AdamD

Best options to cover the pipes?

Got this very annoying gap to finish off with coving (used to be a hatch there for the loft) and not sure how to best do it. As you can see rather than a miter cut on the front facing wall it’s straight so not as easy to meet with a bit at the wall right angle. Could do another straight bit and fill but then the whole corner would look unfinished. Also the bit to the right is not perfectly straight which doesn’t help a new piece line up very well. any ideas?

Got a couple Of MK04’s which we need blackout blinds for and the velux prices are horrible! Can anyone recommend an alternative which is basically the same other than the price?!

All good, got the bwt one and installed in a few hours the other day. Can tell the difference in the water softness! Fingers crossed it saves out matte black bathroom bits and helps the appliances!

Does it impact the water pressure? I see they have a high flow one, does that mean better pressure within the house? Appreciate that may be a stupid question and not remotely linked!!

Is this something like what you’ve got? https://www.screwfix.com/p/bwt-water-softener-14ltr/62242

Thanks both, really useful. the bwt one I was looking at, screwfix right? Is it mains powered or does it not need electrical input? is the installation particularly difficult? any concerns such as the attached I’ve read online?

We live in a hard water area and have recently got a new en suite which we’re going put in Matte black shower, taps etc and have been advised a water softener is a good idea due to the levels of limescale. Makes sense really as we get an awful lot on our chrome shower. any thoughts and suggestions as to which to get, for a family of 4, 4 bed semi detached average sized house.

Freshly plastered wall - what first coat emulsion:water ratio should be used?

They were in an awful state, so was definitely needed! Apparently they were early days composite as well. Super thin and I saw them as they were coming off, very glad they’ve been replaced!

Need to buy a number of sockets for new loft room And want to get some usb type sockets for some of them. Don’t want to go cheap but not really sure what considerations I should make, ie. I understand that the usb outlets are ‘never off’ ie not like the 3 pin which is switched on and off at the socket. Is that right? If so, are there ones where the usb a or c element can be switched? Thinking of a plate with 2 usb a and 1 usb c - is it dangerous to have too many?

Two options provided by the contractor. I can go back to discuss any cost implications of natural slate.

We’re having a loft conversion and have been asked which roof tiles we want, either concrete edgemere tiles or composite slate tiles. Pros and cons of each? We really don’t know!

How would I determine that? The latter! Ha

Any ideas, anyone?

Got it sorted, new water pipe installed. Unfortunately it was most certainly a leak from our old pipe so no hope getting anything back from the water company. An annoying expense, but a necessary one.

Making this odd noise near the end of the cycle, any ideas? IMG_5778.mov

Yeah I think I’ll call them back. meter box is there correct, lifted it earlier and it was full of water, scooped it out to see it was still running even with the stop cock inside turned off foul sewer - so may be worth contacting the sewerage provider?

Concrete manhole slab is on our drive. See pic. metal manhole cover just behind, I’ve lifted that and there’s no blockages and it’s running fine

IMG_5681.mov

No Our driveway is on a slope and so flows down to the road and I’ve noticed a leak from the concrete slab type manhole cover, not gushing but a steady flow so clearly leaking a lot of water. I can’t get the slab up without damaging it so want to know what my first option is to investigate, or is breaking the slab to get it up the best way?

That’s reassuring as the two quotes we’ve had are in the 69k range, inc flooring and bathroom. Just doesn’t include bathroom tiles (but does include the tiling) which is annoying but hundreds rather than thousands more. We’re down south so obviously paying a premium there, as with everything else. One of the companies did one very similar a couple of roads away and arranged for me to go and see it - very impressed I must say

Crazy money, isn’t it

Really interesting and useful, thanks. I’ll challenge the builders with this when I speak to them about the quotes. not sure what is classes as tall and steep so I’ll get up there tomorrow and measure to, say, the highest point and post here for opinions!

Thanks. I’m a layman so not massively following, whilst I kind of understand what you’re saying. What is typical and how much space may be lost ? can you explain joist uplift and downward thrust in this context please ?