ToughButterCup

I'm impressed. What about ( for example) wind-loading on those John? I'll dig around in your posts about solar PV now ......

An early girlfriend of mine found it ........ (series of annoyed expletives deleted in advance of publication) to reverse into an empty double garage. She it was who confidently told me she had topped up the water in the radiator in my VW Beetle 🥶 .... Left Hand Drive split rear windscreen. My God I was cross.

Phhhhhh, jealous or what .... Vertical ? Never ever seen or heard of that. Photo ?

At this time of year I always look for signs of encouragement - and one way is to look for the edges of Spring. Snowdrops, bird song, backbirds scrapping, buds beginning to swell a little. Walked put my myenergi thingy and saw the charge light lit up and 0.01 kWh ' in the bag ' First time this year I think. Spring is round the corner

@SteamyTea , I agree with you: it's easy. Put as much insulation in as is sensible. But just the look of the text of your post fills me with dread. I mean it's take a good few years for your insistence that there is a meaningful difference between KwH and kWh ..... to get through to my innumerate skull

The number of times I've fallen at this hurdle.... The damn button often both invisible and inaccessible , so you're on the floor on your back, chewing and spitting back the cleaning ladies' leftovers (OK OK I know but no longer care) , house tomcat licking your ear with inappropriate affection - job done in haste - Only then to watch a smiling SWMBO gently press the <Reset> button and everything clicks into place.

Oh dear, oh dear oh dear. 🤐

Hello, welcome. You have noticed that we are a group of self-builders haven't you? You asked for honesty. As written your post appears to have been written in haste : if we are to help you, several statements need explanation; Which data leads you make that conclusion? Maybe you looked at CITB data. (reference please?) Is that broken down by County? Does that data also tell you how many are leaving the construction sector (hypothetically - none -) ? If thats the case, then, in a roughly stable market, there's your answer. There are next to no new jobs because nobody is leaving the industry (except the jobs of retirees who the company feels need to be replaced) . What evidence do you have that there is a decline in new entrants to the sector in your county? If the CIBT data you cite (reference please?) is taken at national level, why - or why not - should your County follow that trend? Why might it buck that trend? Are there any National Level funded local build projects? Construction staff are sometimes recruited from out of the area (Aufwiedersehen Pet). Has something similar happened in your area? OK, thats a bit far fetched - but locally, there's a massive boom in West Lancashire around the A6 corridor south of Lancaster but North of Preston. There's a noticeable increase in lads (and lasses) wanting local accommodation Monday to Friday.... you try getting a B+B locally here .... Weekends, no problem. The word '....Council...' needs explaining. And a Councils involvement in recruitment. If the jobs are there, folk will come. If not, they'll leave. Hence my emphasis on entrants above. Locally , five years or so ago Wyre Borough put together a plan which addressed our supposed housing needs. The process, long-slow-painful-NIMBY-Etc. resulted in a 8 point Local Plan (Here's the link to the Master Plan) Nobody - but nobody - locally who has anything to do with building is short of work. In my pub, a WhiteVanMan comes in with five jobs on the go and leaves with 3 more. Why should a (local?) Council have anything to do with that process? Except for putting the local Planning Framework in place. And we all know what a mess that is a national level. Even dear Old Mikey admitted that the much trumpeted initiative (to build 300,000 homes a year) was a step too far. Councils are strapped for cash and each Planning Officer has too much to do. But who isn't trying to do more with less? On balance, I think you might be best served by looking at your very local building scene, and by reading the national level press.

Hello. Thought of ICF ?

Thats the first place to start. Drill Hole Cheap glass fiber inspection system ( phone + cheap cable) Poke Look Wince. Plan Repair.

It's a Fools Errand. Thats why on this a particular task SWMBO is sent - so that when she returns, scorched by the heat of her own worthiness ( and having spent a King's ransom on [... unnecessary sh!te .... ] , I can get my own back saying ". Ah, mmmmm, that won't work ... I'd have thought that was obvious ... dwahling .... " And try not to sneer while saying it. Even's up the score a bit

I think the paragraph you quote is fairly standard. It is common for Planners to remove PD Rights apparently without much thought about the consequences . But in this case, they have given a reason for their decision. (Often they don't give a reason) The answer to your question ' ... Now does that read as no [...] ...' is No. It means that you'll need to apply for Planning Permission. That's all. The quickest way round problem that is to look at similar Planning Permission applications and see what the Planners decided to permit or refuse.

Yes, but you (we Build Hubbers) ) have to cope with the consequences. (Well, you fitted the last one - whassa difficulty this time ?) On the one hand we have to get the damn job finished (for me 8 years and a few to go) and on the other it's often the fine detail that makes the difference between an expletive-ridden job, and disconnect - replace - reconnect, done. Hence: Knowing why you have NOT done the job as you might have been expected to do it , is more valuable than doing it the first way that comes to mind. Because sure as Hell, some fatherless putrescent gadfly will sting you with; "Well, ya should've dunnit this way [...] " Thats been said to me so often that I now have a reply ready : "Well, I'm not you am I - here's the tools - GetOnWithIt " and make a cup of tea to 'Calm Down Dear' F%ck'em.

Can I suggest that you get a more detailed brief than she has given you because; How can you know when the TV will finally give up the ghost ? - 2 to 3mm could then be a problem for the replacement TV How do you cope with 'dongles' that might protrude a bit past the edge of the TV? Yes, the sound will be affected. How much is another question . If needed , where would a soundbar go? It's either hard to get family to engage with design issues - or very easy: you'll be given a precise spec. But in this case I suspect (as in mine) a ThatsYourJobMate approach. Until it isn't. And thats infuriating. Because I've needed to undo / redo all sorts of stuff. I mean six - yes six (6) - bloody extensions in use around the house FFS. "Where would you like the sockets dear?" "Thats your job innit" The only way round it I've found is to say - yes, I'll design it for you if you give me a set of images of installations that you see and like. I've come to hate some of the proprietory image search apps that she favours. If yours is anything like mine - you'll give her the 3mm gap (with a flourish and smile) and then you'll get "But what about [...] . I would have thought that was obvious. " Not showing a reaction to that technique is an acquired art.

Snake Oil .....

... and the reason why you bring us all a warm smile every time you blow a fuse.

@SteamyTea 's tendency to brevity sometimes needs explanation. Here's more information on the matter than you could ever need ...

The local Valuation Officer was was way too efficient and I took the HERAS down way too early as well. Live and learn.

Talk. Listen. Negotiate. Do. And here's the very detailed answer.

SMART - a happy, warm partner ? SMART - airtight ? SMART - simple, replaceable ? SMART - early adoption ? SMART - no key entry ? SMART - MVHR ? SMART - easily maintained ? SMART - digital ? SMART - digital and analogue side by side (in parallel ) ? SMART - easy to find for the emergency services? SMART - self-consumption of locally generated power? SMART - nerdy SMART? Bet you wish you hadn't asked now - or rather that I hadn't answered. Ah well. Welcome. Ian

Its rare for @Conor to hiccup , but he has here. In our case, the starting pistol was fired after the date that the house was added to the Valuation List. We still have not had Sign Off by the BCO - yet - over a year later. @Conor is correct in saying that the BCO sign off is one (but only one) of the list of events that can be used by HMRC to initiate their own VAT Reclaim process. Here's chapter and verse on Valuation Listing

Make yourself a calendar 1460 days long. (+1) Put it on the wall. Every morning, cross one more day off On the 1462nd, take your partner out for a slap up meal. The 4 year rule wins again. In the meantime worry about whether Donald Trump will be re-elected. Or about the price of fish. Cross this bridge when the letter arrives. We'll still be here to help. Happy New Year. Ian

Yes. And Agamemnon really is (was) the fella who could tell you all about sitting on a bench, and straining into a large void. Specially when he was at Argos waiting for the results. I'd be shocked if there were any water at all in his case.

Hi. You are most welcome. Other Corns will be along drekly. 😑 You are more likely to get an answer to your question if you post in the roofing section here . ( Because there'll be others who have ( or have had ) the same issue. Just copy and paste the question bit of this post into that thread on the site. Any images or diagrams ( or product images) you make ( photograph them) and put on here will help us help you.

Changing systems is a good excuse - early in the development cycle - to run both systems in parallel. Lots of evidence to show what happens if you don't.