Leaderboard

Ref the getting out more we just got this T shirt for my avid gamer son:

Exactly this. We have a camping stove and spare bottle in the garage. Worst case we need to cook on that once or twice, not the end of the world.

Wow nick.... that looks straight out of corgi's (sorry gas safes ) bamf pr. This is a VERY grey area. To undertake gas work you have to be a competent, this opens up a hell of a lot of grey.... when I was renewing my corgi there was a group of companies that refused to pay their subscription to corgi but were "competent" ie passed their exams.... I don't know how it ended..... but next year I paid lots of money to gas safe..... who let's be honest .... wore a bigger balaclava than corgi. FOR THE RECORD GET THE APPROPRIATE GAS SAFE SIGNATURE ! Few that's me clear (new year's resolution stay off internet after a few drams..... )

No building control recognition and subsequent registration of your new gas installation = no insurance. Put a reasonable price on that ? 30 years ago things were different, but in 2017 what advice should we suggest here, given our wide viewing audience, some of whom only read what's written here. ? 30 years ago all you needed on a construction site were Teflon coated Y-fronts and some sunblock. A bit different today where you need a high vis to fill your trolley in b&q. Lets advise according to 2016/17, and do it with the same passion, concern and conviction 'we' display when discussing say air tightness and insulation levels. . And yes, I'm quite passionate about this subject

Much as I've done loads of gas work, it's all been either under 'supervision' or commissioned and signed of by a GSR fitter. I don't think I could live with the consequences of a fatality caused by my own hand, even worse if it's was one of my own family who died whilst I wasn't at home. There is ABSOLUTELY NO EXCUSE not to get a GSR fitter to test and commission pipework you've pulled point to point. None whatsoever other than just being too tight or failing to see the infinite value in doing so. 1) Sleep at night knowing your installation is safe. 2) Same for your family. 3) You can't get a completion certificate on a gas install unless done as above. Fitting it yourself afterwards is just a mind-numbingly bad idea. 4) Good luck claiming on your insurance if said, non-registered work, causes a fire or total loss of your home. You won't get a penny. How anyone one can see value in not paying for this to be done properly is beyond my comprehension.

Agreed, but to be fair, you guys are a small minority within a small community that has self-selected itself on the basis of an interest in self-build that goes far beyond that of the ordinary person having a house built or renovated. I know a handful of people who've done large refurbs (double house size sort of thing) and built from scratch, and every one of them looked at me blankly when I asked what sort of insulation they are using (I didn't even bother asking about U values or airtightness). I was unhappy with our first architect. Not incompetent, but we didn't like what she was designing us, and the way she positioned the house on our block would never in a million years have passed planning. I'm hugely positive about the architect we replaced her with. He had great ideas, was technically excellent (with the possible exception of some of his weathering details) and really helped us think about how to approach house design. We would never have come up with the layout he suggested, but it works really well in practice. There are, of course, things I'd change in hindsight, but they aren't his fault. Design is an organic process, with lots of compromises, some of which aren't apparent until you're living in the space. Friends of ours had a highly awarded architect design them a house. It's a hugely contemporary glass thing to sit on a country plot. They've just had it costed, and the cheapest he's been able to find so far is over twice the budget he gave the architect. To be fair, I do think they (the friends) were ridiculously optimistic on price and indeed may have contributed to the higher costs based on their insistence on luxury spec throughout. It's also a difficult house to build, and I know lots of builders simply refused to quote. Other friends of ours used an architect to convert their bungalow into a two story house and are wildly happy with what he did. So what does this tell you about architects? Very little, I suspect. Like any professional qualification, it's just confirmation that at some stage you ticked all the boxes to get it. How good a practitioner you subsequently become depends on your talents, experience, motivation and a bit of luck. You should expect competence, and for most people that's sufficient (see first paragraph above!) If I found an error, I'd point it out to the architect and have them fix it. As you say, the "correction" isn't my responsibility.