ProDave

Can you post a very close up picture of the detail from the outside of the top of the leaking window and the bottom of the window above it. I would put my money on the window sill of the window above it and water getting back into the frame when the wind blows. In a dry day get up a ladder with a hose and an observer inside. Spray water first onto the render just above the leaking window, if that does not show water ingress move up a little to be squirting water at the window sill of the window above. Be prepared to spend some time squirting water, it may take time to work it's way through and show.

SWMBO wants induction, but I want gas, partly for the reasons above, and partly it will work in a power cut. So the compromise is have both.

Possibly, but the source does not instil confidence wrt warranty. I have now found this pair that at least are the same size https://cookology.com/product/collections/black-products/cookology-ggh306bk-30cm-2-burner-gas-on-glass-hob-with-cast-iron-pan-supports/ https://cookology.com/product/collections/black-products/cookology-cit301-30cm-domino-induction-hob-black/ Because they are cheap and an unknown make, I would be tempted to buy two of the induction hobs, one as a "service spare" Still looking for more options preferably from a known make and reputable source.

I don't know about this particular one, but for electrolytics I will only buy Panasonic 105 degree low ESR

Looking at separates, I have found a 2 burner gas hob and 2 zone induction hob by the same manufacturer. https://www.arebos.co.uk/en_gb/gas-hob-glas-ceramic-2-zones.html https://www.arebos.co.uk/en_gb/home-living/kitchen/cooking-hob/induction-hob-2-cooking-zones-3400w.html Never heard of that make and they are cheap, so probably not good? BUT one is 52cm deep and the other 51cm. So would look stupid side by side. How stupid is that. This search may take a while.......

When we built our house, at a time of restrained budget, I fitted a 4 burner LPG hob which was an ex display sale at a give away price from Howdens (but then I had to re jet it for LPG) and was only meant to be temporary. 5 years Later, it is time to change it. We have always fancied a mix of gas and induction. One thought was 2 separate (but matching) 2 burner hobs side by side or a dual fuel hob. I throw it open to the forum for recommendations. All I have found is this one https://www.appliancecity.co.uk/cooking/hobs/mixed-fuel-hobs/smeg-pm3643d-65cm-frameless-mixed-induction-and-gas-hob-black/ But the price!!!!!!! and it does not even say it can be jetted for LPG.

So are you saying the 140mm mineral wool gives the 0.14U and the PIR, presumably also 140mm gives the 0.11U You would expect with the same thickness, mineral wool will give the lower U value, BUT will have a longer decrement delay and would be the one I would choose.

I must have replaces hundreds of failed capacitors. Some makes of equipment are well known for it, and there is a steady market in capacitor kits for some common bits of equipment.

So many of today's electronics failures boil down to poor quality capacitors that have failed. Well done for finding the problem and posting here.

I don't see the issue. the first strip of boards you lay might partly miss the joists, but it is not imperative that the joints land on a joist. You can see the board joints in the photo are not landing on a joist.

With new work like this, you are supposed to pressure test the pipework before boxing it in, to ensure all the joints have mated properly, none of the seals have been damaged and it is all air tight. Did the builders do that? Depending where you are, your building control might want to witness that drain pressure test (they do here). Without that test done, there are so many places it could be leaking.

You are probably at the point of diminishing returns. As I have said, 0.14 is quite respectable. I would still be wanting to know more about what type of insulation they were proposing for each option? What details have they given about the wall make up?

What work exactly have you done? Is this a completely new shower room, or have you just changed the WC in an existing shower room? At what point did the smell start? Pictures please.

Yes get a structural engineer. A compromise might be not remove the whole wall but make an opening double door size and have say two glass doors? But an SE should advise what is possible and what needs to be done to make it possible.

For router setup, you are far better connecting a RJ45 cable from one of the ethernet ports to a proper computer, and then logging in to the web page of the router. Everything should then become obvious and less frustrating.

If payback was the only thing, I would not have spent £200K building a really nice house, I would have stayed in the static caravan and the £200K would have paid the very high heating bills of the static caravan for the rest of my life.

My question is, is the house detached or joined to another. Like others the double tacked and plywood braced construction does sound like it is for racking strength. Is the house masonry or timber framed?

0.14 is quite respectable, it's what our house is. Another decision is what insulation material are they using to achieve that. Something like PIR or PUR (solid foam) has a short decrement delay. Things like glass wool and celulose and even wood fibre have a much longer decrement delay. So you can have 2 different walls with the same U value, but one will cool down quicker than the other. So a more important decision is select the TF manufacturer on what type of insulation they are proposing.

Some VERY rough sums. Assuming you use all of that 1800 litres in winter, or 182 days, that will be 9.8 litres per day Kerosene has about 10kWh of heat per litre, so your roughly 10 litres per day will be producing about 100kWh of heat per day. As a very rough estimate, the coldest day in winter is likely to consume twice the average for the whole winter, so a peak perhaps of 20 litres of Kerosene or 200kWh of heat on the coldest day. So if your heat pump in this cold spell had produced 200kWh to replicate the previous oil heating, it would be likely to have consumed perhaps 66kWh of electricity per day. You say it is costing £29 per day, and with electricity at about 28.5p per kWh that would mean it has consumed about 100kWh in a day. That does suggest it is using the resistance heating for some or all of the heat.

Have a look at this blog, he build a small house as a holiday let to comply with the "caravan" definition. If you have not already seen it, this is how the Highland Council interpret the definition of a "caravan" build it within that definition and it won't need building regs https://www.highland.gov.uk/downloads/file/1346/bst_018_caravans_and_mobile_homes You will need building regs for the installation of a treatment plant, unless you do something like a composting toilet.

How much OIL did you burn in a year with the old boiler?

Look into your drainage. Any running water e.g. rainwater, will wash away any non hard surface.

Another vote for multipanel. Used them for several bathrooms and not had a problem.

If you desperately want to design it yourself without being troubled by buildling regs, it is possible to build a building that falls within the legal definition of a caravan while being very well insulated and very well built. The downside of doing that is you won't be able to reclaim the VAT and resale value / mortgagability might be a lot worse.

If you buy a bare croft, I think it is pretty much a given that you will be allowed to build a house, and usually a portion of the land is decrofted for that. There are usually several for sale.