ToughButterCup

A generous interpretation @TerryE. I am ground down by the build. Two new hips replaced in 6 months hammers you. And then I look back at all the work done in substantial pain before the operations... But Hell, there's a house here where there wasn't before. I am mindful of the privilege though. So very many have said that they would like to be able to build their own house..... But .

Absolutely correct @Roundtuit. A local builder ( well respected and trusted) teased me about the issue yesterday. When he'd finished taking the proverbial, he casually mentioned that the new extension - that he'd built for for his own house - had exactly the same problem. Ya just can't get the staff these days.

Exactly

"Ah fookin 'ate them Jackies in yer roof mert.... " says my unneighbourly next door dweller. Neighbour he isn't. Maybe in proximity, but never in either spirit or reality. I do my best to be positive when forced to talk to him. Jackdaws in our roof - really? The little tinkers. Without thinking I replied; "Well the U Value of a jackdaw's nest is much higher than Celotex - since there's a Menage-a-Trois in there, there's at least 7 warm birds , so the U value is much higher than Celotex could ever manage" "Wha ?" "U value - a measure of how efficient the insulation is " "No: meanage aa toi - whassat?" "Ahh, Jackdaws - their kids (last years brood) come and help incubate and feed this years brood: so they live together with mum and dad, bit like the French and their relaxed attitude to ermmmm.... So thats 7 birds all huddled together for warmth. From which we benefit" "Aye, an' when wun breaks wind lahk, 'tl bee even warmer" "Jackdaws don't light their farts Peter" "' Appen. Any road, they wunts shuuuutin' " Says the man who had his firearms licence taken off him last year. We've Bluetits, Starlings and Jackdaws in our roof (just in the Celotex) . And do I care ? Nope. They're all welcome. But am I right? is the U Value higher as a result of avian nesters-in-our-Celotex? Answer me that please Boffins.

Welcome. The answer to that question is writ large all over this forum.

You missed a word out ' It would be for my kids bikes so they aren't ...'

Commonly interpreted as ' ... Thanks for asking us, we have far too much work on at the moment, but if you insist, here's a price which will just about pay for our daughter's wedding in Disneyland....'

The slope will be just under 1 m from the fence to the left of your house. To the side, (the gable) there is a fairly steep slope just over a meter deep. In other words, a common or garden ditch. Absolutely brilliant gardening opportunity .

Welcome. We've all felt that '...gulp...' Might as well call this the OhFFSboard. We're used to it. Here to help and take the proverbial. Ian

Then, a long hot bath and or a trip to your physiotherapist: in my case a sado-masochistic-pain-inflictor- who-makes-me-feel-better-because-she-stops. But fancy this: she's a German refugee living and working and paying tax in the UK. Come here since Brexit ! WhassaMatterWithHer?

Nitric and sulphuric acids - from memory - will dissolve copper (Got kicked out of the Chemistry class before 'O' Level because I threw a snowball at the Chemistry teachers car). Nitric is unlikely to have been made, that leaves sulphuric. Where does the sulphur come from? Maybe a hen laid an egg in the dashboard , that eggshell rotted a bit and then got a bit of water on it - that created a bit of sulphur - the sulphur plus a bit more water then corroded the terminal .... BINGO - that's wot did it Dave. Medals, medals, I want a medal. Please.

You colour blind son?

I seem to recall that the same issue was reported in the Spanish press a couple of years ago. Exactly the same issue is occurring in Germany now.

Dunno wot you all fink, but this is sooooo much better than following Grand Designs..... Its not often that I read and re-read many posts as carefully as I do this series.

I started our build when I was just over 60 ... now 70 and I've just about finished. Your project has really got me hooked. Please start a blog. Good luck

Exactly the same issues in The Fatherland. But ... 2026 is predicted for the start of newbuilds in Oranienberg: they say the infrastructure will be in place by then. Hmmm. Off to Berlin soon. When there, I'll pop up the road and have a look. My god @SteamyTea, do West Germans hate - and I mean h a t e - the taxes raised to support infrastructure projects in the former East Germany. Altogether too close to the North-South divide here. Fertile ground for the Hard-Right AFD.

Aha! Thats interesting. What's the transmission issue then? People not liking OH power lines? Because there's skin and hair flying in all directions about that in Germany too. And as so often in Germany it's about the human health aspects of exposed power lines.

Just north of Berlin, a pretty (if notorious) little town (Oranienberg) has just told the Federal Government that they can't supply any more connections to new houses. That may well have to do with the way the East Germans did nothing to improve or maintain the infrastructure for 35 years. They say it will be 2026 before they can supply electricity to any new houses. And there was me fantasizing about buying cheap in the former GDR (German Democratic Republic) and doing up some of those achingly beautiful old houses there. Inviting @Pocster to advise. 😬

What does your site insurance say? MT site. No phone call to you. He visits. Its blowing hard, raining too. He slips, falls on a rusty nail, gets sepsis - which is and remains undiagnosed - and dies. Who is liable? You? The answer to that question is the easy - if formal - way out of this one.

In other words, Dunning Kruger. @saveasteading - when talking about this to students (The less you know, the less you know that you don't know) , I found that they had to think hard about how to 'read' that dictum using the comparator - less...less. Since I also had to find a way to teach them good written style, I found positivity worked better hence; ... The More You Know The More You Realize You Don't Know ... Realising the essential truth of that is a bit depressing. AA Milne comes to mind. The six year old seems stuck in Dunning Kruger's jaw.

No. He accepted your request to work in good faith, and (as related above) had every right to assume that you were satisfied with his work to date. Because '....I rectified all these issues myself ...' And the matter was not discussed. You didn't get a quote (or an estimate ) . It feels like neither of you wanted to talk to one another. Cost : £367. Lesson learned - 3 estimates from three plumbers - Due Diligence Cheap at the price. Yes, I can hear you say "Well you try and get three plumbers round here then.... " Ok, just the one ESTIMATE and a clear understanding that if the work isn't up to snuff ( ... because you have been rectifying issues yourself.... ) a snagging retention should be negotiated. Pay him for the parts, and for (say) half the outstanding balance. Just like @Temp says: managing people is harder than the work.

How many posts have @Temp's observation as progenitor? Can I suggest a slight tweek - The worst bit is managing people and communicating with those peoples networks. I watch German and French TV. Currently Brits are buying property and doing it up in France (see DW TV on YT for example). - fewer in the former East Germany. No matter how skilled the - now expat - british builder , they all report the same problem: they find it hard or impossible to break into local, established builders' networks. Its the network that matters. Because the network can (and does sometimes) over-rule the individual

I thought these photos might interest you ..... the first one taken a few minutes ago The slider in the kitchen has been open all morning - right hand side of the image is to the North, and thus the Winter Garden is in wind shadow (wind NW) , but in full sun (it was raining when I took the photo) There is a 2.5 meter overhang for a 'veranda' shown here earlier in the build. We call it a Winter Garden - yet to have anything in it , but won't be long now. SWMBO intends to fill it with - knowing her - a jungle or as close to that as she can get. There's one episode of Grand Designs where Kevin WotHisFace showed a similar design, but he calls the area a Breeze Corridor. The look of triumph on Debbie's face was a picture. First time she'd ever been 'on trend' she remarked.

We have both ICF and stud partitions. Consider the comparative cost of running services through both - during the build and in the future. You know: for the times that SWMBO flutters her eyelashes and announces that - after all this time of planning and thinking about it and living with it - she now wants [...xyz...] moving from there to to right over there. Because -now- it makes sense. Just thinking about it makes me need one of @Pocster's biscuits

Budget constrains us too. ( @Redoctober ) 3 years living in an also air-tightish house, no MVHR. Double sliding windows (4.5m) fully open every day the wind direction allows - no point in MVHR or air-tightishness for that matter. Once the air temperature is above 15 the slider is open all the time . So the MVHR - when fitted - will be OFF for 4 months of the year. We also sleep with our suicide windows open (glass door with glass Juliet balcony) Still sucking my teeth a bit about the expense of MVHR . But we know we can wait for prices to come down and performance to improve. The comfort afforded by Passivhaus design is very noticeable - we still pop round into our 1800- built cottage nextdoor. More for the pleasure of a roaring open fire . The contrast - the unreactiveness of our build is the most noticeable thing. SWMBO makes a simple point: why buy MVHR when it's not going to be used for half the year? She listens politely to the answer. Smiles, and looks away.