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I’m looking into whether I can override the displays of the heatmisers in code. So they say 24c at about 19.... that should do it :-)

So we have a dummy thermostat in a building I manage - you turn it up and hear the “click” but it does nothing .... and no-one ever says it’s cold..!

I tried that by moving the stat dial on the splines about 10 years ago but my son - the blighter, calibrated the stat with the kitchen thermometer and told me it was 4 deg out and that he had drawn an arrow on the dial where 21 was supposed to be.

Ok, now that I have the completion certificates needed to sell my own house, we can get back to finishing the new one. We are due to move in on the 8th, clearly we won't be 100% finished then, but it should be fine. We will have a temporary stair and the decorators will still be working, but water electricity and gas will be connected up. We have gone niche crazy in the master ensuite, bathroom TV is going in the end there. Scaffolding is finally down letting you see the full height of the hall. Gamesroom and study all ready for painting. Second floor staircase should go in next week or the week after. Hall from upstairs. First finished window frame, I love the real stone, it just needs to be cleaned off. The renderers were applying the base coat today and the top coat will go on next week. More niches, I was surprised that the builder didn't mind putting them all in. Solar panels on, this is the final area waiting to be tiled. Detail around Rationel windows.

Unfortunately as the warranty is tied in (and paid for) it's no simple matter to sack them - if it was just the BC aspect, I'd have dropped them the first day he queried if Kingspan SIPs (all of them with prominent BBA stickers on them) were "an approved building material", as that was a clear red flag. However, I had the "Warranty Engineer" and my BCO here today to resolve matters. I set the tone by refusing to shake their hands (I've never done that in my life) saying "you try and stop me building a home for my family and then expect me to shake your hand? Your lucky I'm not throwing you off my site" - I thought it was best to set the correct tone from the start . I've been polite long enough. Anyway, they definitely want me to ruin the VCL by stapling every 200mm and thus putting several thousands of pin holes in it or they won't approve the warranty. I pointed out to them that it will thus be water vapour permeable and no longer actually a VCL, but they say that's what Kingspan has now specified. They still couldn't explain to me how the VCL will allegedly fall off if not stapled exactly every 200mm when it will have studding screwed into it every 600mm (though its on the wall now stapled at about 300-400 centres and has been there 2 weeks) . Their reply is just that this is what Kingspan specifies - I told the engineer that he wasted all those years at university if he could not use his own brain and THINK - because as a non-engineer even I cant see how the VCL could magically pass through studs and fall off. Anyway, the main point was to ensure we weren't continuing to have these discussions and me doing research for them at every single item, the VCL staples are just the most recent issue. So after about half an hour I got them to tell me now what else they want to see from here on rather than waiting until I've done it then "ambushing" me, pointing out that since they are applying rules over and above those in the building regs, without being a mind-reader, how can I comply? I also pointed out more than once that I've been unable to find a single person who has been subject to this level of scrutiny and asked them why I therefore see utter cr*p being allowed for the volume builders to get away with (since they do BCO work for some of the bigger firms too). They claimed they are this fussy with every build. Both admitted to me they don't have part P certificates, so I told them that I will not take any notice of their views on electrics and that they open themselves to potential legal action if they go around giving instructions on electrics in their professional life. I also asked them if they think a self build is likely to "bodge" things - and to be fair they admitted to me that our build is actually way above the standard they usually see. I said that "unlike some hairy *rsed bricklayer on his 500th house build, (my actual words) this house matters hugely to me, so there are no corners cut anywhere and if anything quite the reverse thus no need for micro-management". I think we came to an understanding by the end (basically they just be sensible, and I wont trash their name everywhere I can) and I did shake their hands! Its a shame it had to come to such an unpleasant situation and I had to be quite rude and forceful really. So we shall see.... (A window rep called at the same time and looked worried after he heard how I was talking to them )

Absolutely no idea yet, hoping to go down the IBC/DIY install as I'm pretty sure bought systems are horrifically priced in terms of payback Than plan is to use it for gardens, car washing, toilets and possibly washing machine too, so will use a fair bit

I'm building a house sized extension adjacent to an existing property. The founds/slab and blockwork are going in January - February, prior to the panel company erected the extension in april I will be opening up the existing property to accept the union with the new extension in March. it requires the wall to be raised, rsj in etc. Once I'm into the existing property the intention was to channel the UFH Manifold Flow and return and flow pipes into the existing slab all the way to the thermal store- circa 8 meters. I'd rather not open the house to the elements whilst the groundworks are being done, so I'm looking at ways of laying the pipe/conduit in the insulation,so I can get to it when I'm opening up I don't know if its possible, but I can hope

Did it have an M6 bolt in the fuseholder in the 13A plug?

Yes. But I'm also taking the plumbing bull by the horns (Bit like @jamiehamy) I've been scared of it the whole of my life, but not any more. '... Lockshield valve...' It's just a plain valve isn't it. What does it lock and what does it shield? That looks like fun. (YT research) But I will want to sell our house this spring and its needs to be done pucca. By me Ha! That's exactly what we have, an F&E system (Sound like I know what I'm on about dunnit? ) And the rads were probably 17th hand by the time they were fitted. Looks like an interesting weekend ahead.

Pmsl.

Lol. Love the wallpaper idea. We could have a load made and send it to all the arsehole neighbours as a peace offering

Brass thing with red wheel on the top ....

The ones I fitted are Computherm Q3 RF models, but they do a cheaper wired version, the Q3, plus a smarter one, the Q7. Here's the first link I could find to a seller with the Q3, you may find it cheaper by shopping around: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Computherm-Q3-Wired-Room-Thermostat/dp/B00SNHCWQC The hysteresis is set by a link on the back, either +/- 0.2 deg or +/- 0.1 deg.

Now, now ? Folk who are currently jumping through hoops whilst bent over backwards would kill for one, even if it did look like a dog license. You could always send it off and have it made into wallpaper for a nice feature wall ??

My parents-in-law have two ovens which require a 16A supply each, with a double-pole switch to each oven. We took the existing 10mm2 cable from the old cooker which is protected with a 40A MCB in the consumer unit. This terminates in a small consumer unit with two 16A double-pole MCBs. This provides the necessary circuit protection, appliance protection and isolation requirements in a neat box, and it's much easier to wire than 10mm2 cable into backboxes. There are a couple of spare ways in the CU, so if they want to add anything in the future (over-unit lighting etc) there is plenty of scope to add an MCB without much work at all.

Possibly there could be different types of movement between the two different types of foundations of the two semis which would cause problems with party wall cracking. All depends on ground conditions.

Here's the draft checklist for comment 1. Drain runs: must be downhill and straight 2. Spare conduits: draw strings 3. Soil Pipes 4. Copper pipes 5. MVHR runs 6. Hep2O 7. Electrical backing boxes 8. Electricity cable 9. Data and Audio visual: printer, HDMI cables, speaker cables 10. Telephony 11. Socket location 12. Security 13. Fire alarm 14. Normal pipes 15. Door bell 16. Door frames 17. Pocket door frames 18. Stair well: floating / cantilevered? 19. Leave floor boarding unfixed to enable new cables to be fished across 20. Photograph everything, measure and mark with a sharpie as needed ( but not on Plaster Board) and/or take notes. Make allowance for finished floors & walls. 21. Sound insulation 22. Plaster Boarding 23. Support (noggins) for wall hung items such as cupboards, sinks, mirrors, TVs, What have we missed out?

Make sure you let the drilling company know that you are likely to hit sandstone at a shallow depth. Depending on how strong it is you might not get a sample using a hollow spt split cone.

Aaaahhhh ..!!! 25m is miles away in tree terms unless the branches come over your plot ..?! Only issue will be the hedge but unless it has any trunks above 75mm diameter at 1.5m above ground it’s not classed as a tree so just crack on ....

Just cut the ends off the old HDMI and use it as a fancy drawstring

Or use these. http://www.diy.com/departments/round-terracotta-pot-h170mm-dia210mm/925981_BQ.prd?icamp=recs&rrec=true I have used them in my last house and my new build to cover all the downlights. Cut a notch out for the cable and silicone it to the plasterboard. If the pot has drainage holes in the bottom then another dab of silicone sorts that out. It's a 2 min job for each light.