lizzie

I thought it was supposed to be the other way around and better trades did private work as they didnt like the corner cutting on bigger spec developments another load of cobblers fed out to me......never found anyone to work at anything like £135 a day either thats not much over labourer rates here. £1000pw is about it so 50k a year easily achievable working far less hours than I have to put in so I can pay them that ...........what is a full day for a builder. Answer depends on if they are doing the childcare it seems. Those days 9.30-3 makes a full day other days 8.30-4, they still charge a full day on child days and take their full lunch breaks. It adds up to half a day lost each week if they do 2 childcare days............I still get billed for the lost half a day. They all seem to do child care, I had no idea that all these tradespersons were pseudo nannies too. I know now I am a gullible female who has been taken for a ride by all sorts of people at every level of this build process - their sob stories and manipulations. I trusted where I should not, I feel foolish and angry. When this is finally over I never ever want to have one near me again!

I so agree with this.I think it is endemic in the ‘building trade’ at all levels.

Ours is overhead to a telegraph pole on the corner of next doors garden. They agreed we could trench and duct from the bottom of of the telegraph pole right to our house. They gave us enough cable to leave a big coil (was about 20m I think) at the bottom of the pole and to run direct though our ducts into plant room. They ran the cable up the pole and connected it that pole connects to various poles along the lane and they did things at several poles. We lopped some tree branches in advance of their visit. So our line comes in overhead to te pole but then goes completely underground on our property. They were happy with this. We sheathed the lower part of the cable going up the pole to protect it from enthusiastic gardeners.

They like grey duct56 to be used. we brought ours up in the plant room and they connected there. Open reach gave us the cable and we ran it in ready for the connection.

we put our seed down nearly 2 months ago and despite hours of sprinkler it is still very patchy and a dust bowl in places. I have taken to going over the dryest patches with the hose as well as the sprinkler. I ditched the long sprinkler (as one in your picture) and got a circular one that does a bigger area so I have to move it less. I am sprinkling in three moves and doing each area for an hour in the evening so 3 hours a day and now I am doing 3 times a week not every day now grass is growing. Yours looks bigger area than mine.

Our sensors are in the slab - we dont have a screed - we used ufh pipe as ducts and it was very successful and easy to work with.

Try co-op electrical on line. I chanced upon them a few years ago when AO let me down. Co-op were amazingly good service and value. I bought a washing machine. a tumble drier and an American fridge freezer for the temp house we were renting. All are still going. The fridge/freezer is a Hiaer, not. a brand I had heard of but it is just brilliant, I recommend it.

Not the best pics but you can see from my hand they are embedded in the wall completely flat in the plaster

I did work with a lighting designer, she took my initial scheme and basicallly chucked it out and started again and I am glad she did. It was money well spent on the design fee and I learnt a lot. I was having those profiles in the hall ceiling, they were going to come up the outside wall next to the front door continue along the hall ceiling and out and down the back wall. It was a fantastic idea but would have cost a fortune so we dropped it. The ones in the walls have a tiny pir controlled foot washer in the skirting immediately below the longest ones. Its very effective. Now the house is built I have no regrets about dropping the ceiling profile in the hall the ones in the walls are enough.

+2

Thank you. They are plastered in led profiles, you need to do at boarding stage, the metal profiles are fixed in the plasterboard and then skimmed around as part of wall ..... electric cabling done at first fix too, then led tape and diffusers fitted at second fix. I love them they are so effective. Our building inspector loved them too!

I used Dulux matt for all coats. This is 2 coats straight onto skim.

@Dreadnaughtand @nod why crappy? other than it taking more skill/time to install there is no drawback I have found. They are far superior to the regular boards both for strength and acoustic properties. I have no problem fixing to my walls and none of those rubbish stud wall fixings needed. The 30kg hung from one wood screw claim is turning out to be true. I have heavy pictures and mirrors and so far none have been a problem fixing into the habito, ditto with coat racks and wall cupboards I highly recommend it.......

@newhome that brand with the brush is the one i have real problems with but its so much easier to use than the tubes

@newhome ditto same problem for me!

TS I have a conventional Vaillant boiler that heats the hot water.

I got all mine from Porcelanosa, fab stuff but very pricey buy it in the 40% off sale pay 50% deposit and they will keep it in their warehouse until you need it. Check your water pressure/flow for shower head as someone else said. I have a 300 square rainfall head and a hand held in my wet room. I'm running that from incoming 6 bar pressure and I get a really great shower.

@Russell griffiths love shade sails have had them in other countries and yes they would look good here but we are on the top of a ridge and the wind blows really strong even in summer it can get up. Huge valley in front no buildings to stop the wind coming clear across from the Malverns 40 miles away.....locals have had ridge tiles blow off, our roof is very well anchored with extra straps to withstand winds......i hope! I can take the umbrella down quickly and easily, shade sails sadly not such an easy option and they would not survive well here. Thanks for the idea though.

Whilst I am still researching all the various options of blinds and films et al I have found a temporary solution to my main problem window......3mx 2m £150 job done it works a treat and will not to to waste whatever longer term solution.?

I thought everyone knew it was the norm that testing was done on sampling basis. Its the same as the building inspections thats only on sample too. I think gas and electric have individual tests but beyond that its every so many houses per test e.g. one in 5 or 8 or whatever.

I have a stand alone one near the boiler in the plant room. I have no other gas appliances in the house.

Thats interesting.......I have a smoke alarm in plant room and one in kitchen/open plan area so whole house is covered (single storey). Fire ext in plant room and kitchen seems the way to go then. Best place to buy?

I have always had the usual one in the kitchen (never used thank goodness) and am about to buy one for the new house which set me wondering should I have others in the house e.g. in the plant room and if so what type? Any one got any tips?

This is the very white alumac render

this is a garden wall in polar white k rend.... I think their whitest white. Whilst its nice its nit as white white as the alumasc silicone stuff on the house. Its not a problem as they are not close together and the light is coming from a different direction but Polar White is not a very white white. You need to go and see some. If you are passing near Stratford on Avon area welcome to look at mine.