Leaderboard

Looking at it, Ecotec are an Internorm 1st window partner. So the Internorm customer care standard point 8 'All work will be done in a careful manner, clean and properly and will be carried out by a reliable and competent installation team' would apply to them. I would complain to Internorm that Ecotec aren't making removal of rubbish and a basic level of making good part of their Internorm contracts, and are therefore contravening point 8 that they are not leaving the job in a 'clean' state. I would do this even if they agree to fix yours, just so that Internorm are aware of their practices.

We used these peeps. Choose a finish, specify exact dimensions, where you want hinge holes etc and then wait for the delivery. We made a built in wardrobe and got all the doors and infill panels back panels etc from them for around £500.

Fensa, if they are registered but you could also ask a reputable company or a 3rd party independent surveyor.

I don't really know how obvious the differences are in the photos, but that's all the straw trimmed now. I'm onto boarding along the roofplate. (The white powder is pyrethrin-based wasp killer, I had a rather persistent visitor in an unfortunate spot ^^). I've belatedly realised that I need to do... something... above the window. I'm told proper houses generally get seven bales high per storey, so you get a whole bale above the window to hang render off, but I'm six high and so straight up to the roofplate. I need to hide the OSB as well. Once the T&G roof underside cladding is in place (12.5mm thick, treated pine) there will be ~130mm of the board still showing. I guess I clad the OSB with offcuts of the same stuff the roof underside is getting, have render bead / a bit of wood covering the edge of that and make that support the render over the span? It'll have the mesh to help it stay together too. I guess I could skip the render by having the cladding come up vertically too - perhaps double up the board behind it to get it to ~30mm thick, so it sits flush with the render either side. That feels a bit weird though.

It’s something you’ll need to take up directly with them, but if you’re not happy tell them you aren’t but be reasonable and be prepared with points you want clarified and why they aren’t doing anything to rectify. If you’re unsatisfied with their response, explain you’ll be taken matters further (Internorm, Fensa, GGF), document everything and remember. If it isn’t in writing or recorded, it never happened.

This is unlikely to help, as when the sun gets to the west the sun will be low enough to shine straight under the overhang

It may do but you’ll have to get it modelled.. It’s pretty easy to run the numbers in the simplified excel, if it says no then you’ll have to engage some one to model it, or buy the software which you can with 39 day licence and build a 3D model. Problem is you need to pay for the weather data.

She was a looker but … that’s the problem.. People don’t understand the ‘tax’ of the standing charge which is loaded with green taxes , bust companies, smart meter funding. If those were loaded on gas, there would be a different argument re ASHP COP. Not to mention the regional difference of standing charges which I’ve post before. https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/energy-advice-households/get-energy-price-cap-standing-charges-and-unit-rates-region It’s a huge regressive tax and discourages investment in insulated houses, ASHP and the conversion to carbon neutral. Rant over.

Pay the deposit when they show on site.

Cowboy rip off merchants. Utter scumbags praying on the elderly. Phone them giving them the opportunity to refund most of the money. When they don’t report them to the Police (fraudulent) and contact trading standards. Some councils have a cowboy trader process on their website giving advice on what to do. Keep a note of any communication you have with them. https://www.merton.gov.uk/business-and-consumers/trading-standards/rogue-traders

That term is clear that their quoted installation cost does not include making good. It would appear that unless this term contravenes a basic statutory right such as those laid out in the Consumer Rights Act or the GGF guidelines, or is classed as 'unfair' then you don't have a legal right to demand they do this (check with someone qualified legally on this though). See page 29 of GGF guidelines and also CRA info: https://www.lyonsdavidson.co.uk/consumer-rights-act/ I am not the most experienced renovator having only bought windows from 2 companies before, but even for the budget UPVC windows I bought the company did have in the terms and conditions that they would make good, and remove rubbish. Removal of rubbish and a basic level of making good is usually quoted for in most work involving tradespeople as far as I know. Surely it is an industry standard that there is a basic level of making good and that they won't for example leave a gaping hole exposing your cavity wall? But then again this industry seems to be full of cowboys who try to do the minimum possible for the maximum price it would seem. Sorry Ecotec but this is a poor level of service, even if legally you can do nothing about it. Someone should have asked you if you wanted it finished off to a basic repair level and rubbish removed when they were doing the quote if it's not something they do as standard. I would complain to them in writing by email, about how it would be reasonable to expect this to be included in the quote from a reputable company if there was 'reasonable care' paid to the job. The consumer rights act requires tradespeople to apply 'reasonable care and skill'. From the CRA: 'It is generally accepted that relevant to whether a person has met the standard of reasonable care and skill are industry standards or codes of practice'. I am not sure what the industry standard is though, GGF guidelines seem to agree that it is dependent on the contract. If you have house insurance legal cover I recommend checking your rights on this with them before agreeing to sign off. Or if not contact the Citizens advice bureau.

Thank you. Have a fab sunny day.

Sorry having a BBQ with family today but I’ve had a brief look and I can understand the concerns. Your best bet is to speak to the install team/supplier raising concerns and if you have no luck speak to Fensa/Certass if they are registered and if you’re still not happy with response. Check if they are registered with the GGF and raise concerns with them.

@craig Your advice is probably needed here, I can't see the details too well on my phone.

All this talk of what if the nut comes off. But no mention of nyloc nuts or even loctite?

I came from a different direction RAF, so aeroplane engineering, where a loose bolt is very bad, a missing bolt could be catastrophic. So was always working with gravity to ensure things stayed where intended. Then oil and gas, where a dropped object could easily injure or worse. So again always inserted from the top, never the bottom. When I started in the oil and gas industry and we experienced multiple bolt failures on reciprocating compressors, analysis of the failure mechanism was bolts fatigue failing. What was happening the bolts were not tightened enough, (difficulty getting bolt tensioning equipment in to the tight location), so the bolt wasn't in the elastic range, where the bolt can stretch and contract indefinitely without fatigue failure.

Guidance on PV panel fire safety from the the Fire Protection Association here RC62 RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FIRE SAFETY WITH PV PANEL INSTALLATIONS

We ordered that kind of stuff from diyhomefit. There is also a company called Lark and Lark that offers a similar service and I have seen a new company called Fittingly but they don’t quote prices. I’d guess the cabinetry would cost around £7000 but the angled pieces would be an issue. You’d probably have to cut them on site. If you could make the design work using DIY Kithcens range of cabinets then it would be somewhat cheaper but I don’t think they would be flexible enough size wise. Then you can basically fit it yourself. It’s not difficult, or pay a joiner to do it. Personally I would not go down the plywood/MDF route. The finish is just not as good as a factory finish.

I've got some water in my Internorm HF410 windows. It's not such big droplets as yours - more like a line of condensation between the outside glass and seal. It's only on 2 big fixed units, not the opening ones. My builder says it doesn't sound normal so is contacting Internorm to see what they say.

There are zero mechanical advantage to the threads beyond the 2nd thread overhanging the nut. In fact aeronautical engineering would only have 1.5 threads out of the nut. The strength from bolted assemblies come from the bolt/stud being approx midway in the elastic range. This is why it's important to torque assemble. Bolted assemblies fail more from being under torqued rather than over torqued.

You can also use an ombudsman (free) for local council problems.

Polite letter as suggested above but, the Planning officer's mind being set, addressed to Head of Planning and chair of Planning Committee and copied to Plg Officer. Ask them how a start as described could *not* be seen as a start and a locking-in of the permission. Copy it to the complainant too?

Fair enough but personally I’d want everything to be separate and as straightforward as possible. What happens if they run into trouble part way through their development and have to stop for some reason so it takes much longer than 2 or 3 years or go bust? Where would it leave you? These things happen. Not pouring cold water on your plans. It’s exciting building a house. But it’s also risky and stressful. And things go wrong.

I got some Zigbee temperature / humidity / monitors and a hub a while ago. You only have interface via their app and I could not work out how to store the data locally. The stuff began to fail and was more of a pain than it was worth, so it is consigned to the "drawer of crap" in the filing cabinet, together with some SONOS stuff that was Emperor's New Clothes a few years ago, but turned out to be his grubby jockstraps. I may be mistaken, and the stuff is actually magic.

3x2 stud wall, with 12.5mm plasterboard each side, 95mm thick. 50mm high sound insulation.

We went away on holiday and leant our house to some relatives. They lost the key. I would like to change the locks and yet my relatives (not the ones that lost the key, but relatives who arranged the house loan), are saying I’m overreacting. We live in a fairly safe neighbourhood, but it is London and crime has been on the up recently. Only two weeks ago some opportunist tried to get into the van of a tradesman who was doing some work for us. The van was parked in our drive, 1pm in the afternoon. The house guests don’t know where they lost the key, but the video footage I’ve seen shows them looking for it in our front drive, so I’m guessing they think it must have been lost locally. I’m pretty pissed off by the situation. Particularly because the information wasn’t volunteered. I worked it out from my Ring video footage and the fact that the keys which were returned are clearly copies not originals. We questioned this and the loss was confirmed. No apology. So obviously I’m angry, but trying to put that to one side and think dispassionately about this, it still feels like an unnecessary security risk, or am I being irrational? How much would it cost to change a 5 lever multipoint lock? The key is just a Chubb style key made by ERA.

Defo change the lock IMO, not that difficult to do (yes I would be pissed off too, honesty is the best policy).

@Susie@Alan AmbroseEncouraging reply from Sevenoaks Building Control Thank you for your email. The regulations are what we use as a guide for ‘conventional’ construction. Where you are building a Passive House we would certainly favour the PHPP compliance as it is much more appropriate for the mechanics of a passive house. Provided that overheating is considered as it would be, we would have no objection to you demonstrating compliance via another set of principles outside of Part O. I hope that this helps

No idea, I've always assumed the were made from a mixture of glue and disappointment.

Going to rain then. Thanks

Boeing don’t seem to mind too much nowadays…. 😕 In reality I wonder how vital the bolt becomes over time. I wonder if after construction it’s actually just a peg that’s needed. Hence bolt from the top would be sensible.

You need to add the mass of 7 pints of strong ale to that, then you can fall over easier.