Happy New Year everybody

 

It's nice to see that after 60 years of using fluorescent lighting (or to give it the name I was taught at college low pressure mercury vapour lighting) that the government has suddenly read the label and realised that there is mercury in low pressure mercury lamps (CFLs and the long tubes). Any electrician worth his pay should know that any fluorescent lamp should be disposed of correctly, whether they are or not is a different matter. So why have the Government suddenly come out with a scare story just as tungsten is being phased out? Conspiracy!!!!! More likely their rubbish WEE Directive is rubbish because every company rather than take responsibilty  for things pay the fee to the Government and opt out. If you are worried about the mercury, don't be it is minimal and when the bulbs expire take them to the shop you bought them from (quote WEE Directive) or get on to your local council and ask where they can be desposed of properly.

 

Megaman lamps are market leaders in developing lamps with very little mercury in them they have less than 3mg in the bulbs and they are silicone coated to help prevent breakages. It is one of the reasons I would recommend them.

 

There will be pictures of the barn this week as I have a site visit planned for Wednesday.

1. The Greenglass wine glasses.
2. Ecover refills.
3. The eco kettle.
4. The Ellie Poo planters.
5. Megaman lights bulbs.

The Greenglass wine glasses and tumblers have been a real hit unfortunately even Greenglass seem to have been taken by surprise so we have n't been able to restock. Never mind though.

Keep it green.

I have finally got broadband in the shop so I can sit and write this in between customers. I forgot my camera again but I will put a picture on the blog. I also hope to go to the barn soon to update the photos. I think that it has been busy on site recently and the windows should be going in very soon. We are now at that stage where there will be loads of changes and the barn starts to look like a building again rather than a horrible skeleton. We are putting some fat on the bones.

For those of you thinking of opening a shop selling solar gadgets, check which way your window faces. My shop window faces north this means that my solar Christmas lights are charging but I have to run across the street to demonstrate the different toys. Never mind, people seem to like the idea of having an electrician in a shop selling lighting it means that they get good solid advice. I also let them take a sample bulbs out of my display to try at home, B&Q wouldn't let you do that now would they. 

 

As a tradesman you know when Christmas is coming as your phone never stops ringing, can somebody reading this tell me why you leave it until 4 weeks before Christmas to start projects that will take 6 weeks but expect everybody to finish it for you before Christmas. I have a shower and bathroom to wire next week where the customer has ripped out the old suite then realised he needs a qualified electrician to wire it all, his wife seems to hold me responsible because I can't complete it until next week. I am never ever rude to people but sometimes people even try my patience, I would like to say contary to what you might think builders, plumbers, electricians etc are not sitting at home waiting for you personally to call them. We all have lives away from work and we have other customers to help. So when your plumber says that it will be next weeek before he can get to you just think he might be trying to finish someone elses bathroom or trying to have a few days with his kids. So chill out and relax it get done when it gets done. 

 

I hope to soon get details of some dimmerable CFL bulbs I have found a company that manufactures them in candle shape bulbs etc. I will put a link on the blog.  

If you are having any electrical work carried out next year then please have a little consideration for you electrcian. Next year we have got a new set of wiring regulations to learn, there are several changes and all these will have to be considered when carrying out or pricing work next year. The biggest difficulty at the minute is that until they are published nobody knows the exact detail. They are published on 1st January (so come into force then as well) but you can still use the older regulations until July. I would therefore make yourself aware of the new regulations if you plan on having any electrical or building work done next year. This obviously has an effect on the barn and is something I will have to consider, though we hope to be finished by July(!!!!!!!!). I will update the blog with some more wiring regulation detail as soon as I can.

It was the allthingsgreener shop opening yesterday. Everything went very well though I have to admit to being somewhat surprised by peoples interest in our shop. We have had enquiries about nearly everything that we are selling and lots of people have ask my advice about lighting which I found very refreshing. There will always be those who just refuse to change but we would all still live in caves and eat raw meat if someone hadn't been inspired and fancied taking a cart ride to his mates BBQ. I still say the best way to get people to cut CO2 emmissions is to advertise the savings and make that the selling point, by telling people you have got to do this and that you will only alienate those who refuse to change.

 

I am hoping that we get some nice weather soon so that my solar Christmas lights can get a good charge and I have the delight of Christmas shopping tomorrow.

 

An eco tip: Turn off lights when you leave the room. Sizewell C will be about 30 miles from my front door, I know it makes the sea around it nice and warm but thats not the point.

I have spent the day at the cottage with the low doors. I managed to last 3 hours before I smacked my head on the kitchen doorway. By the afternoon I was on the Neurofen not a good day. 

 

The shop opens officially in town tomorrow, I will be down there tomorrow morning at about 7ish to get our sign up above the door. We are still with out a lease though this is only a problem to our landlords solicitor, who seems to be trying to justify her self (and her fee) by bombarding us with letters. Our landlord is just happy to have a paying tenant in his premises. It all adds to the excitement of starting the new business.

 

An eco tip: It is something that we will be doing in our new shop (I have no shame) and the tip is to find a shop that does washing liquid, fabric softener, laundry liquid etc refils, check out the Ecover site. This way your bottle will get used loads of times before it gets squashed and shipped of to the other side of the world.

Just back from taking the new pictures and the barn is starting to look fantastic. The next big thing will be when the feather edge gets put on, then the barn will really start to look grand once again. The roof looks so much better with no green tarpualin and now the ridge is on it even looks straight. The first Eco product gets used today and I have to admit to being slightly nervous as I supplied it from my new business, its Auro environmental wood stain. It looks good stuff and I used the paint and liked that, though I have to admit the best thing is the smell or lack of smell. It is made from natural oils and ingredients so the paints smell lovely and because it has no chemical binding or drying agents it lets houses breathe. You can see why barns are a popular choice to live in when you look at the detail in the beams and roof, in most houses this age the beams wood have been covered up by ceilings and plastered over. But because we have to strip the building back to its timber frame we can uncover some real quality craftmenship for all to see.

 

I will be have a unofficial opening of the shop tomorrow to see if I can work the till and get things ready for the official opening which will be when the Christmas lights get turned on this Friday.

The wife and I should be in our new eco shop setting up this weekend. The legal profession (not my solicitor who has been brilliant) have done their best to scupper my plans to have a good Christmas trade. Even I might struggle to sell solar powered Christmas lights at Easter. All I have left to order is some Eco kettles and a bigger range of compact fluorescent lamps, at present I have a limited stock and I know the lady down the road wants some candle shaped CFLs so I better get on to that tomorrow.

Things are moving on with the barn most of the roof is now back on. the insulation is on the walls (well above building regulations) which are also felted and battened ready for the feather edge finish. Some of the floor structure is fitted inside. The footings are now in for the extension. I am very proud to say that I the site electrician had a small hand in all these things. Yes, I have been on site for the last couple of weeks helping (???) out with  some of thes jobs. Because of this my arms have ached to much for me to even think about typing this blog. All the foundations have been mixed on site using the crushed concrete from the old farm buildings, I take my hat off to Harry who has mixed them all, mixing up with him was the hardest I have ever worked. Ed he deserves a bonus. I liked fitting the tiles on the roof because there is a lovely view and that was something completely different from my day job.

I am also in the process of setting up a small shop selling some of the things I have found whilst helping to plan the barn. I have also found some really cool gadgets that I hope might inspire a few more people to go solar.

 

I am back from a short break with my family in the north. I spent a rather drab day watching Norwich City lose to Burnley (Norwich losing is all to common these days). I then spent three days in Yorkshire. I have to say that I was very pleased to see alot of solar powered street lights and signs beside the road. Yes it is sad that I was in a beautiful part of the country and I noticed that but there you go. I am currently starting a new business supplying some of the things I ramble on about. I will be internet based and I should have a small shop giving advice and selling many evironmental products. I will be trying to make Norfolk even greener than it already is. allthingsgreener

 

An eco tip. Shop locally. If you don't the world will soon be run by huge multinationals with no local interest. Use it or lose it.

The barn is coming along as you can see from the photos. It is strange standing in the lounge area now there is finally a roof on, it seems to have made the room bigger. The windows are being measured this week and the timber is on site ready for the floors (just in case it gets really wet again). I know things are getting on as the discussions are about such things as alarms and home entertainment systems. So it won't be long before I start throwing the wires around.

I have had the privilage of working on site this week. I have been getting the new site hut ready for our new generator (the generator will run on bio-diesel). Its starting to look more like a proper building site now, the rain has meant that the mud is now ankle deep.

 

An eco tip. Only use timber that is FSC certified and look for the FSC logo on other wood products and furniture.

 

 

Sorry for the name change but I have been asked to change the name for reasons I will keep to myself for now.