ToughButterCup

Too sensitive. Two years after we accepted our design we are still nudging this or deleting that. We minute every meeting and review the architect's fees two or three times a year. It's his job to tell us that this or that won't work because.... Sam made an exact 1 meter error in the levels the other day. He was grateful that I picked it up. It's a partnership.

That's exactly why online self-paced learning is so popular. Dip in, out, ignore, skip, yes i like this bit, I'll watch / listen. Just right for you Ed

At exactly the same stage as you are @dogman. You seem to have done it without slicing your thumb in half. Well done! Ian

Having done exactly this because of my brick-obsessed dad, (and given the sensible approaches above) I'd say make sure you get the right clay: it's critical you get that right. '.... bottom of the pond....' WILL fail. Go and beg 50Kg of clay from your local brick company : this is ours (Claughton) the source is the 'smudge' in the hillside, and the line through the trees is the aerial rope-way laden with buckets down to the factory When you get the clay 'work' it thoroughly with your hands, get rid of every bit of 'rubbish' and pack and stack your forms under pressure for a few hours before firing. Vibrate the forms if you can (get rid of as much air as you can). Your local clay may well be different. Good excuse to visit pubs and ask if any locals have experience with local brick making. The satisfaction of making your own brick is immense. Good luck.

Ah, that's an annoyance...., but not quite the irritation that @jamiehamy is experiencing. That meeting will be a delicate one @jamiehamy. I do so wish that @Steptoe's resolution was one we could all use. Might be an idea to mention that lots of us will be following how the company deals with it. Correctly handled, this issue has the potential to improve the company's reputation: systems and people prove themselves for what they are when things go wrong.

I'm about to hide this thread just in case Nora reads it. She'd be outraged, outraged I tell you.

A quick read of paragraph 8.1 of our Delegated Report will explain my focus on precedent. '... The approval of the outline application in this location is not seen to set a precedent for further new dwellings and development in this immediate setting....'

And, since they charge, the alternative is to do the legwork yourself. And by legwork, I mean reading, networking and visits. Reading Since there's an awful lot of LPA documentation online, sift it for similar applications submitted. That'll give you a feel for what's needed: and pay particular attention to the name of the official who is dealing with your case. Read as many relevant applications as you can. And watch for the local interpretation of words like 'sustainable'. When you've had enough of reading, do some more. Networking The LPA will have a 'feel' about it. New Head of Department? New staff? Outsourced staff? Old timers? Visit the odd Planning Committee meeting. The pub, your mates, your mates mates, Mrs XYZ down the road, waste time with them. The Parish Council, (sorry, but it's a good idea) Visits Found an interesting decision? Go and have a look, especially if its local to you: you're looking for precedent

515 calories

Well, put it this way, Santa will have a better foot hold.

@Fallingditch, very very useful post. Ta! Ian

Hugh, just in the process of specifying our plumbing, and -stupidly- avoiding German sites. What a relief to read your post. Ian

A simple bit of JavaScript will do, hence NewVeer=MyVeer function() { if Thread=== 'x' [BangOn WHat-Its-Meant-To-Be]; Break; (have a KitKat) if Thread === 'y' [All-Over-The-Place]; TellAMod (NickFromWales); Lotsofwelshwords-eistedfod (adinfinitum) var (Warning); issue Warning (LandOfMyFathers1); } RinseRepeat

Let's see if we can persuade Steamy to shove his personal endoscope up your USB to find out eh?

@Onoff, when's the book due to be published? Boxing In A Bath: the unexpurgated story can now be told. By Orlando OnOff

You can always tell sumat's up when a child of yours uses the word '...need...' Ours are still at it 30 years later, but somehow, these days, each time the word is used , 'need' gets attached to a couple of thousand pounds .

And when I'd visited enough passivhauses and talked to enough owners, (including @VIPMan of this parish) every one of whom said - you don't need a condensing dryer, the MVHR'll do it for you - I'm just about beginning to believe them. Well, nearly. @VIPMan could have offered to dry our washing, so when he does that, and the clothes dry by 'magic', I'll believe them all.

The single advantage is that the socket cannot be taken to work, lost in the sofa or chewed by the cat.

@MrsRA used to build high-end computers in her own time (when it was worthwhile doing so), and as well as that, she hoards. So, we have every single 'technology' somewhere squirreled away in this old house - from an Amiga through zip drives, 4.5 inch floppies, ZX Spectrum any number of laptops, a few 'boxes, spare memory and some random number of Processors; the loft is groaning, in one (used to be) bedroom you can slip on defunct CDs lying around the place. USB A? It's a spring chicken. "You never know when we might need it" Give me strength folks, strength.

First of all, thanks very much. Time to go and re-read the numbers. And thanks for the prompt to ask '...where (they) come from. I appreciate it. Ian

@Alphonsox, demystify the percentages for me, please! No, my understanding of re-heat is a safety margin (in this case of 50%) rather than making the bloody thing go faster than the speed of sound.

So, who's this Eva woman at 0:35? Eh, Edward? No wonder Faye looks less than happy

No; I think I'm saying (think I'm saying....) it takes 518 Watts to raise the temperature in the living room (in this instance) to 21 degrees when the outside temperature is -1 degrees Celcius and 776 Watts to do the same if you use a factor of 0.5 f 'reheat value' Quite what 'reheat value' is, I'm not sure.

Hello Jane, welcome and good luck. There isn't one builder on this forum that hasn't had several minor and the odd major hiccup(s) Rolling with the punches or tide or whatever cliche you fancy is the norm. Make a simple table of your conditions. Have a column about what you're doing to fulfill it and then a 'by when column', followed by 'whom'. I made a folder in a filing cabinet and kept all the relevant documents in sub folders. It's too easy to lose track. Your pre-commencement conditions are the ones on which to focus just now. Regards Ian