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Back to the garage floor. It got poured direct from the truck on a relatively warm day (down here) of 28C. The driver poured a dryish mix "wall" about 2m out from one corner, then upped the water, and we got a wet mix that flowed better to the far corner about another 5m further away. Once poured, spread and tamped, we covered it with plastic sheet to slow the curing. This worked and has left a lovely pattern all over the floor. At some point I will hire a grinder and flatten out the pattern. However, we've had rain since then, and as it has dried out the inevitable low spots are evident. Weirdly its lowest at the side closest to where the concrete truck was when it poured. What is a bit galling is the fact its about 25-30mm lower than the high point (eyeballed, not measured, but I have a very good laser eye). Overall there is about 15m2 that is low. Assume I'm going the epoxy floor route. What is the best approach (most DIYable) to getting a reasonably level floor to start?

Yes, once you are standing about 1.5m or further away you can see them. And of course more so if sitting. Thus they appear to be colour coded to match the plinth colour. Dirt is presumably going to collect in the gap they leave, and presumably they will get dirty in time and need replacing or removing to wash. Given that walls are finished with skirting and no further 'protection' it seems a very questionable practice. Why not just use something moisture resistant in the first place to make the plinths. I would suspect it is at least as much about saving fitting costs by avoiding any scribing into uneven floors ? Odd that any panels in contact with the floor have sealed panel ends and are not treated in the same way. This system is cutting off sealed plinth bottom edge to insert the protective strip. How common is this practice ? AI tells me... So another little something deliberately omitted from the sales pitch. I will be taking another look in the showroom as I don't remember seeing any on the show kitchens.

If you have a battery and smart tariff you don't even need a spark gap of 2, and that's without taking into account the boilers efficiency of around 85% and gas standing charge. Our current tariff (runs out in October) we only pay 10p for electricity per kWh, taking into account standing charge and boiler efficiency we only need a CoP of just over 1 to break even. But the press don't talk about that. We generate direct jobs and secondary support jobs. Less transport, the gas comes onshore and is directed to our onshore distribution network. Get your units of measure correct I someone may take your argument seriously kWh doesn't take any more typing the kwh. Says it all! And to heat your properties. So Jackdaw provides a good proportion of gas to keep the lights on and mains power on.

When we fitted our kitchen in 2016, the plinths came with sealing strips to fit to the bottom of the plinths.

No argument there - bringing down the spark gap is a primary task. If that drops below about 3 then all the payback calculations tip in favor of electrification and we're off to the races. This is a bit contentious - first off - what do you mean by better? Cheaper? More secure? Lower CO2 per kwh? For cost and security - Jackdaw will make zero difference to the price or security *because the volumes are so small*. It would be like arguing that sticking an 80w* solar panel on your house will make a meaningful difference to your energy costs or your ability to keep the lights on. As for CO2 (which is the argument the oil industry is suddenly extremely keen in) - yes, the Co2 per kwh of LNG is higher than NS gas. How much cleaner? about 15% (https://www.carbonbrief.org/factcheck-north-sea-gas-is-not-four-times-cleaner-than-lng-imports). So Jackdaw will save (or generate) 15% of 2% of the UK's gas emissions - about 0.3% of total CO2 emissions. This is also an argument as to why opening Jackdaw isn't a directly catastrophic for the climate . I mean, great, but it doesn't work like that. You don't get to draw ever smaller boundaries around things to claim you don't have to do anything. If you want to play it that way then Scotland is also responsible for around 1/3 of UK CO2 emissions** I can see this for the daft argument it is but - good god, no. They are mostly gas and mostly less than EPC C - though to be fair mostly over 150 years old But you have just popped up out of the well: I assume you aren't arguing that nobody on mains water can have any say in the UK water industry? * Average house of 10kwh/day so 2% of demand would be 200wh per day which is would roughly be the average output from an 80w solar panel ** calculated from combustion of the O&G extracted, mostly from Scotland, are around 18bn tons and historic coal emissions are around 36bn tons (assume most of the coal was not Scottish) - very crude estimate

Often with a cavity tray stop end, like this: https://www.manthorpebp.co.uk/products/cavity-trays/horizontal-trays/horizontal-stop-ends/. Otherwise by doing some origami with the end of the DPC and tucking the fold securely into a perpend (vertical masonry joint).

In case it may assist someone else, I have worked out the following: 1. Use "Osmo Wash and Care" to strip the woodwork. 2. Apply 2 coats of "Osmo Polyx 0il", using the French polishing technique. 3. If after 6 to 12 months the stairs need attention, then wipe with warm water with a touch of dishwashing liquid, followed by a gentle rub with a damp cloth only. 4. Once dry, apply a smear of "Osmo Polyx Oil". There is no need to use "Osmo Liquid Wax Cleaner" at step 1 unless the wood resists "Osmo Wash and Care". And there is no need to use "Osmo Liquid Wax Cleaner" at step 3 unless the wood resists the water and detergent, and perhaps also "Osmo Wash and Care". "Osmo Liquid Wax Cleaner" is even more noxious than "Osmo Polyx Oil", so if you do use it then open windows wide, work on a breezy day, wear a mask, and sleep well away from the site of the work.

We used Ultra Decking - the premium boards, zero issues, good prices and delivery to anywhere. Ours have been down for about 3 years. As with all composite boards support is important. The photos you attached look a rubbish quality board.

You keep repeating the same stuff. But until there is is a wholesale move over to electric heating, the country still needs mostly gas. No getting away from it. The spark gap is still too big to drive a self motivated change over to electric heating. Reduce the spark gap should be your argument, then everything else just happens, because market force drives it. Until then home grown gas is way better than anything imported. Living in Scotland Jackdaw represents 35-45% of our whole consumption of gas, but we already produce 5 to 6 times our usage. We also produce way more wind power than we consume - so let Scotland bail out England in all thing kWh related, England just needs to reduce it's consumption to make things good. Look on a regularly and our house mostly gets wind power (when we are not generating solar), we are not connected to gas. We export electricity at times of short supply (we know because Agile export prices are good and Axle Energy want to buy). So assume none of your properties have hydrocarbon powered heating or cooking and are well insulated.

Just realised my "tipex" comment has massively dated me! 😁

...but, to be clear, I am not saying you do not need the 'paper' - you need, overall, to ensure compliance, probably via 'sensible conversation' followed by the document.

Hi, I have somebody laying a deck on our roof terrace and I am looking for recommendations on composite decking. I had a look at some samples, one of which is Terrafuzion but I do not believe them to be of great quality albeit they are cheap. The finish on even the samples appears to be flaking off! I would like something mid to high end. It isn’t used frequently but I do want it to last. Thanks in advance.

Don’t think I used more than three words but something like that.

I have seen the plinth seals that wrap around the bottom edge. They are friction fit and could be replaced. They are probably a better solution as you don't have to rout a groove.

Except we aren't even repainting the ceiling. We're dabbing a bit of tipex on 2% of the ceiling.

[emphasis mine] But it's not a lot of gas - that's the point. It was more to illustrate the relative size of the change ie not alot It would take some time, true. So the argument goes - "well those things would be great but we have a supply problem NOW, so we must do this less ideal thing as it will help NOW" But the magnitude of the output means there will be absolutely no discernable change to prices or energy security. So it won't help now, or ever. But starting to install HPs and insulate will have a small and growing effect that will compound over time. To paraphrase "the best time to have started the energy transition was a decade ago, the second best time is today" But I am interested in the overall net effect on tax revenue. Yes tax revenue will be created from various oil taxes and corporation taxes plus keeping people in work (the net increase in jobs is around 25 although it will assure some 200 or so current jobs). But my understanding (and this is why a proper analysis by non-partisan experts like the HoC library would be good) is that the pio companies can use the costs of this venture to offset revenue elsewhere potentially lowering their tax bills. So the question is whether the increase direct tax revenue are greater than the decreased tax revenue elsewhere. If (and it is a big if) the net effect is negative then not only are we not doing anything to help out current and imminent situation (high energy prices) but we are actively hampering the deployment of solutions that will help. Again the relative size is important UK consumption is approximately equivalent to 1 LNG tanker a day. The 2% of UK demand that jackdaw might provide is therefore 2% of a LNG tanker. So the worst case 7 LNG tankers a year out of 120 or so. Bear in mind the majority of LNG effectively ends up as export (the volume of UK gas exports being broadly the same as UK LNG imports) - we are in effect one of Europe's main LNG terminals Again, the main point is that jackdaw will do jackshit (sorry) about our prices or energy security. What it will do is make a bunch of cash for oil companies and use that reserve of gas up for the future. Imagine and alternate path.... We don't licence jackdaw - yet. We transition away from gas for heating etc to electricity. Of course our electric generation needs to go up, which we do via renewables. However, as the deniers delight in crowing, we will probably still need gas for the few times it's dark and still and for some balancing and backup. The gas use will be a fraction of current use. Maybe 10% maybe even less over time. At this point the government reactivates jackdaw but as the exclusive supplier for the national gas stockpile to power the thermal power stations in emergencies This will provide genuine price benefits (the gas bit being open market) and genuine security if supply (the gas being exclusively used for UK emergency generation). Of course all of this relies on the gas being there rather than having been already extracted for zero before to anyone but the oil companies.

My (now old) kitchen has this. Believe they are fairly common. I didn't even know they were there until I had to remove the plinth. Can you see them when standing up? It may be your old kitchen was made with more solid wood. With Particle Board you really want to stop any dampness as it will swell up like a balloon at the slightest provocation.

By extracting more fossil fuels, it just delays the inevitable transfusion to overall cheaper renewables. Be a bit like not bothering to cover a roof as it seems cheaper to just repaint the ceiling every few weeks.

You might want to have a careful look at all the info on the build over process and requirements on the ST website. I am in a different area, but I would imagine you may have a similar process where there are criteria about how far from sewers you need to be building - if you don't meet them you need ST approval. Then potentially possibly a self certification questionnaire you can complete to record that you meet criteria for not needing permission OR a form to complete to request approval where you have to give answers to relevent questions. Someone will then likely look at your request and the answers you gave and make a decision. You might therefore want to carefully consider EXACTLY what words you use to answer the questions. A garage might be described as 'build a new garage', 'extend my garage', or 'extend my property'. The last description may tick the box, the first may get a computer says no type answer. My neighbour deliberately gamed the system for his side extension and built over the lateral drain into my property without getting approval. Simply on the basis that it wasn't 'the extension' he was building over the drain, but a 4.5 ft high planter wall and raised platform. Potentially your neighbour had his extension and garage done under one set of combined plans, which was then all a home extension and therefore met criteria ? Don't think that anyone spent hours pouring over your requirement, it is likely processed by someone without much knowledge or brain, or any discretion. They just read the request form and apply simple rules based on the words you have used and give an answer. You might also want to consider getting planning approval first - more credible than a speculative enquiry which uses all the wrong trigger words.

Kitchen fitter has done the plinths and completely unexpectedly and never previously communicated, has routed the bottom edge of all the plinths (which had finished board edges anyway) and inserted a sealing strip - see photos. On asking what this is I have been told it is a water seal to stop liquid running under the plinth. Really not sure what I think of this. Don't like it aesthetically, will it get dirty over time ?, is it really necessary at all ?, is it just a crafty way of dealing with uneven floors ? We lived in our old kitchen (fitted by previous owner in late 1980's) for 30 years and never had a problem with the plinths which didn't have anything like this ? Is this normal now ? Can I, should I reject it ? Anyone else got this type of thing ?

As above. 👆. It’s for the covering of one’s arse, vs staring blankly back and saying “what are RAMS?” if or when the shit hits the fan.

You need to cover your arse if you want to pretend to be a PC.

Agree with @Nickfromwales re desirability of RAMS etc., but particularly with @saveasteading re whether they actually mean anything. On one job of mine the EWI sub-contractor provided an impressive, unnecessarily lengthy, RAMS, but I am fairly certain the 'chaps on the tools' had never seen it. On another EWI job the contractor on the tools, their manager *and* the system provider's rep all showed an 'interesting' interpretation of a very obvious thermal by-pass situation. Again, in that case, the 'paper'work was great. In reality, in these cases, a jolly good talk prior to start on site, with clear understanding on both sides, would have achieved much more than the 'paperwork' did in practice.

Thanks, everyone. I've got the info I needed. I've got more questions, but I'll start a new post. Cheers

About time But it a lot of gas not being pumped from elsewhere, so win win. But you can't keep claiming that as a win, most people already have and then down another notch as gas prices increased. And how long it would take also, all this takes time, no magic wand. Or a load of LNG tankers, from who knows where. But this doesn't fit your narrative.