saveasteading

oops. Manual. sorry to have wasted your time. I'm thinking one of these so fills buckets but not mouths

If I can't hear it above the breeze in the trees, or the birds singing, then that isn't sound let alone noise. Do we have any sketch or description? It's just a small box with air hoses in and out, and a cable, isn't it? So maybe just a lump of foam between it and an adjacent surface?

Can't hear the Marsh Ensign pump. Well I can't anyway.

I've done that for an office. All toilets flushed with rainwater, but that's all. We couldn't fit an outside tap with it in case someone drank it. I guess we could have fitted a mayal pump for gardening use. The capital cost is high with a separate plumbing system, the tank and the pump. Otoh the saving in water was huge AND sewage charges are based on water supplied, assuming what comes in goes out again. 40 ish persons in the building and it was very good economically as well as sustainably. 10m3 tank never ran dry. The sums will change for domestic use.

It is apparent that not only are the necessary skills in short supply, but so is knowledge. I've been 7 years or so out of the industry. Things are much worse, or maybe it needs a lot more project management and toughness. Our floor issues are because the 'specialist' screeder sent in one guy to lay the insulation and he did NOT like supervision or questions, at which point he couldn't speak English. Fast but rough. Then next day the same guy was laying ufh pipes very quickly and quite well. Then a different gang poured the screed and just moved it around...no level control. Again, no Interest in discussing control of levels: other than to say ' of course, this is what we do'. I never saw the boss unless one of them really was but was feigning just bring a worker. Next time, I would have a very serious discussion beforehand. If it added 2 man days and some screed it would be worth the cost.

It's poor if they haven't designed the pump to be quiet. It is probably cobbled in to the already designed tank as an afterthought, with plastic and screws. I agree with the earth and concrete slab principle if that works.

I accept that, for mass produced and holistically designed buildings, especially apartments. I was thinking of one-offs as most on BH are.

My apologies, and I will now listen to that one. It was a different series called Rare Earth. I think it's this. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m003011r

4% cheaper as passivhaus than not. ? That just isn't true is it, assuming like for like otherwise? Presumably there are other much bigger differences in terms of form and quality. Eg I've seen some social housing recently that looks like shipping containers stacked together but appears to be timber construction, without care in finish and simply looks cheap and temporary, as they probably are. Thanks for the links which I may read later. I'm cynical on the matter, obviously, and suspect it's more propaganda by the passivhaus lobby. It's OK to do PH. It's a choice and I understand it, and also the need to justify the choice.

It is nonsense. The author is either a very poor architect for normal buildings or is spouting propaganda ... which AI has spotted Compared to what? Compared to an untrue figure. I'm guessing, but 30% more for passivhaus compared to building regs? Plus the fees for approvals and the consultants who prepare it. I think the discussion has been on here before. I've a feeling that the payback period was infinite. We have never had the slightest intention of going passivhaus as it is an expensive badge. Most of the principles are unchallenged and anybody can do some or all of them. Yes I read it this morning and was astounded. I guess the trick is to write the 'article' in lay person language exactly when the general public are interested for the first time. I think it should have a statement at the start... this is an opinion piece by an interested party. On the 'costing the earth' prog on Radio 4 last week they had 3 or 4 architects and no other construction experts, so this must be the perception of how buildings are designed. Fortunately the presenter was down to earth and questioned the trendy, 'shiny' non- sustainable buildings that are publicised in the magazines and brochures. And one of them hadn't read the brief and quoted an eccentric building as her favourite in the world. On the whole it was very interesting. I did like the cop-out , or honesty, at the end of the article saying it was a good idea to cover big windows.... I guess the author hadn't thought about it, and now has an old sheet hanging over the window. The robot 'olympics' in China today featured athletics and minor house duties. At an exhibition recently a Chinese company was promoting a plastering robot. There was only a film of it, but it was fast, precise and untiring. For standard houses it must be worthwhile... not that we discussed the cost.

I guess 440W is pretty useful near the Med, but not so great here, in winter certainly. It surprised me that there were 4 panels, so maybe that's old tech. Leroy is not the place for great value, but we'll know it is mainstream when the supermarkets sell them. I'm not comfortable buying that sort of thing on Ebay.

That's probably about the wholesale cost, so a developer might get that and include one in every new house. Have now had a look at Leroy Merlin, the B and Q of France and Spain. E449 incl vat. and that seems to be complete 440Wp. https://www.leroymerlin.es/productos/kit-solar-enchufable-lexman-4-paneles-flexibles-440w-para-balcon-pared-91827489.html

Here's a tip, no charge. To assess if there is a slope, without equipment., walk a straight line with a comfortable gait. Then reverse and walk the same line back. That at a minimum tells you if there is a difference, and which way. I'd say this detects say 2% or more. Whether that difference is significant is another matter.

This is awful to hear. It should be sophisticated and consistent. I know it is only bits of ground broken up and mixed back together again, but it sounds like that's all they are doing, without testing. Scary to think that these companies supply for bridges and multistoreys.

That is for very special circumstances... a bridge, a block of flats. I've not done or seen one for decades.... commercial or home. (on big jobs we had a lab that did slump tests and took cubes for testing, and so did the supplier. The problem will have been the fibres. Adding them to an 'easy flowing' mix will seriously stiffen the whole thing. A vibrating poker would have made it run but obv that wasn't to hand. I've gone off fibres recently because they seem to stick together in great clumps more than they used to, and the handling issue. But it also looks very dry indeed. How did it even reach there? You have nicely laid mesh so cracking shouldn't be a problem... if they get the mix right. In fact your photo is an example of doing things right, apart from the pile of mess in the middle. Cemex you say! Worth noting.