MikeSharp01

If you get a neighbor, or other dog walker, to help you might be able to, sort of, roll it up and that will make it easier to handle. Long handle bolt cutters are the best thing, and safest if you cannot get it taken away via the ad.

technically they were breaking the law if they claimed they were architects as the word 'Architect'(s) is a professionally reserved word and you cannot call yourself one unless you are registered with an appropriate professional body.

You will need a demolition order before you start, its paperwork from the council and is designed to make sure you are staying within the rules, you can imaging a self builder tackling a twenty story tower block armed only with the education gained from watching some footage from the Fred Dibnah archive. BEWARE though that we applied for a demolition order and in our councils (Canterbury) workflow this triggers a commencement of the build which then led them to put a stop order on us as we had not discharged one of the planning conditions, we had a bit of time sorting it all out. You can get around this by either discharging the planning condition(s) or just telling them not to trigger a commencement as the demolition work you are doing is just site preparation and not the main build.

I may have confused DPM with DPC where the DPM is below the slap concrete while the DPC is below the sole plate or up a few bricks. Diagram might help as the DPM must go up and somewhat over the EPS upstand so on the inside of the upstand the pipes would go through the DPM in our design.

15 M. The guys at Trac pipe worked out the size needed for me given the boiler, vaillent Eco tec 35 working flat out, with 2 x 90 degree bends and a 15m run so as to keep the pressure drop within reasonable bounds. I will put the trac pipe into the duct before I Bury the duct so I don't have to pull / push it through and that way I xan check I can move it backwards and forwards as the duct gets covered in pea shingle and then type 1.

I looked at that but it specifically says: "Safe to use with most cable types except low-density polyethylene ..." I don't know if the trac pipe sleeving is 'low density' polyethylene (polyethlene it is) but given it is soft it might well be so I had sort of knocked yellow 77 out of my list of possibles. That looks like it might be a goer. I will get some, thanks Nick.

We are installing trac pipe from our utilities centre along a duct and into the house. The TRAC pipe will be in a flexible ducting and will be put in the ducting before it is laid. As part of the process we need to pull the pipe back about 300mm down into the duct, which will then be capped off to allow the slab to be power floated over the duct top seals. We will then need to push it back out again. To make this easier, its is 28mm diameter in a 63mm duct, I / we (includes the gas safe guy I have overseeing the install) want to lubricate the the duct / pipe surfaces and was / were wondering what might be the best lubricant to use that won't harden or evaporate over the couple of days while the slab cures and won't attack the Polyethylene Jacket of the pipe or the lining of the duct over time. I have found a 3M product that looks like it will do it but I wonder if there is any better solution. In reading round the problem I did find that washing up liquid is depreciated in this role as it drys and a can attack some polymers over time (which I find hard to believe as it is so kind to your hands!) Any thoughts anyone?

MIxed advice then, I think I will go with the wrapping idea as the slab designer seems to think its not a bad idea and we will see how we get on. The base of the drain slopes so the general flow will be down hill to the ditch and with lick it will get into the pipe somehow, I believe capillary action should do something as for clay it goes on on an on climbing.

Hi Jack. Did you have to go through the DPM. I have looked at ducting it / using duo insulated duct but have concluded its a non starter as the turns would be difficult if I come in through the slab former side then through the DPC and along in the EPS layer then up I think it should work.

If you have the email confirming 2 sliders and 1 fixed then you look to be on solid ground, did you pay by credit card, if so you can gt your money back that way if they refuse to play ball. Personally, provided you can get bifolds that meet the regs - they are an air tightness nightmare, and your requirements they are probably the best way to go even at a little higher cost a few extra pounds now will be worth it to roll away the whole window when you want to connect the inside with the outside.

Everywhere more like and I am sure there are loads of circular references in there and mostly they are impenetrable, not written in lay persons language as they expect the reader to be an expert in the subject. I am a little lucky in that the University subscribes to some, not many in construction, but I can pop along to the British Library and access them for the cost of a zone 6 travel card. (£11 off peak) Some councils have them in their libraries, I found this: https://www.bsigroup.com/en-GB/about-bsi/uk-national-standards-body/Library-Access-to-Standards/ and https://www.jisc-collections.ac.uk/The-Digital-Library/ which gives some access by the looks of it.

Tomorrow I will be installing the land drain round our slab base and was wondering if I need to wrap the perforated land drain pipe (solid 110mm pipe with a seam of drilled holes) with geotextile or not? The slab design does not call for it but given we are on clay it may stop the silt from getting into the pipe but will it clog up the holes. I will bed the pipe in pea shingle but again this is not called for in the slab design as the whole thing is encased in type 1. Any thoughts anyone?

Just to be clear are you talking about digging 25 years ago and imagining her while digging or digging today and imagining her as she was 25 years ago. Either way the holding it bit is way out of order and the imagining bit is probably exploitation although the general populace was not as clear on that 25 years ago as they are today.

Yes. Given above advice I will run the problem past the BC chap and prepare to use type 1.

You split the anti freeze, a case or two of half decent Chablis will do or perhaps a few bottles of 24 year old malt, into two collections and then offer one each to the local plumber & electrician as barter for them to do the job.

I have been digging out the main slab foundations area for our passive slab and have found that the trench carrying services to the garden room at the back of the site, running under the slab from the utilities hub to the garden room about 600mm below slab base is very boggy. When I back filled it it was wacked down but still the digger tracks are sinking in if I track along it. I can only think that as it was a trench in heavy clay that the wacking has not been able to replicate 350 million years of compression and it has absorbed loads of the water we had in the early part of the year. It is only about 450mm wide and I made sure that it is not anywhere near under the main structural points on the slab. Should I just pile more earth (clay in our case) on top and keep wacking, dig out and fill with type 1 and whack that or given that it will have 150mm of type one above it whacked down anyway to support the slab former just leave it alone. Any thoughts anyone?

Such progress - must work harder down here, still I suppose we are known up there as 'those soft southern coves'.

Hi @ProDave did you finally decide one way or another.

Yes we had the same with the LPG chaps when we did the rebuild at Millstone manor. We laid the pipe from the proposed tank position to the house entry point. They did the rest but as there is no meter I guess things are different. Anyway have started gathering names of local worthy plumbers from neighbours.

Brewers are usually keen on price. We paid about that for our exterior RAL colour from DULUX weathershield range.

Ok so I need a GSR person next week to get things moving. How deep will they expect @Nickfromwales ? Will be about 500 below soil level and 600 below slab.

There have been discussions about this before that seem pretty definitive but I thought I would clarify. I am ready to lay the gas duct from the external meter box under the soon to be laid slab and to bring it up in the plant room. Will be Yellow duct and I will try and keep the bends as smooth as I can. I can put the Trac Pipe in the duct ready. (The end near the meter box will be vented once the main install is complete). The connection to the meter will happen with the main install as I need to slide the trac pipe down the duct below finished floor level, pull it back 300mm, as the whole slab is being polished and the gas duct, along with all the other ducts, will finish in a sealed sunken pocket that will be opened once the concrete is set. My question is this. Do I need a gas safe engineer to witness any of this if the trac pipe is essentially free in the duct, so it could be withdrawn and pressure tested if needs be? AND If I do need one to check the ground works and pipe install what form of words do I need to get from them to ensure that the person who gets the install of the gas system will accept the witnessing if, for some reason, it cannot be the same person? Finally I wonder if @PeterStarck , @oranjeboom or any other East Kent dwellers can recommend a gas safe engineer (The main boiler will be a Vaillant) .

Just taking a quick look round it does come out at about 60% of other sources. I am also in the market for a 300m coil but had not started my search, now ones eyes are open in a big way!

Seems harsh to burn members at the stake to warm your home just because they have used a couple of suppliers.

Sorry, did not mean to hijack this thread with emoji issues - so its just him?