Steven P

Different houses, locations, insulations, firing regimes and definitions of 'really cold', my 5kw stove is doing OK, stop fuelling it at supper time this week, and it is 5 to 6 degrees outside. Really cold the other week, -7 to -10 and it struggled we had to use the electric heater. Looking back at this, you might cost up the work to get a larger stove, and any changes, decorating and so on to the fireplace, might be cheaper to upgrade all the insulation, same effect of a warmer house with ongoing energy savings? Not sure if you have a suspended floor - we insulated under that and it made a noticeable difference. Cost about £2 a sq m, DIY 100m rock wool, next job is insulating under the eves and not just the ceiling joists and I'd guess will be about £3 a sq m (cause it slopes, costs more) for 100mm rockwool (probably go better and thicker up there next though)

... 21cm is about half way..... doesn't matter where the cut is if they are shorter? I tend to stack and dry mine at double length - they stack better, and when they come in for the winter cut them in half (electric saw in the garage, but the sawdust is more contained, easier to sweep up) - but can understand reluctance if you have already cut them all to a finished length and have to do it all again..

Of course, you can shorten them all by 5cm or by by 21cm.....

Log size is measured across the stove, diagonally you might get larger ones in... so I reckon you only have to shorten half your logs at that?

I'd need a big screen these days, how would I be able to watch the TV on it if it was smaller? Serious though, driving is essentially easy - point the front wheel with the steering wheel, and press the go faster or go slower pedal as required, maybe do the gear thing when the engine makes odd noises. Easy. Not sure why you need a full on computer. Radio, I reckon most of us use 2 stations and perhaps have a couple more tuned in in case of bad reception, 4 buttons required. The only exception might be in in built sat nav.

OP isn't too keen on a premium service to listen to half a dozen albums, £120 a year is quite a lot for that + cost of the phone itself (based on the comment that it's the premium services that let you download music, the rest is streaming - which is no good if out of phone reception range). Maybe something like this - preloaded with older albums... you might get lucky with something you like! Supereye M5 mp3 player 32Gb Bluetooth WWW.EBAY.CO.UK Supereye M5 mp3 player 32Gb Bluetooth. Used but in good condition. FM radio. 150-odd albums but mostly old stuff.<br>

If you only ever listen to a few albums than a cheap ipod or similar might be good enough... second hand off an auction site. Then the problem is downloading what you want still remains - can you get someone to put the few albums you like on one? no reception, no subscription, no worries of trashing a few hundred pounds worth of phone, saves the phone battery life. Me... still use a Sonic Erikson with buttons - no one has ever been able to explain any benefits of anything else to me (sit at a computer all the working day, if I want social media it is there on a 16" screen, if I want to see a show, I have a massive tV (more than the 12" B&W we had when I was a kid at least), want music... car has a CD player, similarly car has sat-nav, house has a CD player, elsewhere I am happy to listen to life happening)

Have you phoned around the local tree surgeons? You might have to pick up from them in the middle of the day while they are on the job but you might have some success that way.(not all tree surgeons are on here of course) It could be lead to bigger things,. maybe a regular supply of firewood too

For comparison, my coal man is doing 50kg sacks for £30, you want to be paying less than this wholesale & delivered for prepacked to make a profit (probably 40p / kilo?)

To the OP... you will get a proper answer soon enough but enjoy the wooden trucks!

This

Since you don't need a liner for the stove - that is a good clue that going larger is OK

Prepacked I'd look at the petrol stations or the national supplier and find their brands - go direct to them Noting that 'house coal' has shot up in price this year, smokeless not so much so

The website looks legit, am guessing it is a real person - unless scammers have suddenly got an attention to detail. Suspect he is in over his head promising sales he can't deliver rather than just out to take money. Still, for a decent business you would expect a dialogue and some guilt on their part

This is true, they are only good if it is a benefit to you - for the OP a 30 mile round trip it might make sense if there is a drive, a nature place, or similar you can tip onto 5 miles away - save 20 miles and about an hour of time (on a Friday, an early dart...). Running about to drop half a load of logs here, chip there and green waste somewhere else doesn't make a lot of sense. Still left needing somewhere for the green waste and anything you can't get rid off on the day so yes, paying a farmer sounds the best option West coast of Scotland.... if you are ever passing East Kilbride with a tipper full..... (probably the wrong part of the west coast of course)

I'll also go for the sealant melting. Very unlikely with a chimney swept in November to be getting tar leaking down like that - unlikely if it was 3 years ago too! Even more if the liner was brand new, and clean a year ago. As far as I can tell the tar kind of settles on the chimney, all the way up, doesn't drip down, so if you get a chimney fire the fuel is all up the chimney. which is where the problems start. Have to get it proper hot for it to melt in this kind of quantity and you'd notice it on the register plate, and also into the fire which would be doing funny things too. Going by your history, installed about a year ago so this is probably the first winter when you have been using them fully? and the first winter when they have been getting proper... and so the first winter you will have noticed this going wrong. Ask the same question this time last year and everyone will be saying sealant.

Lidl do everything eventually Not seen the moisture meter yet - which means it will be there this week!

Nothing wrong with that, we are all guilty as each other. Yup got some netting in the wood, but it needs collecting and bringing back to her house (could also be used as a bit of a wind break where I want The Boys to have their 'camp fires') - if it was a no go then I'd save myself a job. Overhang on roofs? is that a thing then?

It's quite a lot too isn't it, about £30k? Must be trashed and need it after al the parties!!

Unusual for me to say this... but how is the tip sites for your area? Its usually the other way around. Should be able to dich the logs quick enough, maybe even the chip. Dealing with an extra level of the general public adds a hassle though (by the way if you are ever passing mine, tell me to move the car, tip and go....chips + logs OK). Left with just the green waste? Apart from that it sounds like the farmer is the best bet, hire them to load the lorry if you can.

It's gong to get a solid roof, needs to be hinged 'backwards' so I can open it from my side of the wall to fill it up for her. I think I have something suitable for the edges hanging about, but wondered if it was going to be worth getting it Based up in Glasgow... all rain protection is good

That's what I was thinking, even if some water gets blown through, it is going to hold off a lot I reckon. I'll look for the recommendations. What sort of hole size is in the mesh? couple of mm?

When was he last in the news before then... oh yes, wasn't there something about "the least socially distanced party ever", and then there was a loan the head of the BBC was middle man for (before being appointed by Johnson). He has previous for going overseas when the press gets a bit nosey, can't handle the door stepping (remember when his ex wife locked him out when news of another affair leaked to the press?) So why did he go there? Last time he got some good PR out of it. This time an afterthought on the evening news

This is just a thought The background is that I 'killed' my neighbours wood store over the weekend, it had a 30 degree lean to it, and piling next winters logs on it has given it a 90 degree lean now..... So a job for me next weekend.... My thought here, if I put some fine mesh at the ends of what I rebuild, would that be enough to stop most of the rain and yet still allow an air flow through. My guess is yes, if I get the right size?

Had a Stihl one that I guess worked OK - I never compared it to anything, think the batteries died but it had shown what I was drying out was dry enough before it did