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So there was definitely a mist coat applied to the plaster, then a couple of weeks later they painted it with primer. Then they were about to paint the wall with the actual colour when I said “that’s a mistake, that wall is meant to be wallpapered”. At that point the builder threw his toys out the pram and said “I told you to give me a decoration schedule”. So he is now saying that by that stage it was already too late for optimal wallpapering. Seems odd to me, surely there is a way to wallpaper a painted wall and for it not to peel off in 39C.

Yes

Update: builder reminded me that this wall was accidentally painted before being wallpapered. He says best practice is not to paint it and that whilst he lined the wall with lining paper over the painted finish, that didn’t survive the heatwave. (The lining paper came off, the wallpaper remained stuck to the lining paper.) so what now? surely we don’t need to remove the coat of paint (which I’m fairly sure is just primer)?

Surely this is a matter of structural engineering, which nobody apart from your SE (and possibly @Gus if he had ALL the details) could answer.

So my confusion is almost over. I'm ready to buy, but most Ubiquiti stuff is out of stock with lead times of several several weeks! Anyone know where I can get a USW-Lite-8-PoE-EU without having to wait so long for it?

+1. I wouldn't do anything. The neighbours might not even complain, and even if they do the complaint might not be upheld, and even if it is you then still have options.

If you have told the stair manufacturer that you aren't having them carpetted, they should have been sanded in such a way that they are not slippery. We used this: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Saicos-Premium-Clear-3305-2-5ltr/dp/B004LXGROK?th=1 on top of a saicos pear stain: https://www.jswoodcraftflooring.co.uk/product-page/saicos-ecoline-oil-ground-coat and very happy with result. Osmo will be similar. Saicos also make a non-slip oil, but I don't think this is necessary as long as the stairs have been sanded correctly. Just don't polish it with wire wool, because that will make it a bit slippery.

Why don’t you ask for that now, prior to incurring (further) solicitors’ fees.

Can anybody recommend a gate company that can supply, and preferably fit, a metal gate for the side alley of a house. Approximate dimensions would be 85cm wide 204cm high, plus steel posts, hinges, all powder coated in RAL 9005 (black). I would also need a non-moving plate that is about 30cm high and has same width as the gate plus the posts, to be fixed above the gate just to make it harder to climb over. Then spikes on top of that plate because i like my thieves spiked. I got a quote which was £1100 which seemed a bit much. If an off the shelf version is available more cheaply that doesn't require going bespoke, I don't mind: making the gate posts/gate fractionally wider or narrower; and/or making the heights a couple of cm shorter or taller. Another consideration was whether to go for something that is just a gate, or whether to insert a privacy screen also made of metal (in the same black colour) behind it. The privacy screen on the quote I got was £100 (so it would be £1000 without). Apart from privacy, the reason for getting it is: it makes the gate look a bit nicer (less like a jail); it creates a visual barrier dividing the different floor finishes either side of the gate (see attached photo). Reason for not getting it is: that I'm concerned it might impede air flow at low level along that alleyway. We have the air feed for our wood burning stove 3.2m away from the gate and about 8.75m up we also have our MVHR intake and outlet. Currently it's usually nice and windy down that passageway, and part of me thinks the 3.2m horizontal distance to the stove air feed and the 8.75m vertical distance to the MVHR openings are both sufficiently large numbers to make fitting a gate that is permeable to air irrelevant for these purposes?

Why a no go? Because of budget. If so, my builder specialises in this and it was one of the few things he wired for which I thought was really reasonable. Where are you based?

I wonder if I could use one of these, but trim it so it fits even though cylinder is touching the wall: https://www.screwfix.com/p/hot-water-cylinder-jacket-18-x-80mm-x-1219mm/43483

Yes, I’m finding that when I run the secondary loop pump, the heat loss is noticeably much more. The loop is insulated, but very badly. Plumber told me only a thin sheath of foam insulation was necessary because he was using buteline pipe for the loop, which being plastic doesn’t conduct heat very well. I believed him and now it’s too late to do much about it. I think I will invest in a couple of Shelley sensors and a Shelley switch and make the secondary loop pump only come in when two taps are walked near to, which are the only two taps where it is really necessary. The room where the cylinder is in is very well insulated and in the loft conversion so already quite warm, but I will wrap it in insulation anyway. I don’t have much space though. Suggestions for variable depth insulation (I have 4cm to 5cm of space on two sides of cylinder but zero on a third side as cylinder right up against the wall, and obviously space tends from 4cm to zero as one gets closer to that join with the wall).

Impressive! What was the energy rating of the cylinder before though, and what do you think you boosted it to with all that insulation?

I have an unvented indirect hot water cylinder, 300L made by Telford, called the Telford Tempest. I bought it towards the end of last year. i was surprised it only has a C energy rating. What rating does your cylinder have? If I was to fit one of those insulated jackets over it, would this upgrade it to a B?

No unfortunately, at least not without a licence from the author of the works. The council have made it a public document by putting it up on the internet. But it turns out there are limits with what can do lawfully with that. Worth reading this: https://www.dacbeachcroft.com/en/gb/articles/2022/march/copyright-in-architectural-drawings-what-does-planning-permission-permit/

It is not possible to add so much EWI to a 1930s house without making it look ridiculous by ruining the architectural features. You’ll be lucky if you have space for 50mm or 60mm. We went with 50mm and got a good outcome.

Well that rather depends where the house is. I just spent several hundred thousand pounds doing exactly what @RedMango is proposing to do. We did go somewhat ott, ripping out the joists, putting posi joists in so that we could do MVHR, new roof joists as well, new roof, new windows, new floors, new ceilings, new everything really except 3 walls of the house. But even those were refurbished from inside and out. Unrecognisable from original house. It still cost me less than half what I paid for the house, and now the house is worth much more than what I paid for it (even including the £kkkkkk we’ve invested in all the works.

If you are putting central heating in, I wouldn’t disclose this to the mortgage company. They might only do a desktop or drive by valuation so wouldn’t know if you don’t tell them.

I was looking at a special clear oil/varnish that fireproofs wood. You can get an FD30 version and an FD60 version. It obviously isn’t going to save your wooden house from a forest fire, but it might give you peace of mind that you have a bit more protection. i think overall risk is very low in the country. Just be sensible about things like barbecue, cigarettes etc and you will be fine.

I have two outdoor taps, each supplied by 15mm poly pipe. The poly pipe is not insulated. My dad was over the other day and told me to replace the poly pipe with copper because copper won’t crack when the temp drops below zero in winter. Is he Right? i attach a picture of the pipe in question. Ironically the text on the pipe suggests all the info is on their website, but I couldn’t find it.

We have MVHR so it can’t be the humidity. Tado tells me humidity varies between 19% and 41% in that room. The paper was actually put up twice. The first time, the installer used too much paste and ended up staining the paper and adjacent walls. Those walls had to be repainted. The second time, he bought new paper and probably used slightly less paste to avoid staining. Maybe he didn’t use enough?

I suspect it’s from the heat, but I noticed today that the wallpaper on a feature wall we have in the loft conversion has peeled off at the edges. It’s even taken a bit of paint off the bit of the adjacent wall where it meets the paper. It was done about 10 weeks ago. Not sure what the solution is. Tado tells me that room is currently 36C and given the amount of wood fibre insulation we have, I reckon there is a big decrement delay, such that it will be several hours before we reach peak temperature. Is there Such a thing as heat proof wallpaper paste?

I paid considerably less than that after negotiating for quite a while, but I also got crappy service and which I had just laid something else.

I did and I do not recommend them. Expensive and poor workmanship.

Came across this when researching shed construction... a shed with a bunker underneath it. Pretty cool!