Carrerahill

This is the LD's fault, they ought to have written a commissioning schedule with the clients input, then attended site with the commissioning engineer to set it all up with a final sign off hour or so with the client also present to confirm. Get that right and Lutron system are in fairness easy enough for each party involved. It is like trying to launch a rocket without the rocket command crew and no one to authorise it.

I have experience with Lutron from entire office complexes to the Grafik Eye and even the little Rania stand alone units. It is good stuff, I always quite fancied a Grafik Eye for lighting control but realistically I have always managed to achieve the same or better for less money. I would also say that really it is not really at home in a domestic setting, apart for the Rania stuff and Grafik eye I suppose but anything more than that is a bit OTT. I have automated a lot of my house with Shelly, they do a little standalone module and a Pro module which is Din rail mounted, so far it has enough I/O capability to control lighting schedules, garage doors, automatic blinds (not that I have any right enough but the interface is there if I did need it - same as a garage door actually). They cost about £9 for a little standalone unit and about £50 for the din rail mounted options, you have heat and humidity sensors, gas sensors, basically everything. I automate the lighting in the house, mainly external and some internal circuits mainly for security and convenience, such as knowing the main living spaces will all be lit when we need them and go off when we are off to bed, external lighting is a collection of semi-automated and sensor driven lighting which is all connected so at the flip of a switch I can light all round the house and the external lighting on the remote garage. I can control the heating, other circuits if I need and the system can be scaled and programmed by just about anyone. Lutron... try a commissioning engineer at £800 a day - £1500 is Lutron send them.

If it was me I would get some access & a harness and go and remove all the roughcast, and then deep rake out the joints and repoint it, then roughcast it. Or I would get a roofer/builder type to do the same if I was in the right mood. I would not get rid of a chimney. I think the costs you have provisioned are about right.

Where have you been asking? Non-reusable pallets are a waste product of the logistics industry. The country is awash with them. I build log stores with them and break up into kindling or use the big blocks as firewood. The blue/red/green stamped ones are reusable pallets which will stay in service for x number of trips however they are used by logistics routes where return journeys or repeat services can keep the moving back and forward. I know a security guard our business estate and gathers 400-500 odd at a time then sells them for a pound each.

I think the issue with this request is that it is very time consuming. I've QSed 3-4 of my own builds now varying from extensions to loft conversions and garages and a couple for friends and family and to do it accurately (so far I have always been very close to final built cost) it takes a long time, you would need to provide full warrant drawings to know full spec's etc. In my build one of the single most costly things was insulation, but looking at your build it will be glazing. The best thing is to get your drawing package, it will need to be the building warrant to understand details, and start to break it down into blocks. Price up the walls, price per block/brick plus laid price, volumes of concrete, cost to prep and pour, get your glazing quote, roof area, get roof material cost. You will need to apply standard labour costs for your area unless you are closely in tune with labour costs. You will probably work out a figure that won't be that far off, always remember daft stuff like joist hangers and fixings, chemical anchors. Another option would be a small one man band QS or building surveyor etc. They may do this for a keen price and it will help you understand where you stand.

Great strategy, but 1 more care point, the battery shorting on something and causing a fire. There are numerous reports of batteries in boxes and bags catching fire when shorting on things like a collection of screwdrivers or steelwool in the case of one plumber who nearly lost his van. I've seen a 2 foot piece of wire in flames in as little as 1-2 seconds after the two ends became lodged in terminals of a 12V battery after being thrown in a toolbox. The house stank for days too. Made me a real advocate of LSF cable too!

Whoever "wrapped" that up should be shot! What a waste. Is any saveable?

I understand that but you said that you were getting blank expression from sales staff when trying to buy a toilet, they will not have a clue what you mean. Internally in any factory there is always a grading or quality control system, maybe all produced items are saleable but at different prices depending on defects or maybe it is just a pass/fail. So the guy you spoke to would know his own factories QC system.

I am going to suggest there is no such thing as a grade 1 toilet and a grade 2, 3 etc. in terms of a marketable grading, maybe within a factory certainly. Perhaps it would be like saying a Clio is a grade 3 car and a BMW 5 series is a grade 1 - it doesn't really work that way but we all know a BMW is going to have far better build quality, will go on longer and is frankly a better car. So buy a £45 toilet in B&Q and you get what you pay for. What you notice about hotels and restaurants is they always use the likes or Armitage Shanks etc. I am sure if you called them up and explained what you are talking about they would be able to tell you the difference between the quality they make vs a £45 pan - however, like most of the better brands, they had to compete in the cheaper markets, BMW brought out their 1 series and Armitage Shanks probably does a budget cheap pan, so do your homework and shop about but don't listen to sales personnel!

A cut joint to the floor is also not great, first time it gets damp it will swell up. Unless they take time to properly seal it then clear silicon it to the floor with a very thin clean bead.

£250 to get a panel painted? Go and find yourself a little back street automotive painter or if you use a local independent garage who are decent ask them if they know any auto painters. Where are you located? Not in Scotland are you?

Take a sample of the current kitchen (door or something) to an automotive/industrial paint supplier and ask them to match it - or better, take it to an automotive paint shop and ask them to do it. Even the medium sized firms will have a colour-mix system in house. When I want to match things, like say a light fitting to a piece of furniture for example I take a sample and leave it with them, they go and play with the colours and usually give me 5-6 options to pick from, they basically make up tiny amounts of paint and dab it on a card. I've got some excellent results including some very difficult colours including metallics. For house stuff I get the colours in a solvent-borne basecoast and coat them with 2K satin lacquer to get the final finish I need. Good thing with 2 stage paint systems is that if you get the finish too glossy you can alter ratios and settings and re-laquer without messing with the basecoat, or some may call it colour coat. Lots of thinner in a gloss lacquer and a really wet coat can give mirror finishes, less thinners and applying a "dry" mist can give a much more satin look, then you get satin lacquer which again can actually be made quite glossy or even more satin through ratio and gun control. An intentional light orange peel on a paint finish can also give the colour a variance to it as you look at it which can help hide colour match irregularities. Another thing to bear in mind is the primer, use a grey primer on a metallic silver for example and you will get a light, sparkly finish, use a black primer and you will transform the final finish because part of the depth of colour comes from the primer, black can leave the silver looking slightly darker but also washed out as the layer build is wrong. Do something like use a blue primer and you can create some really interesting finishes. So sometimes even if you have a close colour match but it doesn't look right, then the chances are maybe the prep was not right to achieve the tone or depth you need. I could apply the same paint to 4 different primers and make it look like 4 different tones of paint.

1. Not a chance in hell - they need to deal with it on their side. 2. As above. 3. As above. They need to redo their drains and leave the manhole alone because that is serving your house, in fact, they have no right really touching said manhole as it is not theirs! They must leave a system in place for your house.

Indeed. I suspect that is why the builder is trying to put the onus onto the OP. He knows this is an issue, perhaps didn't allow for it and thinks the OP can now be made to foot bill. Well I am sorry but this builder has been caught out or didn't do due diligence. Interestingly, this could now delay the neighbours build until this is all agreed and new warrant drawings approved. Time to get real with them.

I can say with absolute certainty, your neighbours are dealing with a sewer in their garden, not your soil pipe, a soil pipe is a private water waste line, a sewer is a public duct for water waste. The builder will know this too, he doesn't want the water board to know. I would call the water board.

He is a builder, not a civil engineer or drainage expert. Builders think water is easy. Say that to a water engineer.

It is not your soil pipe as soon as it leaves your boundary, it becomes a sewer after this point and is the responsibility of the water board. You have the right to continue to discharge via this pipe, you can continue to and it is their responsibility to resolve. You can wash your hands of this situation. Why is the pipe not fit for purpose? Did it work before?

Get the shell up and some services in, then re-price everything later on. The prices will come down, or the building trade will just slow so dramatically that manufacturers will be forced to drop prices if they remain greedy.

Agreed 100%. Reduce the population and all the earths issues are solved. Covid was the earths way of trying that - it failed because nature didn't expect Astrazeneca and Pfizer to come along! Something will get us though. There should be no social support for any more than 2 children. Give them the cash, they will have the kids without a care in the world! Those of us who pay our way in life will self regulate because more kids = more cash! The real population problem countries will need another strategy mind you. China actually had the right idea, they just didn't make it work very well in their commie way. I am not controversial, I just say it like it is.

The issue is that Great Britain will do and are doing their bit, however, we contribute such a small amount to the problem even if we came up with the ultimate solution, the world would still fall to pieces if left unchecked. We must lean heavily on India, China etc. they must get their house in order. I do my bit by not buying cheaply made tat, particularly from China, I have a real dislike of materials, read earths resources, being use to make poor quality things be it a radio or a house. If the planet gives us resources to make or build something, we owe it to the planet and humankind to use those materials effectively, efficiently and in a way which guarantees longevity. I would, tomorrow, given half the chance ban all throw away type party accessories, balloons, plastic rubbish, solar garden lights sold in supermarkets and DIY stores and frankly just **** we don't need. Here is an example of the problems we face/create - I pick this example because as an argument it holds water and it is relatable and something we can do at home. On Christmas day I have come to expect a dining table likes of that the Queen would sit at, placed on the table is family silverware dating back over a century, plates and bone china over 125 years old, silver candlestick holders, crystal and silver flower holders holding locally sourced seasonal foliage etc. (Holly & pine from the garden, perhaps some Poinsettia from the florist), the table cloths and runners are cotton and silk. The table looks a million pounds but uses things that will be used for decades to come and in some cases these items may have seen over 100 Christmases. Then on the flip side you get the table made up with loads of junk that will get tossed in a bin on Boxing day. This is an issue. We do not need it, we did without it up until 40 odd years ago and all we have done is cheapen our "decorations". When I buy Christmas lights I but the most expensive I can from manufactures I recognise, I am hoping to get a commercial string of warm white LED soon for Christmas, they will cost about £80 but should last 25 years and are serviceable. I have a set of multicoloured green string Christmas lights which are 21 years old and are still used every year. I bought a set of warm white LED's 7 years ago which go on the Christmas tree every year, we used the same pine tree 2 years in a row and planted it out this year as it is nearly 9 foot tall now. The previous collection are in pots or planted. Some may say I am cheap, some may say I am wise and saving the planet. I would agree with both counts! But seriously we can have beautiful thing without waste. We must start looking at things and thinking, do I need that. I saw there was a shortage of paddling pools this year, what happened to all the paddling pools bought last year when there was a shortage too? Well, I will tell you what happened, they are so cheap and "throwaway" that they got left in gardens up and down the country and tossed in the wheelie bin by about November. Why are they so cheap? Charge £25-40 for one and people will maybe think about wasting them. Don't get me started on youths at festivals with tents. All tents, minimum £60 and worth the money - that will hopefully solve that issue. Why are kettles £9 in Argos? I went and bought a Bosch kettle and toaster for our new kitchen, however, only when the old stuff died. The old Russel Hobbs one literally blew up, so I binned it and bought the Bosch one, the toaster didn't make it to the new kitchen and caught fire in the old kitchen burning out the elements, it was very tired, but it gave good service and it was replaced with a Bosch one to match the kettle. I expect long service from these. I hope the earths resources were used wisely. I moved our integrated dishwasher into the new kitchen, it is a Siemens unit, I stripped it out the old kitchen and gave it such a deep clean my wife thought it was new when installed in the new kitchen. I even serviced and checked it out electrically and mechanically, deep cleaning the waste pipe etc. If it goes wrong I will fix it. 2 years ago I replaced the run capacitor on the pump. We waste SO much. Stop the waste and we could burn petrol and diesel till our hearts content!

If the OP has safe secure storage space and money then I agree this would be very prudent.

What is commonly produced for construction projects is a gantt chart. It is more or less what you are talking about, a week by week planner with all the stages and overlaps and sequence etc. all laid into one plan. The issue is, no plan survives first contact. However, they are done, and they are common. They can sometime also list deadlines for things such as material and equipment date and time requirements including when they need to be ordered. More often than not because a Gantt chart may cover 10's of contractors they often leave that contractor up to doing his own ordering to suit his schedule. So in other words if there is a 2 week period programmed in for first fix electrical, then the electrical contractor obviously knows they need to arrive at site on day 1 with some materials to get rolling.

I would put together a report and cover letter and email it to your planning officer. Me being me I would probably also go and knock on the neighbours door for a friendly little chat.

You were too busy trying to sell walk on glazing!

Those are Outfox the Market tariffs - I'd say those are the cheapest I have ever found.