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According to the vendor of my Velux integra GGL UK10, “All VELUX INTEGRA windows have a rain sensor that is discreetly built into the window's frame and reacts at the very first drop of rain, thus automatically closes your window when it starts to rain.” Well, we’ve had more than a few drops and the automatic closure just isn’t working. We’ve not had a downpour, but we’ve had a bit of rain which would definitely be classed as “the very first drop”. Anybody had this issue and how did you solve it?

Yep, Kingspan Kooltherm K118 insulated Plasterboard! Why does it cause that?

Okay, well that is somewhat reassuring that it is not weather related. It doesn't seem to have happened anywhere else in the loft conversion, although we have cornicing that would probably cover it up in the room next door. But what would have caused the board to move?

Just thought I’d refresh this, as I’m still struggling to find some items, mainly a Bosch or Siemens undercounter wine fridge.

Another photo

Moved in about 10 days ago. Was putting in one of the final light fittings in my loft conversion this evening, and noticed that the plaster/paintwork had cracked in a very regular pattern at the ceiling, just by the join with the wall. I haven’t got a ladder to measure, but it definitely looks like the broken patch is exactly every 400mm which I presume matches the spacing of the timbers supporting the roof. Most of the patches are about 3.5cm in diameter, but one is almost 6cm in diameter. It’s very weird. I attach some photos. Anybody think I should be worried about this, or is it normal settlement? I only noticed it today, and I couldn’t say when in the last couple of months it happened. This was finished plastered at around January, and painted around mid March, so I guess it could have happened in the last couple of months. Only other possible cause is we had our MVHR commissioned 6 days ago, so maybe it has dried out the walls and ceiling? But we haven’t had this issue anywhere else.

Thanks. I wholeheartedly agree with this, it’s just crazy: Hardly safe or acceptable when a client has to effectivley wear off the sealer by walking over it and wait that period of time until its in a correct condition to use. It should be safe to use from day one though presumably, it is is just a lithofin wax which they use, I could remove it with this: https://www.tileexperience.co.uk/lithofin-waxoff-1ltr?kw=&ci=338382120401&network=g&pm=&cid=1735877011&aid=70874818467&tid=pla-885409232608&dev=m&mt=&lim=&lpm=9045955&pos=&dm=&fid=&mid=132160864&pid=lith0122&country=GB&source=google&gclid=Cj0KCQjw1ZeUBhDyARIsAOzAqQJJwCqhgAFyc-hHqeWLaBlkGQxMyZwuSu-jFD7G4h0hSfY99Pqs9CEaAl2AEALw_wcB

Have you ever sat in a 1600 by 700 bath. Unless you are under 5’7” and very slim, it is going to be rather uncomfortable. I would either have a generous shower room, or make an 1800 x 750 bath and put a shower in it.

Did you buy this house, and if so what did you do about the driveway?

The incline on my driveway, down to the house, is between 11.5 and 13 degrees. We are considering the Marshall drivesys system (in the "split stone basalt" range) which is basically fake basalt, sculpted from concrete. I asked the supplier if this was an anti slip product and whether it could be used on a driveway with such a big incline. This was their response (i had initially thought our gradient was 10 degrees, but actually it is slightly more): "Thank you for mentioning the gradient on your driveway as this is actually quite an important factor, especially with this product. All of the Marshalls Drivesys products (and the Stonemarket Templeton and Millstone driveway products) have a protective seal applied to the blocks during manufacturing to help prevent against scratches during transportation and when installed, and this seal will weather away. Our suppliers technical team advise “the protective seal will be slightly slippery underfoot until weathered”, and this weathering period can last for several months. Marshalls don’t advise installation of this product on gradients of 15 degrees or more because of this protective seal resulting in less traction on car tyres and exacerbating the slippiness. With a gradient of 10 degrees, Marshalls advise for you to take extra care until the protective seal wears off. Regarding slip rating, this isn’t calculated in the same as you may have seen for garden paving (for example R11, R12 ratings etc), but all of Marshalls’ products are rigorously tested for anti-slip properties and are fit for purpose. However, Marshalls advised once the seal wears off and the concrete finish comes through, then it meets their high standards for anti-slip resistance. As I mentioned, it is only the Marshalls Drivesys Range and the Stonemarket Templeton and Millstone driveway ranges that come with this protective seal. Marshalls overall advice is to exercise caution after installation until the seal wears off, so will leave the decision with you, but personally I would advise to look at alternative products and consider whether this is the right product for you." What do I do? Would you install this? It isn't cheap, but looks really nice and makes it much easier to achieve a grid of mixed sized stones. But then I don't want to slip as I get in and out of my car!!!

Surely if you want a more spacious feel, do away with the partition completely, and make the room into a wet room. We have two wet rooms in our new gaff, and although I was very sceptical to begin with, I quite like them now. When you step out of the shower, you don’t get that drop in temperature. And if you have MVHR, you will find that it dries pretty quickly. Only problem I still have to solve is how to keep the toilet paper dry, but Amazon has a solution: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Risingmed-Stainless-Waterproof-Dispenser-Rustproof/dp/B073CVCDCB/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?crid=K3MVDB9S4G9T&keywords=recessed+toilet+roll+holder&qid=1652572364&sprefix=recessed+toilet+rol%2Caps%2C78&sr=8-3

If the only way to solve this issue is by installing a cooler, then I've found this one which is a bit cheaper than the Intu one, but still seems ridiculously expensive for what is effectively a small fridge: https://www.pressurecoolers.co.uk/shop/budget-undersink-chiller-c12e/?gclid=Cj0KCQjwg_iTBhDrARIsAD3Ib5g_vTMwKm6iyEzTLBiF87ZhE5BOyrohmLMnzMvz9-5H4vIfOt_swGkaAmA4EALw_wcB I've also found the one made by Qettle for £280. I think I'll just drink 20C water.

We have an Intu boiling water tap, that gives filtered cold water, unfiltered cold water, boiling water and regular hot water. The filtered cold water does not come out very cold. I think it might be because the position of the tap means that the cold water pipe run from the mains is fairly long, maybe about 10 to 12m, all within the insulated envelope of the house. The pipes that the plumber used are butyl, so whilst it is possible he didn’t isolate the hot run from the cold run with enough insulation, I’m not sure the butyl would allow enough heat transfer for that to be the main issue. Running the tap for a while makes a bit of a difference, but not huge. Intu sell a water chiller unit for this tap, here: https://intuboilingwatertaps.co.uk/product/intu-evolution-under-sink-chiller-tank/ but it’s expensive. Can I use any chiller unit, and if so can somebody recommend one? We don’t need it as cold as 5C, but 9C or 10C would be nice.

I haven’t got a tape measure to hand (just moved in yesterday - not sure which box it is in!), but it is about 66cm I would estimate for that window.

Thanks all, that's helpful info. I'm a little bit miffed that I even have to worry about this because the supplier of the windows came to survey the house and really should be responsible for making sure it complies with building regs. It's their area of expertise, not mine. But such is life. All the windows in question are first or second floor. In total, we have four such windows, and one of them is my son's bedroom, although directly outside it is a pitched roof over our ground floor, rather than a straight drop to the ground. He is only 2 but already built like a 3 year old and likes to charge around like a mini bull, so I'm glad the BCO is making a fuss. The areas of the individual panes are as follows: So the panes vary in sizes from 0.84m2 at the small end to 1.49m2 at the large end. I don't really understand the table that @Nick Laslett has posted, but if a residential property (a conversion, not a new build) counts as class 2, then the only figure on that part of the table which is below my window sizes is 0.15m2 (which doesn't make much sense because who could fall out through such a tiny opening and my windows are all significantly smaller than the other areas in that part of the table. However, that table shows 4+4 and 6+6, whereas I'm going to be some sort of weighted average of the two being 6.8 + 4. I wonder if this is going to be another lawsuit?

Well if you love it, that justifies the cost.

So we had our building control inspection. Various issues have been identified, all of which appear to be administrative with the BCO wanting to see certificates that I was expecting him to see. One that I wasn't expecting was the following that has come up in respect of our aluminium 2G windows: Low level windows installed to extended parts of the dwelling house to be evidenced to be able to withstand the uniformly distributed load of minimum 0.74 kN/m without breaking; window specification to be forwarded for review; (for further information please refer to Approved Document K, section K2 3.2 I raised this with the supplier and in response he provided paperwork which states that the windows we have which are low level (by which I mean the bottom of the window is just above knee height) are as follows: "6.8 Laminate clear / 4mm toughened planitherm/ 16mm black warm edge, 18mm warm edge duplex, argon gas" Is this going to satisfy the BCO? I can't see how the info that is being provided by the supplier is sufficient to confirm the 0.74kN/m requirement. All the panes have a kitemark on them reading BSEN121501 and KM8462 SUPERTUFF, but then anyone spelling "tough" like that doesn't really win my vote of confidence for toughness. Hopefully I'm just worrying about nothing, but this was one of the queries I didn't instantly know the answer to.

Cheers. I wonder whether just putting empty egg cartons around it will make it quieter.

nice, what car do you drive?

I paid £549 for mine (an Intu) as couldn't really see the sense in paying the astronomical prices for a quooker. Intu comes with a 7 year warranty a 60 day free trial, so I didn't think twice about buying it. Little did I know that when I bought it in late November we wouldn't be in the house within 60 days to live with it and test it. But all in all, subject to seeing my bills, I think we're happy with it. It doesn't spit, it seems to work, and I'm sure I'll get used to the very slight noise which i don't think comes on as often as I thought it did, but I will do some more experimenting/stalking of my machine. I've also emailed the supplier to ask for energy efficiency info, running kw etc. just out of interest. I was more asking out of environmental concerns than cost, as i suspected the difference between switching it on overnight or not would not amount to much.

Thanks. There is still a ton of snagging to deal with, but hopefully this will get sorted soon. The most annoying is that we have a light in our bedroom which we can’t turn off. It dims down to minimum, but not off completely. Second most annoying is a high pitched sound in my daughter’s bedroom. Not loud enough to bother her, but my wife did notice it and now I have too. I think it is coming from the mains wired smoke alarm in her room. Will investigate further tomorrow. Third most annoying is that the builder forgot to put sealant in a couple of places. The rain for focusing on the hot water tap is that it’s the only one I can do anything about! That sounds very smart, but how did you configure that? Even if I put a smart timer socket on mine, and linked it to some sensors, wouldn’t I need to be physically by the tank to press the “on” button?

First night at the new house. So far, so good… I think. One thing I’ve noticed is every 15 minutes or so the boiling water tap makes a bit of noise for about 2 minutes. It’s not very loud, just sounds like a very quiet kettle, and I’m sure I can easily soundproof the cupboard the 2.1L tank is in. But it did make me think about the energy it is using, reboiling the water to 98C. Do you turn yours off at night and then back on again in the morning? Or does that defeat the purpose?

I really don’t know. It beggars belief that people can behave so unprofessionally in so many respects. My project is going to have taken almost a year longer than quoted for. Probably only 30% of that delay is down to my main contractor, and I thought he would be a bit late anyway. The rest is partially supply chain related, but mostly caused by poor attitudes amongst other contractors in respect of timeliness, professionalism and dependability. I suspect that one significant cause of problems is poor access to justice, resulting in little deterrence to breach contracts. Litigation in this country is exceedingly expensive. The small claims court is VERY slow, and if you have the misfortune to have to bring a claim for anything over £25k, there is a significant risk of having to pay your opponent’s costs. Another contributor to this phenomenon, I suspect, is that a lot of work in this industry is done on a cash basis, or at least part cash, and that gives the parties involved an (incorrect) idea that it is therefore lawless, and un-policeable. Finally, there is often no deep pockets to enforce against, as contractors often operate as limited companies with little assets, or as sole traders with little assets. A further cause might be that the general building trade (ie I’m not talking about some of the more specialist trades like gas engineer, plumber or sparky) is seen by many as a trade suitable for unskilled labour. It isn’t of course, and all of us laymen here who have tried our hand at doing it ourselves know how difficult it is to get it done as quickly and competently as the professionals. The result of this, is that there are a lot of cowboys/impersonators/chancers and this brings down standards/expectations across the industry. I’m not sure if this is related to the previous point or is a separate point in its own right, but I think lack of education and/or technical training in the UK is another factor. It’sa shame more investment has not been put into apprenticeship programmes and technical training. Learning on the job is all very well, but if it was more structured it would attract more young people, and create a more highly skilled and motivated workforce.

6.5 years. 1) builders and contractors are (expletive deleted)wits. 2) suppliers lie. Contractors not sticking to their contracts and structural engineer taking eons to make any minor revisions. Joiner falsifying a major injury to get out of a contract. generally people being (expletive deleted)witty. To avoid delay, don’t build.

I’m not too worried about heat loss as the house is fairly well insulated now, and heat loss will just be lost into the house, which has MVHR which might help to spread it around a tiny bit. The volume of the cylinder is 300L, so I don’t think the loop (which probably doesn’t hold more than 10L at the very most) will contribute to that much heat loss). But you make a good point about the potential for premature pump failure: if it was intermittently going on every 10 minutes for 2 min, that is 5 on off cycles per hour. for 2hr in the morning and 6hr in the evening, that’s 40 a day, or 280 a week. So almost 15,000 a year. I think my plumber has fitted a fairly quiet Grunfos pump, but don’t have the model to hand. How often do you think I would need to replace it?