daiking

My downstairs toilet in a new extension is not Part M compliant and no one raised an eyebrow as it in an existing house. So ask the question but you should be fine to do as you please. FWIW, most of the internal doors are only 30" and a couple including the original bathroom, previously the only WC are only 27"! I probably couldn't even make the existing doorway, where the old house and new extension meet, the correct size for Part M.

Unlike some posters, I'm trying to make my life easier this isn't individually switched but I like it https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01DZLV8V0?psc=1

Due to not having a socket in the right place in a bedroom, I need to run an extension lead approx. 3m partly behind a wardrobe, round the front of a (small) chimney and back into an alcove under a desk area. It will probably run some small electronic devices, chargers, maybe a computer in the future, desk light etc. 4 gang extension, individually switched, surge protected, 3m cable (2m will not be long enough) and I'll probably wall mount it. Is there a reputable brand anyone would recommend?

There is only 1 real deterrent here and that is a simple one. Drive a shitbox. 1) you are less likely to be targeted and 2) even if you are you would be far less bothered by losing said shitbox i wish I could say I was following this advice by choice but I'm not. im following it because I have no money. There's a lesson for us all in there somewhere.

I don't see you as a Bodger*. *Mashed Potato!

Speak to @Onoff he can probably make you a campervan pop up roof for the garage from old yogurt pots and cocktail umbrellas that you can raise when you temporarily need the extra space.

Horses for courses. Sometimes I wonder whether cutting a hole in such a big bit of quartz was sensible but I'm very happy with the Sensio Kengo. The USB and Bluetooth speaker features are used daily, slightly less so the 3 pin sockets but when they are there's no fiddling around under the island overhang to plug something in with the kids getting tangled in cables when sat nor something sticking out the sides to catch yourself on. the only thing I'd remark is that it can collect food detrius if you actually use your island for, like, cooking and eating. So keep it clean.

Sorry, I was thinking more of a hands off approach and the value of materials compared to land, services and trades.

This is a question that self builders should be able to answer off the top of theirs heads, what percentage of the the total build cost is materials? 25%?

It never ceases to amaze me how the self builders here struggle to justify the money they are spending relative to the value they will create at the end of the process on houses that are better than 99.99% of existing stock. The irony is that I bought a shit house, added a crap extension and added value and could walk away tomorrow with a profit. it signifies what is wrong with the U.K. Itself, not just the housing market

Even as someone who spent too great a proportion of the budget of an extension build on the kitchen that is a lot of money. I could get a bespoke one with high end appliances for that kind of money. The money spent on my kitchen should have been spent in the general construction but it wasn't. Thems the breaks.

Thanks all but easy tigers! I'm right at the start of planning so the nod that I can make it up is fine. Options at a later date...

Cheers but I'm not quite 'there' yet but I am trying to see how involved a bit of work will be. Im just after the general principle that the sort of loading I'm looking at is easily dealt with, basically coming out a couple of metres from the bifold doors in these pictures

I realise retaining walls need to be taken very seriously but... ball park, a <1m high wall holding back <3m wide section of soil with a slab or patio on top is not good to be a major feat of engineering, is it? I am unlikely to need professional input am I?

I only realised this was an issue after seeing it was a (very) contentious issue on ebuild. We (my wife and I) did want a stove in our house in a built up area, you know the whole lifestyle thing - we'd just cut down several large trees so had plenty of wood*. What put us off was not the environmental issue but the frightening cost £3k+ even if we put it in an existing fireplace. Instead we got a whole gas fire package supplied and fitted for £1k and I doubt we use £50 of gas a year. We would have been insane to install a stove. *Sold the wood to some muppet for £100 after it had sat in my garden for 6 months.

Do you have a sources for that average new car price? That is astonishing.

This dropped into my inbox this morning http://events.imeche.org/ViewEvent?e=6474 "Infrared thermography is a key enabler in determining the quality of a building’s construction and identifying any shortcomings as a part of the dispute resolution process. Additionally, a thermographic building report can be used to gain one BREEAM credit. Taking place at the Institution's London HQ, this free half-day lecture will provide you with a thorough understanding of thermography, imaging techniques for non-destructive testing and practical guidance to make your results more accurate." This may be of general interest or even actual use for anyone near London with IMechE membership, I know, that's probably a tiny to non-existent subset on here but I saw it and thought of you..

Blockages? Can't be any worse than an offset connector, vertically at full offset

They will be the easy bits. Initially its the details... Do I trust my drains? Wife wants a level threshold from the bi-folds, they have a cill below the threshold level This level would also be above the air bricks for the suspended floor ventilation What sort of drainage do I need, if any? As we've a stream along one boundary and the garden is higher than that level, the garden itself does not seem particularly boggy but is that because of the vegetation that lives on it. will it need a small land drain? I'll knock some sketches up and maybe start a blog.

Steady on, I've got a thousand @Onoff style prepping questions first. Ive been given a deadline of 1st July. I asked her, which year?

A mini crusher is over £500 for a weekend! scrap that, I'll give my boys a lump hammer and a chisel each

I'll get round to it... Need some more recent pictures as I did clear the garage of all the mess.

The natives are getting restless. My impatient wife is deperate to have a garden that resembles a garden. We had a quote to a raised a levelled bit around the house practically up to the bi fold doors, turfed to the side and back, some sort of patio/hard surface. Probably using sleeper to hold the raised bit, maybe 600mm or so high. Steps leading down to a levelled turf area for the main part of the garden where the trampoline live. Needing to get rid of the remains of the garage and build up that bit whilst also doing a ramp down into the garden and bonded resin areas at the top where not a patio and a similar path around the lawn, tidying up the borders ready for planting I suppose. Nothing fancy at all, just basic stuff to sort if out ready to turn it into a garden- that'll be 13 grand please. I don't know where to start having never done anything like this before and don't have that sort of money to spend at the moment so we're in a bit of a hole, much like the garden.

When I say it's not finished, it is not finished. I have to decorate properly now. Should take 4 months.

Its a train. do you know what has actually helped recently? The prospect of being able to re-mortgage at a reasonable cost.