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These 'boys' have no soul! Having said that, If someone takes the time to explain why these things won't work in the way we expect, we then have the option to compromise, or be prepared to pay the extra to make them work. On this site - generally - that happens. BUT other than that, why do some people just shrug their shoulders and do things they way they always have without regard to the customer paying the bill Oh, and I do know this happens to both sexes. I hate when someone (a) just does what I said without explaining the consequences, I am not a builder but neither am I thick. (b) says 'that won't work' without explaining why but I love people who say something on the lines of I can see what you are trying to do but the issues around this are ... have you thought about ... or ... or perhaps we could ...? Then I can make an informed decision.

It is actually a marine grade stainless steel garden tap and matches my other outside fittings. It is a special tap with two outlets and chosen for its design and finish. Stainless steel outdoor taps are not uncommon. Personally I hate the cheap brass screwfix look and do not want that bang outside my front door.

See now, I'd bring the wall further out...

Even a half decent handyman should be able to do a much better job than your plumber did!

Thanks everyone. I had three days off: feeling much better. Resilience levels back to normal now. That'll have been the last time I worked a 21 day stretch. I don't recover quite as quickly as I used to. So; 8 to 5 with lunch and two breaks every weekend off try and visit another build / show / building site occasionally stick to the knitting : but allow myself a fun job now and then take the dogs for a walk more often : get the bike out take more notice of successes Arse scorched by the searing heat of my own worthiness ..... ?

It's a least one of my 5 a day - innit

I've got two showers, this is the al fresco, solar one:

One of these and no need to finish your shower ?

Beer is the healer. "All hail the Ale". ???

Okay it's fitted badly. BUT my first reaction, is "why fit a chrome kitchen tap outside". Sorry I hate the tap. I would change it for a standard brass outside tap that looks well like an outside tap. Best of luck getting it re done, but I can't think of anything that will make it look nice. Sorry.

Ah well try not to sweat the small stuff. It’s a minor irritation at a time of great triumph for you so don’t let the little things spoil the massive achievement of having got this far, and your new life about to start. And this will be fixable (by someone better ).

Yup thats a great way to make an expensive peice of quality hardware look like shite. Hope you get it fixed up.

Looks like WD40 will do it over a couple of days. One label is a 9”x9” triangular gloss faced bugger at the top corner. Epilation of a bear would be easier.

Really interesting to see this, If I ever build another house I'd like to do a DIY insulated slab much like you've done. As already mentioned the site looks great. Best of luck with the ICF!

Nick thank you so much. I have an isolation tap inside already. I will see if I can get a different plumber to come and do it. Thank you.?

I would go to a local steel fabricator and see what they say, over a thousand pounds for a rsj with a plate welded on the bottom is ridiculous

@Nickfromwales when can we clone you?

Pay attention class One of these soldered onto a copper pipe. PTFE the 'mother of all outside taps' and tighten into the above creation. Slide on the lovely chrome cover first y'all . Use a suitably sized cheapo diamond tile hole saw to make the necessary recessed pocket ( I'd go for about 70mm penetration ) so the chrome is partly inside the brick. Then clear the hole of debris and soak it throughly. Insert the completed assembly and then get a foam can with a straw and pump the hole with foam. ( Take care to seal the tap end with some clear silicone first to stop the foam from spilling out ). Leave to set and reconnect the cold feed inside with a compression fitting NOT a soldered joint. An isolation valve inside makes frost shut down a doddle. The tap will easily twist out if you ever need to replace it. Simply PTFE the new one and wind it back in. Bingo bango. ?

Yeah wine. Grape juice init! ??

Some fruit based drinks for the ladies :D.

I would, seriously: 1) Measure the diameter of the brass bit. On my fugly one from Screwfix it's 57mm: 2) Draw around the brass bit with a Sharpie. The st/st cover I think will cover the pen mark. Get one of these a couple/few 50mm bigger than the brass bit diameter: https://m.ebay.co.uk/itm/Carbide-Grit-Hole-Saw-Masonry-Brick-Concre-Metric-19mm-to-152mm/323201779781? You then need to remove the outside tap and the bit thru the wall. A plumbers job unless you're confident It'll be a pig to centre your new hole saw over the pen mark as you've a +15mm hole through there! A bit of ply with the hole saw put thru it will act ad a template to neatly counter bore the wall. Affix the ply with plugs and screws into the mortar joints as they're easily made good. Drill to depth and the brick "plug" should break out neatly. Or something like that...

Ha ha, yeah not only do the bastards rip you off with mega tax up here you can't even drown your sorrows in some cheap 'Frosty Jack's get pissed quick' cider. Gone up from £3 to £11 from today. Will be going on a booze cruise to Berwick as needed

All's fine with wine Thank God I don't live in scotland - would bankrupt me well and truly. @newhome would you like supplies bringing up?

I quite like the tap. Reminds me of a morgue fitting... Whatever, it'll freeze just as well as a Screwfix brass one. One of these and no need to call the plumber back!

Hmmmmmmmm ! Not covered either way . I shall prepare a 2nd cunning plan then for my next victim.

Yes but if the company uses a third party to collect the payment you’re not covered. A bit like PayPal but not so obvious. Cunning stunts . Not sure how many companies do that in truth though.

Yes master adder , indeed I did . My plan was more cunning than a cunning thing caught in a cunning trap !

Did you turn into Baldrick?

@newhome The very light creamy pink would be bearable..... Ultramods the name of a car website a friend and I had 13 years ago. Build cost based with me as PM and sub contractors, excluding professional fees, garden and plot is £331k. spec is: Timber windows and doors u-value around 0.11 - 0.15 UFH ground floor high quality kitchen and wet rooms cantilevered stairs porcelain tiles to majority of floors Gas boiler for DHW MVHR Garage is now also going to be 'habitable' space, to be used as home gym. Cold roof with attic trusses allowing loft space to be developed into a few more rooms at a later date if required.

My cunning black adder plan worked !

I think in theory if you pay any amount on a credit card (not via PayPal) you would be covered for the full amount but I would want to pay £100 or more to make absolutely sure personally. https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/shopping/section75-protect-your-purchases#deposit

I very nearly bought the same tap @lizzie - Exterior fixings, door handles etc are all stainless, so I wanted it to match. The thing that stopped me was the exact issue you're having - they stick out too far when wall mounted like that, and I didn't want to drill a hoofing great hole through my nice new timber frame, and into the living area for the plumbing. I've gone for chrome wallplates with pipe entering at the bottom, and for now, regular brass taps. I've found some smaller stainless taps that look quite nice, so will investigate further, but really needed something quickly as the only other alternative for 'builders water' involved disconnecting the dishwasher to attach a hosepipe.

Oh yeah ? s24 ; taxed on turnover not profit hmo license gas checks fire alarms smoke alarms bad tenants ( got a fucking nightmare at the moment ) cctv (sigh) 40k refurb cost the list goes on ! Break even when I’m dead (expletive deleted) it ! - beer

I'd get the same plumber back to fix his mess - that's clearly not acceptable, and the alternative method above should not be beyond any plumber charging for his time. I do acknowledge that you might not want to confront him though, in which case this is pretty basic stuff, and should be doable by almost any plumber. The only slightly sticky thing I can forsee is the existing hole in the wall looks like it's in the mortar joint. Expanding this from the 15mm pipe to over 25mm will need a decent drill, and might get tricky if the bit keeps jamming, but even then, it's not insurmountable by any stretch.

One thing to think about is the quality and flatness of the finished floor. Screed is easier to work flat whereas a concrete pour will need an experienced hand to get it as flat and level as a screed finish. What is the final floor going to be, and what are the tolerances for level?

Is that so you can torch it when you get fed up?

This is my first self build ,it's in our garden,we started on the 1st December,as we all know we have had really bad weather. I treat it like a job as do others. Work 8.30 till 4.30 when not at work stop for crib and lunch and DON'T work weekends ( I work shifts) Due to the trades we are using sometimes ,there is no one here so I tidy up,order materials and put things in place so the paid trades have work to get on with. The biggest question I get asked is when will it be finished ,i say hopefully December this year but it's not a target it's finished when it's finished if not before Time off is the key, work live balance even on a self build And reading this forum

Look at the colours and mood round the building. Take your cue from that. Then look at a colour wheel, play with one online for a bit. Decide on the effect you want: harmony , complementary, monochromatic (the others involve too many colours) . Limit the number of colours to 2 ; three at the most. Or break every rule in the book. If you do that, go way over the top.

There was a thread some time back, what to do with small offcuts of PIR insulation. Answer. Post them to @Onoff

Yeh like the dwarves .... There was dopy, stupid, clumsy, brainless, clueless, witless and c**khead.....

I can tell you how dad dealt with one on our listed small manor house. The first one who came turned out to be someone he had had a disagreement with in the past, and they never came back. For the next 30 years or so ?. When we needed one for advice before we sold up, they took ages even to find us, I think a pink house is wonderful. Very traditional in some areas where the landscape is dark ... The Lake District? Is it flamingo pink?The Grand Hotel in Prestatyn used to be Germoline Pink. Ferdinand

I put a cross by the items that I didn’t include and added a total to the bottom of the invoice with those items excluded. I didn’t want to strike a line through the invoice in case I wanted to copy it later or whatever. I claimed for pedestrian gates as I counted them as ‘boundary’ so I would include a main gate. It’s surely just the electric motors you can’t include as most gates can be automated? My claim (sent Feb) hasn’t been processed yet though so I can’t say whether the approach has been successful or not yet.

The view was part of the reason we move here. The house is an upside down house, your looking into the basement which will contain three bedrooms. The lounge, kitchen and family room will go on top of the bedrooms and have been positioned to make the best of the view.

Finally we have concrete! After cancelling Fridays pump job due to someone hitting a high voltage cable on a the Thursdays job he turned up at 7:30 this morning to set up, however he wasn’t a happy bunny as anothe4 of the pump guys had inspected the site access and had said it was fine! After a lot of struggling he managed to get into a position he could put the legs out to allow him to deploy the boom. Thee hours and 25.5m3 later and a lot of hard work for the two of us, we have an excellent insulated concrete foundation! The first load goes in. The finished job. Spot the concrete pump truck.

I think they were knobs not to double check everything with you personally, especially as they are supposed to be the experts and customers will have a massive range of knowledge from none to expert. Plus everyone will use different language to describe things if it's not totally clear. Ultimately however it will come down to what the judge thinks so make sure you have a well worded claim and a compelling argument. You don't buy a pair of trousers with a leg measurement from waist to floor for example, the leg measurement is clearly noted as 'inside leg' leaving little room for misinterpretation. Maybe you could open an enquiry with another supplier with 'my openings are XX, can you please provide a quote' and see what you get back from a different supplier? Might strengthen your case if they interpret your words as you expect them to, and good to be able to cite that example in your claim if it proves to be the case.

Thank you. I think it’s the room I most dreamed about when I wanted to build a house

Maybe try Neverending Story?

So I could re-title my thread "Quick Bathroom Makeover"?

I just did this today on the last shower room. I used ferrox, I bought it ages ago and never seems to go down. Just put it up to pressure and no leaks apparent. :-)

Well fingers crossed! Chamfered the timber to give better spanner access to the hot in: 25 turns and a smear of Jet Blue Plus. I tried a file to get rid of the PTFE on the end of the fitting but didn't get on with it: Found a new Stanley blade the answer: