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I contacted the lady at Network Rail today. My God she can talk for Scotland and I could hardly get a word in edgeways . Anyway I think we will find some middle ground. She started off by saying that maybe they could agree to restrict parking to 3 vehicles and I said that this wasn't possible as the agreed access point would not allow for that, and nor was it desirable for them to park outside on the road. I asked if they could maybe park in the cemetery car park a couple of hundred yards further up the road (it's always empty), and she's agreed to ask the contractors and staff to park there in future rather than on my property. That way their 'briefings' that she said were so important to hold will only be waking the dead and not me . And if they only walk through here to access the gate and are then gone that will be fine and I doubt I will even notice them. They are apparently doing improvements to a stretch of the line for 11 weeks. I have asked that they provide notification of when it is planned that they work in this location and need access. We half agreed on this point and she said that she couldn't agree to that all the time but they would try. They have a tendency to send generic letters to everyone with a property that borders the railway line and on this occasion they had sent a letter saying sorry for any disturbance until end April (3 months). I actually contacted them when I received this letter and asked if they needed access during this time and was told no (which she admits was wrong). I said that a generic letter may be acceptable for information for most people but for those of us with properties that would be accessed this was not enough, and we required more specific letters with more specific details and plans for access. My main concern around this is that the people doing the updates seem to be a tad incompetent (I didn't say that to her ). I said that I would not be allowing access to anyone who had no ID and where I had not been given notification of works, and if this was in the night I may be forced to call the police. I noted that there had been thefts from the farm / farmhouse a bit further up and I said that it was unreasonable to ask me to make an assumption that everyone who arrived in an unmarked white van was here on railway business rather than up to no good. They very occasionally have the track alarm on here. It makes a cheeping sound when things are 'safe', and a more 'busy' sound that warns when a train is due. That doesn't bother me to be honest. I don't hear it inside so maybe on the 1 day of summer in Scotland I may hear it but they don't use it at night when the railway is closed and given most of the work is at night it's a non issue really. So in summary it looks like the parking issue is hopefully nailed, the noise / behavioral issues may be nailed, and there will be some more negotiation to be had over the notice period and the identification of personnel. And all without resorting to a solicitor although I may still need one to help me understand the full legal implications of the Deed of Conditions. It's not in their interest to annoy householders to the extent that they become uncooperative really. Thank you to everyone on here for their input. All the responses allowed me to think through the implications of the different courses of action, and focus on what I wanted the end result to be. I was thus able to communicate my desired outcome in a clear, unambiguous way, and it appears that we can agree on at least 2 of the points. I will not be compromising on the point regarding proper ID, but if I don't get the 48 hours notice, well if they are only walking up the drive to the gate on a occasional basis that's not a major issue for me really.

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to heaven, we were all going direct the other way - in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.” ― Charles Dickens

Please go easy on us but we went a bit mad with the work top for the island wife loves it Its Labradorite Madagascar Granite

Similar to what I'm doing with the remote mounted controls, these: http://www.britishbathroomcompany.co.uk/catalogsearch/result/?q=Rei3411 & this riser rail / handset: http://www.britishbathroomcompany.co.uk/catalogsearch/result/?q=A3041 Both are Hudson Reed and get the Welshman's OK. I'm stuck on the rainfall head but likely this ('coz it's cheap), again Hudson Reed: https://www.pebblegrey.co.uk/product/chrome-slim-round-fixed-head-300mm-diameter?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIruab_5_Y2QIVqL3tCh31xwMPEAQYCCABEgL0HfD_BwE

That should be OK. Storage temperatures can be quite high.

Welcome What is your target insulation value for the floor ..? Whilst Limecrete and Foamglas may be more on a par for a very low performing floor, you may struggle to get close to building regs levels. How are you planning on insulating the walls ..? You may be better trying to create a vapour impermeable bubble inside the building and use MVHR to control building moisture and let the walls do their own thing.

A boring title, I know, but it's succinct and to the point. I find it hard to get excited about windows, to be honest, which has surprised me given how much they cost but slogging through different window systems and deciding what's best hasn't been the most fun thing to do. I guess one aspect that takes any joy out of the process is the lack of uniformity in windows where each company does their own thing and has their own systems which, I'm sure, are terribly important to them and they believe gives them their USPs. From my point of view, too much choice isn't necessarily a good thing and it just makes it impossible to do a direct comparison between window companies. But then, you all knew that already, didn't you?! There's certainly been enough discussion about it. My process for choosing the window supplier was unscientific (apologies Jeremy) and lacking in rigour (apologies everyone) but it worked for me. I contacted 5 companies, Rationel, Ecohaus Internorm, Norrsken, Velfac and Katzenbeck. 4 replied, I never got anything back from Katzenbeck. I sent out our planning permission drawings with floorplans and elevations and described the kind of windows I wanted. Rationel weren't able to do what I wanted with the sliding doors on the ground floor, (a 2 part slider with mullions to make it look as though there are 4 panels) so that didn't go any further after the initial quote. Velfac sent me a quote, but didn't quote on exactly what I'd asked for, including the sliding doors, but I sort of kept the quote in play just to get a feel for their prices. I was a little wary of their attention to detail because I'd also specified 3G with no trickle vents and their first quote was for 2G with vents. Hmm. Ecohaus were outrageously expensive. A nice product, sure, but really expensive at £65k with fitting. That leaves me with Norrsken, and they're my final choice. I've settled on Norrsken for a few reasons, not just the price although that heavily influenced me, of course. I've got about 37m2 of triple glazing and it's coming in at about £35k, with another £8k for fitting. So far, Norrsken have been a pleasure to deal with - not slippery or patronising in any way and very straightforward. They also have their own in-house installation team; I can't comment on them as yet apart from saying that the installations manager came across as well as their sales guy. I'll mention the quote from Velfac here, as it came in about £1500 less than Norrsken, but they are supply only and so I'd have to go and find an installations team that would be able to work with MBC and get the fitting right in those super thick walls. Norrsken have worked with MBC a few times and are familiar with fitting the windows into a passive house; I'm sure that there are plenty of good installers out there but, as is often commented on here, locating them and hiring them is the tricky part. Also, because Norrsken offer a supply and fit package, they can do this with zero VAT which means I don't have to bother with a reclaim on a hefty chunk of spending. As for the windows themselves, well, they look nice, they are triple glazed, they open how I want them to and I can have them in the colours I want. I did say it was unscientific. No doubt I could go into far more detailed research but that lot is good enough for me.

I haven't had mine done yet but this is the quote.

Out of interest why are you choosing to renovate rather than rebuild ? I totally understand the desire to renovate but after doing a few in my life and seeing many of my friends do it i am now of the opinion that rebuild should be seriously considered as a first choice for seriously decrepit structures. Good advice.

@Russell griffiths mine is Stourbridge based not too far down the M5. If you want his details let me know.

Ha ha, it was screwdriver bits I bought not drill bits. Another 51 just to ensure I had one that fitted . Me plus a drill don't make a good combo . I might have to brave one at some point though. I changed the battery in the car remote a couple of days ago having looked at a Youtube video. It looked pretty straightforward and I was quite chuffed when I managed the bit that the video said could be fiddly. Then I couldn't get the bloody thing back together . I did manage it eventually but jeez I can make the most straightforward practical task difficult . Hubby did the practical stuff whereas I did all the organising and paperwork. Practical things are anathema to me sadly. Must try harder I guess!

Martin Shirley of Mini Soil Surveys (South West) Ltd. 01225 425657.

Very nice that. With your username, Labradorite seems fitting!

With a coat of osmo

Sounds just what I want, please can you post a photo?

A wet cutter is the first choice for the cleanest cut IMO, but when using the 4" grinder I always make sure I use a continuous rim blade so it cuts as smoothly as possible.

I had a Sigma, deliciously simple compared to Rubi, but on the day I replaced it ( after it was nicked ) I went all Rubi. The type of tile your referring to is 'riven'. A riven ceramic is a pig, as the peaks often shatter and you lose the surface pattern / colour. With a riven porcelain you won't have as bad an issue. Secret is, the correct sized cutter wheel for the application, not using excessive down-force with the cutter, and being committed to the snap action ( a good shove rather than pushing gently gets the cleanest break ).

£1,400 inc. VAT. 3 holes, 3 samples at 3 depths from each. The analysis will be in addition as there's a lot of clay on the site that wasn't shown on the British Geological map (or something like that). My chap is based in Bath, so not that far from Cirencester. Many of the soil survey people I got quotes from were ridiculously expensive.

Your fine with either sigma or rubi and a 4 inch diamond tiped grinder for shaped cuts Ive just replaced two of our rubi cutters with sigma Just as good Better value

£800 inc vat...original quote was £2k inc vat but that was for a 3m depth. We waited until we had excavated our massive hole (house is dropped down) and then had ground survey, if your site has to be excavated to any depth for slab I would wait no point in testing anything you are going to dig up and cart away. We had to drop a couple of meters from original ground level to where we needed to be for slab. Vat not able to be reclaimed on prof fees either ...makes it more painful!

Okay, I'll admit it, I used a MCS approved installer and have just completed the RHI registration. I'll receive ₤111 per quarter (index linked) for the next 7 years, so something circa ₤3,300 in total. Was it worth it for the additional install cost? For me, I think it probably was, but the scheme does seem somewhat arse about face in that the more energy efficient the home, the lower the RHI payment received as it's calculated from your predicted energy usage on the EPC. Surely it would encourage the build of more energy efficient homes if the reverse were the case?

I worked out that the "MCS installation premium" for a typical monoblock ASHP was around £2500, so your guess looks spot on, you'd never ever recover the "MCS premium" from the RHI, so it would be pointless, just as it was for us.

It's okay, wasn't aimed at anyone in particular, it's just that in various threads I've noticed terms being used in a way I wouldn't - doesn't mean it's wrong, but might help us all! J

You should consider instructing a barrister/advocate instead of a solicitor. They are usually much cheaper than a senior solicitor (because they are self employed and don't have the high overheads), they're more efficient and you can choose a barrister with the specific expertise in property law you require, even to reviewing their CV and experience. In any case, if a solicitor gets a difficult legal problem he will be proposing that he instructs a barrister with the specialist expertise on your behalf and you may end up paying both their costs for the same problem. Not exactly sure of the position in Scotland but on a quick check http://www.advocates.org.uk/instructing-advocates/different-ways-of-instructing-an-advocate you may be have to be a member of a professional body, or similar, listed in the Faculty of Advocates Direct Access Rules - attached. In England, anyone can instruct a barrister for legal advice - it's called Public Access. I have done this successfully in a neighbour dispute case some 10 years ago and saved a lot of money. A barrister can write opinions, letters and represent you in meetings but they cannot start legal proceedings in court on your behalf that's back to a solicitor, who then works with your barrister.. The first thing to do is google "barrister specialising in Property Law" in say Edinburgh (though it doesn't really matter and you could use an advocate from any Chambers in Scotland) and that should get you to a list of advocates and their chambers. You should then be able to ring the Chamber's Senior Clerk and outline your issue. They may be able to give you a lump sum, if you can define the issue (maybe sending some documents) and what you want - a written opinion, for instance. new-direct-access-rules.pdf

Of course. Sorry for being an idiot. I had just clicked on Jack's link without properly taking in his post. Thought I was going to have to get a cheese eating dog for a minute.

Can you PM me first, roughly 5 mins before I need to panic. Just want a head start

I wholeheartedly agree with @billt. Some of our older LEDs (now replaced) were running at around 80 deg C quite happily, without problems. The problems aren't really the LED, but the heat in the LED driver, so if you can fit LEDs with a remote driver, away from the heat source, then the risk of damage, even when running with the stove lit, or emitting residual heat from having been lit, should be pretty low.

This site seems to explain the regulations well and doesn't mention a minimum diameter for hand rails. It also says that the first 2 stairs do not need a handrail https://www.wonkeedonkeerichardburbidge.co.uk/building-regulations-explained/

I spoke to my neighbour last night. She has asked the solicitor to claim compensation from her previous solicitor for the fact that the house doesn’t have a completion certificate which she has letters to prove that this was the agreed basis of the sale. So she is having to pay for the residual work required by the council in order to get the house signed off which should have been addressed by and paid for by the previous vendor. Plus she’s asked him to clarify the access conditions and get the deed of conditions reworked to show parking in the intended area. That sounds all very costly to me, and most of that is nothing to do with me so I won’t be contributing to that. He is apparently billing her as he goes so she shouldn’t be hit with a large bill at the end, and he has told her that he thinks she has a good case against the solicitor if you can rely on that. He was recommended to her so hopefully he will be good. All I want really is for someone to review the document I have and explain the contents. I could do that using a decent online service I imagine but I googled and just seemed to find lots of links requesting money ‘to answer your question’ which is not what I really need. My issue is that it’s Scotland and I only know English lawyers. And no I don’t earn £280 an hour lol!

Part K is simply the Approved Document and is not the actual Building Regs which means that you may be able to negotiate something different from Part K if you can convince your Building Inspector. If we are just looking at the wording in Part K then there's nothing to prevent you from using a handrail that is different to the thicknesses shown in diagram 1.13 as that diagram is for "buildings other than dwellings". I would however disagree with you when you say that that the first two steps need no handrail as I don't think paragraph 1.37 provisions should be read in that way. I think paragraph 1.37 means that if you only have a flight of 2 risers or less then you don't need a handrail. Any flight with 3 risers or more then the whole flight needs handrails.

Yes, I was watching a movie made in 1952, said that the world had had it and the future was in space. Made me chuckle. All my life I have heard that the world is going to hell in a handcart, or similar. But all my life the world has got better and better.

For that price you could have burned 43333 lt of diesel (at 60p/litre) and at 30% efficiency got 130 MWh of juice on demand.

Found it F

MY practice for solicitors now is that I go for long established local firms of perhaps 2-3 offices and a small number of principals and up to a few 10s of staff, rather than regionals with a couple of hundred staff and prestige offices who want to believe they are on a par with the Magic Circle, and charge accordingly. Really that comes down to firms small enough that they still all know each other and do not have umpteen overheads and employ a pot plant service to keep the office green. I try and find the appropriate experienced principal. And I have spent quite a lot with solicitors in the last few years because we sold a field to a big developer and the contract was huuuuuuge, with added elephant traps. If you have somebody expensive (even though you will get estra support time per billed hour) then perhaps @lizzie could advise how to manage costs? The other route to go might be to source your own solicitor eg from pertinent legal bloggers, though it has perhaps gone past that point. My thought would be a tight brief and very regular verbal updates, and fixed prices for sub packages if they can do it - all probably confirmed from your side by email so you write the record. Unless you earn more than £280 an hour yourself so can make a profit on it, but that would require you to work as an Interim Director or BBC football pundit. Or lawyer . (*) Ferdinand (*) Felt the Planning Officers deserved a break.

metal based or not, it's the friction of the powder in the tube that causes problems. /it's a long time since I sat my ATEX certification but I'll never underestimate the risks of moving dusts, just as @Onoff describes.

I have for a long time believed the only people that benefit from these schemes is the installer that can charge a premium because he has the magic bit of paper to enable him to sign it off. If you are lucky, the RHI payment will cover that extra cost, so it will not have cost you any more. The scheme is bonkers. I am not bothering with it.

No. My previous house was one of 2 plots that were granted outline planning in one planning application. You can't start building with just outline planning. So the 2 plots were sold, with outline planning and then each owner submitted their own full planning application. Each of our applications was separate with it's own approval date and expiry date. This is what will happen if you sell the plots individually.

Yes, it is arse about face but it’s aim was nt to make new builds greener, but improve the emissions from our current housing stock. As with any subsidy scheme, it gets taken advantage of and I know of numerous examples where the homeowner got the Epc undertaken for their RHI calculation, and then made all the energy improvements to their property (windows, insulation etc). Making new builds “green” should come from raising the bar of regulation as, as most of us on here are aware, minimum building regulations are nt particularly high. My personal opinion is that energy is too cheap in the UK and that is why our housing stock is so poor in terms of energy usage. Increase taxes on energy and this would change. Admittedly this probably is nt a vote winner as, in the short/medium term, its going to hit those on lower incomes harder.

Here's another IOT style air pollution monitoring effort based in Germany, https://luftdaten.info/en/home-en/ They have a few UK contributors on the map: http://stuttgart.maps.luftdaten.info/#6/54.635/-1.782 Their sensor build page is currently only in German, Dutch, French, but lists the sensors used: https://luftdaten.info/feinstaubsensor-bauen/ SDS011 fine particle sensor (formerly PPD42NS) DHT22, temperature & humidity (optional) Update, from their FAQ using Google's translation: Until September 2016 we used the SHINYEI PPD42NS sensor. This uses the optical measuring method and a heating resistor. Currently we use the NOVA SDS011 as a fine particle sensor. It has the digital outputs for PM10 and PM2.5. This uses the optical measuring method with a built-in fan. Update, Found their English build page which include lots of photos and the wiring diagram: https://luftdaten.info/en/construction-manual/ And another set of English instructions on this blog post: https://www.byteyourlife.com/en/household-tools/particulate-matter-sensor-controller-project-luftdaten-info/7204 Update, while looking for anything in English, I found a Belgian project using the Luftdaten approach as a basis: http://influencair.be/build-your-sensor/ Update, and this spin off group in Bulgaria, https://en.airbg.info/how-to/

I am hopeless at DIY. I look at YouTube videos and it all looks easy. Try it myself and it gets super fecked .

I always try and do an audit trail, and then try and find out all the companies procedures. Those contractors are being paid who pays them and keep going, if they have no id or work permits how do you know they have a right to be there. I have add major hassle with film crews breaking the law, no one would listen, found out all the correct procedures, laws and use Article 11 "Rights to protest and freedom of association" and how the Scottish Parliament encourages people to protest. Virtually overnight I was getting phone calls wanting to find a solution. Key points, I saturate all the parties with emails and always inform the police about my protests and make it into a "game" so my blood vessels do not explode. My rule is if I would not do it to other people, then I do not expect it done to me. I always remember @JSHarris phrase, "you are oiling the wheels" and I can assure you this unacceptable behavior is happening to other people, with you challenging them it will help others.

Congrats. Looks brilliant.?

None of the above...! Sparks used either cable clips on the sides of the posijoists, or where a bundle of cable was created then there is a standard plastic coated strap used to keep them tidy - all standard detail as per the site guide which is the requirement of the Wiring Regulations. That is what you have to follow - not a joist manufacturers installation guide as they are not the expert in this case

Bear in mind that there are rules defined in other regulations for supporting wiring and pipework, so my guess is that joist manufacturers don't see any need to repeat these in their advice.

A large part of the problem is where we're starting from in terms of what the general population and builders know and want (edited:) are willing to pay for. Since starting our project, several friends have undertaken significant building works. None have actually built houses, but one took a bungalow back to bare walls and added another storey, and two completed roof-off renovations including extensive extensions. All involved all-new windows and doors, and replacement insulation. I talked to all of them about insulation and airtightness, and all shrugged and said that their architect/builder was doing the "building regs" stuff. I encouraged them to go for better windows, but they weren't "in the budget". I encouraged one to at least add extra insulation to their loft bedroom, given that they were unsatisfied with how hot their current loft was during summer. Nope. Not willing to spend the money, don't have the ridge height, and in any event they're installing an air conditioner! Builders are even worse. We've all seen how disinterested many of them are in even following the rules they're supposed to follow. Most won't offer better standards even if they've capable of achieving them, because the buyers of their services value those standards at approximately zero. So all this talk of technical capability within the industry is theoretical unless and until it's backed up by law and oversight, imo. Until then, people will do what they've always done.

£5k

I gave up in the end of going off-grid mainly because the Tesla Powerwall2 would have been ideal but failed to hit its delivery deadlines for the UK off-grid certification - £26k spent on a long bit of copper instead :-(