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Electric ones don’t break down as much! But for more hardcore cutting (excuse the pun) petrol can’t be beat.

Sorry not a detailed response to your last post but some few thoughts - noise: install a sound attenuator on both supply and exhaust - kitchen extract as an extra not needed if you go for recirculating hood - what air tightness are you aiming for? Ashp sizing will be affected by how airtight it is. If it is a leaky house Mvhr will be less use and you may need rads upstairs. Clearly you appreciate the need for airtightness but does the builder?

Just what I was thinking! If you do decide to render make sure you don't do it in one go. You need to fill in the gaps you are digging out first - throwing the mortar into the gaps with a trowel is the quickest way and gets it into the gaps nicely. Then render once it is a bit flatter.

I reckon you could take that frame out and the brick lintel would go nowhere. I've a couple myself that look a bit like that (maybe even less of an arch on them).

how flat is your floor?

if you have a planer - have a go to see how it feels on a spare bit of wood. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised by how straightforward and satisfying it is! Just make sure you set it up nicely so you can move along in a smooth motion. Really wouldn't take long either.

you can just use a normal planer to do that - they normally have a groove (sometimes more than one) that the right angle of the wood goes into = just tilt the planer to 45 degrees.

Much easier to cope with the height difference at the threshold. Could put a wooden strip across on a slight tilt. I think it would be madness to try to raise the parquet for that height difference.

What temperature is the the water that is called for the radiators set to? Have you bought a cheap thermometer yet?

Bit of bleach to rub it down helps

Good to know David - I'll go with the one Tony recommended.

do you mean the shed felt in the link I put in the first post or the 1F that Tony recommended?

I’d contact any local Brickie contractors and see if they need a labourer to mix up. You could offer to do a few days for very little to see how it goes and to see if you like it. You might get lucky and find someone happy to let you practise on the job in between mixing up.

Good point Jilly. I’ve a few bats flitting about but not living in that barn right now!

this sticks very well onto blocks and can then be rendered over https://www.ecomerchant.co.uk/pro-clima-contega-solido-sl.html

looking at getting some bituminous roofing felt to go under some double roman pantiles on an old elm framed barn. It is an open sided garage with no insulation in roof so the underside of the felt will be visible. Thinking roofing felt might look better aesthetically than a modern membrane. Any advice of different types of felt? Is something like this: https://roofstores.co.uk/iko-56045000-shed-felt-10m-x-1m-black designed to be draped between 400mm rafters?

And what is the benefit of being on a single RCBO ? Is it just to reduce chances of it tripping unnecessarily?

Sorry for the basic question. Am I correct in assuming this is distinct from the main power to the ashp ? And why is that better than Spurs off, say, a ring main?

Lime wash isn’t so expensive. Bit different to put on than normal paint but very easy once you get a couple things right (dampen wall before painting and go for thin layers). are you planning on insulating the walls? You can still do that with a breathable buildup (lime plaster backing coat/airtight layer, wood fibre board, finish lime plaster). I’ll second putting in a french drain along the outside wall.

Just realized that this differs from the usual Ecodans in that it uses a thermal store not an unvented tank - presumably that means you need to get the temperature of the water higher (so less efficient).

That looks interesting for what I need as well. Anyone know if these can be put into reverse for cooling? I know with some other Ecodans people have said it can be done (though not obvious from the literature or sales speak).

it looked cheap from the photo. maybe that is where your issue is? just a thought

how much was the carpet per metre squared?

The JCB has been very useful - bought unseen from a Scottish golf course. Bit sloppy so not great for detailed/accurate digging work (its an old X reg). 360 needed for some of that. Very good for moving stuff around - forks on the front for moving pallets/compost loos. Has been reliable too. Beckley sounds nice - I drive past there most days. Good luck.

Fair enough. I thought that while it may be true that RHI payments are good for biomass the current wisdom is that burning wood perhaps shouldn't have been viewed so favourably (worse pollutant emissions and the failure to recognize the uses of wood that can actually lock in the carbon capture). Clearly electricity needs to be generated somehow but I'm not sure Drax is the solution. Comparing ASHP and pellet boilers also does seem to point to much more hands on activity needed for pellet boilers and more space needed. Not that ASHPs can't have their own issues.