Bonner

I had a Belfast sink under the outside tap (no hot!) in my last house, very useful I found. Got it for £10 off eBay or Facebook. Put mine on brick pillars but you can get cast iron wall brackets.

Same as the insulation, whatever you are doing with the rest of the ceiling. The only difference is the beam is being clad (cloaked) instead of plastered.

A timber beam is not normally considered a cold bridge like steel. It’s the same in principle as the rafters, are you insulating under them or only between? If you are putting insulation across the rafters, you should treat the ridge the same. If you are only insulating in between the rafters, then I would just clad directly over the ridge. Aesthetically you might want to make the clad ridge deeper to look ‘right’ and in proportion. Think about what you are going to see once the ceiling is plastered.

Depending on your contract, you could claim force majeure, “acts of war” or suspend work until prices come down (ie. indefinitely). Hopefully they will see sense and realise that you are not going to finish the job at 2019 prices. Interesting what you say about labour no longer a problem, are you seeing a slow down in demand?

I had a similar problem. Couldn’t find a leak anywhere but pressure dropped 0.5 bar over 2 weeks. A dose of Leak sealer solved the problem

Actually it’s the market price of a barrel of crude oil, Brent being the benchmark grade. Market price has little to do with cost, it is supply and demand. Production costs range from <$10/barrel in the Middle East to >$60/barrel in offshore, deep water fields.

Trusses for the main house. Simple cut rafters with a Glulam beam in the garden room as it is vaulted without ties. I wanted to avoid steel due to cold bridging and the need for a SE. Didn’t price up a full cut roof but can imagine the labour cost tipping the scales towards trusses.

Definitely a neighbour, nobody in local authority has the time or inclination to look in everyone’s back yard!

What is the ducting for? Underground stuff will do the job but not fit anything else in the system. Rigid plastic ducting is better.

Not insane at all, it will be worth it if you’re planning to stay in the house a long time. Consider using engineered joists but keep in mind that you can’t notch them.

Very helpful sharing your take aways! I am seriously considering Cool Energy so will look out for the new display. Grant also on the list if I can find a reasonable cost MCS installer offering 7 year warranty.

Cheers, good to know it’s not a silly rate. I am prepared to pay a bit more for a decent job.

Yep, no sign of a slow down so they can quote ‘take or leave it’ prices. I will have to take it if we are going to get moved in this year.

Yes, that’s his price. Gone up since yours then 🤔

Correction - the price didn’t include materials, labour only! Still not sure if this is reasonable, struggling to get another quote …

Ask them for the relevant regulation, this cannot be a matter for individual officers judgement.

I would use rigid plastic stuff, cheaper, easier to work with and probably quieter. If it’s the same size as the bend, try the pipe directly onto the spigot.

Just been quoted £6/m2 for boarding and the same for skimming (£12/m2 board and skim) inc. materials. Does this seem reasonable in 2022?

My soakaways are closer than that due to space constraints, approved by BC so it is not undevelopable. But you need an acceptable solution before committing

Welcome, no worries plenty of amateur enthusiasts here 😉 Velux are normally very robust, never had a problem as you describe. Might be worth posting a photo to obtain more specific advice.

Before you decide it needs replacing or even repairing, what’s the problem? Is it not working in some way? How do you know? Keep in mind that thousands of homes have septic tanks which have done the job for years without any baffles or anything else inside!

You are doing well, this one’s flying up! Last time I looked you were in the trenches. Started thinking where the Christmas tree is going yet? 😉

No.1 for me would be to fit self closers, an open door is useless! Next make sure they are very well fitted, minimal gaps and all round seals if you want to go that far. Have you thought about fire doors?

Heavy rebar epoxied into the wall? Have you looked on YouTube? Loads of ideas, quite a lot American so some materials and tools we don’t have but worth a browse.

Not wishing to split hairs ... but it’s kWh isn’t it?