teepeeat

Overhangs should be a thing, but aren't in this country. Keeps water away from the walls, particularly the top where a lot of damp can start from. Shades the windows in summer, my place would bake in the summer just from solar gain as it is properly insulated to keep it warm in winter and cool in summer. Would also allow for easy upgrading of buildings with external insulation, without having to redo the roof.

Had mine 4 or 5 years now, but have seen them in the shop in the interim. As you say, no doubt they will be along soon again 😉

Lidl do a cheap one from time to time - seems to give sensible readings, but not run any specific test or comparison.

would have thought that in general the longer the beam the larger the cross section should be which would reduce movement a bit. Obviously depends on intended use - span, load etc. If you get it in position while still green and join it properly, there will be limited movement and that what does occur is superficial just adds character ?

good luck with the itching 🙂 Clearly found a cause for your issues, but always useful to minimise sources of moisture in the house as well. Surprising one to me was how much water remained in the items in the washer even if the cycle included a spin at the end. Our washer has a dedicated 8 minute spin cycle which removes significant amounts of water after the wash cycle. Did some tests with a condensing dryer and there was at least a third less water in the tank after running the dedicated spin cycle with similar wash loads. As for the PIV - only difference to opening a window is that the loft air might be slightly warmer due to heat leakage from the house - oh and the cost of the unit and installation and disruption due to installation of ducting 🙂

I'd go with Sandspider - think the sealant was missed or badly done or incorrect type used. That said the products of combustion are a nasty cocktail and can smell quite bad. They tend to settle out if cooled and this can be happening locally to the flue join if air is getting in as I suspect it is so the smell could just be the tar in the join cooking. More generally, 'slow burning' should be confined to the history books as it massively increases emission of particulates as well as gumming up the flue. To maximise efficiency of your wood, burn smaller amounts at a time - the more you put in the more heat gets pushed up the chimney as the stove can only transfer a certain proportion of the heat to the room at any one time. That said a good bit of heat up the chimney now and then does help to keep it clear as has been mentioned already, but using well seasoned wood also helps to minimise build-up. A key part of seasoning in my view is to have a good few days of wood stacked near the fire (space permitting) as this brings the moisture content right down over a few days prior to burning.

haha, Scotland can be a bit dreich on the weather front at times. If you have something to hand already that has no use, then entirely up to you whether you put something down the sides - don't personally think it is necessary with an overhanging roof, but clearly will help if the roof does not overhang, but at a cost to air circulation. Rain water will dry off very quickly and it tends to only get as far as the outer layer of wood particularly if the outer layer is stacked to help shed the rain - look at the 'holzhausen' on the continent which traditionally had no roof at all, but was stacked with a view to shedding water. The point I was trying to make is that airflow is much more important for seasoning the wood and an overhanging roof with open sides is a better compromise than enclosing the sides against rain. Now that I have done the egg sucking lesson I will get me coat ...... 🙂 (dont get me started on the lack of overhangs on house roofs in this country 🙂 )

Rather than worrying about the sides, just give the roof a decent overhang beyond the stack. All the better if you can orientate the biggest overhang toward the prevailing wet weather - not always possible I do appreciate. A bit of rain getting on the side of the stack wont be an issue, but you will maximise the airflow through the stack which is the critical bit for seasoning in my experience

I'm with you there 6'6" tall, 38" inside leg and size 49-50 boots doesnt leave many options for anything wearable. Open to any recommendations for suitable chainsaw boots - ground use only in my case

All stoves regardless of how efficient emit particulates. Alycidon mentions a low emission one above, but this is new and state of the art. As such is not representative of what is out there, so regardless of local fuel supply, proper seasoning, best stove practises etc etc etc we are still contributing to emissions so they wont support them. I say all that as someone producing my own hot water & heating in the winter with a wood burner, albeit an efficient one and have done the whole super-insulation thing to the house so demand is low. My fuel all comes from within a 1/4 mile radius. These factors combined with the fact that all energy supply has issues mean that I intend to carry on for the time being as is.

You mean french to the east as well as French to the south? ?

Being a little modest - no mention of the chainsaw ?

Badger - think Felix has already covered that one ?

Fair play, how are the feet ?? Recon you can squeeze your boot manufacturers for a sizable donation which can go on their advertising budget ?

When measuring moisture, always best to measure on a freshly split piece rather than on the outside of a piece off the stack which is susceptable to daily changes in the humidity, wind blown rain, bright sunshine etc etc - apologies if this is stating the obvious. Also find that using wood that has been near the fire for a few days means it is that bit drier, although this does mean having the space to rotate a few days worth.