ToughButterCup

I started off bright-eyed and bushy-tailed about rainwater harvesting.Tiggerish you might say. Now, I just want to put the necessary internal piping in, blank it off, and wait until after the main build has finished. If I then suffer a @Stones - type urge to do some more , I can finish it off. We intend to encourage more GCN activity, so it'll be brilliant to be able to keep a gravity-fed reed bed / pond topped up from a rainwater harvesting tank. They are already stirring. Two dead on the road outside this morning. SWMBO and others are already asking me what I'm going to do with myself after the build. There's a watershed moment if ever I saw one.

GD on the telly an BH on the laptop; shout at the telly (well, Kevin), sneer privately at the participants ("Oh that extra £100K arrived quite unexpecredly"), snigger at @Onoff , suck your teeth at the hasty internet searches, plan tomorrows cock-up in waiting, spill your beer on the cat. Nowt better of an evenin'

Just like us.... until it came to emptying the crud that had accumulated in the garage the rest of the year. Can of de-icer costs nowt. It started with the kids insistence that we keep their A Level notes, favourite dolls, smelly fishing gear ..... toe-rags. The mere memory annoys me....

You are most welcome. Tell me about the tool storage (phhhhh) : it's a real issue. I hate constantly moving mine because I can't make the / haven't got the space to put them somewhere and leave them there. I have a shipping container ear-marked for tool storage later, but it won't be long before the LPA bends my ear about it.

I worked through this problem a while ago when, luckily, @JSHarris was writing about the issue. For 146 sq m (our house area) I drew the conclusion that it wasn't worth it. The discussion is on this board - somewhere - not sure where, though - so long ago that I read it that I can't remember which thread. But I do know what you mean about liking the idea of GSHP. There's something elemental about it: something deeply connected.

No, but only because I haven't thought about that - or even knew that you could do that. To be clear, under the joists, tack a 25mm batten (like a roofing batten) to act as a service cavity. Then attach the 80mm. Insulation to those battens, yes? That's got me thinking now..... interesting.

Who's a clever boy then? I am..... Thanks about the tip to use the laser . I might have worked that out after I'd got it disastrously wrong......

Interesting..... yes @Declan52, the difference is that you know what you are doing , and I - well, dont. Did you not tape the little gaps between the sheets of insulation?

Thanks @Mr Punter I'm using 80mm of insulation under the rafters. So, it's drywall screws and penny washers (and alu tape) I need then?

Because I did not know that insulated plasterboard exists. The inexperienced self builder strikes again

I have already put 200mm of insulation between my rafters, and now I need to fix 80mm of Celotex under those rafters. Since I should be able to do that by attaching the insulation to the bottom of the rafters, I am guessing that I don't need to use thermally broken fixings. But I have been known to be wrong before - strangely. So I just thought I'd check. Anyone got a suggestion as to which fixings I should use for 80mm Celotex?

First, a warm welcome. You have a brilliant little project , and if the photo is to be believed, a demanding dog too. So, that makes two clubs of which we are both members. Joined the small budget club too eh? And if your labour really is free, pop up to J33 on the M6 and I'll be happy to reinforce your delusion. I'll pay yer mileage. Exterior walls - I don't really have a technical answer, but I would start by looking at what others in your area have done / are doing. Like I say M6, junction 33, 0900 sharp tomorrow morning.

Blimey! that was quick. Thanks Ian

I came across this video showing an inelegant 'flexarm' reading light. It incorporates a USB charging slot. In other words perfect for SWMBO. But I'm finding it difficult to trace a version of this idea that's available in the UK. Does anyone know of a reading light that incorporates a USB charging slot thats available here.

Right oh! I get the picture... channels at the back of skirting boards are for mice. ?

Look at your cost-to-completion spreadsheet. Put both numbers in. Decide whether the cost difference makes any material (sorry) difference.

OK, time for the story of one of the few times in my life when I came close, very close to wetting myself with laughter. Please bear in mind that I am German. Walking down the High Street in Skipton with a mate of mine : he has a razor sharp wit And what do we see, but a group of similarly clad people (as those in the image above) , of whom two were in Nazi regalia. The following exchange took place... Hiya Lads ... what's 't crack then? Vee are Officers of Ze Tcherman Army. Aye , ah can see that : 'ow's it goin' like ? Vee Tcherman Officers are taking our job seriously, vee do not smile, vee have no sense of humour Eeee, 'appen tha's just had yer gas bill then ? I nearly died.

Hmmm, pleased my Caution Circuit is working....?

Somebody recently wrote about MDF skirting and linked to this (or a similar) page. The image shows a skirting run with a wiring channel cut into the back of the board. Great idea, I thought! Then my caution circuit clicked over to 'On' . It's such a neat idea, there must be something wrong with it. Is there?

With me, it's a good idea to check. Thanks. Our lad needed the trailer....... tough luck

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Not allowed a garage (Planning) . But I could duct the heater airflow from the digger cabin heater.......... now there's a thought.

Digger and toothed bucket: no go Crowbar and anger: no go Pickaxe : no go ' ... Mortar and pestle... ' southern softies....... ya gotta love 'em

The best I can up with is to cover the sand with a dark colour membrane, perhaps a bin liner, and hope the sun will heat the sand up a bit. Same principle as a a solar shower... Well she would get the hump if you heat up one tonne at a time, poor lass.