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Has anybody here used / does anybody use the Two Hammers technique? Obvs no good if the tile is already on the wall.

I have a friend who completed an extension about 12 months ago. They have about 3 feet of a horizontal soil pipe in their living room, connecting the existing upstairs loo to the new soil pipe. They keep meaning to box it in but don't notice it anymore - I've suggested that they replace it with a clear plastic section as a conversation piece...

Hi everyone, just had my 30th birthday, completed on a plot of land and am about to embark on a self build with my wife, so safe to say I'll definitely have lost all my hair by the time I am 31! The plot is in Saltash, Cornwall. Still awaiting final confirmation of the mortgage but if that all comes through we will be looking to start 1st week of September. Dad has been hinting for years that he had built 2 houses by the time he was 30 so it was time for me to crack on! Few photos and my attempt at a 3D mockup attached. 4 bedroom detached house with a large garage/workshop on almost the entire ground floor. Feel free to ask any questions, I've certainly got lots of my own!

Hi and welcome to the forum. That's an interesting project there, and not without it's challenges I suspect. That looks to be a big bit of ground in a big hole!!!!. We look forward to the story unfolding.

Not to rub salt into the wound just an opposite experience. Fitting a roof 2 months ago. All the rear mono trusses were about 1" out of square between ceiling chord and vertical piece. Spoke to and emailed manufacturer at 12pm. They said they will replace, I said fine but it can't hold the job up. Literally 7am next morning new monos were delivered! all depends on supplier I suppose. As has been said we all make mistakes it's how we sort them that counts.

The rules are simple and based on "safe zones" You can only run a cable in a wall in a "safe zone" and a safe zone is either horizontally or vertically from any accessory, or within 150mm of the ceiling. You cannot run cables at skirting board height, you cannot run them at an angle, only horizontal or verical. Now, given most rooms have sockets on all walls and the normal socket height is 400mm above the floor, then you can run a whole bundle of cables around the rooms at socket height. So except in rooms that don't have sockets, that may be your route? there is aloways the within 150mm of the ceiling safe zone but personally I don't like that but it is legal. I am wiring a house just now with some steel beams and there are just two 90mm holes in each steel, and it would appear the plumber has first choice at using the available holes, on the basis it doesn't matter so much if my cables have to take a longer route. But it is a PITA.

Do you really want to knock that down? I might be in the minority here, but that looks too good and to pretty (from the front at least) to just flatten. It looks to be on a large plot. I would be more thinking in terms of keep and renovate old house, split plot and build a new one. Without seeing the whole plot and the surroundings, the obvious thing would be existing house to right of driveway as you enter, build new house to left of driveway as you enter. I fear to do anything else and it will be a very expensive building plot.

We demolished our 1950s bungalow (approx 100m2) plus concrete garage and 3 outhouses for £3k including breakage of footings and disposal. Asbestos survey and clearance was separate - a bit over £2k. This is in Bucks. We had quotes that went much higher - almost double.

I hadn't spotted the plumbing fail. So it's a double fail photo, two for the price of one. you get value on this forum.

And they say that sometimes I'm too fond of talkin' tech.... I'll get my coat.

I wouldn't sacrifice any internal space, or inconvenience with noise / sound tbh. Putting the stack outside and making it as neat and as inconspicuous as possible would be my recommendation. Once it's been there for a week, you'll not even notice it. Having the stack run through the living room isn't something I'd want.

Sound deadening mat is the way forward. I tried completely surrounding a soil pipe with expanding foam in a hotel, but it was next to useless. Acoustic wool ( dense rock wool ) in conjunction with something like recycled rubber floor matting ( sound deadening layers for floors ) will reap rewards. The rubber to deal with the lower frequency, the wool for the higher, and then 2 layers of sound control ( acoustic ( blue )) plasterboard will be a good solution IMO. That'll leave the stud work at the same depth, but allow for the two layers of PB, both sides if it's a dividing wall.

Sorry, what's "opc"?

Lucky Escape warby! I was coming home one Sunday morning and the whole main street of the town I was living in was covered in smoke, I was shocked when I got to my driveway that it was my family home (I was a teen at the time) causing it! The chimney had gone on fire! At least that's one element I don't have to worry in my proposed new build, although I wonder if wood burning stoves could have similar issues? I had a washing machine go on fire more recently, so while I was thinking of locating mine under the stairs this makes me more wary as it could block the easiest egress point. Good case for positioning the trampoline outside the back window!!

Nick I hate to be the one to break this to you, but if he is delivering your mail, he already knows where you live