Ferdinand

A bit more homework required, or at least information, needed imo, I am afraid. Unfortunately we cannot really give more precise answers than you have, but can help you find better context. Are the chimneys in use? What for? Is it just the flashing leaking? Is the structure secure (ie will a repoint do it)? What is access like, and what will incidental costs be - will you need scaffold and a pavement license for it? Scaff can cost. Can this be covered by your building insurance? They may take over the relations with your neighbour. Importantly, what is your neighbour's attitude? You really need to sort that otherwise when he has problems, you will get the blame - which may or may not be a justified opinion by him. You will need a written summary of his chimney's condition from your roofer to protect you for the future. So you can go "nay, lad" with a dead bat when he starts complaining. I have one that is dropping bits of mortar on the leanto roof, and I am planning to have it reduced to just above roof level, what is left repointed to avoid buggering around with the roof which is 40 year old pantiles, and capped. Capped is seal the top, and leave ventilation. I am having trouble finding a roofer to do just a repair. Since yours are normal modern cemento-or-plastico-wotsit tiles, you should match it more easily - but depends on whether it is a room in the roof or traditional loft. Or you could do the minimum possible, which may be three or four courses, then a cap. Ferdinand

Northern Ireland or Netherlands?

Thanks both - I have covered those angles.

Here is a document with a list of material planning considerations. "Loss of amenity" can cover a lot of things. When does your comment period expire? (Work to that, but remember they have to take everything into account that arrives before the decision is taken.) Personally I would suggest enngaging a Planning Consultant, but be clear about what you want and what their brief is. Material Planning Considerations.pdf

Asking for a friend. >Anyone know anywhere good online I could get a birch plywood sheet (circa 35mm thickness) cut to size for a reasonable price? Size around 1050 x 400. I don't think he has a car. We are talking Northern England.

You can dream ... ? . And Barbarella is popular for cosplayers. But there are options for the lining of the alcove that would absorb or break up the noise - even something as simple as a flock wallpaper or hessian.

There's a difference between sound protection and sound absorbtion. I was talking about the second. Barbarella''s space ship was like putting a carpet in a room to reduce echoes ... it was lined with fur. (Apologies to any furious feminists for the incidental inclusion of Jane Fonda in her prime in my pic illustrating the background.)

Inferred from Section 2. Chart 2.1.

It's not clear what exactly you want to achieve here. It is, as you say, built. And they will not make them knock it down. Planning can't force the landowner to sell the remaining land, for example. Can you stop sign-off / occupation because a condition / policy requirement has not been met? I agree that it is cynical and tricksy of them.

I still don't think this UK 42 million tonnes of coal consumed per year is right. Govt puts total UK demand for coal in 2020 as around 7-8 million tonnes. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1021925/Energy_Trends_September_2021.pdf

That UK coal consumption number looks very dodgy. Aha the table says cubic feet not tonnes. I think I can pick up a cubic foot of coal, whilst a tonne would need an elephant. UK consumption for 2020 was about 8 million tonnes, which is about 5% of what it was in 1970, and about a sixth of what they use in Germany. https://www.statista.com/statistics/223493/uk-coal-consumption/ The Vietnam point is correct, though our trend from 1965 to 2019 is -96%, Vietnam is +28%. It sounds like Vietnam needs some serious investment on renewables, and perhaps development help - not having got into really energy intensive gp yet.

Is there actually much difference in the u-value, and how much heat would 3g save over 2g? It may be negligible. I have 4 2g ones in my house, including a coupe of big ones. The only sound problem I have noticed is the conker tree dropping conkers on the ones above my late mum's bed. If you think in energy terms, it may be more beneficial to spend the difference elsewhere. One thing i have found useful is the velux extendy-window-pole. Ferdinand

I hope I haven't offended, and thanks for the reply. Down here some BBC programmes seem to have a bit of a fetish for smallholders and hobby farmers doing unusual things.

I'm not *absolutely* sure that it will work like that, as the average RHI was more than 5k (I think). So it might go down (he said optimistically), but OTOH the 5k is simpler to understand, so less careful installers might go for it.

Cheers. It was a check on the detail for somebody local.

Can you go built-in, or line the alcove with a sound absorbent material as plan B if end up unhappy? Think the inside of Barbarella's spaceship.

That's had quite a bit of coverage from the Beebons. Including Farming Today. They love idiosyncratic peeps doing small scale farming. But if it works for you ... go for it. When I used to read the Beano, there was a story about "Rounding up the sheep", involving feeding them all the food in the store :-). Now we need them square.

Can you tell us a bit about your property - suspended or slab floors downstairs, rating of your 2G, how much loft insulation etc. You may, for example, be able to get free 250mm loft insulation if it is a normal loft. Are you in receipt of any benefit making you eligible for the ECO3 programme? The bills going up (as per attachment) is not the normal aim ?, but at least if you are in a position to upgrade the fabric of your house then you can reduce your required demand which may get them back down again. Were any changes made to your radiators? eg larger sizes etc. Here is a piece I wrote about the usual easy things to do to reduce your bills in a traditional house. Now is not the time to switch. Here is the Govt energy advice website. Basic but there are a lot of sharks out there with websites trying to look official. https://www.simpleenergyadvice.org.uk/ Ferdinand

How does the market roll in France, where they have 5-10x our current sales? Us: 30k last year, 60k this year. France 250-300k in 2018. New build estates are also presumably good business.

My annual space heating demand (from my gas bill minus a bit for hot water and cooking) is about 12500 kWh / 201 sqm = approx 62 kWh/sqm/yr. The EPC is old and some things have changed. I plan some room rearrangement and a small extension soon, when it will be worth getting another one. But I be doing a heat model, so at that point I may run it through the EPC software. The EPC register does not seem to contain the actual estimated heating information. F

I don't think I would get more, my current EPC being around 89-80 plus a 10kWp solar array which is not added in yet ?. Unless I can persuade them not to notice the solar first time around.

Off-topic, but I do love the implied idea of a non-external front door. "Bugger, Mary, I'm still in the house." ? On topic, might it be worth a look at an appropiately designed upvc or composite door. They can look OK on older houses if simple and sympathetic -- stuckon 'leaded glazing' patterns would not work aesthetically.

Thought so. Can those UVC checks be avoided completely? Cynical head says that some will be recommending them to keep the work.

Probably. However within a very few years most homes will be EPC C or above. The median home is already EPC 65-67 approx, which is a high D. That compares to something like a 53 a bit over a decade ago. In terms of loft insulation, 2G and so on, we are moving into the "filling in the gaps" and "topping up" stage. We complain about the RDSAP model, with some justification, but most houses are normal rather than BH-normal, and it seems to work better for those afaics. And it was not deemed acceptable to pay more for Energy Reports. And remember that (I think) this is still more or less standardised across the EU. We have to use what we have, unless there is a decent alternative or supplement available. Ferdinand

Will a shift to ASHPs remove the need for an annual safety check? I don't have one for my fridge, which is an ASHP running backwards I am told ...