Gone West

Were you affected by the biting bugs in the summer?

I blocked up the air bricks under my bungalow 10 years ago when I moved in. I knew it was going to be demolished so I wasn't worried and thought it would be interesting to see the effect on the timbers. The main part of the bungalow is built of 4"x2" with a suspended timber floor. I should find out next year how the structure has been affected.

I had a plasticity test done before I had my PH slab laid. I dug down to the depth of the slab, took a sample, drove over to the labs dropped the sample off and had the results back in a few days. Painless and cheap.

As an update, a cheery Welsh chap turned up yesterday evening. We rigged up a light for him, gave him a cup of coffee and he fitted the meter. He didn't ask to see any paperwork and didn't ask any questions. It was all rather painless in the end, thank goodness.

No sorry I haven't seen the result.

I bought mine from Merlin Motorsport, it's used in racing car exhausts. If you want I'll send you what I've got, just PM me with your address.

I think that probably applies to a lot of self builders. It's a real rollercoaster, but you just have to keep going. Hope things work out okay for you @ProDave.

This is the company they used. There is a video on there that might help. http://www.arcticfox.co.uk/applications/buildings-historical-restoration/

I had never heard of it until earlier this year when they had the beams cleaned in a cottage down the road. Much less mess than sand blasting and doesn't raise the grain.

I've got a roll of stainless steel wire wool you're welcome to, but it's IIRC about 150mm wide. I just unrolled a length cut it and rolled it into a sausage shape to put behind my cladding. Trouble is I'm about as far from you as it is possible to be in England.

I just use my scaffold tower. Wendy wheeled it along metre by metre with me sitting on top when I was working on the ceiling.

I'll let you have that accolade if you want.

Our sitting room has a 4.2m high vaulted ceiling with a glazed gable end. The window frame accentuates the height because it's grey compared to the white walls. In the main bedroom the vaulted ceiling is a similar height but the walls and ceiling are all white and the height is much less noticeable.

Welcome to the forum. Yeah, my plasterer did screeding and tiling.

I'm going to be doing that next year. @dogman did the same and kindly gave me some very useful information. It certainly seems a good idea.

Yes that's what I thought, two years will be plenty long enough. We ended up having it for seven years, mind you no one's as slow as me.

The last time I did a complete rewire of a house was in the early 90s. It was so simple, SEEBoard fitted the supply cable and meter and connected in my CU tails. I told the engineers I had done the rewire to the latest IEE regs and they said not to worry as they were still working to a much older standard. Of course all the privatisation has done no end of good. We all have so much choice and it must lower costs because that's what they tell us. I always prefer chasing round after three companies instead of one, to get a job done and it's so much better for me to trawl through endless numbers of tariffs to find the cheapest. I solved that one by going to Good Energy where I have the option of one tariff, even if it does cost me more so I'm not for ever changing suppliers. Sorry for the rant, I can tell it's going to be a bad day today.

@MikeSharp01 Our meter fitter is coming from SMS. I was told some fitters want to see the certificate, some don't. We'll probably move in when the heating oil runs out for the bungalow, if there aren't any problems with the house. Depends on the weather but we've got around two months worth left.

I've had UK Power Networks pull the cable through and fit the main fuse. The meter installer is coming next week. I've now had an email to say I will need to show the installer an ICERT before he will fit the meter. I rang them up and they said not all installers want to see an ICERT but if they do and you don't have one they will leave and still be charged. My electrician mostly works on new developments and hasn't heard of an ICERT. Has anyone been asked for an ICERT before a meter will be fitted?

Well done and don't worry my place has been 90% finished for years.

We have a ground floor utility room with all the water, electricity and ventilation equipment in it. Next to the utility room we have a wet room, the reason behind that arrangement was that if there were a flood, in theory, the water could be directed into the shower drain.

We have Western Red Cedar cladding and it extends up under overhangs. Although it appears it would be protected from the rain it's not the case. When it's windy the rain gets blown up much higher than expected and it's the rain that washes the colour out of the cedar more than the UV affecting it. It causes a large variation in colour.

I suppose it's too easy to say, just don't cook with fat, or if you do let it solidify and put it in the bin before washing up. I've never known the vegetable oils we use to clog anything.

Bull by the horns, and do it. You'll regret it later if you don't, but then I'm not the one having to do it. Plus it'll extend the thread to a definite record.

Do you suffer from the effects of decrement delay or is it always windy enough so that heat build up on the surface of the building fabric is lost to the atmosphere.