Lesgrandepotato

I wouldn't worry about a one off momentary incident.

I guess what I'm saying is these details matter at design, and they matter as much at implementation as ultimately they are still to be applied until the building is built, and that the drawing is not necessarily what gets built

Not to think for me, to think 'with' me. As ultimately they are the skilled workers / designers here - I'm just specifying the outcomes. We did have detailed drawings, well BR level drawings, but when it comes down to tearing into the building things turn out to be different to what we expect. An example of this was the fact that in our build the depths and directions of the floor joists turned out to be much more varied than expected.

I'm not sure this is just a design time issue - perhaps in may be in new build, but certainly in my renovation what has worked for me was to communicate the 'feel' and the desired outcomes to the builder. So there would be no down stand , and there should no visible fixings wherever possible - sounds easy but we've taken to the extent of no brackets to hold the glass in the stairs. No visible hinges on the windows, in fact no visible difference between opening casements and fixed lights. Once the builders had the 'feel' then things get build in a way to match the 'feel' not the drawing - I guess the variance for this between new build and renovation is that the as built doesn't match the drawing either... In fact we got to the point that when I was away on holiday Tony dropped me a txt to say we need to raise the lintel on the fire place and adjust the shape of the aperture as its not in keeping with the room before he fitted the reclaimed bricks and hearth and made good. As I trust Tony's view of the build and what I want then that is what we did. The drawings just don't exist...

Will your Solar set up be able to run a 3kw immersion? As i've found out this week smaller immersions 1kw sized etc have a different boss size.. if the immersion is too large then you'll be importing from the grid to make it work and the PV will cost more in electric than it would in gas.

Air BnB racked and stacked to make future income?

Why not pull the cat 6 back with a fish on it, then pull it and the LED cable back?

There are in my experience normally two sets of drawings - the basic drawings for Planning. Then if you are going for a full Building regs application (as opposed to a notice) and I would recommend you do. Then you'll need a subsequent set of drawings detailing how the building will be constructed. These are the drawings that the SE will then work from. You'll want the full BR drawings to get prices from builders anyway - otherwise it really is in the elements of guesswork. BigSpud

Found this whilst looking through my notes to create an artwork about the build. Its the brief we gave the architect, we deliberately did not provide a drawing, just a set of outcomes. (Naturally we had a set of our own thoughts and sketches) but we did not want to lead the architect, instead we wanted to get their vision. Hope it helps others in preparing their brief. ‘... Rooms: 4 double bedrooms, pref with Master bedroom having shower ensuite (but not at expense of the room being compromised). Bedrooms can be on different levels to each other but should be contained within a bedroom area where each bedroom has carpeted access to a bathroom and does not need to go into/through another room. Initially Nick will work from a spare bedroom with the ambition of moving his work place to a shed in the woodland. Family bathroom with bath and separate shower Min. 2 toilets within the house Bathroom(s) accessible without having to go into the bedroom wing for the living areas. Spacious Kitchen / dinner to be a central part of family life. This should have a good connection to the outside world. Lounge with flame heating source Garage Shared spaces/rooms to include locations for playing musical instruments (pref. with a way of being able to shut door to stop noise going through the whole house), piano location, child play area, library area, desk/computer area for Claire to possibly run a business from home. The house needs to both look forward and backwards. We anticipate having a lawned garden to the rear with woodland paths. This is likely to be where isaac will play so being able to be in the house and supervise this is desirable A view of the waterfall from the house is desirable Views down the valley from the living area and some beds is desirable We like the feel of the window to the left of the fire that gives the impression that of living in the tree tops ...’

Good point. We are installing the outdoor shower and sauna post valuation!

Interesting point, we’ve been renovating for sometime and we had a good friend come over recently and take a look around. He was initially utterly confused as to the changes and what if the original remained. We’ve made some very substantial changes... Eventually as ever the conversation came to value, why do people obsess on the value of property and it’s rise? Why would we want a housing market whereby the costs for housing services keeps rising? This is surely not a good thing! But i digress, the point our good friend made was not about character. It was about the step beyond the commodity market. Once you have something that is unique then there can be no comparison and therefore to a degree you can ask for it whatever you think it is worth. I hope the place ends up with the £1m valuation he gave, think it’s a bit optimistic mind! But maybe that’s just what we should ask for as a valuation! BigSpud

Well you’re never going to win that one with goggles on.

Templates are made and tested! There is a 25mm deep slot one end and 10mm at the other. They slide in and get pegged with no visible fixings :-)

The bottom newels are slid onto the tenons and then doweled in - currently unfitted to make the glass fit easier. The heights of the two newels is correct - they vary as the stairs rise up - makes more sense when the handrails are on. The problem is more fundamental than that.. some pillock has decided to start oiling from the bottom up.... starting at the top and going down would be much much easier!

Doing a job I’ve been looking forward to for months. Oiling the stairs. Progress has been made but who can spot the elementary mistake?

Getting closer, fitting the sink has been a real mission. Needed to drill out the granite to take the plugs as discussed elsewhere and the sink fitting for open close interfered with the cabinet frame. Wouldn’t have been a problem if some wally hadn’t stuck the granite down already...

Struggling with this entry, are you talking about the inherent beauty in design? Or taking the time to create a design that delights? Many have said I over think the details in our build but I’m of the view that 90% of the detail is not noticed because you’ve sweated it out. You only achieve elegance and purity of design with clear thought and intentions.

We've gone Nest - buying them in waves so it seemed cheaper! They do seem nicely made, as you may expect at the price!

Is there something here about playing your hand well. The best designs (in my view) leave a little to be discovered. That may be depth in a garden, a view point to view point journey of features or vistas to take the eye and borrow spaces?

Presumably glopped on and then just clamped up?

I’m having a bit of fun fitting the sink. I have the same sink as the previous owner of the granite. You would imagine therefore (or at least i did !) that it would mount straight up. This does not seem to be the case. Now the sink has been fitted to the worktop previously with silicon that I have cleaned back. There are some holes underneath but these do not contain threads or go all the way round so I’m starting to wonder if they were jig holes for cutting it out. I have tried fitting the push in threaded studs from the kit (I assume that’s what they are) but they seem to be very very easy to crack the test stone with unless they are drilled over size. Is it possible it was simply just siliconed in from underneath?

I have been looking at lighting gel too put around the insides...

For £7.99 a month I'd buy the Audible subscription and get it support for having it all working ASAP. Its worth 6 months money just to have it switch on and work. I'm a big fan of homebrew solutions and saving a few quid, but sometimes the end goal needs to come first which has to be get dad a working audio book set up.

I believe the US have imperial owls and ours are metric.

Oh yes! But not enough to keep the jams in