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Showing content with the highest reputation on 06/21/21 in all areas

  1. We paid £45 for branded 1200x600x14mm including delivery (from italy). https://www.cottodeste.com/collection/limestone Initial prices i had for these was €30+delivery in italy. £98 from London showroom. Shopped around and found £75, then shopped around more and got £60, then started negotiating (knowing what price in Italy was) and got them down to £45 including delivery. I can’t believe the margins that exist in resale of tiles in U.K.!!
    2 points
  2. You have When I checked with BC regarding surface water He said as long as wheats going in there is clean and said the neighbors will have to switch to treatment plants My understanding is that it’s upto each property to keep there own ditch clear You can’t be held responsible for either side of you
    1 point
  3. When our BC officer came he said I would need to dig a soakaway fir rainwater but I told him solid clay would create a permanent pool, he asked what I proposed and I said pipe it into the ditch at the bottom of the plot that would take all the rainwater from the site anyway, perhaps I was lucky having such a laid back BC ?‍♂️
    1 point
  4. Intend to run the treatment plant and rainwater into a dyke at the bottom of our plot Where we are situated Who ever owns the hedge owns the ditch at the other side At least four other properties discharge there septic tanks into it
    1 point
  5. You only need permission of the landowners to lay your pipe (and permission from the EA to discharge to the brook) you do not need permission of the downstream landowners. As riparian land owners they have to accept whatever comes down the brook and through their land.
    1 point
  6. Not that type of ring ?
    1 point
  7. Hadn't seen the mat. We're using mostly 14mm on floors including the patio outside. We're using kerlite for bathroom walls, and a couple of bathroom floors, all with standard tile adhesive though. The kerlite stuff is more expensive than the standard tiles. One of the bathrooms is https://www.blustyle.it/ (this is Cotte De Este's second cheaper brand). These (bluetech) were cheaper at £23.
    1 point
  8. I can't find my old sketchup drawings but made this sketch. Think the construction is similar to yours. Some details... * When I laid the slab I pushed 12mm stainless steel threaded rods (with nuts on) into the slab so I could bolt down the wall plate later. Mostly because we are in a windy location near top of hill. (Caution: These are very dangerous until covered up. I nearly fell onto one!) * I extended the vertical battens down until they are about 30mm off the top of the slab so the lowest cladding plank hides most of the brick. I used gravel around the slab to reduce splashing and haven't had a problem with the bottom planks (but they are oak). * I didn't bother with rebar mesh in the slab but probably should have done. Not been a problem though. * I used 12mm WBP rather than 9mm OSB because mine has a pitched tiled roof. Some of the frame (eg corners) was also made from 4x4 rather than 2x4. * Where there are joints in the cladding boards I put strips of DPM behind to deflect water to the outside. These were trimmed back flush with the bottom of the planks later and can't be seen unless you peer into a joint. Not sure if this is essential or not. To support the joints you can either use wide battens (so nails aren't too close to the end of a board) or fit short extra vertical battens so there are two, one either side of the joint. * At the corners of the building I fitted (mostly decorative) posts like this (Plan view). These corner posts were also supported 30mm off the slab using stainless steel bolts in holes drilled into the ends. They were also screwed to vertical battens and the screw heads plugged to simulate pegged construction.
    1 point
  9. Shall we we if we can set a new record of how many perfectly good threads can be ruined pointlessly by pettiness……. Serious tampon change required folks. Really lowering the tone today. ?
    1 point
  10. Hi Tom and welcome. From the elevations it looks like you share 2nd floor windows with your neighbour? I like the loo / utility. I have done similar in the past and it works very well. I would be tempted to have an insulated solid floor throughout the ground floor, and masonry walls for the extension.
    1 point
  11. Good afternoon and welcome, looks like an interesting project.
    1 point
  12. Works spot on for me with a humidity boost sensor, the bungalow tends to me drier than it perhaps should be majority of the time. Drying clothes indoors is just mind bogglingly fast!
    1 point
  13. Get your self some bar keepers friend just in case! But no wouldn't have thought it would stain.
    1 point
  14. We all thought Kenny Everett had died, he just entered you. https://images.app.goo.gl/Xv1yx13KLyERF8s4A
    1 point
  15. Be aware how close you are to the boundaries of your plot and neighbouring buildings; potential complication with eg Party Walls // Party Wall-Fences, and perhaps access to the rest of the plot if the basement dig takes up most of the width.
    1 point
  16. Also used clean 40mm recycled stone for a large back-fill - it's great as so quick to place. Though you do get the odd tap/other surprise items in the recycled but generally very good with no fines
    1 point
  17. Shouldn't affect porcelain as they will be glazed
    1 point
  18. Could put it on the smoke alarm circuit ?
    1 point
  19. Italian stuff is about as good a standard as you’ll get tbh. “Rectified” tiles are as flat, regular, and as flawless as you can get hold of, but not one I’ve come across yet are perfect. At 1200mm you can bend a porcelain tile, same at 600, believe it or not, so for that size of tile using a lot of the levelling spacer / clips will give you a billiard table for sure. All down to the tiler, but with Justin having done the screed A1 the job should be a relatively easy ride. Just upset the tiler and tell him your going for a herringbone pattern. ? A big question will be to ask if the tiles are directional, eg have arrows on the back which all need to face the same way. A lot of rectified tiles are 2 tiles cut from 1 ‘master’ tile, just look on the back of a typical 600x300 and you’ll see a ribbon around the edge that goes 3 sides around but the 4th ( usually the length ) can clearly be seen to have been a cut and polished edge eg it started off as a 600x602. If it’s a polished tile you’ll need a tiler with off the chart OCD, but if satin or Matt / other non-reflective finish then you’ll be fine with a regular decent tiler. Levelling clips will bend the tiles, but get / see some samples and look how good they are before signing up. Also, remember with a big order you either need to get the same batch number, or get odd batches put into different rooms / quantities to suit.
    1 point
  20. I moved from BT to Zen internet a couple of years ago and have been very happy. I ended up with them over A&A based on price. Both are well known for their high quality service. We lost the internet a while ago (found out from the guy who came out to repair it that one of our neighbors had cut through a cable with a hedge trimmer!). The communication with Zen internet, from reporting the fault through to its resolution, was excellent. I know from previous issues that BT would have been useless in this situation. I'm sure the fault would have been fixed as quickly, but the communication would have been terrible, and I'd have found that frustrating. I think I pay £30 a month for unlimited FTTC, plus the cost of the landline. We're some way from the cabinet, so we only get about 30-32 meg download speed. They offer a faster option but we're too far from the cabinet for it to be effective. Still, we regularly have three screens streaming media at once without any issues.
    1 point
  21. Yes that recycled gear would do grand, 2 to 3 inch clean and your flying
    1 point
  22. Yes if you use stop beads but they would need to be set carefully. Most of the shadow gap beads are designed for use with boards so you would need to discuss with your plasterer if you wanted to use the pre-made ones.
    1 point
  23. This might help? https://www.se.com/uk/en/faqs/FA221505/
    1 point
  24. All Duravit rimless: Duravit ME Starck, and then a slightly smaller D2 Happy for the under stairs toilet, and the slightly bigger P3 Comforts for my big bottom. i tested all of them at CP Hart (not properly tested, but whilst wearing Lycra I sat on the seat for a bit) and they were all pretty comfortable. Including the expensive soft close slim toilet seats, worked out about £480 each in the CP Hart sale. I think if you push hard, CP Hart will give you those prices outside of sale season too.
    1 point
  25. Stone product is potentially porous so may allow water into the cavity and behind the window / door and inside the building.
    1 point
  26. Just keep in mind you might lose. I filed an appeal after spending £££ on a really good planning consultant who thought I had good prospects on the appeal but recommended I file a back up application as well. She did a great job on the appeal. But... we lost for the most random reason: inspector pretty much agreed with all of our points, but for some reason took issue with the style of windows we had chosen for our rear elevation - not a point that had been raised by any neighbour or something directly raised by the LPA, whose objection to our scheme was mainly on the basis that the additions we were making to the rear, were not in keeping with the “street scene”. What was most surprising about this was that if he had studied the scheme more carefully, he would have seen we were installing crittall style windows which imitate the genuine crittall windows that would have been put in to the original 1930s house. I probably could have taken the matter to judicial review, but ultimately we decided it wasn’t worth it.
    1 point
  27. As I posted before I went to appeal and won. I told the planners I was going to appeal and they told me we would probably win if we did that but would not budge on their judgement (tossers).
    1 point
  28. @ToughButterCupIndeed - we read everything we could lay our hands on and worked out that a) they were wrong and b) we'd probably have to go to appeal but we'd try to get them to see sense first - stupid idea...... we should simply have let the application fail and gone straight to appeal! @JohnnytYep - this is where, if anywhere, consistency is applied. LPAs aren't consistent across the country and within LPAs, officers aren't consistent. Anyone wanting chapter and verse on case law on the NPPF should consult -> https://www.amazon.co.uk/Interpreting-NPPF-National-Planning-Framework/dp/1916431526 Excellent book and worth every penny if you want to find the relevant case law. Simon
    1 point
  29. £25 oak internal doors at Wickes This landed in my inbox just now https://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/wickes-york-oak-3-panel-internal-door-or-cobham-oak-4-panel-internal-door-1981mm-x-686mm-for-ps25-free-click-collect-at-wickes-3747694?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_content=position_9_image&utm_campaign=2021-06-20 Might be of use to some.
    1 point
  30. Shadow gaps instead of skirting. Save twice.
    1 point
  31. I have a single switch in kitchen that we put on when boiling and a double switch in bathroom where 1 side does boost for mvhr. I have the auto boost turned off as it seems to run when not wanted. I could turn down in settings but bit to boffiny for me. Recirculating cooker hood with carbon filter for smells and fat. I wouldn't want the grease going into mvhr duct work
    1 point
  32. I'm currently specifying a few Brink units for various projects, and they come with a pair of volt-free terminals which you can connect a switch to for initiating an early 5 min boost. I'm utilising that feature to cover the brief period before the MVHR unit realises the higher humidity for itself, eg when a shower is running, and also as a pre-evacuation initiative for when something steamy or smelly is being cooked. For the kitchens I intend using a timed latch-on contactor to hold the volt-free terminals closed for 30 mins to an hour ( can be adjusted easily to do anything from 10seconds to 24 hours ) so you never have to forget to / have to release the manually selected boost 'event'. Comes in handy for ablutions if deemed necessary, but an excellent idea IMO for cooking / kitchen. A simple switch ( retractive ) which is press and release does the trick.
    1 point
  33. See what I mean @oxo? Not 319 or 321, 320mm of backset. Now, if only I knew what backset is .... life would peachy.
    1 point
  34. You could talk to the planners about the green wall before going to appeal so you give them the option to "look again" before committing to appeal which will cost them a heap of time and money. You have 320mm backset to play with and the green wall can sit quite comfortably just adjusting out the slope.
    1 point
  35. @oxo, how dare you call me merely buttercup. I'm tough, OK , TOUGH. Well, I was once. ? In relation to MikeSharp01's suggestion, I think if you get a hint that sustainability is an issue, then his idea would be one way of delivering that. Mike always has good ideas.....
    1 point
  36. Hmm, @Bramco, you have me sucking my teeth here. The planning application process is complex, delicate, infuriating, demanding, and endlessly interesting. So much ambition and energy (nervous or otherwise) hangs there in the balance . And a few wrong words, a tiny bit of wrongly handled micropolitics and mammaries point at the ceiling. If outside the local planning coterie, there's no substitute for reading voraciously. In every sense of the term, Planners and their courtiers are an elite. The only counter to their laziness / dismissiveness / insularity is knowledge. And they know applicants are ambitious. THE key attribute to bend others to their will. I am very pleased indeed to know that a just-in-case-you-didnt-know post was of some use. Thanks for the feedback. Appreciate it.... Ian
    1 point
  37. Did the officer state they didn’t attend site or is that an assumption because they didn’t approach you? They could have seen the site from where your photographs are taken.
    1 point
  38. If you can make it work structurally you could set the wall above about 2.4m back 300mm or so to accommodate the living wall this would reduce the overhang of foliage over the footpath and create quite an impressive feature with environmental and sight line benefits I would not slope the bottom as you have but that might work also but with the back set. This would increase costs but, as you would not need to use brick above this line on this face, you won't see them so they need not be there, might not cause onerous structural issues. PS I would also take it to full height.
    1 point
  39. I am aware that , for good reason, you might not want to, but could you give us a map? A Google map would do, please.
    1 point
  40. Can I just seek clarification on a couple of points? Are you proposing: two extensions, a ground floor and a first floor with the first floor being extended so that its side wall is flush with the side wall of the existing ground floor (and part of the existing first floor)? What is in front of that side wall? Is it a street which is perpendicular to the street that your house is on, because being an end of terrace you are on a corner? Or did you say it was a footpath, i can't remember? Just trying to understand who will see that aspect of your project.
    1 point
  41. The last six weeks have been a bit of a slog but have finely got the roof finished, PV fitted and first floor cladding and windows fitted. Scaffolding came down yesterday 3 weeks longer than planed big hole in wallet. First floor chipboard flooring down so will start on the ground floor windows and studwork. But now back to real work as well.
    1 point
  42. @Mac123 I've a 315m² house in progress at the minute and have punted for two Salda Smarty 3x units. Two units are better for a large house and you have lower fan speeds as well as air flow through the main ducts. Also means you can build in extra capacity for higher boost rates of needed. I've gone for the salda for a few reasons. They're bloody cheap. They're passive House certified which gives you certain guarantees on performance levels. Takes F7 filters. And the company seems to have a long history in ventilation and quality seems good. It's reasuringly heavy, in a ex Soviet kind of way
    1 point
  43. Just a small correction to the above: we thought Planning would NOT be an issue. We were wrong.
    1 point
  44. I’m going to go against the grain here and say it’s better to get planning first. You could go to all this trouble of costing a project that you never get Planning for. We thought planning would be an issue because we were doing something very similar to what our immediate neighbour had done and what many others in our street have done. We don’t live in a conservation area, yet has a real rough ride with the planners. Lost two appeals and made 4 applications in total. Eventually got something really good, but completely different to our initial design. Has we costed that initial design, it would have not been very relevant to what we’ve ended up building. RIBA has standard guidance for costs per m2 to build different types of things, in different grades. I would use that as a starting point (I’m sure that’s what your architect has done). Get prices for the big ticket items like I folding/sliding doors, glazing, kitchens and appliances. Price up your bathroom suites by surveying the internet shops.
    1 point
  45. So forgetting about lunch, what are you going to do about materials what happens if halfway through the day he needs a fitting, will you go and get it or are you going to pay for him to sit in the traffic for half an hour to go to the merchants, if you are worried about a few quid for a lunch break what will you do if he’s a week over schedule. If hes good and you value him I would not be nitpicking about £20 here and there.
    1 point
  46. Come on guys, everyone deserves a lunch break! I wouldn’t want to work for some of you, standing over the shoulder ensuring you start at 8am. what about when they are thinking about your job at night, ordering material, picking up before you get on site. too many spreadsheet warriors!
    1 point
  47. I never see the point is taking a break as such. I drink my flask and eat my sandwiches on the go. Most trades will go and sit in their van for half an hour and read the paper or play on their phone. I would just rather get the job done and go home. £22 per hour is cheap for a plumber. So you are getting about 7 hours of actual work for £176 that's about £25 per hour. Still a good rate for a plumber. Is he any good, that is a more important question.
    1 point
  48. I personally think he's having an easy day but the charge rate is not exorbitant and more importantly are you happy with whats being achieved and how accurate is his estimate for time to do the job coming along.
    1 point
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