jamiehamy

How much do you value your time at? And do you have time to spare? The stuff from BPC turns up and you can get started right away. As much as I like a saving I've got to balance it with the extra time which we don't have any to spare really. That said, I'll argue with Jewson over an extra £30 but that's out of principle rather than being tight per se.

That seems slightly light? Our 900x2400 (plus upstand dims) weighed 138kgs, although it's triple glazed. If double glazed should be right but still seems on the light side. Is it being build in situ?

Fair point - it's just all vested interests all over the place and when you delve into it - who is watching the watchmen? I think if the NHBC didn't have such a poor reputation and we hadn't seen to many recent issues with build quality this might not be getting discussed in parliament - if they carry on like this, they might just have opened a can of worms that can't be closed tho!

Something like this @Vijay? This was based on a template @JSHarrisshared previously - I've provided it to a couple of contractors although they weren't too interested but would keep them straight if needed hopefully. VAT Cert_Sample.odt

I've had a more full read now - I'm amazed how spot on and how informed the committee was and how on point the questioning was. I know a few people who bought brand new houses and had problems - and the common theme was that the NHBC was not worth anything - and this was brought out in the questioning - they provide an impartial evaluation but the only people they warrant are the people who pay a fee to be registered with them and use their name - in effect, it's a license to print their own money really! It matches with testimony on here and ebuild about the whole inspection regime and value of the warranty. It's quite amazing that home buyers have virtually no real, effective form of recourse for shoddy or dangerous workmanship. And that complaining to your Trading Standards is pointless as there is a conflict because they are run by the same people who run the Building Control department! Bonkers actually! I'll be interested to see the output from the committee.

Have started reading through this - really interesting reading, even for those in E&W. Quite topical to a lot we've discussed on this forum before in many guises. Would be interested in thoughts? http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/report.aspx?r=10927&i=99936

@VijayIf someone says they can guarantee a volume of concrete in 5 hours, they are lying! There are so so many variables involved that I simply can't see any guarantee being worth a hoot. Traffic, breakdown, delays at plant, sickness etc etc... Can I ask why the 5 hour time gap? Sounds like the pump crew are being honest and upfront.

If the pump company supply the concrete at the same time as they pump it in, then they are invoicing you for the service and materials - the VAT cannot later be claimed back. You can only claim for materials afterwards. The pump company, my spark and the groundwork contractor have all invoiced at zero including the materials. I'll need to have a dig but I looked into this in detail when we started to make sure we don't end up with the things we can't get the Vat back. I'll check again when I'm home. Btw the 'Helpline' - bloody useless.

So I phoned up for this yesterday only to be told it was discontinued - the story of our lives at the moment for many things! The 'main' retailer selling this told me to phone Siemens to find out if they were replacing it. I phoned another online retailer and he knew right away it was discontinued but told me to hang on the line - and got me the new version of it. WIth 3 free pans! Apparently it's being delivered via 'white glove' courier. Kitchen arrives tomorrow.

GRP was an option for us, but the chances of getting the right weather conditions for enough time to do 270m2 were slim to none! The last week and a half has been blazing sunshine every day and will doubtless change to howling gale next week with rain for a fortnight. EPDM gave us lots of flexibility and bar one area, we're happy with the result. Would be keen to try GRP one day tho.

I do agree - I've had some appalling Chinese stuff before but this is really nicely finished and feels like good quality - although I wonder how long the transformer things will last. Problem is by electrician won't warrant it and not happy fitting - and I quite agree with him. If we get a problem with units, will be ever get replacements easily? I've just found out an Elements double USB Glass socket from MK is... £72 Maybe I just go cheap Chinese! lol

Goodness knows what mine is! I'll check the others when I get home.

My friend says the Chinese claim it stands for Chinese Export. How wholesalers interpret it is their lookout!

Pic of box! Decision made - MK.

Pic of downlight...

My spark says he's not comfortable with some of them because although they have the markings, nothing on the unit or box tells you where it was made or by whom. The warranty offering is a bit worthless if you don't know who will fix it. I might be being paranoid but one thing I really don't want it semi expensive electrical good that fail after a year when I should just have bought the MK stuff. Tricky...

Hi all, I'm still looking at light switches, sockets etc. I've got a quote from Mk for glass effect hardware, all matching that is eye watering. I've also ordered various other similar products to try, a nameless one, Retro touch and Ilumos from Hartington Heath. The iLumos range is really nice, the switches and funky Led downlighters feel like good quality.. Except. For all, the packaging gives the game away that these are made in China. One states this on the box in fairness. But the spelling on the boxes and instructions is appalling, and the packaging is as l ways very generic and not brand specific in some cases which leads me to question whether the CE or Rohs stamp is valid. Is there an easy way to validate this? They are all being sold as compliant but the crappy packaging makes me wonder. Thanks, Jamie

Looking good sir!

I was thinking that about engineering costs. I've not decided on waterproofing yet - we will be backfilling with Gravel to let water drain down and out. Will either go for a bituthene membrane or some sort of paint on option - Alan has given me a contact for a product.

£10k for MHRV?! Are the ducts gold plated?

Hi all, As some will have seen, we've now had the area for the garage excavated. It's going to be pretty much underground, with a BnB roof+ topping, or Comflor on top ( to take the weight of a car) The spec for the slab is 150mm with mesh all round and rebar upstands round the perimeter at 200mm centres. The perimieter is 300mm deep with mesh and rebar to a width of 1500mm The walls are specced as ICF with a 250mm core, with mesh up the middle. Whilst I have budgetted for this, the excavations have revealed rock round all three sides of the garage - and I'm wondering if there is scope to reduce the wall core down or the amount of reinforcements required - or if we could use fibres instead. Putting mesh up the middle of the ICF whilst not difficult per se, is much more work that say running rebar vertically or horizontally. So - wondering what people's thoughts are on scope to reduce the wall spec? Is this worth speaking to my engineer about or will he stick to what we have - which was prepared before we knew the ground conditions around the garage? Thanks, Jamie

Couldn't feel a thing. You could hear it alright tho!

All done and ready for slab! Some amount of rock they've taken out.

I've lost count of the tipper loads now. Around 10 so far. Hopefully they'll be finished tomorrow.