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For this distance, sending DC back is nuts. Abandon this is my 2 cents, as you'll need huge CCA of the cables. Put the inverter out with the array and send AC back; same we did a while back on a ground mount some 135m away from the house, where the client wanted the array in a meadow vs the untouchable roof of his listed home.

Time to upgrade the machine then........

Contact stairpartsdirect or stairbox / similar and ask for a solution. The first or last tread can be different, but muscle memory is a bitch and it'll keep catching you out.

400mm of blown cellulose in the roof, 300mm in the walls. Feckin graveyard silent. 1. Dogshit. 2. Slightly less dogshit. (by comparison). FYI, this isn't me just giving my opinion from AI ramblings, I have been in all types of new construction for various clients since around 2012, building with 'higher performance' offerings, and the cellulose is in an entirely different universe here. VERY good point, but a lot of the 'clack' from the tracks is much higher frequency; ask me how I know, as we used to live 150m from the track from the local colliery and I can still hear it sat here right now, engraved in my memory from my teens (I am now 52....). I doubt you'll hear much of the engine sounds, but the clack from the wheels hitting the joints is defo worse between slower and faster speed; slow as I remember was almost like a heartbeat type of pattern, for an age it seemed to take to pass. Freight can be twice the length of passenger too, or more, so choose once, choose well, or regret forever. I did one build in Dorset for 'a woman' and the plot wasn't far from Yeovil. It was an MBC TF PH offering with the aforementioned 400 + 300mm cellulose blown roof/frame. When the Chinook helicopters passed over the noise was incredible, and if we were outside talking you simply had to stop, wait 5 mins or more, then begin shouting again to be able to hold a conversation. However, if you simply stepped inside the house and shut the (Norrsken) front door, it was as if the chopper was another 15 mins away, and you could talk normally without hinderance. Choose well. Sleep better

Just use plasterboard, and ONLY use ply if you are then going to plasterboard it. Current clients MBC TF project here: Doorway 'sides' beefed up as the wall is high (vaulted ceilings) and I dislike wobbly walls with doors slamming and tiles / grout having to cope. Where the box of screws is, is where the wall mounted basin tap will reside, hence the 'letterbox' opening. I remanufactured this wall (after it was delivered by the good peeps at MBC) to suit the intended bathroom layout / bespoke design, and the bit of 9" x 2" timber you see under that will catch the two brackets of the wall hung vanity unit (1000mm wide) so you can swing off it. I added a section of 18mm OSB where the vanity mirror and wall mounted lights will reside. @Super_Paulie, work out where the vanity brackets go and add timber there only, and you'll be fine.

If you branch two pipes together underground then they need to be through-roddable, via rodding access at the ends of either one or both, but BCO would prob let you off if you can house inline (above ground) rodding points indoors (boxed in). Failing that, you'd need one at opt 1 or one at opt two, or if the most pedantic BCO then both. If you can add rodding access internally just above TOC internally then no need for either external rodding points.

There's enough to do as many as you want here, perfectly compliantly . Cables would drop into any two of these 3 'sockets' boxes, and the link cables would daisy chain to all the others, forming a ring of x number of sockets instead of just linking 1 > 3. Cables all tight to boxes to stay in cable safe zones obvs, just drawn loosely here to show how this can be done.

For carbon-intensive goods, something similar is happening from Jan 1. The EU's version is already in place and could soon be expanded to other goods. Good recent update here: https://www.slrconsulting.com/insights/carbon-and-energy-newsletter-july-2026/

Carbon intensity per $GDP is a key indicator and should maybe used more when imposing tariffs. https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/co2-intensity USA 0.26kg/$ UK 0.12kg/$ France 0.11kg/$ Germany 0.17kg/$ Japan 0.22kg/$ China 0.43kg/$ India 0.27kg/$ Australia 0.29kg/$

With a straight flight it is simple to do a bit at the top or bottom or alter the pitch. No issue.

Didn’t know all that. Yet another French thing I like. There’s quite a long list of them.

Gen 2 Starlink is their own proprietary plug. Gen 3 is basically an RJ45. Just come off of my flat roof with my lad final fitting the new Gen 3 dish.

As of a couple of years ago, all local authorities in France have the powers to implement variable pricing schemes for water & sewerage if they wish. Unlike the UK, most of the water & sewerage infrastructure is municipally owned (though private companies are often given time-limited concessions to operate the networks). Some areas do nothing, some have progressive rates according to the m³ used, some have a 'free' allowance included with the standing charge then a m³ price above that, some pay subsidies for large families, etc. For electricity the most progressive feature is that the standing charge varies according to the Ampage you subscribe for (so UK-style 100A connections are rare). You also get to choose from over 50 providers, or EDF's regulated tariff (similar to the UK price cap). Not sure about variations in gas pricing (I had mine disconnected). For all fuels, those on modest incomes get sent an annual subsidy cheque to spend with their chosen provider too.

Now it is stripped it does look like standard colours so you should be able to crimp a plug on and try it.

Wasn’t ours either. But we really liked the fancy 8’ high front door with the long metal bar handle. It was only when it was installed we realised that it locked itself like a Yale lock, and that to open the door the key has to be turned with a fair bit of force as the key acts as a sort of door handle operating the mortise latch. Most of the time there’s a key sitting in the outside of our front door as I’d be forever locking myself out otherwise. The things one doesn’t think of asking/checking!

Think the question is whether it's standard cat5 wiring. Probably is, but the cut off end would prove it. Is that still in the dish? Or if the other end is a length of cable too, then it’s not a big problem as long as you use the same convention on both ends, and you can use, say, the joiner above.

I’ve a distant memory of being told that it is ok if the bottom step is slightly less high than the rest, but a real no no if it’s higher. 25mm would be a lot to raise the bottom step by.

Hi, We're getting into 1st fix on our renovation and in need of sorting out a staircase. As we've still got lots of work to do, we've opted to go cheap for now with the longer term plan of putting in something nicer if we choose to. I was looking at https://www.selcobw.com/standard-staircase-2640-x-865-x-4144mm-263530086 for <400 quid, seemed like a good bet however measuring today, I think our total rise is likely to be 2665 i.e. about 25mm taller than these. I can't say for sure as the screed is due next week at which point I'll have exact measures but assuming it's in that ballpark, is there an option to pack out the bottom by that much or is it a no go? I've heard before stories of steps being even the slightest bit out leading to tripping etc so wary of going down this route... Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

I like the idea of a two tier pricing system for essentials like lecky and water. I guess for me the concept that everyone deserves a fair basic allowance at a reasonable price is a very good one. The idea that the wealthy can disregard the scarcity of resources, thus pushing up unit costs for other users, is an uncomfortable one. So we charge wasteful/profligate users more for their usage above their basic ration and that pays for the required top up infrastructure rather than charging everyone for it. Goodness knows how such a pricing system would work but I’d vote for that.

@saveasteading did - not you, so no idea why it says you did - strange

@JohnMo did I mention hot tub or has something gone haywire with the forum? Anyway I'm all for hot tub and aircon and whatever else people want to use energy for. Knock yourself out as far as I'm concerned would love to be sitting in a hot tub right now.

Trouble with averages they don't really tell you that much - 26p is because nearly everyone is on a standard tariff. I live in the UK and currently pay 10p for all my electric at most, summer it's mostly free. Others pay less and many pay more. I have a hot tub always at 37 degs. Summer use is supplied via solar and battery, it's also heat pump heated, so uses very little electrical. But Scotland is 0.02kg CO2e / kWh and produces more than it can consume at lot of the time - not always. But I'm with @saveasteading charge high users, they are the ones that add an extra power station or result in a gas powered station being started. Generating more or providing more water so people can water the garden cheaply or build or live poorly insulated houses, why? European countries are having to reduce output, because water is in short supply for cooling or just warmer than is helpful.

I'd say there's enough cable to do 2 left and 2 right.

Brilliant thanks thats good news. So does this look ok for 2x on left and 1x on right? and if I did want 2 x doubles on right as well just do the same with the wiring?

It's very high indeed so the cable isn't being changed. I've exposed the wires, and damaged one, thus demonstrating that a stanley knife is to be avoided. Amazon do a kit of a multitool (strip and crimp) plus some pass through terminals, For £22 so that may be the way forward. There's plenty of cable so if I fail then a proper person can still do it. We've lots of similar cables fof doing fancy things i'm not much involved in so someone will do it.