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Over the years, more and more home and property owners are beginning to realize the huge benefits that can be derived from loft insulation being a worthwhile investment. It’s quite worrisome the way in which energy bills have soared over the past 10 years and loft insulation is a considerable affordable energy efficiency measure that can go a long way to help increase your home’s energy savings.

As far back as the 1980’s, the standard when it comes to insulation thickness was 25 mm to 50 mm which was, at the time, considered to be sufficient. However, building regulations have changed the norm that now states that a new build needs to possess 270 mm of insulation in the loft in order to achieve the required u-value of less than 0.16/m2k based on the standard rock wool or sheep wool insulation.

Generally with loft insulation, there’s a law of depreciating returns which implies that the first couple of insulation centimetres will save you many times the cost of the installation, however an extra layer or centimetre is going to add less value to the point where it’ll no longer be wise or worthwhile to add any further centimetre. Therefore, with cheaper energy prices 30 years back, that additional couple of centimetres was not just worthwhile, but with the recent alarming rises in costs of fuel, that additional £10 savings per year has all of sudden changed to £30 which makes it become a lot more attractive.

If you already have 270 mm of loft insulation, regardless of the material you’re looking to add you’re most likely not going to benefit from a top up. The cost of the materials and installation will definitely be too high for the couple of pounds it’ll save you per year.

Most responsible contractors will dispose of the old fencing via an approved commercial waste site. Do check that the cost of taking rubbish away is included in the quotes you receive, otherwise you might find you get stung when it comes to paying for the work.

It shouldn’t do. Most companies will do all the interior work first, and the last job to do will be creating the opening from the house to the conversion. A reputable company will make sure they cause as little disruption as possible during this time.

Air source heat pumps do make a bit of noise. However, it’s the external unit that makes the noise, minimising disruption in your home. And while it’s a good idea to ensure your external unit isn’t located directly under your bedroom window or very close to a neighbour’s property, it won’t be louder than 40-60 decibels. In many cases, this is actually quieter than a fossil fuel-powered boiler.

1. After the installer’s measured up, given you an estimated output and recommended some systems for you, they’ll arrange date to come to your home to install the solar thermal panels. They’ll also let you know if any scaffolding will be required.
2. Next, they will start to fit the panels, or collectors, to your roof. Stainless steel brackets will be provided with the system and they will remove your roof tiles or slates to attach the brackets to the rafters. They’ll then replace the tiles and add waterproof flashing to ensure you don’t get any roof leaks, and add the frame.
3. If you’ve chosen evacuated tube solar thermal panels, the installer will bolt the heat transfer unit to the top of the frame but not install the tubes until nearer the end. This is because the tubes start to transfer heat to the exchanger immediately, and when everything is unconnected this could damage the unit.
4. If you don’t need a new boiler with your installation, a new dual coil water cylinder, pump and system control system will be fitted. It’s best in a loft or upper floor of your home.
5. A new thermal store or hot water tank that will store the heat provided by the solar system is much larger than a standard tank but it may fit in the spot of your old one. The installer will ensure that it’s connected to the mains cold water, your other heating source (such as a gas boiler or biomass boiler), immersion heater, temperature sensors and the solar collectors themselves.
6. Next they will install the pumping station, usually near the water tank. The expansion tank will be installed on the solar thermal loop, which is usually nearby. Its job is to prevent pressure changes that could damage the system.
7. You’ll get a heat generation meter which must be MCS-certified if you want to take advantage of the RHI, and any control equipment that comes with the system will be installed.
8. The installers will then bring the system to pressure by pumping the heat transfer liquid into the system up to a pressure of around 2 bar.
9. Finally, your MCS-registered installer will register your solar thermal system so you can apply for RHI payments of up to £525 per year.
So that’s the process of installing solar thermal panels. Remember – it's always best to use a professional to install any kind of renewable technology.

Bifold doors are generally very low maintenance. They will only need infrequent cleaning and occasionally you may need to oil the track mechanism to ensure smooth opening. Speak to your installer and ask about general housekeeping and long lasting treatments.

How To Draw A Garden Landscaping Plan

Are you thinking about constructing a new garden landscape? Do you have an existing one but forgot where you planted those tulip bulbs the previous autumn? Or perhaps you’re just trying to identify the exact spot where you cut back that clump of wilted foxglove, without mistakenly digging it up. For everything to be much easier when it comes to a garden landscape, it’s always a wise decision to draw a garden landscaping plan.

To get started, let’s take a look at the materials you’ll need to acquire. These includes a piece of white paper on which the existing elements on your garden will be plotted, a piece of tracing paper and tape to give options for planned additions, a pencil, an eraser as well as a measuring tape.

For more accuracy while drawing your plan, you’ll need to measure the garden’s distances, perimeter, the existing garden beds size as well as the trees’ and shrubs’ shape and size.

• Write down the measurements taken on the scrap paper.

• Assuming it’s a medium sized backyard garden that’s 18 feet wide, we allocated a scale of 3 feet to equal an inch.

• Using a piece of white paper (could be graph if you wish) and a pencil, carefully outline the perimeter of the space. Once done, you can then sketch in the existing plants as well as other special features on the space (features that are of a permanent nature like trees, fences and paths).

• Hold a piece of tracing paper and tape in on top. Then you can sketch out the plants you wish to add to fill in the spaces in the garden on the tracing paper.

When you’re building or redesigning your kitchen, one of the most important decisions you’d have to make is your kitchen cabinets. They are basically where you’ll keep everything you use to cook and as such, take up a lot of space in the kitchen. Therefore, if the aesthetic of your kitchen is a priority, then you’d probably want to get the best quality and good looking cabinet you possibly can. If you’re in the market for new kitchen cabinets, you can put these sources of cabinets into consideration. Let’s take a look!

• IKEA. One of the best place to buy affordable home goods is also a great place to check if you want to buy your kitchen cabinets. According to a research carried out by J.D Power which surveyed over 1500 customers within the past one year, IKEA’s cabinet system ( Sektion) ranked the highest in terms of the overall satisfaction.
• KraftMaid. Another winner of the survey conducted by J.D Power as it took the second position when it comes to the overall satisfaction. Therefore, this store happens to be a good option based on the reviews. This store provides you with a wide variety of colour options to select from, so regardless of what your personal preference is, you’re guaranteed to find something worthwhile to install in your kitchen.
• Stoffer Home. When you buy your kitchen cabinet from an interior designer, there’s a better chance for suitability. Stoffer home offers top quality cabinets which can be manufactured in four various wood finishes and twelve varying paint colours which are all carefully curated.