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Good evening all, Today we received a letter from HMRC dated 16 June telling us that our claim has been accepted (with no disputes!) and would be paid to us in 10 working days. Great news, but even better the payment was already in and made on the 16th. Sharing this news here to: 1. Let others know the current timescales of claims. We posted ours a few days before the end of April this year, so around 7 or 8 week in total. 2. To say a big thank you to the members of forum for all the great advice shared. I spend more than a couple of evenings browsing past posts and learnt considerably more about the VAT claim process here that anywhere else, and it all paid off. Great job.

I'm sorry to hear about this. It's a traumatic experience and not one I'd wish on anyone. However I'm of the view that if he was going to do anything it'd have happened there and then. As they say on TV, he had the means, motive (however misplaced) and opportunity but didn't escalate beyond roaring and shouting. A relation who has been in dozens of pub bust ups says that the safest guy is the one who tells you he's going to hit you, he's had enough black eyes to back up the story. Psychologically the very natural response may be to want to bolster your defences, but this may be counterproductive to your own mental wellbeing whilst not achieving any further real protection. I would suggest taking some time for the excitement of the episode to level a little before making any decisions. I do like @ToughButterCup idea of geese however. Far braver than any dog I've ever met!

Acting in self-defence is a reaction. Buying a taser and waiting for this chap to come back is pre-meditated, eg you'll be off to jail in a heartbeat. How long you spend there will depend on whether this individual has an underlying health issue (pacemaker etc) and you've inadvertently killed him. Stand down with the Charles Bronson approach!! If all he did was shout and try to intimidate you then it shows he's just got a screw loose and is highly unlikely to take this any further. After the red mist subsides, most episodes become water under the bridge. Take some time to reflect on what went on, and realise this was a case of mistaken identity and not a result of something you did (unless the Uber driver cut this guy up and you were there for him to vent at?). Building gates higher is something to do to protect you against creeper burglaries and trespassers, but they don't shout and scream, they work in near silence. This guy was clearly just a showman, as anyone seriously pissed off and after revenge wouldn't have spoken to you other than to say "have this", upon where you'd have received a swift smack to the chops, or 2. The only issue here is (setting aside emotional upset and you both having to eventually 'get over this') if he comes back to vandalise your property / vehicles. I'd just buy a couple of cheap battery Ring cameras and a outdoor POE WAP, cabled through a window which you can then just close over the cable, and run those for a month or so until this anxiety subsides. Which it will. It's just raw right now as this has clearly shaken both of you up badly. After days, then weeks, then months of nothing happening you'll realise this was just a one-off altercation that shouldn't have happened. The police will 100% pursue this chap through his reg number, so also await their response. They may even suggest restorative measures, where they accompany this guy to your house / you meet at the police station etc for you to discuss it on neutral grounds and to allow both parties to speak. Once you offer assurance that you couldn't have possibly done anything to this chap he will then have to apologies and then you won't have such anxiety any longer. He will then be bound over to keep the peace or charged and put in front of a judge, you'll likely be asked to decide as you'll have to press charges when he is tracked down. Possibly after speaking to him you may decide that him being bound over would suffice.

If it’s not already boarded then no, makes life really easy attaching the additional battens, do them at 90 degrees to the trusses to stabilise the bottom cords

Nick above is right, however, a couple of small fire extinguishers in any house are a handy thing to have. Especially when you build what sounds like that enormous BBQ in the garden that i know you are planning. I fully expect that it was just a nut nut. Mental health or drugs. I bet if he was brought to the end of your street today, and told to find the house he was at last night, he couldn't. Try not to worry about the event too much. (easy to say) If you didn't know the fella it is unlikely to be somebody you have actually pi$$ed off.

I hope the title says it all in 2012 we completed what was at the time the fist A1 Energy Rated and Passive Certifed House in Ireland it has performed fantastically well and we love it our annual heating bills have stayed super low - at circua €300 (after the recent energy rise)

A friend who's a plasterer recommended I should paint our house without too much delay due the sand and cement sponge finish we had. He seemed to think that the driving rain we get could get into the render and weaken it and a good coat of paint would waterproof it somewhat. I did after the first summer we had moved in and haven't had any issues. Is there paint on that wall or is it coloured plaster?

Isn't the norm to just increase the overlap slightly to run with the slightly lessened pitch? From 40 to 35 is nothing afaik, so I'd say this is fine. Just go with the increased overlap for belt and braces?

Status of EDF nuclear here.. https://www.edfenergy.com/energy/power-station/daily-statuses

There are some brick laying channels on YouTube, might be worth asking in the comments section. Google suggests greater skill is required to get flemish to look right and there are more perps per sqm so must be some cost premium.

If your roofer is talking about a double layer of underfelt, it's a bodge, and it will leak. You are going to struggle to get a tile down to 11 degrees. As @nod said that is almost flat. You are going to need a hell of a headlap, and i would still expect it to leak.

Well @BartW, yer tryin' , tryin' 'ard. I'll give ya that. Next stop: the BCO's office with a bottle of Babycham - see if that works .....

I checked the spec of the tiles for flexural strength and it suggests minimum of 15N / mm2. This loosely translates to 152kg per cm2. Average contact patch in a 2t car tyre is likely to be 200mm x 100mm. Assume then 200cm2. So about 30.5t per wheel. That's of course static, and unsupported load. Mine will be dynamic but fully bedded.

Battens and PB will be fine, the additional load is well distributed and static.

In a weeks time this will be a very different situation. Just reassure yourself and SWMBO that this chap is not going to come through your door, that’s not going to happen. I strongly doubt you’ll ever see this person ever again, unless the police ask you to identify him. Update us on what they say when they give you some feedback.

That must have been very recent as I had gate posts from them not long ago

We used Caledonia Timber for larch. Customer service was good but some of the boards a fair wee bit off straight. They can do Douglas Fir cut to size up to 6/7m lengths which might be a good option. I know others recommend International Timber but they just put us onto Jewsons (which was priced reasonably competitively).

You can cut a start with a snibs or similar. Just a few cm. Then if you're feeling burly literally rip the metal in half. Didn't believe it could be done until I tried it. It won't leave a nice edge however. A nibbler is the way forward. Angle grinders work but the sparks leave lots of rust spots on the metal and the edge is jagged. For the shear pleasure of work I would opt for timber as flashing nicely around corners etc with metal is very time consuming. Another option might be Onduline but it will be weaker than metal.

Deadly things, they are banned in places, were meant to be banned here, can't remember. I would not even own one. Edit: found this again: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/uk-safety-alert-issued-for-angle-grinder-chainsaw-disc-attachment I believe, having searched, no reputable vendor will sell such a thing, only the Far East import and tat vendors.

Seasoned for 18-24 months they are fine. I usually burn oak, or birch but have some Larch and cypress - the Larch I specifically collect as it is good starter fuel or for a quick active fire with reduced heat output. The Larch and Cypress get 18-24 month seasoning and its great. Even after 1 year of good seasoning the Cypress can be a bit resinous. A good idea with Cypress and Larch is to get it get wet once cut. The rain actually helps the early process of removing the resin, I am not sure of the science behind it but an old Swede told me this years ago and I have to say, stuff that has been undercover more or less since felling, vs stuff that had some time in the rain was quite different in resin content. I agree it sounds counterintuitive.

FWIW - the chap at Solic just called me back. Sounds like they are still finalising their battery friendly firmware having found an issue with the battery friendly version they were using. He said once that's done they intend a 'return unit to them' for upgrade path for nominal amount. If this is of interest seems like watch Earthwise's website over the next few months.

Love my vaulted ceiling. With MVhR the house doesn't get much dust or cobwebs. I have a couple of beams cutting across the space, I dust the top of them maybe once a year. It seems a slightly extravagant use of space but it was only going to be a loft otherwise, so why not put it on show.

Put a 50mm duct in, let’s you backfill and electrician can pull duct through later? some electricians may not sign off work that they can’t see so may not be keen on you running cables What electrical equipment will you be using in the outbuilding?

Thanks @Iceverge. Good advice. I’ve decided that for the moment, the only thing I’m spending money on is the outdoor WAP, as it will solve another issue we already have, whilst also opening up possibilities for the future should we wish to add more cameras.

Welcome. Your names seems familiar, where you a contributor over at 'the other place'.

standard bit of process control kit - the good ones like this only use power when they are in operation so have no hold open / closed power use https://www.solenoid-valve.world/connexion/1-electrically-actuated-ball-valve-9-24vacdc-or-110-240vac-abvm08s

Avoid. Chains on chainsaws. Electric ones pretty benign. Chains, flails, cutting teeth etc on angle grinders are inviting injury. Soft start unnecessary on grinders. If you haven't the muscle / posture / anticipation to hold the thing at startup (without a soft start) then you haven't the muscle / posture / anticipation to catch the thing when it snags. So shouldn't be using it IMO. Stick to battery electric 4.5" grinders with lightweight blades that can't snatch badly.

Knock it down and start again.

We opted for curtains. Google found this place offering blackout fabric blinds for triangular windows. Not sure about gaps... https://granddesignblinds.com/triangular?gclid=CjwKCAjws7WkBhBFEiwAIi1681Av6gzgrZ9oWAUtkg3soIejkRWPqd69CURF5g5nwalVKBjUsTj1fxoCNa0QAvD_BwE

10mm polycarbonate, I used 6M long polycrub use 7M Bends no problem the pain is connecting the joint strips

Yes, had my electrician on site a few days ago on this precise issue. He said the same. Either 450mm down or surface mounted (even just above the soil level) but not in between.

Had my daughters garage signed off by a fully qualified electrician about 2 years ago. He said that the regs no longer require the armoured cable to be burried. Said it can be surface mounted. I dont know how correct this is ?

I did ours back in 2007 and found this guide useful.. https://electrical.theiet.org/media/1695/electrical-installations-outdoors-a-supply-to-a-detached-outbuilding.pdf Hopefully not out of date.

M6 roofing bolts, penny washers, M6 Nyloc nuts.

Ali Johnston Ltd, trading as Timber Central based in Nairn (NE Scotland). But go to England etc. They are on facebook. All my Scottish larch came from them, good delivery, price etc. Very flexible on profiles and lengths. They do Douglas Fir and larch.

Got home tonight around 11, as I’m getting out the car, a man accosted me literally at the top of my steps leading to my front door. Luckily no physical injury, but this has scared the shit out of me. Particularly because he came back twice within 30 minutes, shouting various threats of violence and saying things like “I know where you live, I’m going to (expletive deleted) you up”. Police attended, took a statement and are taking our ring doorbell footage and a video my wife took from the bedroom window. We have his car registration plate, so hopefully they can track him down with that. Need to upgrade the security appearance of our house, and possibly upgrade cameras, given the ring doorbell didn’t do a great job - I guess he didn’t come close enough to trigger it. He stepped onto our property, but not within the sensed area. I guess I could make the sensed area bigger. But won’t be good enough to get a close shot of him if he keeps his distance and just hurls abuse at us (or a brick)! We already have a big scary 3m tall gate blocking our side passage - though I need to speak to our adjoining neighbour as his is just a wooden door which is only 1.9m so easy to scale his door and then jump over our fence. I will get some more lighting and maybe more cameras. Any other ideas? A “beware of the dog” sign? (expletive deleted) me that was scary.

And midge resistant eh @Grian....?

You tryin' to put us down @SteamyTea? Just because we get around? [...] This is our generation baby ...... An' I'm NOT sorry.

You know what I'm going to say......

was it Boris?