saveasteading

Seriously, that was a very useful discipline in teaching the power of ten and having an understanding of numbers being big or small. Also in significant figures when using one of these new calculator thingies.

My pitch on this. How much Risk and hands-on? If you project manage and don't have a main contractor, and do some of the work, then it is self build. The degree varies from there of course. 100% means no contractor, but help from friends and family. Next level includes labourers or semi skilled workers ... . But it's all your responsibility. From there down to 10%. A nonsense figure of course. Several trades contractors, some diy. We will all have our own views on this according to skills and experience.

Bravo. Good plan. Some 'experts' ( mostly in these recently created specialities) are lacking but must have known how to pass the exam. Others are technically good but don't consider options or cost. I hate it most when they write in a supervisory role for themselves. Mostly I have encountered these at planning stage. Some I submitted very detailed counter-arguments and succeeded. Archaeology; planting; newts; Breeam; come to mind. On one of those I even achieved a certificate without much study. The experts back down if the argument is strong.

It's easy to fit (just some ducting and a rainproof inlet, and works very well and efficiently. Even if it wasn't the rule, I would now choose to do it.

I have found that, by applying 'light oak' stain to softwood cladding, it remains much the same colour, perhaps a bit yellower. It goes on as barely visible so seems expensive at the time but the benefit is over the years as it does not grey. Either apply before fixing or allow shrinkage first, as tongues or edges may show when they grey.

Interested to know why you volunteered.

That phrase may stay in my mind.

OK I have misunderstood and thought it was new.

I mean the single brick on edge and simple (minimal)? contact of purlin to brick. Any tiny movement will rock that brick. All I'd suggest is 2 bricks instead of one, laid flat, and a timber sole plate.

Gasp. They built that brick to support the roof?

Intumescent paint can go on galvanising. The calculations are indeed complex, but not so for plasterboard. If it is weather prone then cement board is an option. If it is exposed to a potential fire protect it.

That's right. More flexible and a better seal. Clay is for veey heavy loads and for nasty chemicals from factories (though I've seen rotted ones). You've come to the right place if you're picking up such strange and erroneous information. Next.... two 45 ° turns isn't right. You would generally get away with it if only rainwater but it needs to be roddable for foul. So a rodding point and 90° turn is needed. Or 2 at 45°. Plastic is normal for these too. When you have measured, post a sketch. Water hardness is not relevant. Next tconsider aluminium gutters. In this situation plastic is not best, but cast iron is expensive and rusts, plus is low capacity. There is copper effect available in aluminium.

Excellent. Hadn't thought of that. Maybe some armour removed too? I've just looked again and the ducting is plastic and quite flexible. I will be doing this in open air prior to positioning it, so no nasty bends to cause friction.

I have some salvaged steel ducting to encase the cable for a section above ground. In hindsight i should have kept the cabling in it as a drawcord. how do I get a flattish, stiff swa cable through? I have electrician's rods. So I'm thinking pull cord through, then cable..... but how do I grasp the cable? I've seen some harness things but £20+ seems wrong so is maybe not the thing.

Eg it might have picked up the discussion on here: where else does this level of expertise on concrete slab dimples exist?

No it won't. If i am following this fully, they are proposing adding strength after the event. That does not return the bow to horizontal.

It's fair enough for the building inspector to want a formal proposal. Your drawing shows intumescent paint, which you can't use, so your designer or another competent person needs to confirm it is now to be pb, including the spec and thickness. Some bco's will be sufficiently trained in the fire reg's to be allowed to advise*, so it's worth just talking to them first. *their insurers will be very wary of fire risk and responsibility.

OK time for my input. Serious subjects need long and derailed discussions The dimples are the bottom. The other face could be flat or have pretend stone profiling or other patterns... including dimples. In this case they are utility slabs, the small dimples on the top face I'm guessing are caused by stacking the product too soon after manufacture. If you like the dimples for some reason (grip) then it's OK to lay them upwards but they will wear off, and if the slabs are taper edged then there isn't space for grouting. Dimples down.

Apologies. Not the fuse or circuit breaker for the circuit in question , but the RCD serving half of the house. I'm thinking now I will put the swa in from one junction box to another. That will make connections easier and solid. From there I can put in a switch, or not, in cable that is easier to handle.

Can you glue it and cramp it tight? then replace?. the tongue will be gone presumably, but it will match.

These queries seem fair. The sort of thing that could be fiddled. Forged/ different versions of invoices. Mirrors bought for somewhere else. I had a VAT inspector sit opposite me for 3 days, as there was no other desk space. At the satisfactory conclusion he told me he was looking at our books for inconsistencies but also taking notes of subcontractors. He went off with several photocopies of their invoices, and was going to compare them to what these contractors were claiming. ie often a contractor will pay some of the VAT due and use the rest for cash-flow, especially an unusually high sum as 'the vat people won't notice'. the same inspector doesn't investigate them, but flags it, and files these invoices. Perhaps an inspector has checked with your suppliers.

Welcome to the Hernia repair club. I expect they are all different but I had no side effects or long term discomfort or weakness. Available for BH questions to keep your mind alert. Here is one. On your VAT reclaim were there any pro-forma invoices and were they accepted or require prof of payment or perhaps more than that?

More information needed. You have told us that you have 1.5m of distance between the existing fixed points, but not the height difference. The best slope depends on the gradient and the water quantity....you say it is combined, so we also need to know if you have a huge catchment for rain. Plastic is very much easier to work with than clay. I wouldn't dream of using clay unless I was building a motorway or the liquid is nasty.

I found one in my box of bits. Upmarket of insulating tape. I've got some wagos too. Yes. The light is currently disconnected at the adjacent junction box. I can't remember why! Switch in the house was left on in error. Fuse tripped during a huge downpour. Not tripping now the ground had drained. But nothing is ever certain. Whatever, it should be swa not the present cable. It is 23m to the house as photo, but 35m to the front door.

That was the plan. I should have explained better at the start... in series. @-rick- the issue is with thd power cable being faulty. The fuse trips afteg heavy rain. I'm still none the wiser about what outside switch to buy. This is top of the search from screwfix. Same words as @ProDave used earlier. British General IP66 20A 1-Gang 2-Way Weatherproof Outdoor Switch with Neon (54649) Will I need to tie the neutrals together inside it? What is one if those wind- on plastic caps called? Presumably this switch is OK for swa. One more question. 1.5mm2 swa costs £43 for 25m . 2.5mm2 costs £53. Any reason not to invest that £10 in case of future upgrades?