Ferdinand

Technically I don't, but I have not had much success trying to preserve apples whole. We used to wrap individually ion newspaper and put in the cellar. I am more inclined to chunk, blanche and freeze. Or dehydrate. I'm also currently in the habit of buying soft fruit in decent volume (ie kgs of blueberries, blackberries etc) in season for smoothies, breakfasts and puddings until the next summer. Plus I'm buying fish, some meats, game etc direct from source in enough volume to avoid delivery charges. So a small chest 70-80 cm wide chest freezer or an upright seems a suitable idea. No current plans to get in half a wild boar, however. Though several portions of horse are arriving today. F

When you think about your power flush, check the cost of replacing your rads and possibly your pipes as well. The last time I looked at one, the power flush would have been 70% of the cost of the entire replacement, so I just changed the whole shebang.

(I'm assuming a fairly complex extension, since you mentioned the word "wraparound".) No. These are *exactly* the people you should be asking, since there's no existing relationship potentially to distort the perspective, or damage. And they have no bias in your favour, or bias against you, and they do not have a preconceived idea of you and so will not have a notion in their head about what they think you should probably want. And what a fantastic way to meet all your new neighbours on a subject that you will all be interested in. They all have local knowledge, and weather knowledge, and sun direction knowledge, and can tell you what did not work, and you can avoid repeating any mistakes. I'd suggest getting all their plans off the Council website, and studying them. Then coming up with your list of questions, based off your own definition of your own needs / requirements. Then do some chatting over the fence, or some door-knocking. People *love* talking about how clever they have been, and if they did not build it they love talking about how much better they *would* have done it.. Make sure to ask for what worked / what didn't / why they did what they did / is it warm / how are they planning to cope when kids have gone away / what was their best idea. Treat it as narrative market research. If you do that you need to be careful not to unacceptably criticise others' houses, or gossip to neighbour X about what neighbour Y's extension is like and what you think of it; be a sponge and keep shtum. You also need to be sure that you manage the relationship with your immediate neighbours carefully around if they object to what you want to build; that can work well or can be a shark-infested custard. There are people on BH who argue "don't engage at all", and others like me who argue in favour of engagement with neighbours. Then you need to end up in a position where you know enough to be an active client for your architect or architectural technician. Whether you need yourself, an A, or an AT, depends on how much you know your own mind, how complex the job is, and how much help you will need to avoid design or planning elephant traps - for example an A should protect you from being inefficient in use of space, and should guide you to make a space which is more inspirational to live in, whilst an AT will more need you to supply the vision. Your first job is to get to a place where you have the nouse and confidence to make that determination. We can help with a range of opinions, and there are a lot of projects described in the blogs that can broaden your views. One point: on "stone extension on a stone house", there has been a perspective for the last 25 years or so that argues the validity of deliberately making it different in order not to blur the form of the original building - especially in listed building circles. That depends on the circs - if it is a big plot, or if it is a bit extra on the existing. All the best, and remember to enjoy the process. Ferdinand

I find myself in need of a backup freezer - the immediate cause that has flagged it up is the apple (an dother) harvest and the need to preserve some of it for winter heating, but it was on the agenda anyway. Ironically, I chucked out an ancient one about 4 years ago, and now find myself wanting a replacement. Where are we with chest freezers vs upright freezers, now? Traditionally I have viewed chest freezers as more efficient due to less air leaking out when the door is opened, but now this seems to be a minor factor. As I have it: Chest freezer - More floorspace per storage volume, but need rootling around like a warthog to find things. Can go beneath shelves / cupboards. Price ranges £1.20-£3 per litre of storage. Less efficient energy-wise (?). Upright freezer - store more in 600x600mm. More expensive. Price ranges £2-£5 per litre of storage. I'm quite taken by the idea of an upright with a small wine cooler on top. Does anyone have any thoughts or views? Cheers. Ferdinand

Late to this one - what a wonderful introduction.

I think you now have lots of options - fairly low cost for a key feature, and no need to upset your brickie. Thank him profusely for being willing / talking the initiative / listening to your suggestion to do a to do a one-off prototype (whichever is least untrue) to let you get it right before they were all built different to your imagined expectations, then move on with your selected option. In BH, you usually get very good answers by the (notes that himself did post 13) the 12th reply, or whatever, then we sometimes devolve into spats about detail. ATB. F PS We demand a photo of the finished hoose in due course. If you don't you will be haunted by the Ghost of Pevsner, carrying a clipboard and a plumb bob.

Hmmm. Don't for get that vestigial autumn / winter solar can also effectively boost the CoP for a heat pump. My gas bill reduction solution for the winter is to try a free standing air con / heat pump, and use it the morning for a gentle heat boost. If I need to in due course I could go for a small house battery to help reduce the elec bill to nearly zero. It is on now - spec is delivery of 3.2kW of heat from 1.4kw of power input for a CoP of 2->2.5. My somewhat shaded not yet powerwashed for winter mainly E-facing solar array is delivering something approx. 1 kW at present (total house load including baseload at the heat pump is 450W on the Smart Meter), which means that the effectively CoP is somewhere well above 5. Being rigorous I would need to take lost solar export into account, but these SOTP figures make the point. F

Ah the vortex. Happy memories. With graphics done on a BBC Micro. And I think Bonnie Langford. The lid - yes, fix it. We had one in the middle of a field where some scrote had dropped the rectangular lid inside years previously. There should be a law for all sceptic tanks to have circular lids.

So I'm at the final step of moving to Octopus Agile - getting on for the actual payments. This has taken since August, and is clearly still a developing process. Received yesterday: Ferdinand

Octopus had a trial in the Sprring where they rewarded customers for timeshifting their demand away from the Peak Period when requested. Results were modest and the average loadshift was only 0.7kWh, but across 100k customers that was a larger number. This now seems to be going ahead in a more formal manner, as reported by the BBC here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-63175030 Perhaps potentially of interest to people who can timeshift their export energy? A small extra return on existing facilities. Suspect that on the whole many BHers can't shift very much energy as we use relatively little. Personally I am totalling about 28-30 kWh per week at present. As I only have solar not a battery yet, this is not me. Ferdinand

I have a couple of commercial dehumidifiers, potentially for drying out tenants' houses should a roof or pipe leak. Has never happened again after the first occurrence, perhaps as I educate and have SureStop fitted everywhere, with encouragement to use it. But i think DH's would not generate enough water. I also have a portable heat pump I am using for gas-bill-control during solar hours this winter, which generates a surprising amount of residue water, but nor enough for this. I think that will be the option (other than perhaps @PeterW's in line ion-exchange, as the plot is to have a IBC fed watering setup for container plants, which would be pump fed from the IBC. May be suitable for repurposing for windows / roof - and the pump feed in the tank would be wearing tights or similar. Various options to try. One thing I have not mentioned is that at some stage I plan to run CuSO4 solution (see previous threads about lichen and roofs) through the detergent feed once a year or so to keep the solar clear. It will need careful cleaning afterwards but the Nilfisk long lance has a feeding head with a mesh-filter that you just drop into the bucket of detergent. Will need thorough cleaning afterwards with clean water, which is not a problem. The solar hosting roof goes to a different gutter-downpipe than the rainwater collecting roof. F

Ok. First test done. Using hose water rather than rainwater, and no detergent. Very happy with the Nilfisk slightly expensive (£90) 4.2m extended lance and nozzle - clearly a bit of kit that will work well if not abused. Though even without the detergent feed being used (a separate tube) there is much rats' nest potential in the various feeds once the into and out of the pressure washer are in place. Careful tube managent required, and adequate space in front of the facade with the target windows helps considerably. However, washing of two bats and 3-4 upstairs windows took 5 minutes once the kit was assembled. I think I need a tighter set of hose-clock-joints though, as there was a bit of water leakage. So far so tolerable. Still waiting the Nilfisk roof-brush, and planning to have a go at the solar once that arrives.

Can we have a site and orientation plan, with indications of how your rear elevation and the area outside there is shaded? A Google Maps satellite photo would help, or perhaps Bing as they are usually clearer. My 'fat at the back' extension (there when I bought the house) faces North, and is therefore quite shaded. It is sometimes rather gloomy, but the extension I have is two storey (it's a bungalow extended up, back and sideways), so no roof windows. Instead I have a conservatory at the side. Peter is right about roof windows, but if you have shown us your full plot width interfaces with neighbours and access for roof etc maintenance become important. You may be better with a door at one side and a picture window from say knee height, perhaps with a window seat. As soon as you have a huge galumphing bifold wall you end up either keeping it clear and nowhere to put anything, or not keeping it clear and never using it. I'm wondering is where is that garage on your plot? If you have extra width more than the house width itself, then there may be something to be said for eg going a little sideways to get some sunlight into the kitchen diner where you spend your weekends. I think one big issue you have not addressed is storage and utilities - where are washing machine etc going? I'd suggest partitioning off your washer and dryer if needed, and also consider having a wall of storage somewhere. F

Thanks all. Most useful.

That's actually what my window cleaner has been doing since 2015 or os when they invested in a new van, pole and machinery, and it is fine if done regularly. The extending pole comes with a tube for adding detergent, which can be set to 5%, 10% or 16% with a filter on the input. That sounds like a sales tactic for Nilfisk to sell loadsa roof detergent, but I can put it into an already diluted bucket of washing up liquid - and plug the input hose into the pumped outlet from the 1000l gardening water butt (once it exists. I'm also thinking about Cleaning solar panels once a year, of which I have 35 at present. But it seems to all meet the need. F

Certainly happy to post a vid.

😉 The stuff on the shower is enough to worry me a little; I will *not* like working at height if I have to get it off afterwards. Unfortnately my house was not subject to Scottish "windows washable from inside" building regs.

Just after a bit of advice from people who do their own upstairs windows. I have just purchased a roof cleaning accessory for my Nilfisk pressure washer. The max length is 4.2m, and seems fine. It is also suitable for windows. My local tap water is moderately hard, to the extent that I need to pay attention to the shower screen regularly. I do not want that on my upstairs windows, and I do not have a water softening system in the house (can get one if needed, perhaps, when I extend my utility room). I will, however, have a rainwater storage setup for watering the container plants. Q: Is this rainwater suitable for window washing, without leaving any noticeable residue on the windows? Thanks for any thoughts. Ferdinand

Zinc always makes me think of Edward Lear - Z was once a piece of Zinc. Yes there alternatives, including Alu or Steel, and there are systems which I think have been used by one or two here, if you look. Apologies if you have already done all this. eg Some conversation in the comments on this post by @AliMcLeod: Ferdinand

Good comments. The link to various forms of arch is good. https://www.ibstockbrick.co.uk/arches/ I think the tapered bricks are specialised rather than custom. In Georgian arches are these called "rubbers"? There are other ways to do this - take a look around eg very modest 1870-1930-ish hosues when they were trying to reproduce Georgian/Victorian effects with mass-produced materials. See what is vernacular for your area. One is to have a triangular 'keystone' in the middle, which makes all the other mortar joints parallel using straight-sided bricks. Another is to use a triangular central element with cut bricks, which saves cutting all of them. They are everywhere in trad semis and terraces. The architect diagram is clearly tapered bricks. Have a chat with your brickie about how he can give you the sharp effect you want. Buying modules is perhaps an option. The Ibstock ones look interesting: https://www.ibstockbrick.co.uk/arches/ And there is an organisation called the Brick Development Association, best known for their magazine Brick Bulletin, who have all kinds of stuff on their website. Including a possibly useful information sheet: https://www.brick.org.uk/admin/resources/d-brick-arch.pdf I'd say they would advise you, though you will perhaps need to exhibit your innate enthusiastiasm about bricks and brickwork (which you seem to have). Personally, I love the stuff. https://www.brick.org.uk/about/contact-us I'd say this prominent element is a place to spend a reasonable amount of money, as if it is wrong you will be irritated every week. And that working with your brickie positively is important. Keep any blame perception on yourself, and take the small financial hit. Make it "I want it a bit different" not "this is crap". If it turns out great, remember that people like BDA issue prizes and commendations for good jobs, which beats "Kevin McCloud modelled my house in Garibaldi biscuits." F

Late comment. If you are on Wordpress (or indeed Buildhub Blogs) you can set dates into the past, so rearrange everything. (You can also - and on BH - set dates into the future, as a kind of draft system for posts. Just don't forget.)

Late to this. I have just purchased a roof cleaning accessory for my Nilfisk pressure washer. The pole is 4.2m, and seems fine. I'll be starting a thread about type of water to use, as I know what my shower looks like after a period with routine cleaning, or steam clean of the glass. My area I moderately hard water. It can take detergent, but I will probably try using the detergent system for CuSO4 for the semi-under-tree solar panels once a year. My former window cleaner used deionised water from a tank in their van and no detergent. F

Experiment with pumping porridge round corners.

I can't see what gubbins you have to hide, but what about (say) offsetting the loo slightly to one side, and having say a 150mm deep by x by y enclosure on the other side which simply lifts off completely? F

I hate DIY plumbing, I'm afraid. 'Orrible, nasty, wet and cold. And it could turn into plumbing reverse-Jenga. I won't let the door hit my Rs on the way out ! ATB. 🙂