ProDave

A small turbine is something I am still thinking about. Everyone says it will be disappointing. But I still feel I want to play with more types of renewable power and an tempted to take a punt on this for not a lot of money. https://www.vevor.co.uk/wind-turbine-c_10731/vevor-wind-turbine-generator-kit-12v-wind-power-generator-300w-w-mppt-5-blades-p_010372870276 I am sure someone will be along to dissuade me.....

We have been obsessed with CO2 reduction for some time, and not been watching fundamentals. Closed all our coalmines, closed all our coal power stations (though one still burns wood and thankfully a couple have not been decommissioned so can be re started and still used) We are building wind farms as fast as we can but we all know they need wind, that does not always blow. This created the "dash for gas" as burning gas to produce electricity is a little less harmful than burning coal. Great. Except we don't have enough of our own gas. No problem, we live in a global economy now, we can buy anything from anywhere, why bother going to all the trouble of producing something ourselves when someone else will make it or produce it and sell it to us. Oh look those Ruskies have a lot of cheap gas and they are even building a nice big pipeline to deliver it. What could possibly go wrong with such a global trading situation? Oops. Someone forgot to think about "Energy security" let alone security of anything else we import, like food, certain high tech products like microchips, even steel and other raw materials. Oops indeed there are very few things now that Europe is self sufficient in, let alone the little old UK. Now our government is talking about drilling for more gas in the North Sea. About time but will take some years to come on stream. Lets hope the environmentalists don't stop that as we are really stuffed if they do. Re the forecast power cuts. They will be a nuisance. I don't see they will actually save very much power for the average domestic user. We might get a few hours power cut, they don't predict how often, but apart from not being able to watch the telly and the lights will go out, that is about all it will save in terms of power. The fridge will warm up a little and use the same electricity when it comes back on to cool down again. Heating with an ASHP, the house might cool down slightly, but hardly measurable, and the ASHP will fire up again later if it needs to when the power comes back. If there is really more demand than supply, you have to remove demand, which really means industry, which means not making things that take a lot of power to make. I know, lets just buy those things from abroad instead..............

Just a thought, is it the local pipework under each sink has got smelly? This happens sometimes e.g in a dual bowl kitchen sink where one does not get much use. A little bleach down the plug hole cleans it up and stops the smell. If the vent pipe goes out through the roof and finishes a little way above the roof, then you may not have an AAV as not always needed.

Probably not, but it just looked like something was missing without them.

Scaffold gone, here it is, the balcony frame completed. Just the decking boards and handrail to add.

Bedrooms only. Bathrooms and landings don't even need to have a window, let alone a means of escape window.

the RDSAP used for existing properties make lots of assumptions and guesses and are pretty meaningless. But even my new build with a full as build SAP, with all the information on U values of walls, floors, roof, actual Uw window values, exact details of heating system, and actual air tightness test, the full SAP estimated the energy usage at 3 times what it actually uses.

5 is pretty poor. Get an actual air tightness test done and if you get a substantially lower score that will give you the extra points you need. Otherwise the heat recovery unit mentioned above.

Already the case in Scotland. At last, the property market might start to value properties with a poor EPC lower than those with a good EPC to reflect either the work they need upgrading, or the extra heating costs. At a very minimum anyone looking for a property to let will either be looking for a EPC C or above or if lower will only buy if it is cheap enough to pay for the upgrades needed.

This sort of bath is normally connected with a flexi waste pipe. You stand the bath on blocks a few inches above the floor, connect the flexi waste then remove the blocks and sit the bath on the floor. Use a top access click clack waste fitting.

To claim adverse possession, he has to have exclusive use. You mention a gate. Keep using the gate to access your dustbin.

The immediate thing to me is there is only space for ONE car. Do you have more than one? Where do you park the other? I would want 2 spaces in front of the house if that was the only place. Sod the planters. It looks like you have side access so the bike shed would be in the back garden.

I love the "sump plug access" option.

Yes, at marine prices, which would make custom glass panels look good value for money. The frame diagonal tensioning wire will be under the deck boards so not very visible so it just has to work, not look pretty.

A bit more done today, the first chance I have had to do anything on my own house since our break last week. I now have the diagonal bracing wires as discussed before to stiffen the structure, and the final end joists fitted including bolting through the posts. So it is now a solid, self supporting structure. The bracing wire is not as expected. As soon as we got back I ordered a set of the balustrade wire as discussed above to try it out as the bracing wire. Only to find what I had ordered was coming from China and would take at least 3 weeks to get here. Amazon do not make it as clear as ebay that what you are ordering is outside the UK. So what I have used is galvanised aerial lashing wire and hooks, what you normally see strapped round a chimney holding an aerial bracket in place. I had some spare so this saved me waiting for the other stuff. I will be taking the scaffold down soon and doing the remainder working from the balcony structure itself, mainly to stop my ageing boards sitting out in the rain any longer than they have to and get them back into dry storage.

So try 100 centres or 150 centres in the joisted bit? Room temperature + 9 degrees? I doubt my floor is ever hotter than room temp +2

You should design it so all areas give the same output at the same temperature. Coarse "adjustment" being different pipe spacing on different floor make ups, and fine adjustment being adjusting the flow rates through each loop. So if they are saying the solid screeded floors need a lower temperature, compensate by widening the spacing in those and run them at the same temperature. But since you want the lowest temperature you can get it would be better instead to have closer spaced pipes in the pug mix sections and run those at the lower temperature.

I am a happy user of a standard Conder ASP6 the gravity outlet version. I know they do a pumped outlet version as we might have used it until they allowed us to discharge to the burn. I think the consensus of this forum is any of the air blower types of treatment plant are good and we have satisfied users or most makes on here. To some extent the decision will be swayed by availability and delivery options, particularly if you are in a remote location. Mine was bought through Travis Perkins which had the advantage of delivery on their wagon with a hiab to unload it. Whatever you fit, as you have high water table issues, make sure you concrete the treatment plant into the ground.

That's why I asked. If they are fronts, then it must mean the screen drops down in front of the doors, which must mean you also have a blackout blind over the windows as well? Not very good if someone needs to leave the room?

Are they rear speakers?

A floppy lever means that valve is energised and the actuator is holding it in the open position. A stiff lever means the valve is closed, either waiting for it to be energised to open, or for you to push the lever to manually open it. So when you did that test, it was demanding heating.

No music. Was I the only one imagining the Benny Hill theme? You appeared to pour concrete into flooded trenches leaving the concrete with a layer of water on top?

My thoughts on the photo. Wrong material, you don't want smooth and shiny, you want rough and grippy, probably coarse tarmac, or concrete with a tamped finish but that might be tricky on that slope, it would have to be pretty dry when laid. I would not want to park on a slope like that, you either have to reverse down, or probably worse is reverse up the steep slope not being sure that is coming because you are down in a dip. Does it lead to a flat area with room to park 2 cars and turn? If not and that is your only parking I would want it a LOT less sleep which means the retaining wall and a flatter raised drive.

You must have a predictable family routine? 2 good showers will empty our tank, and HW has to be available any time of day because "they" will shower at any time of day that pleases them which is of course not always the same, so "sorry there is not hot water as it is before 3PM" would not cut the mustard here. I have mine timed to come on at 11AM, on the basis there will be enough hot water from yesterday for one shower, and if someone has that early shower I manually turn the DHW on earlier. Random showering times are at odds with trying to be efficient and cost effective.

This listed cottage sold for £50K at auction. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lincolnshire-63410107 It was a collapsed wreck, the council were spending £1400 per month to keep it covered in scaffold and plastic sheet. What a complete waste of time and money. It sold for a low price because it is listed and the buyer will now have to rebuild it with all that entails. Am i the only one that things it would have been far better to de list it, and grant outline planning for a replacement dwelling? It would have sold for more and been a far better prospect without the burden of having to restore a crumbling wreck back to how it was?