markharro

Brilliant thanks Dave. I will snap that tester up. One last question...how do I know if a reading is "good". Does the screen show literally "good" or "bad" as the result or does it give a numerical figure (if so am I looking for a figure above or below X to be "good" etc. Thanks

Ah thanks...so does that mean that I only need to connect at the one end of the cable run? It sounds like it from what you say? If so that's a whole lot easier than I'd imagined. Also @ProDave can I ask what I do with these doubled cable ends on the photos.....one for smoke detector and other for lights. Just do the procedure on both cable?

@ProDave thanks very much for the link. Thats cheap enough to buy and its only really 3 ceilings in the house I am concerned about. How do you use this instrument in practise though? So lets say I have a 3 core wire for a light sticking through the ceiling - I connect each core in turn to one of the inputs on the tester ie earth or line? then what? do I need to trace the cable right back to the consumer unit (where currently all our cables is just hanging coiled to be connected ultimately? Find the correct cable and attach the correct core to the other input? If so, how is this done because the rooms are upstairs and the consumer unit downstairs!? Do I need an extension wire and connect that to one core at the consumer unit end and then run that up the stairs and into the bedroom and plug it in to the tester? Thanks again

I was helping our joiner plasterboard some ceilings and I was asking him how you deal with stray screws that might hit a cable for lights/smoke detectors etc. He said it best to get the electrician to test the cabling before the ceilings are skimmed. Problem - our electrician is so busy it may be hard for him to find time to do this before the ceilings are fininished. So, is it possible to test myself without buying expensive testing kit? Is it easy? How is it done. I suspect @ProDave will have the answers!? thanks

This is ours as work in progress. We used a black stain from Treatex on Douglas Fir

@garrymartin @zzPaulzz thanks for your replies. Sorry got waylaid with other stuff in the interim. I need to finish focusing on this now as I won't have much longer to instal the wiring needed. I think for powering an ipad etc I am probably going to go with one of these - https://uk.store.ui.com/uk/en/category/accessories-poe-power/products/uacc-adapter-poe-usbc - pretty much as I am using other Ubiquiti kit in the house. However there are still some issues - this will need to be buried in the wall cavity and once there it wont be accessible so will have to hope the wiring connections stay stable over time. But the other thing is how to bring the USB end out of the wall......I suppose I could use a media face plate on a 1 gang back box with a "curtain" like this https://www.screwfix.com/p/lap-modular-flex-outlet-black/49931 for the cable to poke through! Ideally it would be neater to instal a media module with a USB female socket. Something this externally - https://www.screwfix.com/p/contactum-media-modular-3-1a-15-5w-2-outlet-type-a-c-usb-socket-black/835rp But internally it would need another female USB to allow me to connect it via a short male to male cable to the Ubiquiti widget. I have tried to find a media module configured this way without success - do they exist? The other problem I am trying to solve is how to power an Apple Homepod mini in a bathroom - for remote control of a blind and music! These appear to be 9V and 2.2 amps in terms of power consumption. Is it possible to instal one of these in a bathroom compliant with (Scottish) regs - https://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Products/SF63WMW.html?source=adwords&ad_position=&ad_id=&placement=&kw=&network=x&matchtype=&ad_type=pla&product_id=SF63WMW&product_partition_id=&campaign=shopping&version=finalurl_v3&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjw1NK4BhAwEiwAVUHPUJl6FBHFEK8EuFsI7roIi0CVcA-yFJE-RdeGka2YMdMwAW2FCkB5-BoC9KkQAvD_BwE If so would the Homepod mini work with this? THanks

I wonder if someone could help me with my issue - I need to finish these posts. As you can see plain steel ie non galvanised. I want to protect the steel but also produce a visual effect to mirror galvanising as we will have some other galvanised metal parts nearby. I had planned to use this Zinga product - https://www.promain.co.uk/zinga-96-zinc-cathodic-protection.html but spoke to their tech support and it is meant to go on bare steel so that would mean sand blasting the posts and thats not really an option. They suggested maybe using this spray to produce as an alternative sprayed on after I sandpaper the posts first of all - https://www.promain.co.uk/zinga-zingaspray.html Does anyone have any advice? Thanks

We have bought 2 Bette trays. Very good quality thick gauge steel. Not installed them yet but working on one atm.

Im in Scotland too and our "smart meter" stopped connecting earlier in the year. It took Octopus about 3 months to get an engineer out and it seems to be working again. The engineer appeared to be saying that if you make a real fuss they will install an external aerial for you but it seems this is the very last resort.

Thanks @Russell griffiths thats helpful. What about the screw length though - would 50mm be enough? Yes boarding up over the timber. I see what you mean about starting there and working down.....next time I will know better. I have planed the studs so that an 18mm ply spacer should level the board with the one below - hopefully!

Is anyone able to comment on my post above?

Thanks @Russell griffiths and @Alan Ambrose here is where I have got to so far. Next step to screw the board to the concrete. I have the fixings in the photo - the SS screws are 50mm. Will these be long enough? Also how many screws and what pattern for this section of board which is 800mm high by 900mm wide? thanks,

Thanks but I have already got the Hardie board and fitted half of it to studwork - just got this tricky bit over about 1m2 of bowed concrete to sort out!

I think I need something like this - https://www.fischer.co.uk/en-gb/products/frame-fixings/hammerfix-n/hammerfix-n-s-d but will the washer be an issue when we come to tile? Is this sort of thing better - https://www.fischer.co.uk/en-gb/products/frame-fixings/hammerfix-n/hammerfix-n-p - although again the plastic sleeve head will stand proud of the board. Maybe this - https://www.fischer.co.uk/en-gb/products/frame-fixings/hammerfix-n/hammerfix-n-s ?

I probably only need to mix up a 1/5 of a bag to use to stick hardie board to masonry at the back of our shower enclosure. Do I need to weight it and then accurately add the correct amount of water pro rata or is this overkill? Also will the rest of the bag contents go off once opened as I wont be using it for the main tiling for maybe another 2 months!?

Thanks Russell/Gary.......I guess we need to decide if we want a timber faced/solid door or a primed door for painting. Other than that there are 2 things - it seems hard to source a formaldehyde free door....the "prima plus" in this range is but it does not appear to be available in small quantities in the UK - https://halspan.com/product_type/3-layer-particle-board/?_product_range=non-fire-rated The other thing is that we are thinking of having flush doors using this sort of hinge - https://www.carlislebrass.com/ceam-3d-concealed-hinge-1266 It look like quite a deep hole needs to be routed for a hinge like this - would that be an issue with a chipboard door? I have found these which look like the Rolls Royce of doors but looks like they cost at least £600 upwards!! https://www.lathamtimber.co.uk/products/door-blanks/brands/moralt

What are the issues I need to be considering? Don't really know where to start with these...what are the standard options for internal doors? Do "eco" products exist?

Thanks yes this is the sort of thing. Not clear however how it would fit inside a standard UK wiring box but why so expensive! I think this would power an Apple Homepod mini though so thats interesting.

Thanks - @garrymartin the idea is to power an always on ipad or similar tablet to be used for smarthome controlling etc. Then I also have a couple of low power temp sensors and reader display which are powered via USB C

Hi Can anyone supply a link for what I am describing - basically a media socket dongle that will accept a PoE wire and output as a USB C female socket? thanks

We have a 3 phase supply and a 6kw array installed about a year ago. Recently I have applied for an Octopus tariff where they pay me for export. The application is held up atm as I have been told by the DNO that the installer has not yet put in a G98 submissions. I called the installer and spoke to a receptionist who indicated that they don't have to do a G98 and that only the G99 is mandatory; that a G98 is a lot of work and they will see if they have the time to do it? Is this correct? My understanding was that both G98 and 99 are needed where relevant?

I have a 7 metre one of this type and its fine - that is if you dont mind that it wobbles and sways a fair bit especially at the top. I have been using it for cladding and it does the job and supports both me and the missus lower down!

We have fitted what must be 2 or 3 hundred bits of D Fir cladding to date with 2 different types of SS screws mostly with no pilot holes and using an impact driver. I think maybe one screw has been an issue so far!

Thanks @Nick Laslett thats really helpful. Can I ask did you consider omitting a bead at external corners and instead creating a rounded edge with a rasp or similar......just wondering if that is feasible with Fermacell? And did you leave a shadow gap at the bottom of walls? That is the detail I am most interested in seeing with and without a bead.

Hi @Nick1c and @Nick Laslett sorry to hassle but it would be great to see some photos showing the Fermacell edge finish with and without bead. And @Nick Laslett are you saying you used a bead and then the FST to cover it? How did that work out? Could you apply it thickly enough at the bead to cover it properly? thanks