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Hi everyone. I hope this is the right place to post this. I’m wondering if someone can help clear up a bit of confusion. We're considering buying this 1960s bungalow, but it's got a strange quirk going on with internal windows caused by a corridor running along the back of the house (see diagram). I'm trying to work out whether the red or yellow highlighted wall is holding the roof up (or a combination of both?). Our initial intention was to take down the internal wall/windows and extend the walls on either side to meet the outer (red highlighted) wall. That would make a little more bedroom space and lose the strange corridor feature. However, we've got the title plan, and it's got a dotted line where the red highlighted wall on the diagram is now, indicating that this might have only been an overhang/lean-to structure, which calls into question its strength to support the roof - I think? But, I see there's a large wooden fascia above the windows on the rear wall, so could that be covering an RSJ that's providing enough support to hold the roof up without the internal wall doing anything? I think it's worth noting that without the rear corridor, the roof would either end strangely high or be pitched irregularly and very steep at the rear of the house, so surely the outer wall is taking the weight? Can anyone advise based on what I've provided whether or not the outer or internal wall is likely to be load bearing? Grateful for any advice!!! You might be able to tell that I know very little! Thanks in advance!

You can definitely replace a section, but no matter how good a bricklayer you find it will always look like a new panel. even if you find the exact brick match the original wall would have aged over time. depends if you can stand seeing a different colour section or if you have the funds to replace the lot.

Apart from the drawing being wrong - nothing much wrong. I would do - cold water main to PRV, then the check valve, (long bit), flexible, then the short bit. Not sure I would be filling the heating to 3 bar though. Mine currently sits at 0.5 bar.

Hello, just scouring the web / forum for similar ideas relating to first floor waste runs. I’m trying to work out the best way to route my waste pipes back to my stack. Is it best to try group the en-suite shower/basin/w/c into one 110mm pipe and back to the stack, or keep w/c separate from the basin and shower? From my research, these could step up to 50mm pipe from the basin/shower and back to the stack. OR Should I be trying to group say the w/c from the en-suite and the bathroom on the same 110mm run to the stack? Keeping the en-suite basin / shower on one 50mm run and do the same for the bathroom? I have posijoists which I can route most of these runs in. The w/c near my stack could go through the wall if beneficial. I’d also take some advice on good way to fix all this pipework to the posi joists. I thought about using some rips of ply to use as a side wall which I could clip / fix pipes to (on a fall) but if there are any other good bracket fixings people have used which would take up less space I’d be interested to know. Has anyone used much dampening on the larger soil pipes to reduce noise? Just a thought as the stack is currently coming up in the corner of a bedroom. This could be adjusted to come up in the bathroom if it makes more sense. Thanks for any insights. Stack highlighted red

It’s a concrete poured wall not blockwork.

Do you think this wall could be repaired or a section rebuilt? The tree roots have affected it quite significantly. Obviously the tree will be removed. Any suggestions or ideas welcome. Thanks.

That is a blockwork wall with render so its surprising it is resisting the water so well. I'd suggest drilling new holes that are the perfect size to accept a standard plastic pipe hammered through to the other side. 40mm dia or so? then you might need to seal any gap so that the water uses the pipe. perhaps at 1m or or 1.5m or so centres and 300mm ish off the ground. If the new pipes extend about 150mm they will spout or dribble clear of the wall. so if the wall is 150mm thick use 300mm lengths of pipe. Through the blocks would be the tidiest job as drilling though the beds might open up more cracks. This will also relieve lots of pressure and the wall is likelier to stay put. where the water goes next is up to you.

The heat pump install proceeds at pace, well two steps forward and one back mostly. Todays one back is this filling loop I got from the plumbers merchant. Allegedly it is automatic, you dial up the pressure you want, open the valves and once it has done its business you close the valves. See if you can see anything wrong with the instructions and the parts as supplied.

Yes, there’s a lot going on right now. It’s been a mixture of challenges and progress this past fortnight. Floor tiling The original plan was for the floor tiling to be done during the first two weeks of November but the screed not being quite dry enough delayed that. Contractor sickness and the need for the tilers to try to juggle their other booked work around ours have led to us being about 3 1/2 weeks behind now and still not quite finished (a few tiles still to lay and about half the house to grout). The overall impact on our plan is not to severe though as we managed to schedule the decorating in early to gain a week back and overlap the tiling with second fix plumbing. A big plus is that the quality of the tiling is excellent. In years to come, we won’t remember the delays but we’ll be constantly reminded of the quality job the tilers have done. Tilers: Lee and Steve Kitchen floor down - kitchen units arriving! Bathrooms Speaking of quality, we have a first rate plumber working on our bathrooms, namely: my brother Chris. He came over from East Sussex for a couple of weeks to do the work and the logistics meant he came ‘sight unseen’ which added to the challenge. We are trying to maximise the space by fitting a generous master ensuite, a family shower room, and a guest ensuite into a relatively compact area of the overall house footprint. This means a lot of plumbing has to go into the wall between the master ensuite and the other two bathrooms. The soil pipes, whose location we had decided on during groundworks, proved not to be in the ideal place, but Chris managed to find a way to make it all fit. We dropped one wall hung WC in favour of a back-to-wall, floor-standing model with a concealed cistern because there was simply no way to fit a wall frame into the studwork and line the soil pipe up. Chris has made great progress so far and we are particularly pleased with the mural wall panels that he’s fitted to the two showers. He’s also sorted out half a dozen minor jobs in the plant room, and set up the supplies and waste for the kitchen and utility rooms. Great work Bro! In the master ensuite we have now got some boxing-in to do which will hopefully double up as built-in storage, then Chris will be back in the New Year to fit toilets, wash basins, shower screens etc. Cladding Alan and Chris, our two chippies who have been with us throughout the build have been progressing the Brimstone Ash cladding. They’ve made a great job of it too. All the high work is now done and so our scaffolding should be coming down within the next week or so, with luck. It would be nice to get the house clear of scaffolding with the cladding complete before Christmas. We’re delighted with how the cladding looks. We won’t be treating it in any way though as we are happy to let it fade to silver naturally. Chris and Alan our carpenters: Between cladding, they found time to fit the 'real' front door back on (Norrsken tip was to replace it with a temporary door while the 'messy' trades were in and out of the house.) The door looks great - but I am not sure the pipe insulation on the handle adds much to the aesthetics. On the subject of doors, we went for 'slam shut', requiring a key to turn the latch from the outside, even on an unlocked door. This may well be a recipe for locking ourselves out of the house repeatedly. I am having second thoughts but Mrs P. is more relaxed. I asked Norrsken is there is anything we could do to change that at this stage but they haven't been able to offer any solutions, so I guess we are stuck with slam shut doors. MVHR commissioning Patrick Chester from Heat, Space and Light came along to commission our MVHR system. He confirmed that we appeared to have connected all the supply and extract valves correctly(!) and the commissioning and balancing was very straightforward. We've had great service from Heat, Space and Light for a competitive price - highly recommended! We have a Zehnder Q350 ComfoAir unit and Patrick took me through the basics. Compared to our previous MVHR the Zehnder seems incredibly quiet. In normal operation it’s using just 20W. Patrick also showed me the heat recovery stats. On the day of the commissioning the outside air temperature was 2° C and the inside air was 15° C. After passing through the heat exchanger, the incoming air was registering 14.5° C, so that’s a pretty impressive exchange of the heat from the air going out to the air coming in. Patrick balancing the ventilation system Electric second fix… …is also under way. More on that next time… Focus for the next two weeks Floor tiling - finish off. Cladding - hopefully complete in the next fortnight. Joinery - make a start on the door linings and doors. Second fix electrics - should be progressing, batteries due to be installed next week. Kitchen/utility/pantry - make a start on fitting the units. Dashboard: Contractor days on site this fortnight: 45.5 Contractor days on site since build start: 441.5 Budget: No change - over budget but within contingency. Plan: Still on track to move in by Easter 2026. Issues and worries closed this fortnight: None Current top issues and worries: Will we have the kitchen units ready for worktop templating w/c 5th January?

If you have the inverter in a ground floor plant room and that inverter has an integral isolator or there's a free standing DC isolator next to it you've surely met the requirement @Beelbeebub posted without putting a second isolator in the loft. The loft is remote and rarely quickly or easily accessible so the isolator in the loft is going to be unused. If you need to work on the cables in the void, shut the inverter down, switch off the inverters DC isolator so there's no load in the cables then disconnect the MC4s in the loft to isolate the void cables. That's in line with the PV string disconnection method in @Beelbeebubs table. Wait til its dark if your concerned about voltage on the plugs. I really dont see the point in putting an additional isolator tucked away in the loft where it's going to get forgotten about, particularly if it's seen as an unnecessary additional fire risk.

The steel wire is for mechanical protection, if you can route the DC cables so this isn’t needed that’s an option or copex etc wherever it needs mechanical protection.

Porous Tile Stain Dementia?

Good to know that we're both fekkin' eejits. Debbie always ( and gently ) says .... "Nothing to be done about it tonight even if there was a leak" It's all the fault of that cracked tile we had years ago, let in a drop or two. Of to the quack tomorra to get treatment for my PTSD.

Glad it’s not just me . But checking 10 times a day when raining probably means I need counselling . Storm tomorrow- torch ready !!

does he go to AA meetings, and I am not on about the Automobile Association.

Yup. The second pic looks like someone’s poor attempt to relieve the trapped water. Looks like it’s just had a drill put through it. These drainage outlets need to be 40mm waste pipe minimum and be kept clear. Defo needs addressing properly but you’ll always have this runoff. Working out how far down you can make the holes would help, as the lower the better, if you can do fewer larger holes, but smaller ones (32mm or 40mm) would need to be high and low to cope.

"Building a house is mostly just stacking expensive rectangles while pretending you understand the difference between a joist, a stud, and pure chaos."

I heard that his misses liked being the filling in his sandwich.

Thanks, ok it sounds like I need to sort the drainage on the hill above the drain as recently it is like a non stop torrent coming out of it and making the place look a mess as can be seen in picture. I know we have had a lot of rain lately but can't be looking at that much longer. Also I have added another picture where I have outlet pipes in the middle of retaining wall itself. Is that also for getting rid of excess water behind the wall?

"With hindsight I've have knocked it down and started again".

My apologies, I hadn’t noticed that Prob best to stop this before we get shouted at 👀

He takes the biscuit. Does that count?

Many heads always better than one, imho.

It is now with a big hole in the wall.

Quote of the year.