ToughButterCup

and and and and '...Tiredness and stress of the build is increasingly affecting concentration and logical thought...' and then '...I'd snap my right arm off to be able to build my own home, so chin up mate. ...' He's right. Most people , offered the chance, would give up a lot to be able to do what we are. Knowing that doesn't make it less stressful though does it?

Oooooooooofffffff

I may not get around to that, ....if you know what I mean

Oh, the delicious irony. Just bought one and found I didn't need it. But I do now.

Mate I just do as I'm told. At the moment if you suggested I go for a bucket of foam from Screweys I dutifully go and order one. And as for you @Construction Channel, with any luck Faye will fly your drone into the middle of the Wash and land it there, carefully. And not tell you.

Book on order. or Daddy or chips? Chips or Daddy? Hmm, I wonder..... Photos later today

Good mates (on BH and elsewhere) are your friend(s) You lot have no idea how much I rely on you

Got mine today... Scanned it briefly. Looks like one of those cases where a tiny bit of knowledge might be quite dangerous, so I'll continue to double check before I grope around any more in circuits. Next little challenge..... Now I need to fill the trench I dug in the wall. There seems to me to be potential for dampish stuff to trickle into the back of the switch. Not good. How do I stop that?

Well nothing much happened. no bang no smoke no sparks. Dunno what all the fuss is about

It works. She's pleased. Hence Mood-O-Meter reading. Sunday well spent. Thanks boys. Ian

Bob-on John. Yes, it does interest me. Today is the first time I have ever taken a switch out and poked around in it's gubbins. Bit frightening, but how hard can it be? (to cite @Construction Channel) This whole wiring lark reminds me of delving into someone else's JavaScript and CSS mess. It seems to be analogous to mixing coding conventions (in sparky lingo: brown and red meaning the same thing), and then having to delve into the mind behind a lazy bit of coding (wiring) which works -probably by accident rather than design . OSG? Operational safety Group? Strapper? It's a bit of wire? Wago? A connector? Intermediate? The wire that crosses across the back of my switch (in this case the red one)? I could really get in to this. I enjoyed it.

Did this before snipping so all I need to do is copy it. 3 and E : off to get a bit from a Shed. I'll try hauling on the end of the bit of wire that I have exposed , if not cut back a good deal more. Thanks for the support, both of you Ian

Rivalling @Onoff's capacity for procrastination, I'm getting round to mending this today... This is what I found Nice one, Ian. Hmmm, stripping it out further, I got to this... Taking it one step further...... Now, remember, I will never know as much as some of you hAve already forgotten about electricity..... But 4 wires? 4 Wires? Whassat about then? In a sense it doesn't matter because all I need to do is crimp a new wire (sleeved) to each end and then poke them into the switch box, connect up and switch on . Innit?

@Russell griffiths, all you need to know about how I identify with you is written - scorched- into this post of mine

Nahhh, It was Rollo , no less!

Well since you pointed it out. let me tell you the story, I had to take out a foot or so of topsoil, then put in 64 piles, bring in 400 tonnes of MoT1 for the piling mat , then there was the cage to put in, the wiring team had to come from Ghana, were all drunkards, so I sacked them : the NHBC got involved, but they were useless, so I asked a self builder. He did it on his own for half the price quoted by Wimpeys. Lovely bloke

Hello, welcome from all of us. It'll be very interesting to hear from you about the differences between self-building now and then, especially in relation to the differences in technology. We look forward to hearing from you Ian

You forgot the keyhole(s), mate. And, as for the cat flap, the cat flap, oh the joys of the cat flap. I mean, even Rollo knows that one. Our Sid would flip his feline lid if we shoved that full of Nonsense Foam

Mornin' Fredd. I'll get the tea on. Mind if Rollo does a shift today? Been up all night makin' that sodding spoon, so I'm off back to bed.

Help yourselves folks; slaps all round

@AliG and @JSHarris, you are both stars. That's what I love about this place: constructive, intelligent engagement with slightly complex problems that would take eons to work through for yourself. Ian

I'm off out to my shed to carve a massive wooden spoon-shaped object from a spare railway sleeper.

Thanks. Is there a simple table somewhere which helps us choose board with similar characteristics?

I reserve passion for my wife. However, substitute 'very keen' and you are about right. It's the visibility of the expenditure on every single nut, bolt, bag of cement, batt or Glulam that plays a large role in the way we work. Rather than just paying for someone to arrange a mortgage and booking the removal van.

Quoting from our architect's notes '...Insulate fully between rafters with Kingspan K7 or equivalent, with 62.5mm of Kingspan K18 beneath rafters...' That suggests that somewhere there is a performance equivalence table. But there isn't is there? There seem to be equivalence claims (often unverifiable, it seems) This is the closest I got. Anyone help me do better, please? Specifically, what is the equivalent of Kingspan K7?