Warm and cosy

The solar panel was finally replaced and the heating has been connected and I have to say it is so nice to be warm!!!!! Not that we have had to have it on much. The weather turned unseasonably warm after we had it all connected up and we didn't need it on at all but now it is definitely started to cool in the evenings.

There are a few niggles because it is underfloor heating - we have to determine what the lag time between turning on the heating and the point where the temperature is reached and try and manage it better. I find that the actual temperature over-shoots the desired temperature because of the heat still radiating through the concrete floor after the heating is switched off in the room. There is still air in the system also so occasionally there is some manual help needed to get the flow of the water going through the pipes. I don't care though... I am warm and my feet are warm so the winter can come now! I have to say that once a room is warm the enormous amount of insulation (120mm!) means that the room stays lovely and warm. That should mean that tank of oil outside should last a while! At the time of buying all the insulation we went with the bog standard Kingspan but in hindsight I would have liked to have explored more eco-friendly options. One of the local insulation companies, www.corkinsulation.ie, now offer sheepswool and recycled newspaper as alternatives. Their bonded bead cavity wall insulation looks good too for houses that need that extra bit of insulation. The other thing we could have done of course was fitted external insulation. We were recommended MCB Wall Insulation by Level5, who did a lot of our concrete work (floors, staircase) but we already had the insulation ordered.

October Rain

The weather has definitely changed to autumnal! The wet and windy weather has replaced the warm sunshine of the summer but I suppose that has to be expected - it is October after all.

I am still waiting for the heating to be connected up so I am hoping that it doesn't turn cold in the coming week or so. I am waiting on the plumbers to return and pressure test the underfloor heating before turning it on. We have a full tank of oil ready and waiting! The plumbers have been waiting for a replacement solar panel to fit so that they could and do all the outstanding jobs in one day. The panel arrived on Thursday so it should be some time next week. They had fitted the solar panels over a month ago now to provide energy for hot water and they had been fantastic. But one Sunday, Daithi had been outside and heard a cracking sound. On closer inspection he saw the thrid solar panel had started to crack and the crack propagated through the entire panel. He could see an obvious reason for it happening. Fortunately, the solar panel manufacturer are replacing it for free and will pay for the plumber's time to do it too. Now we have to hope that the wet weather will hold off for a few days to allow them to do the work.

I have been working flat out recently. www.irishholidayhomes.ie is going well. I had an interesting meeting with a representative from Failte Ireland regarding increasing traffic to the site. I have to say that online marketing is a completely new thing for me and it is a vast subject. I have lots of reading and catching up to do to inform myself further! Obviously there is a lull in holiday rentals at this time of year but we are getting good feedback for the site anyway. I have also started to host my own websites at last... This will make things a lot easier for me from a management and also adds to the service I can offer to people when they ask me to do work for them. Lots going on but not enough hours in the day!