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If we move away from standard brick and block construction towards panelised houses built in factories it would be easier to remove poor workmanship.

Nice to see some media catching up and talking about it, but some holes in the report. I would make the following comments: The headline is imo misleading, as the C target is 10 years in the future and only applies to rental. Saying that 2/3 of houses fail as they do not meet a 10 or 15 years ahead future target therefore end of the world is poor. But the BBC Shared Data Unit is not the most comprehensive source of analysis (ie they leave important things out). The original background report is much better. The claim that a C is "just above average" is controversial. In fact only 25% of Owner Occupied properties are C or above. And Social Rented is substantially better, which will throw the claim off more. PRS is slightly better than OO. The Beeboids forgot to mention that of the 62% of houses below EPC Grade C, three quarters are Owner Occupied (three quarters of approx two thirds of the overall housing stock). That is the elephant in the room that needs to be slaughtered, and that imo they should be highlighting. Probably only addressable in year one or two of a Parliament for political reasons. One for this year's budgets, which need to change the agenda. I think there is some UK self-hate / self-flagellation happening. Across many even of the advanced EU countries EPCs (with all their limitations) are not even fully public data (eg Austria, Belgium, Italy, France, Germany, Finland). Meanwhile, Germany gets more than 1/3 of its energy from coal (UK: 3%). Solutions? I very much agree with Tim Forman's comments, though they look to be rather large cost numbers; I think we need to look initially for a return to pre-Green Deal volumes of retrofits. I don't think they will put it on energy prices, though imo they probably should. Ed Milliband drove up energy prices massively via his green taxes and got a hell of a lot of stick. Personally I would like to see a price ratchet as we had on petrol/diesel. More preferably a single carbon tax on everything. I remain skeptical of "can't afford it" arguments. If a quarter of us can afford £500 to £1500 a year per dog (PDSA numbers), and more of us cars, then we should be able to afford to do at least small things to our houses, and small things make a huge difference, and loft insulation is already free to the user. I've posted about Stamp Duty and Council Tax before, so I'll leave those alone, though imo it needs both as Stamp Duty only comes up when we move. Probably combined with tax relief on improvement costs or similar. The cost needs to be leveraged out of a slightly reduced value forced on the property. 1-2 years of house price increases would cover most of the basic improvement costs. Ferdinand

Evening all, Finally! A decent forum I can enjoy... Before the time of social media I was an avid forum goer, big on my underground electronic music. Rave scene jungliest movement forums were the only way I could network outside of the nightclubs. Photos from events would be posted up, pirate radios would hunt for talent and promoters would post up their flyers to try and gain momentum to get as many tickets sold before the night.... All seems a generational back in my day thing now but those were the best days, back then... Instagram, facebook and twitter changed the game and when we look back it was really only in the last decade that such trends have happened and what a change there has been! For the better.. imho no not really, negative feedback rather than positive criticism floats around freely... forums always felt more of a community to me, people sharing knowledge, wisdom and experiences to help learn and influence for the greater good, and from reading through the threads on the weekend it gave me a sense of those good old days before I had a career, before I had bills, kids & not enough time in the day! Gas engineer by trade (15 years), and now working as a supervisor for a housing association. I bought my first house when I was 20 and spent 8 years knocking it about thinking I would be a millionaire by the time It was done. It was pretty much done but we got bored of spending all our money at builder merchants so when the kids came along a few years back we bought a VW transporter, kitted it out and off we went, now we have Finley (1 and 3/4) & Penny (3 going on 30), an old dog named max, Lenny the tortoise. We just got married 2 weeks ago after being together for 14 years and now my new wife is telling me we need a bigger house.... She's right by the way! Great thing Is I've always wanted to build my own house I spent my childhood watching Grand Designs, bad thing is we may have to live in a caravan for awhile, lets hope the kids are buckled up because its going to be a bumpy ride but hey, what's life without a few challenges. And everybody who knows me knows I'm not the type to sit around watching Tv, always on the go like many of you are I sure. My brains constantly ticking over about the next 'big project' I'm working on, or at least working towards. To have our own self build we can all call home would be amazing and if we can make some memories building it well that's even better. Our plan is to snag the house we are living in and sell up by the end of the year, whilst this is happening we will be designing and obtaining planning for our plot, a bungalow that we bought last January for 170k at auction which is currently being rented out. It sits on some nice land about 1000 m2, a triangle shaped plot that is slightly sloping, its north facing with some potential views and is in prime close to centre of town position. It sits next to some green land giving a nice secluded feel about it and hop over the fence and you in some dense woodland. We hope to gain planning for a replacement dwelling by xmas and then move up their January ready to put a spade in the ground in April. Our hopes are to borrow £280k, that's £200k for the build, £40k to pay of the mortgage on the plot and £35k contingency. Ideally we want to build as big as possible but will be limited by budget. We need a 4 bed property with open plan living space, evening living room, multifunction room, bathroom, ensuite, d/s w.c, garage, workshop and a room to fit a small hair salon in. Using my skills I will be project managing, and carrying out as much as possible. I am seriously considering building in ICF with Nudura being the front runner, The fact I will be able to build the structure myself is a huge plus to me and potentially a great cost saver, the energy efficiency it will bring along with the soundproofing and sturdiness all sit well with us as a family. I am loving the way that the 1st fix and dry lineing can be installed and think it will make ease of a laborious job so I am looking forward to enrolling on a few courses in the next month of so, I also have a mate who started a concrete company last year and has the only pump and boom in the local area so I'm expecting some mates rates on the pour! Our wish list also includes a smart home using Loxone or Niko, high quality aluminium windows & some solar panels with an electrical battery pack system and a zinc looking roof or similar style, again it depends on cost but it would be great if it will all squeeze into 200k. One things for sure, I know we have our work cut out for 2 years but I know it will be worth every late evening, every cut and ache. Hopefully with some expert guidance from this forum we can make this dream come true and my kids can learn from their mum and dad how you build a future for your family. Thanks in advance Edd & Phillipa.

Tip No 1. Throw away the piece of junk that is the current version of the NTE5 master socket and buy the far superior older version. You won't actually achieve anything by "moving" the master socket. Just splicing on an extra bit of cable and moving the master socket will result in exactly the same length and route of cable, as leaving the master socket where it is, and just running a length of cable and fitting a slave socket where you want it. Then plug the router into the slave socket. You only need to "move" it if there is some reason why an unused socket cannot remain in it's present place. You just need 2 pair telephone cable, or 3 pair will do, and you can buy it in short lengths from most DIY shops, screwfix etc.

On that note, we finished all the work on the bathroom yesterday - massive clean up operation today and we've moved back into our bedroom. Will share some photos tomorrow.

Not all LED lights are dimmable. You may just have the wrong lamps in them. Or you may have the wrong sort of dimmer switch designed for filament lamps.

It depends on your plumbing layout, but if you are having a radial type layout somewhere between the manifold and the shower. So for example if the water is coming from above in a loft space, you could put it in there.

Sounds like a great project. Just a small note. Don’t make reference to the hair salon in the plans. If HMRC get a sniff of it being for business use they can deny your VAT reclaim. You are allowed a single home office and remain eligible. Call it a utility room or something domestic sounding.

Or look elsewhere... I wouldn't be comfortable just changing the charging model given that this is someone who has seemingly shown little interest in offering you value for money.

I had a static van on site fir “builders facilities “, we still had our old house 130miles away which my wife lived in as she still worked there. Council “asked” me to pay council tax on the van but I proved we still had another house which we lived in so they gave up. In reality I lived in the static 5 days a week and week ended back in our old house. I think it’s a very good idea, it will give you somewhere to relax (if that’s possible) and have your family around you on site ?.

Definitely a good plan. It will have a toilet as well which satisfies your obligation to provide a site toilet for the workers, though you will have to empty it.

yes. I asked on this forum. Not sure who advised me, may have been the welsh wizard but it was a long time ago,!, if I remember correctly it was said that even a toilet flushing will not completely fill a 110mm diameter pipe so a 110mm AAV is not required. In the time since my build was finished I have had no problem with “suction” even without anti vac traps.

I would pull down probably half of the grade two listed buildings

If this AAV is going on the end of a branch off a stack then yes it's best at the end of that branch. If it's going at the top of a stack my understanding is that BCO like the stack furthest from the main sewer in the road to be open vented. Any other stacks can have AAV. However I believe current regs only require one open vented stack for every 5 houses (or something like that) so you might be able to argue the toss with the BCO.

You're welcome, just sharing my own experience. I don't think there is a right answer here as it's a function of how tight your budget is, where your confidence level is and how experienced you are (these two do not necessarily go hand in hand ) and how much your own time costs. Some people find it reassuring, and can afford, having the architect alongside them for the whole journey while some never use one at all. Personally, I'd let the architect complete the planning process if you're already along that path and see what's coming back from the frame companies based on the initial design - that should give you the data to see where there may be duplication on the professional services or where the gaps may be. I'd also take a look at the building warrant process and see what you need above and beyond what you'd get from the frame suppliers - may help you decide if the £3500+VAT is money well spent or something you could take care of yourself.

I didn’t go vertical with 110 pipe to AAV, just 50mm Is sufficient ?

I have a 110mm AAV on top of the main waste pipe in the centre of the pipe runs and a 50mm AAV at each end of the 50mm pipe runs which join each side of the main pipe. One for the bath end and one for the ensuite shower end. It's just a bit of redundancy in case there is a problem.

Yes, (and running uphill slightly towards it if it were me.) I only have one ?

1. Should be higher than highest waste although some makes work below that level. 2. I have one 110mm AAV and two 50mm AAVs. 3. Can do, I've got mine at ends on pipe runs. 4. Doesn't need to go as high as loft. I have mine behind false walls in with concealed cisterns.

Sorry, my 32mm basin waste tees into the 50mm bath waste. There's an anti siphon trap on the basin so the emptying of the bath doesn't suck the water out of the basin trap. Don't think you'll need it if not pipe sharing.

I agree it does, I am standing in the refectory coffee queue with 8 of them the problem is that these and yours were by definition capable of, and equipped for, this level of study but many are not and should not be anytheless respected for their skills and capabilities. We have a system geared to the belief that a starred double first in classics from one of a couple of seats of learning is the goal of education and anything less is some kind of failure which it is not.

I ran 50mm under floors and converted to 32mm (fir basin) and 40mm (fir bath) when they came up through floors.

Phone wise ( when I’m above ground ) 3 or 4 - not an issue . This modem though !! You can 4 bars and get a relatively slow speed or 3 bars and it’s actually faster . I think which host it picks is critical.

I ran everything (except loo) in 50mm, as advised by the welsh wizard.

Nope. Both @Redoctober and I used Scottish TF companies (different ones) and neither included it.

Ariel is a washing powder. An Aerial is a device for receiving radio signals. I'll get my coat.

Not until later. It does not become known until you find out that your your cat / car / pallet of paving slabs has been replaced by an empty space. F

Bath 50mm, sink 32mm into the 50 is what I've done with an anti siphon trap on the sink. 32 too small for a bath I think.

ha, I do that, mix and match, I am of the age when the change to metric took place during my education. BUT you still buy carpet 3 or 4 meter wide but buy it by the foot ?.

again that is assuming the majority can afford to buy new cars -which is not so --so older cars make up most of the pollution and it is probably new car owners that are doing most mileage anyway Me i run an 09 -but its only done 50 k-so economical way to run is just run it longer to offset the high capitol cost of new car

Room size is still best visualized in feet in my head, whereas anything technical is metric. Then there is ceiling height, I know my knuckles can touch a 2.2m ceiling whereas 2.4m is nicely out of reach.

Pursuing the German theme John, it would be brilliant if the German Apprenticeship System were adopted here. In the UK, lack of Parity of Esteem between professions and the trades means that pride in excellent workmanship - universal in Germany - is rare here.

It seems common sense that with modern computer design and manufacturing that it should be easy to do with SIPS or like in germany where they make woodcrete panels (velox) --whole house sides with window holes everything ,crane on to site then just fill with concrete

It is very dangerous to stick an extra tax on energy unless most other countries do the same: it will affect manufacturing. And obviously it would be a terrible idea to try and tax only residential energy. I wish it was a "simple" matter of spending 20K per house to bring them into the 21st century but it is not. EWI is not always suitable, floor insulation is very intrusive and making the roof warm is likely impossible. I am afraid only a mass rebuild program might help but the costs are prohibitive and I cannot see where the country could hire all those builders who'd suddenly start paying attention to quality. Can poor workmanship be designed out? I don't know but I doubt it. @ProDave, I agree with @Temp, the main reason for the lack of attention to quality is quantity. My wife asked several times whether we could just move to get more space, every time I had to reply "no way unfortunately" as we'd just get a larger cold house which needs even more money to heat.

Welcome to the Madhouse. It looks like a project - and a nice looking pub within staggering distance. I would say one important thing is not to rush too much ... allow yourself plenty of headspace and time, so that you catch potential mistakes rather than having to live with them for 25 years. Ferdinand

Too much demand for housing to care about the EPC? How about Increased stamp duty on badly insulated houses? Would that make people wake up? Make it reclaimable if the house is improved within 3 years? Any money raised used to provide grants for insulation? If not stamp duty then how about CGT or some other tax on sellers of badly insulated houses?

It still staggers me that houses with a poor EPC don't sell for less, and most buyers don't care. All that has to change. Even the target to get all houses to an EPC C will not make them carbon neitral.

Fit an inline Y strainer in an accessible place instead

We just chuck em in a drawer.

I use a slotted drawer block, just a few quid from IKEA. I have used worktop blocks, belts etc, drawer slot block is the best compromise between safety, accessibility and keeping knives in good condition.

It was just the layout of the kitchen, I knew it would be a slight issue. They are not under the hob, I tried to only have stuff under the hob that you would likely use on the hob. It is to the left of the hob, but the issue only arises if two people do food prep at the same time. I think you will nearly always run into this issue somewhere if two people work in the kitchen at the same time tbh. I did manage to get the bin cupboard to a position where it was not in a well used space as this was an issue in our old house. I have now figured out a way to fix the issue, so can sort it in 10-15 years when we get a new kitchen.

We had this drawer problem in the last house and have subsequently got the cutlery draw to the right of the hob and it is alot more practical

Having had a wooden knife block for years, we have now moved to slotted in drawer. I like it as it is neater, but it does take up a reasonable amount of drawer space. We have it in the same drawer as chopping boards. Can't say that I have noticed a meaningful effect on sharpness. The main issue is that if two people are working in the kitchen someone has to get out of the way to get a knife out of the drawer.

You could extend it at the bottom to make it even safer !

I made this one 7 years ago (all of 5 minutes) with the intention of making another one out of oak from whiskey barrel lids but never got round to it. its very safe and you can make them as big as you like !

Here you go geezer.

Also, once you are under the floor, and, or, above the ceiling, i would go from 40mm to 50mm then into the 110mm. You will prob be ok with short runs, but i would still go to 50mm

I have fitted a mcalpine trap and have to say it was a very well thought out and built piece of kit. Not cheap but very well made.