Roundtuit

Someone else's. ?

Looks great! Can't wait to be in the same position. I do like your light fittings sans ceiling rose - a nice clean detail.

Not sure why you'd need them open unless you're actually going through them, as mvhr will limit the need to open windows & doors for ventilation. We're rural, and have got a set of bifolds and plenty of bugs; when they're open, I'll turn off the mvhr and I think we'll just have to accept a few flying visitors.

Assuming your build is, like most self builders, a one-off design, you might have to pioneer a solution and I think the ultimate answer will be 'wherever it fits'! Shouldn't make any difference whether its in or out of the airtight envelope; just seal the membrane to the ceiling terminals and/or ducting as appropriate. I think insulation is important though; where my ducting is outside of the airtight layer (and therefore the 'warm bit') I'm trying to ensure it's got plenty of insulation around it. Probably best to extract from high level vents, but supply could be low level if it makes it easier to run ducts.

Thanks all. I probably have about a dozen boxes on external walls with a 25 mm cavity. All the internals are metal on noggins. I guess I could have put noggins in, but in a 25mm cavity they would have had to go above and below, with holes drilled for cables and I just didn't have the time to mess about with them as I'm battling to stay ahead of the boarding. I like the idea of a squirt of LE foam behind for a solid fix - top tip!

I've put noggins and metal boxes for switches and sockets where space allows, but where it doesn't, it's plastic cavity boxes . The question is, to fit before or after plastering? A quick google indicates a split opinion; what's the collective buildhub view please?

I'm in! Build hub logo one one side, DIY SOS phone number on the other? ?

I'm about 90% through airtight taping, and I have to say, I'm sick to death of the stuff, and once I'm finished I wish never to see it again! That said, I'm happy that it's been done to the best of my ability, but I'll cry if I don't get a half decent test result. The best bit? To be honest, I reflect fondly on the dreaming, designing, planning and prepping stage. The actual building part has been hard work. One day, I hope to say that moving in was the best bit. ?

We occasionally used to get serenaded by 5 interlinked smoke alarms at silly o'clock in the morning. The adrenaline dump had usually subsided by breakfast time.. Anyway, all I could put it down to was dust, agitated by a breeze if we had windows open on a warmish night. I started dismounting and vacuuming twice a year and the problem went away. No transformers in ours, just mains powered with 9v battery backup.

Ok. 148. Final offer.

60 +80= 140. Am I getting warm?

Thanks. Good point. Any recommendations?

I'm currently putting noggins in where cables penetrate the ceiling, and I'm planning on a generous squirt of silicon to seal the hole. Downlights will have hoods siliconed to the top side of the sealing.

I'm up a handsaw, but down a wheelbarrow and a 30m tape measure so far. I've sort of come to accept that whatever tools or materials happen to be on site are assumed to be there purely for the convenience of what ever trade is passing through... I did construct my temporary stairs from discarded timber and nails though.

With regards to decrement delay, I can see that those of you with cladding as the rain screen will have to give more thought to insulation types, but surely the OP's block outer skin and obligatory 50mm cavity will have a significant beneficial effect on internal temperature stability?

That's what I was hoping? If it's a low laitance liquid screed, doesn't it just need a quick once-over with a 60 grit to provide a key, rather than a couple of mil?

Interesting. I need to get about 150 sq m done in the near future. How big a job is it? One man with a floor sander for a couple of hours, or something more complicated?

Thanks. After a long circular chat with talktalk again, followed by the same with bt, I'll have to conclude that their common sense shield is impenetrable. However, I managed to get the phone number of the OR guy who looks after our area, and he understood our position exactly, without having to explain it lots of times in different ways, and he's going to try and sort some cable out for us. Failing that, at least he's on board with diy cable pulling, so a good result!

@ProDave to be fair, we've been with talktalk for years, and have been happy with the service, it just seems that theyre not equipped to deal with the non-standard. Openreach left us the ducting, but no cable or instructions relating to running one ourselves.. @Bitpipe Thanks - did search to find this thread, but doesn't putting your own cable in potentially leave you the mercy of an Openreach jobsworth? ( I know - the guys on the ground are usually great, but it would be just my luck...). We've ducted to the boundary, and that's within about 3m of an openreach cabinet thing. As an aside, the OR website says we can get super fast fibre, but talktalk say we can't. Assuming OR is correct, what sort of cable would we need to pull for that?

No, different area code so no need to transfer number.

I paid £330 inc vat three years ago, after being quoted over £800 through the architects 'preferred' surveyor ( shortly before parting company with architect through loss of confidence..). Seemed to me that a) the bigger surveyors had carved up the region between them and priced accordingly, and b) a lot of the cost was office overheads, so If you can a smaller outfit there are savings to be made.

I'm just trying to sort a phone line out. It seems to be harder than I think it should be, and feel sure someone will have cracked this already.... So, many months ago, our application was made online for a line. Openreach turned up on site within days, assessed the job, and dropped off a load of ducting and pull cord f.o.c for me to lay. Great service! Now, whilst l'm not in need of a connection, I'd like to get the cable pulled through and into the house at first fix. Openreach tell me I need to arrange it through our chosen service provider (talktalk - already in a contract that we're planning to transfer, when we're ready to move in). Talktalk tell me that to get a line in, we can take out a new contract at the new house (leaving us with cancellation fees on the current contract), or transfer the current contract, leaving us with no line in our current house. Both options seem a bit $h!t to me. Anyone been faced with similar please?

Ok, thanks. Waste stays where it is, and I try to minimise the impact. It's not a biggie, it just limits the choice of basin/furniture a bit, which was one of the hundreds of little details I couldn't have even tried to get my head around in the early stages! (No shouting involved, stand down the plumbing militia!?)

First fix pumbing has started today. The pic shows the waste pipe for the ensuite basin waste. My preferred location for this would have been hidden in the stud wall that sits on the joist to the right of the current location, but that means putting a ~40mm hole approx, 40mm in from the edge of a 150mm wide joist. It would be within 400mm of a supporting wall. Have the plumbers just taken the easy option, or does anyone see a problem with doing that? Thanks. Andy

Our local recycling centre is great, I've got rid of all of our build waste there so far. As long as you play by the re-cycling rules, they don't seem to mind how often you visit, but then I think the council is just grateful you haven't fly-tipped. As for the pruning saw, that would go in the metal skip!