MJNewton

Be careful about inadvertently revealing expensive gear in the background. Unprotected toilet rolls on show like that are likely to attract burglars. Mods: Feel free to delete my quoted photo on security grounds if need be.

Given the limited application of Part P (new circuits, replacement consumer units and additions/alterations in special locations) I've always wondered if you could get a Part P certified electrician in to fit a new consumer and a dozen or so circuits within the cupboard with one socket each. This gets signed off and you are then free to extend these circuits around your house yourself on the basis of it not being notifiable and therefore outside the scope of Building Control. Or is this as dumb as it sounds?

The new room consists of an existing lounge (with a bedroom above) and a single-storey extension separated by a recessed beam over a knock-through. There is some slight variation of finished height for some joists (only a matter of millimetres) and so I figured that one advantage of using resilient bars, aside from any acoustic benefit between the lounge area and bedroom above, was that they would help bridge the transition between the rooms and between individual joists without me having to pack much/anything out and perhaps also in doing so provide some protection against cracking if there is any slight differential movement between the rooms over time. Thanks to the ceiling-joist gap that they create, resilient bars might also be a god-send if I need to run additional cables at a later date as the lounge area is already heavily cabled up for the likes of surround sound and whilst I have anticipated the potential need for a 4-speaker ceiling-mounted Atmos setup who knows what the future might hold. I would probably also consider running extra lighting cables right above the ceiling should the need arise, although I don't know what the regs have to say about that when it comes to running cables between the ceiling and joists i.e. not through the centre of the joists themselves. Everything is RCD protected so I consider it acceptable from a safety perspective but that's just my opinion.

Funnily enough I do have a pack of them, and have done for years, but I always forget and only remember once I've finished a boarding job! I need to put them in by plasterboard screws box really.

Thanks; I recall reading something about that. I take it that doesn't cause any issue with cracking of skim coat at the wall-ceiling interface? Edit: Ah, it has just dawned on me that the gap to be filled is that between the ceiling board and the wall and not to any subsequent board that might be fixed to the wall.

I am planning on using resilient bars for the ceiling of our open plan 'family room', partly due to any acoustic benefit they may provide (noting that I was only intending on one layer of 12.5mm board and no insulation) but also to ease the continuous ceiling run-through from the existing room and the knock-through extension. It'll be the first time I've used resilient bars and wondered if there are any useful tips others that have used them might have to share? I note the general advice to ensure screw lengths are such that there is a minimum protrusion through the bars of 10mm and that if there's a risk of making contact with joists to ensure screw lengths won't reach that far (I'll have 17mm headroom with the bars I'm using). Aside from length though, what screws should I be using to affix the boards in place (I am assuming fixing the bars to the joists can use any old woodscrew)? Is this where the difference in coarse vs fine threaded plasterboard screw that I note Screwfix stock comes into play? Regarding tools, I've got a plasterboard lifter which I expect to make relatively light work of the 2.4m x 1.2m 12.5mm sheets I'll be using, and I was planning just using my drill driver for the screws. Presumably the right selection of screws helps ensure they are quick to pierce and bite the metal?

? Happy to come over re the cabling. Probably worth a post on here for Ideas?

Many GU10 housings, even fire rated ones, are completely open-back these days so should prevent heat build-up e.g. Integral's Evofire range: That said, perhaps integrated fittings might be better able to exploit the benefits of integrated heat sinks to improve cooling even further, as well as move the electronics further away from the LEDs.

AD Part H mandates a slope of between 18 and 90mm/m for 40mm sink waste pipes... How is a man with OCD tendencies like me to cope with such freedom of choice?! Presumably more is better? In this particular case the run length is probably only going to be ~1m so perhaps it matters even less, or does it? (It's no wonder my extension is taking so long - I don't half dwell on minor details)

Being very picky about light quality and fans of the warming colour temp of incandescents this feature is of interest to us too. So far we've only tried two types - Philips Master LED Dimtone and Ikea Ledare. We much prefer the latter in terms of dimmable range, linearity and overall colour rendition. Indeed, Ikea LED bulbs have knocked spots of all the Philips varieties we've tried so far (half a dozen or so, including one from their Expert Color range) and they generally have a >90 CRI so really do represent decent quality bulbs in my view. The only issue is that some of the ones we tried are no longer available and whilst replacements are creeping in they look physically different and so presumably are different so I am crossing my fingers they are still as good (haven't bought any to try out yet).

Don't fret; the PIR will provide all the stability and rigidity you require.

Or look elsewhere... I wouldn't be comfortable just changing the charging model given that this is someone who has seemingly shown little interest in offering you value for money.

It definitely will. I temporarily capped off our soil pipe at the top and whenever the toilet was flushed with toilet paper the waterless traps would all 'rasp' due to the suction. Sounded terrible. Refitting the AAV cured it. That's not to say a small(er) AAV won't suffice though.

@Sealo0 I'd be interested in buying your V-pro's off you if you've no need for them?

Varilight V-Pro dimmers are often recommended for dimming LEDs, and have become something of an industry standard choice.

Looking good! Nice and neat!

Is there room for a waterless trap eg HepVO or similar?

I think the implication of the exception is that a wheelchair user would not be expected to be involved in repair and maintenance, but I would expect laundry-related sockets/switches to be in-scope.

There's nothing grey about it - Approved Document M clearly states, for the mandatory section where minimum/maximum heights for sockets are prescribed, it does not apply to extensions: I'd still go for the 450mm minimum though as, personally, I like it.

Same here. When we moved into this 'new build' it felt odd having sockets so high up, not least given our previous place still had some sockets on the skirting boards. We soon got used to them and have grown to prefer it. That said, I did install a run of outlets (mains, aerial, ethernet, surround sound etc) at around 300mm (centre line, of course ) in our extension as looking around at 'modern' TV units it seems many of them are only 400mm-or-so high these days (I suppose as screens get bigger the stand height gets lower if you want to maintain optimum eye-level positioning) and didn't want them all on show, particularly if we wall mount the TV and run the cables up inside the service void to it.

You'll be back. (Did you know there are rules and regulations about that sort of thing?)

What would we talk and debate about then though?! This stuff matters, and forms the bedrock of the modern Internet.

The reference is from the Approved Document, and whilst only offered up as guidance for compliance with the Building Regs they are generally regarded as authoritative references of how they can be met. The ambiguity over where the measurement was to be taken was only removed in 2015 with the introduction of it specifying it being the centre line. There'd been nearly 20 years of inconclusive forum discussions prior to that. It only matters to people like me who can't help but measure these sorts of things...

Yes, but note the language in Part M revolves around making 'reasonable provision' [for wheelchair users to use the dwelling and its facilities] and so there will be circumstances where a socket/switch might be perfectly acceptable to be positioned outside the limits. Note also that these requirements don't apply to extensions. Was there something specific you had in mind, or just asking out of curiosity?

The one word answer is 'yes'. I was just explaining that there is also a maximum height too, and the arguably minor detail that it is measured to the centre of the socket and not the bottom as your electrician said.