ProDave

Post a picture and dimensions?

Gosh those plasterboard screws are close together. That is twice as many as I have ever seen used anywhere. What's the single back box for? I assume the double one is for a shaver socket.

That bit I have great sympathy with. I hope it goes through this time. At least you have people looking at the house, that would be something.... And as for Bankers (not sure that is the correct spelling) pulling the rug from under you. Been there got the tee shirt too.

I too did this once. BE WARNED, an electric plane can be VERY dangerous. In my case I just caught it on the final bit of it's spin down after use. I stuck "the flap" back down with a plaster and my finger recovered, apart from a scar. Be VERY careful with these, at full tilt they could do some serious damage.

Interesting document. but I take issue with paragraph 4. If I appointed someone to build and erect the frame, I am NOT "taking control of construction work" the builder is doing that and I am just letting him get on and do his job.

If you don't mind me asking, how much are they paying you for this?

You mean YOUR build is being filmed for "building the dream"? That guarantees something has to go wrong. Those programs ALWAYS have some difficulties with the mournful music playing in the background. No such difficulties and yours will be scrapped, no "entertainment" value if nothing goes wrong.

I think the thing you need to check is what the actual load will be with the building you are constructing. If it's under 25KN/m2 then happy days. If not then that's when your troubles begin. And you do need this information from your SE. So rather than go at him with both guns blazing "blaming" him, start by simply requesting the actual ground pressure imposed on the foundations. Is that information actually stated in any of the documents he provided? P.S I took LABC to mean Local Area Building Control. Why do people choose such confusing names?

Having the bend on the steepest bit is not the best place, think icy weather, car sliding and not going round the bend? Is it possible to re route it first to avoid that and keep the bend on a more level bit? If not, a high kerb seems a good idea to catch a sliding car? I had concrete at my last house, cheap, easy and dependable, but if the ground does sink it will crack and start to look tatty. I have tarmac at the new house and it looks god but boy it is expensive. I don't know why as it was a very quick and easy looking job to just pour it, rake it flat and run a roller over it a few times. One solution if you just want cheap, is just two strips of concrete rather than a wide slab. A local farm here at the top of a hill has this on the steep section (gravel on the rest) and it works very well.

I'm getting confused over who said what. You seem to be using LABC to do building control AND warranty, but it is not clear in some of your statements which one has failed it? Are there indeed seperate departments and separate inspectors for these 2 functions? As regards load bearing, what you need to know is what load bearing the completed building will impose on the foundations that have been poured, not some theoretical value. Could it just be that the overkill foundations could take 50KN/m2 but are not actually being asked to support that much?

The nhbc documents make it clear that it is only habitable rooms that need to meet the minimum door widths. Unfortunately that is not made clear in the Scottish building regs. I feel a phone call to the "duty building control officer" will be due on Wednesday. I could of course fit a standard width door, but then I would expect someone to complain the flue pipe is partly blocking the door, hence my idea to reduce the door with to remove that argument.

What puzzles me is how he managed to melt a cable when he only installed a push fit and a compression fitting?

Yes, but what width of door does a "cupboard" require?

It's a "plant room" because that is what is says on the plans. Originally it was going to contain the mvhr, heat pump (GSHP) and hot water tank(s). however we have changed to a monoblock ASHP and the hot water tank is going to go in a cupboard off the small bedroom so it is a lot closer to the kitchen. So now it is just the mvhr and some storage space. (with our vaulted ceilings there is very little conventional "loft" space) But you have touched on an other potential issue, that is of the council tax valuer trying to include it as "habitable space" hence why (at least to start with) very little will be boarded. I guess a "solution" to both problems is just install a small trap door that you have to undo a few screws to get in there? The door can then come later. But I would rather know the answer now and just fit a door.

Can I ask a "variation" on this subject. What if you are a self builder. You have had a contractor in to build and erect a timber frame for you. They have finished and gone (without any accidents) The house is finished outside. You are now working 100% on your own to finish the inside of the house and not intending to employ any other trades. You have a self build insurance policy in place. How does the situation change?

simple version of question: What is the minimum door width into a non habitable room (plant room) under Scottish building regs? Longer version. The plant room is the attic space above the attached garage. It is accessed through a door from the master bedroom. Next to this door was going to be the twin wall flue from the wood burning stove in the room below making it's way up to the roof. But SWMBO has just changed the room layout around, and suddenly this wall needs more space, so the flue has to move. The flue position is dictated partly by joists positions, so to move the flue over, it would have to jump into the gap between the joists "one joist over" if you see what I mean. That would put the flue in front of the door opening. Here's a picture trying to explain it: The wall is a supporting gable end wall, there is a lintel over the door opening supporting the ridge beam, so moving the door opening over is not an option. the only option is to make the door narrower. I then have to make some assumptions as I have not yet chosen the flue. It seems from the searching I have done the minimum flue size recommended is 5" which in the twin wall version has an outside diameter of about 280mm. (I don't know why but nobody recommends a 4" flue which I would have thought was plenty for my little 3Kw stove) A further assumption is what distance has to be left between the flue and a combustible material (i.e. the joist) Building regs leave it entirely up to what the manufacturer of the flue specifies. As I have not yet chosen which one I am using, I have taken a "typical" 3" clearance and allowed 80mm between the flue and the joist. As the drawings shows that would allow me a door opening of 700mm wide which translates to an imperial 2ft 3" door. My question, is would this be acceptable (it would be acceptable to me) All I can find in building regs is the section on accessibility within a building which typically talks of door widths of 850mm but says a door may be reduced to 775mm if it is approached straight on (which this one is) But this is NOT a habitable room, it is the plant room so does that width still apply? The room in all probabilty will resemble a "loft" space with only part of it being floored for the mvhr to sit on and access to it.

That cable needs fixing somehow. Is there any slack in it where it disappears out of sight? if so you might be able to just pull it back and fit a junction box. I personally don't like the fact he's used push fit, and a bit of plastic pipe. Nick will be along to tell me it's fine, but I personally just don't like it. I would rather he had fixed the leaks and stayed with copper.

Did he itemise the hourly rate? (I do on my invoices) If what you are saying is true, that the parts cost £30, then that's £250 for 6 hours labour or £41 per hour. I know the SE is a LOT more expensive than here, so that is in fact probably a fair price. The only thing "wrong" with it, is the time taken and hence cost would have been lower if he had fixed both leaks in one go when it was drained the first time.

I have a customer like that. she bought a new tv recently and she called me out twice because it "was not working" the issue was she didn't know how to select hdmi 1 input and it was just trying to receive a freeview signal, which it could not do as they have no ordinary aerial. Both times I showed them how to select hdmi 1 and even wrote instructions. I had to go back there again to change a light fitting and I noticed the tv was on with nobody in the room and the sound muted. I got the impression they now never turn it off, just mute it when not watching it because they still can't fathom how to operate it.

True. My preseent house, 13 years ago, they didn't ask for any certification. But this time I am minded to fit a temporary electric hob until after completion.....

Contrary to popular belief, it is still legal to DIY your OWN gas work, as long as you are competent. where it would become an ofence, is if someone not gas safe registered started doing work for other people.

Use plastic coated 10mm copper, usually sold on a roll, already annealed so it's soft to bend. No spring needed, though I do have a hand held bender for it that I inherited from my dad to make a neat bend. In the basis of fewer joints = fewer places it can leak, I have just one joint to connect to the hob and one to the regulator. Use propane not butane, then no risk of freezing and no need to cover the cylinder. If it's a back up hob and not a big problem if it runs out then one cylinder is okay, but for a main hob I would always use 2 cylinders on an auto changeover regulator. You are most likely to use your gas hob when there is a power cut, would going outside to change the cylinder if it ran out be a nuisance then? Even though the gas usage is small I would still use the big 47Kg cylinders simply because the gas is cheaper in the larger cylinders.

A lot of holiday rentals here use a key safe, just give the tenant the number. Most are by the back door. Why not give the cleaner her own key, and hide mum's spare key somewhere away from the house? i.e. not under the doormat or plant pot by the door.

We have a rug in front of the fireplace with UFH and solid wood floor. No problem. Yes if you lift the rug it's a bit warmer under there but does not cause problems and noes not limit the heating in any practical way.

If it's any help, I used the Baumit.com thin render system. Their website id not very helpful, but the base coat render was MC55W mixed from powder, with their Silokon Top top coat ready miced in a tub. That comes in a range of colours and textures.