Temp

You can buy 1.75-2m high Beech hedge plants which are great for hedging but have no leaves in winter. https://www.hedgesdirect.co.uk/acatalog/beech_fagus_hedging.html?gclid=Cj0KCQjwvuDPBRDnARIsAGhuAmaXp-0T1iwo3DaPk2cEzymSMb1fJqYhk1i5oTQ8vJkk6mFvuLG9M-waAol4EALw_wcB They appear to have a massive discount on bulk orders.. Edit: Sorry something wrong with the formatting below. My comments have been included in the quote..

Just don't show that model to anyone :-)

She is wrong about "only the prime contractor can zero rate goods". An electrician you hire should also zero rate his labor and materials/wire to you. However that doesn't mean she can zero rate goods for the reason below.. I would normally agree but... This is true of builders, bricklayers, plumbers, electricians etc who are carrying out zero rated work on a qualifying building. Any materials they supply must also be zero rated. However the services provided by Architects and Project Managers aren't zero rated, so I believe she must charge VAT on the labor and materials she supplies to you. VAT 708 doesn't cover this situation explicitly but it does have some relevant sections. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/vat-notice-708-buildings-and-construction/vat-notice-708-buildings-and-construction But unfortunately she isn't a contractor supplying zero rated services to you. Her project management services are standard rated. Possible solutions: It does. Box 2 says.. I think if you want to put the project managers name in this box you will need the original invoices that suppliers gave your project manager. Has she already used them to reclaim the VAT she paid? If she has already reclaimed the VAT on invoices she has paid then the only way around the problem I can see is for her to effectively sell the items to you at cost (inc VAT). She can then give you an invoice in your name which you can submit with your VAT reclaim. As the value of your reclaim is significant it might be worth paying for professional advice on this. The whole VAT issue for self builders is a mess and I/we might well be wrong!

That would be possible but I wouldn't get too concerned about running the wire through a hole in the wall of the house. eg try the loft first and if it doesn't work drill a hole through the wall, push the wire through and seal around it.

I can add: Suspicious pair in paint splattered jeans caught looking at our site workers pick-up truck from the grave yard of the church next door: Q: "Do you know where John Smith is buried?"

A loft box is just for splitting and distributing the signal to multiple TVs, they don't really amplify the signal much. The problem with amplifiers is they also amplify noise and unwanted signals and add some noise of there own making. It's almost always better to use a bigger aerial rather than a small aerial and an amplifier. I've had a look at what's on the roofs in surrounding villages using Google streetview and they seem to me using medium or large aerials. So I think I'd start with something like one of these in your loft.. Wideband http://aerialsandtv.com/atvschoiceofaerials.html#Log36 Band A http://aerialsandtv.com/atvschoiceofaerials.html#Yagi18 (Specify band when ordering) If it won't go in before March I would wait until then before buying one. See if the retune happens and then perhaps go for the Band A. The wideband will work after the retune but you might have interference from mobile phone at some point. The band A won't receive all channels until the retune but should be more immune to mobile phones when they are introduced. I don't know which way your house is orientated but if you have a gable end pointing towards the transmitter I would run good quality aerial lead to the ridge at that point as well as the loft just in case an indoor aerial doesn't work well. You can get cranked poles and brackets for mounting aerials to or above a gable end. Good cable should be double screened (has both a foil and a braid screen). http://aerialsandtv.com/onlinecableandmisc.html#Cable You want enough to have several meters spare at each end. For example so there is enough to run up a short pole and possibly to the pointy end of the aerial. Well worth putting a power point in the loft (and possibly a light as well). PS: I've no connection with any of the companies/links above. They are just a good source of reference material. Plenty of other suppliers around. Sometimes a local installer is better than a national company as they have more relevant local experience. There are plenty of cowboy aerial installers out there as well.

Details of the Waltham here.. https://ukfree.tv/transmitters/tv/Waltham All digital now. I think all the analogue TV transmitters in the UK have been switched off now. If you scroll down to "How will the Waltham (Leicestershire, England) transmission frequencies change over time?" there is a table showing the aerial band needed. In general an aerial designed for just one part of the band (eg Band A) is better than a wideband (Band W) aerial as they "let in" less noise. The table says that at the moment you need a wideband aerial (Band W), however around 31st March 2018 the frequencies will change so you will be told to retune your TV. After that you only need a band A aerial but a band W would continue to work. Over time parts of the TV band will be sold off to the mobile phone networks. It's possible that when this happens (>2020?) people with a wide band aerial will see some interference/blocking or other issues. At that point the cure might involve replacing a wideband/band W aerial with a narrow band aerial (in your case a band A) or possibly the addition of a filter. In short. if you are putting up an aerial now and want good TV for Christmas I'd go for a wide band aerial in the loft. If it won't get done until after 31st March I'd probably put up a Band A aerial on the chimney (if you have one) or gable end?. Many places only sell band W aerials because it means they don't have to stock so many models of the same aerial. Sometimes the colour of the plastic bung on the end of the aerial indicates the band. eg Black for wideband/band W and red for band A. Bit more later as I have to take my kids out. I need to check which direction the transmitter is from you because it doesn't broadcast equally in all directions. Just for info, this is the typical frequency response/bands for TV aerials. You can see that band A aerials don't allow signals from the top end of the band (right hand side) where mobile phones are going to appear.

Very much depends on a bunch of factors such where your house is, how far away the transmitter is, any trees or hills etc. I used foil covered insulation in our loft and obviously that blocked the signal. I replaced a few squares with non foil covered insulation and used a large aerial that was enough to get a decent signal, however we aren't very far from quite a strong transmitter. Try entering your postcode here.. http://www.digitaluk.co.uk/reception_guide or send us your postcode by PM and we might be able to recommend an aerial. The usual rules for good reception are: Use right type and size of aerial. Mount it as high as possible. Use good quality down lead. Avoid "back of the set" booster amplifiers. Better to use a bigger aerial, if you really must use an amplifier it should be fitted on the mast near the aerial. If you want Freeview in several rooms consider putting a powered "Distribution amplifier" (aka "Loft Box") in the loft.

My understanding is that building workers are allowed to live in a temporary building onsite without planning permission. The reason some people need planning permission is because their partners or children aren't, or can't be, classed as building workers, so their use of the building isn't "in connection with the operations being carried out on the land". From the GPDO.. http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2015/596/pdfs/uksi_20150596_en.pdf Page 50 says..

Companies that make automatic gates sell inductive loop detectors... https://www.theelectricgateshop.co.uk/Vehicle-Inductive-Loop-Presence-Detector http://easygates.co.uk/loop-detectors.asp Cheaper one via Amazon.. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sensors-Traffic-Inductive-Vehicle-Detector/dp/B0190JJU0C But just one three star review (due to slow delivery).

Some makes say there must be a gap, others not. I know Kingspan used to do one that said no gap needed. You should allow the membrane to drape between rafters so that water can run down under the battens. If the membrane is pressed against the batten then water (aided by dirt/dust) can pool above the batten causing the batten to rot. The alternative is no drape and to use counter battens to raise the battens off the membrane.

That's ok. I nearly purchased a cheap Henry vacuum cleaner until someone pointed out it was a tiny one for cleaning keyboards.

It won't affect most people but the wealthy should remember that pension funds are outside your estate for inheritance tax purposes where as not all of your house might be.

I would seek professional advice. It might be who the contract is with rather than which subsidiary you were told to pay that matters.

So there aren't any joints in the pipe? Joints in rainwater pipes aren't designed to be gas tight (the wind will just blow it away) but indoor waste water pipes have rubber seals.

Do you want a simple thermostat or a programmable stat? Heatmiser do a wide range as others have mentioned both 12V and some 230V. You will need to know what your system uses. They even have some with remote sensors for use in bathrooms. Stat goes on the wall outside the bathroom with a remote sensor inside.

That may take some finding. Perhaps get yourself a pressure test kit. http://www.pavingexpert.com/drain11.html

I note they refer to sealed joints. Does this rainwater pipe go to a soakaway or into the sewer? If it goes into the sewer they might be worried about sewer gasses coming back up and leaking into the garage. Sewer gasses can contain methane and low oxygen levels (explosion and suffocation risk).

It's well worth learning how to solder copper pipe. Not nearly as hard as people make out. Tips: Use solder ring fittings Be obsessive about cleaning both the pipe and inside of the fitting with wire wool until it shines, then coat with flux. Make sure there is no water anywhere. Pipe and fittings must be bone dry. Do as much as possible on the bench then add the assembly to existing installation. Prep and solder all the joints on a fitting at the same time (eg on a T junction prep and put pipe in all 3 ports). If you aren't sure about a joint, sometimes twisting the joint while hot will get the solder to flow.

Could it be just a flat backup battery? They tend give up and start chirping at 3-4am because that's the coldest time of day/night. If it's not that then.. Post make and model number which is usually written on the alarm somewhere. Possibly between the alarm and mounting bracket/base. If it's a rented house should really let the landlord sort it.

Sometimes they want to inspect the fireproofing on steel beams before plastering. Could that be it?

Adding a pump to try and produce a power shower wouldn't work with an electric shower. It takes quite a lot of power to heat water to the required temperature and flow rate, generally there is none "spare" with an electric shower. So if the user turns up the temperature the shower has to turn down the flow rate to compensate because it can't increase the power beyond it's rated 10kW. Trying to force more water through with a pump would either have no effect, break the shower, or result in a lower water temperature than set by the user. I'm a bit surprised that not all electric showers are thermostatic.

http://www.renewablesfirst.co.uk/hydropower/hydropower-learning-centre/how-much-power-could-i-generate-from-a-hydro-turbine/

Our Dyson is 10 years old and still going strong. I think many people never clean the filters and wonder why the motor burns out.

Have done an outbuilding in oak. I've been treating it intermittently with Ronseal General purpose wood preserver (light brown) applied using a Hoselock plant sprayer intended for water. The sprayer only survives one or two coats but it's only slightly more expensive than a paintbrush and way faster with fewer drips. The windows are also oak and I just spray over them glass and all then clean off the glass with spirit. I went for stainless steel nails but regret using plain heads. You want textured heads to prevent/reduce reflections.