Roundtuit

Hi Margaret. Welcome back! Off-topic, but what was the outcome of your garden excavation project?

11mm isn't really much to play with. Once the compriband is on, you'll need a bit of slack to get the window in the hole without accidentally pulling it off. We had one or two of ours that ended up with a bead of silicon underneath rather than compriband. I suspect if you risk going any tighter you might be restricted to just using sealant, but even that will need some space if you want to get a little finger in to smooth it off!

Not in a cubicle I can understand, as it might restrict air flow, but I can't see why it would be an issue in a 'wet room' type situation?

Sorry, I don't fully understand; is the plasterer not coming back to plaster?

Had to Google that. Every day's a school day!

Efflorescence?

We're just on factory settings, and it's activated pretty quickly by both wet rooms. One extract is right over the shower, but the other is about 3m+ away. We dry stuff routinely in the utility room, but I don't think there's enough 'steam' in there to activate the boost.

A great initiative. Just one thought, from someone without the benefit of 'normal' colour perception (and there are more of us than you might think!) is that lights tinged red and green wouldn't get a place in the house.

Rectorseal... hmm... depends what you have planned for the weekend, but I imagine it will be right up your alley ?

Howdens really pi$$ me off. I opened a trade account easy enough as a self-builder, but dicking around trying to get their best prices was never worth the effort. With the exception of a load of skirting and architrave I bought on offer, I spent my kitchen/utility/internal door/wardrobe budget elsewhere. They could have had it all. W@nker$. However.... branches vary, so negotiate hard and good luck!

Of course. I should have guessed it would be you.... ??

I imagine that it would look like a shed made out of pallets, as does everything made out of pallets ?

Just guessing, but maybe older structures with poor insulation allow enough heat loss to keep moisture moving in the right direction. Isn't there some calculation to be done to take wall build-up and dew point into account?

Ventaxia kinetic sentinel B I think. The in-built humidity sensor exceeds my expectations; you only need the shower on for a few minutes for it to kick in, then it just drops off when it's ready. We put in the boost switches in case we needed to 'clear the air' (and, from memory, to help satisfy Building Regs) but in reality, they're never used.

Our unit has a humidity sensor and it does the job really well when showering. It's also proportional, so ramps up and down as necessary. The only reason I'd use the boost switch would be after a curry and Guinness night, but even that hasn't been necessary. Too much information...?

We put 3 boost switches (ventaxia momentary boost switches) on our system, one outside each bathroom/loo, and never use them tbh. To be sure it activates the boost, you have to hold it pressed for a couple of seconds, and then airflow returns to normal after a set period. Sorry, can't help with the cable spec.

Wow, quite a big question! Congrats on getting planning through; that's a big hurdle sorted. I suspect your architects didn't want to change anything drastically to avoid a fresh planning application. Rather than look at individual materials, perhaps find some images of styles of house that appeal, and then consider how that would fit with your location?

Not my area of expertise, but I'd double-check that. I don't think you can pay 5% VAT and claim it back.

As above, make sure it's capped properly and vented top and bottom. Maybe consider taking the chimney down below roof level if its not used, or dry-lining the affected area?

Clearly, but it needs an SE to assess the risk and propose a solution. Personally, I'd be wary of touching it until its been looked at. If you attempt to add props and anything goes wrong it could perhaps be seen as an attempt to repair and complicate any insurance claim. Good idea to protect the ceiling with ply.

I'd advise getting a structural engineer to have a look as a first step, and don't touch it until you've had a professional opinion. It's obviously an old house, and I'd guess the weather coming down the chimney over time has weakened the lime mortar, and the loose bricks are pretty much only holding their own weight up at the moment. You might get away with stitching the crack with helical bars and carefully repointing a bit at a time starting from the bottom to get some integrity back into the stack.

As above: 'No Mow May' will be shortly followed by 'My Lawn Looks $h!t June'. I'm all for creating wildlife habitat and I'm trying to do my bit, but it isn't going to be the lawn I'm afraid.

I think I'd just put some 1.2m stock netting tight up against the hedge. I don't think anyone could reasonably argue that it needed permission, and it would stop animals escaping.

Interesting question! Don't know the answer, but have experience of 'Listed' neighbours. What height is the proposed fence, and what height/type is the hedge?

Might be worth a look at Hoskins bricks if you want something 'old' looking; we used Old Farmhouse Blend.