saveasteading

Hear hear. Yes we are all here to learn so do tell: Although it looks wonderful and you must be very pleased, there must be something you learnt or would do differently. Design or process.

Planners look on each application on its merits. I think your argument here might be that the recent new dwelling was based on the original permission which was founded on sustainable design principles. That the owner should then build less is up to them. If they wish to continue with the original permission then it should not deviate from that original permission, at least in principle. However the owners are entitled to submit as many applications as they like. If this matters sufficiently to you, then perhaps have a word with a local planning consultant. They know the clauses backwards (better than the planning officers usually) and the local precedents. There would be a significant cost (a few hundred for a preliminary discussion and a few for a formal objection.) On what grounds was this refused, as this is likely to be a useful start for your objection? If you don't object in principle to more development, but to the nature of it, it is worth making that clear.

A farmer struggles to sell fleeces at £1. This bag of insulation costs £40. If we could just clean the fleeces and square them up it would be a massive benefit to our farmers and to the world (oh, and to our build costs)

Also 'lost' in the building: At what stage does graffiti become history? It has always been a delight to come across the proud script under a floor board of a joiner who built the floor 150 years ago, or a lad from the village making his mark in a barn, or the farm-hands writing each years sheep numbers up on the handy barn door. Or a newspaper under the stair. Must remember to place a time capsule in our project. But what will be interesting in 100 years?

To help the window cleaner to survive, a strategy would be good. I think I would favour access through an opening skylight. Next choice is one ladder onto the lower flat roof (with a tie position permanently fixed at the eaves) then an additional ladder from there to the main roof (tied at the top, and a good idea to have a fixed block at the bottom too. That way each ladder is relatively short.

Does anyone know the approximate rate of water flow through a rad system? It appears to me that the circulation on a loop is about 10 minutes when cold and all rads open for flow.. So normal pipes are not limiting the flow too much.

Are we doing puns now?

Well, you can't do that can you? However the epc could be encapsulated and fixed in the plant room/next to the fuse box, and it could also say that Ferdinand built this lovely house in 2021 and gave a full maintenance manual to the owner. I tried this for a while, by summarising on an encapsulated A4, the building construction, eg the bricks are marley sussex, the tiles are redland xyz, and the insulation is 200 thick abc. the metal cladding came from..etc. and the epc is B+ . The client was not interested but did not object either. You can also direct the owner to the safety and maintenance manual which is both helpful to them, and there as a protection against future claims. Should have done it more often. Then maintenance manuals became compulsory and no need for the little notice.

The pro's prefer the expensive stuff generally. Whether £20 or £200 for 5 litres it still takes a lot of labour. and the better paint lasts as least twice as long.

OUCH the price!. £60 for 2.5litres. That should be good then. Good luck.

I don't know Barretine but I see that it is a stain and preserver. I think you want a sheen, rather than any more protection. If it dries to matt and you want a sheen then you will need something on top. However this will need to have good resistance to the weather as it becomes your outside layer. All I can suggest is 1. see what it says on the tin. 2. go to a paint merchant and ask for advice. 3. put another coat on, but of clear "stain" for want of a better term, that does produce a sheen. 4. let us know your solution and how it works out.

This is what professionals do, and none of us here can see the context completely. If I was that person I think it would take a good half hour on site to check it out, and soak it all in. We can't do that on this forum. Perhaps it is a Structural Engineer you need here though, in case there is shrinkage of the ground. He will look at the rest of the building too. Are there any cracks in the walls? sign of similar issues at neighbours?

If it is the waterproof type, then dampness is not an issue. But your roof should not leak, and if it did it would pond on the lino and then run off. Try without. For a cheap fix, apply the cling film that is sold as floor protection during works. NO NONSENSE HARD FLOOR PROTECTION ROLL 25M X 500MM (32544)

Have a look at the known names for stain, like Sadolin. Get a small sample tin and try it . I have used it several times on new cladding and the subtle sheen has been very pleasing. How it works on older wood I don't know, but my hunch is it will be good. In my experience this keeps its looks for 10 years on the sunny side, and longer on the other faces. If you use the oak finish on pine, there is very little change but then it stays that colour instead of changing to grey. Darker colours last remarkably well too.

I have 2 at home. One of the most expensive jobs ever as I had people doing it. The plumber must have done 6 visits to do little bits before another trade was needed while he went away. Mine are Roca wc with a very heavy steel gantry behind, which for some reason are not Roca, Geberit I think. The gantries are good and I would use them again rather than home-made. Lining everything up was tricky. I think someone who knows what they are doing could do it in 10/th the time. But I have had it apart again because the wc was rocking (imagine that failing in use!.) The pan is secured to the cantilever bolts by 2 plastic plug inserts (which looked the worse for wear, and very long grubscrews. It did concern me but has been ok for 2 years now, but the plumber must have fixed it loose/too tight??? One tiny detail...a flush that works by push lever works much better than a push button. And putting it behind the pan lid is not a great detail. They are great for tidiness and cleanliness as there is no break in the floor cover or hidden space behind.

Not a specialist 'secure fixing point consultant', but someone who can choose a hook and a fixing and specify what to fix it to. Not your architect by the sound of it. Don't let hem engage another consultant at your expense. If you have an SE then that is not going to be difficult or expensive. Ring + 2 nuts and a suitable piece of wood or steel in the structure. £5 should cover the materials.

If the water is cooled by 2 deg it is then heated again by the ground underneath, perhaps some nice rotting going on at the bottom, and the inflow of water (dam not pond) 4 deg is going to be midwinter, so really is a worst case, and don't they quote heat exchangers down to -35C? In summer it will recharge to say 20C. Sounds like a good idea, especially if there is a significant flow of water, but I can't do the sums for it.

One last thing from me on this. That skylight is huge. Daylight from a skylight is about 3 x that from a window, so it doesn't need that size if daylight is the reason Cost: what size is that? It is a huge piece of glass which would have to be rather special for safety and strength for wind and snow.. As one piece glass in a special skylight....£8,000 and a crane??? GUESSING. With subdivision by glazing bars perhaps half that but will hold the muck, and need extra cleaning...so obviously out of the question.

Having had some months of reduced mobility (ladder related), I now sympathise with the 450mm high sockets: That would be very much easier to reach than kneeling down and getting up again. Presumably this is also reachable from a wheelchair, as is the light switch.. Can anyone confirm if this works well in practice? Also presumably you are allowed a second socket/switch at the old height if it is so important.

Tends to look industrial, can be noisy, can be draughty. This is what goes in to commercial properties. Generally the air comes from units in the suspended ceiling but can be from louvres more discretely positioned. The heat has to be moved from the source to the outlet though so is still intrusive in a retrofit. There are options where air is heated at a central point and ducted to outlets, then drawn back to 'base' for recirculation. This is much quieter but the ducts are big. I would consider this in a new big house, as I know it works well in offices. Does this work in an existing house? Will depend on a lot of variables.

Yes. Usually joiners are aware of what works and doesn't, but by experience not calculation skills. . But not all do, and there may be other circumstances. At 600cc the timbers will be heavier, so the SE must decide, and you certainly can't use frames designed for 400 and place them at 600.

At the ridge and eaves unless well fitted fillers and clever lapping used. So that would be ok for an unheated shelter, and any condensation will run down the underside and then drip off the next indent. But not otherwise.

The main thermal loss would appear to be from the beam to the column, as it appears to be exposed to the elements. Is that the case? If it can be insulated then that would be great. I don't know aerogel but it appears to be as good as PIR board but flexible with it. Whatever, wrap the column on all sides with whatever you can, and find a way to protect the beam too a Thermal break between the column and the beam will have to be very strong too...so is perhaps a bit special. but anything that is a lot better than steel will help, however thin. But do get your Engineer's approval for it. Actually, tell your Engineer that you want to insulate the steel, and what does he suggest.

Poss a damp cloth or mop after the vacuuming, depending on the suction power. The polished stones should show up nicely then for a moment.

Sketch or photo please? You can probably fix PIR to the steel before the wall goes up.