jack

I read it as three months from when it's plastered (or maybe even some time after that - ie, from when they re-assess and then "see fit" to start the three month period). This fits in with the three month deemed completion notice protocol.

So what the hell was that jobsworth you've been talking to on about? She needs a kick up the arse. Good news for you though. Take your time doing the plastering by the sound of it!

Plenty of other stuff isn't perfect (what is, really), but we genuinely don't get upset with each other about stuff like this, and we don't hold grudges.

One too many zeros, sorry. Should be 03000 501501 I just got it from their website.

Oh, and two weeks ago, my wife tapped the front on our warming drawer with a ceramic serving dish and it smashed into a gazillion pieces. I didn't get upset then, so perhaps she thought it reasonable not to lose her rag with me now!

I wondered whether that might be possible, but didn't hold out any hope. I'll look into it tomorrow. Thanks! When my wife saw how annoyed I was with myself for doing it, she didn't add anything. I get most of my sledging when I haven't actually done anything wrong!

Well, thankfully it was me that did this rather than my wife. I stupidly grabbed a cast iron lid to temporarily cover some spaghetti in a colander sitting in a pan keeping warm. I even more stupidly tried to pick up the pan, and of course the cast iron lid fell off. It landed on the edge of the induction hub, and smashed a small section about an inch long a bit less deep. The affected portion is smashed, so I can't just stick it back in. Thoughts/suggestions for repair? Is this something the Magic Man people can repair?

I know @JSHarris had issues with noise transference when he used (from memory) short/tight flexis with his installation.

Crazy stuff. Why would anyone in her position get emotional about something so run of the mill?

@nod, when you contacted the VOA before, did you contact the officer who took your house off the register, or the general enquiries line? If you contacted the officer, it may be that they feel they can't advise because they're too close to the situation, or maybe it isn't really their area of expertise. In that case, it might be worth a call to the general enquiries line to explain your situation and get some advice. The number is 030000 501501. I think what you're really after is a summary of what power the council has to put you on the register when you've just had the VOA take you off. Good luck.

Before they get there, I think you need something to confirm whether the council has the power to add to the council tax register a property that the VOA took off the register only two weeks ago. The general consensus here seems to be that they can't, but it would be really useful for you to be able to point at the specific law that says so.

It'd be funny if it weren't such poor behaviour. Have you asked the VOA for confirmation that the council doesn't have the right to charge you CT now that you aren't on the register? If they agree, I'd be moving on to making a formal complaint with your council. Harassing you to pay charges they have no authority to levy is borderline fraud.

Absolutely. For some reason, we think that there's some status associated with sitting in an office rather than going out and actually doing/building/making something. My kids are pretty bright, but even while they're young we're drumming into them the idea that university isn't a given. If what they want to do needs it, we'll be with them the whole way. If something more vocational or entrepreneurial suits them, that's what we'll be supporting and encouraging.

I'm not aware of any way of doing this. I suppose you could set up a second temporary account just for reading the forum. That would have all posts unread. I'd discourage you from posting from two accounts though.

Exactly. There is no reason for this person to even be giving her thoughts on the rules, because she isn't the one with the right to apply them, and the people who do apply them have already made their decision. I'd put her on speaker next time she calls and tell her you're tired of being lied to and are recording the conversation so that you have evidence to support the formal complaint you'll be making if they don't stop harassing you.

Good. She has a job that presumably requires her to know the basics of the relevant laws and procedures. If she can't be bothered to learn those she should be sacked.

Nothing can happen unless they put their position in writing. Until then, it's just some idiot trying to take advantage of you on the phone. Personally I'd wait until she sends the promised email. If she doesn't, that's the end of it. If she does, then you have something specific to respond to. If you feel like you need to do something, Ferdinand has the right idea.

Stupid and irrelevant analogy. Her house is a dwelling and presumably she's living and and using the extension. Your house is not a dwelling and literally cannot be lived in. That's pretty funny. Isn't the valuation office literally the only body with the right to remove it? One possible way of proceeding: Make sure you've cancelled any direct debits you might have had in relation to council tax. Get them to put their position in writing. Pretty sure someone calling from the council isn't sufficient - insist that they put their legal position in writing, because as far as we can tell, it's bollocks. Since they can't take money from you, they'll have to start legal proceedings. They aren't going to do that without being sure of their legal position. Maybe contact the officer at the VOA and see whether they have any advice? What's your local paper like? They often like a human interest story like this.

Bloody jobsworths. How can they charge you council tax on an unbanded property? Did you tell them that the Valuation Office has recently removed your property from the council tax valuation list and that you have a letter proving this?

Welcome to the forum. Structural engineering seems to many to be a dark art, even down to the remarkable variations in prices that people are quoted for the same job! Looking forward to your contributions (which I see you've already made a start on).

They don't. Most are designed solely to work with showers.

At least one of the sellers of these units suggests that they're the cheapest way of getting some extra EPC points.

That said, the shower water in the drain is at ambient pressure, while the water in the incoming cold water pipework is at 3 bar. I'd like to see faecal coliforms swim against a leak outputting water under 3 bar pressure!

We feed the drains of two showers into our system. Our family situation means that we frequently have two showers in a row in the same shower. I think this tends to maximise the efficiency of the system. We have a 250L UVC that's heated by an ASHP to 55 degrees (we also used to boost the top quarter of the tank with an immersion heater but in the end stopped doing that). We've never run out of hot water, even when four of us have showered in quick succession My thinking was that in a low energy house, DHW becomes a dominant user of energy. Showers are the most significant user of hot water, so it makes sense to reduce that if you can. Even if the maths didn't show a quick payback, I still think that a decent reduction in energy usage is a nice-to-have. As for complexity, there was a little bit of extra plumbing, but other than that it's pretty much set and forget. I suppose I should check whether it needs cleaning internally every now and again, but I haven't managed to get around to it yet.

Actually, I think he'll need to start again well before he's finished!