ryder72

So moving in would be at the discretion of the site insurance provider? So it is illegal to occupy a building until a completion certificate has been issued?

Hi all We are very close to having the house finished and have booked movers for 1st February. Some elements of the house remain incomplete and will be finished by end of February and others such as hard landscaping, patios etc will be addressed in early spring. What are the implications of moving into a house without a completion certificate? Are insurers happy to insure houses that havent got completion certifcates? Does a typical insurance policy assume that the house has been built and certificated as suitable for habitation? What happens with council tax etc which currently stands suspended? We will have relatively minor jobs ongoing and my site insurance expires on 15th February. Is there a requirement to extend it? Thanks Amol

It has to be a device to heat water for running the heating system or for showering/washing consumption. An integrated (as long as it dispenses hot/cold water) boiling/chilled/sparkling water tap classifies as a tap and can be zero rated for VAT.

A Gutmann setup similar to the most popular Bora option will be similar money to Bora. Measured on a like for like basis, the Gutmann extractor should provide better performance. I like the build quality on the Gutmann and the fact that they are set in a single frame.

I have a bespoke version comprising of 2 * 2 zone induction hobs , 2 extractors and 1 induction wok zone all for recirculation. The most popular version is that 2 x 2 zone induction hobs and extractor. Unlike Bora they are set in a frame so easier to install and look like a single unit. The zone diameters only matter on circular zones and I dont think there is much lost if the zone isnt large enough. We havent started using the hob yet, but on a previous hob, a slightly under sized zone didnt make any difference. Once the base was up to temperature it worked normally. With most flex zone hobs, cold spots cannot be avoided unless you go to the top end ones where they use a honeycomb shaped inductor rather than a circular one. Gutmann is a more speciiaist product and they wont like to saturate the market so select their dealers very carefully.

@lizzie - Which version of Bora hob did you go for? Gutmann requivalent isnt much more than Bora.

What kitchens have you had quotes on?

AEG is hugely underrated for laundry. The fact that they share a lot of product with Zanussi, which is a mid-low brand is even more remarkable. Siemens refrigeration is ok but when compared to the build quality on Liebherr, it is clearly not as good. More importantly Liebherr isnt really much dearer than Siemens. Miele refrigeration is made by Liebherr with a huge markup for the label. Not worth the markup IMO. VZUG isnt cheap. Sits somewhere between Siemens and Miele. Fantastic value for money.

My comment was more in regard to the Siemens induction air hobs with built in extraction. A huge part of performance delivered by an induction hob is down to the quality of pans so this might be worth checking. I have found on Le Crueset, Ittala, and pans supplied by Siemens to be really good. And the final comment about all BSH products generally is that they are very much in the mainstream market so while good, they arent brilliant at anything. In my own house I have the following- Miele laundry and dishwashing. AEG used to be good, but not sure any more Liebherr refrigeration. Nothing comes close. Gutmann extraction with built in hob. Simply the best in the business, though Bora are good on their hob ventilation products. Not many products come close. Gutmann hobs - are made by a specialist manufacturer who also make them for Gutmann, VZUG, Miele etc. VZUG ovens - probably the best ones I have seen, thought I think Miele and BSH products are generally quite good.

Steer clear of the Beko's, White Knights, Hotpoints etc. Fire risk comes free with these products but the price to pay may be too high.

This would work with corian worktops generally as slab width isnt an issue. Becomes more of an issue with stone tops where slab widths can be restrictive and access harder. I dont really rate the Siemens hobs. They are trying to jump onto this popular trend but the product is nowhere as good as some of the others out there and sales I believe are struggling.

Ballerina have been in the UK market for about 7-8 years now. Heard of lots of supply issues - incomplete orders, damages etc.

We had some cosmetic damage to our windows caused by renderers. They got Magicman to sort out the issues and it was a good job well done.

Make one. Its not difficult. 6-10mm toughened glass. Alu profiles, seals, hinges, brackets are quite freely available.

We have had 2-3 gone in and he has complained of a smell. These are hardwood sleepers from the polish railways, I assume put in during communist times with a generous coating of whatever. I have checked prevailing regulation and nothing stops me from using them so I am going to go ahead with it. Looked into new sleepers - pine, chestnut and oak. All about the same price or more but the guy I got them of recommended the reclaimed sleepers for longevity.

Oh if it were up to me I would stick him in the trench with the type 1 and get on with it. He has been a real nuisance.

We need to built a retainer that runs along our neighbours property (boundary) at a height of about 2.5ft. We have chosen to use reclaimed hardwood railway sleepers at a quick and cost effective way to get the job done. Our neighbour who is a constant moaner is now asked if we can change these for untreated sleepers as he smells creosote and tar. As it happens there is no tar used on these but we couldnt smell either. Regardless, their use is perfectly legitimate. Any thoughts on dealing with this?

Geberit frames are worth every penny more than anything else on the market. The only other frames we have found acceptable are TECE but they are similarly priced.

Its a very basic product and not that cheap. You can get similar for less.

Ouch Jeremy. That sounds like a poor experience. This is how most British manufacturers and they are called component kitchens. They may either source carcases, doors, handles and fittings separately and assemble it themselves or source carcases with pre-fiitted fittings directly and just add fronts on them. SO when you said the carcase was German but the fittings and doors locally sourced, I am still confused by it. Across the industry france and poland are big suppliers of oak doors. Italians of the more contemporary slab doors and Ireland of the more budget end of slab doors. Carcase material is domination by Egger and Kronospan with local plants. Fittings are Austro-German. So the British kitchen is only British manufatured/assembled in Britain of imported components.

Probably same french door supplier. Lot of the stuff that gets sold as the old world english traditional kitchen is about as english as the pope is protestant.

Sorry lizzie. Nobilia is still privately owned. Siematic were struggling to stay afloat financially leave aside buy the worlds largest kitchen producer turning over over a billion euros a year.

Must admit you have got me very intrigued indeed. Let me know if you come across anything in the future. The internal fitting/handles business is dominated by Austro-German companies (Blum/Hettich/Grass/Kessebohmer/Wesco/Hailo) with the odd Italian one (Salice) thrown in and they all have to operate with certain certification standards to get on the supplier lists.

Where did you buy just German carcases. As far as I know none of the German manufacturers sell just units. Their system is based on supply of fully built units incl doors, handles, plinths etc.

There has been an overcapacity problem in the German furniture market for some years now and this is all a fallout of that overcapacity. The smaller manufacturers have little hope of seeing it through unless they get bought out by the larger ones (generally unlikely to happens as they are economically unviable or with out of date plants) or get some serious cash injections. The larger more successful brands are thriving and are struggling to build up enough production capacity while the smaller weaker brands are unable to break even. Siematic is a very strong brand. They came out with the first ever handleless kitchen and have a strong following in some export markets. Whether they will survive with a bit of cash injection remains to be see. Alno for all its size is almost certainly going to the wall. No one wants to touch its facilities so the brand may survive in some form but the factories will almost certainly go. I would still say that German kitchens for the most part are much better than their English made counterparts. What the Germans cant do is the English country kitchen or even a shaker. They don't understand that concept and a number of English manufacturers thrive in that space. But when it comes to modern/contemporary end of the scale, the quality just doesn't cut it I am afraid.