Daydream thread continues.....

rozeepozee

I'm not giving you the full picture here. I'd need to write an essay to do so, but I'll try to summarize.

First priorities are insulation and DG. The DG in the house at the moment is eaither non existent or shot (seals breached) and some of the windows are massive as it stands. The new design adds many more large windows and a lot of glass in the planned extension. There is no insulation.

Yes, we will get figures from the architect about what heat losses there will be per room with the insulation and DG in situ. At the moment, it's probably awful, although the house is definately warmer that the static!:rotfl:

The heating system can't remain as it's very costly to run. There is no mains gas here. We've inherited an ancient Rayburn (converted from solid fuel to oil and a forty year old boiler with immersion). There are rads which we don't like, so we're looking at probably underfloor heating as our primary source of heating. To heat the water for the underfloor heating we are looking at solar thermal and (probably) air source heat pump. Possibly rads upstairs in the converted loft.

Then some solar PV for electricity generation.

The idea of a woodburner is as a secondary source so we aren't totally reliant on the grid. Alfie I was a bit shocked by the prospective cost but this was a ball park for a new £1700 Clearview and £1500 installation (materials starting from scratch and labour). I'm sure it can be done a lot cheaper.

When we decided to do the work before moving in, it was on the basis that it would be 6 months of work, quickly turned around and we'd be in the caravan for the summer/autumn and in the house by now. Hahaha!

We were then thrown the curve ball of "do you know that if the house has been empty for two years, you only have to pay VAT to your main contractor at 5%, not 15%?" which could possibly be a saving ten thousand upwards. Hence, we decided that, as we wouldn't be moving in before now-ish anyway, why not stay out of the house til the end of Feb 2012 when we would qualify for this saving......?

So now that we made that decision we can't do any work or live in the house til March.....

I think the challenge is to adjust the plans to make sense to our current situation. We (I think) know a great deal more about everything than we did this time last year, so it's not been wasted time. We are, hopefully, wiser. We've spent thousands on an architect and planning. Whilst we can likely afford to do most of the work he has designed, we may not really need it..... We have to work out what we really need and what we can afford. The permutations are endless!

That's a general comment as well as a more specific one about heating systems. I think what we may do with that is only lay the pipes for the underfloor heating and not put anything else in, then see what the house is like. We are used to draughty old Victorian houses with high ceilings and single glazed rattly sashes! We don't want to put in more systems than we'll ever use. So we may live in it for a good while before taking the plunge. Then it may be air source only, or wooodburner only (don't actually know if this is poss - can a woodburner run underfloor heating). I need to stop,.... sorry for the detail. I think I'm emotionally discharging!

Rummer

Another quick question when you are planting seeds how many extra do you plant? I keep over sowing however I would like a rough idea of how many more I should plant.

Itismehonest

Rozee - I've no idea if a woodburner can run u/f heating. Logic tells me it probably wouldn't be consistent (is that the word I want?) enough. As said before, wood & solid fuel can burn at different rates depending on the draught & draw. I think your u/f heating ay need something more consistently reliable to perform to its' best. Could be wrong, though.

Is the old Rayburn gravity-fed? We kept ours old Rayburn because it would give us heat, water & a way of cooking should there be no electricity. For some stupid reason new models all seemed to need electricity to work their jets. That's a bit daft if you live somewhere that the power can be subject to iffiness.

It does pay to have alternatives. If oil runs out we can use the open fire or electricity. If electricity fails we have the open fire & oil. If we were to be cut off for any period of time (remember some of the harsh winters like '63 & '86) as long as we can keep the open fire going we can have hot water, warmth & cook.

I'm not sure what really bad winters are like around your way but in the SW, while tractors can make it through most snow to villages that are cut off, there are years when it's deliveries by helicopter.

Itismehonest

Rummer wrote: »

Another quick question when you are planting seeds how many extra do you plant? I keep over sowing however I would like a rough idea of how many more I should plant.

It depends on what I'm planting & what I'm planting in, Rummer.
I tend to plant less in a pot than I do in a 10ft trench

lostinrates

Rozzee, I think most of us will know about not being on mains gas. I have only been on mains gas in London and Milan. Everywhere else was 'hahaha, mains gas out here? '. Oh, one other house of my parents was mains gas. Forgot that one. .

Most of these rural solutions are because......none of us have mains gas and many don't want it, nor that cable tv thank you very much.

Rummer

Itismehonest wrote: »

It depends on what I'm planting & what I'm planting in, Rummer.
I tend to plant less in a pot than I do in a 10ft trench

I don't think I am wording this very well :rotfl: what I mean is if I ideally want say 10 pea plants what % extra should I sow to allow for seeds that do not germinate or thrive.

COOLTRIKERCHICK

Itismehonest wrote: »

We live in a sick world now, CTC.
It puts all our problems into a bit of perspective, eh?

yep it does, make me feel guilty for feeling down and moaning:o

Alfie.... take it easy, and look after yourself... When we meet up i will have loads of treats for mabel... our 2 will have carrots, bananas, pineapple, strawberries, lettuce, and loads more yummies in the morning:j

Rozee.... think it might be worth taking a step back, breath:D have a cuppa and a biscwit, and then think again about the heating etc... to me your posts about the heating sounds a bit confusing, or is it me:rotfl:

I knew I wanted an old rayburn to cook and do the heating etc, but i knew i would have to have another cooker for when the rayburn was out, and we would have an emmersion for the hot water in the summer...and if we can pick up a cheap stand alone log burner for the living room, just to have a feature in the living room, for a sauce of extra heat for those cold nights, great, if not then we would leave it as an open fire .

the area rozee lives in, is more prone to snow than where i live... and i think it is also a few degrees colder too

alfie_1

CTC......... from little donuts...BIG treats grow...:rotfl:

so when i filled my basket with treats for the pigwignonames and you picked yourself up in disbelief ,in the supermarket......:D

welcome to my world...:rotfl::rotfl:

i need some advice re electrics...not BIG house electrics...more the logistics ... i know what i need ,just dont want to blow myself [or others ] up !!:D
does anyone here have this knowledge ???

i am not at all xmassy

Davesnave

In very general terms, underfloor heating normally runs at a lower temperature than radiators, so it is more suited to heat pumps. ASHPs deliver heated water at lower temperatures, so they are not very suitable for radiator heating. ASHPs are also at their worst when it is coldest outside, so it's a good plan to have back-up in the form of a wood burner. GSHPS do better than ASHPS, but cost about twice as much to install.

Pellet boilers give consistent amounts of heat, but obviously you have to pay for the pellets, though not as much as oil. Next year, the government might tell people how much subsidy it will give them on pellet usage.:(

At present, I've switched to thinking that we will go PV panels, generate as much electric as we can in the summer, then eat into that 'store' in the winter months by backing up woodburners with immersion heaters in a heat bank. We might even just fit panel heaters in the bedrooms we don't use much.

Rozee which bits of the house do you need to insulate externally? I'd have thought a 60s building would be all cavity wall, except maybe an outhouse extension etc.

Davesnave

Speaking of being wise after the event...having lived here for a few years, we've learned loads. IMO it would be sensible for us to spend another year or two just making the place completely respectable, sell it, and move on. That way, we could put our newly acquired knowledge to good use.

But my DW isn't on that wavelength. It would be a risk etc etc, not to mention quite a hassle. And we'd never agree on where to go!

So, we shall probably stay. In just over a year I shall be an OAP, and at some point after that I'll start to have OAP-type problems. Really, I'm dead lucky not to have had any by now. When that happens we shall have to go anyway.

But no one knows the day or the hour. Last week, DW visited our friends in the old area, including a couple who have quite a substantial garden. He, a former WW2 pilot, is still doing all the maintenance there, and driving....which reminds me of a joke:

I've gotten old!
I've had two bypass surgeries, a hip replacement, new knees, fought prostate cancer and diabetes.
I'm half blind and I can't hear anything quieter than a jet engine,
Take 40 different medications that make me dizzy, winded, and subject to blackouts.
Have bouts with dementia.
Have poor circulation; hardly feel my hands and feet anymore.
Can't remember if I'm 85 or 92.
I've lost all my friends.
But, thank God,
I still have my driver's licence! :rotfl: