MikeGrahamT21

Not directly related to building as I’ve never done anything during the winter with my place being a renovation, but I’ve always struggled in the darker months of the year, from my birthday in late October right through to the end of February. one thing which always perks me up is when things start to grow again, snowdrops, hellebores, crocus and followed by the other spring bulbs, you know better times are on the way. Appreciate the full on self builders won’t have much of a garden, but you can always have a walk round where you live. The dull days really don’t help, and this January has been the dullest my 10 year old solar panels have experienced so far!

Does the other pressure gauge also show pressure? Pump error sounds more like it could either have broken or have something lodged in it? Wherever your pump lives, it will have a screw (big) on the front of it which can be undone to remove any debris. Also make sure it has power and its at least trying to work. Example pump showing the screw

Places like B&Q and Wickes are actually quite good places to buy timber from, since their warehouses are also shops, they are heated to some extent and ventilated, but even there some of it can be warped, or just not dried enough as the tanalising happens after kiln drying (iirc), and often isn't left long enough to dry before being shipped to store

Roof Giant was who I used and had best prices. They all order direct from Velux so delivery wise it’s no different. Get the blinds from elsewhere though, others sell them at a huge discount

I used these on mine: https://www.wickes.co.uk/LoftLeg-Loft-Lid-Downlight-Protector-Hood/p/148851

Bleach doesn’t kill mould in any way it just hides it by bleaching the visible bits. Use proprietary mould killer to get rid of it permanently. Hope you had a mask on when you were sanding/scrubbing as it can end up in your lungs and cause aspergillosis, not pleasant at all. Ensure the boards are as dry as possible once treated, then sealing them will help reduce uptake of moisture, but be careful what you choose to use, as it could interact with the glue in the ply causing it to delaminate, I’m sure there will be a purpose made product for plywood sealing.

Mine were advertised with a self cleaning coating, and it’s worked pretty well, when they first went up the water used to bead off them like crazy, now not so much. Had them cleaned a couple of years back, didn’t make a difference to power output but they looked a lot nicer. There are coatings available which you can reapply to give repellent and anti reflective properties, but it’s hard to come by and super expensive. Most window cleaners should be able to clean them with a long pole. This is the coating https://www.nano-care.co.uk/product/solar-pv-panelguard/

Something like this would be ideal, cut to the relevant dimensions and put under the existing sill https://ewistore.co.uk/shop/external-wall-insulation/over-sill-2-5m-100mm-depth/

Definitely fill the cavity which will end up internally, which will help to prevent the chimney effect of heat loss

Looking at your original photos, it’s definitely an improvement how it is now. You will find the white powder appearing (efflorescence) as they dry out, and as they’ve been wet for so long this is bound to happen, keep brushing it off with a stiff brush to keep it to a minimum. when I dug out to do external wall insulation below the DPC, I went all the way down to the foundation and it took around 6 weeks of fine weather for it to be completely dry, it will take some prolonged time especially at this time of year when it’s cold and damp most days

Yeah that’s right. The top guides on my unit can be moved slightly by hand so no load there at all. I was originally told that the bottom track supported units were more robust and also didn’t require any special lintel loading calculations so went with that

I can honestly say I like mine, but my opening is only 2m, I would imagine with the amount of leaves you are planning as above it could start looking quite cluttered when they’re all stacked up fully open, and may well look cleaner with a sliding door, but if you are set on bifold, then yes they are good, as with most things, if you get a good one. Don’t get top hung as they aren’t as robust as ground bearing. If PVC, Liniar modlock are very good, what I’ve got, 10 years in and they’re as good as new, just don’t get chrome hardware outside!!

They look very much like london bricks, as were widely used at that time, which are quite a soft and porous brick. Clear a bit more out of that trench, and then you're going to have to give it some real good time (and fine weather) to fully dry out, then it may be worth applying some brick protection, which allows the bricks to breathe, but essentially makes them water resistant. Of course also make sure the pointing is sound before filling the excavated area up with some gravel or a drain.

Yes i've noticed Eon rates have gone down for export, i'm on their fixed Export Exclusive V2 at 16.5p, but the V3 one currently the one you'd be put on is now 12.5p

I mean as annoying as it is, it was going to be changing to CPIH in 2030 anyway, so only looking at around 4 years with lower increases. the shadow pricing would be the one which would be an absolute no-no, that would mean no more yearly increases inline with inflation til the mid 2030’s. It’s would be technically difficult for them to achieve and therefore expensive so hopefully if any it’ll be option 1.

Plenty of ways to meet insulation standards of today, not sure a whole load of steel is very ecological or economical, but as you rightly say you can add internal wall insulation, as long as you achieve the stated U value requirements with your build up then you are good. Just don’t forget to have the cavity pumped with blown beads too!

Isn’t the 3m3/m2.h number related to this… It’s talking about carbon emissions rather than overall efficiency, of course the lower the ACH the better it will work but also doesn’t mean it won’t work at all. https://www.passivhaustrust.org.uk/UserFiles/File/research papers/MVHR/2020.04.27-The Case for MVHR-v7.pdf it is expensive though, I’ll give it that!

I go into panic if I’m spending more than £4 a day 😬 but then I think that’s more part of being a Yorkshire man!

I suspect you’ll probably need a G100 compliant export power manager style device, to limit your export to agreed limits

What size, type is your property and how well insulated is it?

A chimney breast will have zero issues holding 25kg, an almost negligible amount given the load capacity of a double brick chimney breast. your fixing strategy is over the top too, a fixing either end would work fine, and I’d probably up that to three (one in the middle) to stop the timber sagging. Don’t bother glueing the timber to the wall, as you will only be glueing it to paint/paper. the majority of these pre-made timber mantles actually hang on the wall much like a picture frame

If your BCO are like mine, they haven't a clue what MVHR even is 🤣

You shouldn't need to change the flow rate, thats what the actuators are for. I don't have actuators on my manifold, and have to turn the clear plastic tube to alter the flow rate, but yours definitely don't look like mine. Probably worth a call to nuheat, or see if they've a manual online?

Yes absolutely, they sell kits for this which will come with the relevant butyl seal. im sure if you can get the glass dimensions you could probably do it even more DIY for much less by ordering the glass (ensure correct spec) and a roll of butyl seal. you’ll need to buy the same dimensions as it has currently, I think they did used to sell a triple glazed upgrade for the older windows but it only resulted in a 0.1Uw decrease so probably isn’t worth the extra cost

From memory the Redland 49's are slightly curved, they look like Marley Ludlow Plus to me, which are flat from top to bottom