saveasteading

Well done.

Auctions are for risky sites. I'm an expert and I would want 2 weeks research before considering buying or even advising. Are there manholes? Depth, diameters, problems? I suggest walk away unless you love a huge gamble AND the site is very cheap.

It's not good work but unfortunately normal. The extra snotty snots at the corner will prevent the insulation fitting tidily. They should be knocked off and removed along with the bottom heap. The internal mortar gaps are inexcusable too. They are part of the strength airtightness and rain resistance. Seems to be a bit random. Enough ties? Can we see it from above?

The good news first. Roca have been very helpful in identifying the replacement part needed. Their film of how to dissemble is slick and quite accurate. Not so good : it needs a new inlet as I have identified that it doesn't close off and apparently it isn't cleanable. And I dropped a bit into the tank. It's a plastic spigot that the front plate screws into. Value about 10p. But the tank is so narrow that I can't get my hand in. If only they made the tank an inch wider or the part floated. And roca have gone quiet on the part number. I might end up bodging a way of fixing the plate on. I've been several hours doing this and now starting again. I wonder if a typical plumber would have known what to do. Moral....beautifully made but impractical. The next house is having exposed cisterns and that is my advice to anyone.

Correct. And you can get some extreme belches. A grille for leaves is a bonus.

You will not pull a 25mm cable through a 32mm conduit unless it is dead straight and a big pit each end to feed it. There are standard details for such supplies. I don't have any to hand but trench depth, bedding, warning tape.

That's the query really. acc to the spec, the thing seemingly does, as suggested above, 3/6litre flushes I assume that means up to 3 and up to 6 litre, so what the scales saying 0-8 and 0-12 means is a mystery. And POM does not appear as plumbing on any searches .

For general interest. About 10 years ago the bco said to me for the first time, that a standard detail was essential in all cases. ie a manufacturer's tested assembly or an approved iteration. Prior to that I would sometimes submit a composite design, or a 'common sense' design, plus I had a training certificate to back it. That change was understandable, given the disasters that had occurred, although on the biggest one the test was fiddled. My proposals had been, for example, we don't need that layer of plasterboard because we have a skin of brick. OR this has been proven with meta stud therefore it works at least as well with timber. @Mike DC therefore choose not only one that works but also that you can achieve practically. eg can you get the plasterboard to position and still get your screwdriver in.? The tests are all carried out in the middle of a sample wall, ie no perimeters. That is somewhere that you can use common sense, in covering all trims and filling all gaps. Do NOT use foam unless it is fire rated. Better compress rockwool into any gaps.

I have successfully removed the bits from the Roca concealed cistern. There was an excellent video, although it was difficult to find. further to an earlier post, I was very pleased to find an additional stopcock inside. the space available is tiny but it all clicks apart. I dread dropping anything. The quality is stunning, although we will see if it goes back together again I was expecting to find lime on the washer, thus being easy to stop the constant running, but there was no buildup. So I have given it a clean anyway and will shortly start the reassembly. But I am concerned that I have moved these red sliders. I had assumed that they adjust the water flush quantity, but I can't see any effect on the mechanism. The top one is labelled 'half, and bottom one labelled 'full', so that is simple enough. On the red sliders the top one is marked >POM<1-2 The bottom one is marked <POM<1-3 I don't know what POM means. and behind the sliders are scales the top one being 0 to 12, the lower one being 0-8 the picture attached is a screenshot from the video apparently set at zero for full flush and 12 for half flush. confusing or what? I will accept any guesses but obv would love any real knowledge. I think I am going to put it back together with both high numbers. Might see if I can reduce the fill level too in case that is the issue.

Do you mean that there is a recess in the face of the wall, between the e flanges of the steel? It shouldn't bd a corrosion problem unless very wet for some reason. But it's v easy to paint in bitumen or oxide anway. Then the posh solution is metal angles screwd to the steel to support cement board. The other way is simply tanalised stud instead of metal OR even simply wedged in place...Nice and solid. My choice is bitumen then galvanised angle.

It can be a single stud of timber or steel, and doesn't necessarily need insulation, though you should anyway. You will need a proven detail to satisfy the bco and insurers. Go to " knauf systemfinder " and see the range of standard details.

How about a small soakaway. Just a rubble or gravel pit, say 500 x 500 x300 deep? Or a long thin one that would also help the garden in summer. Or just a 4m length of perforated pipe with membrane around it.

If the SE says 500 then the bco will have to accept it, but it's good to know they are personally comfortable, and they know the norm in the area. The builder has likely done 10 years less study than the SE.

Ok. I think you have now got it all in your head. Draft it here if if helps.

1.5 disputed as unsatisfactory tiling. 1.5 disputed as not applicable 2k for electrics they agree is incomplete. So 5k is disputed and justified readily???? They demand 8k but refuse to complete the works. now i speculate:You believe that getting another contractor to remove and complete the tiles and electrics will cost not 3.5 but between 5 and 7k?????? because new contractors will want a premium for getting involved in a problem job if at all. Plus replacing cracked tiles is extra work. Plus you allow a large contingency in case there are other problems. Why did they crack? Can you get replacements that match exactly ( same batch even). Might you have to replace them all? I've no idea the cost. What if there are issues with the electrics? Maybe it has big ossues which us why they want to jump ship. What contingency should you allow? So you could agree that 3k is due for extra tiling costs but need a contingency for the other works. You should have told them this already though. List all contingencies and costs separately in case the judge disagrees with any.

Came across this from 2 years ago and felt I should share. This is literally a threshold. This space was a threshing room. The floor was, and remains, lower than the doorway so that the threshed material is held indoors. To be clear, there was previously a floor of cobbles, leaving about 3" sticking up. There is also a dressed hole in the wall where a shaft would link the engine outdoors to the machine indoors.

Pretend you are thd judge. Better yet, get a friend to play the part. You don't pay a retention in bits as they deal with the easy parts, so no more money. Remind us please. If your arguments all satnd up, do they owe you any money as well as defect correction? Plus if you need alternative contractors they will prob cost more.

OK. One more turn at being reasonable. Respond to say their message has been received. That you believe you have dealt with all their issues but they have not responded to them. That If they have any new argument then you will be happy to receive it. Small claims judge is a proper judge. It is a small process but no less forbidding. The jusge will not look kindly on any new argument or evidence. It should all have been argued out already. They will look at each item in turn, not at the whole. Make sure you have easy- to-demonstrate proofs of every one of your points. The judge then adds up the sums and tells one of you to pay the other the difference, and who is to pay the court cost. The judge is perfectly happy to score 20 : nil. They don't get soft come item 20 unlike an adjudicator might. BUT if it gets remotely technical they will decide it needs expert reports and is not a small claims matter. Thus try to have a layman's argument plus a technical one. If any of your arguments are weak, compromise on them (only) pdq. Equally you must be ready to summarise your contra-costs. Don't put your papers up on here....they might be watching.

A long way north of there. 200 miles, 5 hours. Scotland is quite big.

Normal for all houses with or without mvhr. Well worth doing anyway...Good air supply and control, no back draughts.

The pipes have start and finish location. Between it doesn't matter if it turns slightly laterally. For falls though, don't adjust by insulation. Lay the pipe to grade using either a level. A spirit level with packers on one end. Then fix solid on dots and dabs, and perhaps a weight on top. Check by eye. Insulation then fits around this arrangement.

Agreed. And not enough attention* is given to the insulation from the ground beneath the floor. In a chunky house, a lot of the floor is far from the cold outside world. * the manufacturers choose not to tell us.

I'm totally against fake grass. Plastic that will fade and wear and that will end up being tipped after just a few years. Plus the issues above. Gravel, perhaps in grids will drain the rain. Slabs for some more formal harder areas. Pots of plants: a few glazed ones look great and plants like them

Pir 0.022 eps 0.037 PIR provides significantly better insulation, close to double, but similarly more expensive: close to double I'm gradually coming round to 100mm EPS under 100mm PIR as optimum, with joints staggered. Or see what the market is doing at the time. This because if diminishing returns with depth. @Nickfromwalesplease explain your sacrificial idea? Is this straight on the blinding? Sacrificial meaning some will be damaged and replaced? Or squashed into protruding stones?

Talk to the builder. Some are happy to reduce their turnover, for insurance, account levels, even vat threshhold. and exposure to risk of you or another client being slow payers. Or they may hate having clients question everything or being late with deliveries...or getting orders wrong. so insist they include supply. Don't expect the builder to prepare the materials enquiries, help with managing deliveries, sort problems while you get the discount. Equally tell them what concerns you.