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SWMBO and I were discussing this. "I want a larger HW tank in the new house" "Why, this one never runs out of hot water" "You haven't seen the shower I want in the new house".......

Looks like you'll be sorted in time for Christmas. 2018...

Figured start a new thread on this as it's a bit removed from "flexible tap connectors" and can stand alone So I'm boxing the bath in. Just doing what I can until I decide what way around the bath is going etc. It's a timber frame all screwed together so easy enough to dismantle. Decided to taper the long bath side so when you stand close your toes will be sort of under and you'll be a couple of inches closer. It'll be tiles atop the 3/4" ply that the bath sits on. Up the side (tiled again) I was going to do 12mm ply - shown here with a bit of 12.5mm plasterboard. First time doing anything this complex so just seeing if I'm on the right track. Only ever fitted a ready made acrylic panel or a bit of painted ply: (Got to shim up the faces of the central two tapered pieces with some thin ply to bring them level). Presume I can just tile over this detail?

This just out if interest: Bought a BL1830 clone a while back at random on eBay. Can't fault it the. Charges, doesn't get hot and lasts. Decided to get another for a freebie BHP452 I've just been given (needed a £2 forward / reverse lever). As you do I thought I'd compare the guts side by side. Externally the case looks identical. Looks a bit different inside though. The old clone's on the left and the new one on the right: EDIT: Should have added that the latest clone on the right ( with the red cells) is from here: http://m.ebay.co.uk/sch/m.html?isRefine=true&_odkw=makita+18v&_ssn=lycfeng&_sop=15&hash=item25ad3101dd&item=161819460061&_osacat=0&_from=R40&_trksid=p2046732.m570.l1313.TR12.TRC2.A0.H0.Xmakita+18v+battery.TRS0&_nkw=makita+18v+battery&_sacat=0&_trksid=p2046732.m570.l1313.TR12.TRC2.A0.H0.Xmakita 18v battery.TRS0&_mwBanner=1 Bought on recommendation from a member here who rated them. Not used in anger yet so time will tell! It does look well made though with an attention to detail etc. I must compare to the inside of a genuine Makita BL1830. I've no doubt voided any warranty but for £22.99 I'm not overly bothered. I'll openly admit though that with these clones I NEVER leave them charging unattended.

Had a conversation with my plumber about cylinder size. The house will be 5 beds and 4 bathrooms. 2 have a bath. We will be having gas and an un vented system like mega flo. He thinks I might need 2 cylinders of 200 litres each as he thinks it should be spec'd to the max usage. There are 4 of us (2 kids) at the mo our house has a 150 litre tank as seems to be plenty. I'm also worried about heating that much water every time. I was thinking a 300 litre tank would be plenty. Any opinions welcome! Thanks

We have a 250L UVC with 5kW ASHP. Seems to work fine. As discussed elsewhere, we boost the top part with the immersion every morning but probably don't need to. We've never run out of water in a year living here, although admittedly our water pressure is a bit low at the moment (temporary restrictor fitted by plumber to make absolutely sure we pass water calcs). We have two young kids who tend to take longish showers unless you continually hound them out of it. My wife and I both shower at least once a day, and what with sport, gym, etc, I'd say we average 5-6 showers a day between us, of anything between 4 and 10 mins each. We do have shower waste water recovery, and I'm convinced that helps a lot. One thing you could consider is plumbing in the basics for a second cylinder and seeing how you get on with just the one. If you make the room now and put the main pipework in place, it won't cost much, and you'll avoid outlaying for something you may never use. My inlaws have 2 x 250L in their 5 bed house with just the two of them(!) They basically turn one off unless they have quite a few guests. Personally I think they could do with just one by leaving the immersion running constantly on the odd weekend when they have guests. You might consider something similar as well, especially if your peak needs are going to only be occasional (might depend on how often you actually use the baths) . Bear in mind that although the occasional immersion usage seems wasteful, you have half the standing losses with a single tank. To be fair to her, she hasn't seen the restrictor you're going to hide in the plumbing to said shower!

@worldwidewebs, Yup Heavy duty polythene is only 250 micron.

Windows are here!!!!

Don't! I've not even thought about the domed ceiling yet. Need the bath installed so I can stand on it to do all the High Renaissance artwork. Seriously though, I must get onto Rapid later to order some by the meter screened flex so as to extend the control wiring.

Are you sure this won't be like St Paul's and completed by his children?

I know its not an immediate solution, but you can't beat a nice spiny rose, or other bushing plants such as Pyracantha. Nature is nature.

Reading this thread just shows how awkward some planning departments are. I had a number of pre commencement conditions and these were just dealt with by email with my planning officer. No long delays, no fee, and no need to "submit" my solutions formally. At the end I got an email, followed up by a letter in the post saying the pre commencment conditions had been discharged. Oh so simple. I then had to notify them when I "started" the development. I queried what constitutes "starting" and it was simple. condition 1 of my PP said I must create the tarmac entrance from the road before any building begins, so when I started work on that entrance, I had "started" the development and had to notify them. It wasn't relevant to me as I was proceeding with the build immediately, but it would appear that just making the entrance and "starting" would have been enough to lock in the PP if I had intended a long delay before actually building.

Slowly, oh so slowly that's where I've got to. To be kind to planners: I'm sure that a very robust approach by the developer is a reasonable response to the system overload. Most planners won't or don't care. And the vast majority of Enforcement Departments are very likely to be overloaded. To be unkind to planners' bosses; there is very little excuse for managing success so poorly. Those, however, who test the edges of illegal development - it's not unknown in Lancashire - make for much righteous indignation in Parish Councils, but good pub badinage.

Going off track briefly.... there are restrictions on what new S106 councils can demand. They are only allowed to demand 5 for the same reason - so if they have already demanded 5 people contribute to the local playground they can't demand any more do so. That's 5 backdated several years so in some cases the 5 has already been exceeded. The gov did this to encourage councils to move to the CIL.

Blackfriar stuff works fine: http://www.blackfriar.co.uk/product/anti-climb-paint/ Sorry to be a nanny but do also remember your legal obligation: http://www.approvedbusiness.co.uk/files/companypdffiles/3268/Anti Climb Paint and the Law.pdf

I was in exactly the same position six weeks ago. Too busy to write a report or send an email. I followed all the rules and waited patiently. Nothing. Change of tack - rang twice per day for four days. On the fifth he told me that had issued the notice and not to call again Someone on here I can't remember who pointed out that it is a power trip playing with peoples lives I'm inclined to agree

Probably better with the lights on properly......

a very wet room Do you struggle with empathy Dave? Wives, children, plughole fairies, you name it. Still, I'd have to be convinced that a typical overflow will discharge the equivalent of mains pressure water as it is direct delivered. Said wives, children, plughole fairies only operate quarter-turn taps in a binary fashion. 0 = tap off 1 = flooding the bathroom with splashback

When I looked up SPONS on the internet I found 3 books. Is there one in particular that you refer to? So far I've used the HBB (an electrician friend who converted a chapel recommended it) and I think for a complete novice like myself it is a good starting point. As someone has already mentioned it's easy to read and digest. Of course an actual build will have a many variables but I have found the way it breaks the elements of a build down a really useful starting guide especially for building up cost estimates. I would say however that some of his tables are more 'deliberately' vague in their source numbers than others for anyone seeking to understand this from scratch. I have found supplementing the budget cost pages of the Homebuilding&Renovating website a good supplement and check though note that some of the pages are quite old now so the prices they quote may not always be so relevant. (sample https://www.homebuilding.co.uk/electrics-cost-guide/ ) Tomorrow off to check the two books mentioned by curlewhouse and those by TheMitchels as they seem they look like they will address the next gaps of my ignorance in the actual builds and site management

I usually cut a section of plywood out and fix a tile on with 4 or 5 50p size blobs of mastic. The tile the gets grouted as normal and looks flawless. I tell the customer to keep at least one full box of tiles, and the idea is if you need to get in ever, you just cover the tile in gaffa tape and whack it in the middle to break it. Remove it and clean up, change whatever and stick a fresh tile back. Fwiw most modern taps are all services from above . I only put an access option on these kind of jobs as there was also an air admittance valve ( on top of the white pipe shown ) so was more worried about that failing tbh.

We love Megabad too. Here's our sanitaryware; arrived last week and thought you'd like to see this picture of it

Amazon could learn a LOT from them !