the daydream fund challenge thread

Lotus-eater

Wood might be alot more accessible and sustainable, but only if you grow it yourself. What do you think is going to happen to the price of firewood, if the gas supply cost goes through the roof?
Yes, it will go up alot, supply and demand.

I repeat and please understand. A woodburner is lovely, warms the heart and your hands, it's a thing of loveliness in your lounge, BUT, they are expensive to buy and install, the chimney needs sweeping once a year, you need a large area to keep the wood, unless you get the wood yourself, it's expensive and often is of differing quality and dryness.

A woodburner will also normally only heat the downstairs.

As I understand it, you haven't alot of money, you don't have much space in the garden and you cant get cheap or free wood, is that correct?

If so, get a decent gas boiler, use any money you have left to sort out any insulation that may need doing.
Keep the space in the back garden for growing things.

It's only my POV, but I've been through it all. We have no mains gas, but if we did, I'd be on it like a shot.

choille

Hi Jayne,

You do need to ring the energy savings trust. They will be able to access what you have already, if it can be adapted & what would suit your needs. I think there might also be grants available in some areas.
If you have an existing flue & wish to put in a wood burner you need to have it lined. That is a dreadful expense that you need to add into the calculation.
Gas boilers & oil boilers & even electric boilers have become very efficient now & are much more cost efffective - I know people will argue for and against new condensing boilers, but when it boils down to it, coal is not green & not efficient as such.
Wood is great - if you have it, or are prepared to hang upside down out of skips to get it free - been there done that............
Agree with above - insulation is by far the most effective thing you can do to cut costs & reduce waste. EST again will be able to advise & possibly point you towards any grants going - if there are any.

As we are building from scratch we will have underfloor heating run off a micro hydro, but we have a waterfall. We will also have a wood burner off some sort - we keep disagreeing OH & I, because I'm wanting a old Rayburn again & he's all shaking of head - but he does know best. I'll just be glad to get a proper roof over our heads & hopefully not still be in the caravan next Winter - so I'll settle for owt at the moment.
All the best

JayneC

Hi thanks again.

Lotus Eater _ I get what you're saying but I am maybe thinking a bit too catastrophically (is that a word?!). I mean gas may actually run out at some point or maybe rationed, supplies can be interupted, in that case you're stuffed if that is your source of heating. At least you can go scavenge wood in an emergency - I wouldn't be averse to raiding skips (or woods) if needs must! I live in a quite rural area so could access wood more readily than people in cities etc. A bit end of the worldish maybe but no-one knows for sure how much is left - at least wood can just be grown. Will step off my soap box now:D

Choille - yes you're right I will definately take advice from energy saving trust.

Have to say I don't envy you being in a caravan over winter!! How's your building coming along? Do you have a date for completion yet? It must be quite exciting building your own place?

Well just off to take DGS for a walk, hoping he'll nod off!!

See you all soon,

Jayne x

choille

Hi Jayne - not much house building going on just now.

Hopefully we'll have a good bash on come Spring. We are doing it as we can afford to buy the materials - so hopefully we'll get some money in soon - people are being slow in paying their bills at the moment.

Yes - I think you are always better to have at least two supplies of energy.
And I'm quire biased about wood burners - I think they're the bees knees, but again, we do have so much dead wood kicking about that's just screaming out to be burnt.

All the best

rhiwfield

With the incessant strong winds and cloudbursts very little is getting done atm. Mild though, it looks as if the grass is still growing and there seems to be a lot of mossies surviving so far.

Spending some time looking at finances (current and future) and trying to estimate where things could go wrong and what to do about it. Apart from health, top of the list would be above inflation rises in food and energy related bills. A UN official is predicting another food price crisis next year and it seems that the expanded veg patch will be earning its keep. Mind you, I'll have to get used to fishing fat cabbage moth grubs out of the hearts of the spring cabbage or use finer netting :mad: If OH saw them, she'd never eat another cabbage again!

choille

Weather disgusting here too. Like living inside a drum with the heavy showers, & the caravan rocking & rolling, but same as you Rhiwfield the grass is still growing - which is great for the sheep.
People are not paying us - so a tight time. It's becoming more of a problem getting money out of clients. The wealthier ones are the worst, slowest payers.:mad:

Should really move the ewes back off the hill pasture & down onto the croft beside the remaining lambs, but it's so wet they'd churn it up quickly.

Left carrots in the ground again this year & they still seem okay, but one wonders with all the wet - even though it's a raised bed!

Have gotten through so much wood in the stove that we are short & will have to get out there & drag some more dead stuff up - which will be soaking. Must be more organised next Winter.

COOLTRIKERCHICK

i havent had a good week, and to top it all someone has stolen some of my chickens last night:mad: they took my silkies and a young frizzle cochin, and a lavendar cochin... well gutted... they even closed the shed after them, and left the silkie cockerel..

i have 5 sheds/runs and you need to go throught the big run to get to them...

and one of my cats got run over last thursday, so i am totally fed up..

we are going to go to all the local poultry auctions, but the likely hoods of them being found is slim.....

i know there has been alot of chicken thefts over the last few months... and who ever took them knew what they were doing, as they left my bluebells and warrens, and didnt take any ducks...( prob too noisey if they went into their shed....

so now i am back to square one... with my breeding stock.... and lots of money down too, and not only that they were great pets...:o

flipping twonks....( really feel like swearing, lol.. but it will only be bleeped out)

choille

Oh, that's awful Cool. I'm really quite shocked at that. Will they try & sell them?

So sorry about your cat too. Not been a good time for you.

I had a load of rare breed stock lost last year - someone with a dog & I was well hacked off at that - so I can imagine how you feel. I'd just booked all the young chickens into a rare breed sale, but they'd been mauled. The price I would have made would have paid for all the sheep & chicken feed for the year. I lost my entry costs as well, but what can you do........?
I read a while back in a poultry mag about hen thefts. They must be quite organised. They need catching. Could you rig up a security light. I know a bit of 'after the horse has bolted.........'
A lot of rare breed sales are on line. The last one at Dingwall was huge - I couldn't go, but viewed the catalogue on-line. They are brought from all over the country - so a thief could move them miles, but it's all traceable, all owners have to register.
Really sorry Cool. I'd be gutted - especially with you having the cat run over too - It's really sad.

JayneC

Hi All,

CTC that's really awful sooo sorry... Hadn't occurred to me that chicks might be stolen - people will take anything won't they? Scumbags!!!(Or words to that effect!)

Weather's not been too bad here, we seem to have gotten away with the worst of it. A bit grey and drizzly but I can live with that. It did start off clear but not so good now! Doesn't mean I've done much tho

I've not heard anything about the allotment so now wondering if they've found somebody else to share it:( Oh well just have to keep waiting! Maybe I'l try a bit of guerilla gardening!!

Just keeping wrapped up inside for now. x

Davesnave

That's a horrible thing to have happen, CTC, and on top of losing your cat.....I'm afraid words fail me here. As you say, these guys knew what they were doing & your chickens are not, surely, destined for the table. I hope you spot your birds at one of the auctions and nab the culprits. I doubt if they are into breeding; anyone who was, wouldn't be able to do that to another, surely?

It's at times like this I'm glad our yard entrance is under the gaze of several barn conversions, with permanent residents in them, including our local councillor. I caught him fiddling with a temporary prop on my fence last week during the gales, and he didn't like it when he realised that I'd had him under surveillance. However, we're in a Neighbourhood Watch area and he organises it! Later, someone took the prop away, so it's a wonder the fence didn't thrash itself to bits. I've since concreted-in a new post, but it has been so squally, I've not connected it yet. It will be solid enough tomorrow.

This morning I got out for an hour or so and collected the last of the apples that are still OK. As Rhiwfield said, the grass is still growing, and with it the weeds, so if we have a drier spell I'll clean it up a bit, but there's no chance of that or digging more beds at the moment. I have a shopping list of ingredients to turn some of those apples into chutney, but for now, I've experimented by making soup with the Jerusalem artichokes. They're useful, but mine have escaped, under the blackcurrant bushes and other places where they shouldn't be, so I'll have fun trying to 'tidy' those next year!:rolleyes:

I'm pleased to say our logs arrived, and as the load was so generous I ordered another, so that's fuel till well into New Year sorted. My measuring stick tells me our Aga is reasonable in its oil demands, but I've not quantified it yet.

Mambury, nice to hear from you again. I expect it has been a bit windy over Bradworthy way! Devon is great, but I'm a local, albeit one who went missing for 40 years. I haven't fully adjusted, mind; still look at young ladies in the local town expecting to recognise one of my old girlfriends, then suddenly realise they're more likely to be the old lady with the shopping trolley:eek:.....bit sad really!!:o:o