Barney12

There are so many potential replies. Alas its a public forum so I'll resist!!

Bugger As Churchill said “If you’re going through hell, keep going!!”

We crushed the old house. (3 bed detached Brick and block). I used my ground works guy (effectively a man and digger!!) and hired in a crusher. We had to use a small unit due to access issues. Ours coped fine with soil, no issues at all but it was dry and stoned, I would imagine clays would be another story. Crusher cost me £1,200 for the week. I never worked out exactly how many tonnes we had but it was ALOT! Total cost of demolition and crushing was £5k. Just to reiterate what @dogman said. They are bloody noisy! Heres a picture of a 20t digger sat on our hardcore pile.

MBC installed my UFH pipework, but only the pipe, no manifolds etc. They actually used the UFH pipe from Earth Save Products (it was sent to site by them). Not cheap, and well regarded. No couplers, all full runs. No complaints here. They've done (probably) hundreds of installs. Sounds to me as though your heating supplier is just trying to bag the entire sale.

Fantastic pictures. Did you use an interior designer or is one of you blessed with a eye for design and style?

These shows are missing a trick really. They should have a ‘Self Build Stress Release Zone’. Lots of interactive activities: Kevin McLoud Punch Bag (Who wouldn’t?) Whacka Contractor (We’ve all wanted to) Sarah Beeny Bouncy Castle (Two large bouncy domes, you get the idea) Durisol Jenga (Sorry @recoveringacademic ) Window Buying Game of Chance (To quote Wikipedia “A game of chance may have some skill element to it, however, chance generally plays a greater role in determining the outcome than skill”) Adult Screw Fix (Couples welcome for the ultimate in relaxation) Tool Station (Just a platform to stand on where you can accept you were a complete Tool for even contemplating a self build) Im sure you can think of some more........

Those deep facia's look very sharp! NICE!!

Ditto. Exactly as per my install by Western Power.

My fathers side of the family is from Surlingham in Norfolk (mind you they're all dead other than my Dad but that's another story involving a deep dislike of children and thus very little breading ). I've lived in Devon for nearly 30 years. So I feel almost qualified to answer that question...... The only similarities I can see (but these may apply to all rural communities/counties): 1. All the farmers are poor (no really, some don't change their Mercs until they're dirty). 2. All locals deeply resent and distrust anyone without at least three generations of local lineage. 3. ALL (without question) have short arms and deep pockets. But back to my main point. @MarkA Loos like a great site. Good luck and enjoy.

Interestng comment re heatsink. I’ve read that placing them on aluminium or another conductive material helps. Is this what you’ve done?

Some but not all. As an example these guys are quoting £9 a meter for 12v https://www.instyleled.co.uk/10-watt-rgbw-led-tape/

Stunning work, looks really sharp. Still think your dog is the best thing though, so lovely

I’m intending to fit a fair amount of RGBW LED strip lights into the kitchen (under cabinet etc). After a fair degree of research it’s clear that the price varies wildly, even for essentially the same specification. At one end of the spectrum you’ve got eBay selllers selling for as low as c£2 a linear meter. At the other end I’ve got quotes from specialists at c£9 a linear meter for what they would describe as ‘commercial grade’ LED strip. In the middle you’ve got the established LED online shops (such a LEDhut etc) selling somewhere in the middle of that price but with warranties from 2-5 years. So my question(s) : Is it all same stuff? Are some simply pricing in warranties, some playing the ‘pro’ marketing card? Or do the quality of the LED chips and manufacturing vary? Would be interested in people’s views.

Do you have any example of domestic/discreet versions? A Google just seems to turn up very industrial looking commercial vents.

This is exactly my view. Doors are almost never shut in my house. Thus I’m going for standard gaps as I think the aesthetic of large gaps is just odd. If someone one day buys the house who likes doors shut well they can go to the trouble of having the doors trimmed

Thanks. Some good inspiration in there.

Just beeen reminded of this thread by @ProDave post re cheap stairs. (Sorry Dave not meaning to rub your nose in it) My stairs arrived from TK in just over a week from order, delivered using their own transport. Very impressed with the quality. Exactly as ordered and fitted in half a day.

I had exactly this issue. After advice here and from MBC we ran the ducts within the ceiling joists amungst the insulation.

Always blue. Three year warranty!

Thankfully no extractor going in. I’d bang my head on the dropped section if it was

Is there a theme here running through the German kitchen market?

Do you mean wires etc?

Hi All Can anyone share any advise on the construction of a ‘dropped ceiling’ feature? I’m quite liking the idea of having a dropped area above the kitchen island which would be lit in the recess/top as well as the face. My my current thoughts are: 1. Screw support/carrier timbers to the ceiling joists. 2. Board and plaster to an area at least 150mm inside the are of the drop (so you can’t see space above the drop). 3. Create a very simple timber frame and screw it to the carriers. 4. Board and plaster the drop. Things im still pondering: 1. I guess it would be easier to get the LED,s arround the perimeter in place before the boards go up? 2. How big should it be? Slightly smaller than the island area?? 3. How deep should it be. My ceilings are standard 2400mm so I’m thinking no Moreno than 100mm? 4. How big should the gap between the drop and the ceiling be. Again point 3. relates. Perhaps no more than 50mm? Any thoughts, advise, input hugely appreciated.

No. Thankfully MBC did it for me. As they battened the roof.

Wildly different to me. Many days I’m working on my own and can be summarised as: No one Nobody Silence Solitude Alone I do occasionally get into a conversation with someone at the local village pub. The conversation normally goes: ”Where are you building a house” ”I explain” ”They look mildly confused” ”I explain again” ”They continue to look confused” ”I change the subject” It’s not a remote location at all. It’s just that the entrance to the drive looks like any other gated entrance around these parts and the house just can’t be seen from a road or footpath.