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Okay, had a chat with the builder today: it MIGHT be possible to avoid a pump and have a gravity system. He’s going to try to set that up. Query about having the kitchen sink/ dishwasher water waste pipe predominantly internally: will I hear the water trickling down the pipe? Or will the kitchen base units which conceal the pipe, also muffle any sound?

How much did you pay for that?

Okay, that’s good news. Thanks. Couldn’t figure out how to do that on the website but will give them a call tomorrow morning.

Maybe the third hinge, if it is really necessary, could be a concealed one? That way it can go nearer the top as @ProDave suggests, but without affecting the symmetry of the other two.

I’m in a flat that is part of a Victorian mansion block.All the doors are big, heavy solid oak and old. About 2100 high and 880 wide. All of them only have two hinges. They all work fine. No warping. Three hinges would increase oiling cost and installation cost by 50% unnecessarily in my opinion. It’s all about using high quality hinges.

Precisely.

I have to agree with @Pete. Why would you want to illuminate this area of your floor?

I’ve spent a VERY long time designing our kitchen and optimising it, using the DIY Kitchens online kitchen planner, which is a fairly clever API, that generally works quite well once you learn what it can and can’t do. I’m finally ready to order the kitchen, and thought that given all the units and options I’ve chosen are saved on their system, it would be a matter of just checking out, filling in my details and paying. It seems that it is not possible. Turns out the API is just a beta software package and not linked to their ordering system. Instead, they are expecting me to order each unit individually on their website from scratch! Has anybody else experienced this or am I missing something?

Thanks Nod. The problem is that we don’t have a garage and our house is a building site, dust everywhere. It’s just about dry but they are retiling the roof soon, putting in sky lights so not sure it will stay dry. Would sealing them just to be able to store them give them better protection and if so, what are the downsides of sealing when not adhered to the subfloor?

I've ordered some honed terrazzo. It is made/cut to order and delivered "unsealed" and "unseasoned" together with bottles of sealant called "MN Stain Stop" which is manufactured by Lithofin. Just before I placed my order I was advised that "cut material should be seasoned on site as soon as possible to avoid moisture uptake which can result in picture framing and tile discolouration" (the supplier's bold emphasis, not mine). I was also advised at the time that the product had a 4-6 lead time. The wording "as soon as possible" was not elaborated on, but two weeks later when the order was miraculously ready 2-4 weeks earlier than advertised I was sent an email telling me that the order was ready together with a PDF of instructions which contained the following warning "Please note: The factory recommends that goods are laid within 4 weeks of production to avoid issues related to moisture uptake in the tile. Should you require us to store goods for a longer period, then please bear in mind that the possibility of moisture content issues increases." Production was completed about 12 days ago, so if that guidance is to be followed the clock is really ticking. Since I placed the order my builder was further delayed on site meaning that we'll be lucky if he is installing the terrazo before mid July at the very earliest. To be honest, it could be August at this rate. They haven't even poured the slab, fitted the insulation, underfloor heating and screed that all has to be done before the terrazo goes down. I've managed to stall the supplier for a few days but they are now insisting that it needs to be delivered pronto. In the terms and conditions they have the right to charge me storage charges if I delay, not sure if they will do that, but either way I think there is a risk that they will start to undergo "moisture uptake" whatever that is and end up with tiles that have a dark border to them (the so called "picture framing). My options are accept delivery of the tiles now, and: store them without sealing for a month or so and hope they don't discolour/undergo picture frame effects; or ask my builder to seal them, let them dry and then store them somewhere dry. Where exactly I don't know as we're not quite water tight yet. The installation instructions are a complete nightmare. They need to be laid out in the space they are supposed to be installed in for at least 24 hours to acclimatise. Then they are to be adhered to the floor with adhesive but no grout between the edges. Then one is meant to lightly sand any scratches or dirt that may have occurred during installation. Then the first coat of sealant goes on and that must be left to dry for at least 24 hours. Then one can grout them (the grouting process has a whole paragraph dedicated to it in the instructions). Once the grout is dry one has to use a special product to remove any grout stains. The one has to wait "a minimum of 24 hours but ideally 4-5 days" and seal it again. Nightmare. If I go with option 2, do people think one coat of sealant will be enough? I guess a third option would be to ask the supplier if they would seal them for me before delivery, but who knows if they would do that and for how much. Really regretting purchasing these when I did, but I feel like I'm damned if I do and damned if I don't in that if I had waited until I was sure my builder would be ready for them, sod's law would have made sure that they would have been late! Was hoping @nod or someone else with terrazzo experience could give me a steer.

Anyone bought a Monroe from Dowsing & Reynolds? https://www.dowsingandreynolds.com/shop/hot-water-taps-monroe/ Looked good until I read the last line of the specs: "Origins: sourced from our partners in China"

I guess the holly tree could keep growing and so its roots could keep growing too. But yes, it is pretty silly that the BCO who signs off on this is not an engineer. Maybe they should have specialist BCOs with some engineering training to only do the foundation check.

We're on London clay. We built a full width extension that is about 8m wide and 4.5m deep on ground floor and has a partial first floor above that as well. The SE does a lot of work in London so he should have known about the clay and was familiar with our garden which is overlooked by several very tall leylandii (about 15m tall and around 8m from the extension) and a much shorter (3m) holly tree which is within three feet of the extension. Originally the foundations were to be concrete trenches about 1.25 to 1.5m deep, depending on the relative proximity to the trees. BCO didn't like this and insisted on adding 75cm of depth to that, which added about £2k in cost. So we now have 2m to 2.25m of foundations. Engineer thought it was slightly overkill, but then he would say that wouldn't he. Anyway, the extension has been up for a couple of months and looks to be faring well.

Definitely consistent with my experience of the building industry! Just had a delivery today off the wrong replacement for the wrong part that was delivered a month ago. Supplier has apologised (again) for making the same mistake as last time. Beggars belief!

I think for Surrey that isn’t too bad. I’m doing nothing. We got quoted something like £20k to replumb an entire 5 bed 3 bathroom plus a WC, new UFH everywhere (3 floors) new boiler, cylinder, buffer tank, water softener, screed on one floor, special boards on the others etc. I can’t remember the breakdown exactly, but the elements you’ve quoted are similar or slightly less than the equivalent elements on ours. But you could always try negotiating down. I did, and was surprised how quickly figures come down sometimes.

It’s because one gets more efficient stratification of hot and cold water in a vertical one. But I think in actual fact, although the vertical ones do work better, the difference in running cost is not so much. If the best place to fit it is in your understand it cupboard, I would just go for a horizontal one. Telford Tempest are apparently quite good.

That is cheaper than what I’m paying, I think. What part of the UK are you in?

The other option is using a third-party manufactured flush plate. Are any of these compatible with Grohe SL/SLX system, or would buying anything other than Grohe be stupid?

Thinking of getting a Grohe Rapid SL or Grohe Rapid SLX concealed cistern and frame. I've found the brass effect flush plate I want for it which isn't a crazy price, but it has an 18 week lead time. Can i install it without a flush place and use it for a couple of months until the flush plate arrives? Or does the flush plate serve some function that is not just decorative?

Another issue is the extent to which the waste water pipe needs to be serviceable. Our thinking was to install it as shownin red on this drawing, with the pipe going behind the kitchen cupboards for about 4m before travelling through the cavity wall where it would then go underground to the chamber where the pump is. Assuming we can pull out the kitchen cupboards to service it, and there are a couple of access points for rodding, is this a good idea? I know it would be much easier to just go outside, but this area of the rear elevation is a bit of a feature so we rather not have a pipe on show there.

Not sure how deep it is but my builder told me we need a pump and I'm not doubting him because we need to travel about 22m or 23m to get there, so no chance of doing that without a pump for about half of the way.

Our rear extension is sunk into the ground by about 40cm (planners' requirement, not ours). As the original house is already about 80cm or 90cm below the road and as we are having our kitchen sink and dishwasher at the back of the rear extension, we are going to need a pump to get the waste water from the kitchen sink and dishwasher up to the sewer on the road. I'm just trying to figure out what design considerations I should factor in. We are keen that the pump is quiet but appreciate that these things can never be silent so we were going to place the pump as far away from the kitchen as we can get away with. At the moment, the idea is to take the waste water to the side passage of the house and house the pump underground, in a chamber in the side passage that is covered with a manhole cover. Should I be fitting a back-up pump as well in case the primary one cuts out / dies, or is that only necessary for a toilet? Alarm system to notify me of any issues? Any other recommendations? Is Saniflo the market leader for quiet pumps or should I be considering other brands as well? Any issue with it being outside during a cold patch of weather in winter. Say if the temperature drops to -10? We live in London, so that's rather unlikely, but not unheard of.

We are going with matte finish, hence the obsession with finding a stain proof sample before committing to an order.

I quite liked @stoneguy's choice of font!

@Thorfun where did you get your external blinds from?