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I did have a Western Digital MyBook but they are discontinued. Was no real software or OS to learn. Just need to create user accounts via a Web browser interface. They have been replaced by their MyCloud NAS which start around £140 inc a 2TB drive at Currys. Dont think you can add a second drive though.

Companies like Verbatim make NAS enclosures without a drive (add your own) but they need some setting up which I've not done. Think they are like £20-£50. Other companies like Synology make boxes with one drive supplied and one or more empty bays for you to add extra drives. They tend to be a bit expensive. If you have an old PC available it might be possible to use that.. https://www.cclonline.com/article/2041/Guide/Network-Storage-NAS-/Build-A-DIY-Home-Media-Server-On-A-Budget/

When he arrives he will probably want to plug into your master socket to test it regardless of what you say so best let him. While he's doing that you can tell him you called BT for an update and they said your line had been installed ok but wasn't working when they tested it. Say you're wondering if they had really finished it. You can say you saw someone working at xyz (where you know the missing bit is). In our case I knew it wasn't connected at the top of the pole because the coil of wire we left at the bottom was still there. When I tried to explain he didn't want to listen so I let him plug in his test box to my master socket. Only when he realised it wasn't connected somewhere would he let me explain what I knew.

If BT/Open reach think you have a phone line when you don't, call up and ask them to test it. They can do this while you are on the phone to them. It won't work and they will normally schedule an engineer to come out. When he arrives appologise and tell him the operator insisted your non-existent line was faulty. If he can't fix it ask him if he can get their database updated.

Regarding boosters. Some are now legal... https://www.ofcom.org.uk/consultations-and-statements/category-1/mobile-phone-repeaters-extended-range

Get loads of mates around for a beer and have them all check signal strengths on different networks around the house. The phone can also make big difference sometimes. We were all on Asda/EE but when Asda switched to Vodaphone my wife's phone didn't work nearly as well as the other three phones we have.

Either that or water bills. Part of your existing bill is to remove "other things" from sewage. Why not nutrients? Edit: I know it's technically difficult to remove rather than mitigate so initially it might just be a means of collecting money to fund mitigation.

I think Liz Truss is going to have much bigger issues to worry about. I think the nutrient issue could be sorted by the CIL.

We had india stone onto mortar and they didn't stick well in places. I'm going to have to use a wire brush in a drill to abraded the mortar down enough to get another layer under those that need refixing. I'm probably going to try BAL External Priming Slurry Bond.

If you have the budget there are companies that make steels/lintels any shape you want. They also cut bricks to make slips and supply the lintels with them ready fitted. We have two windows that needed lintels shaped like this.. _n_ and got them made that way. You can't see any exposed steel anywhere.

We get about the same. Mostly it's fine. Before our kids left for university they were xbox users and that would occasionally impact someone streaming a movie. Now they are away both of us can stream standard definition video at the same time without issues. For example my wife might be watching something on iplayer or similar while I'm watching F1 live. Buffering is rare and probably not be due to our connection rate. Overall I think I would call 30 Mbit "acceptable". I probably wouldn't pay more for it to be say 50 Mbit. If you are moving ISP I would consider getting a portable email address. I regret using one from my ISP as it makes moving ISP for a better deal harder.

1) How big and complicated is the roof? It wouldn't be expensive to get a Structural Engineer to just specify the dimensions of the rafters for a conventional pitched roof, fair bit more if the roof needs to be designed due to its size, shape and complexity. 2) If the sewer is far enough away that a build over agreement isn't required I would submit a letter stating that fact and attach a site plan and perhaps a copy of the water authority. 3) You might not need an EPC but you will probably have to provide some evidence it will comply with the relevant bits of Part L. Wall construction and U-value calculations probably. Window details. What drawings did you provide with you Building Control Application? Was it a full Application or just a Building Notice?

Sure glad I got mine filled early.

I see Heating Oil has shot back up over the past two weeks. Boiler juice chart for England now says its back over £1/L. In Northern Island its up 25% in three weeks.

If you want to win in court you have to give them "opportunity to rectify". That normally means writing to them recorded delivery at their registered address (I'd hit every address you can find) giving them a date to sort it by. Perhaps two weeks. Otherwise a claim might get thrown out. I would do some research online about what you need to do to satisfy a court before you get any work done.

Doesn't that layout make one end of the room hotter than the other?

As you are trade hmrc might want income tax rather than CGT? Eg if they think you are making a living as a property developer. Might need to seek advice. If you decide to rent out the other house beware that you might have to repay the VAT. A house built for sale is treated differently to one built and rented out. There are ways around this but people have been caught out.

Think ours was just a paragraph saying access to the highway would be in same position as existing field gate. Think there was also a paragraph about access to shops and public services public eg doctors surgery available in next village, and primary school with spaces in another. Shops in a third. No known problems with traffic on local roads. There was one bus a week from the other side of the village which allowed us to say there was a bus service but I think that stopped before we finished building it.

Is it a single or two story extension? What's in it? If it was say a single story extension with just a kitchen in it I would try arguing their extension doesn't have any habitable rooms in it and all the habitable rooms such as the living room and bedrooms are in the main part of the house over 12m away(if they are).

We have our mvhr system up fairly high. We regularly dry washing on a rack in the main bathroom which doesn't need/have a seperate extractor fan. I doubt it would be high enough to move heat around the building though. I did find this document with some info on testing a pair of boreholes. Gives figures for the temperature uplift and power extracted but I've no idea if they are typical.. ground_loops_testing_report.PDF

Many councils have a "space around dwellings "policy. Typically they require a minimum distance between walls with facing windows into habitable rooms eg between the backs of two houses. Its to prevent you looking into each others bedroom window's or something like that. Think its normally 21/22m where they both have windows or 12/13m where one has windows and the other has a blank wall.

Opinions differ but some say you can put insulation above and between on a warm roof provided you get a condensation risk analysis done. As I recall the rule of thumb is no more than 1/3rd of the insulation between the rafters, the rest above. So if the spec is 170mm you might be able to change that to say 60mm between the rafters and 120mm above. The alternative is to switch to a ventilated cold roof and put all the insulation between the rafters. On a porch it might be better to run the rafters side to side so you can have vents under the eaves both sides. If you run them front to back you really should have vents at the front and back where the flashing will be. That is possible but complicates the flashing. I guess you can't reduce ceiling height?

It's crazy how hmrc complain when you let them keep your money interest free for a few years.

Sorry for the poor quality sketch but my understanding is that mvhr heat exchangers work something like this.. To make much difference the incoming air would have to be preheated so that the 18C incoming air is hotter. But if it goes over 20C the heat exchanger will work in reverse heating the outgoing air. Am I missing something?

I always sell my house for the market value, I've never been tempted to sell one for the price I paid for it 🙂