Temp

Our QS was within £1,000 of the cheapest sealed bid. One other bid was close, and two more were 10-15% higher. These were bids from prime contractors.

When I was looking for a plot I stopped outside any nice looking houses I saw under construction to speak to the builder. I was amazed how many were happy to show me around before they had covered up their appalling workmanship. Either they didn't know it was bad or they didn't think I would know what I was looking at. I remember one in particular opened a cupboard door to show me an UFH manifold that had just been installed and it was a right mess. They always gave me a business card but quite a few went in the skip as I walked off site. Tip for anyone looking to choose a builder... Most will offer to take you to house they have built for someone but it's far better to see one they currently have under construction if you can.

If you leave a house to you children there is the "new" allowance... https://www.which.co.uk/money/tax/inheritance-tax/inheritance-tax-property-changes-asy688s1j5zj

It's the system pressure you are measuring. There should be a pressure relief valve (PRV) that opens when the pressure gets too high. It should discharge into a tundish (so you can see and hear if it opens) then to the outside of the house. I think our last house had a PRV set to 4 bar but it's a long time ago.

It's amazing what goes on on the planning portal sometimes. A few years ago an application for a wind farm went in a few miles from us. Many people wrote to object but we were surprised to see that one of the land owners that had and would benefit financially by having turbines on his land had written to object. His letter was online for a week or so before the energy co spotted it an wrote to him to remind him that he had been given an initial sweetner of £50-£60k and signed a contract to say he wouldn't object to the application on his land. He then had to try and get his objection removed which he did by writing to the planners and those letters also got posted online for awhile. Eventually his letter and the follow ups somehow got removed but not before the "action group" had made copies.

At least it could easily be removed, unlike the stuff some people put on the outside in the 1980s...

Over the past few years I've had several occasions to use Polyurethane adhesives like TigerSeal etc. Every time I need a small quantity I have to buy a £6-£8 tube for a gun and 90% ends up wasted as it goes off in the tube (despite attempts to seal the tube). So anyone know if it's possible to get small tubes?

Lot of work cutting bricks. I'd pay out for slips. Lots available.. https://www.wienerberger.co.uk/products/brick/brick-slips.html https://brickslips.co.uk/ http://www.matclad.co.uk/brick-slips Check if you need any corner or special shapes as they can be more expensive.

Their Instagram page says Trimdek is indeed metal sheeting.

Perhaps they just had a load of offcuts left over and an apprentice carpenter needing a job :-)

Probably not if the DHW is close to the required shower temperature so little if any cold is used.

I believe it works by preheating the cold supply to the shower mixer. So you use less hot water. Should work as long as your hot supply is hot enough to need cold water mixing in. If you don't use any cold water (because your hot water isn't very hot) then it won't.

Some places will make a shower tray to your dimensions.. https://www.versital.co.uk/bathroom-products-2/bespoke-shower-trays/ No idea on price.

If I remember correctly side extensions can only be single storey and less than 4m high within 2m of the boundary.

Welcome to the forum. Have a Google and read "A guide to the Party Wall Act". This sets out the rules. It's possible the work you plan is not covered by the act. If the act does apply and your neighbors are happy with your plans you just need a letter from them saying so. No cost to you. Think there is a template letter in the guide. If they aren't happy then it can get very expensive with up to THREE surveyors needed all paid for by you. Might be better to see if you can redesign so the act doesn't apply.

If you really can't get a VAT reciept.. I would add their vat number and the vat calculation on a post-it note stuck to a print out of whatever documents you have. Put a normal entry in the spreadsheet.

First step is read the other threads on this forum! Then buy a lot of plastic inserts for ring binders to put reciepts in (or similar storage that keeps them in date order.) Labor - zero rated to you, VAT paid in error cannot be reclaimed. Materials you buy - VAT can be reclaimed. Mixed (supply and fit) both materials and labour must be zero rated to you. Tool hire - VAT is charged and cannot be reclaimed. Any doubt ask here before you accept a quote.

If that's what happened I'm inclined to let it go. Presumably the planners were trying to get the neighbor to build something that doesn't clash horribly with the existing house. They could have asked the neighbor for a street scene showing a drawing or even an actual photo of the existing house.

Still not clear what has happened. It's quite possible for one application to refer to another - for example when justifying the design on a new house you can refer to houses and approved plans for house nearby. I have seen this done in the case of houses and windfarms. Is it possible the company scanning the drawings for the council just messed up or has he obviously modified any to use for his application?

Factory built house, all wood option, 16" thick walls..

We have a Visonic all wireless alarm. Installed about 12 years ago. Good for its day. Their Quad PIR wireless sensors seem very reliable with good battery life (especially if you turn off the onboard led). The control box is set up to dial my mobile using my land line. They had a GSM module but I've not tried it. It's armed and disarmed using a key fob, we never use the keypad on the control panel. As my system is quite old (no camera support) I wouldn't install the model I have again but im happy with the make and reliability and would look at their newer models to see if they have kept up-to-date date with competitors.

Personally I wouldn't worry. In any case you can't stop him planting the trees. I suppose you could dig a trench and insert a root barrier - that would be easier now than later. I believe you are allowed to cut tree roots if they cross your boundary (in say 10 years time) but not to the extent they kill the tree.

Cant find one for a tenner but £23 delivered.. Google found that Waytronic (who?) make a plug in adaptor that will SMS you on a power outage. It also monitors Temperature and Electricity usage plus a bunch of other functions.. http://en.waytronic1999.com/ProductsStd_221.html https://uk.banggood.com/WAYTRONIC-GSM-Smart-Power-Outlet-Plug-Socket-English-Russian-SMS-Remote-Control-Timing-Switch-Temperature-Controller-with-Sensor-p-1519750.html?gmcCountry=GB&currency=GBP&createTmp=1&utm_source=googleshopping&utm_medium=cpc_bgcs&utm_content=garman&utm_campaign=pla-gbg-tools-pc&gclid=CjwKCAjwxaXtBRBbEiwAPqPxcBZi8at0WR2S1mlhgb5tyuKH99zKYwu20Bp4Bs-xvieXGf4j7wh-KxoC8YQQAvD_BwE&ID=6257627&cur_warehouse=CN https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32787412496.html Not used one myself so can't vouch for the product/supplier. Presumably it has a battery inside which might degrade over time? Also does it support 3G? 2G might get turned off?

At the other end of the cost spectrum...You can get devices that text you when power fails.

Now I think about it... On youtube I keep getting shown an advert for a UV settable adhesive. One example they give is sticking glass but they also show it being used for "filling" type applications.