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Jeremy, you’ve slipped in my estimation. I was sure you had a leftover ex military atomic clock in the shed that you used to synchronise the clocks.

A tale of four ovens. Oven one is a combo microwave and oven. Used lots, reasonably filthy. Oven two is a full size oven with a hide & slide door (blame Bakeoff for that). Used for most general cooking & baking, moderately filthy. Oven three is a steam oven (although it turns out ovens two and four are also steam ovens, who knew). Mostly (i.e. only) used for steaming broccoli for roast dinner (about once / twice a month outside of summer. Quite clean but has a definite whiff of broccoli. Oven four is the 'good' oven' and is a carbon copy of oven two. It was supposed to be the 'super oven' for baking but the original oven two was discontinued and we got a fee upgrade so use that instead. Beyond heating plates at Christmas, I'm not sure it has really been used and it mostly contains all the spare trays and shelves from ovens 1-3, pristine. Admittedly they look smart in their 2x2 formation even if I spend an inordinate amount of time trying to get all their clock displays synched.

Perhaps put out on the grape vine you are considering replacing it with a fence because a prowler was seen leaving through a gap and crossing the road.

The last week or so we've been blessed with pretty nice weather which has allowed for good progress on the frame. We hired in a hiab lorry for a morning to help with lifting the gables, ridge beam and roofing. As everyone probably finds out, now we start to get a better sense of the size of the house and how it sits in the landscape. SSE came in the other day for our grid connection. Those who have been following our progress might remember this was quite pricey, and when you see the number of vehicles involved you start to understand why. Here's hoping for a few days of decent weather to allow us to complete the roof.

Find yourself Series 9 Ep 6 of Grand Designs, and it is a build in this form. Round roofed barn conversion near Marlborough. There will be some ideas that transfer. F

Yup. Type at speed repent at leisure lol. Tbh I just do it to see if Nicks out of bed yet

Time for another update. Our joiner has pretty much finished the plaster boarding. Here are some photos of the progress made. Kitchen/dining room Our bedroom. Our joiner has started to construct the internal partitions, we now have an ensuite and some cupboards. Living room Triple velux arrangement Upstairs kids living room My favourite view had been covered by a dust sheet for a long time. Looking forward to seeing boats go by. The house has a fair amount of south glazing which warms the house. Once opened these big velux windows work well to bring the temperature down. Both bedrooms upstairs have two windows to ensure a good circulation of air. The storage container went this month on a hiab truck. I was a little nervous watching a couple tonnes of steel on chains so close to the house. This has now opened up the window views from the master bedroom and living room and also allows the house to be viewed by itself for the first time. With the recent great weather I’m back to painting. I much prefer sitting in a chair compared to being on a wobbly scaffold. To finish off here is a shot of the Loch. Next up, a few more partitions need to be created, taping/filling, installation of our treatment tank and adjusting the levels around the house.

Easy to work out. Incoming mains water will be at around ground temperature, so ~8 deg C. Just calculate the heat input to the pantry using the pantry surface U values, then work out how much mains water will flow through the pipe for a typical day (roughly 150 litres per person per day) , then use the heat capacity of water to see just how much heat the cold water will extract from the pantry. I don't have time to do the sums now, but if I had to guess, I'd say that the cooling effect would be about the square root of bugger all...

Lab glasswashers come with flat trays that you then add accessory baskets to. Anyone with a Miele could certainly look at G or PG range accessories if you wanted a plain tray instead of a plate rack...

Here is my project going up just south of Newmarket. Just under 3000sq ft and is an old hay barn being converted to our new house ! In about 0.7 of an acre. Never done anything like a self build before, but hugely excited and hugely nervous in equal measure ! Yes, lots of glass and all south facing. I guess I'm going to need some serious help from the collective gurus on here please, but I promise I won't become a pest ! Thanks all.

Hi, Rather that 2 full-sized dishwashers, has anyone got/used a double drawer dishwasher? It takes up the space of a single dishwasher, but has two drawers that can be stacked/washed seperatly...

Yes, although our Local Authority Councillor repeatedly states that this is not the case (she's wrong, as it happens). Living in a rural area, with narrow single track lanes, overgrown hedgerows are a constant agenda item at Parish Council meetings, and we have a standard notice in the Parish magazine every month reminding people of their obligation to keep their hedges trimmed, where they may obstruct lanes, or visibility (this is universally ignored, though). Before we had access to the (excellent) Wiltshire Council Parish Steward scheme (a means by which Parish Councils can directly instruct a contractor employed by the council to do odd jobs) we had to use contractors for tasks like maintaining the playing field, playground and communal areas that were on an approved list, which meant, in part, that they had provided evidence to the council that they held the appropriate level of indemnity cover. In addition, anyone doing tasks that involved working on the highway, like painting the numerous bridge railings we have (for some reason our stream meanders back and forth under the lane in a few places) had to demonstrate that they held the additional cover (and, I think, level of competence, safety signage etc) necessary for working on the highway. I can get chapter and verse on this tomorrow evening, as by coincidence this is an agenda item at tomorrow's PC meeting, and one of my colleagues has been researching it in depth, to see where we stand when getting some of our footpaths repaired by some local volunteers.

1m adjacent to a highway unless you get PP. 2m elsewhere.

Well yes... one in the Kitchen and another one in the garage. It’s an essential car maintenance tool.

Definitely get a pump in each manifold. Some ASHP's require quite a high water flow rate through them and it can be quite hard just to achieve the flow rate they need (I had to fit an extra circulating pump). The last thing you want to do is restrict the flow even more by expecting the ASHP's pump to push water around the UFH pipes.

Yes, just one nut either side. No, they don't provide a totally watertight seal, but they shouldn't need to, as the overflow pipe will be lower. As an aside, my preference is to use magnetic servo float valves for this job, as they are a heck of a lot more reliable, and are pretty foolproof, as there is no exposed float, lever arm, moving valve piston etc, they are essentially identical to a diaphragm operated solenoid valve but with the solenoid replaced by a magnet within a float, with that float inside a tube, so it can't get fouled up on anything. Here's an example of one: https://www.bes.co.uk/abertax-magnetic-water-inlet-valve-21341

Before @SteamyTea or @Ed Davies picks this up, I'm sure that was a typo and meant to read:

How many of us, who have a dishwasher, or other kitchen clutter for that matter, feel the need to live alone?

It'll be a cupful more like given the price! 4:1 alright or too strong?

No I’d try a bucket full of both let them set to see if the colour is right

That's brilliant - thanks.

One of these on the end of the MDPE pipe, and one of these with a short bit of 22mm copper between them. Compression fitting means no soldering. You can get the same in pushfit if you want a zero tool solution You'll need an insert to go into the end of the MDPE pipe, LINK Any pipe lagging ( screwfix are cheap enough but only sell the really thin walled stuff ) as long as you tape all the seams / joints well.

I always wear marigold gloves for any render Lime will burn Dust mask for mixing and worth waring safety glasses Lime motor will be very white when mixed with silver sand But not mixed with building sand or a sharp sand I would try a few different sands before you start to get the desired colour

I measured and tested a lot, and it's amazing that as long as the side panel (where the hinges mount) is the same width as the door it doesn't clip against the wall. That was my main fear, but I inspected our kitchen cabinets and forged ahead, and the door opens perfectly - absolutely no clipping against the wall. Major lesson learnt.

Hi.. They are very helpful especially when doing large format tiles... Im laying a lot of 1200x600 and similar sizes now which is where the levelling systems are essential, the only thing is some people are now using them and forgetting the fundamentals of tiling and just relying too much on clips... you also need to be careful with them in the sense that when you are using the pliers to tighten the clips, that you dont accidentally alter the grout lines.. which is a thing I see people doing quite often without realising.. it helps to point the lower edge of the wedge towards the area with most weight (if that makes sense)...

There are 2 tides in each (approximately) 24 hour period, so it will in fact only take 6 hours to raise the mass, but it will do that twice a day. You should be able to extract power on both the up and the down "stroke" as well. So the maths simply becomes how much energy does it take to raise and lower it x metres twice, and that is how much energy you can get in a day. x being the tide height which varies here between 5 metres and 3 metres. You would need to know the average tidal range for your location to work out the average energy.

And if you had seen my work, you'd realise I don't need to tout for it.. here to keep learning as i've heard theres some knowledgeable members on here...

Think it's more to do with skill shortage and lack of training. Maybe too many academics! ?

This post is summary of the Principal Designer thread. The purpose of this summary is to assist members and guests decide for themselves how CDM2015 impacts their build project. The summary is offered as is and should not be interpreted as authoritative advice. As is normal in asynchronous online discussion, the thread sometimes changes its focus a little. Where those changes occur, the content has not been summarised. Discussion of this issue is particularly relevant to us because we are a self-build forum, whose members are assumed not to be professional builders, or -in relation to building- have any technical understanding or capability beyond simple DIY . To be clear, the following assumptions are made; · A client is a Domestic Client. The distinction is central to all that follows · The Domestic Client can choose to apply for VAT relief in due course, whereas a Client cannot · The Domestic Client is not engaged, or about to be engaged, in a business related to the build (because they will then be a Client, not a Domestic Client) The thread started with a question about the role of Principal Designer. The examination of that question inevitably lead to discussion about how the role related to other key aspects of the legislation. There was some reference to the history of Health and Safety legislation, but it was pointed out that over time, the general emphasis had not changed. If you qualify for Domestic Client status, then a contractor working for you carries the main responsibility for Health and Safety. It was in the detailed examination of the term ‘responsibility’ that a good deal of discussion arose. Several members agreed that the legislation was poorly drafted for our sector of the market. And in the context of a self-build forum, where many of us will be doing things for the build on our own (DIY) as well as employing contractors, it is easy to see a rich source of confusion. For example, self-builders might be tempted to become involved in the build in a way which implies technical competence and so enhanced H+S responsibility. A strong warning was given to self-builders to avoid becoming involved in technical aspects of the build to the extent that they might be considered ‘ a responsible person’. And that includes the self-builder being trained in a relevant build subject to the extent that he or she might be assumed by the courts to have more responsibility than a Domestic Client would be expected to have. Perhaps the simplest articulation of how CDM responsibilities can be operationalised was in this post (@jamiehamy) ‘… We have only used contractors for the steel frame, lifting in floor beams, ground works/drainage and electrics - and each time I've made it clear that the contractor is responsible for operating safely and I do not dictate how they complete the activities. I don't supervise on site and most certainly do not manage their work or how they work - they have a deliverable and it is their responsibility to complete that. Where required, I offer safety equipment, ask what they need me to provide to work safely and healthily, I find out if they are dependent on me for anything and let them get on with it. Maybe I should do more in writing but I choose reputable contractors and all work is fully invoiced…’ In terms of prosecution for H+S breaches, providing the Domestic Client has fulfilled their duties (not covered in detail in this summary) prosecution is highly unlikely. Domestic Clients should make sure the site is safe and secure, tidy and clear of obvious hazards. There was some discussion based on the meaning of a series of CDM-specific terms; Project Manager, PD, PC, Client, Domestic Client, Business or Business Activity, Contractor, design, designer as well as others. Please refer to the full discussion for a more detailed discussion. But it was convincingly argued (with supporting evidence, and some unevidenced dissention) that a Domestic Client cannot be either a Principal Contractor or Principal Designer. Additionally, there was some discussion of official legal documents related to CDM2015. In summary: be sure to understand the meaning of the term Domestic Client, and to maintain that status throughout the build. Any competent person with whom you have a contract to complete work on your site should be capable of working safely. Offer support to fulfill H+S requirements, but never offer advice or direct work or manage the process. If, after reading this summary you feel you need to, take care to seek advice from more than one reliable, authoritative source. Paying for advice does not guarantee its accuracy or authority. Source url forum.buildhub.org.uk/ipb/topic/2376-principal-designer-role/ Bibliography. HSE (2015), Managing health and safety in construction. Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015, HSE Books downloaded 04/05/2017 http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/priced/l153.pdf See especially Appendix 6. HSE (2015), How CDM 2015 applies to Domestic Clients Appendix 6, Figure 1, in Managing health and safety in construction. Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015. Download the flow chart (from our server) here HandSforDomesticClients.pdf HSE Construction Discussion Forum (accessed 04/05/2017)