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Go round the complete job with a piece of chalk and put a big X on any tile you have an issue with. Take your time and get down on your hands and knees and go over each tile. This is going to be your one and only chance to get it redone. All the lipping all the dips and bumps. Mark them all. As @nodhas already mentioned the bond is way out as well. They should be half bond at least. When you have all the tiles you want sorted marked up count the bad ones and then get the tiler round and explain your not happy with his work and show him all the X's. Then it's up to him and you to come to an agreement over what happens next. If there is only a few tiles maybe less than 10 then replace them but if your up to 30-40 tiles then it's lift the lot and start again.

I would say that is a must, so the UFH can also be on a different time controller. You might want the UFH to come on earlier (because it takes longer to warm up) and then go off earlier in the evening for the same reason.

(I know, I know...the photos didn't paste in and I will have to do them one at a time...I'll get 'round to it I promise...managed the first dozen, more to come) Part One-Wind And Watertight For Under £6k I'm new to blogging and probably have nothing much in terms of knowledge to impart but some of you might be interested in building on a low budget so here goes. After many years on the waiting list we got offered a plot on the famous West Highland Way about 3 miles north of the starting point in Milngavie, just north of Glasgow. For £4k we get a 20 year ground lease around 100ft square, ground rent is £90 per month and of course membership of the community group that collectively owns the whole estate. See more about Carbeth Hutters here http://www.carbethhu...o.uk/index.html we needed planning permission and Carbeth is itself a conservation area so we kept to the hutters spirit of ingenuity and self-everything and splashed out on some graph paper from the local stationers. We made several models from foam board (thanks JS Harris) and finally paid the fee and waited... I'll add the plans when I find them but permission was granted and we stated work digging the footings by hand. Oh I should say at this point so far we have not paid for one trades person nor used any machines other than a Makita saw and drill and a Hitachi gas nail gun. Many thanks to Dominic Stevens and this website for teaching me all I needed to know about the mysteries of marking out http://www.irishvernacular.com/ In May we braved the rain and pressed on building 14 (dodgy bricklaying) piers one big one using cobble stones the rest using concrete blocks from a reclaimed mono bloc driveway. Our near £2500 load of timber arrived and it was time to see if the 'water in a tube' method of levelling the piers was accurate or not...first big confidence builder-it was bang on level across a 4m span I really wish I had bought OSB flooring as the chipboard got soaked a dozen times...its fine now but we have a few swollen joints that will need attention before final floor goes down. Lots of wet days and rain dripping of noses but a nail gun is a great stress buster for us Social Work types and the wall panels and trusses were complete...time for a big hut raising weekend! The June weather was kind and we got a lot of work done but the tarps had to go back on as the floor was still getting soaked... Magic, frame complete Roof is almost there and again we had 8 volunteers over the weekend...including schoolboy nephews who kept wandering off with tools! Then end of June saw the EPDM roof being stuck on with the stickiest of glues but close to water proof at last. On the odd evening we managed to get the windows in... Got some nice doors from Gumtree for £40 so in they go and by the end of June we are almost there Insulation and building paper on Oh and Gumtree found us some kitchen bargains so shipped then up as its nice and dry inside now *smiley face* Cladding And Lighting Weather was sh#t all July so had to bash on through the rain... Sparrow Fart recommended the Hitachi nail gun and as I'm on my fourth box that's 7000 nails so far! 90% Finished...90% To Go... Nearly there...hearth and fire needed to go in as it was getting too cold to work... Got a reclaimed dance floor 57m for £250 so that went down too. Finished off the ceiling joins with some 5mm ply, looks okay. Finally got the dry toilet finished but not *commissioned* it yet. Put some furnishings in for a trial run. Just some plumbing, wiring and joinery to go. Oh and the view from daughters window... Diy Plans-Graph Paper And Pencil I am putting these images up simply to show that you do not have to employ professional help to submit planning applications. For most of you serious self builders designing the house of your dreams I suspect that this will be the only way to go but my little project is different from the norm in many ways. Firstly Stirling Council (in fact the single planning assistant that deals with the Carbeth community huts) is hugely helpful and happy to talk on the phone and comment via email. Secondly reading through previous applications I noticed that some drawn on foolscap (with imperial measurements) passed first time and the more professional architect drawn submissions had lengthy correspondence in the file. I went with the spirit of the old hutters and splashed out on some graph paper and a sharp pencil. I kept what I could vague so as to allow a bit of flexibility as the build progressed. Eight weeks to the day after submission we got a green light with four simple conditions. Having read some of your experiences out there I feel your pain and hope that ion the future this minefield of a system can be improved and made more consistent…I’m not holding my breath though… Attached Files Planning drawings 1-2.pdf (2.12MB) downloads: 75 Planning drawings 3-4.pdf (2.14MB) downloads: 29 Planning drawing 5.pdf (1.05MB) downloads: 26 Carbeth site plan hut no 3 Jan 15.pdf (254.28K) downloads: 28 Interior Fit Out And Decoration The low tech approach continues as does the re-use and recycle theme. Bought a load of Michelin road maps from the charity shop to make my feature wall background and topped then off with a few nice ones I picked up in Poland during the summer. Probably spent about 20 quid in all. Went to the local mental health wood recycling project (boy, they are not cheap!) and spend 15 quid on an old scaffolding board to make this kitchen unit. Might add some hooks underneath and a couple of shelves on the map wall to complete this corner. I might have mentioned before that around my office Monday is the day that the Council bin lorries come around for bulk uplift. The area is all tenement flats and there is no room for bulk trash in the back court so the local arrangement is you put it on a street corner before each Monday morning. It does make for an Aladdin's cave of goodies and there is a fair bit of 'help yourself' going on before the bin lorry arrives. in fact plenty of stuff is labelled, like a TV with remote control taped and a sign 'saying perfect working order'. Anyhow I helped myself to this worktop and slotted it in next to the beech free standing units from Gumtree to make a little sink unit. Looks okay I think...the rest of the worktop was cut up and kept the wood burner going to keep us warm during the freezing weather outside. Dry Toilet And No Smell Whatsoever Apologies for the pic of the loo, warts and all so to speak... This is the 'seperate' plastic toilet from Sweden that has a front funnel and back void. The thinking is to seperate the solid and liquid waste as it is the combination Of both together that causes the smells we don't like. Urine runs to a soak away and the solids and toilet paper (and sawdust which helps the drying process and Erm...helps the appearance should you peer into the pit!)end up in the bucket below. There is a small fan running constantly which you can just see on the floor behind the urine waste tube. The fan is powered from our 12v battery and draws next to no power at around 0.1 amps. This provides an airflow which removes odours and aids the drying process for the solid waste. Once the bucket is full it can be sealed with a tight fitting lid and left for 18 months when it will be safe to use as compost. Some folk toss it on the fire but not sure I fancy that job. Still needs a lick of paint but all in all very pleased this all works as promised in the literature. As the blog title says there is no smell at all and its really a pleasant smallest room. Balcony, Wood Store, Somewhere Nice To Sit Decided simple was best and to crack on with the decking out front. Rescued some fallen trees from nearby and rested them against a quickly assembled frame of 6*2 treated joists. This gave us a nice deck to work on the roof from... Always keep a tidy site Ebuilders...you don't want a wayward screw sticking into the foot of one of you volunteer helpers who come to play with trainers on! Bit of good luck, we had one 4.8 length of decking left over so fashioned up three nice steps to the front door. Lucky for us 800mm wide was just right. Finishing Touches If you wait long enough, what you want will come along in Gumtree. Seller said they were £100 per metre and I can believe that. 4m of them in the back of the car and the suspension was riding low! Anyhow, had no confidence in grouting these the normal way so borrowed a piping bag from SWMBO and took my time squeezing it into each gap so it was just proud. Ran a pencil around the gaps and hey ho it looks great. Now just some stove paint to buy and a few dozen more jobs before its finished... Exterior views

Thanks @Dreadnaught, yes we are taller than average family (I'm 6'3 and my wife is 6'), so 1800mm would be better.

Pay at least £100 on a credit card for section 75 protection. I have just paid up front for my kitchen worktops, entire payment on a CC in case of issues. Check the limit of liability for section 75

Lots of theories as to the why of frogs: https://www.scottishbrickhistory.co.uk/brick-frog-origins-of-use/

It depends on what the quote includes and the size of the house. My house was a stick built 174 sq.m house and to give you an idea the I-joists and glulam beams required cost £9200 ex vat.

This is not a house but I kept my panels to 3m which one person can just about lift, easy with two. Blog here I did have plenty of ramblers passing by who were happy to help... the memorable ones where the three generations of Norn Irn farmers who knew masses about building, hands like shovels too! Three 90+ ladies ( I kid you not) from Palm beach, Florida dressed in pastel terry towelling jump suits and full make up (they declined to help lift OSB to the roof) but had very negative things to say about the then Republican nominee, The Donald. One lady was a retired property attorney with direct experience of him welching on a deal and not paying his debts... And finally the couple of twenty something pony tailed nurses from Sussex who did help lift a panel onto the pile but seemed fairly suspicious of the motives of the middle aged man asking for a hand, oops. They didn’t take their rucksacks off or stop for a blether either Happy days if you work in the spring/summer and even better if you have some help now and then?

The new 30m2 extension will probably have a peak load of less than 1.5kW so unless the boiler is currently struggling it should be fine.

The bricks from the chimney breast in the bungalow I dismantled didn't have frogs and they lasted ninety odd years and the chap who took them on Freegle used them for a garden wall.

I think these would be fine for a garden wall. Give them a proper clean and encourage whoever is laying them to choose the best side. Use a lime mortar.

They can always fit radiators, hard to fit UFH after the build.

Yes you will lose some heat to the ground, but if that is enough to force a larger boiler, I would say it does not have enough capacity anyway to deal with a cold snap. I suspect your architect is used to retro fitted UFH with no insulation? I would take what he says with a very large pinch or salt.

i used the 75mm plastic radial ducting system, quite easy to box in a small pipe like that. Either at the eaves, or along the ridge with a slight "flat top" rather than the ceiling going right to a point.

Followup. I think that WOW in a hall depends on having a huge space (say with a staircase AND a dining table - in our family small manor house there was a Jacobean staircase with a 15ft high x 6ft wide arched window, and the hall was about 20ft x 16ft in addition), or playing to create perceptions of space. Surprises also help, so eg a dark low ceiling porch into a bright high ceiling space is dramatic - Frank Loydd Wright did this in houses. Perhaps try: Pull sneak corridor into hall. Try some sort of rooflight feature to give something to draw the eye upwards. Try a dogleg staircase across the side and back, which will mean they see the double height space immediately on entering. I think that perhaps your kitchen and office are a little 'average'. In my kitchen I have 30+ 600mm unit spaces in toto (excluding utility, and counting everything), How many do you have? What happens if you pull the secret space into the office. 4m x 3m to me is neither a compact study (which would be 3x3m) nor somewhere sufficient for a big worktable in addition to the desk for holding meetings or doing 5000 piece jigsaws, Ferdinand

I tiled ours with my able assistant (Wife) 250 m2 over four days I didn’t use self levellers but made sure the floor was flat Your tiler will quote tolerances 2 to 3 mil with this type of tile you can live with Skirtings should be pretty tight It May be one for small claims If you go down this route Contact a registered tiling company for a small fee there estimated will list the faults and cost to rectify Good luck

No not really,as a professional he should have checked the tiles before laying if its such a common problem and if not flat -report to customer before commencment of tile laying

Is an oven and hob really essential? They are large draws on the system. I have had one power cut that lasted 4 hours, made my tea with my camping stove. Keeping the house warm and bright is essential for a multi-day outage.

Hi and Welcome @selvbygg We did just as you are doing in 2003, we moved from Oxfordshire to the Inverness area in 2003, so I am fairly well placed to help you on your journey. Our search actually started in 2002 when we had a holiday up here and bought a 1 bedroom flat (to become a buy to let) Later after completing on the flat we came for another holiday to get the flat ready for rental and that's when we bought our first plot, which we completed building in 2004. We are now nearing the end of our second self build just 2 doors up the road from the first one. We had a similar range criteria that we wanted to be no more than half an hour from Inverness and we ended up pretty much on the northern limit of that. North of Inverness is cheaper than any other direction, even more so if you are prepared to go further up into Sutherland. By far the best place to search for plots is here https://www.hspc.co.uk/building-sites.asp If you want another recommendation for a solicitor I am happy to send you a PM. If you are wanting a static caravan I can point you to the two local dealers And if you find a plot close to here that you want someone to have a look at I am happy to oblige if I can.

Good question. Some LED transformers come with 4 wires pre-fitted. These typically use Blue and Brown for the Neutral and Live, and Red and Black for the output to the LED. A few use a pair of white wires for the output to the LED. Examples Red & Black https://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/led-drivers/1314709?cm_mmc=UK-PLA-DS3A-_-google-_-PLA_UK_EN_Displays_And_Optoelectronics-_-Led_Lighting_System_Components|Led_Drivers-_-PRODUCT_GROUP&matchtype=&pla-448230579044&s_kwcid=AL!7457!3!243856786484!!!g!448230579044!&gclid=CjwKCAiAlajvBRB_EiwA4vAqiBjcwAYuXAuSTLcWupBLaDa8c9_zxDSwP5aH7y6xnNez7IjKBjWLOxoCFmUQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds White: https://www.amazon.co.uk/LED-Driver-Transformer-240V-Interference/dp/B00BMBKHC2 In the regulations.. Mains voltages (eg 240V) are "Low Voltage" or LV LCD voltages (<50V) are "Extra Low Voltage" or ELV. Not sure if this is current but.. https://electrical.theiet.org/media/2063/bs-7671-2018-corrigendum-dec-2018.pdf It says.. I believe both of the wires between the LED controller and LED lamp should be treated as line conductors so you could use any of those colours.

Talk on 22 Jan, University of Surrey: https://events.theiet.org/buildings-that-breathe-how-to-save-energy-through-intelligent-design/

Just in case anyone is interested in making their own shed, I thought I'd put the pics all in one place. I was given 34 sheets of 18mm OSB so it's super sturdy and otherwise I spent £500 on timber and another £100 for ironmongery and roof felt. And as ever my time was free... Used mostly old 5" posts dug in and secured with postcrete. There were a few comments that these will rot over time but I'm hoping they will stay fairly dry as they are covered by the shed. OSB down on the shed area. And the decking for the shelter. Made up the wall panels...and Got some help from a couple of local beauties to rattle it together. Roof on so now to make at water tight as possible using up what I've got left lying about the site. Building paper used up and some felt on roof number one. Stared the cladding which matches the Hut. It's getting really Heath Robinson now is I try and cobble the shelter bit together from the odd bit of leftover timber. Nearly there... Looking good, so now to turn attention to the innards Jazzy donated shelving And finally a use for those big hooks I bought two years ago...knew they would be handy for something???

Had a few days off so doing the prep for the shed...managed a lick of paint in the loo too Doesn't look like much but tackled a jungle of bush with a friend's Lidl petrol strimmer Job done ? Update Tried the Glasgow Barras (flea market) for three items I wanted for the hut. An hour of raking through junk and found nothing other than a big teapot...but without its lid. Headed over to the west end dissatisfied but looking forward to a spicy curry from Mother India Cafe as compensation. One curry tapas medley later and thought I'd try some of the trendy second hand/antique shops in the area. Bingo Bango in the first shop. All three things on the list...30 squids! We got a catering teapot ( for heating water for washing up on the stove) a brass and copper coal scuttle and a nice toast fork...and I made a nice picture for you lot to look at since the forum is quiet.???

I was once asked to tile a floor. I had painted the place and the customer was well impressed with my work (I was out of work at the time and would do anything for cash). Told him the floor was dreadful, but he insisted that I could do it. He threw me off site and refused to pay me for all the work I had done. £1500, bastard. I hate tiling.