Jilly

Our new dishwasher has the tray thing and I love it, cutlery is properly separated and so gets a better individual clean imo, and you can pick up to put away by the handles easily. There's plenty of room for our big plates at the bottom and we have extra space because of the lack of basket. As a side benefit, there's no risk to children, pets etc from tripping and falling onto knives or forks, which are held very stiffly upright by the basket. Yes, that's a thing.

Think you are right, but shouldn't the 'freshly laid' cement be dry too? Waiting to hear what others think.

Update: It's nitrates in 4 properties and bacteria in one. Apparently the farmer wouldn't sell the borehole with the barn conversions, but now they need an upgrade of filter (cost approx £20K) he won't do it. It's a bit of a Mexican standoff as he is supplying them with undrinkable water (the under counter things don't comply and it tastes pants). They think he should pay as he wanted to keep the borehole...Just wondering where the families stand now?

I love this simple solar thermal kit that really doesn't look to shabby. Conventional ones are a silly price. https://www.solariskit.com/store

I'll ask. Thank you

It's nitrate run off from farmland as far as I know.

A friend of mine has one of 4 barn conversions which is supplied by a 30m (I'm not sure if it can be made deeper) bore hole which is supplying contaminated water. They are down a small road and were quoted £150K to get mains water, which is pretty out of the question. There is an existing low pressure mains supply to the main farmhouse, which go nearby (maybe another one too) so common sense says is possible to create a drinking water supply to the 5 kitchens whilst keeping the borehole for everything else. I can see these would be a complete pita to retro fit, but surely something is possible for a reasonable cost? Must mains supplies always go underground?

Ha ha maybe! But mirrors might give an optical illusion...

I might've missed something, but how about reflective foil or similar? Sun pipes and endoscopes work by internal reflection of glass (not the walk on type tho'...)

Maybe get another meter or two to compare? The reading on my dehumidifier started to be consistently about 20 points wrong a while back. It might need the filter changing...

Something doesn't quite make sense. Foul drainage is different than a SuDs (Sustainable Drainage System) surface drainage system for rainwater. Are you joining the main sewer for your foul water or having on site method of dealing with it, such as a septic tank? For SuDS you basically have to demonstrate that your site won't shed more water that a green field site would after storms, and this is done by capture of the rain water and storage and then attenuation, to slow it down as it is released into the environment . There are many methods, so it depends on your site and a lot of calculations. The rule of thumb soakaway size which Building Control are usually happy with doesn't apply here. There are companies who will do this for you and one company will do the calculations if you buy their attenuation crates. Look back at the posts on here.

Removing the pillar would spoil the symmetry and might draw attention to it. Will you have to support the remaining wall or is that what the pillar is doing? I think I might buy a small car...

You will understand much more when you actually do it. And there are 100's of things you don't know cos you don't know, sometimes until there's a stuff up and you think that doesn't look right... so you research and find out the 100 ways to skin the cat and then wish you'd done something different way back, but it's too late... You have to let some things go in the end, and remind yourself you only care because its your baby, a developer would hide/fudge/compromise/not have worried in the first place and carry on.

PS is Biofib better than sheeps wool? I used that as much as I could but hear the National Trust isn't using it any more due to moths.

Yes, one in each room with heat sensitive thermoplastic to set them off I believe, so shouldn't get accidental discharges like smoke alarms. I would have done it but for running out of money, but we have a bungalow so escape is not much of an issue. You can get metal fire escape ladders too. Beautiful staircase and windows BTW.

A sprinkler or firemist system off the best protection vs fire and have been proven to reduce the fire related death stats. Bit tricky to retrofit but doable if you are renovating.

It's a great idea. Delays can mean your rent becomes an unaccounted for significant cost. Someone will be along to tell you how to do it safely. My instinct is be outside the barn as although sheltered, fire escape might be a risk.

Will you regret not doing it?

Did you have to submit a plan of it for SUDs as a planning condition? Some people have found it a pain to do, for others it seems to be ignored. It would be worth checking BC are happy for you to do this instead of a soakaway? As it's a conversion things are a lot easier, as there likely was a soakaway dug at the time, they'll be assuming you'll use that (I think).

Make sure you do the UFH spacings to be ASHP ready, for when you eventually change to it

Doesn't everything lose its shine? 🤣

Unbeknown to her, my neighbour had such a gap and thought she was going mad hearing a dripping sound. Mould grew in the cupboards and it was eventually discovered that the thoughtful builders had put the toilet overflow in this little hidden gap...

Ha ha, I'm a bit arty farty, so actually love going shopping for aesthetic stuff after spend so much on hidden detail like insulation.

You can get cheap little endoscopes off Amazon which are great for inspecting things.

Ahh, I see!