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Well that's a result and goes to show how inconsistent regulation can be. We supplied a statement by the plumber that he had tested the drains upon completing the works to building control and that was accepted. Could you try the same with your warranty provider. Plugging the top end of an installed svp when all the scaffolding has gone is a real pain.

Our daughter is moving into a Edwardian terraced "do'er upper" shortly. It has a kitchen but it's a poorly assembled bunch of cheap units with previously a gas cooker. We want to tidy it up and install an electric hob and oven I acquired 2nd hand locally, hardly used. The electrical inspection revealed that the mains lead water pipe isn't earthed and I can see there are only a few ring main sockets, no oven outlet or the like. The mains incomer is adjacent the front door so I've got to run cables from there right through the house to the back kitchen to feed the new oven and hob plus an earth cable for the lead pipe (it'll be mdpe eventually but I'm older now and these things take time). Now I can run these myself which allows us to get some carpets down on the first floor leaving a sparks to do the work either end. I have enough 4mm earth cable and a cable with twin 6mm + 2.5 conductors, left over from my own house build for this. However are these sufficient? The oven draws a max 2.3kW and the hob 4.8kW - 5.8kW according to the instructions. Thanks

UPDATE COMPLETION CERT SUPPLIED BY BC, NO EV CHARGER REQUESTED. DITTO GULLY FOR BINS. WE HAVE TO SEE WHAT THE WARRANTY PROVIDER'S BC SAY (ALTHOUGH THEY WOULDN'T CARRY OUT THEIR FINAL INSPECTION UNTIL NORMAL BC HAD PROVIDED COMPLETION CERT). WARRANTY PROVIDER AT THIS LATE STAGE IS ASKING FOR A DRAIN TEST 😔

Can't see that - have they forgotten that was well?

Temp Thank you, the more I understood and thought about what you said it's brilliant. I dont know if we can put it against the house though, maybe we need to come out a bit and use 2 x 4 or strips of scaffolding in between? Then later on we can get this down on top of the subbase https://www.mcmonaglestone.com/products/14mm-rose-gold-stone-chippings-tonne?pr_prod_strat=pinned&pr_rec_id=dc9ca52c5&pr_rec_pid=9597265084743&pr_ref_pid=9597264527687&pr_seq=uniform Again, thank you!

Apologies if this is in the wrong place - wasn’t quite sure where it ought to be! Does anyone know where I can find the spindles in this photo? They are not the same as most round/tubular versions. These are more of a flat, ribbon shape. Thank you

thinking about this, won't that damage the DPC ?

Yes, which is part of my arguement about using it to detect load, and then use it for local management. I prefer to let they big boys, who knows what they are doing, manage that side of it.

Grid frequency is rarely 0.2% above or below (+/- 0.5% is the statuary limit) so makes very little difference.

Your best friend for levelling is a long cheap spirit level, otherwise you can use a plank with a spirit level held or attached to it but this will be quite heavy and you have a lot of reaching and scraping level to do. also depends on accuracy of finish you are looking to achieve? If

While that is correct in a simple system i.e. one large generator and multiple variable loads, in a dynamic system, where there is intervention, the formula is not simple. If I remember my electrical engineering correctly, rotational speed is proportional to voltage and as voltage lags current (current is infinite at zero voltage), a certain amount of variability makes a tiny difference. It is only when generation equipment goes out of bounds that it become a problem i.e. a generator becomes a motor (though I am sure they have systems to stop this) or a generator slows too much and overheats. We like to think that the grid has a very stable 50 Hz, sine wave, but in reality it is very messy with a mixture of frequencies and even some DC in it. A quick look at Gridwatch shows that for the vast majority of the time (99.98%) the frequency is pretty stable between 99.99 Hz and 50.07 Hz). Interestingly (to me anyway) is the extremes of low and high generation. When demand is low, the frequency drops down for the mean, and when demand is high, it increases. This is where intervention is happening most. If we take the samples between 20000 MW and 40 MW (94.42% of demand), the mean frequency is 50 Hz, bang on the money (well to 2 decimal places). The National Grid really is an engineering marvel and it costs us less than a quid a day.

German talking about plug in solar (4m installs) for the UK. One interesting titbit... The plug in soecs/limits are designed for the likely worst case German home electrical system - he mentions "pre war" and "East German with aluminum wires and worn contacts". So the Germans have designed the systems to be safe for those scenarios. Are uk electricans, who argue that plug in solar is dangerous, arguing that uk homes are likely to have worse wiring than pre war and east German wiring? Plug in solar is going to be a useful thing for tenants. Uk rental properties choukd all have been inspected at least twice now so any really shocking (ha) working should be rooted out of that market segment.

Old boy surveying enhineer here. Age can help. Grounds how he uses þx terms aurveycand engineer (overused and oftenvabused, I say protectively.) All the advice above is very good. You really do need expert advice, and what you have so far seems sensible. You may be able to dig new foundation inside the garage slab. Breaker and some very hard work with a spade but a good labourer can dig 1m3/ hour.... if you can find one that accepts hard work. Thar way the wet end if the beam will become redundant. Big IF. I'm assuming the beams are not supporting the structure above. The wetness is another matter and there are cellar solutions.

See

0.15 https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/69c122a6cfa346b9d4704a55/ADL1_2026.pdf Table 3.2 Limiting U-values for new fabric elements in existing dwellings. And in answer to the 2nd Q: It depends. You'd probably get sign-off from many BCOs on the basis that 0.3/0.044=6.818(R value) and 1/6.818 (U value) = 0.1466(W/m2K). However your description ( conjures up for me a picture of lots of timber to contain the 'above' bit. You can do an area-weighted U value calc (Part L always used to have a guide to doing so - I suspect it still does) by notionally 'lumping together' the timbers into 300 thick 'portions'. If, say, you end up with 2m2 of wood at 300 thick, then your U value calc is for (say, on a 20m2 roof) 18m2 of insulation, and 2m2 of wood. I suspect you could end up slightly over (worse than) the required U value, but possibly no-one will quibble. I have often done area-weighted U value calcs (for my own 'happiness') and I do not think I have ever been asked by a BCO to show them.

In terms of tools I understand I will need a plastic float and a steel trowel. For levelling specifically can I get away with a wooden plank OR will I need metal squared edged board?

What is the required U-value according to the last (2022) building regs for pitched roof for single storey extension? Is it 0.15 or 0.13? If it was 0.15 can this be achieved by fitting Knauf mineral wool 44 loft insulation 150mm thickness between the joist and 150mm above the joists? Thanks

Welcome to Build Hub. Your photos are very helpful. As a word of encouragement, you'll get lots of different opinions, all you need to do is sift out what is most appropriate to your circumstance. Here is my first take on your first good post! Ok I'm 62 in September. When I inspect houses like yours you have to try and impart enough info to the Client (You) to allow them to take a view. If you overwhelm them then you are not communicating that well. Sometimes us SE's omit info to avoid confusion. Some SE's are not good at communicating. So here is some extra info. The idea here is to let you see some of the things I might think about and I hope this helps you a bit. Take this photo below: Call it photo 01 And this one, call this photo 02. In photo 01 and as you say you have quite a lot of retained soil and mobile ground water. Now in photo 02 the steels are actually at quite close centres. It makes me wonder if the steels are doing two things. Holding up the floor / structure above but also and most importantly providing lateral support to the wall that is up the left side of the external stair case. This is the key to any remedial solution. I would say the steels are doing more than just holding up the floor / structure above until proven otherwise. Now at first glance you may think.. what if we prop each steel in turn. Expose the ends and wrap in DPC, after we have checked they are not too badly rusted. Then introduce much more ventilation etc to mitigate the condensation But if the steels are also acting to restrain the walls horizontally then we could be making a big mistake by introducing a DPC which acts like a slip plane. I think there may be a solution to this that is not too onerous..but first you need to understand more about how the structure you have is working not just to carry the vertical load but also the horizontal loads from the soil, up the side and at the back of the house. To expand. It may even be that the beams over the garage are forming port of a stiff floor that is also serving to retain the soil pressure from the garden at the rear. I've designed houses this way before where I take the full floor deck and use it to reduce the cost and mass of the rear retaining wall. It's going to take you a bit of time to get to the bottom of this.. but persevere.

We have some damaged scaffodling board so i was thinking of ripping some lengths and treating it then using it as a border with the bigger gravel beside the house and 10mm on path followed by another board. Would that look ok? How do the boards sit upright? How are they secured?

Don't panic. Take your time to figure out what is causing the paint to flake. Just ask loads of questions on BH before you spend any money.

Aye and no.. but that is my first thought. Often I look at old buildings / renovations SE wise and think.. if we have time on our side then lets use lime mortars and renders and implement the traditional crafts.. be it an elegantly cut timber roof or what ever. But it's rare to find a sympathetic Client that just wants to do old simple stupid stuff. It's not actually stupid at all. It's actually practicing an art and a craft using traditional materials.. that you have to often make work to modern design code loadings and deflection limits. The deflections for example become an issue when say getting warranties from glazing providers. This is a dilemma.. you can't have your cake and eat it. You have to be able to consider the old and the new. I have to, as at some point, folk might ask me to sign off on it. The big challenge for me is to strike a balance, be creative that works for all. And that is one of the great parts of my job. This is the first place to look.

This makes sense. Thank you. I imagine the walls would have been wetter given the direction they face, and so I can see how not giving them time to dry out before painting it would cause the paint to peel off. I imagine if we give it another year, most of the paint will have fallen off anyway.

Thank you for the tip.

Combi grille I linked to, are fully compliant with BRegs.

Cool thanks for the reply