Roundtuit

Might be able to find a home for some of those! Pm incoming!

RAL 7015 by any chance? ?

Not sure that there is any reason for the cill to be any wider than the structural opening, other than aesthetic preference? I'll shortly be fitting aluminium pressings, and they'll be the width of the opening (minus a few mill for fitting and a bead of silicon)

We rented for what turned out to be 2 years. A big lump of cash gone, but with 2 teenage kids studying, it kept family life on an even keel whilst the build was progressing. If we'd tried the caravan option, I'm pretty sure I'd only be seeing the kids every other weekend now!

Surely someone somewhere is working from a set of plans, and not just making it up as they go along? If not, or you can't get a copy, perhaps it's time to ask your builder to sketch out a plan with dimensions on it before doing anything else? If he knows what he's doing, it will only take him 10 minutes; you'll know what you're dealing with and what questions you need to ask, and the experts on here can help you out without having to have to guess...

+1. Can you disconnect the waste first (through that access hole) just to make sure you dont break anything that doesn't want breaking? It looks like the frame is screwed together; might be less messy to remove some screws and try and knock a piece out to see what's going on.

Is it OSB clad? If it is, I think I'd probaby cover it, depending on the spec. Orientation: the intermediate studs will always be vertical, so it should be pretty clear which way up they go. First floor joists: mine sat on top of the ground floor walls. The floor deck then went on, then first floor walls sat on top of the floor deck.

That tank clearly has been sat around somewhere for a while before it got to you. Another vote for Bio-pure here!

Hmm... is there perhaps a side elevation to the plan that we haven't seen yet?

Like it! Strictly Come Building. Pair-up with a professional to make you look half competent, share your issues and tissues with anyone who's prepared to listen, and you've got a one in 15 chance of coming out a winner! Oh... Hang on... Sounds a bit too familiar...

You shouldn't need a respirator, but a face shield for handling concentrate is good practice. If you've got glyphosate mist floating around, the pressure is too high or the nozzle too small. It should be a fine spray, but with a big enough droplet size to make sure it goes where you point it and avoid drift. Try the sprayer out with just water in it first to get a feel for it.

Should be no need to argue. Them's the rules!

There's a lot to be said for an angle grinder ?

Good. I may have a bit of sympathy for the contractor if he's a one-man-band relying on the developer for an income, but I think the developer has no mitigating circumstances. Fingers crossed for a meaningful sentence!

+1 for Stixall Clear. I've used quite a lot over the last 12 months for adhesive/sealant jobs and it seems to do as it claims. Good price from toolstation last time I bought some.

As an initial disclaimer, we've been using our treatment plant for about 14 months in anger, but... I haven't lifted the lid in that time! We're careful with fat/oil and it goes in the bin, any off milk goes in the outside tap soak-away, and we generally keep food waste out of the kitchen sink. I've asked swmbo not to go OTT with the bleach/de-scaler etc, so assume it's used in moderation, but we don't use anything special. We stick to the same detergents and cleaning products so our bacteria don't get any shocks, and all seems fine so far!

I put some hedgehog brushes in some hard-to-reach sections of guttering. They ended up hanging out after strong winds, so I binned them and put in the cage type leaf guards that fit in the top of the down pipe.

7. Fire extinguisher(s) I think your primary contractor picks up the H&S obligations under the CDM regulations (risk assessments etc), but check their understanding to make sure that you're all on the same page.

I used Integral evofire downlights - a simple design with glass below the bulb - because I wanted the flexibility of choosing the bulb colour. Where they penetrate into the cold loft I've fitted Thermahood covers from above and taped to the airtightness membrane, with insulation over the top. Seems to do the job well. I think we've got about 20, and no bulb failures so far (16 months in).

Good. We submitted wickes invoice for our kitchen and they went through ok, so no reason yours should be any different. Unfortunately we got our window supply invoice (the only one...) worth £4K bounced for reason code 18: detailed breakdown required. I submitted the required detail the next day, but should have thought to send it first time round to support the headline figures. We submitted our claim on 17th April, and had a decision letter dated 17th June agreeing everything but the windows. Still awaiting news on the last 4K.

Yes, spot on with the assessment. I've got 5l of glyphosate ready to implement a scorched earth policy prior to levelling and seeding; I was planning on keeping things looking green until nearer the end of the year, but I could probably compromise and reduce my mowing challenge by 50%

Thanks all. A ride-on isn't currently an option as the ground isn't flat enough, and a wheeled strimmer-type thing will become redundant when I do eventually get it levelled and seeded. I think I'll try and pick up a decent used hover with a Honda engine and give it a go (whilst wearing steel toecaps...)

Anyone got experience with petrol hover mowers? I've come to the conclusion that I need one (well, want one. You know how it is...!), but I'm a bit cautious as I've never used one. Current situation is: ~ half an acre of rough grass (garden, pre landscaping) that I'm trying to keep on top of with a strimmer (screams like banshee and potentially pi$$es off neighbours, family and me), and a little rotary petrol mower which I abuse over the flatter parts (hard work, hopelessly underpowered and on the road to destruction). In the future, a ride-on mower will be the primary mower, but there's no way it would be feasible now. So; whatever I invest in now will be a second mower for the crappy bits/verge/dyke sides, and it needs to be able to handle rough ground. A decent petrol hover seems to fit the bill; any thoughts please?

If your neighbour is moving, now's a good time to do what you want. He's unlikely to want to start some sort of neighbour dispute that might affect his sale, and he probably no longer gives a toss as he's out of there. Your new neighbour will just accept what's there when they arrive.

I think radiators are a fact of life for this situation. Ugly but true. You might have to oversize them a bit, but if it's a new build, there's really no reason to build to a standard that an ashp can't service. Realistically, whilst you might lose a bit of flexibility in room lay out, you're not really losing much space. UHF etc is entirely possible of course, but I looked briefly at the alternatives, and the effort and cost was disproportionate to any benefits.