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What's the technique, wait till she opens her mouth and shove the ear plugs in still in the bag?

Just get some ale in, they can here someone crack a tin open from about 600 miles! A Batman esque rooftop signal that projects the image of a pie/Tunnocks tea cake into the night sky has the same calling effect. :)

I just get bladdered and the place can burn down around me ???

In my last post we were waiting on two items arriving from our suppliers: Velux flashing kits and a metal roof to be fitted at the back. The velux flashings arrived first and we were able to make good progress and finish this side. Our joiner then came back on site to fit the metal roof. Unfortunately as mentioned in my Terrible Thursday post the flashing arrived at the incorrect angle, the plan was then to use the lead, but thankfully we decided not to and we managed to get a replacement flashing sourced quickly, which allowed the rest of the slating to be done. Last bit. And then finally ridge tiles. To be honest the roof was a bit harder than I thought. Various different materials, which can all take a while to arrive on site. If one supplier delivers late or supplies an incorrect part it can hold up the entire roof fitting. As with the entire build, except the blocks and concrete the materials are all organised by us, so perhaps it would have been less stressful to leave it to a single contractor. We had a great roofer who did the work in all conditions and a joiner who came on site quickly when we needed him.

We had a large format tile that sounded hollow in a previous house. The agreed course of action with the tiler was to drill a number of small holes through the grout around the problem tile and to inject a resin adhesive around and hopefully under the tile. It appeared to work as the hollowness was greatly reduced.

Very true. People who have visited our build have questioned the low level, directional, MVHR terminal in the wall by one side of our bed. It was specifically located there to gently blow cooler air on her side. We also have a 6ft wide new bed. Both are a way to mitigate the migration of the duvet in the middle of the night, as it gets thrown off from her side. My hope is that the cool air supply plus the larger bed will mean less disturbance to the duvet on my side...

@joe90 Might be worth trying this: https://www.fixafloor.co.uk/ we used it for a few of our oak flooring (bonded to slab) which hadn't adhered during install, and its worked a treat.

Cant happen here you'll be glad to know. We have a structure which avoids SPoF and no individual can make any such decision on their own. The FMG ( made up of 17 staff / members ) get together and discuss it like grown ups, we discuss it, and it gets voted against, or for, if there are mixed opinions. You'd have to seriously piss us off before getting shown the door. Only one has earned such privilege to date IIRC. Enjoy!

I bought an old Mondeo for our build for £150, spent £100 on it and ran it for just short of 13 months. Tax was around £20 a month but insurance was only £150. Came with a tow bar fitted so was able to borrow trailers as required. A great load / junk lugger that saved the family car from being ruined. Scrapped it when finished.

Today we said our farewells to Thomas, it was a very nice service and we had friends/colleagues/customers from all over the UK and EU attend. The window business is a very small world and representatives from Internorm, Solarlux, Zyle Fenster (Lithuania), EcoAluClad (Ireland) and more attended. Although some are competitors, we are also friends and was nice to see. It was also a rather interesting day with installers, suppliers and manufacturers sitting talking for a good 6 hours after the service on different things. Thought provoking for suppliers and manufacturers on technical aspects/improvements on products for easier deliveries/installation/service etc. It doesn’t happen often and we all went away with ideas. Just unfortunate it was on such a sad occasion. I did the airport runs yesterday and a group went out for a meal last night and Lorraine (Toms wife) attended and had a fantastic evening out. The family appreciates all the kind words as do we at Ecowin. It’s been a tough couple of weeks but projects and work continue. We are pretty much back to business as normal next week and we are making a priority on pending installations and service work. We would like to thank all customers for their patience and understanding over the past couple of weeks.

Spend some of the money on rubble to stop the site from being so muddy.

We have an MBC timber frame house with an insulated raft foundation. The house is cladd in larch but we need to finish the polystyrene base. We want to render it but how do we do this. Do we need mesh first or a special render that would stick and be flexible enough.

The last two weeks have been very productive! The rendering is done and the scaffold gone.The pellet stove and thermal store have been installed as far as they can be for now and the plasterboard work is coming to an end. We had to pay a visit to David L Douglas last week to finalise the kitchen- colour, door styles, worktop, handles, sink etc they are very thorough in getting it just right. The plasterer will be in tomorrow and my kitchen and utility floor tiles arrived yesterday. After my previous meltdown things seem to be on the level again, for now! The budget has had to have a few tweaks but nothing too major. A visit from SP energy networks project manager last week revealed the power won’t be with us until October 22nd( they’ll start the digging then but he has assured me we will have power by the end of that week) bit disappointed in that but on the other hand we should be finished and ready to move in by then. So this weekend we will be digging drains to cope with the run off from the field up the hill from us and getting the house drains in, definitely onwards and upwreards

Facade designs which use a ventilated rainscreen are a safer option compared to the one you’ve just described. Try reading this link about the problems experienced in Canada: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leaky_condo_crisis and the same design related issue in New Zealand: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leaky_homes_crisis

You are obviously not in the "hot flush" phase then.

AFTER THE FECKING BATHROOMS DONE!

A couple of suggestions for your 3cm bit; you could use a mosaic-on-backing tile, and cut it into strips. This is my kitchen, which the prior owner did by butting these up to each other: And this is is the one from the Little Brown Bungalow, where we used mosaic tiles and a metal edging to sharpen off the corner, around the sink to cover smallish surfaces. You measure the gap and choose the right dimension of sub tile that multiplies up properly to your space. And on the breakfast bar. To to be fair, it is a bit tricky, so perhaps do it with a sheet or board material, and look at revisiting in the future should you wish. It needs an edging or slight overhang as we have done here with the windowsill tiles with slices of 600x600 gloss black porcelain tiles, as flaws show up. This has slight flaws which are not seen from head height. See piccie below. I think we may even have redone the ones below the sill, and reflattened the substrate ... was a renovation not new PB. Ferdinand Apols to mods for murdering the server with full size photos.

Ear plugs (I have the same problem - and no, it's not me, either). Best ones I've found are the Stanley orange foam ones, a pair is OK for about a week (yes, I know they are supposed to be "one use only", but I've never had a problem with them over the past five years or so).

Suffocation generally works . Failing that - earplugs!

You got two hopes. Bob Hope and no hope, and Bob Hope's dead

Mine is a xc60 d5 polestar. It’s nice, well spec’d and quick. One of the best all rounders I’ve had, but not the most exciting car. If i had another Volvo, people would think I’m one of those weird Volvo owner club types ?

Don't discount cars like ford galaxy or vauxhall zafira. Both with the seats down have huge spaces. A tow bar is cheap to add.

I believe it is better too have the supply and exhaust vents on the same face of the building (but separated by an acceptable distance to prevent cross flow). The reason for being on the same face is that, in that orientation, the wind pressure is likely to be balanced across supply and exhaust.

Just hoping I don't have to do it where I forgot to back butter the tiles on the floor of the wet room corner!

Just got my maps, 1883 and 1905 and they are fab, looking forward to framing them and hanging in the hallway. 1883 map shows a canal nearby and the 1905 shows the railway (both now gone but bridges etc still exist).

I've used the multitool diamond blade to run down the grout lines and then the chisel blade to take of the excess on the tile back / wall floor.

FiT isn't deemed. You always have to have a total generation meter and the FiT payments are made based on readings from that. What is often deemed is exports. You can have an export meter and get paid for the actual exports made or you can have “deemed” exports where the assumption is made that you export 50% of the metered generation.

This sort of thing would suit you with a tow bar and trailer, shift anything.https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/VOLVO-V40-1-8-PETROL-MANUAL-ESTATE-low-miles/292721372460?hash=item44278dad2c:g:NxIAAOSwL1hblnQa then scrap it if necessary.

Whatever render that you decide to use you must machinacal fix the mesh Or the render will eventually she’ll The ones that I have done have been done as follows Prine the surface We often use fancy primers that are extortionately price Simply because they are on the job spec Morevoften than not with render the primer is simply to kill the suction not to stick the render to the surface So I tend to use one of cheaper primers if it’s not on the drawing apply a 5 mil base coat k Webber Stuca etc Don’t schratch or key The following day Drill and knock in render fixing Fischer or simalar The apply a render finish Hope this helps

Have you taken the rules of your Council recycling centre into account? It is perhaps technical and honoured in the breech. In many places car + registered trailer is OK, whilst a van is not for a private person. A car version of a van or a people carrier whether 5 seater, 6 seater or 7 seater, swallows a lot of junk. Whilst 4wd tonkas have shorter load decks. On insurance I am not sure what happens for a van insured for social domestic pleasure; ie does self-build count as business? Sweet spots I would point out for secondhand are firstly a carefully selected diesel estate from between about 2015 and March 2017, which meets Euro 6 and will therefore not be banned from activist-towns In the current wave of panic, whilst being grandfathered in at £20 or £30 road tax and doing 50mpg+. Big estate would tow 2 tons. Alternatively a relative banger can be had for very little money with perhaps 100k ok life left in it. There seems to be a slight risk of govt policy treating diesels as one tax band higher. Not clear whether this would be retrospective, so I have left one band of leeway before mine will be jumping to the punishing tax levels. The way it has panned out for me is a new diesel estate - Skoda Superb - to hopefully be my long term car. The current version came in in 2015, But I have ordered options such as a fold down front seat for longer load length, which I think is quite unusual. Someone I know has bought a small diesel people carrier - Vauxhall Meriva - off eBay for under £400, with seats that vanish into the floor, vintage 2004 but only 120k on it. Miscategorised by the seller. That is now his work vehicle, with perhaps 2-3 years of life in it. Ferdinand

Excellent idea, the chicken will cook much quicker in one of those than if it were just sat on the hob ?

Funny that, I got chucked off there for saying how bad the thread on Russ's fire was. (Long after the thread happened.)

A bit of an update: I spoke to Building Control this morning and whilst my inspector is away in holiday one of his colleagues listened to what I had to say. Based on that, and that alone, his view was that the fall was indeed unsatisfactory and could well be considered a violation of the regs. He confirmed there was nothing explicitly stated about falls in them but there is something of a catchall 'quality and workmanship' requirement which generally requires, amongst other things, compliance with relevant standards where appropriate to demonstrate compliance. Hence, the British Standard would be relevant here, not least given how accepted its fall figures are in the industry. He did also say they'd need to see it really as there may well be a good reason why it is the way it is, and if there is then they would always try and take a pragmatic approach towards consideration of accepting it as they don't like to insist on re-work if not absolutely essential. He did echo my concerns though about the fact that the roof lantern is yet to be installed and so any test/acceptance of falls at the moment could be premature if they are borderline. I then spoke to the builder who was, thankfully, very considerate of my concerns. He immediately said he wondered if he might've made a mistake in the calculations but obviously couldn't really comment further without first coming to see what's what. He's away on holiday so next week we are going to meet up. The builder confirmed that the furring strips weren't off-the-shelf and so this in my view might explain how the mistake might've occurred as I'm sure we have all performed a calculation for where/what to cut but then realised once you'd built the damn thing you'd made an error (or indeed not realised until someone else points it out!). So we are on pause until next week but so far so good. As things stand I see no alternative but to strip and re-build as I can't see myself accepting the current construction and it sounds like BC might not either. It is unfortunate but mistakes do happen and I am currently content to consider it as just that.

https://planner.diy-kitchens.com/plan/range/ This is the DIY Kitchens Kitchen planner, (It's still in beta and they don't advertise it) so you can play around with units and see how they look. At one point they stopped accepting new registrations - if it doesn't work. I'll give you my log-in details and you can have a play and design your own. My kitchen is now on order from them so I no longer need it.

I have used Weber LAC. First thin coat with mesh bedded, then second thin coat floated / sponged to a sanded finish. It sticks to anything. Paint with masonry paint.

Okay of you really want a second vehicle, my off the wall suggestion is a >40 year old Series Landrover, probably LWB truck cab. £0 historic road tax, MOT exempt and cheap classic car insurance. And if you don't break it, you should be able to sell it for what you paid, if not more. Take out the mats (if it has any) from the cab. Drive it in your muddy boots, and hose it down inside from time to time (yes seriously)

I'm sure it's against the law to mention Ch.....as before the beginning of December. If it isn't it should be.

As a Husband, you will learn in due course what a "Hot Flush" is.

I’m with you there. I could never understand how the hubby could shower in stupidly lukewarm water. Unless it’s hot it doesn’t work for me. I always have to override the safety thing on the controls and click it above the level that’s supposed to be considered safe. That’s cold!

Firstly, for all you lot waiting with baited breath for my next blog update, my apologies! Since the house was opened up for guests I've needed a bit of time to switch off from what was a very full time project for the last few years. When we first opened to guests the house was missing its decking. I had gone through various ideas for the design of this, and in the end decided that less was more, and made it a fairly minimal affair, just somewhere to allow access to the big sliding door and give space to sit and enjoy a cuppa or glass of whatever, whilst looking out over the views to the loch and the sunsets. Due to the big change in height, I decided to make the seating integral and do dual duty as part of the step down as well. This has worked pretty well, I think, with the advantage of dropping the height of the decking and preventing the handrail from obscuring the view from inside the house. There's still some tidying up to do- paths around the house, and some cladding trim to finish off the decking itself- but it's a big improvement on how the place looked a few weeks ago.

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I wouldn't worry on the Topo as long as he is competent and accurate. The Council are unlikely to reject that one for lack of a qualification (unlike perhaps the Soil Survey or Bat Survey or Tree Survey or Archaeology Survey, all of which would possibly require an appropriately-lettered ologist). My reminders: - Make sure he covers all the areas you need, such as verge boundaries and street furniture and the road far enough for visibility splays etc, and also points inside your plot. - Make sure that he gives you an electronic copy that you have software to understand. - Make sure that there are no restrictions on use that are unacceptable to you. Is there an advantage in creating your reference datums first, so that these can be included? Ferdinand

@Onoff will make you one for a tasty price...chute, insulated and with an app that differentiates between cheques and junk mail. Easy

Yup, roads here are relatively clear, schools and hospitals great and we have pubs AND coffee. Nae much hot sun though but hey hey during the hot spell recently no one was a sun fan after 20 days of it?

I cant get my UFH working and after frying all summer am now searching the garage for a fan heater. MVHR keeping it at circa 20 but thats way too cold for me. UFH thermostats show a flame but floor never gets warm on checking the manifolds I find the pipes are cold so there is no hot water coming in from the boiler even though the boiler is firing, hence flame symbol on stats. DHW is fine so it must be a prob from boiler to manifolds. The system was commissioned last December, builders were here for months afterwards and I know now fiddled with it all because the house was too hot. Now I come to use it for the first time and it doesnt work. Begining to wish i had DG with tricklevents and rads at least I understand that system. Been waiting two weeks for installer to come back to sort the issues with mvhr - he installed ufh too so if I tell him now no heating will that hurry him up or be ignored...if he doesnt come next week I am going to have to find a plumber to come and look at it all but because I never had a proper handover I dont know what most of it is no doubt I will get the sucking in of the teeth and the which cowboy did this comments and a four figure quote to sort it out. @newhome I understand your frustration with it all.