MJNewton

Okay thanks; might experiment with positioning a bit and see what might fit if the need arises.

I think it was the risk of the water moving too fast that was my concern, resulting in gurgling. Or is that unlikely in what I am assuming would be regarded as relatively short run? I don't think I could squeeze in an AAV if so.

I believe the recommended fall for 40mm waste pipes is 18-90mm per metre... I am struggling to stay within this though on a new kitchen sink installation in order to avoid some obstacles and fit everything in. It might end up being more like the equivalent of 120mm per metre - might this cause issues? The waste pipe is just under a metre long and connects into an internal soil stack via a strap boss adapter. I could maybe put in a bit of a dog leg with two 45 degree bends to allow the pipe to be a bit flatter but that feels like more a bodge than having too steep a pipe...?

Yes, as well as a KFC and Costa if that's what they want in place before houses can be built... ?

Ah, I see. I didn't realise they'd moved the solenoid out of the machine. I'll try and err on the side of caution I think and arrange for a downward facing connection to suit all requirements.

For some reason I've always had this idea that an open upstand might be at risk if causing a flood if there's a downstream blockage... but then probably no more so that a sealed connection to a pre-trap spigot as it'd go up through the sink hole anyway. I suppose you'd have a sink's worth of buffering before it overspilled on to the floor though.

That's an interesting manifold setup - looks very 'continental'! (Is it Ikea?) The flexible pipe looks handy for routing, and I can only assume it is not at the same risk of blockages that such things on a toilet waste are given it being smoother (and a different type of waste material... with apologies to those reading this over lunch).

I must admit I do most (well, all!) plumbing in pushfit but I did a bit of copper and soldering in the last house and just about got on with it. I'm tempted to make a soldered up manifold outside the cupboard and then mount that inside and connect everything up. Thing is I haven't got a blowtorch anymore (lent it to someone... grrr) so that'd be an additional expense that I might not have need to use again. My backup was still to use copper but use compression fittings which many of the components would be anyway (eg isolation valves) so might still look okay.

I thought there might be, although the manual for our proposed dishwasher doesn't mention it (but I'm sure I'd read elsewhere it does). Whilst having it downwards facing (like yours) would make things a little more difficult for me it'd be playing it safe just in case and it won't become any easier to do this than right now.

Looks perfectly functional to me! You've reminded me that modern appliances seem to always come with anti-flood hoses so I must make sure I'm not too tight for space to accommodate them. Do you/anyone know if orientation matters?

I note you've used telescopic components too - I can see that they're really useful to enabling a neat installation lining everything up just where you want it.

That looks like a neat idea, and could make installation slightly easier as it'd give a vertical adjustment below the manifold in addition to those above it if I too changed the whole trap.

I've already bought a McAlpine space saver kit (it does seem good quality as you say) which I thought looked useful as it shifts most of the pipework to the back to allow more storage space within the cupboard. No AAV on the trap though... Perhaps one could be added to the centre spigot if required? That said, I'm not sure I've had gurgling issues before (elsewhere in the house I mean - this is a new kitchen in a new room), and this pipe run to the soil stack is fairly short so might that also help?

As do Fischer's UX range that expand into whatever shape is required to suit 'problem' materials. I struggled with the cheapest of cheap generic wall plugs for years until discovering these...

In case there's any doubt, this isn't quite what I had in mind...

Does anyone have photos of their under-sink plumbing (of course you do) that you wouldn't mind sharing (maybe not)? I'm looking for inspiration as to how to lay things out... For what it's worth I've got a 1.5 bowl sink, mixer tap and dishwasher to cater for. My supply and waste pipes will be coming in from one side too. Your setup doesn't need to match though - I can cherry pick interesting features from anything I'm sure.

They say the camera never lies, but that's not to say it necessarily tells the whole truth either. I always look to my Dad for help when I'm bothered by something with the house (I take after him in many ways so he gets it) but as he doesn't live nearby I often have to send him photos... I invariably can't capture the imperfections I'm trying to highlight though and he always reminds me that if that's the case then perhaps they're not quite as big as they are in my mind. It is also reminds me that other people's photos probably aren't showing their defects either. Thanks again for all the input. It really has made me feel a lot better and I can see myself re-reading this thread next time I've discovered something else to fret about. (Probably at the weekend if I don't spot something sooner... ;-))

I want to pick out some of the specifics when I've got more time later but in the meantime thanks for all the input - it has been very useful and reassuring. And not just reassuring in terms of showing that it's not just me that has these thoughts but also that evidently other people's houses aren't necessarily 'perfect' either... and yet to an outsider I bet they look pretty much so!

I was surprised how cleanly even the stock 24T blade cut, not least given I'd previously set the blade too deep such that it extended beyond the timbers I had the board supported on... I was wondering why it was so noisy - only afterwards did I discover I'd been cutting a 2mm deep score in the surface of the pristine screed below. I'm sure that didn't do the blade too good!

Ah okay, that's interesting. Will try some practice cuts as you suggest. I've only used my track saw for cutting up OSB sheets so haven't paid too much attention to the quality. Probably not the most representative of materials either.

Do remember that the airflow is relatively low - compared to, say, a kitchen extractor - and so even when you're not there it is likely still clearing contaminants from when you were. Note also that the background power rate is relatively low - whilst I haven't fully finished mine (in terms of balancing mine and still got two or three runs to add) I've got nine runs so far and it consumes a constant 7W in background mode and so costs ~£10/yr to run. Boost is higher (39W) but that only runs when we're in and doing things to cause it to.

Could of been worse - you might've found a previously-bought-but-as-yet-unfitted loft ladder up there! This, incidentally, is how you find lost tools. Buy another and then go and put it away in a 'safe place' such that it won't be lost again. That's where you'll find the old tool. Note that this trick tends only to work when there's something stopping you from returning the new one for a refund... It's why things are blister packaged as retailers known this phenomenon of nature too.

Thanks for your thoughts; it does sound like an as shallow depth as possible is what's called for if I want to maximise neatness of cut. Thinking back I think it could well have been one of Peter's videos where I saw the suggestion about having just an ever-so-slight protrusion of the blade beyond the bottom of the workpiece. As you say he seems to know what he's talking about so I'll go with that.

Never mind self-build; it's self-help I think I need! This is a topic that's probably better suited to lighthearted discussion in a pub, but actually I think this forum might well house kindred spirits that may well understand where I'm coming from, and perhaps offer some insight as to dealing with it. The goal of perfection. For some reason I'm always aiming for it, or rather I'm really dissatisfied with imperfection. I mean *really* dissatisfied - disappointed, anxious, sleep disrupting etc. For example, this evening there are a couple of additions to my mental 'unhappy with' list - some roller marks where I've painted the new large open plan room and a couple of plasterboard join lines where the skimming hasn't been perfect and is just about visible in certain unforgiving lighting conditions etc. The rest of the house has had these sorts of things for years and they've never bothered me but this new room should be perfect right, because it's new! Not only have such blemishes in the existing house not bothered me previously, I haven't even spotted the vast majority despite living here for 10 years - it's only now I'm walking around looking for them to compare against my own handy work that they are making themselves known. Perhaps that's the secret to the way out of having such an easily-discomforted mind - these things probably won't matter in time. I hope they don't anyway. Something that is possibly also very telling is that these imperfections are often bigger in my mind than reality - next time I seem them they're not quite as bad as I remembered. Bad enough though. The way I feel is the main reason I don't like employing tradesmen as invariably I feel disappointed with some aspect of their work. I don't mention it (unless it's really bad such that even a 'normal' person would say it needs fixing) but I am often left with a feeling of some regret that either I picked the wrong guy or should've done it myself. Does this sound familiar to anyone? If so, how do you deal with it? I keep reminding myself that these are 1st world problems, and that actually if the things I'm worried most about invariably fall into the category of 'aesthetics' rather than, say, 'health' or 'finances' then really I'm probably luckier than 99.9% of the rest of the population and should be grateful for it. Such positivity only lasts so long through; I'll be staring on my DIY blemishes again in the morning when having my cereals with the same sick feeling brewing in my stomach. Tell me I'm not alone...?! ?

I'm about to embark on a mammoth cutting session trimming down end panels, plinths etc for the new kitchen. I've bought a new 40T blade for my Titan track/plunge saw (it came with a 24T) but was wondering what blade depth I should be using for the best cuts? I'm sure I saw a video one time suggesting the blade depth should be such that the teeth only come halfway through the bottom of the work piece, whereas another article I've just read (on circular saws - I am assuming its the same consideration) says to have the blade coming 5-10mm through. Most other discussions about track/circular saw use don't seem to mention it. Any advice?