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I just take the view that the supply head normally says "100A" being the rating of the fuse carrier. It is unusual to have a label to say what actual fuse is in there and of course it is sealed. So I have no qualms fitting an 80A fuse after it. Lets be honest if something bad has happened to blow your 80A fuse it does not really matter if the DNO's fuse has gone as well, they will come and replace it and re seal. You are not going to overload anything or make a dangerous situation.

However I did hang mine into the room but the BCO said the room was so big it was ok as anyone collapsing off the loo would not be in front of the door (and he added “you will only change it back again after I leave if I make you change it!!!”)

Underpinning is donkey work, the digging alone will push you to breaking point. Micro digger with bucket turned wrong way will make life a lot easier scooping under the existing, then get volumetric or mini ready mix but as previous posts the volumetric will be your friend, go down well with BCO and you will be using more than you expect.

You can be as emotional as you like. But not letting that emotion be be communicated to others : thats the hardest trick. And especially hard to prune emotionally loaded phrases from passages of text. So much money time and effort is involved. It's very hard work.

Work out your volume. If you are 1m x 0.5m and probably 0.5m wide, each hole will be 0.25 cubic m of concrete. If you are doing 24 holes at a time you have 6 cubic m, so a full ready mix load.

I would buy Kwikstage, Cuplock or a similar "system" can make anything from a single tower to full house very easy, much easier that traditional scaffold.

Reckon you've probably got enough manual work to do, get a volumetric mixer in and have a cuppa whilst they mix and pour, then just pay for what you use.

CT clamps

You can set on-grid discharge to 0 but then if the power goes off you’ll have nothing left in the tank for emergency backup. the off-grid discharge set to 0 means that in a power cut you can fully drain the battery. my LuxPower inverter can discharge at a max of 3.5kW so yours is probably the same. Although mine is an AC coupled inverter rather than a hybrid. actually, looking at the spec sheet it does say 6kW AC output. But I couldn’t find what the battery discharge rate max was.

I have just literally emailed this company today https://exclusivedoors.eu/s1-about-us.html enquiring about doors. The chap replied very quickely. I see they also do windows. I am awaiting quotes.

I don't know what you're all winging about I have it tough! I have a bowl of cold broth and bit of old bread.. Beer! I could only dream of beer. I used to work on site for 10 hours in all weathers with rain dripping down me neck, filling me boots, and when I hit my thumb and went to the foreman (as he was called then) he asked could I wiggle it . Upon showing him I could he bollocked me for not hammering hard enough! Teriyaki? Oo very lar-de-dar Sweet corn I should be so lucky. Southern softies pahh! I'm off to see if there's any gruell left.

I just swap the c for a p. Kills half an hour.

A bad start to the day for me so I gave up and ended up with cheese on toast. I am surrounded by bungling incompetence.

Let me join you for dinner as also on my own. Other half is on a work jolly in Paris. Teriyaki chicken.

It basically sheds any excess energy, above a set point, to ground ( via the earth pin ) instead of dissipating it via a sacrificial component ( as an SPD does ). All good, give it a whirl.

TBH I'd go for the Belkin, as it's rated at 13a and offers a guarantee against failure of devices plugged in to it. Download the MI's from Belkin and read up a bit to see if it says no pumps / inductive loads over x number of Watt's etc.

I ignore everything and just do what I want . Bco hasn’t been for sometime 😎👍

Nature Conservation Services, Tree Popper supplier and Invasive non native plants species control and management I don't think they come cheap

That's fine, dont worry about photos. Spark at work threw a suggestion to use same rating but lower class fuse. So it would blow quicker than the DNO's... It'll be good to know for sure, and when all said and done I'll post my findings and doings.

If you are going with a tiled floor on a wet room former, some of the wastes are multi directional, and also have a large lift out circle in the area the waste goes. They are all different according to make, but you basically rough in a waste pipe and then fit the former, lift out the large round bit and connect on the trap, then drop the big circle back into the former, tanking needs doing to top spec. Have a look at all the formers and trays they will have some fairly detailed instructions.

I have not read that thread. Thank you for point it out, and I'll read it later on.

+1 One who you can talk to in real life. One who is the same person every time you ring up. Often Commercial property solicitors are better suited on land.

Try this:- Approved Document M: Volume 2 - Buildings other than dwellings - Part M - Access to and use of buildings - Planning Portal The Building Regulations 2010: The Merged Approved Documents (publishing.service.gov.uk) Part M - Page 1190 Sanitary facilities WC facilities - Page 1195 Needs to read in conjunction with "Circulation areas and internal doorways" Page 1194 The above are for none dwellings but similar for dwellings:- Page 19 BR_PDF_AD_M1_2015_with_2016_amendments_V3.pdf (publishing.service.gov.uk) Quite a bit of reading.

Good morning, welcome. Do you mean 236 SQ M plot or that you have a plot on which to build a 236 SQ M house?

If there's a 100a in the supply head, and there needs to be a 3rd party SF as the tails are >3m, then you're supposed to de-rate to 80a in the SF.

Hi, and welcome. I'm a very big fan of MBC Timberframe's turnkey slab / frame package, and if you want a stress free / as seamless as possible a build then that's a great option. Not the cheapest option afaik, but very quick and simple with the majority of the paperwork / red tape / professional services all encompassed. I don't know of any other TF suppliers that actually offer this as turnkey, and I do know some suggest this but then fall quite short on delivering. Go up and see MBC's factory, and you can even go and see builds in progress, which may be beneficial to you. Other companies offering this likely do exist, and I'm sure others will post here accordingly. Happy hunting, and good luck. Don't forget to search this forum for everything else, as there's a massive amount of good information and support available here .

We had the final test in 2017 and he was thorough and also liked his pasties. https://www.airtightnesstestingkent.co.uk/air-tightness-testing PS I've just noticed the picture of him on his website, which I took, is of our front door, hall and porch.

If you can smell combustion smells in those houses, you must immediately let them know they have a problem. Then the owners need to immediately cease use of the stove investigate or seek professional help. If you can smell a stove or open fire combustion smells in the room, be it coal, wood, oil or gas, you have an issue. The stove box should be negative air pressure, it should be drawing in air, not allowing gasses to escape! Myself and someone else on this forum have done experiments and taken readings with our stoves on, the other BH member thought his meter was broken and lit a match adjacent to it to get a reading and I found that we had more pollution in the room when my wife lit 3 tealights! So these statements are highly inaccurate - much like saying "Gas boilers are poisoning occupants of the house" - they do in a round about away, but not in as much as your being choked with combustions gasses, unless, of course there is an issue. Visible smoke is a big part of the issue because many people produce clouds of the stuff through incorrect operation of the stove and usually by burning green wood or other unsuitable fuels The smoke is heavy, it can linger for hours on a cold day, it is full of combustion smells that can taint clothing and soft furnishings and inhaling that will immediately irritate the throat, lungs etc. and will irritate the eyes if exposed to enough of it - think standing next to a bonfire when the wind changes! The heavy smoke is loaded with loads of particulate, unburnt gasses and other nasties, full high temperature combustion will reduce those. The PM 2.5 particulate exists from many sources, cars, lorries, planes or stoves. It is there. The figures used for stove emissions are highly inaccurate, they use all stoves sold x burning hours per day. Every one of them. The figures are badly skewed. Our neighbours have one, it's never lit, my friend has about 4, he doesn't use them much - I know of about 72 holiday lodges each with 1, hardly anyone holidays there in the winter so they are never really on. Gas boilers produce pm 2.5 too around 50% more than the average car per annum, they emit around 1/5 of NOx emissions, they also emit other nasties like VOC's, SO2, N2O - or your could burn a locally sourced firewood, seasoned and burned in a well maintained stove which will have fewer emissions than a gas boiler, in managed firewood the CO2 will also be near totally cyclic therefore you could claim near zero CO2 emitted, v's the equivalent of 7 transatlantic flights a gas boiler will produce in a year.

We used a volumetric a couple of times on our build. Not cheap, but we'll handy, basically mixes as much or little as you need when you need it to any ratio and slump you want or need.

No tickets for a tower, because they slot together, but just be sensible. FYI where a ticket is required (for certain companies) it is the easiest of courses, about a half day including intro and practical test. Buy or hire robust towers, made of tube. They usually attract 50% discount to the stated hire cost. But for over about 8 weeks you might as well buy, use and resell. They need adjustable feet (or wheels) too, to avoid relying on bits of packer underneath, and for easy adjustment. They will also need stabilisers, which will come with the set when required. It is very common, and silly, for builders to have these not quite touching the ground. When towers reach any height that might be (or feel) a bit unstable, then it is prudent and usually quite easy to tie them to the structure. I prefer to use eye bolts where the fixing can stay fixed, but the ring removed for aesthetics.

+1 to this ..! Volumetric mixer, bring him back every time and you’ll get a consistent mix and no backache.. SE may also insist on a “known” ratio which unless you make some gauging boxes you can’t do with a mixer and a labourer

Hi @Sparrowhawk At my brother in law's home I turned off the power to the sockets unscrewed the sockets to get to the back box, unscrewed the back box (screws usually screwed in sideways), mixed up some bonding quite thick, cleaned all the dust from the hole, dampened the sides of the hole, carefully filled the back and sides and coated the back and sides of the box and wiggled it into the right position with the wires sticking out the right length and left to dry. Scraped out excess bonding once dry, siliconed any air holes, tidied up the wall finish as required, refixed the socket when all dry and turned the power back on. I used a bag of very old bonding which goes off quick. Sometimes adding bits of block or brick to the hole if required. I think if you use hot water with fresh bonding it will go off quickly. @nod will know. Mix small amounts and practice until it works. Good luck M

For internal it’s worth buying a decent tower/s. If being used by subbies just make sure it’s put together as the instructions with handrails and toe boards and you will be fine. title change threw me ! no limit on height (other than the tower manufacturers specification). If it’s a decent size room and tall I would be using a scissor lift assuming the floor is up to the weight.

You've outlined the priorities well, it's never going to be pretty so chase your biggest issues first: Boiler/rads - new gas boiler and rads will solve the health-affecting 11°C indoor temps, even if it does cost an absolute fortune to run. Make sure the replacement is also suitable for the finished, insulated product. Then, you have until next winter to reduce that cost by improving insulation/airtightness: Loft is easy/cheap, fill your boots Remove cavity draft: ducting air bricks properly and sealing other external penetrations. If you're completely happy the cavity draft is gone, EWI is possible, but rewire and graphene bead fill in the cavities may be a more reliable way to add insulation and reduce any remaining hard-to-fix airflow issues. Ground floor starts to get into the serious disruption but absolutely needs doing, windproof but breathable is most reassuring to me for timber joists. When the drafts disappear and the house starts to feel stuffy you know you're on the right track, PIV is the cheapest ventilation solution or upgrade to MVHR if you're so inclined/like to close internal doors. Forget the house being super cheap to heat unless you want to move out and go for serious levels of disruption. Adding the insulation you can will get you well into comfortable and affordable heating, passive houses are just chasing the diminishing returns after that point. Finally, cost all that up first, include your time if DIYing and check there isn't another house that you could move to that would solve the issue for a lot less hassle. Probably the answer is no, but that will at the very least give you the conviction to crack on.

Most other countries manage ok with sockets in bathrooms. As above, people just run leads anyway if they’re that way inclined. What with widespread use of RCD’s, it’s time for the IET to have a rethink imo. Also, for future reference, the distance required is now 2.5m. Not 3m since it was changed in 18th AMD 2

They stay in the atmosphere for quite a long time. So plenty of opportunity to be inhaled. PM10 PM2.5 PM1 London PM10 Paris PM10

Can't reccomend a supplier, as using a northern Ireland one, but very happy with the quality of our del Carmen prime slates. Roofers did not complain at all and don't remember there being many / any rejects. Worked out at £1.50 a slate

Yes, except perhaps draw the plots more exactly than the land registry does. The red line is very approximate. You can add dimensions. Or bang in some marker posts now and record them as the future boundary.

Solicitor

yup! just inside the backdoor so he can go straight in to the shower after a walk. also means we don't have to stand outside in the cold and rain to wash him off. it's a self-build......build it how you want it and don't give a **** what others think. 😂

Yes. Pointless trying to be too clever. Stick to the rules, collect your evidence, and never get emotional.

Have you read this thread? It's a really useful description of how to obtain planning permission by making it easy for the planning officers by quoting and adhering to planning policies.

Who knew windows would be one of the most frustrating aspects of our reno.... We really like Rationel but the quotes are coming out at 3x that of uPVC windows I can find online with the same total u-value and I'm really struggling to justify such a significant cost difference for what mainly comes down to aesthetics - at the end of the day we don't stare at the outside and most of the windows will be covered with blinds etc internally... So before I pull the trigger on any order, I wanted to review some quality uPVC units too, not just the bargain basement stuff you can order online. Any recommendations?

Or cow muck, which filters through. Our ground is pure sand which drains at 17 seconds/mm Except in the covered barn area where there was zero percolation. After 300mm of excavating manure and sand mix, it is clean again. Sheep's feet also make ground impenetrable by puddling clay, just as canals were lined.

@cheekmonkey graf do great sewage plants, maybe speak to them and see if they can reccomend anyone to design a system with their tunnels. I also agree with what @saveasteadinghas said, sometimes you need to dig a bit deeper to get to the "better", espically if the site has had a previous life has farmland/yard etc as it may have up to 1m in topsoil/made ground from other locations (seen it a few times).

The wiring regs don't define a utility or a kitchen, the special location is a "room containing a bath or a shower" So whatever name you give it, your bike shed is a special location under wiring regs and needs to be treated as a bathroom. And it's too small to get a socket in there, anywhere. This caused me a headache when doing a conversion where the owner had fitted a shower cubicle in the corner of a bedroom. That whole room is now a special location. The room was just big enough to allow a couple of sockets in the opposite corner of the room to the shower cubicle, which were of course not where the owner wanted them, so plugged in there is an extension lead to power the tv sat on a dressing table right next to the shower. Bath or shower rooms I guess assume you are likely to be naked and standing in water so don't want anything touchable from there. In a kitchen you might have wet hands but you are unlikely to be naked and standing or sitting in water (I could think of one on here that might)

It depends on the skills of ' the environment team'. I'd suggest you do your own scheme to show people. Make it easy to understand. Plan drawing pluux description. Sell the plus points. Show how it deals with the regulations. And tick off all the bullet points that have been put before you.

Not sure where you are getting your info from but the wind most definitely blows plenty here. Have had quite a few walls blow over. It happens a lot on every site everywhere. The mix strength depends on your sand as well and most of our sand would come from Lough Neagh so its not the best for motar. If you can get it from one of the pits then it's 5 in 1 but it's much more expensive so Lough sand is what's mostly used.

Your comment highlights another issue which is regional variations in building practice. A year ago you told us it is normal in Northern Ireland to use 1:3 mortar for all walls whereas in mainland England this would be considered bad form. Also I think in NI you tend to use medium/heavy blocks because this is what is manufactured locally and available more cheaply? As a result your freshly laid wall starts off with a strength advantage. In mainland England damage from wind force is a higher concern.

I asked my BCO and he said he'd prefer 1.6m max. I spoke to the brickies and they were concerned that the scaffolders wouldn't want to do their internal birdcage that low. I checked with the scaffolders and they said that was fine. All the rest will be stopping at 7 courses which I am happy about and the brickies are happy too as they won't have to visit each section twice before the first internal scaffold lift, they'll just be doing more off the internal scaffold (~1.6m to ~2.7m). To avoid snots in the cavity, the brickies are planning to have a timber at the top of cavity resting on the ties (to pull out vertically) and one at the bottom of cavity they can pull out sideways. I'm sure we are going to have words at some point about keeping the cavity clean, but hopefully it won't be too bad.