Temp

We put in loads of network and coax cable but I still managed to miss a few... I forget to put in a length of coax from the loft to the distribution amp for the TV aerial! Fortunately all the upstairs bedrooms had two coax so I was able to pull one up into the loft. I also forgot to put a wire in for the front door bell. A wireless system sorted that but it's a pain replacing the batteries. I might also be tempted to run a network cable to the front door bell area? Our alarm system is wireless (works well) but the external bell box also needed a wire that I forgot about. We eventually installed a security camera system that used networked cameras - so if building again I would add the necessary weather proof cable for that at the outset. I used Ubiquiti "TOUGHCable" and matching connectors.

So the overflow stopped on it's own sometime later or is it still overflowing today?

The danger with a large fall is that the water can get sucked out of the trap. I think I'd still use a top access trap unless you want to have to go under the floor to clean it out. Perhaps test installation somehow before laying the floor etc?

Not the official site but... https://www.homebuilding.co.uk/maximise-your-vat-reclaim/ The HMRC has no "discretion" and I've seen reports that they are imposing tougher penalties on even minor errors in VAT reclaims.

If the CWS tank is filling with hot water then one of the pipes that is meant to send cold out will be warm, indicating the source of the problem. Failing that turn off or block them all until the overflowing stops. If the tank isn't very deep you can reach in and put a thumb over each in turn or perhaps even feel where the hot water is coming from. As ProDave said... It's very common for corrosion in hot water tanks to cause a hole allowing water to flow from one side to the other. Ditto the shower mixer problem.

Sorry if you all know this but... My father taught me to use a rubber faced block of wood (he called it a "blat") to level tiles. First use a serrated spreader to spread the adhesive - the ridges allow the height of the tile to be adjusted - then use the blatter to level it with the surrounding tiles. Its hard to describe the technique but you hold the blat so that one end is in the middle of an existing tile and lift and tap the other end against the new tile. A combination of pressing and tapping with the blat levels the tiles. This works very well on small tiles. Blat also known as tile beating block.. http://www.rubi.com/products/en-UK/tools-for-fixing-tiles-and-finishings/mallets-and-beaters/tile-beating-block.php

He needs to be careful. I've heard of cases where a BCO decided a barn was in such poor condition that it was no longer capable of being converted and large parts would have to be demolished. He tipped off the planners who effectively revoked the planning permission for a conversion on the grounds that it could no longer be implemented. The owners would have to reapply for a demolition and new build. It's important he get the barns surveyed to check that a conversion is (still) viable. There was a long series of articles over two or three years Planning Law blog that covered the planning pitfalls of a barn conversion. Here is just a flavour... http://planninglawblog.blogspot.co.uk/2011/07/more-development-in-wonderland.html http://planninglawblog.blogspot.co.uk/2014/12/barn-conversions-again-part-6.html The wording of the planning consent might be critical to defining the scope of what must be retained/can be replaced.

Now that your appeal has been rejected the locals will be wondering what you plan to do with the land. There are plenty of travellers looking for plots of land going cheap. Would the neighbours prefer that to Rev A?

Ah there is a Lumber futures market.. http://www.nasdaq.com/markets/lumber.aspx?timeframe=1y That's UP about 13% on a year ago.

The nearest I can find are two Exchange Traded Funds... WOOD and CUT. http://www.etf.com/WOOD and http://www.etf.com/CUT These track a basket of companies that own forests, process or distribute timber etc. They are global so I suspect they tend to correlate with US house building as that uses a lot of wood. They dipped around the time of the Brexit vote but have recovered since.

T&E from the CU to the first alarm. 3&E between the alarms. It's not a ring. Just a radial. About a month after moving in our alarms started beeping in the middle of the night indicating low battery. I replaced the batteries and a month later they started beeping again at 4am. It turned out our electrician had used 3&E between the alarms and managed to get two wires crossed over between the floors. For two months the alarms on one floor had effectively been running on the internal 9V batteries not mains. Lucky they hadn't been damaged. One day someone will invent an alarm that tests it's batteries at mid day rather than waiting for the voltage to fall when they get cold which usually happens around 4am.

Went to my local BnQ yesterday and found they had cleared most of the LED downlight bulbs from their shelves and put them in "clearance bins" near the tills. They still had some on the shelves but they were narrow beam types. Looks like they are changing supplier or something. Anyway the clearance bins had Dial and Philips GU10 and MR16 LEDs in at marked down prices. Typically around £2 each. I know you can get cheaper on the web but I've found the Dial ones OK so far.

If possible make sure all parts are more than 1m from the boundary to keep Building Regs happy.

Perhaps look at a wifi access point in your main house with a directional antenna pointed at the hut. Most access points have Omnidirectional antenna so pick on that allows you to replace it with a directional. Some people make them from Pringles cans but I've not tried that. If it's across the road you might loose connection when a high sided van drives past.

I've not used Marmox but have used Wedi board which I think is similar if not identical. It's a blue foam board with a thin layer of cement and fibre glass mesh on each side. I used it to clad a wash stand before tiling. Very easy to cut and fix. Has insulating properties. The main issue I see is what happens when retiling. I've not tried but I think it would be hard to get the tiles off without chunks of the board coming with it? Our bathroom is stone clad so our man recommended Hardiebacker board... http://www.jameshardie.co.uk/hardiebacker-12mm-cement-board The 12mm version is very strong and quite hard to cut. I think they recommend scoring and snapping. Our man went through a large number of disposable hand saws and electric jig saw blades as it blunts tools quickly. I reckon it would be possible to fix things to Hardibacker without having to find studs. Would be harder/difficult to fix things to Marmox/Wedi. I glued in wooden blocks where I knew I would have to fix things to the washstand.

Frogeye - Thanks for the offer but I've now discovered several of the holes aren't deep enough either so I've invested in a core drill bit.

Thanks! While I was googling for possible ideas I came across this site with what looks like very low prices on TCT core drills. Perhaps too low? https://www.beal.org.uk/stock-clearance/core-shells.html

Yes looks like some experimenting needed.

I'm wondering if an internal grinding wheel might work?

Probably only the outer 50-60mm or so needs to be enlarged.

Turns out some new walls lights I have are tapered and I will have to enlarge existing the holes in the brick wall to get them in. Currently the holes are about 70mm diameter and need to be about 1 or 2mm larger over half their depth. Looking for suggestions on the best way to do this. I have eight to do. Screwfix have a 78mm core drill and suppose I could make a wooden plug with a 10mm hole in the middle to guide it. Would probably jam a lot. Any other suggestions? I can't get the light fittings turned down because I don't think the wall thickness of the fitting is sufficient.

Sorry I missed this key point when I replied earlier. As I understand it if you cannot reach agreement over a condition the only formal way forward is to appeal the condition and let a planning inspector sort it out.

PS Somewhere there is a standard that portable meters have to meet and which first generation meters don't. If anyone can remember what that's called let us know. SMETS2 or something like that?

As I understand it there is a target date after which they are meant to be portable between suppliers. However it's not clear to me who pays for if you want to upgrade from a first generation meter to a portable one. So i'm declining until they can assure me it's a portable one https://www.gov.uk/guidance/smart-meters-how-they-work

If it's your ecologist not the councils then you are under no obligation to submit her report. I would brief another. I would show them her report and see if they agree your contention of the wider benefits or if not can mitigation could be used before hiring them to do a new report.