Gone West

Ipe is great, I've got it on my balcony, but it is very heavy.

I am in Kent and when we originally spoke to OR they gave us the ducting and told us we could have an underground service from the pole and bring it up inside the house. By the time we wanted the line put in they had changed the rules and told us they would only install a line to the outside of the house and it had to be overhead. Needless to say we are not going to be using an OR line.

Many years ago I bought a magnetic 'domestic water conditioner' and fitted it as instructed. It didn't work so I complained and they sent me a 'commercial' version. That didn't work either so they asked what my water hardness level was. When I told them they said their system wouldn't work because the water was too hard. Got my money back though. Since then I have used various versions of twin tank water softeners which do work.

That's the same as us which is why going away makes you forget about it. Wendy's always reminding me that I'm a grumpy old sod and that we are very lucky, which of course we are.

For the first few years of our build we took 3 months off in the winter and went to Madeira for a few weeks each year. This slowed up our build quite a bit, as you can imagine, but was great for recharging the batteries. We haven't been away now for some time which has meant getting more done on the house but as you say motivation can be a struggle. Being able to forget about the build completely is great!

Resin joint was my first search string. You can guess what Google came up with, until I put 'electrical' in front.

As usual it's knowing what search string to use. I used 'adhesive lined heat shrink end caps' in the end. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Adhesive-Lined-Heat-Shrink-End-Caps-PLCE100A-Various-Sizes-/272706037889?var=&hash=item3f7e8be881:m:msC7GCZWMR0pdmmnOQ0pSqQ

We didn't have any complaints from locals about the plans and had positive support from the Parish Council. We've been building for years now and have only ever had pleasant comments.

I think that says more about your valuer than reality. I would never market my house as an 'Eco House' because it has no meaning. We've had a lot of people look at our house as it has been built, and many have been interested in the PH concept. One couple in particular, the woman was from Germany, were looking to buy a house but were fed up with seeing draughty old houses. They knew about PH and wanted to buy one. Having certification would have been a bonus for them. The PH market is small but the the number for sale is also small. We had our house valued and the valuer added a premium because it was built to PH standards. Don't devalue your house because it is a PH.

The only 'professionals' I've used on my build are a structural engineer, airtightness assessor and SAP assessor. I think what @JSHarris said about self builders being seen as a gravy train is right, certainly with larger builds.

I've got a full height white gloss end panel and two half height left over from my kitchen. Don't know where you are but if close enough you're welcome to have a look.

I linked to this site a while back. http://diywardrobes.co.uk/#cabinetdesigner Also Ikeahackers gives plenty of ideas. http://www.ikeahackers.net/

I looked at these when researching for my build. IIRC they were used on a Grand Design where two houses were built on a tight site in London. http://www.screwfast.com/

Hi Erwin, 1. mine was overlapped one square 2. no closer than 40mm to the edge to prevent rusting, mine was around 50mm 3. don't see why not 4. I would to prevent cracking

It really does depend on the quality of the post. I've used posts with a 25 year guarantee and drilled through for fixing bolts and the treatment has gone all the way through. On the other hand some have had only 20mm of treatment.

Welcome and good luck with the project.

The box I've got spare is a Pratley, it's just a bit bulky. I think I'll go for the resin joint. I should have thought of @JSHarris's idea because I've got a bore hole pump with that type of cable connection, trouble is my brain refuses to work sometimes! Thanks again.

@Onoff & @JSHarris thanks for the ideas.

I've got an IP66 box so I could do that. It would become live if switched on at the CU so it's for safety's sake. Eventually it will be the shed supply but will run under where the bungalow is at present. I was hoping there was something smaller that could just be clamped over the end of the cable. I quite like @JSHarris's idea of using heat shrink etc if it would pass muster with the electrician doing the Part P check.

Can anyone recommend a device that is weatherproof for safely capping a 6mm2 SWA cable. This is a temporary measure.

We've got exactly that effect on our untreated cedar cladding. Rain seems to wash the colour out far more than UV affects it.

Truly stunning, I wish I had been allowed to build something looking like that.

I used Wickes plaster sealer then two coats Brewers own emulsion. On the woodwork I used Brewers own primer and then two coats of their eggshell. I used the plaster sealer based on its reviews and it was excellent.

AIUI this is the image released by the Press Association which Phillip Hammond is referring to. This shows zinc faced cladding as referenced by @JSHarris earlier in the thread not aluminium. .

This was discussed five years ago on the AECB forum. http://www.aecb.net/forum/index.php/topic,3765.msg13776.html#msg13776