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Do I need to be concerned about 3-5mm height difference between the blocks and beams in my sub floor? The plan is for a DP membrane (not sure of thickness), 200mm of PIR foam, ufh in 50-60mm concrete screed, Luxury vinyl tiles. Options I see are: Do nothing 1200 gauge DPM Dry sand Leveling compound Other? Thanks

Very useful! Thank you @IanR

Yes same for all the windows (our window cills have ended up being quite tight to the window opening frame - though even if that gap was larger I can't see how the key can be turned) Any chance of a photo of your HF310 equivalent please? (We are in-touch with our Internom supplier but knowing what others have and if it works would be very useful)

Thanks. I'm thinking likewise as I suspect it effectively stops the window opening inwards as a little bolt shoots upwards. Impossible to test as can't operate the dam thing as the window frame gets in the way. Is this the thing internorm call a 'night vent' though?

We have Internorm triple glazed HF210 windows. Some have a little hard to get out lock and some don't, yet the order shows 'Night Vent' on most windows. Trouble is the manual does not state what 'Night Vent' is. Is the Internorm Night Vent this silly impossible to access lock? Thanks

And just found a very useful battery comparison chart on Bimble site: http://www.bimblesolar.com/battery-comparison where the NiFe batteries do seem to come out well on a price comparison over 20+ years

Bimble make NeFi batteries to order: http://www.bimblesolar.com/batteries/nifebatteries

Only one supplier suggested NiFe so I didn't go further into it. Very happy to hear any knowledge you have of them

As @Nickfromwales says yes I'm going off-grid. I've spent at least 18months investigating this option and asking a zillion questions of many potential suppliers and been to various green energy shows. In that 18 months things have changed in the battery world. Lots of research money going into batteries so what is best today might be old hat tomorrow, potentially a lot of space and weight. My thoughts on batteries: * Lithium - the new 2170 Lithium cell from the Tesla gigafactory and Samsung and others I think will reduce Lithium storage costs considerable in the future as they come online. This is to be in the Tesla Powerwall 2. Tesla say the Powerwall2 is suitable for off-grid and comes with a 10 year warranty. Only trouble is it needs an extra 'backup' module that they have not yet finished designing (due late Spring 2017). Lithium has the advantage of a faster rate of charge than lead acid - so when the sun is shinning you get to gather more. Lithium costs more but is supposed to have 3 times the life of lead acid some claim. Lots of companies entering this market Sonnen from Germany being another. * Aquion salt water batteries - they told me they expect to release a newer model in next few months. The current one version 2 has a better charge/discharge rate over version 1 (version 1 still for sale in UK though) but still not very good so you need tonnes of them. * Redflow ZBM - interesting option but not in common use in UK so decided to keep away from * NiFe batteries - much longer life than Lead Acid * Gel sealed for life lead acid - supposedly less life than non-sealed * lead acid - Rolls seem the most recommended - might need water monitoring, has a scrap value too I'm ether going for bleeding edge Tesla Powerwall2 or tried and tested lead acid Rolls with a Victron Quattro or Multiplus invertor/charge controller - got to make that decision in next couple of months! I'll have 8.8kWpe and of course a shitty old dirty (to quote @Nickfromwales ) diesel generator, LPG gas cooker & oven and an electric kettle for sunny days only.

Has anyone actually tested this? I'm curious if it actually works especially with the pipes being internally ribbed

At least you know the extract is working well. I'm rather impressed

While I've been considering doing something similar the other side of this problem is that I'd say a third of my deliveries need signing for. My proposals: We need some sort of barcode on each house that the delivery man can scan as proof he made the drop. Probably a barcode that changes daily for better security. Or a copy of your finger print. Or every morning before you leave the house you deposit a bit of DNA that the delivery man can take. Or you get your house robot to open the door and sign for the delivery. Or a notice saying the neighbours will sign for it

Finally got a quote from the Icynene spray foam contractor £13k for 352m2 (garage and house) a little under £37/m2 - not the cheapest option! I like the potential significant air tightness improvement over trying to get PIR boards cut and jammed into all the little tight bits, but still insulated plasterboards are needed to get closer to the 0.1 U value the roof was spec'd as. Architect and BC concerned that the felt won't be allowed to sag under the tile rafters so water will be trapped behind the rafters, the contractor tells me they negate this be a lite first spray and the spray will always expand in path of least resistance ie. downwards. Has any one experience of Icynene (I've yet to hear from @PeterStarck) I'm interested to know if different Icynene contractors charge wildly different rates

I previously asked bpc about cleaning ducts and was told this was not longer needed with the antibacterial internal coating that is in their red pipes

Try emailing: newsitedevelopmentqueries@openreach.co.uk Normally someone responds next working day

Trying to understand the differences between Garador and Novoferm and the claimed thermal efficient seem hugely different: * Novoferm: the 45mm thick PUR rigid foam sectional doors have a claimed K value of 0.5W/m2k * Gardor: 42 mm thick double-skin steel section is evenly filled with 100% CFC-free PU rigid foam and a seal between each section: U value of 1.5W Is a K value different to a U value? Can a extra 3mm of foam really make such a difference?

Good luck with that, my experience of asking HSE a question about being a self builder was they replied saying 'everything was on their website'.

Ta. Seems about the only option. The RSJ is going to be part of a simple engine hoist

We have arches over our house windows and over the garage car doors. The house window supplier (Sunfold of Norwich) supplied colour matched 'foils' to hide the softwood arch fill in. We have the same arches for the garage car doors but the potential garage door suppliers do not offer such foils. Suggestions on where to obtain a colour matched alluminum or plastic piece of 3m x 60mm with right angle lip of approx 20mm most welcome please - so I can cut it to match the arch

We are having an island with inbuilt gas range ( 5 burner hob and gas oven). I can find no reference in the 'Site Guide for Electrical Installations 17th edition' to what the zones are relevant to a gas hob and therefore what IP rating is required. Can someone kindly tell me what rating is appropriate, at what height or point me to the relevant documentation. Thanks

If my roof is partially constructed to the state of being felted and latted, is a snow fall going to be bad news?

THE RENEWABLE HEAT INCENTIVE: A REFORMED SCHEME Government response to consultation

At the moment the Novoferm insulated sectional door seems to be both cheaper and has a higher level of insulation - compared the Garador. Just waiting on some fine details and hope to order asap

Interestingly the spray foam contractor I contacted said the architect proposed 500mm of earth/rock wool is impractical as the rockwool at that depth collapses on itself. Waiting for his formal quote to work out options for me

Disappointingly I've not been able to make contact with the Waste Water Wizard company and so have given up, looks like an energy sapping air pump sewage treatment plant is what I'll have to have :-(