Ferdinand

I thnik that Saniflo are OK; Stuart Turner pumps also have a good reputation. As to pumping uphill, I think you need to work out your height gain and ask their technical people. Macerators are not a place to cut too many corners :-). F

Having just chased a small squirrel off the cat's lunch, I am in the mood to use squirrel tail hair. Though the (18 yo) cat caught the squirrel's sister yesterday, so perhaps it is revenge. Ferdinand

That is perhaps an argument for paying for materials direct, even with a main contractor. Ferdinand

I think my fibres came from Wickes. BTW you need very little of it. Mine came in a packet smaller than a bag of salted peanuts, and I seem to remember that it cost £3.50 or so, and were more than enough for a 25sqm 125mm slab. Check your numbers or you may have half a kilogramme kg of fibres to leave to your grandchildren's grandchildren, minus the 4.5g you have used. Ferdinand

I thought it was one wall at one school, then investigations into similar projects? Did I misunderstand? I think we can listen online here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/live/bbcone?area=scotland Ferdinand

People swim in natural pools, and these are often full of ex-rainwater...

Just thinking, and asking people who know more to knock holes in my thoughts. Rather than running 2 pipes to everything, are there ways to make it more cost-effectiive. AFAICS greywater can be reused directly (ie unprocessed) in certain applications such as garden watering. So could the high volume things - bath, sink, washer, shower - be connected directly to the grey water tank, and not connected to the normal outlet, and the water can then be used as needed. Equally could the rainwater be sent to the same place to save expense on the outside. Is there a problem with applying a bit of filtering to the grey water by running it down through a gravelled drive, or a drainage field under the garden, with a collector at the end? The biggest problems I can see are that this is potentially not dot-and-tittle clear enouigh for any British Standard, and consumer resistance from house purchasers. Ferdinand

Perhaps a similar tile to downstairs, but in a lighter, tone might suggest moving into the more intimate areas of the house (see Caliwg's design book or "Pattern Language"). UFH? Or UFH in a corridor from the master bedroom and not the others? Must reinforce the hierarchy ! Ours is carpet, and our former was was wooden, but we didn't build either. Could you use other tile materials? Ferdinand

I would think that the time in the setting process is crucial. If yuo start while it is 6 hours hard, rather than 6 days hard, does that help? I always think that it would be nice with marbles. Ferdinand

Trying to make BuildHub rhyme in a limerick. Failing miserably. Ferdinand [Update: A builder had kept quite aloof From house and container, forsooth He returned to discover Owls, batmen, and lover, Had all built their nests in his roof. ] I am now retiring under fire.

In that case I would go for the cheapest panels from a brand acceptable to you, but ask for a couple of lollipops before placing the order. Ferdinand

If it is in the Approved Full PP that the windows you want are acceptable, with no relevant conditions, then it will be too late for them to impose anything. If the Heritage People have only made a comment which the Full Approved PP has not taken on board, then it will not be relevant. Unless there is a gotcha somewhere - eg there may be a condition for approval of samples etc. Ferdinand

When I did mine in January, 250wP were the cheapest. If I were going for a 4kwP installation and had no limitations on area, that could be the determining factor. However, I think that manufacture, warranty, reputation, deal etc might be equally important. I didn't go for the cheapest panels, and was given a couple of spare panels and inverters (OK - solaredges in my case) for free on asking to clinch the order - for a larger 35 panel install.. At the point you are placing the order they may oblige.Perhaps ask for one of each? Ferdinand

Thinking from my point of view, I would employ an expert to accompany me once I was sure that I was looking at a serious prospect for the purposes of: 1 - Sanity Check - am I barking up the wrong tree? 2 - Have I missed anything obvious where my expert has expertise I lack? 3 - To have experience complementary to my own. eg I know my way around my local planners, the land registry, and the rental market very well, but I do not know much about loft conversions, tanking cellars, and access design. 4 - To provide a different perspective on my ideas. It doesn't matter too much what that is, but it is important to grapple with alternatives. 5 - I would want a different perspective at a decision point which could lead to a investment of a couple of hundred k. I would explicitly not expect any liability from the expert - stated in writing if necessary. In that context, and expecting the viewing to take perhaps 90 minutes, I would be willing to pay perhaps £50-70 up to £150+, which is a small price to pay for an informal insurance policy on a 6 figure spend, depending on: 1 - The expert concerned (eg an Architectural Technician or Chartered Surveyer). 2 - What I got back - just the viewing, follow up emails, a short memo report or a conversation over a gourmet lunch. If I had done more than about 3 or 4 of these and none had gone forward, I would look to hone my own "project selection" skills. Thoughts welcome. Ferdinand

I'm not sure that this is the right forum, but I think it might be a useful spin off comversation from my other posting . If you were taking an expert adviser with you to a second or third viewing of a house or potential house, how much would you be willing to pay - in your terms, and what would you expect?

I need a recommendation for an architect or architectural technician to advise me on projects, and I wonder if anyone knows someone within a realistic distance of Mansfield. My need is for someone to: 1 - Look with me at projects eg second viewings of houses where I think there is an opportunity or I am interested. Projects will be mainly domestic. 2 - Suggest ideas and come up with initial plans. 3 - If a scheme is of interest, draw up plans. 4 - Potentially to take things through PP and supervise the project/build/conversion. 5 - Be interesting to debate with over lunch. I expect to be looking at a series of projects over a number of years, which will depend on what comes up. I'm keen on energy saving and the things we talk about here, but not dogmatic, so I think (OTOHICBW) I need a pragmatist who is likely to be either: a - An experienced person who has been round the block several times, and is therefore somewhat flexible. b - A less experienced person who is not yet set in their ways. I don't need a Planning Guru etc, as I have some knowledge myself and know lots of specialists having spent a rather large amount of money on reports for my recent project. If anyone can mention names please PM me rather than post here. Thanks Ferdinand

You need a *lot* of trees to deliver a significant quantity of wood chippings. When I took down 25 20 year old beeches, once the main bit of each 6-8" trunk had gone for firewood, I got enough chippings to cover an area about 4mx4m only. Ferdinand

I just asked at the counter :-) . With Gift cards you do need to do your homework, because there are sometimes limitations etc. I think that they are really an application in search of a reason to exist. There used to be fee-free gift cards and some people round tripped them - buy card, get points, pay into an account (classically Amazon) or recycle via ebay to the tune of hundreds of cards a year. Employee discounts are good if you have access. Ferdinand

I am naturally quite risk averse in particular fields - I don't, for example, do heights without a lot of precautions. 99% of the time it would all be fine, but it only takes once and that's it. Ferdinand

In my dreams I hope you shot the Inspector ... slapstick style.

Agree there. In my case with the DG I will try and get them to pay me the deposit back, then pay the full amount via a CC to make sure I am covered. Ferdinand

A thought occurred (ding!). I have just gone for double glazing for a (rented) house, and paid my deposit through my agent to the DG company. I should actually have paid direct via Credit or Charge Card, because I then have section 75 (ie joint liability of the card provider) protection, which gives me comeback against both the DG company and the CC provider. Analogy for self-build: if I am buying materials direct, rather than through the Builder / Contractor, then I have that extra protection for faults with whatever I have bought, rather than just potential claims against a small builder who may go bust. I do *not* have that protection if I have paid with BACS or FastPay, but payment by Debit Card provides some protection but less than a Credit Card. Ferdinand

(shameless but ethical attention seeking) Would they do a podcast interview with someone about Buildhub? (/shameless but ethical attention seeking) Ferdinand

On complaining about Councils, it is a long process that will probably take a year or more in toto. There's an analogy with PP, in that you have to go through the local process first before complaining to the regulatory body. The formal process is something like - complaining to Customer Services Section, then to Head of the relevant Service, then to the Ombudsman. They will probably (never done it) want you to have discussed it with the Planning Officer, and manager of the Officer first. Each Council has its own process (though there will be a template somewhere), which can be accessed via gov.uk: https://www.gov.uk/complain-about-your-council There *is* provision for compensation at national level in some form, but I don't know if it covers eg consequential loss. It might be tempting to try the Small Claims Court if it is a clear cut case, but I have *no* idea if that has ever worked. There are other routes, such as your MP etc. I would say spend your legal / complaints budget on expert planning advice for your second submission, so that you cover as many angles as possible. There are some ideas about selecting a Planning Consultants or advisers on the thread linked below. You need a proven successful record for cases very like yours, and intimate knowledge of your local council. You also need to know their role and your role, to have a very careful brief, knowledge of what your total budget for the process will be to each stage, probably a cap on the Consultant's time / budget, and I'd use a fixed price success fee on top. For your own use it may also help to write down what circumstances will make you consider walking away to avoid "Dog and Bone" syndrome. You can get free advice from the Planning Aid service of the Royal Town Planning Institute, but make yoruself aware of teh types of questions they can answer. http://www.rtpi.org.uk/planning-aid/ Ferdinand

I think we should note for the protection of casual visitors that Peter W is a trained Tree Surgeon, and that these machines can have your leg or arm off very quickly if you feed stuff in badly eg if you get your hand wedged in a branch by mistake, or even if your shirt cuff or glove, gets hooked. They are relentless and can run at one or two feet per second, so you have a few seconds to get free from a moving snag while being dragged off your feet before it is bye bye. That is, 5 seconds for a 10ft branch, or 3 seconds for a person. Requires training to the same degree as a 1m chainsaw imo. This is one of those areas - like moving big but small-looking chunks of rock around or cutting branches off trees which are heavier than they look, where it is possible to get into a situation that could cause far more serious injuries than the casual operator might expect. A mid-sized branch falling badly can break your pelvis, this can make parts of you into a pizza topping. Ferdinand