Gone West

My BCO was happy to accept my PHPP results instead of as designed SAP.

A friend coated some of her floor using Tadelakt which she did herself and it looked great. It would be beyond me to do it myself, I'm not at all artistic.

I have bought perspex from here and they also do splashbacks. http://www.cutplasticsheeting.co.uk/acrylic-kitchen-splashbacks/ We decided on a glass splashback instead of acrylic because I was worried about possible deformation due to heat.

IIRC Accoya softwood has a 50 guarantee. I think there is probably the largest lifetime range with softwood than any other material.

@DNA You could also read my blog entry detailing my insulated raft foundation. I don't want to put you off though. It was done nearly seven years ago and was the first in the country.

Another exception are laurels.

As in Jeremy's case, at our current self build we had to have an overhead cable moved which involved repositioning poles. This was done by EDF, a few years ago, and again there was no cost to us. We asked if they would run the cable under the ground but they said there would be a charge so we didn't bother. There wasn't a wayleave agreement in place when we first moved onto site so we had one set up. They even back dated the payments for a few years. I think having the wayleave agreement helped to get the work done.

Welcome to the forum Lucy. Do you mean you have overhead power cables crossing your property? If so do you have a wayleave agreement with the DNO? If so you could find out if it is possible to remove the wayleave agreement and make them reconsider the cost. I had uninsulated overhead cables replaced with insulated at my previous house at no cost to me due to the wayleave.

How very true.

I'm a bit surprised that isn't considered a trip hazard especially as it's at the top of the stairs.

It's Sennocke. We were also told we could only have site insurance until completion but Sennocke went away and came back with the unoccupied buildings and contents cover solution.

I didn't need site insurance any longer because the house is largely completed and 90% furnished. I no longer have all the equipment on site associated with a build. I'm hoping to have it signed off later in the year. It is in the garden of the existing bungalow that we are living in until it is demolished. The policy is for a year with the proviso that is is inspected once a week. I'm in there nearly every day so a much cheaper option for me.

As site insurance was so expensive, and I didn't really need it, I've converted that to unoccupied buildings and contents cover. It works out at less than half the price of site insurance and I've got contents cover for £20,000 included. I don't yet have a completion certificate.

This table might be useful. Sewage Treatment Plant Selection - Which Sewage Plant is the BEST? Comparision of EN12566-3 Test Results Below is a comparison list of Performance Results during the EN12566-3 Test - taken from the EN12566-3 PIA Test Centre website. The figures are the average of the 38 weeks testing - the lower the figures, the better the result. It is probably better to avoid plants which have figures in red that are at, or close to, the limits, as they must have exceeded the limits on some test occasions and you are not allowed to exceed the limits at all. Make of Plant Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD) Mg/L Suspended Solids {SS) Mg/L Ammoniacal Nitrogen (NH4 - N) Mg/L Environment Agency Maximum Limits 20 30 20 Klargester Biodisc 20 23 5 Klargester Envirosafe 12 21 3.4 Klargester Bio-Ficient 20 27 0.4 WPL Diamond 10 21 7.3 Balmoral Hydroclear 11 19 4.5 Tricel 11 16 8 Graf Klaro E 12 20 12 Condor ASP 8 12 7.7 Falcon 11 16 5.9 Vortex 7.3 15.2 0.4 FilterPod Non-Electric 10 12 11 Premier Tech Aqua Ltd. Epurfix Non-Electric 11 14 20 Clearfox Non-Electric 9 29 12

Very much in the vein of "Let Stalk Strine" which in the 60s, as students, we thought was hilarious.

I don't think they have a leg to stand on but they are worried by the number of houses that are not weathertight for long periods of time and the resulting deterioration of the materials. I'll ask the BCO what the minimum is that is required to issue the completion certificate.

An interesting point that I have encountered with my warranty is that as my build has taken longer than the warranty issuer assumed it would they have told me if the completion certificate isn't issued this year they won't honour the warranty. It's something I am still considering as there was not a time limit mentioned in the documentation.

I'm waiting for the drought to end. We've had less than 50mm in the last three months.

Our neighbours had one installed by "professionals" and it popped out of the ground overnight. It was one that had to be concreted in and they didn't put enough concrete in the hole or fill the tank with water. Mine is anchored by four horizontal angle irons in the soil.

I can't see why a 50 gallon coffin type tank wouldn't work if you've got the space for the length.

When Dan bought the place he asked me what the two big cylinders were in the loft. I had a look and was surprised they were in the loft, and connected HWC, as I'd not seen that arrangement before. Don't know how big it is but the cold water tank is on a platform in the ridge, strange, but it seems to work okay. It has maximised the space in the house by not needing a large airing cupboard.

My son has two hot water cylinders in his loft. IIRC they are connected in series. They were plumbed like that when he bought the place and I think it's just a height issue. Probably cheaper to get two standard off the shelf cylinders, than get a bespoke one made.

Don't think I would qualify:- You must meet this criteria before applying for this scheme: The property can not receive other alternative, affordable broadband services of at least 2Mbps.

There are different broadband packages varying between £14.50 and £36.99 per month and VoIP packages of £5.99 or £8.99 plus a set up charge. http://www.vfast.co.uk/packages/

I've got a small, 250mm x 100mm receiver on my TV aerial mast that picks up a signal from a repeater on the local church which is about 3/4 mile away. It just needs a clear line of sight between the two. Whenever it rained and a strong wind was from the wrong direction water got into the BT junction box on the pole and the line packed up. I'm really looking forward to telling BT what to do with their line.