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Well here is another pic. The strip is in a shallow recessed alu profile with a press in diffuser cover. I haven't pushed the cover on properly at one end in case I needed to remove it again - which I will - as I havn't taken the self adhesive backing off yet to adhere it to the inside of the profile. (I am pondering whether to use this COB CCT strip, or whether to use an addressable COB CCT strip (for say spot light or twinkling effects), or indeed an addressable COB RGBCCT dual IC strip (for truly vomit inducing xmas light shows - all these strips give out light across 180deg).

How about suggesting to them a normal pipe away from the dwelling for about 5m or so and then swapping for a perforated pipe in a shingled trench lined with permeable fabric running to your "detention pond". Sketch it out, throw some rough figures at it and present it to the BCO. That's the only way to tell. Despite some horror stories most BCO's are pragmatic. At the end of the day as long as it doesn't undermine your or neighbours foundations and doesn't create a flood elsewhere then it ought to be ok. Given that next year is forecasted to be even dryer than this, then the neighbours will be wanting to dip their buckets in your pond!

That's odd We've had a bunch done and when we reran the assesment with the addition of 2.5kwp of panels wen got loads of points. Easily lifting one and sometimes 2 grades (10 points or more on some cases). It did seem to depend a bit on the individual property. Some were a bit less than 10 and others were well over

Those full trays are a nightmare the cause more problems than they solve. What are they actually doing.

Not sure I follow you - are you sating just stack some blocks up on earth? Here's a picture of what's in my mind at the moment. Block walls on small poured slab, paving slab roof with slope front-back. Then I would need to close the opening at the front.

The neutrals & earths are there, but indicated rather than individually drawn: I don't think RCBOs would make it more busy (they would take the place of the breakers, marked D2.1, D2.2, etc.), but there would be some differences. A UK build using rings would normally be have fewer circuits, but with more on each. Radials are required in France and the number of outlets / points / devices per circuit is also limited limited - for example power circuits are limited to 6 / 8 / 12 outlets (where a double outlet counts as 2, not 1), depending on location and whether 1.5 or 2.5mm² wire is used. So, barring late changes, I'll have 28 circuits.

There won’t be any sag as you have insulation under the tray cut at an angle so the tray is fully supported on the batts. you could change the batts for xps or eps if you want something more rigid.

Your white blocks make a nice cold bridge. Just replace with thermolite or similar and it's gone.

With the prodigious amount of rain in January the water level in my test hole ended up about where the top of the soakaway would be, for about a month. Not promising. I was resigned to attenuation and discharge to the sewer, but the costs of doing the tank and the connection to the sewer are at least £30k, so thinking again about options. Has anyone designed a swale or rain garden? I have a garden 12.5 x 25m, gentle slope (0.5m) away from house. Wondering about running a french drain towards the end of the garden and then making a depression there to hold whatever doesn't soak in by the time it gets there. I'm not really concerned if I get a lake in winter. Where I'm a bit stuck is how to design it. I've looked at the suds manual CURIA 793 but it's 800 pages and not really aimed at single houses. If I just size my depression to the 1 in 100 year rainfall with 40% for climate change then is that going to satisfy a BCO?

So can't you do this?:

sorry about the spelling collapse. If so, then it could be allowed to drain under the garage door. The sump would be a neater and more technical answer but I guess carries more risk, although the smell should be apparent. New cars have plastic fuel tanks. This allows car park fires to result in a series of explosions as beloved of dramatic films. Garage door bottom seals are very approximate so petrol would get through, or you can leave a gap at an edge.

OSB will fall apart with dampness. I'd suggest using brick or block, and it can probably be really rustic, simply stacked and with no footing, then the slab on top. The inside could be stuffed with the kind of rockwool that is water resistant, or use foam ( the non absorbent kind, salvaged from last year's collapsed garden chair.) Rr bubble wrap.

all house is UFH but the upstairs was done with cut out polystyrene panels that they pushed the pipes into in the room with ghosts the supply to an ajoining bathroom and dressing room pipes also run around the perimeter sometimes when things go on I get noises downstairs like someone is walking about on a creaky floor I am guessing it is the panels moving when I told the builder and suggested that maybe the panels should have been stuck down -- he assure me -- as you would expect that they are not supposed to be stuck down --according to maker another lie i presume? impossible to fix now as there is self levleling layer and stuck down lvt on top

If you think the ivy is only going to grow on the mesh you are kidding yourself maybe the main vine will but side shoots etc will come out and stick to the wall behind it over time its what ivy does look at the picture it got under neath a top wall stone --which weighs approx 150kg and just moved it out of the way -- it could have grown over it --but didn,t it then bridged the gap to the tree approx 10inches and then grew up the tree another 40ft and pushed the other top stones off the wall you can see where i cut it in many places main ivy will be approx 6inches in dia there was a gap under the trunk and stone was in mid air before i chopped you really want something with that strength growing into your wall

Good idea, just tried it with mine and not enough "head room" to sit the blower on a block unfortunately (guess your STP uses an additional riser). I think a remote, block-build little enclosure is the way to go, just need to sort the design. Good idea to use a paving slab as a roof. The thing I need to resolve in my mind is what to make for a door. Twin OSB skin with some acoustic isolation material in the middle? How/where to place an air intake? I guess some sort of baffled penetration that goes through the door? I'll try and draw what I'm thinking...

Forgive me if this is an error but this post (and the previous one last night) sound extremely AI generated. Previous posts (November 2025) sound more human. Wondering if this account has been taken over by some sort of AI engagement thing. (Seems common on other platforms though Buildhub seems a bit small for that).

That's my understanding. Admittedly there are less rusting out cars around these days and modern cars are less likely to dump the tank but the risk is still there and I doubt we'll see any change until petrol is something you have to actively seek out vs popping to the local petrol station.

Just an update about the Western Promenade Road GD place. It is south facing, so no overheating risk here. Do major refurbishments need to take glazing area and overheating risk until account? Looks to me as if about 20% of the south facing front wall is left, and about 80% of the roof.

Because it’s a Radon barrier and has to span the cavity

Not mad at all — ivy on mesh can look great and soften blockwork nicely. Using a barrier like Easy‑On paint or similar before installing the mesh is smart, since it prevents direct attachment and damage to the wall. The mesh frame gives you control over growth and makes maintenance easier. Costs for mesh and coatings can add up, but the result is a living green wall that’s both practical and attractive.

When you say lapped, do you mean overlapped and bonded together using a double sided butyl tape? I thought the metal stainless supports were required for all DPC trays to ensure it does not sag and potentially come apart at the lapped joint. given we have to have a full perimeter cavity tray, I want to be confident that it is supported under the joints

The whole floor could slope away from the door, perhaps with a small lip at the door. I wonder if it is supposed to allow for a whole tank. I've so ig could bd allowed to drain understand garage door. Or to have no draughts, build a sump into the floor.

Is with without hearing aids😀

Almost. I worked on a project with a large London based passivhouse building and their preferred electrical contractor. The contractor actually had office staff updating autocad drawings, but this was mostly architectural for placement of fittings, not wiring or electrical schematics. The builder promised a comprehensive set of drawings of all M&E, but it never materialised. In fact as they had 2 different plumbers work on it (one doing the pre-slab unground routed pipes and another on 1+2 fix) without any drawings, they ended up with some duplication of pipework and I had to help them diagnose and remove redundant loop in the system. In the main post-build user & maintenance documentation is still a very unsolved problem, even on high end builds I like that French system, the schematic looks very elegant with neutrals omitted, but in a modern build using RCBOs would be a lot more busy.

😆 Offering more money will generally solve this problem. Disassembly would likely be quicker if no glue. But this could be done in place, though likely requiring a lot more time and some manual chiselling. Before you do that though, I think what you've got looks fine. If you have a strip near the front you are far more likely to see it and it may have some unwanted wash onto the floor that looks weird*. Maybe live with it for a while and if still not happy then mock up something so you can see the difference. Generally, when I've seen people do good looking front illumination they do it with 45 mounted strips aimed inside the unit mounted on face frames or strengthening bars (not sure if that the right name). Doesn't look like your units have been designed for that. * Looks like even now you could likely benefit from a more directional lens on the strip (or maybe you haven't fitted it yet).