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I'm man enough I hope to admit I was at times less than generous towards Jeremy in private comments to other members. I like to feel I got over that. I think I took his drive, passion and tenacity as arrogance. Chuck in a bit of jealousy maybe at his breadth of knowledge. Less a case of him being "one of those people who's always right", bottom line he generally was! ? I miss him. Best Christmas pressie Buildhub could have is if he makes an appearance.

I don't believe I did say she was a dictator? I made a broad brush statement as the issue is too vast to go into specific detail in a short response. Yet another example of selective stat comparisons - comparing New Zealand to the UK is a joke. A quick look: New Zealand 103,000 square miles for a a population of less than 5 million. UK 94,000 square miles for a population of around 70 million. London has more people than New Zealand. Lets just think about that for a minute, yes I know New Zealand will have population clusters as opposed to even distribution throughout , much like the UK. Seriously though, anyone with a bit of sense should realise that New Zealand will have a much easier time trying to contain COVID when compared to the UK. New Zealand closed its borders, a relatively simple exercise compared to the UK attempting the same thing. Heathrow is the busiest airport in Europe. I haven't the energy to follow this rabbit any further! I wish people would cease using ridiculous comparisons. And yet, Spain, France, Germany etc etc had to go into a lockdown for a second wave well before the UK. I would say that the 'overall' performances are very similar. Belgium, Spain, and Italy all have higher death rates per 100,000. And then we come to recorded death rates. Is every country using the same metric to records COVID/suspected COVID related deaths. No. So again how can we compare how countries are 'truely' performing if we aren't recording deaths the same way? I would suggest that as the Prime Minister it is not feasible to minimise outside contact in the same way that joe public can and still run the country correctly. I suspect the press would have a field day about how he is hiding or some such if he did so. Damned if he does, damned if he doesn't.

Right guys it's not let's all line up and take shots at another member time esp when he's not here to answer back.

You are interpreting my words now to sort your narrative. I did not say I do not understand etc, I was making a point about how data can be presented to suit. Again you are selectively interpreting what I'm saying. At no point have I questioned talk of Boris vs talk of Brexit. Again I was making a point, about how you posted an 'opinion' piece yet felt the need to call me out for posting 'opinion and not fact'. ?

These help? cylinder-storage-information.pdf code-of-guidance-for-storage-of-cylinders.pdf

It's easy to forgive his somewhat brittle responses to some comments: we all have our little characteristics. I remember most the generosity of effort, well crafted sentences, depth of knowledge. But Christ on a bike, he didn't wear it lightly.

sorry but I disagree with you on this one, he was sometimes misquoted and some didn’t like his sticking to his guns regarding his answers. Frankly his knowledge on all things was extensive.

The middle photo shows a rebate and this sits onto a 10mm plate that connects the strings together. In this metal plate there are 6 holes to attach the wooden treads to. The bottom photo is what you will see when fitted and hopefully matches the Oak floor on the landing.

@Russell griffiths its previously been discussed on here and you're better with 50mm acoustic slabs with 88mm cls. Filling the stud results in worse performance. I could hear the missus on her phone last night when I went to bed. Shut the bedroom door and it near enough completley blocked it out. I only mention because i have a gap at bottom of door for air flow but it was still effective

Well I've just looked thru that thread and at least I was helpful!

It must end at least 100mm above the ground and if in an accessible position should be covered with a cage. I had to remove a few stones to lower the ground level a bit to get the 100mm

Try and stick to McAlpine stuff rather than Floplast which has a tendency to fall apart.

Thanks MAB. I wasn't aware of such an extension piece to go in between a connector and the pan (another place for a leak to potentially occur is the only negative I guess) That very much sounds like the way forward then. Allow SWMBO to select toilet of choice and if the connection is deep inside i can use the extension. If it's near the back but not quite enough to bridge the gap then I can use one of those extensions and a space saving 90 bend to kick it back a bit.

Mine is run down to just above ground level (so it’s can’t scald anybody) above French drain .

Action by Building Control can only be taking up to two years after completion. https://www.planningportal.co.uk/info/200128/building_control/38/building_regulations/3

Can’t have a shared trap under G3 regs, and it has to be of pipe suitable to take boiling water so beware that if your BCO is on the ball he could pick up that 110mm UPVC is not rated above 90°C... I would branch the steam oven off the stack with a strap boss and just run a separate drain with another waterless trap.

This looks like a 1980's Tardis interior.

I did exactly that with a small barn on the side of my cottage in Shropshire, took photos as evidence, planners didn’t like it but hey ?.

It does seem mad though doesn't it! Would save so much more time, money and effort if LPA's could be a bit more pragmatic. I think the lesson is to find out what your LPA are prepared to accept - find similar Part Q's in your area and talk to them, look on the planning portal etc. Every area seems to interpret the legislation slightly differently.

@Bryera, If you intend more than one layer of insulation then you need to just fill the remaining depth of the timbers first, so you probably need a 100mm roll. The same site/warehouse has at about 1/3 the price for the same total amount of insulation. I do recommend a pre-split roll as it make life in a loft easier, e.g. https://www.insulationsuperstore.co.uk/product/loft-insulation-multi-roll-44-by-superglass-100mm-1212m2-pack.html it is incidentally marginally cheaper again. Multiple layers of loft roll (300mm) will be sufficiently insulating would make this unnecessary and uneconomic. If there is any ventilation in the loft it would also be ineffective.

Bathroom to bedroom Toilet to living space The rest is choice

The regs are here https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/468870/ADE_LOCKED.pdf With your build up of 11mm OSB I think you will only need either 25 or 50mm insulation anyway. A lot of walls are removed from the regs if they have doors in them - you can pretty much eliminate most of the walls in a corridor this way.

There is an enormous amount of information on regs and wall/ceiling performance in these documents from Gyproc. White-Book-C04-Partitions-Section.pdf White-Book-C06-S06-Floors-and-ceilings-Loadbearing-Timber-Joist-Floors.pdf

Regs extract below is for England from Approved Doc E, page 65 https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/468870/ADE_LOCKED.pdf

If you're confident you have plenty of loft insulation then it is a 'brand new well insulated room', although AIUI it still has a big chunk of original house wall in there. If not most of the heat will be disappearing through the ceiling.

Thanks for the tip on the scaff board and all other replies. Ill leave the gable and get on the outer leaf pronto ! and yes been worrying about the coursing ! Cheers all

We have the L shaped ones. Made in Poland and they look amazing. Not fitted yet (still sorting sensor lights?). Will post some pics later. They are rebated underneath to fit metal staircase and colour matched to Oak floor on the landing.

Oh good, a new bathroom to visit.

If this is your first baptism-of-fire tiling job and you have turned out something that looks like that ( regardless of how much filing and dremel work you did ) then you should be standing 10 feet tall my strange avatar’d friend. ?? Have a beer on me, at your expense

We’re planning on a 34mm timber tread, rebated on to a 10mm steel plate. To satisfy building regs we plan on using Perspex like this staircase we saw a while ago.

Glad it’s not just me that does this sort of thing ..! Could be something you could try and fix with a bit of insulation tape on the sensor..??

I agree with this. Kore just supply EPS, as to many other companies. surely it's down to the SE to determine the load on the insulation and the effect the trees will have on them. and surely the answer depends on the situation and the trees! I too have used TSD for our foundations for the basement and rest of the house and they've designed a Kore system but have said that EPS is EPS and can be sourced from anywhere as long as the correct compressive strength EPS is used.

I would like Architects to go on an interior design course. Our architect and the, different, one opposite both wanted to site houses with their backs to the Southerly aspect that was available on both plots. They all seem obsessed with the kerb appeal! I, personally, would love the help of an interior designer to, first, help with lighting as it can have a huge effect on the quality of life in a house. I see that most people, above. think that one should be engaged for walls, windows etc but will have already chosen their flooring. Would an interior designer be of any help at the flooring stage. It is expensive to lay the wrong kind of flooring but is given little consideration as a design feature. What do you think @H Kaur ?

McAlpine in link below do a space saving 90 degree bend and also a straight telescopic extension which combined together might help:- https://mcalpineplumbing.com/wc-connectors/rigid-wc-connectors Straight telescopic extension:- https://mcalpineplumbing.com/wc-connectors/rigid-wc-connectors/wc-con-ext-straight-telescopic-wc-socket-extension 90° Bend Adjustable Length Rigid WC Connector:- https://mcalpineplumbing.com/wc-connectors/rigid-wc-connectors/wc-con8c-90deg-bend-adjustable-length-rigid-wc-connector 90° Space Saving Bend Adjustable Length Rigid WC Connector:- https://mcalpineplumbing.com/wc-connectors/rigid-wc-connectors/wc-conqc-4110mm-90deg-space-saving-bend-adjustable-length-rigid-wc-connector 90° Bend Adjustable Length Extended Inlet Rigid WC Connector:- https://mcalpineplumbing.com/wc-connectors/rigid-wc-connectors/wc-con8e-90deg-bend-adjustable-length-extended-inlet-rigid-wc-connector

This all over. Its even worse for people (like me) who have not done a new build as such but slapped a big ugly extension on an existing house with all the featureless charm of a rusty Biffa bin. No money, no imagination, no features. ? It's grim. Its not so much that you have a blank slate to work with but a fresh turd. And you can roll it in glitter all you like but its still a turd.

Like any project, whatever is the last thing to be done gets squeezed on time, cost and quality. In home renovation or building it’s always the decor and the landscaping that takes the hit. Hence so many self builders ending up slapping on white or magnolia just to get liveable, then promising themselves they’ll do it properly once they have saved up more cash. ... this tends to be years later as you get used to what you have.

SWMBO.

Good Interior design can make a mediocre home look amazing. There is a reason showhomes have ID money spent on them. I think self builders can get so invested (and worn out!) getting the building up with all the associated behind the scenes stuff that there isnt much budget or sweat left for the rest! Our current build in progress I've employed an interior designer at the planning stage this time, may not do all the suggestions but it really helps with furnishings/colours/light etc

I’ve just been reminded by my interior designer, (wife) she had the kitchen/family room, dining room and bathrooms designed, layout, colours, tiles, worktops and flooring, before we met with the architect. The house was essentially designed around these features. We’re at the plaster stage now and colour charts and wall paper samples keep appearing. She tells me, only a bloke would point a house in one colour! Harman, I’m sorry your struggling to get an answer to you original question. If only you’d asked about thermal mass, air source heat pumps or under floor heating! It’s a bloke thing, sorry......

Not quite OT, but close enough. I had a recommended interior designer to redesign (not renovate, though a periodic decorating cycle was subsumed in the project) a big student house last year. The most challenging aspect probably was to negotiate changes to a more comprehensive proposal than I was after, to something rather more modest in budget terms. But to do it in a way that put the budget where I was happy with it, but still gave the ID a project that had enough meat on it to be satisfying professionally and did not unduly affect the proposed look. Suspect that always happens and IDs always expect a few "buts and cuts", just as architects do because they deliberately stretch it to show where they see potential. In the event we rescoped and renegotiated slightly to reduce the budget by about 30%, which worked for both sides. Ferdinand

+1 on this. It's surprising how many things that looked good in renders and mock ups at the start of the project looked wrong when standing in the room.

I always think with a new build it’s better to live in it with your magnolia or white in our case until you get a feel for it, you’ve probably already made the decisions on flooring etc so you have a starting point to work from.

Are you pushing on an open door with us..... Our build is a catalogue of delays. Not to mention disasters. Big and small. Lots of success too though. Self-building is a character test. Surviving it seems to involve a hardening off process. Unless of course you are already involved in the building trade. Most self builders need to become involved in all sorts of new , sometimes local , networks. Why was it for example that your brickie was pulled off your job? I often think that the most important thing about a self-build is the human networks that you know and have access to. What you build and how you build it it is not as important as knowledge of who is going to build it for you and when : or perhaps I should say by when. Self builders already in the trade tend to know the answer to that question. During our build I have come to value the life experience I had before building our house especially in relation to persistence. That skill is hard won. As Peter above says you soon forget the difficult bits and hopefully come to look back at them with a rueful smile. Stick with it and we will help you with the technical bits of your build. Moaning on this site is very useful to all members. It helps us all realise that we are not alone in having annoying problems.

Me and Jeremy always got on . He understood my exceptional skills and being ahead of the curve . He once PM’d me and said “ Stupid brilliance , brilliant stupidly - that’s you that is “

Not difficult.

Nope, staying well away from those trims!