Roundtuit

Looking for anything specific? I've had some good hedging and small trees bought on-line at good prices from Beechwood Nurseries (3fatpigs.co.uk), and had a couple of hundred lavender plants from various places. Bigger trees from treescapenursery.co.uk, but delivery will probably kill it for you. Good to buy local if you can; it's surprising what you can get at wholesale prices if there are growers in your neck of the woods.

Can't help thinking you could have made up a re-inforced flint panel flat, on the bench, then fixed it in to place and pointed in afterwards...

Wheelbarrow and shovel?

Sorry, don't know anything about Siga tapes, but I think those straps definitely need covering if you want to avoid leaks, unless you're wet plastering.

By the time you've masked that lot off, you could have had the job done I reckon. Brush and roller gets my vote!

Unfortunately, your project isn't as as important to anyone else as it is to you, and in my experience, you need to stay close to it at every step to manage this sort tiresome ball-ache. If you've lost confidence, I'd probably persevere with whatever you are currently committed to, then part company. Getting someone else to do Building Regs submissions shouldn't be a problem.

As above, you can't really tell what's going on until you measure it. From memory, you can set extract and supply fan speeds independently I think, to compensate for differences in resistance in the ducting. For info, we've got a single unit, and the humidity sensor (on factory settings) kicks in within a couple of minutes of turning the shower on; never have to use the manual boost.

Personally, as there is an element of labour involved, I think it could all be zero rated; materials, plus pump and operator. As above, ask them to have a chat with their accountant to reassure them that is correct, as you wouldn't want them to accidentally charge you VAT illegally. To be safe, when they send the amended invoice, maybe ask them to word it as something like 'supply and install'...

I'm assuming 'slide and hide' comes at a premium price and/or perhaps reduces the internal size of the oven. If you're not tight for space, and have normal length arms, I'd go standard pivot.

Depending on what your driveway or path surface is, you might also need a flat area at the bottom of the ramp (i.e shouldn't terminate the ramp into gravel; need a bit of flat/smooth area for a wheelchair at the bottom).

Our architect marked the rpz on the plans, then I did as best I could with a few heras panels to make it look right. No problem with the council, and more importantly, all the trees are good.

I think it's Building Control you need to convince. Warranty providers will just want to be assured that the job's been done in accordance with the Building Regs application I suspect.

40kg empty (two man lift?), or 40kg plus water? Some sort of gallows brackets should do it I'd have thought.

Great post, and full marks for effort! As an alternative to mortar I took a punt on a jointing compound for ours (Joint-it) as I didn't trust myself to do a decent job and keep the sandstone clean. Not cheap, but quick and pain-free; 25 sq m done in a couple of hours.

Not really, sorry! I'd always try trapping in the first instance; cheap, quick and with visible results (or not), and no risk of secondary poisoning non-target wildlife. Each to their own of course, but why do you want a video of a rat?

There's no drain on my exhaust duct, and I don't recall any requirement in the installation manual. I'd be hoping the exhaust air is pretty cool, and that the airflow would keep it dry.

I used aco galvanised slot drains in front of bifolds leading on to the patio (only a ~4m run), 1 brick below dpc. I ran a bead of sealant between the slot and the brickwork afterwards to stop surface water going down between. Seems to do the job.

Good point; we've got loads of down lights with gu10 bulbs. Having bulbs rather than fixed units let's you vary the colour temperature and brightness around the house quite easily, and change it if you're not happy. Also, 3.5 years in and not had the replace a bulb yet.?

PIR sensor switch for downstairs loo. No more grotty pullcord!

I'm guessing that the beading is there to cover a gap between skirting and floorboard. Personally, I'd have taken it off and filled the gap first, then the carpet could have been fitted neatly at the edges. Not sure you can really blame the fitter for that. The two-tone stuff looks like a join, maybe with the pile running the wrong way. If they had to put a join in, they really should have made you aware.

As above. I'd have a look on some old maps perhaps, to see if you used to have two next door neighbours rather than one. 'Render for a reason' were my builders words of wisdom when we did a renovation job. If the brickwork was all in decent order, it's unlikely anyone would go to the expense of rendering it. If the render is coming off anyway, you can make the call when you see what's left behind. The bit you've taken off looks like it was just done for continuity between gable end and garden wall tbh.

The IDB didn't manage our dyke either, but we still needed their permission. I'd ask them if you haven't already - if they're not interested, they might be able to point you in the right direction. BC had no interest once the IDB had ok'd it. Don't know about the EA, but pretty sure they were not involved in our case.

I don't see why you shouldn't; if its at your boundary, unless you know otherwise, you probably own at least half of it. We got permission to discharge into our dyke from our local internal drainage board. They'll probably want a proper concrete headwall, but that's not a biggie.

1st tip: stop looking at it. No one else will ever notice! 2nd tip: a bead of white silicone would finish it nicely, but it needs doing by someone who can run a neat bead of silicone. (I don't think using clear silicone will help if it's the visual gap that offends).

Is that a bit high? We only have one humidity sensor (its in a weather station, so can't really vouch for accuracy), but it's usually <50% in the kitchen. We're approaching our 4th winter and not seen any condensation yet.