ProDave

Just what was it that went bang rather spectacularly? Any "before" photo? Was it something plugged into that now rather sorry looking socket?

My original prediction was to self use £250 per year giving a 6 year payback. Last year that was up to £300 and this year post April is likely to be £400 per year, so is likely to bring payback to perhaps 4 years.

What tipped the switch to Makita for me was when a joiner gave me a dud Makita 18V multitool that turned out to be a simple new motor for £20

I wonder if I could buy this for £140, take out one battery, put the drill, one battery and case on ebay for £140 and anyone would be stupid enough to buy it?

Even cheaper than the last time Screweys offered that.

Sorry I don't. I have never had cause to use anything other than the correct lamp for the fitting. And I don't like G9 lamps anyway.

Anyone care to tell us what an Electronic Expansion Valve is? I don't think mu heat pump has one but it seems to manage without.

It looks like an individual property, and of the whole street is individual properties at different distances from the road, you might be allowed. I had a similar one in a previous property where I wanted the garage in front of the building line on both sides (corner plot) and it was rejected, but I won at appeal where the appeal inspector said being closer to the road tied it in with other houses that fronted straight onto the road.

Check your shower traps. Mine are the sort you service from above with a lift out "bucket" that forms the trap. I found on first pump up the pressure went and it would not pump up. The pressure had lifted the "bucket" up from the trap and it no longer sealed. I had to improvise a sliver of wood to slide in to hold the bucket down for the pressure test. Lousy design if you ask me. I do hope you get it sorted, but that's why i say do a proper pressure test before anything is covered.

You will have a stack pipe (vent pipe) somewhere. You will need to get up on the roof and plug that. Some councils are very hot on this, certainly Highland council in the Inverness area are. They WILL insist on seeing a drain pressure test, they first tested all underground drainage at foundation time, before the pipes were even covered in their trenches. Later they tested the internal drainage, but because not all appliances were connected, they insisted on another drain test for completion. Top tip, BUY your own drain pressure test kit, and test every bit of drainage as you connect it. The very last thing you want is a hidden leak that will have you ripping your house apart to find it. You should be able to pump the drains up to about 70mm only then will it start blowing bubbles through the traps.

I have my own theories about thin coat render on well insulated buildings, having got my own issues. Sand / cement render seems to work okay on normal masonry buildings. I am convinced part of that is the buildings leak heat, and the outer surface of the building never goes below 0, even here in the Highlands, where temperatures well below 0 are normal in winter. I also observe that a lot of cement rendered buildings also absorb a lot of moisture in driving rain, and the render changes colour because it is wet. Take away that "leaking heat" factor and cement render on a wall that is likely to absorb water and then freeze when the temperature goes below 0 without the heat leaking out to stop it, and the render will fail. I note garden walls here that have been rendered, the render is falling off after a winter or 2, I am convinced because there is nothing to stop the render freezing. So assuming an ICF building is well insulated I fear cement render would fail in a hard winter. So ANY render used on a well insulated house has to be totally waterproof or not capable of absorbing water that can then freeze. I think that is at the heart of thin coat render failures where I suspect in our case, the outer layer has not been completely waterproof.

Hi and welcome. You will be in good company here to help you through what looks like a well thought out plan.

HOW did you calculate the heating need just from your gas usage? What you probably have is an average heat input needed over the whole heating season. What you need is a peak heating input on the very coldest day in winter, which could be twice your average, so the MCS sizing is probably reasonable. What no company wants, is to estimate too small, install a 5kW ASHP then have a customer complaining that in January it just cannot heat the house to a comfortable temperature.

Then it is a non starter. To drive off at an angle to go round a legally parked car in that space, would also mean taking down the walls between you and a neighbour and for them to be happy with you driving over part of their land.

Happy with my XL Joinery Oak doors about 40mm thick, heavy, and hung on 3 ball bearing hinges.

I must be unique as I never trim a door. I trim the door FRAME so I know when the door is fitted the gap will be correct.

Spots in a sloping vaulted ceiling point the wrong way. Fitting them compromises the insulation and air tightness and does not give the fittings adequate ventilation. I fitted individual surface spots that you can angle to any direction you want.

Opening the screw on the pressure test nipple would tell you if gas is coming out.

I don't see that, the price shot up in 1973 it did not return to it's previous level but rose again in 1980 only falling in the mid 80's recession.

All my load bearing wall, internal as well required OSB sheeting for racking strength.

That is a very real possibility here, in the past we have had days long power cuts in winter storms with power lines down, and prolonged sub zero temperatures are common here in winter. I will keep my antifreeze.

Yes some DNO's require you have some equipment in place before they will fit a meter. All you need is a sparky to install a mini CU in the top right of the meter box, feeding your site sockets, and a TT earth rod for that. And leave the meter tails hanging ready to connect into the meter when it is fitted. An EIC (which will be incomplete) might also be handy in case of dispute.

When did the law actually change requiring a B&B to have planning permission? When we built our previous house, it had planning as just a dwelling, and at the time I was tol by the planners if you only let 2 rooms for B&B no planning needed. It has been operating like that for 18 years. If the law has indeed changed that you require planning for any B&B or short term let, perhaps we need to apply for a certificate of lawful development for that?

Your new rate will be the capped rate. ALL suppliers are applying the same cap (there might be small variations in unit / standing charge rates but the result will be the average user will pay exactly the same) so even if another supplier would take you, it won't be cheaper. So sit tight is probably the best advice and indeed what the likes of Martin Lewis is saying. It is a big shock affecting just about everybody, and nothing we can do about it. Some managed to secure a new fixed rate with their supplier before the cap went up on 1st April but that only delays the inevitable.

In all seriousness, this is the problem facing a LOT of UK home owners, they can't afford to heat the house, they can't afford the often drastic renovations to properly insulate it and they can't afford to knock down and rebuild. The only suggestion I can make is sell it NOW and buy something with a MUCH better EPC. I am convinced that at some point houses with a poor EPC rating will be worth less than one with a good EPC to reflect the high cost of heating or high cost of works needed. And I would not want to be the one owning a house with a poor EPC when that market shift happens. I think they call this staying ahead of the game?