Roundtuit

I can't get rainwater harvesting to stack up either. Unless I'm mistaken, 3 IBC's worth of Anglian Waters finest costs £4.61 (plus sewerage rates if you're on mains sewerage, but I'm not). Even at PeterW's diy cost of £350, that's 75 full re-fills to break even. I haven't got into the detail of weather patterns, but I suspect that frequently when it's when it's 'wet season', you don't benefit so much as the tank is already partially full, and when it's summer, you have to supplement with mains water anyway. Maybe greener to buy the water, and in doing so, contribute to the running costs of your water suppliers industrial-scale rainwater harvesting system?

Hi. For what it's worth, I've just had an integrated 4kw Viridian Clearline Fusion system put in for £5.3k, all in. I reckon I could have done it cheaper, but the installers are linked to the roofing company, so it took some of the hassle and risk out of it for me. It also saved 32 sq m of slating to off-set the cost. Probably also worth mentioning that the local conservation officer has taken a particular interest in this site, so aesthetics were quite high up the priority list...

Ahh. Looks like you've fallen in lust, not love. Get down to Wickes for your kitchen, and spend the difference on proper romance!

I've just been slate shopping. Slate quality and the degree of thickness grading seems to vary widely. The conclusion I came to is to stick with an A1 S1 T1 quality grade, and pay a premium for slates that are tightly thickness graded, and/or ensure your roofers do a proper grading job to get them to lay flat. Pyrites inclusions are normal and shouldn't rust on a T1 grade. £1.55 ea seems high; it might be a great slate, but you can get good slates <£1

I can't argue with your view, and if I'd heard it earlier this year I may have made a different decision. However, perhaps, that as the risk for the 'professional' is significantly greater, maybe they'll take more care to ensure that your house is built right? Surely that's the primary aim, rather than the ease of making a claim if it all goes to rat$h!t!

I'm just about to bite the bullet and order a 3.9m set of Solarlux sl97 bifolds. I accept they may not be the best solution from an airtightness point of view, but they're going in anyway (like the wood burner!). The seal details are on the website - triple rubber gaskets - so I can't see them causing too much of a problem, and let's face it, they'll probably get opened and closed more in the first 10 days than the next 10 years...

Pleased to see levels are spot on. Nothing worse than a false indication of how much beer's left in the bottle! ?

We are (or maybe were...) planning wet ufh in first floor bathrooms for our timber frame (not mbc) and I had a mind to lift the decking chipboard at a later date to do the job. Having seen the decking go down yesterday and today, I reckon fitting from underneath is the easier option. The boards interlock, are glued and nailed, and the first floor walls sit on top of them so fitting loose wasn't an easy option either. I have no clue how to attempt fitting it from below though...

Phew! Thought it was Angela Merkel for a minute. Bagsy next with mind bleach...

Site insurance. You really need some sort of cover in place when work starts (if not earlier) to mitigate your liability should something go wrong. BC inspections will be required at key stages, starting with foundations. Warranty may be optional, depending on your lender if you have one, and/or your plans to sell in the future.

I think I'd paint first. Don't fancy trying to paint over oil stains if you accidentally get some on the pine, and the occasional errant paint marks on the oak should scrape off with a Stanley knife blade when dry.

Thanks all. I've looked at the iBoost, but it doesn't seem to lend itself to a leccy meter in a boundary box. I do like the look of this though (and the price).. http://solarimmersion.co.uk

Just dragging this back to the original post, does anyone have any experience with an alternative solution please? (Off-the-shelf; ain't never gonna make one...). I've also noticed that although their website looks 'live' the company I was talking to about pv appears to have ceased trading (Assured Solar); not sure how big they were, but they had a reasonable presence at some of the 'Bulid it live' shows.

Just had a Biopure delivered this morning (by a very helpful driver, with a well practiced techique for unloading safely without the use of a forklift or digger). Having seen the housing for the air pump under the unit lid, I'm not sure there is any advantage in housing the pump externally; it sits in it's own self-contained box outside of the nasty stuff. As for shape, he suggested that a conical shape reduces the risk of the tank being lifted out of the ground if the water table rises.

I've just ordered a Biopure 2. After talking through the occupancy question with them (2 teenage kids that are not going to be around full-time in a few years..) it sounds as though a timer fitted to the air pump is good practice, so performance can be tweaked. I'm siting the air pump external to the tank, just 'cos I don't fancy servicing anything that lives in the bog of eternal stench.

Thanks. I'm going to leave rainwater harvesting for a later date - I was thinking more about how and where to tap-off the incoming mains supply. Perhaps a tee off the main with a DCV, located in an inspection chamber for access?

We're just about to start trenching for the water main to the house; what's best practice for running a supply to the garden? It's a fairly big plot, and I think something more than an outside tap on the house is in order. thanks Andy

If they're only shallow, a baton across the back under each shelf might be the neatest solution if you can get a fix. If you put anything across the front, your Glenmorangie won't fit. ?

Thanks for this. I'm in the market for 4 roof windows so will be interested in how you get on with the Eco+. Did you manage to find any without vents?

Sorry, can't understand how mvhr can be a benefit in a fire no matter how you configure it. Assuming a standard set up extracts only from kitchens and wet rooms, there would be a risk of spreading smoke through the house with your proposal if a fire started in a bedroom. If your focus is preserving life, go with Nick's detector advice and practice your fire/escape drills. If you want to preserve property, fit sprinklers.

Just tried to check prices on myroofwindow.co.uk following good reviews, to find that trading to the UK is suspended due to the Brexit situation. A one-off? ..or the tip of the iceberg perhaps...

I must admit to a few days of squeaky-bum time prior to piling last month, but as it turned out it was painless (apart the kick in the budget). Don't know anything about screw piles (we had end-driven case piles), but here's what I learnt: - quotes varied by as much as 50% - big piling rig equals big mobilisation cost and big vibrations, but a quicker job. - quoted pile depth is a best guess based on soil survey and local knowledge. Make sure you compare like for like regarding depth, and on-costs per extra metre to achieve a set. - don't forget the Party Wall Act if you're close to neighbours (piling within 6 metres) - if you have close neighbours, you probably need to give your piling method some thought with respect to Jct 21.2.1 insurance, but that's a whole new headache... - piling was cheap compared to the ring beam; get a cost breakdown for each element We had 24 x 10m piles put in by a local (regional) contractor with a small rig (£200 mobilisation fee), in just over a week without pi$$ing the neighbours off. He was the only quote that offered a refund if a set was achieved at less than quoted depth, and we got nearly £500 back (plus £25 beer money from weighing in the cut-off steel casing he left behind!?).

Thanks all. I'll try and get a look at some and work out the ergonomics.

Hi. Any thoughts on the current front runners in the roof window market? A look over the old forum suggests Velux and Fakro; any others I should be considering? Also, most of them appear to be vented; can they be ordered un-vented for use with mvhr? thanks Andy

We had an overgrown hedge.. that we took out with a JCB... and that struggled with some of the bigger stumps. I reckon the best plan is to go big, early!