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hi all, been off forum for a while, progress with house is slow, still waiting for building warrant and structural engineer. i have though, got started on the shed, frame up and cladding started. simon

I have 20mm of packers taped on an old 800 level and do the same ratio to a 6ft level when I lay drains. When the bubbles right the fall is good

Here is a close up of one of the frames. That's an opening window, I like the crisp clean unfussy lines. That's a smooth "pebble grey" finish. I think you can have any RAL colour you like and a textured paint is an option. I never did directly compare the cost of ali clad Vs just wood so can't comment on the extra cost.

Bit big isn't it? I think a room-in-roof cottage would have been more appropriate.

And my situation was even more unusual because I genuinely did not know how far I would get with the money I had. So right from the start it was agreed to have a regular review of where we were and there would come a point where I would have to say stop. That point turned out to be a complete structural frame with windows and doors, but no wall cladding, no insulation and no roof covering. That was where I took over on my own to eek out the budget. We parted on good enough terms that in the future they are happy to do more work for me as and when the budget allows. Oh and I will be doing some wiring for them in the new year.

Well guys, as you may know I have taken on a local builder with a good reputation for our new build and didn't even get another quote as he was so highly recommended by many people, even my late mother in law knew their family as "gooduns". Because of personal circumstances I am unable to get to site for a couple of months and rely on the builders sending me photos of the work so far. My wife was able to visit this last weekend and I discovered through her description and photos a few issues that I thought were wrong. So I called the builder and he went straight to site and we discussed the " issues" whilst he was on site. It turns out that I was wrong about some things and others had not been specified correctly at the outset so my mind was put at rest. I then Emailed him to say sorry to be a pain and thank him for being understanding. Here is his reply:- John,No problem at all. We all realise your predicament up there and are only toohappy to help in any way we can. As I have said before, it is your dreamhome that you are entrusting us to build on your behalf, so you should haveno concerns about questioning anything that you don't fully feelcomfortable with, or indeed have a vision of that you need to pass on to meor the men on site.It sometimes gets lost in translation between architect, drawings, customer,contractor and men on site exactly what the final finish product is hoped tobe, so frequent updates, photos and discussions are justly required.I can get an oak lintel, no probs. What sort of size and finish? how lucky am I to find such a good builder, if anybody wants his details ( near Bude) just ask.

I have said before, just buy a heat pump and any plumber can install it (okay monoblock only, needs a specialist to gas a split system) All I have seen from packages systems is big price tags. Do you have any SAP calculations or anything else to actually tell you what your heat input requirements will be? Without that you are guessing what size unit to fit.

Just page 37. There's a rumour I may soon start tiling so I asked similar questions.

And remember to NOT seal anything inside the shower tray!!

Correct. A 1 in 40 fall would be 376mm over a 15m run. Don't worry about the 1mm though There is a nice explanation here with a nice calculator at the bottom of the page! http://www.pavingexpert.com/gradient_01.htm

1:40 is "one unit of fall for every 40 units of run'. so if it was meters it would be 1m of fall in a 40m run.

I'll have you know I once bought the missus 5L of car shampoo and the same of screenwash for Xmas. I was struggling for ideas and there was other stuff too! She's forgotten the other stuff but likes to remind me on occasions of the cleaning products.

What's wrong with broken concrete paving slabs ...?? Got to be cheaper...!

Everyone like the look and idea of wood windows but the maintenance can be a real downer. I find it next to impossible to find someone to paint them properly. Too many painters just want to slap a coat of paint on and go so I end up doing them myself. There is never enough good weather either. My next house will have something else. If you have the budget you can get bronze clad wooden windows. A few companies make them in the UK but look at Europe as well. Similar to the Aluminium clad that ProDave mentioned. Wouldn't make sense to paint them but they can have a variety of finishes (New, antique, weathered etc). PS: Not sure how they are in costal location. Would need to find out.

Without a doubt I would say consider a third option, Aluminium clad timber. All the maintenance free advantages of upvc, can be painted any colour you want, and much much nicer looking than upvc. For that crisp look you want, I would highly recommend the Rationel Aura plus windows we have, the external profile is so clean and crisp.

I don't do blogs but I thought I would share the look of my build now the scaffold is down, once again I could not be more pleased with the build and my builders. P S shame I can't get many building materials in the car !!!

Pretty sure all battens should be treated and meet BS5534.

I don't personally see any value in yanking on the purse strings when it comes to the finish. It's what you'll be staring at for the next however many decades, and once you've painted it, if it's not perfect, it'll be waving at you every day. Save money on energy, save money on prudent purchasing, but don't try and save money when it comes to putting the icing on your very expensive cake. I had a similar exchange when I did an extension, when the customer questioned my painters quote of £1100 to do the hall stairs and landing, large house. When done, and all my lovely filling, sanding and blending-in was done, you couldn't tell where the old and new met. The customer said it was the best money he's spent ( hurt my feelings, but he was kinda right ). Pay a plasterer. Whilst he's skimming, go outside and start on all the landscaping you've been avoiding for the last 24 months

I want one

Hi Ed, I know I will get shot for this but I bought a Chinese jobbie off Ebay and it's been spot on so far (famous last words). I'm afraid I never lend my tools out (hard and fast rule I've always stuck to) but I'm guessing you might be in Milton Keynes which isn't that far from my plot. So if it's something we could do on a weekend day, I might be able to pop up (I live in London) and help you Vijay

Where aBouts are you!?

National Hire do a Leica TotalStation for £70 for a week and that will give you every single spot level including its GPS location ...... Just remember to mark a few "permanently" so that you can find them in the future without paying another £70..!

What about hiring one?

Like @Nickfromwales I only use Hep2O - I was about to post to see who has found the cheapest pipe ..!! I normally use JTM but there are a few on eBay currently at decent prices ... I've decided against 10mm as the cost of the reducers needed to go to the toilets etc makes no benefit. If I could find a 10mm to 1/2" tap connector then I would do it in a heartbeat ...

So today was the start of the floor dig. Managed to get a breaker on what turned out to be a 4 inch quarry tile and concrete slab to expose the soil base. Tomorrow we dig down the final 5-6 inches

TBH I would also think about talking to the Highways Agency and ask them for the map that shows Highways Land, which will be a green area marked on a map of the road boundaries. I have forgotten what the map is called ... Adopted Highways Land perhaps. That may be a double check as to what the Council has acquired (they may be overloaded and make a mistake). We had one consultant overlay this with several sets of deeds to prove where some things actually were, and that Highways Land was not part of a couple of gardens. The person to talk to is the County Council Highways Officer for that one. Be nice to them because you cannot compel cooperation iirc. Ferdinand

I'm not sure. From what was reported on the news here, the company spent some time tracing the successors in title to the land, I think. The situation was that the landowner (a farmer, I think) had sold the building plots back in the 1950's or 60's. At the time of the sale, the same farmer owned the lane that provided access to these houses. At some point the lane was adopted, and the local authority then owned the lane, but not all of the wide verges on either side. The farmer died and the land he owned was presumably sold, but not the strips of grass verge, as there was an assumption that these belonged to the local authority, I assume. The company discovered this discrepancy, and somehow managed to buy the remaining strips of grass verge without either the residents or the local authority being aware. The first anyone knew of the new owners of the verges was when the company made the demand for payment in return for access rights.

Links to previous discussions on the forum in the text below - still valid Having been through a similar process, I can say that the key factor when sizing DHW and Heating systems is peak domestic hot water demand. If you are willing to say that the maximum amount of hot water you will ever need is two concurrent showers, or one concurrent shower and a (slow) bath fill, then you can meet this hot water demand with a single combi LPG fired boiler and no additional storage tanks. Several people on this site have recommended Vaillant boilers because they are as the ones which seem to need fixing least. A maximum capacity combination Vaillant LPG boiler can be bought for about £1,500. Even allowing for pipe install costs, boiler conversions etc, that compares favourably with the cost of air source heat pumps and storage tanks. (Important thing is to find a plumber experienced/competent in installing combi-driven underfloor heating systems - but when it comes to the design questions, you will get all the information you need on this website) Because it's a combination boiler you will be going for, then it will do the underfloor heating and any radiators also. (For comparison: when you are running two concurrent showers you will need about 30 kilowatts output. When you are heating up your underfloor heating system you will need only a small proportion of that. Even if you need to run some additional radiators you are never going to be out putting the full 30 kilowatts). Couple more points: depending upon your situation you might want to consider simply making use of 47kg propane bottles instead of a tank. That's what we use against the shed wall (although its not for everyone, I agree). Every few months a bloke drives up in a lorry and replaces two empties with two fools. Here in Essex current price is about £55 per cylinder. I cant give you accurate figures, but without heating, one bottle lasts four of us about two months. finally you didn't mention cooking. If you prefer cooking with gas, say no more. Long thread about that here also :-)

That would work, and I've done a few where the border separates tiled lower / painted upper sections. The cuts look like they're not going to get much better, so border-decision time . T'would be good to lose that top rip though . Re adhesive, go to the smaller tile outlets / big BM and compare prices. Standard set regular for the walls, standard or rapid set FLEXIBLE for the floor. I'm averaging £12-15 per 20kg but B&Q do the Mapei stuff for stupid cheap now and then so check them out too. My mate paid £7 a bag the other day but I didn't see if they were 20kg or not. £12.17 for 20kg of Mapei rapid set. Trade point need you to log in for prices can't remember my password lol. Look ( in trade point ) for the Mapei in the brown bags / trade one They deffo do standard set as my mate bought it by mistake.

Re tiling, NEVER use ready mixed acrylic adhesive. Ever. Use a flexible powder floor / wall adhesive and make sure the tiles are buttered and the wall is full bed. Plumbers or sparkys diamond core drills will cut through later so up to you how brave you feel, but that's what I use for porcelain. Another cheat is to have two tiles meet at the centreline of the WC so you can nibble two semi-circles out of each tile accordingly.

It's only the 4th one that bothers me. That would benefit from some 12mm ply ( not PB ) with a hard setting adhesive such as PinkGrip. The weight transfers ( pivots on the bolts ) to the bar below the soil / pan connector with the upper section typically only ever seeing compression from the fixings. . Remember that the pan doesn't even touch the wall where your cutouts are so relax, pack No.4 a bit better, and take yourselves off for a vino. NOTE: For others approaching this point ( boarding ) just get a nice template that sits onto the pan connector and mark the other hole sizes & centres. Take the soil and flush plugs out and bung them or tape them up to protect the seals. Let your boarders just cut a 50mm cutout where the centre of the soil is and leave them board the wall WITHOUT cutting out for the various gubbings. Plasterers and boarders are great at boarding and plastering, but lack tools like hokesaws etc so don't expect any more of you leave them uninstructed otherwise. ( and sorry @JanetE as I can already hear you shouting "now he tells us!" ). Edit to add : mark a vertical plumb line on the face of the template so; 1) you get it spot on after boarding ( as you'll have no other visual reference ) 2) you don't use the template the wrong way around when cutting the holes later. ?