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Garage conversion is a great way to add extra usable space to your home without having to extend your property. A fun fact is that, in the UK if you have your car parked in the garage, you’re in the minority. According to a research carried out by Admiral Loans, just about 33 percent of home owners in the UK store their cars in the garage. For most people the garage is literally a dumping ground that’s never fully utilized as such. In recent times, the garage is now being used to store a variety of other stuffs asides a car which includes garden furniture, tools and appliances, utilities such as washing machine, fridge and freezer as well as food and groceries. These facts show that more and more people are underutilizing their garage when they may actually be in need of more usable space in their property. So why not put into consideration converting the garage into a new space that would be able to serve more purpose?

If you’ve decided to convert your garage, you’d probably want to know the how long the project will take. There are a wide range of factors that can determine the duration of a garage conversion project. These factors include:

• If the foundation needs reinforcing

• If the floors, walls, or roofs are in a bad condition.

• If the ceiling height needs some raising

• If the insulation required in newer builds.

All aforementioned factors will make the garage conversion project take longer than expected. However, in normal situations garage conversions are relatively quick to complete once you start the building works. A single-car conversion will usually take about 3 to 4 weeks to complete depending on the existing garage’s structure.

The decision to purchase a property may not come with trees as an influencing factor. However, when the trees start to get overgrown or appears sick you will have to consider the regulatory status which may affect your ability to prune, fell or remove them.

First and foremost, the owner of the tree must be determined and this is the individual who owns the land on which the tree was originally planted. However, if you’re not the owner but the tree overhangs your land you’re allowed to cut the branches back up to the boundary, if the tree is unprotected. In such cases, you normally do not need to seek the consent of the original tree owner or neighbouring land owner to perform the works to the tree. But the branches and fruits on them ( if any) still remains that of the land owner and they’re to be returned to them if necessary.

In situations whereby you’re the owner of the tree, you’re required to determine whether or not your tree is protected by a Tree Protection Order ( TPO) before any action can be taken. The main goal of a Tree Protection Order is to provide protection to trees which are considered to deliver amenity values to the general public. In other words, if your tree can be viewed by the public and enjoyed from outside your garden’s confines then there’s a high possibility that it’s subjected to a TPO.

To confirm whether or not your tree is subjected to a TPO, you can check with your local planning authority (LPA). However, there are some local council websites that displays all TPOs registered within their jurisdiction.

How To Convert Your Loft Into A Room

The loft is the space on top of a home that’s most often ignored by home owners due to having to consider the space’s configuration, the lighting as well as energy efficiency. However, when successfully converted into a room, it can serve several purposes which would even add more value to your property. So how can you convert your loft into a room? Let’s have a look.

• Take Into Account The Size Of Your Loft

The size of your loft is a major determinant of the type of room it can be converted into. A small-sized loft there’s a chance it can still be converted into an extra bathroom or home office while bigger lofts can be converted into an additional bedroom. The minimum head height is 2.3m, if your loft is lower than this, you’d have to get a planning permission to detach some parts of the room for extension.

• Include A Skylight

When a loft is poorly designed, the room become dark, shady and airless. Adding a skylight to your loft will let in fresh air, deliver better ventilation and more light.

• Insulate Your Loft

Loft insulation will not only prevent heat from escaping through the roof, but also lead to an improved energy efficiency which ultimately helps you save up on your heating bills.

• Use Modern Colourization

When you use bright, neutral and modern colours to paint your loft, you’re adding that elegant look to the space. As a result, the loft looks a lot more attractive and comfortable by the time you’re done with the conversion.

The conversion of your loft into a room can be a very tedious task if you wish to do it by yourself. We’d recommend you employ a seasoned professional for help in order to ensure the best results and also to avoid making costly mistakes.

Traditional heating system that features a solid fuel boiler makes use of wood or coal stoves. However, in modern times, biomass boilers have rapidly grown to become the popular solid fuel option. Not only are they very effective and efficient just like the other heating systems, but they’re also renewable due to the fact that they’re able totally carbon neutral as they burn plant based organisms as a great alternative to oil, gas and electricity. As a result, they’re a perfect choice of heating system for off-gird homes or properties.

We have two main types of solid fuel boiler, these includes the following:

✓ Solid fuel stoves. This is also referred to as wood burners. Although coal burners are also available in the market, but we’d only recommend using wood burners as coal can be highly polluting and also set to be banned as a domestic fuel by the government. The most popular options of wood burning is wood log but it can also be operated using wood chips or wood pellets. Due to the fact that they’re stand alone heaters, they can only warm up the room in which they’re fitted.

✓ Biomass boilers. The type of solid fuel heating system makes use of natural material to warm up a space. These natural materials may be wood chips, wood pellets, wood logs and even plant based organisms. How they operate is very similar to that of the traditional boilers. They’re able to provide both hot water and hating by burning fuel, however, the only carbon released into the air was previously absorbed by the wood fuel. As a result, they’re a carbon neutral renewable heating system. But in contrary to solid fuel stoves, they’re fed automatically via a hopper but there are also manually fed biomass boiler.

Tesla’s top-of-the-range battery storage system is still one of the most expensive on the market. It has a huge 13.5kWh usable capacity and can even keep you up and running during a power cut. But how long does a Tesla Powerwall battery last? And does this mean it’s worth investing in one?

The Tesla Powerwall 2.0 comes with a 10-year warranty. But Tesla says that it should last way beyond this – at least 5 years longer. The standard warranty says that it should work at 70% capacity for the full 10 years – so if it loses more than 30% of its storage capacity within that time, it should still be covered.

While the Tesla Powerwall does last a long time, it has a large capacity that most average households won’t require, and it’s a costly option. After installation, the Powerwall 2.0 will set you back between £6,500 and £9,000, so ideally you want it to last past its 10-year warranty.

Before you splash out, consider the size of the solar panel system you want to install or you already have. Will it generate enough electricity to make it worth storing in the Powerwall? If not, are you expecting to upgrade your solar panels to a larger system in the future? If you are, then it might be worth investing in a Powerwall. It might also be better to wait until you come to upgrade your solar panels – the solar battery price trend is going the same way as solar panels, so they will probably continue to decrease in price as more people adopt the technology.

If you’re planning to install an air source heat pump in your home or property, one of the first questions you’d probably want to ask is, how long does it last? In this post, we aim to provide an answer to this question and more. Let’s take a look!

Generally, heat pumps are considered to be very durable and long lasting. In the previous years, their average life expectancy was at 15 years, however with the advancement in modern technology, the newest units are able to last for about 20 to 25 years before they become due for replacement. The longevity and durability of air source heat pumps is as a result of their design as you won’t find many things that can go wrong and even more so with their latest models. As you would have expected, their lifespan normally varies with the manufacturer as well as model. However, while having them regularly maintained can help to extend their life expectancy and efficiency, they’re not considered to be a necessity.

When compared to other types of heating sources, heat pump comes out on top when it comes to longevity. The significance of this is immense due to the fact that the nature of the RHI scheme is to recoup sufficient funds so that after 7 years, the system will ultimately have costed nothing beyond that of a new boiler depending on the performance. Other heating sources such as oil, gas and electric boilers will only have to work for about 10 to 12 years before their parts will need to be replaced and times the manufacturer may have well stopped producing such parts.

Most Sun Tunnel Kits are available in sizes from 250mm Diameter to 550mm Diameter. This gives you a good range to choose from depending on the size of the room you are trying to brighten.

• 250mm Sun Tube – Perfect for room sizes up to 10m2. (Hallways, Small Bathrooms)
• 350 – 450mm Sun Tubes – Perfect for rooms 10 to 15m2. Larger Hallways, Stairwells and Bathrooms.
• 550mm Sun Tube – Ideal for rooms 15 – 22m2. Kitchens, Bedrooms, Living Rooms.