PeterW

I'll answer properly later but Gift Cards are VAT exempt for a retailer until redeemed so they have to give you the VAT receipt for the goods purchased...

This is one of the reasons I love Fermacell as you can cut another bit and bond it in, fill the gaps and no-one can see the join .... Like when I put a down light in the wrong place ..! On the other hand, nice that your sparky is letting his 5 year old help and cut the holes ..

WTF..??!! What are they building it out of ..?? 85sqm of foundations and first floor walls cost me less than that...!!!

I normally do them before and then use an offcut and the multi master to trim the bases as you may find they are slightly different lengths.

So like @TerryE we have made some temporary stairs. Downside is we need a double winder as the permanent ones and I'm not up to building one of those but given it's only an off cut of Egger and 4 pieces of spare 8x2 and some rails I'm pretty pleased with it ..! I've got a joiner on site who usually does 2nd fix but he's been worth his weight in gold as he happily cut this lot from a quick sketch - no it's not to building regs but it doesn't half make it easier to get things up and down stairs ..!!

So I set up my Howdens account with just a driving licence, my bank details and a hard hat ... rep walked onto site, joiner referred to me as "the boss" and I got my freebies and a £3k credit limit in less than 24 hours .....

Nah he bought the elastic tape measure ...

Only that he didn't clean or abrade the pipe .... and that lip spur drill bit he used to start with was blunt ..!!!

I sold him his frozen bubbles for his spirit level ....

Create one ... use Word or Publisher to create a business card and comp slip, print it out and then take a photo of it ... B.Odgett & Sons.... General Builders...

Spiral cellar starts at £15,000 installed .... So far, my wine cellar has cost me £14 for a sheet of OSB and by the time I'm finished it will probably owe me £200 in total... Let me explain ..! We are doing a partial conversion of an old double garage and it has an inspection pit - 5ft deep, 9ft long and 3ft wide. Was bone dry when we bought it and I refused to just fill it in. Walls are 6" hollow blocks and they are solid - I think the floor is at least 6" thick concrete and the whole thing was perfect for wine ..! It now sits under a 100mm cast concrete lid that ties into the tops of the walls and then is covered by 75-90mm of Kingspan plus the 100mm of concrete over the top that also has the UFH in it. Plan is to build a simple set of steps down into it, paint it all white and quarry tile the floor. It will then get some of the LED sensor strip lights between the wall and ceiling and I reckon it will hold about 400 bottles or so plus a nice selection of spirits ... there is a raised slab at one end that will be for cheese ...! I plan to run a series of sensors in and around it - it gives me direct access to the soil temperature under the slab for example - and see how it performs. I think it's sat at around 11-13c even with the lid open to the elements for the last 6 months so I'm happy it will work. I think you could easily do the same with concrete rings - dig a hole and stick some DPM in it, concrete round the edge and then settle the first ring onto it. Let it go off, add the remaining rings and then cast the floor from inside. Capping it off could either be one of the concrete cast tops or just shutter and cast your own.

No but I'm ordering these ... OxyLED Motion Sensor Closet Lightshttps://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01IGRCEIY/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_sS3GzbXVZMXP3 Easier than hard wiring and charge them whenever they need it.

Wickes - register as trade (10% off) then your £4.25 becomes £3.83 at the weekend or £3.61 on a Monday in store ...

It's not just the quality end of the market that is poor when it comes to windows ... For a number of reasons I have to go with uPVC now for ours as my conversation with planning was pretty much that I'd used up all my luck on the NMAs so I would potentially have to reapply if we wanted anything else. I've got 3 quotes in front of me for two small, three medium and three large windows; a front door and a back door. Comparing them is a nightmare as some do triple glazed, some do acoustic glass, one is 28mm triple, one is 44mm triple and another has T&T in the upstairs as they can't put triple in anything over a 650 opener ... Then start looking at the companies and find that one of them that can do what I want has "changed hands" twice after going insolvent ..!! All I know is whoever I go with, a credit card will be used ..!!!

I fitted these ones on another job and they have been very good so far - will probably use them again. I-lumos LED Panel

+1 to what @Nickfromwales said. I hire core drills as I nearly broke a wrist using an ordinary SDS drill with a core set and it snagged on rebar - proper core drills have decent clutches that stop the drill trying to rotate you through the wall when the core jams .....

Hi and welcome. From the read of the first post you have got a number of key skills that a self builder would pay for - having an understanding of drawings means you can help spot the errors; estimating to help drive out the costs (value engineering); timber frame experience so you know some of the new technologies; and a bit of PM theory thrown in for good measure ... What most PMs miss are the skills to have foresight and to stop the risks becoming issues - that sounds simplistic but I work on a daily basis with PMs that really don't know how to identify where something is going wrong until it's happened. It's about having a questioning mind, analytical yet sometimes relying on that "hunch" that things aren't right. The amount of times I get asked "why" and my answer is "because it doesn't feel right" and I get them to check again - 9 times out of 10 we have no issues but there is always the one where something is going wrong. That identifying the 10% is what will set you apart from other PMs - some comes from experience, but some will come from not accepting the "it's the way we do it" you will get from some trades. Just read the current window quality thread and think about how you would approach the horrors that some of the members here have had - nothing wrong with learning from others mistakes ..!

Can you not cut those roof horns back ..? They look wrong ...

Loopcad does it for you based upon the room size and the walls etc. I've gone 150 in most places with the odd 200 but that's based upon 31c flow temperature which I know I can take up or down pretty easily if I find it's a bit too warm.

Roofers have turned round today and said they are on for another 3-4 days next week... and it's a priced job with a few extras so they make nothing more. The reason ..? Because they want it to look right..!! If they manage that then I will be happy to chuck an extra couple of hundred their way as so far they have been pretty good ..! You have to pick and choose carefully - my joiner who is day rate does 8-6 some days (today it was nearly 7 as we wanted to finish a floor ....) but my labourer barely makes 8:30-4 with an hour or so of breaks ... guess who's getting all the work ..??

.... and no your honour I was nowhere near Hatton Garden and my name isn't Boris.....

I think @Declan52 makes a valid point and it's also in line with my thinking - get the spec right and it's going to be the air infiltration rate that causes the issues not the spec on the glazing. Tapes and sealant fitted properly will pay dividends.

I would go 900-1000mm down and keep to a fence line if possible. That way a subsoiler won't drag the pipe upwards at any point in the future.

So taking the classic PVT and T temperature being a constant..... Yes you can get a higher volume but at a lower pressure. And if the pressure isn't great to start with, are you creating an issue further down the line ..?

Question would be why ..?? Most meters are 15mm, and your supply through the house will be 22mm in all likelihood so having a 32mm will give you added cost and complexity for no real benefit (unless you are planning a fire hydrant..??!)