Thorfun

i thought 2" x 1" was your standard roofing batten at 25mm x 50mm? 2" x 2" is 50mm x 50mm (nominally 45mm x 45mm). CLS doesn't have an inch equivalent. but i agree with @crispy_wafer. 63mm x 38mm CLS is fine for stud walls.

cheers. @dpmiller care to give a first hand review of the Hager Sollysta sockets please?

i showed SWMBO a few different styles of cheapo sockets and she likes these from Hager https://www.cef.co.uk/catalogue/products/1661707-2-gang-13a-dp-switched-socket-with-dual-earth-white no one on here has suggested Hager. anyone have experience with their sockets? our CU is Hager and i'm aware they're held in high regard in that field. doesn't mean that they make good sockets though!

the underfloor heating store are offering 20% off ProWarm heating products for another 2 days. I just saved quite a substantial amount using it. https://www.theunderfloorheatingstore.com/collections/offers yes yes, I know I could've got cheaper UFH mats on eBay but I wanted a known brand with lifetime guarantee as I don't want to be digging up my bathrooms to fix the UFH mats! 😉

agreed. I have an account but I hate the way that you don't know how much you're paying until the local branch manager decides to pluck a figure out of the air at the end of the month. I use them as a last minute resort.

We don’t want oak. We also don’t want to pay £160 per door! doors are easy to change later on and our coffers are dry. So it’s not a case of what we want anymore but a case of what we can afford 😢

It’s a very good point. The thing is I don’t know how far in the future later will be! So they might need to last quite a while. We’re looking at £2.50 per faceplate. But I will go to TS/SF/CEF and ask to look at various offerings and make a choice.

I've been looking through various data sheets on the different makes and some say rated voltage 230V, some say 250V, some say Nominal Voltage 250V but rated 220V...230V. our voltage is nearer 250V from our supply than 230V (think it's about 245V) so do I need to be looking for sockets that are rated to 250V? and what is 'nominal voltage'?

I think, in the end, that we're going to go with these throughout. https://www.jewson.co.uk/p/premdor-interior-grade-plus-fireshield-door-1981-x-838-x-44mm-white-PCD23114 Jewson came up trumps again and I've been quoted £71 per door. seems a bargain to me as we don't have much money left and we can paint them whatever colour we want!

yeah, and it would appear that trades can't agree on which are the best to use! 🤣

have you tried LAP faceplates? if so, any good or any issues?

ok. I can see it is a thing https://wetroomsdesign.co.uk/liquid-coating-pci-lastogum-4-kg-grey but at £60 for a 4kg tub it seems excessive when I only have 3 iBox surrounds to do! is there another product that will do the same job but cheaper or in a smaller container?

as i finish up my iBox installs in preparation for the tiler next week i need to install the waterproof part that comes with them. according to the manual i need to fix with PCI Lastogum or sealing compound which is similar. can anyone tell me what is the best product to use for this part please?

i'm using Appleby as recommended by @ProDave. will pick up a bunch of longer back box screws anyway.

thanks all. it's actually good to know that folk recommend different makes. kind of means that they're all pretty similar. one question though. when they say will it also fit a deeper back box? or would I have to buy longer screws to facilitate that?

money is rapidly running out so we're thinking of fitting cheap white plastic faceplates and can upgrade later when we have some money again. searching through CEF there's quite a few under £3. would they all be much of a muchness? https://www.cef.co.uk/catalogue/products/search?q=double socket&per_page=48&page=1&number_of_gangs[]=2&colour[]=White&sort=price_inclusive_vat.sort_asc I know we're not talking much per socket difference between cheap plastic and something nicer but when you have to buy over 100 of them £5 per socket makes a massive difference!

so i've only done a quick Google but found this from door superstore, an XL joinery FD30 for about the same price as the Howdens one (it's actually £2 cheaper). https://www.doorsuperstore.co.uk/product/xl-joinery-suffolk-essential-fd30-fire-door-oak-internal-door.html and as above someone said that XL are stupidly expensive it leads me to think that maybe it is just cheaper to shop online for doors that bother with trying to open a Howdens account. not a very scientific experiment and definitely not a lot of research gone in to it though!

If I may add my 2 cents. I started by reading Mark Brinkley’s book (it was before I knew this forum existed but would still recommend it as a great overall picture on building a house). you will overrun. And you will be over budget! Ask me how I know. 😉 read the blogs on here. They are a great source of information from folk who have or are doing it! we built a basement (see my blog for details) as have many others on here. It’s a great way to get extra space when planning won’t allow it above ground. But, they’re not cheap. It seems strange to me that the existing bungalow has a basement but you want to fill it in and dig another one! Seems like an expensive idea to me. I wonder if you could put a lid on the current basement and somehow connect it to the new bungalow’s location? Kind of like a secret bunker. If the lid opened you could have a thunderbirds base! I also +1 on the comments to use someone experienced to get you to watertight and then do the rest yourself. The way we’ve approached our build was just like that. Anything structural we left to the professionals. And anything visible we left to the professionals, eg plastering, cladding etc. we’ve done all the insulation, membrane, battening, plumbing, painting etc. saved money but it definitely slows things down and it can easily get you down with how long it takes and the lack of perceived progress. But it is very rewarding! And because of that sense of reward I have to disagree with @Bozza and fully encourage you to have a go and not just pay someone to do it all. You might be able to earn money to pay someone on your downtime but you’ll miss out on so much. good luck with it all.

I assume the ‘from’ price is for the 2’3” door?

Amazing! Thank you. I will Google a similar door later and compare the results.

Thanks. To start with I need 2x FD30 fire doors for between the house and garage. And the door frame to go with them. If I could get a price on something pretty generic I can compare with online retailers. architraves and skirting will come later as I’m not sure what size the wife wants.

We will need a utility room at some point so will definitely take a look. but doors are more important! 😂

Thanks @saveasteading but I’m not interested in kitchens as we already have one now installed. I’m interested in doors, skirting, architrave and other joinery bits.

thanks @Kelvin. kind of says it all really! any idea about individual doors or skirting etc?

greetings. i'm considering opening a trade account at Howdens (if they'll accept it that is) but i'm wondering if their prices are cheaper than you can buy elsewhere online? Howdens don't display their prices on the website so i can't do a comparison without opening an account. i'd rather not bother with the faff of opening the account if they aren't actually cheaper. has anyone who has an account done this research or can check prices on doors, architrave, skirting, door frames etc and post them so i can compare?