ProDave

I thought there was an almost universal alternative name for them, the first word begins with S.....

Our connection came down to just a shade over £1000 for them to pull a cable through the duct I had installed, connect into the meter cabinet I had installed and make the connection in the connection pit I had dug. Believe it or not £750 of that was for "wayleaves" A figure I think they just pluck from the air. Sure it would have needed some form of wayleave to cross 12" of grass verge and pass under the road, but £750?

I would be surprised if just letting 30mL of water out would drop the pressure that much. I strongly suspect your expansion vessel either does not have enough air charge, or it has failed altogether.

That Hotun looks interesting. Fit one now? or wait until after BC sign off and swap it?

I presume Orkney have their own council? Just checked and in fact it's £150 for Highland Council http://www.highland.gov.uk/info/180/planning_-_applications_warrants_and_certificates/172/street_names_and_house_numbers/2

On the subject of who follows the rules...... I found this home made "tundish" on a job today the D2 pipe went down to the ground then along the floor with no discernible fall before exiting at garage floor level. Part way along the discharge from the boiler expansion vessel joined it with no tundish. Re my vent pipe being a chimney. I have long thought it should be possible to encase the tundish in something transparent and sealed to both inlet and outlet pipe. That would not impede the flow of water and it would still be visible, but would stop air leakage up the vent pipe. Plastic bottle or similar perhaps?

I take it this is for electricity? and is it permanent or temporary? For temporary I have seen an old kitchen cabinet with a bit of roofing felt tacked on. It lasted the year that was required without falling apart. And for permanent, I just set two standard flush mount meter boxes into a substantial short bit of "fence" along my boundary. I would ask them to quote what regulation says it has to be brick built. you can buy floor mounting fibreglass electricity kiosk's that just need a concrete base to stand on.

Like I say I am actively trying to avoid that. A fee of £145 was mentioned once up here ant that's extortion to add a house name to an existing list. I will carry on without paying that as long as I can as a matter of protest. If I succeed in getting the phone line installed with the address manually entered that's one step closer. I already managed that some time ago with the electricity.

Thanks. I have "reported" it in that first link. I ticked "no" to has it been built within the last 12 months. I well see if anything happens as a result of that. I also added the note that we have been receiving post for 2 years and the postman has no trouble delivering to the house.

Today's job was to try and organise getting the phone line connected at the new house. Previously Open Reach had visited, given us the cable and duct which is all installed so it just needs connecting under the grass verge, and a socket connecting in the house. First phone call to BT new connections did not go well. He could not find the address of the new house on the address data base *. He stated he cannot process the order until the house appears on the address data base. I argued that my next door neighbour managed to get his phone line connected without being on the database, so it must be possible. No it is not. Can I speak to your manager please. I gave up after 10 minutes of canned music, that was never going to be answered. So I call back, expecting this time to have to get irate at the call to the manager not being answered. Instead I got a different operative, this time much more helpful, who finding it not on the database simply said I will have to put it through manually and proceeded to take all the details and place the order. I have an activation date of 23rd March, so watch this space to see if it happens. * as a point of principle, I am at the moment refusing to pay to get the new address listed on the address database. I didn't pay for the last house, and I have been receiving post to the new house with its new address for well over a year (electricity bill) so I personally have nothing to gain by paying for that. So I am holding out on the basis if someone else wants it they can pay for it (a whole different topic of course) I suspect that will come to a head when we start getting charged for council tax?

I wonder if this will finally change buyers behavior? i.e. when choosing a home will people actually start to look at only houses with a decent EPC or will they carry on as now not bothering to take note? Surely it is about time the market price of poorly insulated homes was lower to reflect the work they need to bring them up to standard. An awful lot of the old cottages up here get an EPC of E or F, which is now too low to be used as a rental property for instance. Look forward to the "government scheme to insulate your home...." junk phone calls any time soon. It makes me very glad indeed that our new house will be do well insulated. Like all good journalism (sic) it gives no hint as to what the target EPC (or some other measure) of these "refurbished" homes will be. If they are aiming for all hiomes to have an EPC of A then best of luck with a Victorian or earlier property.

That's definitely true of ionisation smoke alarms where the actual sensor has a shelf life. Burt what about heat alarms where the sensor is just a thermistor. I can see no reason for those having a shelf life? Also (a bit of a rant) why are heat alarms more expensive? the thermistor must cost a lot less than the ionisation detector module, yet heat alarms always seem to cost more.

My site is insured on a self build policy. All I know is the builders that I contracted to build and erect the frame insisted on seeing my employers liability certificate (which is part of the self build policy). As far as they were concerned, I was employing them for part of the job so they needed to see it.

Okay, I have to ask. Why the gap? Why not tight to the wall?

I think "compriband" is the generic name, like Selotape, and Hoover. I actually genuinely don't know what make my expanding tape was, it had nothing on the roll to say so.

I'm trying to work out of that picture is on it's side and those are home made cabinet "feet" or if it's really the right way up, then just what are they doing?

It was easier for me, because my compriband went onto the window frame, then I slid the EWI panel up to it, so even if it expanded quickly, it didn't matter as it just got compressed again. I take it you want to fit the tape, then put the window into an opening before it expands too much? If so pick the coldest day you can and early on in the day. It definitely expands a lot slower when cold. Forget trying it on a hot sunny day. One side of the tape is self adhesive with a peel off backing paper. As I say, I stuck that to the window frame. The fixing plates were on, but where I fitted the tape was forward (outside) of where the plates came to. Make sure your chippy has some suction lifters (someone will come along with the proper name for them) it makes it so much easier.

I even had someone trying to sell me a voltage optimiser to increase the FIT payment from my solar PV. When I questioend them how that would be so, it turns out they were making an assumption, that my inverter would be limited my maximum voltage (which it isn't) and a voltage optimiser would solve that.

One rule for me, and another for others it seems........

That's the condensate drain from the boiler isn't it, not the PRV discharge pipe?

This cover should do the job http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Plastic-Coated-Overflow-Discharge-Terminal-Guard-Boiler-Relief-Outlet-Cover-Cage-/381591128473?hash=item58d89a8999:g:iSkAAOSwsN9XAktq

Here we go, take 2. A very short pipe out of the elbow (too tight to solder in there with the overhanging EWI on a plastic support bracket). Ground level lowered so there's more than 100mm gap. All I need now is a wire cage to go round it. Any ideas where I can buy one? I was originally thinking of the hepvo and into the stack, but it would have been a long run to get to the stack and very congested to get yet another pipe into it, so I changed to a copper D2 pipe but wanted it hidden, unlike the present house where it runs down the outside wall of the house. Yes I know it's a compromise to the air tightness, but an almost unavoidable one.

Re plasterboard boxes, if you are going to use them, use Appleby. They are the only make I trust not to disintegrate or jam. You can get metal plasterboard back boxes, TLC sell them, but they can be a bit of a PITA to fit. You are not supposed to fit "general purpose" sockets less than 300mm from a corner. Note that word "general purpose" My take is , providing you have enough "general purpose" sockets to meet the regs, and you have a need for one right in a corner, then fit it. If your building inspector is a jobsworth and complains, put a label on it "for tv only" and it's no longer "general purpose" This is the same rule that lets you put sockets high up for a wall mounted tv, as it's not "general purpose" You only need something like 4 "general purpose" sockets in most rooms so it's easy to get enough that do meet the accessibilty rules.

I thought it said it MUST discharge below ground level so nobody could put a finger under any potentially scalding hot water running out of it. it mentions discharging below the grid of a gulley, or onto a pavement IF a wire cage was fitted around it to prevent anyone touching it. I could locally reduce the ground level there by lowering the height of stones in the French drain so the pipe is exiting 100mm above the "ground". I could install a gulley with a grid with a hole in it if it would look the part better. What I cannot do is raise the point of exit any higher up the wall. Re reading the document I linked in my original post it says "Downward discharge at low level but no less than 100mm above external surfaces and having a wire cage or suitable guard to prevent contact" So if I shorten the pipe out of the bottom of the elbow to almost nothing, lower the level of stones so the pipe is 100mm above the stones, and fit a wiore cage it should comply? I better not start putting the floor down yet......

I would want more information. It looks like they just cut grooves into an existing screed and then fit the pipes. What if it is an old house with no insulation at all under the floor screed? How is that going to work and be efficient?