Thorfun

You see lots of photos with them open and they look lovely. But as @timsk said, this is the UK and they’d be closed most of the year and you’ll lose a lot of the view from the frame at those times. Do you find that is the case?

Think I’ll follow this thread with interest as we discounted bifolds due to possible degradation in airtightness over time (if that’s even a thing) and are looking at sliders instead. But I’m interested in the responses to see if I can be persuaded to look at them. (full disclosure; I’ve not researched this area in detail yet and I’m sure there’s a bifold vs slider thread on here somewhere which I’ll definitely get around to reading at some point soon! My reading list just keeps growing.)

https://www.google.com/search?q=home+cinema+pelmet&tbm=isch&ved=2ahUKEwjW6LONjJbqAhWP0YUKHUWgD8cQ2-cCegQIABAA&oq=home+cinema+pelmet&gs_lcp=CgNpbWcQDFAAWABg8IgBaABwAHgAgAEAiAEAkgEAmAEAqgELZ3dzLXdpei1pbWc&sclient=img&ei=IP7wXtbYJI-jlwTFwL64DA&bih=1056&biw=1890&client=safari

my plan was to build a pelmet and put nice downlights in it but in the end I couldn't be bothered. in the end I'm glad I didn't as I would've had to take it down and make good when selling the house. but they do look good.

sadly it's long gone but once the new house is finished a new setup will be planned!

I had a motorised AT screen with a nice Plasma TV also on the wall. once the projector and screen were installed the TV never got turned on.....ever! we had blackout blinds in the room and even if we were watching TV/film during the day the projector and screen were used. once you get used to the big screen size the TV just doesn't cut it. couple of photos to help visualise what I'm talking about.

looks amazing! I look forward to reading the progress.

we've had a quote from idealcombi and it's very competitive. I like the idea of all the profiles being the same regardless of being inward, outward or fixed windows. they're definitely going on the shortlist and we'll probably end up having a showroom visit to see them in the flesh. oh, and for us Rationel couldn't do the large size panes of glass for our entrance hall, nor the large sliders so they quoted for Solarlux for the slider which were astronomical! as such, Rationel are no longer being considered for us.

welcome! there are lots of experts on lots of topics. I don't mean me though!

our architect produced a design and access statement for our application. I don't know if it had any effect or not but I still look at it now and again to remind myself of what will hopefully soon be! we put some nice sketch-up images in and also some photos of the model we created as well as the usual gubbins. it was all included as part of the flat fee to get us to planning that our architect offered us.

nice one @joth. thanks. ?

ok, thanks. sounds like great advice! I'll give BT a call and see what they say. it can't hurt.

West Sussex. maybe as it's a new development they just see £££ in their eyes and as they have us over a barrel there's not a lot we can do. or maybe I made the wrong call in contacting Openreach about this instead of speaking to BT first. Although, I'm sure that to run the new line under the road would be out of scope for BT and so they'd just refer me to Openreach. I honestly don't know and I'm definitely learning as I go. my nativity will most definitely cost me quite a bit of money but hopefully it'll be ok in the end. fortunately, there's a fibre box on the pole opposite us so getting FTTP is easy and shouldn't be too expensive. I guess I'll just have to pay for the digging up of the road and the license that's required for that. I guess I'll find out in about 4 weeks when I get the paperwork through.

maybe they saw me coming when they charged for the survey! or maybe it's because they now sub-contract out to Kelly Communications. either way it was 'this is the price if you want it'. the BT/Kelly guy is providing me with the ducting but was pretty adamant that they had to dig up the road. I did ask if our ground-workers could do it as they'll be creating a new entrance off the road which will need a road closure anyway but he wasn't sure that would be possible. The other issue with putting all the utilities in the same hole is that their poles aren't in the same place, so the cable would need to be run from one of the poles to meet up with the other cables from the other pole along the edge of the road and the BT/Kelly guy said that utilities like to take the shortest route possible. I will do my best to try and coordinate them all (the water mains stop cock for all the properties around us is already on our property so I'm sure we can just feed off that but I'll speak to the water company as well to make sure as it might be cheaper to bring that in the new entrance as well rather than run a pipe up the length of the garden from the existing connection) but I'm not holding out much hope. I'm sure it'll end up being just like the movie you mention.

just had the BT engineer out to do their survey (which they charge for but the UKPN survey is free, nice one BT ?) and things never work out how you want do they. the BT pole is about 20m away from the nearest electricity pole and according to the BT guy the road will need to be dug up twice to run each utility. is it too much to ask for them to work together to reduce costs and road closure time? But, that's a question I'm going to pose to the UK Power Network guy next week. Can you co-ordinate with BT? pretty sure the answer will be 'no' but I guess it's worth a question!

Background: we have full planning approval for a replacement dwelling on our plot and will be living in the existing building while the new build is done. the new building is going to be built where the existing swimming pool is and next to that is an old pool house with an RCD from the house installed for running the pool pump and other electrics. I am planning on using that RCD for the electrics for the build so I don't need a new supply for the build. The existing electrics come to the existing house via a cable from a pole on the other side of our road (a single track type affair). We have one electric car at the moment (Tesla Model 3) and hopefully in the near future my wife's diesel SUV gas-guzzler will be swapped for another EV. Also, my wife works from home making toys and other fabric type creations like bags, cushions etc (currently busy making face masks) so she has a number of sewing machines, embroidery machines, overlockers and the like. I don't think any of them are major power drainers and are domestic type affairs but if her business gets busier then she might invest in more commercial grade machinery. Requirements: In the new house I would like the electrics to come in underground rather than an overhead cable and, as we're living in the existing property, I figured it'd be easier to get a new connection put in to the new property and then when we demolish the existing property the old connection can be removed. This also means that there's no rush on getting the new connection in before we start building. I have applied for a new connection with UK Power Networks and have a survey booked for next week. I have said that we'd need 3-phase power but, to be brutally honest, I don't really know if I do! but I would like to try and plan for future requirements and as it's a new connection then it seems strange not to get it now rather than in 15 years time. We are planning at least 4KWh solar PV array and, if prices drop and budget allows, some form of battery so we can power our evenings entertainment from that rather than the grid. not for financial reasons but for a smug feeling that we're self-sufficient for electricity as much as possible. So, to the reason for my post.... what should I be asking the engineer when they visit? are there burning questions that I should pose or should I let them dictate the path of the conversation? is there any information I should know before hand for the visit so I don't look like a complete idiot? any other pearls of wisdom or just general advice that people that know more than me can give?

as per the title really. we're going to see a house being built so will see first hand their build quality, I was just wondering if anyone on here has used them. Quote is very competitive and they're based in Essex which isn't a million miles from Sussex which is a bonus.

I just got a quote back for our geotechnical survey. the company are offering this for the fieldwork: Dynamic Sampling: One days work on site, to provisionally include 2no boreholes to 3.00m and 2no to 5.00m (the depth and number of holes will depend on drilling conditions, site constraints etc). Dynamic Probing: SHDP type 2 probing in conjunction with the dynamic sampling. Monitoring wells: We have allowed for installing 1no monitoring wells to a provisional depth of 5.00m Geotechnical field tests: in-situ testing to include: CBR testing using a TRL DCP it also includes desktop study, groundwater monitoring and laboratory testing. total cost is £3k inc. vat I thought it was reasonable and as we're having a basement a most definite requirement! They even say that they'll report specifically on the basement we're after as well as many other things. The second quote I got seems a little more comprehensive including a data logger to measure groundwater levels at 15 minutes intervals over a period of 3 weeks. they came in at £3200 inc. vat. I'll be getting a couple of more quotes as well to compare but it seems that it'll cost me around £3k to get this done.

and I presume that's a BIG if!

thanks. I'll have a second pair of hands as the lovely wife is willing to get involved so that's not an issue. I've read a lot of threads on here about the nightmare that people have had installing PIR between the frame studs and so I'm dead against doing that! and now I have even more reason thanks to your experiences.

exactly! ? hence the wall make-up I've chosen. it's figuring out how long it'll take me that's the issue as it's not something I've done before.

no reason in particular for doing as you say. I was just trying to mimic what seems to be the standard wall make-up of a number of TF manufacturers. I also actually like the idea of the membrane adding an extra layer of airtightness even after the PIR has been taped. and then batten on top of that to create the service void. it makes for a thicker wall but it just appeals to my sense of neatness. also means I don't have to cut PIR to size to fit the battens which I'm trying to avoid.

I'm not sure SWMBO will allow that for me! so it's finding a nice compromise between saving money and being in the new place before we're old and grey. ?

Thanks Dave. I have to admit it doesn't look like a hard job and is certainly something that I can do. my only concern is in the loft but as we're hoping to go attic truss rather than Fink truss I will have the space up there to be able to work in reasonable comfort. I'm really struggling to justify the cost that some TF manufacturers charge for the installation of the insulation. I guess you're paying for the reduced time it takes to do it. but with the money I can save it will pay for quite a lot of other stuff.