Gone West

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.

Yeah it's copper down here. I didn't get any subsidy, didn't know you could. I'm just pleased to be rid of BT/Openreach.

I had a Vfast engineer install their service the day before yesterday. They were a pleasure to deal with compared to Openreach. Ten days from making the initial enquiry to having it installed. They let me fit the cable and were happy to work around what I wanted. Their service was 17Mbps compared to 1.5Mbps for BT and it's cheaper. I shall take great delight telling BT what to do with their old cable when we demolish the bungalow.

We used the Isoquick insulated foundation system and our BCO accepted it because it had LABC EW25 certification.

I don't have a conventional external leaf. The DPM lines the interior of the Insulation so in theory the concrete slab should never be damp. I tend to over-engineer things so thought if the slab did get wet then the timber I-beam sole plate could be isolated from the damp slab by fitting the DPC.

It could be straight on the slab, but I asked for it to sit on a DPC which is folded up the outside and then covered with the membrane which is on the outside of the OSB racking.

That's interesting because that's what I wanted to do. The BCO said I couldn't because he wouldn't allow drainage into the soil within 5m of the house. He said the land drain was drainage.

I did all mine after the slab was laid and the frame was up. I couldn't see any advantage to laying surface drainage pipes before the slab as they would probably just be in the way or could be damaged.

I've been asking myself that everyday, since a few weeks into the build.

Hi Ben, welcome and good luck with the project.

Wendy has helped me with every aspect of the build including felting the roof, which she really didn't like doing, in the strong wind!

A few years ago there was a company on ebay who would MCS certify your own system. Doesn't look as though they still do it but others might. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Full-MCS-Micro-Generation-Certification-Scheme-Registration-for-your-PV-system-/221546302788?pt=UK_Gadgets&hash=item3395304d44

Yeah that looks like it on the wall. Don't remember the name though.

IIRC they painted the Hardiebacker/plasterboard with a bonding liquid which was gritty, sticky, blue coloured and expensive. Can't remember what it was called. Then it was skimmed with a fine mesh embedded in the skim coat. Then they applied the Venetian Plaster base coat and then two top coats which I think was Stucco Italiano. Then it was waxed and polished. The skill is in creating the pattern using the trowel.

Yes it has been sealed. They used different waxes but I can't remember exactly what they were. They also used a buffing machine similar to what is used on cars. Apparently it should be rewaxed every four years.

Sorry, okay I won't say we've got them in all the bathrooms then.