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Hi All, Has anyone ever employed a lighting design company for their internal lighting? We don't really want to go with standard spot lights in our new build and I remember at one of the shows getting a leaflet for a company in Belfast that will do a design for us. I just don't know if want to justify the expense versus getting the lighting right.

Hi, We did most of the lighting design ourselves - but did get a lighting design company to come in and give us some advice on some tricky bits. They came up with some good ideas and it was well worth the modest cost of getting them in. We then bought some of the fittings from them - which were quite a bit more expensive than the cheapo stuff we were sourcing - but turned out to be much better. If I was doing it again I would probably get them involved earlier and more extensively. - reddal

I always use 5amp sockets around a lounge wired back to a wall switch or two to enable standard or table lamps to be switched on when entering the room . Simple and very effective.

I tried once. We had a couple of specific areas where we wanted some ideas and help. We took the guy through the house, showed him the problem areas, told him we were on a tight budget, and gave him links to our Pinterest light boards. He came back after two weeks with £9000 worth of light fittings for one of the areas. It was very nice. I never contacted him again, and he, quite wisely I thought, didn't pursue us for part of the few hundred quid he'd suggested the whole process would cost. I don't doubt that working with the right lighting person would be absolutely awesome. The problem is getting someone who can do something interesting without immediately reaching for coloured LED strips in cove lighting (fair play to you if that's what you like - it's clearly very popular - it just isn't my cup of lapsang souchong). One thing we've done in some of the public areas of our house is use wall lighters. We found some modest, relatively reasonably priced lamps that provide enough light to see by while giving, we think, some atmosphere. The other thing is to consider using 5 amp circuits and/or home automation to easily allow the use of secondary lighting such as lamps and wall lights. Personally, at night the last thing I want on is downlights, so in our house, they're secondary lighting in most rooms!

I don't subscribe to relativism, but "gut wrenching modernist box of the utmost vulgarity" seems subjective to me. I like (some) modernist boxes. I think some are vulgar. I think some people manage to build horrendous houses despite sticking pretty closely to the design palette of what's already in place around them. I'd rather have the full spectrum of reactions: houses I love, houses I loathe, and everything in between. Basically, I'd be happy to have more houses built that I hate if gives me the opportunity to feel joy about some of the others!

I wanted to talk to my neighbours as I don't like conflict. My architect was absolutely adamant that to engage with them would only start negotiations on how they thought my house should look and would allow them to argue about things that they think are irrelevant but planners would throw out as non material objections. And they could be two faced and object anyway. It is unlikely that anything the neighbours say will make a difference so it may be easier just to apply and forget about them.

Bang on. If I see one more boring rectangular box with hung clay tiles on the top half because it's the "local vernacular", but with the cheapest uPVC windows you can buy, I'll scream. They seem to fly through planning around here.

I don't use white CT1 for ANYTHING. It goes near custard yellow. I will only, and reluctantly, use colour matched silicones to give a job the cherry on the cake IF I can't do the cosmetic / final sealing with a clear bead of CT1. This siliconing is done over a fundamental seal and accepted as 'sacrificial' sealing for aesthetics only. That can be quickly and easily removed and replaced as the silicone gets tired / grotty. The reason for the mix of makes is that I've not actually seen a clear Sikaflex tbh ( and haven't really looked for one either, for whatever reason ). Also, comparing the two, I maintain that Sikaflex is unrivalled for use as an adhesive, complimented with excellent 'sealing' properties, and stays white. You could quite easily tool and finish white Sikaflex and have it as the final product on display, but definitely not so with white CT1. Fwiw, the colured CT1's seem fine and maintain their colour so a shame the white goes 'off'. Hold the press....Bingo I'll get some and give it a whirl.

I still think parish councils should lose their 106 contributions if they take you to committee and lose. Around here they take you to committee on grounds which are not even really valid. Then you get a full vote for permission at committee but delay of 2/3months.

If you are serious about star wiring to allow future proofing for automated/intelligent lighting etc then bare in mind that a lot of the systems use CAT5 for control. Thus if you really want to future proof then take a run of cat5 to each switch point too. Ive self installed Clipsal C-Bus three times now. It really is bl00dy simple to install and configure. All your loads come back to dimmers or relays at the consumer unit (or alternative node zero) and control (switches, PIR's etc etc) run on CAT5 which can be series, star or a combination of both.

A little light reading? Hybrid MS Sealants.pdf

Yep. Acoustic performance, same as thermal, depends critically upon detailing and workmanship. The smallest of gaps or imperfections in the system will allow sound through and degrade the performance of the floor or wall.

The fascination is about the view