Jump to content

Stones

Members
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    3761

  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    23

 Content Type 

Everything posted by Stones

  1. Stones
    That I'm virtually finished! How well the house sits on the site (now that its landscaped), how it looks and the quality of the build / finish. Inside I love having a kitchen worktop height of 1000mm, the showers, endless supply of DHW, and the little snug with best view where I sit and have a cuppa.
  2. Stones
    My parents have a fairly large garden which produces fairly large volumes of cuttings and trimmings. They use one of the electric shredders, but have to limit the size of anything freshly cut to a bare minimum. They tend to let trimmings dry and leaves wither before they shred the stuff, to avoid jamming up the shredder.
  3. Stones
    I certainly didn't pay anything like that for my 8.5kW Mitsubishi Ecodan. £4123 + VAT inc free delivery (a bonus considering my location) for the ASHP, FTC5 controller and 300 litre pre-plumb cylinder. The supplier I bought it from had similar deals / prices for Panasonic and Samsung.
  4. Stones
    I appear to have been very fortunate with my (Rationel) windows, given the various experiences related here. The only issue we had was missing an ordering deadline to avoid the factory summer shutdown, and that was really down to a small miscommunication between myself and the builder on who was going to order the windows. Agreeing and signing off the spec / sizes was straight forward, the quotation and details contained within clear, and windows were delivered, all as ordered, without issue. The agent (ADW Ltd) even sent up two guys a couple of months after we had installed the windows to make sure they were all adjusted correctly.
  5. Stones
    Can't really add much more than already said. Hope all goes well...
  6. Stones
    Interesting news: http://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/sixtyeight-flats-in-2bn-luxury-block-to-be-given-to-families-whose-lives-were-devastated-in-grenfell-a3569876.html Puts the average cost of construction for each flat at just below £150K. It'll be interesting to see how some of the residents react to this news, given the critical comments that have been made about rehousing them. Whilst the local council response does seem to have been quite poor, there does seem to be a lot of unrealistic expectation in terms of how quickly that number of people can be re-homed and where.
  7. Stones
    When we were sourcing our windows, Rational still sold (they perhaps still do) 3G units with smaller gaps between panes. There was very little difference performance wise between those and their 2G. I think that type of 3G had probably been their initial 3G offering, made to fit in a 2G frame. Big step up in performance / U value with their 18 - 20mm gap 3G units.
  8. Stones
    +1 on the UP TO DATE plan, especially when only minor changes have been made from the previous version. Date stamping would be a big plus here.
  9. Stones
    Having seen the Condor at @ProDave, it's certainly well worth keeping in the list. The BIG advantage this over the Biopure I have, is that there is a separate emptying point, i.e. you do not have to lift out the blower / blower housing to empty it, as I have to do with my Biopure. One of my requirements was for the blower to be housed within the unit rather than remotely. My decision to go with the Biopure was based on their ability to deliver to my location without significant uplift in price. I simply couldn't get the Condor here for anything remotely approaching a competitive price vs the Biopure.
  10. Stones
    Agree, the Armstead durable was likewise considerably more expensive than contract matt, but does seem to work as a washable surface. It's certainly can't be scrubbed, but then I doubt any painted surface could be.
  11. Stones
    I went with Armstead Trade contract matt emulsion for the mist coat (thinned 1 litre water to every 5 of emulsion) and 1st full coat, then finished with Armstead Durable Matt as the final / finish coat. Seems to be a pretty robust / cleanable finish.
  12. Stones
    You may well be planning to cover this in your step by step breakdown, but how did you brace the walls for the pour?
  13. Stones
    We had something very similar to what @PeterW describes at our last house. Timber posts concreted into the ground, sleepers between posts to retain the type 1 upfill that was compacted and covered with gravel finished to the same height as the drive. Timber frame /studs at 600mm centres between posts to form the wall structure and provide bracing, clad with shiplap timber. Trusses and purlins, sarked with OSB then roof covering (onduline in that instance). Didn't bother with a garage door, just left it open. Worked really well, was inexpensive and looked good.
  14. Stones
    Those affected certainly want help and support from the 'authorities' - difficult to know what is actually being delivered / organised on the ground amongst all the political grandstanding that's going on.
  15. Stones
    That's a fair point, but doesn't detract from the fact that it looks really bad. Shades of Bush flying over New Orleans after it had been levelled by that hurricane. I suppose in these situations she would be damned whatever she does. On a wider note, I really do wish the politicians and media would turn it down a notch or two, and concentrate on the human tragedy and human spirit in the face of such appalling adversity.
  16. Stones
    And so it begins: http://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/grenfell-tower-protest-hundreds-gather-at-kensington-and-chelsea-town-hall-demanding-justice-for-a3567086.html Hardly surprising given the rhetoric being pumped up in the media and by certain politicians seeking to apportion blame. May not speaking to residents hasn't helped (a poor judgement call in my view). I'm really quite concerned about how this is going to develop.
  17. Stones
    No such thing as a sheltered location where I am....so far doesn't seem to be affected performance.
  18. Stones
    I've related before my experience of dealing with the victims of fire. It's not something that's easily forgotten. I certainly don't envy the task the guys have ahead of them.
  19. Stones
    A truly horrific day, and one that will stay with bereaved families, survivors and members of the emergency services for a long time to come. We've already seen pictures of the effect today has had on fire fighters. A lot of gruesome work lies ahead for them and the Police as they move into recovery and identification.
  20. Stones
    Having gathered all the necessary materials, I'll be constructing my silencer tomorrow. I'm planning a timber framed box, sheeted with MDF, lined with acoustic egg box foam. MDF to be screwed to timber frame, sealed with silicone. Duct inlet and outlets 90 degrees from each other rather than inline. I have enough MDF to build either a 600 x 600 x 600 cube or a 900 x 600 x 300 rectangular box. Any views on the best shape to construct? I have enough space to accommodate either.
  21. Stones
    I wouldn't necessarily discount weather compensation. We used it in our last house where the flow temp reached a max of 33C at 0C ambient, and in our new house. I only have limited data for the new house, but COP when we were still needed heat input ranged between 3.5 and 4. I certainly found the trick was getting the right (fairly flat) curve, but that is simply a case of trial and error and relates to the particular microclimate you have.
  22. Stones
    All veg (except onions) kept in the fridge. No reason not to put potatoes in the fridge (they are after all kept in cold storage from the time they are harvested). Buy what you need for the week, and let the supermarket / grocer worry about storing everything.
  23. Stones
    I had custom window cills folded and powder coated to match my windows by: http://www.mspcladding.co.uk I did get quotes from them for guttering as well but ended up going down a different route. Basically, if it can be folded, they will do it, and price wise, I found them to be a lot cheaper than the prices advertised elsewhere. I found them to be very helpful and happy to deal with small orders (mine was less than £300). My builder now uses them.
  24. Stones
    Discounting two very short runs to the vestibule and cupboard containing our DHW, no nothing under 5 metres. I'll see if I can borrow a decibel meter so I can put some numbers to the problem.
  25. Stones
    It's fan noise that's the problem for me rather than air flow noise (forcing air through a small opening). When I remove the adjustable terminal cover, fan noise increases.
×
×
  • Create New...