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The reporting I saw a few weeks ago did not see any substantial rise in exports with the post 2008 and 2016 drop in the pound. This was explained due to the need to import materials and elements of the finished product, therefore diminishing the ability to discount. https://www.ft.com/content/0ee55f40-b2c9-11e9-8cb2-799a3a8cf37b A lower pound increases inflation as prices of imported goods rise and UK runs a significant trade deficit - as interest rates are at a historic low to keep the economy from stalling, the BoE has little scope to boost them to reign it back in or to cut further if recession looms. Also the relatively low UK productivity (essentially a lack of investment in skills and technology) is a factor. The current high employment rate (and the recent wage growth) is believed to be a reflection of this - easy to invest in low skilled additional workforce for the short term (boost wages to obtain/retain staff) and lay them off or cut wages when revenue falls, vs a longer term investment in skills and technology which needs to be paid for over many years, whether revenues keep up or not. But heh, I 'm sure all of this can be resolved with a positive mindset and some cheery optimism!

OK - am now clearer that you're not actually trying to specify any of these things. In that case, my very strong advice would be to tell the builder that he has the planning drawings (which presumably show e.g. the fixed outer corner point and the position of the door), that those are the only drawings that exist, and that your understanding is he will entirely take responsibility for getting from that to a completed building. The problem with providing neat drawings that contain information that is "of no consequence" is that sooner or later someone along the way misunderstands the status of the drawing. And orders materials / sets out a corner / etc based on a detail or dimension that looked like it was of critical importance even though in your head it isn't. If you are not experienced in producing construction drawings, there's a fair chance you will draw or label something that you think is just diagrammatic without realising the implications of where you just put your pencil. And that will make it your problem, and your cost, to solve. In my experience, it's much better if drawings don't exist (or at most look like a fag packet sketch) than if they exist but are not accurate. Drawings that don't exist prompt people to ask questions and discuss answers. If you're determined to produce a build plan, draw the accurate lines (from your planning drawing) neatly with a scale ruler. Then draw the internal walls freehand, roughly 300mm away for an external wall, 150mm for internal, and roughly shade the gap so it looks more like an estate agent's floorplan than the architect drawings he's given you as an example. Do not attempt to draw the different material layers etc. Calculate and mark all your dimensions by reference to the external walls. This will encourage anyone looking at the plans to realise that they're looking at a sketch, not a drawing. Alternatively, you could print off the planning drawings and mark up - freehand - rather than trying to redraw them.

Why are you asking people on the internet to answer an unanswerable question, over and over again? You're getting the same result expressed several different ways from different people - that's a strong hint that you're the one not understanding the situation, not them. Why not just ask your builder exactly the same questions? If he's as experienced and competent as you say, he'll give you the answer you need with a 30 second phone call.

You know something the markets don't, then? In the short term there can be overreaction, of course, but that gets fixed pretty quickly as future expected events are discounted; people bet on the assumption of future changes which pulls the current exchange rates into line with what people overall expect. Further exchange rate variation will be the result of unexpected events and internal variability within the market. I think the drop in the pound from ~€1.30 in 2015 to ~€1.10 now sums the whole thing up quite nicely from the purely financial point of view.

Mine is a walk in cupboard about 18" deep. Standard door matches the rest in the house. In ours we have: CU for the house. Phone master socket Modem Network patch panel (probably wouldn't bother next time) 16 port Hub. Cheap Network Attached Storage drive (backup our PCs). DECT Base Station for cordless phones (another upstairs). TV distribution amplifier Burglar alarm panel. I also have a NAS server and hub (with POE ports) for 4 wired Network cameras in the loft. Many mains adaptors for the above plugged into two wall mounted extension blocks. The back wall of our cupboard is plywood on battens which hides all the network, TV and mains wires. Being plywood means its easy to mount something later like a small shelf or additional network hub. PS: just about everything has ended up connected to everything else. For example I ended up running phone and alarm signals over the wired network.

Nope... don’t go with a backdrop, just go 45 degrees to get to your invert level from your drain level (easy to calculate as the depth and length are the same) and run in with the slope. Backdrops can block and are a nightmare to install and clear.

Sounds like my house!

Unfortunately I've been working in Dublin this week and not had a chance to speak to him... Will be speaking to him this weekend tho as I need his input on my proposed vent locations.

Let's be honest buy a kit like this: https://www.justboom.co/product/justboom-amp-hat-kit/ ...and the collective nerd herd would have you up and running in no time.

Some of those words meant something to me, but not sufficient to make a whole intelligible sentence as far as I'm concerned! Consider me lacking in skills.

The SIP panel manufacturers produce standard details for pretty much everything, so worth checking, but generally on walls you will need counter battens (not battens) against the SIP outer skin (with breather membrane behind) and then for vertical board cladding you will need to run battens across the counter battens to provide fixings. The counter battens are needed to provide ventilation airflow from the base to the top, although some manufacturers may allow the use of ventilation shims behind batten fixing points, rather than counter battens. Insect mesh or similar will be needed at the top and bottom of the ventilated cavity to keep bugs out, stainless steel industrial pan scourers work pretty well and can often be wedged in place, so a bit easier to fit than mesh.

standard black stuff. Concentric in our case.

just fix batons your sips --maybe more fixings -so you are not over stressing the 11mm or15mm osb . Me i would pre-drill the vertical batons so i know i am feeling how tight it is in the osb outer skin of the sips then attach cross batons ,then cladding so its sips ,then -house wrap then vertical batons the cross batons then cladding I suppose you could just use cross batons - -but for my taste i would like plenty of air gap behind and no ledges for moisture to gather on

Vertical if you wish. There used to be a maximum slope many years ago, but the regs were changed when it was realised that there was no problem with having a steep slope. Things like backdrops are now no longer really needed, as you can usually just increase the gradient on the pipe.

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everything that has been said just highlights "project fear" which has been pushed by ALL the media have some faith it will be alright in the end

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Ok, one last attempt. Common timber frame thicknesses are 90, 100, 125, 140 and 150mm. Some of those, on their own, will not fit enough insulation to meet the u value requirements. Depending of course on the type of block and the type of insulation. They may therefore need an extra layer of rigid insulation between the timber and the plasterboard, or outside the blocks. Some of those are only strong enough to carry their own weight, others will be able to carry the roof, others will be able to withstand wind loading. Some will need a rigid sheathing board, commonly 18mm but varies (and sometimes not required). Off-site prefabricated panels have a different range of sizes again. It's simply not possible for us to tell you what thickness the wall will be. Nor is it possible for you to tell the builder the thickness and then "HE builds the walls to satisfy BCO: HE decides the membrane & C'tex "U factor" etc etc.." The wall thickness depends on those decisions. So if the builder is making them, only he can tell you how thick the wall will be. Your planning drawings should already show the outline sizes, door size and position etc - all the info the builder needs for you to "pass the buck to him". Hence why we're struggling to understand what additional detail you're now trying to draw and why, if he's doing the construction design, he needs it.

I don't disagree about overvaluation (and happy to be corrected on impact on exports) but I do think a sudden correction to the norm (with an inevitable undershoot) vs a gradual rebalancing is not good for the economy or individuals.

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Are you putting those inside in the attic? There are some good ready made filter boxes with circular ( 160 / 180mm ) flnges on ready to go. sealed lids with clips etc. Link Might save some work

Fitted loads of it. Solid, robust gear and no wonky porcelain as you get with the cheaper ( chine....... ) stuff.

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By chance the other day, I hear some authoritative medical advice about getting old(er) . Keep your hips in one piece. Apparently at my age a broken hip is one of the markers to look out for. Why? It becomes increasingly difficult to recover from a slip and subsequent fall. So a trip to Topps Tiles has added significance: the manager at Morecambe points out the Pendulum Test Value (PTV) classification on his tiles - the range of slippiness extends from somewhere between Wet room approved and deadly. But ouch, the prices! Off to Wickes round the corner. My God what sloppy couldn't-give-a-stuff-staff. Tiles half the price. 'Scuse me Mr Wickes, are these wetroom tiles PTV rated? Wha' ? Tested for slippiness? Yep, 's on the packet Where, show me please. Drags himself reluctantly out of a nice comfy office chair ... Erm, erm, hold on, I ring 'ed office Yeah mate, funny you should ask - our 'ed office bloke said to go to Topps Tiles if you want PTV tiles. 'Ee used to be a manager at Topps Tiles see. Ya live and learn duntcha?

I calibrated the sensors I bought, using a saturated salt slurry in a sealed plastic food container. You could probably check a unit in much the same way. I used a couple of different compounds, so that I had two calibration points. One check point would probably be OK as a test for accuracy, though. I found that the pre-calibrated HH10C sensors I bought were pretty accurate, better than 3%, which is pretty good for an RH sensor. The DHT11 sensors I bought were way out, though, so much so that I didn't bother to use them. To calibrate a sensor at a single point, just get some sodium chloride (salt) and mix it with a small amount of water to form a fairly thick slurry or paste. Put this in a sealed container along with the sensor, and place it somewhere where the temperature will be relatively stable for a few hours. After about 10 to 12 hours the RH will have stabilised inside the container to about 75%, so that's what the sensor should indicate. If you want to check it at the lower end of the scale, then instead of sodium chloride you can use magnesium chloride, using the same method. This should give an RH of 32.8%. When I checked the calibration on the RH sensors I use, I used this method, but with magnesium chloride for the lower calibration point and potassium chloride for the upper calibration point (this gives 84.34% RH).

Slightly old from the Construction Products Association https://www.constructionproducts.org.uk/media/264067/cpa-brexit-issues-for-construction-march-2017.pdf But they should have more if you register free https://www.constructionproducts.org.uk/ F

Do we know how much material imported into the UK from the EU goes into an average house? My guess would be that most significant material might well be timber, as a great deal of the timber we use seems to come from Sweden. I can't find a detailed breakdown, but it seems that we import around 2/3rds of the sawn constructional timber we use, and those imports have been increasing in recent years. A fair bit of the processed timber we use seems to come from North America, though, so if it starts to cost more to import from the EU my guess is that imports from countries like Canada might start to look more attractive. Blocks, brick, cement and sand/aggregate seem to be primarily produced within the UK (although some seems to come from the Far East, rather surprisingly), so probably wouldn't be a significant issue. Roofing materials seem to come from all over, with imports from both within the EU and from the rest of the world. Same goes for relatively high value stone and ceramics. The majority of imported electrical and plumbing stuff seems to come from the Far East, so nothing much would change there. There's also the strong possibility that other building materials from the Far East might end up replacing imports that currently come from within the EU; it's currently cost-effective to import cut stone from China, for example (notably the Scottish Parliament building and, more prosaically, the large expanse of granite paving on the market place/car park, in front of Salisbury Guildhall). The impact on imported kitchen appliances might be interesting, as I'm not 100% convinced that many of the components that make up some of the well-known German brands actually come from Germany, I suspect that the German companies may well either import components from the Far East, or even outsource manufacture completely. Looking around at general hardware, tools etc, then it seems that not much comes from either the UK or the EU, much of it seems to come from the Far East. If I get a spare few hours I might try to dig around and see how much of a typical house, in terms of cost, is made up from materials imported from the EU. If I had to guess, I'd say it might be around 10% to 20%. Whether this has a big impact depends on whether material imported from the EU is essential for housebuilding or not. Taking timber as an example, I'd guess that if Swedish timber becomes more expensive, then more Canadian timber might be imported instead. Hard to predict what impact that might have in terms of build cost here, as my guess is that there would be some sort of competitive balancing process - Swedish supplies might try to reduce their prices in order to stay competitive, for example.

Pro chap & me did these two bigger/ tricky/ low stream-side 2x footings last 2 days. 1m deep (2ft dia). Very happy/ less obtrusive than I worried they'd be.. & we put well into bank so side of cabin will be the 2m away from my boundaryline (other thread). So the 2x upper corners to do myself. Easier @ 0.5m deep (but still a big job myself- esp as 1st time using a mixer). Pro chap has left me his mixer, tamper bar, angle grinder, shovels.. v.good of him. I have mixer set ready, barrow to pour in > then shovel or pour in me' ole. We put 3x rebars in each big'un. He's told me once I get my two 0.5m holes dug out on the top-side of slope (tops ~1m above lower 2), to 1st tamp the base as won't be as 'stream bed' solid as lower 2 we did. Do I need to add the rebars in these top 2 too?

Just think of all that extra time you are getting to enjoy our company. Do you not feel ... er ... personally enriched? As for the winter, my posts make excellent firelighters. ??? ?

This is the attitude to have, and one I'm trying to bring myself to. When we bought last year we thought we'd be half way renovated by now, in before Christmas! LOL. We've not started anything yet, now starting to think about temporary remedial renovation work to get us through another winter before we pull it all down.

This is a Scooba. Great for light dirt if used very regularly. The vinyl textured tiles were still more slippy than I wanted but I have slipped in the kitchen at school on industrial grade non-slip vinyl so I am highly skilled.

I was going to go fully passive house certified in which case I was lined up for the 4G Velux GGU MK08 @ €1062 + VAT each! I need four of these and two smaller ones costing €8K all in. For 6 roof windows...!! They are the same width but 1.4meters long, rather than 1meter in your case. So, I think you got a good price! Never saw anyone take the approach to see what the extra heating cost would be. Interesting sums. A bit like Solar PV - what's the payback? It's not just heating costs though you might need to factor in. What about: noise - traffic - planes - rain - animals risk of overheating - g value options motorized vs manual easy to reach / clean blinds - manual vs motorized rain sensor - risk to indoor floors / walls if open during shower durability - how much grease or treatment is required for the basic vs more expense ones? I slept under a basic one in an attic for 8 years growing up so I know all about them!! Can't remember if it was single or double glazed. For the small addition of £134 I'd personally opt for triple glazing, a bit like business class on a red eye leg, it's worth the extra. But if your overall budget is tight, then it doesn't make sense, keep to the basic ones. I don't think you can add secondary glazing later so you are stuck with what you buy one way or another..... The other thing is a good installer, familiar with the exact window manufacturer. If you're happy to take on this challenge brilliant, otherwise getting a product combined with an installer who is unfamiliar / not competent is not a combination I'd like to suffer.

I slipped and broke my pelvis a few years back, hurt like hell it did. Totally recovered and have had no pain since. Until I read this, now it is twinging. Thanks. Question: Did Elvis the Pelvis have a brother called Enos?

Just a quick update for those interested in following the project. We have now installed the Izodom 2000 insulated raft foundation ready for our ISOTEX walls. We have a few details in the roof structure to finalise but we hope to be onsite with the blocks in mid to late September. Anyone who is interested in looking at the insulated slab let me know. Tom

That is the system we used, wood fibre on a timber frame and render direct onto the wood fibre. I am not entirely convinced I would recommend this. I am not convinced it is going to last. We had an issue in the first winter with the render along the bottom edge of the garage wall, the top layer "blew". That has been re done and so far okay. But SWMB pointed out (when the sun was at just the right angle to show it) we appear to have a "blister" on the east wall of the house now. So at some point that is going to have to be repaired. The trouble with repairs like this, they are never going to be completely invisible. And one is losing confidence that the whole lot is going to last a long time. Or not.