladge that while I do so I'm still paying more than I should ? But my aim now is to reduce my dependence on these companies. At the moment I have a bit of cash but income is going to be a problem going forward. So I either save and get a few more years from my savings or invest in systems that cut my yearly costs. Holding on to money is not that exciting at the moment with the interest offered.

Your point about 5% is subjective and I won't base my calculations on those thanks. If you take the UK as an example, it really depends on effort & luck with switching & the way you understand and use the energy. I'll give you 2 small examples of what I mean - Having just moved into this home my first action was to switch electric providers, the difference between the one I was with and the one I am is more than 30%. Secondly the people who lived here before us didn't know how electric storage heaters work, they even had wooden covers over them so they couldn't change the setting. How they were set loaded up maximum heat and let out maximum. The result being the had the equivalent of 12 electric ovens on full for 6 hours and the heat from that was eing sent into the rooms from about 8pm at night till exhausted, all though the night. Result being their electric bill was well over £2k a year, the home was still cold. My bill will be already half that and I aim to get it become £500. So you see no one will see only 5% unless they actively keep on top of it.

It's not all about cost reduction now, who knows what cost electric will be in 5 years. But I think with the help of some storage it's do-able even in the UK. I mean I have solar lights down my drive which come on at around 6pm and most night stay on bright enough till 10pm. So about a 12 hour charge has last 4-5 hours on those cheap buggers.

At the moment I'm thinking of either one big solar array on the roof - it gets sun all day. Or section off the house and use a panel each section but I've not looked into wind yet and even a large storage system like Tesla is not out the question - I as like ? Early days yet as I need to understand this more. Also need to find a way to heat both space & water unless I use electric from the grid. At the moment I'm looking a supplementing, ie warming the water before it gets to the washing machine & using fans to take warm air from the top of a room and push it places like the hall & bathroom. I think I can do all that with low voltage systems.

Yea as I said not doign heat source now. We've been in about 3 months, I think we've started off in the right way but obvs not as quick as "she" would like ? I got a good look around, cleared out the loft(s), stripped most of the walls and discovered some things - one was that the hall was really cold so I took the ceiling down and low and behold the water tank above it had had a slow leak for what must have been years. The was a massive black damp patch across the plaster board and some of the support timbers had rotten. No real problem because we had already booked to have the emersion heater taken out. Also discovered a oak beam which supports the ceiling in the bedroom when I knocked out a built in wordrobe. So now I either build another cupboard around it or have a pole stuck 3ft from the corner of the bedroom - might be had to hang a light on ? Things start moving next week - Monday Tree feller arrives to cut down some overground tree - the couple who live here had this love of conifers, with two nicely place eitherside of the patio doors. Nice when they were 4ft, they are now 30ft plus. Day after that the builder comes to create a new front doorway to the kitchen extension. That frees up the old doorway & hall which will become a study thereby gaining a room ? Soon I'll be able to put up the shed I bought and which is in the kitchen having been painted over the winter. Next on the list is repairing the roof then I can start thinking about installing solar panels. I say start, I've already got my hand dirty playing around with a 20w panel and the old battries from a stairlift which was in the property. That will power the shed, but that shed will mainly be storage, I plan to build a workshop for my long term projects. Great to be here, I'll start a TOPIC thread when I have time.

If I'm not supposed to be here delete me, I'm fine with that, people have been doing it all my life :-) Background: Sort of forced retirement though giving up working for idiots and then struggling to get my own businesses off the ground, then 5 years cancer which I got the all clear from in Sept. Work Experience: Billiard table renovation & manufacture, French Polishing & furniture renovation, Computer Internet architect, Internet social media expert, Internet business website developer, Football memorabilia dealer. As you can see, I'm not afraid to to "have a go at most thing" but I do tend to push the boundaries of what is normal & what can and can't be done. My new home is a semi-detached cottage in the country. Used to be one house but the owner split up and sold off what I think is the best part as it's got the land :-) My aim isto fix the place up in the next 12 months or so in a way that gives us the lowest outgoing forward. For that reason I'm looking at air source, ground source with battery storage & solar but ruled most of it out for the reason that it won't be economical as the is just the two of us. It's currently on Eco 7 electric but the is only now one Storage heater, and yes it's cold all the time :-) I got here looking for info on 12v lighting, bit dismayed that so many people were dismissing using 12v for the whole house but then I think that whole conversation was based on conversion of 240v into 12v. My aim is to use solar panels & wind to charge batteries. Yes, I know I won't save much but it's also a project. I'll also be doing a lot of gardening, growing veg so I aim to come up with some water collection ideas.