FuerteStu

Undoubtedly. But accountability is something we should be fighting for. Right to repair it's one thing, right to functionality should be in there too. Perhaps a legal precedent case, the public vs Google. Something sold as smart should remain so for the lifetime of the product (20 years seems reasonable)

Nothing will change as long as people keep spending money and nobody complains. Time to start drafting letters to MPs

Whilst I understand that companies projects must eventually be discontinued, if you buy a smart thermostat you don't expect it to be bricked by a company that can afford server space to keep it running. Smart devices should be backed up with a service guarantee for at least 20 years. It should be written into consumer rights.

Magnetise some iron fillings and dust the wall with them? That will find your screws quickly

20240612_192919_1.mp4

Just a thought, but for the same amount of effort, you can strip the grain out of the wood rather than sanding it. Given that it's already rough timber with damages, you'll hide and imperfections rather than highlight them. 20240611_180109_2.mp4

I trust the beam more than that hook. (not a structural engineer) At worst there will be 20kg hanging from that, and the beam can take it, that hook maybe not. How fancy does it need to look? I'd trust a plate fixing with a ring in it. 4 screws are better than one.

I love in a very hard water area. It's cheaper to use salt rather than two tablets per wash. Without that the glasses go cloudy

The only decent WiFi feature of ours is the notification that the rinse aid and salt is running low. And being able to check how long they're is left on the wash from the sofa.

"are we being sold the wrong things" - yes. The clue is, that you're being 'sold' them. I buy the things I need after doing my own research and asking people who have the products. I don't ever allow a salesperson to give me anything more than the spec.

I ran twin cat6 cables to all TV points, to areas where I might have a PC/console, external corners for cameras, to the boiler cupboard and several strategic places for a mesh network (like under the stairs and on top of kitchen cupboards) All of these route back to a switch in services cupboard. I've terminated in all sockets myself, and only the rj45 ends when in use. Only thing I would do differently would be an additional twin cables by the front door that could be for alarm keypad to be hardwired. And possibly one external out the front if needed at a later date. TVs have data hardwired and no aerial. I don't regret this at all. I do regret getting a cheap Chinese Mesh, but they are on the list of easy upgrade if I ever get fed up with having to reboot once a month because the scheduled restart seems to lose connectivity with some devices.

String with a couple of knots in the end, hoover, switching it on and off. Use gravity and the wave effect of increasing and decreasing pressure.. Usually works. Replace the string with thicker after you've made it through.

The more I read about specific TMS, the more I see it as future treatments for all kinds of disorders and mental health situations.. It actually works.

I've recently finished my kitchen and did something I've had lots of comments about.. I didn't have any sockets, spurs or Isolators in the splashback. Instead, they are all tucked away under the cabinets in bench trunking. It allows for future adaptations without redecorating (there are conduit drops from inside to below countertop) I was planning a trim along the bottom so it wasn't even in eyeline, but it barely notices as it is. Makes cleaning so much easier

The box will be fixed at the back. Cutting out the back will likely make a real mess with a multi tool, as with nothing fixing the box, it will shake free of the plaster and fall to pieces

Actually that isn't the post that discussed dot and dab fail.. Memory fail..

Dot and dab plasterboard should have a continuous line of adhesive at the top and bottom of the board, and around any sockets and windows. There are posts about this on site and discussions about rectifying it.

I think you have two problems here. A large room with a floor like a sponge for absorbing the heat. Once up to temp it might not feel like it drops too much, but it's going to take a while to get up to temp, not having underfloor heating in it. That seems to be the preferred method to most. The detailing around your insulation at the joints seems poor (see picture). Foaming up the gaps like this would have made quite a difference. I'm guessing the cold spots are from gaps like this, From there it will travel down the walls behind the plasterboard, and put through the sockets.

That's a lot of glass.. That's my gut feeling. What's the detailing around them and their spec?

Won't be able to make it this time.. But I'll raise a glass from home. Have a great night folks

Can't see very clearly, but every quooker tap I've seen recently has had a badly designed and usually incorrectly installed pressure release drain and hose. It's supposed to be set 4" higher than the trap it feeds into, but under a sink that's not usually easy. I've seen them leaking bad air, full up with black mold and all sorts. Can you see what the setup is on yours?

If that's a Quooker tap unit on the left, have you got a picture of the pressure release and drain setup? I've seen those badly configured and leaking air from behind the trap

Personally, I've avoided inbuilt usb sockets since having them a few years ago. Most make a either a high pitch noise or a buzzing that gets worse over time (some older folks might not be able to hear it, but I can). Over time, usb charging has changed, and older sockets charge new devices very slowly. This will carry on I believe.. They'll be obsolete or unusable within 5 years I just put in location based additional sockets, strategical ones that make sense for devices (behind coffee tables in the living room, kitchen counter, bedside table etc). And use a good quality charger with lead.

Do you have pictures of the roof? It still might be possible. Pictures from the outside?

That's quite a substantial amount of airflow.. I was thinking it might not be the airflow around the plasterboard, but if you had your sockets fed with conduit that opened out into the loft. I've seen that being an issue before. In that case there's wasn't a whole lot to do because there was almost no access to the eaves, but we used the foam earplugs around the cables in the conduit entry, and a different brand of socket face plates were more airtight than the screwfix budget brand that was fitted.