Stones

Our UFH pipes are clipped onto the insulation, covered with 100mm concrete slab. The main reason for us doing it this way was it saved the cost of having to lay a 70mm screed. I didn't see the point of paying to dig out the foundations a bit deeper, then pay more to fill it back in again.

Certainly aware of Sika, but when you start looking, there is a fairly large choice of products available, for roundabout the same sort of money, that all claim to do the same job.

Not the only one, surely?????

Engineered Oak being laid over concrete slab with wet UFH. Has anyone used this particular flexible adhesive? https://www.luxuryflooringandfurnishings.co.uk/pallman-p5-wood-flooring-adhesive-16kg-tubs.html Any other recommendations?

Looking good, nice and crisp. What are you planning below the bellcast?

Thanks for the heads up.

We had exactly this sort of arrangement in our last 3 houses. Worked really well, the only limiting factor being the size of the cupboard and number / type of hanging rails.

Welcome aboard.

I think that probably will be the way forward. It's one of these details we will see / notice, but go unnoticed by everyone else.

600mm to 620mm total width - so normal size bowl but 1/2 size draining board - something like this: http://www.blanco-germany.com/uk/uk/sinks_kitchen/full_sink_range/product_detail.html?sid=01010010001#pros Delivery can be a problem I agree - we've had plenty of companies that think that Orkney is somewhere in the South Atlantic, in the general vicinity of the Falklands! The're quite happy to ship anywhere in Europe (maybe even Mongolia), but not the UK! Trusty Toolstation deliver for free, and yes SF do as well.

We used one of these airers in our last house and very effective it was to. Our new utility room has an area of vaulted ceiling specifically so we can put two airers up out of the way (above 2.4m high). The utility room extract has been strategically positioned in this area as well.

Couldn't agree more, but in the space saving size I'm looking for, there doesn't appear to be that option at anything approaching a sensible price.

ibidder special was it? Thanks for the offer, but too big for what we are looking for. Is it nasty in any other way (apart from the staining) ?

I'm just looking for a sink for our utility. Don't have a huge budget but want as far as I can to get something reasonably robust. There is plenty of price variation, at the cheapest end, it looks like you get 0.6mm thick stainless steel, up to 1.2mm if you spend several hundred. You get what you pay for...are sinks made from thicker steel worth the premium (as far as I can a lot of premium seems to be based on the sink design, the more contemporary the more expensive)?

Surface water runs to a surface water soakaway in its own set of pipes. Round the house, the pipes are side by side in the same trench. At the front of the house, foul water pipework all links up and goes one way, surface water pipework links up and goes the other way, both soakaways being as far apart as possible.

Dave, When I think back to other builds, you are absolutely right, that is invariably what they have done. BC certainly came out and had a look, and the various pictures taken by the guys who put the pipework in, and seems happy enough. Looking round the house I'm renting there are no inspection chambers here either, just rodding points...perhaps one of those things done differently here.

Work continues on site with our foul and surface water drainage now installed; Following an initially negative assessment of the treatment plant design by the digger driver, its installation worked out far better than he or I expected, causing him to take back everything negative he had said. A hole was dug out to the required depth and the conical shaped treatment plant lowered in. Naturally it pivoted about on the point of the 'cone', but all it required was four lengths of timber to prop it in place, then backfill with a dry mix concrete / fill the plant with water. Our foul water and surface water soakaways were dug out and filled with aggregate, in the case of the surface water, mixed size aggregate I had picked off the spoil heap on site, and for the foul water soakaway, clean aggregate bought in. Slab laying followed the completion of drainage works, and we now have a 600mm riven slab path running right round the house, as well as the landing/access area at the main door; The slabs were laid on a dry sand / cement mix, mixed on site using a mixer scoop fitted onto the loadall; The slabs give us a nice clean edge to landscape up to. The digger is due back shortly to finish digging out / creating our driveway and turning area, and to do the basics of landscaping / earth moving ready for final landscaping in the spring, once the winter weather has done its job and everything has had a chance to settle: Inside, the joiners have finished off plasterboarding, fitted the kitchen units and staircase. The kitchen has been fitted at this stage as it's being 'built in' with enclosing partitions; The staircase; The joiners have built some shelving underneath the stairs, and created a solid balustrade using MDF and plasterboard, topped with an oak handrail. As you can see, I've primed the newel post ready to paint in to the adjacent plasterboard, the idea being we will have a seamless appearance. I'm not sure yet how we will fill the join between newel and plasterboard - flexible filler or caulk. Oak veneered MDF shelves have been made and will be fitted into the unit once decorating has been completed. Oak veneered MDF faced with a solid oak apron has also been used for the shelves you can see in the kitchen, and for all our window cills. This next picture shows the stairs after a coat of osmo oil. We had initially been thinking of painting the stringers and risers white so that the oak tread would 'float', but in the end decided to go with the two tone appearance. I spent half a day sanding it all down, and have now applied two coats of oil. The final couple of pictures show the mezzanine area accessed by the stairs and the view down into the main room; Where we have solid balustrades, they will be topped with oak to tie in with the other internal finishes and stair balustrade. The decorator has started and will have the bedroom and link section of the house taped, filled and sanded for me by the middle of the coming week, which will let me get the first half painted while he tapes and fills the other half of the house.

Sounds like an interesting proposal, although I would suggest caution. I think this is the type of change you really need to run past an estate agent to try and ascertain what impact (positive or negative) it would have if you were looking to sell.

When I was looking at metal roofing, I spoke to and had a quote from http://planwell.co.uk/ Planwell Profile sheets - £15 per m2 inc sheets, ridge and barge flashings, fixings and delivery. IIRC Planwell will supply in whatever finished length you want. They were certainly very helpful on the phone. I also looked at Tata Colorcoat Urban Standing Seam - £30 per m2 inc sheets, ridge, verge, valley, ventilation, fixings and tools. Exc delivery £650.

A fairly specific query this, that i can't seem to find an easy answer for: I need to oil my window cills, which have been formed from Oak veneered MDF, with a sold oak facing/apron. Whilst I can follow application instructions and remove dust etc using a soft brush or vacuum, you can still see plaster dust that has fallen on the cill, in the wood grain. Do I need to worry about this? Can I just go ahead and apply the oil, or do I need to wipe down with white spirit first to remove what plaster dust there is in the grain?

Is this not a battle you will lose unless you are prepared to commit to regular and significant maintenance?

There are a few companies out there offering steel framed houses, for example http://metconsbs.com/passive-house/ so I'm guessing they must be on a par with other build methods cost wise. If you are fabricating yourself, it's really going to come down to satisfying building control / having an SE do all the calcs and specifying what is required and where.

When my in-laws moved into their terraced house, they took out the bath, and replaced with a shower. Made a big difference to the amount / feeling of space in what was otherwise a very cramped space. They chose to tile the whole room floor to ceiling, making it easy to revert back to a bath with minimal disruption if it was ever required.

Just a thought, but could you 'adapt' the disposable nozzle/applicator supplied with cans of expanding foam by adding on a length of flexible pipe (I'm thinking the small diameter pipe used in home brewing) http://www.the-home-brew-shop.co.uk/acatalog/syphon-kit.html to let you use expanding foam?

Yes, a warm welcome MrP.