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I've bought sheep from there I think.....

Please all, let's not take this useful thread any further off topic. The markets and exchange rates are what they are, and there's nothing to be gained from rehashing the hows and whys of Brexit. Thanks

Sorry to take this off topic, but just a correction - the markets have been influenced by the uncertainties caused by Brexit, so Terry is right.

Well guys, as you may know I have taken on a local builder with a good reputation for our new build and didn't even get another quote as he was so highly recommended by many people, even my late mother in law knew their family as "gooduns". Because of personal circumstances I am unable to get to site for a couple of months and rely on the builders sending me photos of the work so far. My wife was able to visit this last weekend and I discovered through her description and photos a few issues that I thought were wrong. So I called the builder and he went straight to site and we discussed the " issues" whilst he was on site. It turns out that I was wrong about some things and others had not been specified correctly at the outset so my mind was put at rest. I then Emailed him to say sorry to be a pain and thank him for being understanding. Here is his reply:- John,No problem at all. We all realise your predicament up there and are only toohappy to help in any way we can. As I have said before, it is your dreamhome that you are entrusting us to build on your behalf, so you should haveno concerns about questioning anything that you don't fully feelcomfortable with, or indeed have a vision of that you need to pass on to meor the men on site.It sometimes gets lost in translation between architect, drawings, customer,contractor and men on site exactly what the final finish product is hoped tobe, so frequent updates, photos and discussions are justly required.I can get an oak lintel, no probs. What sort of size and finish? how lucky am I to find such a good builder, if anybody wants his details ( near Bude) just ask.

Wish they'd done my lounge.....some clown did the walls in hardboard on <25mm tile battens. The 35mm dry lining boxes used bow the walls out. At least they were good enough to finish it in woodchip!

FFS don't go anywhere near AEG. My BiL had a "blue" one bought as end of range. Metal chuck, gears and feels solid, like it'd pass the "drop test"! This before production moved to China. On the strength of his I bought a new range "orange" AEG from Toolstation on offer. The moment I got it home I knew I'd made a mistake. It sounded like a bag of bolts, looked like a spark firing Christmas toy and felt like it was made from that bit of plastic left when all the biscuits in the tin have gone. Took it straight back the same day to be told I couldn't return it to them but that it had to go back to AEG. Apparently I should have been told this at the time of purchase. I suggested they play their CCTV back to show I hadn't been told. Being 6'5", hirsute and having a demeanour that makes small children burst into tears I got a refund. Went to S'fix next door, bought a Makita and haven't looked back.

I got a good deal on a stainless steel radiator from these people: http://www.britishbathroomcompany.co.uk Cheapest I could find, free delivery and when it was going to be a day late a REAL person contacted me with an apology. So on that basis when I want something else they'll be a first port of call.

Thats what my architect told me.

I thought the most important reason for an outward opening door for a putatively disabled suitable loo was so that rescue was possible if someone inside collapsed against it. The same applies to showers if we are being sensible.

It was very useful for us. Our first architect designed something that we subsequently learned would never in a million years have been allowed by our local planning department. The local guy we subsequently engaged was extremely familiar with the local department's foibles. He ended up getting us planning permission first go for a very, very modern house in an extremely conservative (both kinds) suburban neighbourhood. There isn't a house within a mile of us that looks like it's been built less than 60 years ago, so I think this was a pretty good result. I'll add that it wasn't just that he was local: he was also a better architect, in my opinion, and also better at the planning side of things generally. Agreed on Jamie's comment about access, too. While ours wasn't engaged after planning, he only lived a few blocks away, so occasionally dropped in just to say hi and see how things were going.

Critical. We swapped architects when we changed project - having him a 15min drive from us and the site made a huge difference. Lot easier to have face to face meetings that I think were critical in building the relationship.. Previous one was a good while away from us and the site and I found it a pain trying to coordinate visits - and being charged for each.

I will correct you there - the markets drove the value of Sterling down. We shouldn't really perpetuate something that blames people incorrectly.

Thirty years ago my company wanted to relocate my group to Milton Keynes. I was working in the West End, and Jan and I were living in Croydon at the time. We had just started our family, so the opportunity for a paid relocation out of a terraced house in suburbia into a larger family home in the country was just too good to miss. We ended up buying a somewhat run-down farmhouse in a village between Milton Keynes and Northampton. Jan said: “Think of the potential!”; to which I replied “Think of the work; this is going to be a 10-year project!”. Well, it took us nearer to 20 years to finish the place. We were always cash limited, so we did nearly all the work ourselves, but it proved a beautiful home to raise our family: we had lots of room and a large garden. Today, two of our kids have 'flown the coop' and set up their own homes with their partners; one briefly flew, and then returned. A large rambling 300-year old farmhouse might look beautiful, but it is now far too big for us; the house and garden are high-maintenance, and it is expensive to heat in the winter. This burden is only going to get worse as we get older, so it is now time for us to downsize. But where and to what? We have friends locally, and we like area. We want a smaller house, an energy-efficient low-maintenance one, but also with enough space to include a bed-sit for our son, and to be able to put our other two kids up when they regularly visit for their mum's excellent cooking and free booze. However, when we started looking at local properties, the choice wasn't to our taste or they were just too expensive for what you get. Our garden has enough space at the opposite end from the house for an infill development – it's now probably the only such plot remaining in the village as all of the other plots, the two timber yards, the bus business, the garage, the DIY place and even the old Methodist Chapel have all been bought up and developed. We have been approached a few times over the years by builders offering to buy the end of the garden, so we thought: why not do this ourselves? We could build a new house for our own use and then split the plot. So at the beginning of this year we started exploring costs and options, and the more that we looked at this, the more compelling the case became. We discovered this site during our searches. We have found it – and especially Jeremy's The House at Mill Orchard blog – extremely informative, so we felt that we should also follow his example and write up our experience for the benefit of others who are considering the same path. I will cover how our requirements and site have constrained our design choices in my next post.

According to the guy who runs this youtube channel (which I highly recommend recommend more generally, especially for those not easily offended by swearage), Milwaukee's quality has been falling for several years following its acquisition by Techtronic in Hong Kong. +1 on that. They really don't make it easy to compare, as newer models seem to have almost the same features as the old ones, and there doesn't seem to be much rhyme or reason in the numbering scheme. Their range is too big, imo.

Dewalt went through a VERY rough patch, but their current pro range is very nice stuff. The consumer stuff usually has shitty little low power batteries which do ok for diy but you'd end up killing them if you use it for a build etc.

I doubt that CE mark means anything other than Chinese Electronics If it has a flying flex as it's input, is should be double insulated, as in a sheathed flex. That's glorified speaker wire there. I would be tempted to replace that speaker wire with some proper 2 core sheathed mains flex and then into a choc box or wago box if it's going to be in an inaccesible location. I would put one on an extended soak test to see how hot it gets.

When you do that, try adding the 2 digit suffix to the order code from the latest weekly offers flyer. A surprising number of items that are not in the weekly offers do appear to be discounted if you care to try.