Russdl

@ProDave yep, simple repair. I was concerned that there was something more significant going on here but if as @dpmiller says this is not unusual then I’ll change it. Makes me nervous though, that got hot and I’ve not seen that in a long time, guess I ought to do as advised and take a peek inside plugs every now and again!

The old dishwasher has given up the ghost. No power. RCB are all on so I checked the fuse and was mildly shocked to see how hot it had obviously got prior to failing. I didn’t think this sort of thing could happen. Any ideas what went wrong? It’s the original plug and fuse as fitted to the dishwasher at point of sale.

@ProDave I checked the handbook before the epic trip, but was unable to find a set of scales to weigh the staircase. It wasn’t massively heavy so I took a punt, seemed to go ok. I also checked the overhanging regulations, not exceeding 1m, no problem. As I opted to put the stairs centrally on the roof bars (crazy, I know) the overhang was around 0.5m.

To transport I guess you mean? We transported a full staircase many miles on roof bars on our diminutive Yeti* without a hitch. (That’s a car not a snowman thingy) Just to add, the roof bars were generic £30 or so, the staircase was free from a fellow (ex)Buildhubber, and the petrol was probably £12 or so.

I think I’d make the shelf, place it in position with some packers underneath, 3mm or so, put a stop bead in flush with the top of the shelf. Remove the shelf, get the plastering/painting done and then put gobs of glue down and refit the shelf.

I was well aware of that, but hadn’t considered that incredibly practical application of the safe zone. Bugger Such is life! If I do this again that will be the first cable that goes in, all around every wall.

What a great idea. Now we’re almost finished we’re spotting places where a socket would have been handy but can’t now be easily retrofitted. How I wish we had incorporated that simple solution. Ho-hum. Would do again: Timber frame Passive standard External blinds Sunamp Willis heaters for UFH Fixed staircase to open loft storage area (it may morph into a music room/gym after sign off). Wouldn’t do again: Use travelling trades (unless they came VERY VERY highly recommended from several sources). Use RAL 7016, not dark enough for our tastes. That’s a bit of a short ‘wouldn’t do again’. It’s early days, I’m sure I’ll be able to add to it later.

We’ve been using Brewers, their Albany stuff. Been told it’s hard wearing and washable. Early evidence is that it is. We’ve gone white pretty much everywhere, they match any colour so we’ve got some off whiteish walls that are fake F&B (I have to say we are delighted with the results, the white walls appear to subtly change colour throughout the day). My son/labourer is a bit like Pig Pen from Peanuts, crap and crud just sort of flies off him and covers every surface, so far all the whites/off whites have cleaned up a treat.

The supplier got back in touch. Regarding the overflow going directly outside he says that it doesn’t have to, highlighting examples of installations in flats and other locations where any route to an outside wall was not a possibility (makes sense). He suggested a standard U bend would more than suffice as the regeneration would keep that suitably ‘wet’. He made no mention of the any air gap and as my mind was on other things when he called, I forgot to ask! He says that the regen can go uphill, by a couple of stories if necessary, but the overflow obviously has to go down hill. (It’s downhill all the way for me) So, my plan now is that I’m going to go with something like a washing machine trap as suggested by @Temp for the regen and wedged in alongside a bit of clear tube with the overflow going into the top of that so I can see/hear if it’s overflowing. (Hopefully it will look a bit better than that Heath Robinson description when I’ve finished). Standing by for any contrary advice.

@PeterW I think I vaguely recall it’s so that you can clearly see when it’s overflowing, we could achieve that in the plan room with one of those see through tundish/trap combinations. Hopefully I’ll hear back from the supplier tomorrow and update with any news - hopefully good news.

@Temp thanks for the suggestion. I’ll wait and see what the supplier has to say.

@PeterStarck thanks for that. When @PeterW mentioned the overflow going direct to outside that fired up a vague memory from before taking receipt of the water softener and being told the overflow would have to go direct to the outside, I was dead against the idea and checked with the supplier who said it wasn’t necessary. Im just waiting to hear back from him to see if your kind of set up is what he would advise.

Now I realise that it is so wrong I’ll get hold of the supplier who was going to install it and have a chat with him. regarding the overflow pipe having to go external I do recall asking the supplier about that and it doesn’t have to, but I think that is where one of the tundishes that @andy linked to comes into play. I’ll update when I have some clarity.

M3 Minimax. A Harvey clone as I understand.

Yep, did that and drew a blank but my Googling skills have been found wanting in the past. It would appear not, but also not difficult to install in a non compliant fashion. I’ll endeavour to find all the rules and redo it myself. @andy the tundish solution sounds like it will be the easiest for me to go with, I’ll see what I can find out regs wise.

@andy thanks for those links, most useful. I think I’ll have to undo what has been put here and start again with this new found knowledge. If that’s what I think it is, there is no ‘F’in installation manual. The water softener supplier was going to install the softener but the plumber on site said he would install it. So the supplier left the building, along with his installation knowledge.

Yep it’s going into that SVP behind it. The pipe coming through the wall is from the kitchen sink (that has a U bend before coming through the wall). I thought of squirty foam but hadn’t cleared it in my head how I would stop the foam dripping down the pipe and blocking the 90 degree bend at the bottom. Will one of those Hep type traps, fitted vertically work?

It’s a bit pongy on occasions in our plant room. After a quick sniff around it would seem to be that the waste in the image below is the source but how do I seal that up? Is there a grommet thingy or do I need a HepVo type trap? The two pipes going in are from the water softener.

I think I’m going to steal that and use it as my own. We do get asked the ‘when will it be finished’ question almost daily.

Would that procedure work for a system that is already in operation? Ours has been up and running for a few weeks and I want to add some inhibitor to it. Can I just follow the above procedure or will there be more to it as we have a full, bled system at the moment?

@epsilonGreedy I've read through the unfortunate stories in the old thread. I shall endeavour to prevent the machine moving by hook or by crook. Or by both.

We are looking to do the same thing. The boss spotted these Alba Interiors I'm more inclined to go down the 'bodge it up myself' root and the link that you posted @Adam E has what can only be described as a video tutorial of how to do it ?

@PeterW I do have a hot glue gun. Should I use that in preference to the CT1?

The LED strip is in but if I put the chunky heat shrink stuff over the soldered joint the LED strip will no longer fit in the channel. My electrician wants the joint protected. Can I just surround it in clear CT1?

@Onoff it’s been unfinished for a good long time for reasons best not gone into here. It is now much closer to finished, water softener in, accumulator in, still have one dead Wilis heater but the system works fine on the one serviceable Wilis. Plumber No1 didn’t often show up, months between visits and we couldn’t put up with it any longer. Plumber No2 couldn’t fit me in. Plumber No3 could and he has got everything up and running. No’s 2 & 3 had opinions which they expressed and I repeated them here. The electrician who did most of the first fix but then stopped working for plumber No1 was back as part of his solar PV day job and he diagnosed the knackered Wilis heater. And expressed an opinion. Things are moving forward nicely now after many months in the Doldrums. @PeterW Thanks for your comments earlier, taken on board.