ToughButterCup

We're sitting just inside the radon area for North Lancashire where we must take action. If Salamander Cottage were to be built a few meters North, we wouldn't need radon protection. To be sure, were we to build outside the official radon area, I would probably put a barrier in anyway because -for the cost- it doesn't make sense not to. But, have a look at this..... The red hatching is the area to be covered by the radon barrier. Notice the little brick shed (top). I'm right in thinking that, since it will not be habitable, nor is it intended for habitation, we don't need to have radon protection aren't I? In addition, we will be fitting MVHR, so any problem with radon will tend to be reduced The BCO notes (drafted by the architect) say that we should cap the radon sump and make sure we can fit a pump on the piping from the sump '....ready for future action if required...' Reading between the lines is '...further action if required...' architect-speak for '...do nothing...' ?

@SteamyTea, is your shower supply cold only?

£600.

You been talking to @MrsRA then? The pair of you could have mentioned it during the planning phase....

Bless her, she fainted when the salesman told her the price of her heart's desire kitchen. So, being a goodun, she's off on Tinternet designing one herself using the online planning tools you can get. She's working from home today - painful shoulder. And from her office I can hear the odd growl of annoyance ("Could write a better program than this myself"), and the occasional hiss of frustration ("Rats! session timed out, but I've been working on it for two hours") Anyone know of a good bit of kitchen planning software that'll design-her-happy?

I managed to buy an old BT van body for £250: built of tupperware and set on four bits of railway line as a frame. Point I'm making is that it doesn't need to be a shed. It just needs to lock and keep stuff dry.

@joe90, because I'm German(ish) and have worked there, I can honestly say I worry about the charming faith most UK residents have about German products. Not all are well designed. And thats the key consideration in this case. A treatment plant must be ultra reliable. An as @JSHarris points out, the key parts are not German. If they were, the price would likely be much higher. Be more critical of German stuff. It's OK.

Not your finest moment eh Declan?

Soft closers sorted that one out for us.

No way of telling Joe. Graf are well-known in the chemical sector. From memory it's a family company: we dealt with them a bit ( a very little bit) when I worked in Berlin.

Hasn't been easy has it Joe? I'm pleased for you Ian

Don't. Self-building requires a certain amount of sod-it-I-will-not-be-beaten. You have got under their skin and they can't deal with it. That's their problem, not yours. Let them own it. All of us have problems wherever we are. Push off and yours will follow - they'll just be a different set of issues. This place is full of gutsy people: have a look at these for inspiration @joe90 read his stuff and you get a feel for dogged persistence @JSHarris, read his blog here and on mayfly.eu, especially the bit about his fresh water @jamiehamy, sheer guts and determination @ProDave, his trip hasn't been easy Waste a few hours here and you'll have some lead put back in your pencil Coupled with the odd bit of 'treating yourself' (to a Mars Bar, or a walk, or meal out with the other half). Oh, and watch a Peter Kay repeat

There's a lesson in there -somewhere. @MrsRAis fond of hinting that to me; fairly rich coming from someone who's in charge of some Online Learning programs at Lancaster University

My excuse for the same behaviour is the urgent need to light the route back to bed : or stand on a bit of unmentionable rodent anatomy so neatly excised by its killer.

You put so much effort and energy into your build that a bit of me wonders whether you're also plain knackered, and at long last you have given yourself permission to rest.

I feel a list coming on.......

@Clareandharry, one of our newest members run a blog; interesting always to read of others experience. Of the many perceptive comments they make - 'Hmmmm, its not just me then'- one sentence jumped out at me this morning '... Getting it (a caravan) safely onsite has certainly increased our confidence regarding what’s to come, but gave me awful sleepless nights in the run up...' Dare I guess, many of us are of an age where our normal circadian rhythm is 'enhanced' by internal pressures (Or as I like to think of it my very own @Onoff -read his signature line) . And waking up these days throws a switch in me. The Always On switch. And off I go wheedling deeper into this or that, growling about [....insert your topic here...], and soon you're bright awake. The resident killer senses it, and soon demands feeding (too wet outside, mice in their holes) and if you refuse your bladder gets a vibro massage. Sleeplessness. How do you deal with yours?

Welcome. PCs; their responses and public musings in relation to planning issues are commonly criticised. Almost by definition parochial, and very often, just plain wrong. Why do I say that? Have a look at this Oh, and before I forget this.... Having read your blog, it looks like we could have plagiarised one another's content. We'd been waiting since 1985 for PP. Yer pushin' on an open door here maam. You are most welcome. Ian

And @jack, don't decant the HCl into a container with a leak in; even a pinhole-size leak eh?.

@MrsRA thanks you all for the advice. I think we'll use a combination of ideas based on your suggestions - with one addition. There's a guy who sells astro turf off cuts not far from where we live. A few square meters should do us...

No rolling pin then @SteamyTea. Tempting but impracticable... due to increased levels of Learned Helplessness on my part.

The muddy phase of our build is about to start. And hoping to reduce the amount of extra cleaning to be done in our cottage, I'm attempting to encourage folk to clean their boots before they come into our kitchen for tea and sympathy. To do that I need to make the cleaning process easy and quick. The prospect of @MrsRA standing there with a rolling pin and a look of thunder on her usually smiling countenance - shouting "Get em off !" and me countering "Have you seen how clean they are?" does not appeal. How have you managed it?

I suppose you could work back from a price of (say) £1350 per square meter for the complete job? The most common average price for a build seem to range between £1200 to £1500. There are always local variations as a quick read of SPONS will testify.

On the basis of this post @TerryE, we'll have fixed shower heads - for a while.

Hmmmm. I'd 'felt' that might well be a factor. Might need to stray into the political realm then. Damn.