MJNewton

Thanks everyone for the initial thoughts/suggestions. I'll take, and post up, some photos this evening to help illustrate the situation - apologies I should've done this at the outset. In the meantime, I should add that there is actually another floor above this bedroom (so no easy access like there would be in a loft), the wall is block (light/medium-weight?) and the joists are engineered I-joists. Also, the plasterboard ceiling is affixed to resilient bars so sits ~16mm down from the joists - not sure if this is relevant other than the extra distance (gap) that would generally not normally exist. Will post back with the pics so you can revise any suggestions if required in light of the full story!

Having stripped back the dot-and-dab plasterboard from a bedroom wall I now need to route four 75mm OD semi-rigid ducts from floor to ceiling. To conceal these, and reinstate the wall finish, I will be building a stud frame out of 75mm x 50mm timber. Unfortunately, whilst the base plate can be screwed down to the floor joists the joist hangers of the ceiling joists mean I won’t be able to affix the top plate to anything so the lateral loading will have to be accommodated by fastening the studs to the wall. My question is: what fasteners would your recommend, noting the ~75mm stud depth and limited scope for noggins for stiffness? If it’s relevant the wall finish will be 12.5mm PB + skim and whilst I don't anticipate putting heavy shelves up future owners might well do.

Or, so I've heard, you can buy seals off eBay for only a few quid if you're worried about what the DNO might say/do. To be honest, unless there is evidence suggesting theft, I don't think they are all that bothered and would rather any work was done safely than having to work live. I've certainly never heard of anyone being 'done' for removing a cutout seal, not least probably because it would be very hard to prove.

I think it looks great!

Those flow rates are what most would aim to achieve for 'boost', and that's in the wet rooms not the main living areas/bedrooms. If you turned the whole lot down a bit for 'normal' you should still get the ventilation required but with much less noise.

That could be either bloody brilliant, or bloody awful! Would love to see an installed one in the flesh. In case it is food for thought, I once visited a BT lab where, being underground with no windows, they'd installed LCD screens in window cutouts and displayed a moving street scene image on them. The video loop on each was timed such that, say, a bus would drive past one window and then moments later pass the other. Once you stopped staring at it it really did change the room dynamics and make you feel more 'connected' with the outside world. I did wonder, however, if maybe I'd start to hate it if I was there for more than a few hours!

I imagine the pre-cure viscosity will be more a function of temperature whatever you use so make sure it's warm! (Somehow I always end up having to jobs that require nice runny product in the middle of winter so have spent many a day outside with pots of paint, sealant tubes, rolls of tape etc stuffed up my jumper to keep them working)

Sadly, quite an appropriate comparison! It was the safety aspect of smart relays, hidden ones in particular, that made me a bit cautious hence why I went with the Shelly as it was the only one I found that's been through UL certification (that's not to say others wouldn't pass of course).

It sounds like you might be regarding the CE mark as meaning far more than it does. Most CE certification is done through self-declaration by the manufacturer, and even where this declaration has been 'verified' by a 3rd party you will likely find that the certificate (assuming it is legitimate) caveats that the verification is based on 'submitted documentation' and not 'submitted product' i.e. they haven't even seen the device, never mind tested it. Lab testing is expensive, box-ticking documentation is not. Such certificates are pretty much worthless, beyond their marketing value of course. Given it is a self-declaration scheme the CE mark really should be taken merely as the manufacturer/distributor saying 'this complies with all the relevant legislation, honest' and nothing more. You only have to look at eBay being awash with cheap CE-marked power supplies and chargers which, if you open many (most?) of them up, you would find very poor (and unsafe) design and construction. If you are after a 'safety mark' you should be more looking towards something like the UL certification scheme as that *does* involve independent 3rd party lab testing of actual product.

Parkinson's Law of Triviality. So, so true.

I was trawling the Internet to find out what the functional earth found on some RCBOs was for and stumbled across the following video that explained it along with a full teardown of how everything works, a demo of the bimetallic strip and arc arrestor in action before then finally overloading it to destruction: Thought it might be of interest to others!

My concern has never really been the aesthetics - indeed I think the touch panel switches look great. My issue is usability - there is a lot to be said for a simple row of dimmer knobs that you can easily feel for around the door frame and instantly set to the light level you desire without a second thought. Having to actually look at the lightswitch (I am assuming they are at least backlit so you can see them inside a dark room?) and touch (just) the right spot doesn't appeal much, and if I'd have to stand and hold this pressed finger whilst the light levels cycle through a dimming pattern until the approximate level desired was reached I think that'd be out of the question. They seem like a case of form over function (if my assumptions are correct)?

Yes, a neutral is indeed required in the relay's location but this wouldn't necessarily have to be the backbox in all cases. Fortunately ours have them so I didn't give that aspect much thought and I've always made a point of wiring lighting circuits that way as even leaving 'smart' lighting aside I find it far easier to manage the loop-in/loop-out/switching connectivity within a backbox than at the light fitting itself. It's mainly the cost of the Lightwave range that put me off as I don't know how confident I can be in its longevity in any future solution, mainly because I am right at the beginning of this journey and still have a lot to learn about what options there are I where I want to go (your list has been very helpful with this). I am really keen to use as much open standards/products as possible to mitigate this uncertainty.

I have just started on the road of 'smart' lighting and also have this as one of my key requirements. I must say I have been very disappointed, and somewhat surprised, in the limited range of 'standard(ish)' wall switches (ideally with controls I can feel for, not a touchscreen that I need to look at) that provide an open remote interface. I have found I am certainly not alone in this search so there seems to be a demand. One product I have stumbled across is the Aurora AOne dimmer module which provides a Zigbee interface: At £35 I might give it a go and see how well it works. Have you seen the Shelly range of smart relays? I was considering trying out a Sonoff but stumbled across the Shellys which are designed and built by Allterco Robotics in the EU which made me feel a bit more comfortable about stuffing inside a backbox out of sight. I bought a Shelly 2.5 which provides two independent channels that can switch upto 10A, and it has built-in overtemperature and (adjustable) overcurrent protection which appealed. So far I've been mainly playing with it via the Shelly cloud but with its built-in webserver and HTTP/MQTT interface it can be operated without any external connectivity dependency. With its support for switched inputs it can operate entirely in standalone mode too. As you can see it is tiny and easily fits inside a single backbox (that's got four 1.5mm twin+earth cables in with it too). Incidentally, this is the first time I've used Wago's relatively new '221' lever connectors and they are a considerable improvement over their existing 222 range what with them being much slimmer and having a transparent body so you can easily confirm proper insertion - highly recommended!

There's no physical protection but I've run the cables in safe zones and all circuits are covered by 30mA RCDs.

Great, thanks everyone!

Perhaps I will just carry on as I am then, when I get to the appointing a plasterer stage, will check its not a big deal for them. If it is I could always go round all the boxes and chip away behind those that need a little sinking otherwise I'll avoid the hassle of having to do so.

I am some way off finding/appointing a plasterer... In fact I can't help but feel that getting to that stage is only a few steps shy of the 'selecting soft furnishings' stage and I can't currently imagine when that'll be, if ever! With only ~1-2mm (max) protusion it should be within the depth of any skim and indeed my sockets already sit flush with the current surface given the recess/wraparound they have (granted flat plate accessories might not, but would definitely do so once skimmed). Grommets are in; the box I bought over 10 years ago seems to never get emptier despite how many I feel I've used over the years!

I am currently installing a number of additional sockets, switches etc in advance of a room being re-skimmed. The walls are dot-and-dab plasterboard on blocks and I am finding that in places the 25mm metal backboxes are sitting slightly proud of the plasterboard by ~1-2mm. Will the plasterer be cursing me for this for making his job harder, risking damage to his tools etc? I could sink the boxes in to the blocks but as things currently stand this will add a fair bit of faff to what has otherwise been a really easy job given the ease with which the holes can be cut in the plasterboard and the cables routed behind it. No chasing into the blocks has been required thus far. (P.S. Thumbs-up to whoever decided the forum categories - every question I've ever wanted to ask on here has had a clear and obvious sub-forum sitting there waiting for it!)

Our local Wiltshire tip (Stanton St Quintin*) is actually excellent - never had any issues there. No charging, plenty of help with bulky items, no 'guarding' of the general waste containers etc. Perhaps it's down to individuals at the site and a site-specific culture that develops (and perpetuates) as a result? * Edit: Maybe I should keep quiet about is exact location! ;-)

The glass will appear black and reflect tne interior if lit. Even a low level of outside illumination will make all the difference.

Ah, you've just made me realise what dannyboy was probably wondering - not how the hot air goes through the duct but whether it would it would be sucked into it in the first place! Apologies dannyboy!

It's simply down to pressure. Same way that water is made to flow 'uphill' in pipes... :-)

A five degree bend over a 1m length should be easy.

I can't quite picture your exact setup/scenario from your description but I have found that plastic ducting (assuming that's what it is?) can be persuaded into taking on a slightly different shape/bend if heated with a hairdryer or heat gun if that'd help?