Ferdinand

Have to say I like the design - it is almost a bent variation of the old countryhouse sleeping wing / public wing / stable block thinking, and even has a bit of a monastic feel. Ferdinand

From SteamyTea31 Jul 2014 11:05 PM Didn't Bill Dunster have serious design and quality issues with his housing?A large bag of tomatoes only costs a few quid, proper PV would be a better investment.Lots of people grow stuff in their attics, they, um, 'import' very cheap labour too. ---------------------- From Ferdinand 01 Aug 2014 05:40 PM That of course depends on whether you are growing tomatoes or "tomatoes".They have very good "tomatoes" in Holland, I hear :-). ------------------------ ferdinand01 Aug 2014 05:42 PM I think Bill Dunster had a 'too many gimmicks and Occam's Stubble' problem (like Kevin McCloud of Plan McCloud?), and some are too complicated or get disused (biomass electricity at BedZED perhaps). Occam's Stubble = things that should have been removed by Occam's Razor. ------------------------ ProDave01 Aug 2014 11:06 PM That "solar loft" idea is pretty much what I have in mind for my ground mounted solar PV. Using the covered space underneath for additional covered storage, effectively making another garden shed (one can never have too many garden buildings)

Piccie for comment.

How will you clean the outside easily? Algi coloured glass?

Thanks

Our fan for the downstairs bathroom exhausts to the integral garage (done by previous owner). It is a normal bog standard 100mm. I can understand the decision, since it would be a complex 10-12m run of ductwork to get to the real outside. However, the white suite seems to collect a lot of dust, such that we would need to clean the tops of things daily or more. The suspicion is that something in the air pressure is causing dust to come back through when the fan is not running. So I am looking for a filter to fit to stop blowback, before considering more extreme measures such as fitting the ducting and a mother-of-all-fans. Can anyone recommend something? Thanks Ferdinand

In that case the same questions apply to your neighbour :-). Depending on the type of Wayleave, they may just be able to instruct the company to remove them (we did). Which may or may not be to your advantage, depending on alternatives for a new connection. Ferdinand

Stop .. er .. digging. How does Mrs RA get a content count of 2 from a single posting? We should be told.

Did you read your Wayleave agreement? What type was it and what did it say? I posted a longish piece about some of the aspects of moving wires here, though it applies to supplies to third parties, not your own connection. Ferdinand

That reminds me of Alan Clarke in his diaries noting that that was where Government secure mobile phones stopped working, so it was a good place to have a country estate.

Ooooh. Interestnig for infill !

I'd think about getting your own. *But* if it is flat enough consider a motorised (electric?) up-and-down platform. You could then use that later for windows and gutters etc. Ferdinand

What do they mean by "small sites". Would that apply to building eg 2 or 4 houses on a third of an acre? Ferdinand

I'd like to see a site location plan of that. Are you build on old garages or an L-shaped garden or something? F

To me that looks like £650 up - £1250 that you would have paid minus £600 that you had to pay. My (10kw mainly east-facing) array has generated around 1500 kwh since mid-Jan, before the relevant shading 2 large trees were removed by my neighbour. I hope to get 6000-6500 kwh for the year, but we'll see. At my FIT of (iirc) 10.9p/kwh, that will be around £650 plus the electicity saved plus the export, perhaps very approximately £1100-1200 in toto. Perfectly acceptable even in financial terms for a 12k investment. Ferdinand

I think you need specific advice from your experienced solicitor for your particular situation. In my opinion it sounds as though you have damaged an electricity supply which has an easement with the previous landowner's agreement, or has been there for a long time thereby establishing the right to be there. Having damaged it you are probably liable for the repair, and potentially compensation for interrupting their service. If you have insurance it may cover it, or legal insurance may cover taking advice. Ferdinand

For a detailed answer we would need a more detailed question, but here are a few pointers. There are different types of wayleaves, for service providers (eg BT) supplying services to third parties etc, private ones for the house next door etc. It may also be the case that you are dealing with an "easement", which is slightly different. AIUI an easement constitutes an interest in the land; a wayleave is an agreement with the owner. You can look at your, and your neighbours', deeds, nicluding any docs referenced by the record from the Land Registry, which you can obtain by submitting a form. Their phone helpline is usually good. You can also talk to the Wayleaves department of any service provider involved. I have just posted an article about Wayleaves on larger building sites here, which may have some relevant material: There may also be more material on the Gardenlaw forums. Ferdinand

Usage reduction is automatic when the panels are generating. As I understand it the solar panels generate a slightly higher voltage than the grid, so when they are generating power it flows from there before drawing on the grid. If there is an excess after you have used some, that then flows into the grid due to the higher voltage. That can probably be illustrated using Prof Heinz Wolff, bathtubs on piles of bricks with connecting pipes and jugs of water to use pressure as an analogue for voltage, your ever-loving partner, and a bicycle pump. But you risk a Great Crested Newt infestation of your bathtubs. Ferdinand

@Bitpipe > balcony glass obscurity That's interesting. Is that the glass in the balcony balustrade to be obscure or something else? I'm sitting here thinking of delicate blossom neighbours who would have their public decency outraged by your nobbly knees if you went on your balcony in the nud. Tell me it isn't so. Please. Ferdinand

Disappointed. Thought it said overdrinking.

Welcome.

TBH if you want that sort of effect you are better off creating a design using full / half / quarters to suit and buying the appropriate sizes in full packs, or even a variety of shades. Can look quite cool and 1970s retro. Or I just used 2 sizes of Pressed Council Slabs, which look great 2 years on with moss and lichen etc. The one thing about imprinted concrete is that weeds don't grow through the gaps from below. Ferdinand

> Rumsfiled Rumsfeld is actually spelt like ... er .. "Blofeld". Do you want to know where this cat has been, Mr Rumsfeld, or would you prefer it remain unknown?

Presumably there is still money in sheep-under-solar as a second crop. Ferdinand

Just to note that if you have a company owning your house the HMRC have some detailed rules about differences between "development" and "investment" properties. I am sure it can be done, but advice is needed. Ferdinand