Ferdinand

it is actually in a conservatory with a glass roof and front, so quite bright. Will post piccie, The only thing missing is direct sun, which I always keep out of my conservatories as far as poss. Cheers

I would suggest have a good friend or two in reserve willing to put you up for a night or two at short notice, either apart or together ... just as an occasional safety valve for when you need a break. At some point you will just want to do that. 220sqft is quite small. Ferdinand

I think there’s nothing stopping you putting a floating ufh system on the top should you have the space, provided that you have sufficient insulation in.

With luck you can get the GPS location from the information in the photo. PS Glad to see you have it sorted.

We used to have a 2 acre garden with a woodland in it :-), in which we planted an orchard amongst other things. I guess in toto we put in 30-40 trees, and the field went to scrub over a number of years. That would be sequestering something, but no idea how much. I am sure there is someone on BH who is planting trees by the thousand.

One of my little get back on the wagon projects this spring is putting a small green wall of herbs for cooking in the normally unheated north facing conservatory off my kitchen. Has anyone done something like this? I am imagining perhaps a dozen herbs in felt type pockets with growing matter, perhaps with a drip feed watering system that can be turned on every day or two. Any experiences or comments would be welcome. Thinking about something like a smaller version of this: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Jazooli-Planting-Hanging-Vertical-Planter/dp/B075KKP9SJ/ Ferdinand

Yep. The iron law is that by managing it properly you get most of the life expectancy back. And yet, and yet... The best plan is to be diagnosed at 62 like Lindsay Hoyle.

TBH never anything serious. But I am ultra cautious, and currently have fingers crossed. As a Type I Diabetic I may eventually get complications to make your skin crawl.

these days the place to take those would be any Drs surgery for a same day nurse appointment, or a Minor Injuries Unit. I had my nasty burn re-dressed half a dozen times in December, including Christmas Day, and the difference in waiting times between different similar local facilities was between minutes and 4 hours. if you phone up they can tell how long you have to wait. If you do not want to self-medicate ?. F

My technique on renovations is to pre-install ducts and pullcords to where I know where I want them to go, to small 'mini cupboards' in the wall. So they do not have to drill any holes at all, and my way is easier. I put them in when I do the underfloor insulation. if necessary I would bung them £25 as well. Too important not to have holes being drilled through my beautiful renovation. Outside I run them under loose gravel borders and paths eg along a French drain. F

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The climate in Paris is like the climate in Sunderland. Hmmm ?

TBH 8 think we probably do not like awnings as a culture. Plus we have a rather more temperate climate than eg the areas in Europe you highlight. For me I think they are unlikely to last long enough in pristine condition.

Which is another version of the same thing. The will assess and monitor, then feedback. It perhaps depends on how authoritative an outcome you need. Your other approach is to talk to your building insurer, who may then do the monitoring as part of their claim investigation.

Get a crack monitor on it for a year.

Mats can be arranged, and you do not necessarily need to cover the full 40 sqm. You could focus it in on movement areas. F

Does the actual number being say + or - x% actually have an equivalent impact on premium for self build insurance?

My ufh system with a gas boiler does not have one, but it does not perform particularly well. It is o; my list to get a real specialist in to look at the whole thing when I am back on my feet in a couple of months.

We are all so intelligent you won’t understand it ?. I’m concluding that if I am back in gratuitous insults on @pocster habits, then I must be recovering from the pre-Christmas fluey sicky killer lurgy. Actually went out of the house today for about the second time since December 20th. Had my first mild coffee for 8 weeks today and kept it down. Good luck with the system. F

You want two hoary old gits not one, as they all have blind spots. Do not try and straddle the line between professional service and busman’s holiday .... you need to be decisively one side or the other. Also anyone with enough experience will be set in their ways ... the value you can get from it is directly proportional to how much learning you do yourself. The responsibility remains with you, even if you are paying a RICS £750 for a FullStructural.

yes. Defined in Section 13 of this document I thInk. https://www.bre.co.uk/filelibrary/SAP/2012/SAP-2012_9-92.pdf So where does that leave my original question? I am dreaming about a Private Members Bill That mandates an EI number of 100 for all new dwellings out of the blue.

Yes, I know that Building Regs are not properly implemented. I am ignoring that for this thought experiment. However, given that EPC100 is by definition zero-carbon on a running basis, and that the approx EPC of a Building Regs house is EPC 80-85, what does the difference actually represent? Ferdinand

Plans would help. My 10p worth - make sure you raise your fabric to high quality, inlucing underfloor insulation. Get the fabric quality right, and your energy bills should fall substantially.

Equally in a totaltitarian state eg china one central poor decision can kill 10 million people Just Like That, with no checks and balances. See eg iron Rice Bowl or what happens when district heating schemes in Moscow break down. Personally I think China will end up with some structures analagous to democratic checks and balances.

The general principle is good ... prevents streets turning into a terraced appearance etc.