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@Sparrowhawk Chop a load of bricks / mortar / other out from the gap, then pour 2-part fibrous SLC in to get a uniform working platform around 50mm below DPC. Then use black jack liquid DPM, 2-3 coats, across the cured SLC and up the sides etc, and leave to dry. Then more of the 2 part SLC to the required level. Find some complimenting mosiacs and tile the gap back in. Pub.

Yes, the DPC sits loose. You lay it across the full width (spanning both leaves and the cavity), then bed mortar on top and set the slabs. The weight holds it; you do not nail or screw it down, because any puncture defeats the point. Keep joints lapped properly and take the membrane up a little at the door threshold so water cannot track under the door edge. With inward opening doors you want a proper threshold detail too: continuous DPM/DPC into an upstand or welt under the threshold, and a sealed sill so driving rain and wet footwear cannot soak into the floor make up. For a more waterproof finish once the base is solid, a liquid applied tanking or a bonded waterproof membrane over the slabs before tiles or vinyl is worth it. Avoid relying on the old chipboard again in that wet zone.

Well Floor replaced and over boarded with 3.6mm ply as planned - nice and flat and very very solid. now ready for tiles unless I need to coat the ply with something to stop it stealing the water out of the adhesive too quickly?

No Perspex diffuser yet ( need a beer ) ….

Perhaps have a look at these - https://webuildit-ltd.co.uk/bio-pure-1/ - same ball park figure as above but no moving parts ! Other than a pump you are good to go. We have one and it discharges into a water course the other side of the farmers field, assisted by a connection to the field drainage system.

Yes , yes . Patience ! You had to wait 10 yrs to see my build almost finished - so a few days of suspense you can tolerate fore sure 😎

See what did there ? 🤔🤔🤔🤔

Yes, a treatment plant can usually discharge to a ditch or stream, which is the big advantage over a septic tank. In England that comes under the General Binding Rules for small sewage discharges: under 5 cubic metres a day, a plant built to BS EN 12566-3, and the watercourse should normally have flow all year round, so a ditch that's dry all summer won't do and you'd be back to a drainage field. Septic tanks can no longer discharge straight to a watercourse at all. Wales and Scotland run their own rules through NRW and SEPA, so check if that applies. Building control will still want it shown on the plans. On periods of no use, a septic tank is the more forgiving of the two because it's passive. A plant relies on a live bacterial population and a blower, so after a few weeks empty the biology dies back and it takes a little while to settle once you're back. It's still fine for normal holidays: keep the power on, don't switch the blower off, and go easy on bleach and big loads of washing the first day back. If it'll sit empty for months at a time, mention that to the supplier, as some designs cope better than others.

That's exactly what they did. I've drilled drain holes on the now-outward side a year ago which helped and (since taking the photos) sealed the inward side drain holes, so will see how they go. TBH they need replacing so this is a "tide us over for a few years" bodge on the doors - but I'd like the floor repair to last longer. Paving slabs, that's a great idea. Yes, all under the chipboard is two rows of brick with a cavity like this, so a matter of finding something the right thickness. So you don't fix the DPC down, you lay it and then mortar and then the paving slabs, and rely weight to hold it in place? With inward opening doors there's always going to be water dripping off the bottom when we open them in the rain, wet boots coming in etc so I want to make this new floor as waterproof as I can.

Yes this is what they have told me, so a septic tank is allowed but not the favoured choice. The mains sewer (if you can call it that) is about 150 metres away and consists of 4 houses whose waste goes into a septic tank and this would involve going under a road so I figure this option is not feasible. So it looks like a sewage treatment plant is what councils want these days over septic tanks? I see they are a little bit pricier. Something like this I assume https://www.owlshall.co.uk/sewage-treatment/sewage-treatment-plants/1-4-bedroom/tricel-novo-6/ can the treated waste from such a sewage treatment plant be then discharged into a ditch or water course? And do sewage treatment plants cope with periods of inactivity better than septic tanks?

Probably outward opening french doors fitted the other way around so that they would open inwards (as you would normally want for a porch).

Always quite difficult to diagnose sound by description. Could be the inlet group or the expansion vessel. Here is a video of a failed expansion vessels at its worst (customer left it a long time to ask me to check it out) making similar noise. This was a warranty replacement on an installation I did (and before anyone comments on the lack of pipe insulation, the customer specifically asked for me to do this to provide warmth to their airing cupboard as I'd removed a small rad when stripping out the old combi boiler). Vessel was installed with correct pre-charge at 3 bar and I'd re-checked pre-charge pressure when looking at the fault, so for all intents and purposes it looked like the expansion vessel was okay. untitled.mp4

Before packing and levelling I'd sort the door, because that's the root of it. If the frame drains inwards it'll rot whatever you put back. Get the door and cill refitted the right way round, with the drainage slots weeping out and a decent seal under the cill. For the threshold, cut out all the rotten chipboard back to sound material and see what's actually underneath. If it's a gap over the cavity, lay a strip of DPC across the inner and outer leaf, lapped up behind where the frame sits, then build it up with engineering brick or a cut concrete paving slab bedded on mortar. I'd avoid timber or plastic packers in there, anything that holds or wicks water will give you the same problem again. Levelling compound is fine for the last few millimetres, but it doesn't like going on thick over a joint or anything that flexes, so get a solid base first. Prime the old tiles with the compound maker's primer and check they're well bonded before you go over them. While it's all open I'd swap that MDF for moisture resistant board or treated timber, otherwise you'll be doing this again in a few years.

JpManning has covered the important bits well. The one thing I would add from the leak side is that the percolation test needs to be an honest one. A drainage field forced into clay will not quietly cope, it will show up as surface water or a soggy garden and that is the kind of job I get called out to later. Also double check your outlet invert level before you buy anything, because without enough fall to the field the whole system struggles from day one.

The ****** who built this porch spanned the door opening with chipboard and then laid tiles on top. Over 10-20 years, water has rotted the chipboard ("helped" by installing the UPVC door back to front with it draining inwards), the floor sagged and the tiles have broken. The rest of the floor is presumed laid on concrete, with old terracotta tiles with the white tiles laid on top. What's the easiest way to repair this? I note that the DPC stops at the side, so I'm thinking: DPC across the inner and outer bricks Something to pack the height (tile?) floor levelling compound to bring it up to the top of the white tiles and then we'll lay something new over the top Better way? And what would you pack the gap with? And yes, the whole internal structure of this porch is built from MDF, and not the moisture resistant kind 🤦‍♂️

You show us yours working and we'll show you ours

Worth checking all the schedules in the thermostats in case there’s a rogue entry. Also, check the docs - from memory, there’s some occasional calls to exercise the system for some reason. You can check on the app (if you have the hub) to see which circuits fired and for how long. Bet it’s a rogue schedule.

FYI, I found my posi joists were OK but had a bend in them or other discrepancies e.g. length, of a cm over 5m. They needed to be fettled to line up e.g. at the eaves.

The ultimate option is to choose drivers that have separate dimming control (0-10V, dali, dmx, matter, whatever). Mains dimming LED drivers is always going to be a compromise that has limitations. If you are driving individual bulbs (that are designed for it) then ultimate dimming control is done via current control drivers (vs PWM). That avoids flicker and is very controllable. But it's tricky and tends to need paired bulb/driver so more likely to be found in integrated units with external dimming control. Dimming LED strips or other voltage controlled devices, look for the frequency of the switching. Switching at 2000Hz is likely to be seen as flicker free to most (unless you are filming) but 20kHz drivers are available for niche uses (filming) at the cost of lower efficiency. 20khz also chosen to be above audible range as some people might be able to hear switching at lower frequencies.

I’ve a few Plasson ‘arctic’ taps on blue pipe that survived last winter fine. They’re good to use too.

On another subject, you’ll be pleased to know that you won’t have to deal with leap seconds going forward (well at least for 3,000 years).

In another thread on here, someone just said that trailing edge dimming works best. You could always buy one example of each light, dimmer etc and wire them up to check that they behave well.

I do this in every clients bathroom and have done for 20+ years, as it’s simple, practical, and elegant. And quite ‘cool’ to have (what I always called them) some “P lights”, for nighttime automatic low level lighting. Bathrooms are in and out rooms, so faffing with dimming is a bit daft; basic smart switches can allow you to create scenes easily and cost effectively, whilst still being ‘dumb’ single press switches. Current client has rolled out Aqara for mostly lighting, and it’s a great choice for most boxes ticked and not having HA; we have done a lot of run home wiring here as we’ve opted to centralise drivers / LED running gear vs having these dotted around the home, to ease downstream troubleshooting and maintenance / repair.

That’s an interesting approach. Having separate circuits for low-level night lighting and full bathroom illumination seems practical, especially with the PIR sensor in the shower niche. It avoids the need for dimming altogether while still giving you flexibility depending on the time of day. Thanks for sharing your setup.

Yes. I’m not sure how much success this will yield, but worth starting the process of elimination here. Is the rising cold main in that room with the obligatory double check valve? Crud in that is usually a culprit too, as it audibly moans and groans when unhappy. Double check the pre charge pressure in the white expansion tank as that is often installed without a proper commissioning ever taking place.