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We had exactly this problem on our build, so a few things we learned. JpManning’s columns are a good start. Two things we’d add: log quotes as well as invoices, so you can see what each stage is heading towards rather than just what you’ve spent, and keep contingency as its own line so it doesn’t quietly get spent on upgrades. One small thing on VAT that I think is right but best to check: for homes completed on or after 5 December 2023, the DIY housebuilder claim has to go in within 6 months of completion (it used to be 3). Worth checking on gov.uk before you rely on either. If it saves you starting from scratch, we made a free spreadsheet with budget, quotes, payments and VAT tabs: https://www.selfbuildbudget.com/downloads/self-build-budget-template.xlsx In the interests of being open: we also built a budgeting app for this on our own build (Self Build Budget), but the spreadsheet is free and works on its own. It's early days for the app and we're learning as we go through our project so happy to share a free access code with anyone that wants it.

That arrangement looks sensible to me for that spot between the taps, especially as it is not left under pressure when the taps are closed. I would just keep the flexis with a gentle bend and no kink, and leave them where you can see and reach them for a quick check. After you first run it, dry the joints and check again after a day, as a slow weep is much easier to catch early than after it has been boxed in.

Hi all I have a freestanding wood stove in a room corner. The walls are solid, plastered. Cement board was fitted to the two walls to prevent the plaster from cracking and has performed well, but it has come unstuck. The installer fixed it with dot and dab blobs of what I think was CT1. So I'm looking to refix them and wondered what's best? Cement board screws (or would other types of screws work, and if so what's best)? Some type of appropriate no nails type adhesive? Fire cement? Plasterboard adhesive? Or a combination of some of these? Would much appreciate any thoughts and advice. Many thanks

Right that's the floor finished Now to deal with the leaky soil pipe bosses that are imperial pipe and have knackered seals (which will be sooooo much fun with 4m of soil pipe above it)

I've used mountains of foil tape in the floor and ceilings and found it totally fine. Was left up on the ceiling for a year before I boarded and it was still stuck solid. As for estimating how much, I just bought a load of it and when I needed more just went and got it, no method in my madness. Just any old stuff from Screwfix worked for me, some has backing paper some doesn't. When you get in the zone and your technique down it just flies on.

Correct. As above, 20A max.

in most systems the plastic part is just a gutter really, the tiles are retained by a clamping plate that is screwed down. You could always look for an interlocking ridge system?

I've looked into this before and I'm pretty sure you can't put 16A commandos on a 32A radial without local protection. Normal UK mains wiring has fuses in the plug, commandos don't. Except in fault conditions (which fuses are supposed to be there to protect against).

The RCBO (MCB or whatever) is there to protect the fixed wiring, not whatever is plugged into it. The current is drawn by whatever is plugged into the 16A Commando, and therefore should only ever be 16A or less (continuously).

Ah cool. Didn't know about that. Exception if the circuit is 20A or less.

It's common practice. This is from the latest On Site Guide...

No you wouldn't because the plugged in device needs to be appropriately fused. The cable coming out of a 16A commando plug won't be rated for the 20A circuit (nor will the plug/socket). But commandos don't have built in fuses. You need a local breaker if you want to put a smaller rated component on a higher rated circuit. You could change the RCBO to a 16A one to maintain protection but that doesn't seem great.

Also not an electrician by the way... ;-)

You'd be fine to put a 16A Commando on a circuit protected by a 20A RCBO running with those cable sizes. Not sure what you mean by needing a separate breaker? Yeah, you shouldn't do that. The cable might be sufficient for 32A, but it depends on the actual length and the installation method for the cable. If it was OK, then you'd need to change to a 32A RCBO in the consumer unit. And I'd want an electrician to verify that. I'm just questioning why a 16A Commando socket wouldn't be useful if there is no plan to draw 32A. What's being plugged into it?

We've got a high flow Monach one, very happy with it. Visiting family this week down south, London area, and it's like showering in treacle...horrible feeling vs the softened water at home. Ultimate first world problem, but softened water is nice.

Have a read of my wafflings in those linked threads ;). Got this down to a fine art now, and I used to make a lot of money off insurance companies fixing the ones that were done “differently”.

Was my thought too until I realised that if you put in a 16A one then you'd need a separate breaker for that as the circuit is 20A. I'm not an electrician but I think you'd be ok to put the 32A in place, but then you should ensure that anything plugged in to that socket can handle 32A. Not a good idea replace a 16A plug with a 32A to just make it work on that outlet. Though I guess once you have one socket, off the shelf adapters (often with breakers) are relatively cheap.

If you have no plans for it to use 32A, why a 32A Commando and not a 16A one? What are you looking to power?

As above from redbeard, foil tape is, generally useless. Some of mine fell off overnight. I did buy some "cold weather" foil tape. That was quite good. Airtightness tape is much better, though im sure as its become more widespread, theres crap versions of that too. The stuff i used as bonkers sticky!

Ours were very stiff and were not keen to be smoothed from their coil shape. For an island it's exactly the same but allow for the gentle bend that avoids kinking... perhaps it's ok to box out the screed locallyto give easy access for a bend.

Could I suggest either that you don't use foil tape at all - use air-tightness tape - or that you buy one roll of foil tape from a number of different suppliers? I have had very mixed experience with the adhesive on foil tape. Much of what I have bought in the past I would not bet on for 10 years, let alone 60 (assumption for life of air-tightness tape).Re the length of tape I tend to draw it out if I don't just seriously over-buy, but I think if you allow 4.8m (1.2 + 1.2 +2.4) per board and then measure the whole perimeter of the room(s) and add it all up and then add 10% you should be about right.

That's neat work. Does that pipe hold its shape when you bend it? What should I use if wanting to take hot and cold to an island some form of conduit?

Self build masonry house. We are very near to installing the natural slate tiles. We propose to install clay half-round ridge tiles. I am concerned about the plastic unions for the dry ridge system. Plastic will no doubt quickly deteriorate on the ridge. Does anone have any advice or used a different system/material to join ridge tiles? Considering the cost of roof materials and labour, the plastic unions seem a product set up to fail in such an exposed area? Any advice would be very much appreciated. At this stage I have not yet purchased the clay ridge tiles. Thanks.

haha, nah I think that contractor would have charged an additional fee for each Kilk in addition to the DALI uplift... Pun intended? LOL Anyway... The issue was driving the from Loxone, about 40-50 fixtures per bus. The exact details escape me now, but for a standard DT6, changing DIM level needs one (or two?) commands per fixture, but for DT8 it was taking more like 8 command/response transactions. Including querying a few vendor specific/extension commands. This was from the Loxone built in DALI monitor. It smelt vaguely like a workaround for a specific manufacturer, e.g. the one used widely in Loxone's own HQ or something. (I get feeling a lot of the commercial scale features dev was driven by the build out of their own facility). I can't find the trace now of what it was, I can probably recreate if needed. (Indeed maybe it has been improved since then, I observed this 3 years ago). The obvious work around is to create DALI groups for each room, which largely masked the issue. Not my post but other challenges people found with this combo. https://groups.google.com/g/loxone-english/c/IcAXTtPaLO8/m/E2W1VzBEAgAJ Honestly I mostly avoid CTT now unless customer is dead set on it. Yes. For all customers my default position is to think of KNX/Loxone etc as a building control layer: built into the fabric of the building, lives and dies with the building itself, remains there across owners. If adding consumer based smart tech (Goog/Appl/Amzn or Home Assistant) structure this over the the top: be methodical in use of the Loxone or KNX API such that failure/removal of the higher level smart home controller stack doesn't break the house. That smart tech lives with the occupier of the building and would typically move with them on house sale. Of course it rarely works this cleanly in practice! but I find it's a solid strategy to build from. Separately, for recent uptick in prospective customers mandating a Home-Assistant centred architecture, I'm increasingly turning down or just ignoring the requests, much as it pains me to admit it. They generally involve a lot of chat that ultimately goes nowhere, and I'm increasingly convinced their specifications are being regurgitated by AI and the customer themselves have little clue what it is they're actually asking for. A true Home Assistant enthusiast would of course not pay someone else, they'd be all over setting it up themselves (perhaps with a Claude assist to get there). The people sending these queries are increasingly asking for the impossible, a professionally installed and robust solution, but where the installer hands over root access, revokes their own keys. Yet still warranties the product, whatever the customer might do to it. It of course makes total sense that AI would specify Home Assistant above pretty much any other solution these days: being open source, AI has total visibility not just of the source code itself but pretty much all the developer and user documentation and discussions. The premium closed-source solutions like creston, control 4 and largely even KNX & Loxone, are an information desert in comparison. Whenever I ask gemini for suggestions or guidance to integrate two random technologies together, it always reaches for Home Assistant, so of course they all are doing so for all consumers. I do need to work out how to engage with these enquires more thoughtfully, they're often really interesting projects (and with seemingly deep pockets), it just doesn't leave much space for designing a solution I can stand behind when the customer's AI has led them up a different path. ("Home assistant will integrate and control everything; everything will still work even if Home Assistant crashes")

Very neat. We had to hack ours out in a hurry. Laying the surprisingly stiff pipes to their curved route then cutting (hacking really) underneath. I'm not showing my pictures.