ProDave

This has to be one of the most hilarious threads of all time. Nick certainly has a way of calling a spade a %^% shovel !!!! We used to call them "turd choppers" I can certainly agree they are noisy, and like a waste treatment plant with moving parts, I would not volunteer to service one of them. Ever considered a composting toilet for the basement?

I can't advise on paint, but for cleaning, when I last did this on a 1930's pebbledashed house, I used a pressure washer to clean the wall and remove loose paint. then just painted over what was left with something cheap from one of the sheds.

I am going to regret asking this, but what's the knackered tea tray on top for?

There is another "god awful" type of trim to avoid. One sold to us by Topps Tiles when we did our last bathroom. It's a trim that fits to the wall before the tiles go on. It doesn't create a "gutter" so on the face of it, it should be okay. So why is it god awful? Well the edge that touches and seals to the bath looks just like a white bit of trim. But, it is a different material. Over a period of time, the white edge turns yellow, and it curls up away from the bath leaving a gap. I would never use it again and can't believe the manufacturer does not know this happens and it is not fit for purpose.

I lost count of how many people told me we had put the frame up "inside out" because with our build method, the OSB racking layer goes on the inside of the frame.

Rename the file .txt Upload it, with the instruction to rename it correctly (.xls?) before trying to open it.

To make a neat bead of sealant with no skill needed, buy some "corner tape" This is just two strips of masking tape, on a backing to space them, that when applied gives you two strips of masking tape either side of where you want the bead of sealant, nice and evenly spaced. Apply sealant, wipe to get a nice bead, and remove masking tape while still wet. Once perfect looking bead of sealant.

It was the builders suggestion, the ones that build my frame, to make the window openings over size and line them with rigid insulation to reduce any cold bridging. It really was simple, make the openings too big, fix 20mm Celotex strips around the sides then fit the windows. fill in any gap left with expanding foam. I later tidied up the packing detail to fit a continuous strip of ply packing, and countersunk the screws into the fixing plates Then the airtightness membrane wraps around and gets taped to the window frames

When I heard the cladding had failed the fire test I thought "No S**t Sherlock" There is talk of a corporate manslaughter charge if they can find enough evidence. I am sure the Wayback machine will some in handy for that. I expect a lot of computers will be confiscated and a lot of file undeleting going on.

Hi and welcome to the forum. It sounds like a great prospect. Remember you will at best have a garden half the size you have now. Will that still be ideal? and you have to find parking for the existing bungalow and the new house once the garage has gone. Only you will know how that will work. As well as planning, check the deeds of your house for any covenants that might stop you building (or might incur a cost to satisfy the covenant). Good luck

We are just one one self build policy that covers the static van we are living in. If the time to starting build is not long why not just get a self build insurance a bit early?

That's interesting. So not all the "generic" cheap ones are the same. Mine has 100mm travel and the castings have not let me down and I have had plenty of things, vices etc bolted to them.

How do you get into your "entombed" mvhr unit to change the filters?

I will be interested to hear the price for that move. There is a potential plot here with a similar setup, except the H pole has a 100KVA transformer sat on it, The quote was in the order of £50K making the land worthless in effect. In this case there is no obvious place to move anything to.

At the other end of the price spectrum, I have just paid £455 including delivery for a 5Kw ASHP from ebay. I'll let you know in due course if it was a bargain or not....

In my case the bottom piece of standard PIR / PUR type insulation comfortably supported the weight of the windows until the fixing plates were screwed home.

Our windows were fitted in openings deliberately made 50mm bigger in both dimensions. The frame opening were first lined with 20mm PUR insulation and any remaining gap then filled with expanding foam.

Ah I remember it now. That packages solution will work, until there's no pressure to refill the break tank. Did we discuss in that previous thread a break tank where Scottish Waters's suppl enters and a pump from there?

2 sheets of 18mm OSB glued and screwed together?

Can't you just complain to Scottish Water?

I would echo that. I did the "large" pipes in my system using some insulated semi flexible aluminium duct that my plumber friend had left over from his job.It turned out to be a pig of a job as I soon found what I thought was a solid aluminium duct was in fact a spiral wrap of a thin strip of duct, and unless you were very careful it started unwrapping the spiral. I would not use that by choice.

You two need to get a room. Ah yes, you are building it.......

I would suggest something like this http://cpc.farnell.com/sip/01700/bench-pillar-drill-50mm-350w/dp/TL19178 It's what I call the "generic bench top pillar drill" sold under any number of different names from loads of suppliers, even been in Lidl before now. I have been using one for over 20 years, bought originally for about £50. 5 speeds via belt change. I'll bet you find one a lot cheaper than that on ebay.

That shows the difference in location, and knowing how to be responsible. It's rare for it to be dead still here for any length of time, and the population density is so low with so few houses around that having a bonfire need not be anti social.

I am just please that I am still managing to progress our build, albeit very slowly, without selling the old one and without borrowing money. I never expected to get this far before the pot ran completely dry, and I even have a plan B to release some assets next March to get even further.