Ferdinand

Has anybody said "cake or coke?" to Angus Deaton yet? If not, why not?

And probably not in a rental or a "rental by the week", if it lets @Crofter go fishing (or similar) for longer, and helps me keep tenants happy for a couple of years longer before the need for a new one.

Neff have the most bastard system of model names I have ever encountered. I run out of remembering ability at less than that when it has both 0s and Os in it. And when they have scores of models as well. Presumably the N0B in this one stands for upmarket people who want big ovens .

That is a good point. Have amended the post. John Lewis call it Ceramiclean. https://www.johnlewis.com/neff-b44s52n5gb-slide-and-hide-single-oven-stainless-steel/p2725525 Neff Details are here: http://www.neff-home.com/uk/productlist/ovens-compact-ovens/ovens/single-ovens/B44S52N5GB?breadcrumb=cookersandovensovenssingleovens#/Togglebox=591605008/Togglebox=1660410249/ Pyrolitic vs Catalytic is here: http://www.cookersandovens.co.uk/blog/catalytic-or-pyrolytic/ I think Pyrolitic is a more resolute clean than Catalytic at a higher temperature over a longer period. For me the slide and hide justifies the tiny extra price over a normal one (Curry's cheapest Neff built-in is £349), and the catalytic is a bonus. F

For a vanity unit we have Ikea and B&Q for the mirrored cabinet, which has been fine. If I was having flashing lights or other techno features, I might think twice about basic ones. Ferdinand

Pyrolitic clean single Neff oven with a "slide and hide" door for £377 - hardly more than basic Neff ovens. This may interest particularly @Crofter, who has been looking for appliances suitable for an upmarket holiday rental, just as I am for the Little Brown Bungalow. Currys have a pyrolitic clean single Neff oven with a "slide and hide" door (apparently that is posh) which is flagged as £260 off the £679.99 rrp, plus there is a further 10% discount code, and free delivery. Here is the oven: http://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/household-appliances/cooking/ovens/neff-b44s32n5gb-slide-hide-electric-oven-stainless-steel-10143345-pdt.html The price is barely more than non-pyrolitic normal door NEFFs, and comes down to £377 with the discount code BUILT10A for another 10% off. I have ordered one. There are various ebay offers at arounf £400, and John Lewis at £449. If the Voucher expires you can get 5% Topcashback for the next few days, but they do not stack. I have something on hobs too, but that can wait. Ferdinand

Catalytic clean single Neff oven with a "slide and hide" door for £377 - hardly more than basic Neff ovens. This may interest particularly @Crofter, who has been looking for appliances suitable for an upmarket holiday rental, just as I am for the Little Brown Bungalow. Currys have a pyrolitic clean single Neff oven with a "slide and hide" door (apparently that is posh to people who are impressed by posh, and good for narrow kitchens and lifting heavy roasts, but bad for people who serve out on the door) which is flagged as £260 off the £679.99 rrp, plus there is a further 10% discount code, and free delivery. Here is the oven: http://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/household-appliances/cooking/ovens/neff-b44s32n5gb-slide-hide-electric-oven-stainless-steel-10143345-pdt.html The price is barely more than non-pyrolitic normal door NEFFs, and comes down to £377 with the discount code BUILT10A for another 10% off. I have ordered one. There are various ebay offers at arounf £400, and John Lewis at £449. If the Voucher expires you can get 5% Topcashback for the next few days, but they do not stack. Ferdinand

There is a lot of conversation on the Green Building Forum about this - umpteen huge threads to read. Can be really excellent, but can be easy to get the detail wrong. There are products and kits around to do your own for say £30-50 per sq,, or services for £70-120 per sqm. It needs careful attention to all aspects - eg it locks in your double glazing so do that first - and you need to really sort your ventilation out. My local Council for example is now quite pernickety about EWI, because their own grant scheme has caused lots of condensation problems. Ferdinand

THis Mail article has a nice Time to London commuter map. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/property/article-4136778/The-cheapest-places-buy-house-commuting-London.html

I suspect that you may be spoilt for choice for possible areas within one hour of London .. which could be anything from nearly Coventry to Swindon to Aylesbury to High Wycombe to Folkestone to much of Suffolk and Essex, and some others in Kent on the train, plus lots of possibles on the Thameslink overground. I think I would suggest a focus on the type of area you want and lifestyle, which side of London, and what other criteria are must haves and would-be-nice's, and to understand the different stages of planning (or rebuild and replace) you can buy plots at and the money-risk trade offs. Then record that checklist. Then I might be inclined to look myself, but also to think about engaging a plot-finder general. As it is, you have a possible area of perhaps 12k square miles, which is a lot ! For places, the areas in the National Forest are becoming very attractive. Ferdinand

Dancing is said to do wonders for the balance. I have always been awful at balancing. I can last longer but with lots of adjustments.

You would the need a SiP manufacturing press costing some 10s of thousands (guess), and the place to put it, and the people to run it. SiPs work because they are bonded together under pressure. Steel, glass, and rubber is cheaper than a car, but then you have to pay for the factory :-). If you dig around on eg ebay there are some small businesses making SiPs, though. One I looked at was farm-based. Ferdinand

Unmaintainable roof valley and a cat slide roof :-).

@bassanclan Thanks for the comment. 1 - I do not think that the 100mm rockwool (already in stock) I have put under the suspended floor between the joists will be enough (for me) on its own. That with just floor above will only be about 0.25 as a u-value. 2 - Services (electric, ch pipes) are running in a void in the floating floor. @Nickfromwales @Simplysimon Thanks for the comments. I have never been entirely convinced by this. There seems to be a recommendation that heavily trafficked areas are battened - eg doorways plus corridors. In a rental I have no control over eg someone bringing in a Welsh Dresser or huge bookcases (as I have done). And it seems easier to batten from the start. One last question, though: If I went for the fully floating option, how do I put a (say) 300mm wide service void round the edge of a room? Can I just make the guys run their services 50mm from the insulation in the rest of the floor and rely on it never moving, or do I need to batten the edge of the void for protection, and use a cork strip to absorb any expansion of the insulation sheets? Plus clearly a batten round the edge to support the floating floor. Cheers Ferdinand

I think if I were looking for this I may be (subject to modern regs) talking to trad-looking butchers' shops to see if any still had their backyard slaughterhouse fittings that I could purchase. I like the continuity. I looked at a property last year that was two butchers shops and the old slauighterhouse at the back - decent sized site. I ran away because of the amount of immediate cash needed and the potential ground contamination. That still had the rails and meat hooks extant after being unused for decades and being in a collapsed state.

This page my help. If you want more sign up for the free account at Planning Resource. http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:http://www.planningresource.co.uk/article/1121218/cil-watch-whos-charging-what&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en-gb&client=safari

@Daniel, welcome. I am not sure what you mean by 'build this summer', but that will need planning permission and it could take 12 months at least to design, get planning and build - more likely longer. And depending on your garden you could get questions from neighbours -overlooking etc due to the 2 story construction if your basement is not entirely submerged. One way to get it more quickly would be design and build from a single company that know the ropes. If you plan to use it this summer or autumn then you may be best going for something under 30 Sqm which does not require planning. It may still be a struggle. Ferdinand

@Crofter Have you a perception issue for your high end holiday let in Skye? They will be wrong, but they may act on "wrong". I know. The agony is exquisite, isn't it? I am still swinging in the wind on my thread about my floor buildhup. F

I do not usually glue floating floors, as I like click fit that can be relifted. I do sometimes put down either commercial quality underlay or double at right angles depending, and an isolation / slip layer to let it move. It can help make it more resilient and quieter. Really it is all judgement calls. F

What sort of duty level do you need? There are domestic ones, but I have a mate who runs an ironing business ... do you want a semi-pro recommendation?

Glad if it helped you save some cash. I am looking at 6 of the Cottage Oak doors, and I might see if they will do a trade account.

@TheMitchells While you are on, came across these Oak Veneer trad pattern 4 panel doors with nice mouldings which might interest you if you are replacing. Reduced from £225 to £50 each. https://www.todd-doors.co.uk/4-panel-oak-door Ferdinand

If you are going for tiles then the advice I have received has been 18mm ply both ways with a lot of screws to make it rigid. Alternatively I have seen them just filled with ashphalt. We got rid of a step down into a room that way. But out if you have a concrete base below tiles I am not sure what all that wood is about. Why not just put a DP membrane down, then insulation down - your 75mm celotex, then fill it up with self-levelling concrete, then tile on that. Is 35-40mm concrete cover enough in these circs, @PeterW ? Or use a screed instead. You could put wooden floor onto concrete directly.

Expunged. Like Carthage.