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  1. O

    Loft legs vs 2 x 4

    The relative cost of timber vs loft legs will have changed somewhat. Fixing 4 x 2 to existing- you can screw straight through (treat yourself to an impact driver and Torx head screws). You could use twist steels. You can use bits of 2 x 2 as corner posts. As for coring the 4 x 2- modern 4 x 2 is...
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    What is minimum vehicle access width to a single dwelling?

    You could do with finding your local councils' planning policy docs relating to your area. One trap might be length of driveway- up here they dislike more than 25 metres from road to dwelling. Apart from that the width is adequate, as long as you own the land up to pavement (or have a vehicular...
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    House sale/survey/possible or potential sulphate attack/no regs NIGHTMARE

    Surveys aren't (imho) helped by the modern tick-box apps everyone seems to use. Room 3 has a surface crack in the plaster- surveyor ticks box marked Crack- report comes out with 4 paragraphs about how that crack could be anything from a bit of shrinkage to structural instability and imminent...
  4. O

    New Central Heating Pipes

    The theory of your plan is fine but how well it works depends on the rad sizes. Have a Google for thermal capacities of copper tube but you need to be a bit careful if your system runs at condensing temperatures (ie 50-odd deg c at the rads).
  5. O

    Upgrade CCTV

    Morning. Ta for that lot, detailed response to follow (tonight probably) :)
  6. O

    Upgrade CCTV

    Existing setup is a Chinese 8 channel analogue DVR with a variety of cameras hanging off it. It is mostly OK for my purposes EXCEPT I cannot view live images off site on my phone (the manufacturer has vanished, the Android/Apple apps won't run on anything I currently own (Ipad 2 to give a clue)...
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    CH now not working again after new batteries fitted in thermostat

    Amazon link to follow, they come in their own charger (runs off USB) which is handy for storage. Amazon I paid £25 so probably won't break even for about 5 years.....
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    CH now not working again after new batteries fitted in thermostat

    Currently testing a pack of lithium rechargeable batteries - their charged output voltage is 1.5 rather than the usual 1.2 for NiCads so usable in all sorts of low-drain devices. 2 Drayton Wiser wifi TRVs and a chip-reading catflap running on them at the mo, been running since Oct 1, all still...
  9. O

    Kitchen tap - plastic pipe to hose tails?

    Depends on your skill level and what tools you have access to. Easiest will be buy a pair of pushfit tails of the correct length (Screwfix or Toolstation the usual source, use their website to select the appropriate type). Better would be to buy a pair of 15mm compression isolating valves (get...
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    Plumbing a pumped back boiler...

    Loading valves (some of which have an integral pump) can be used in the primary circuit from an uncontrolled heat source)- they all have some sort of thermostatic bypass to prevent the very real problem outlined by @muggles .
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    Plumbing a pumped back boiler...

    Gravity flow isn't that inefficient if 28mm or larger tube has been used. Gravity flow also has the advantage of always working even if power fails. You can fit a loading valve (these come with a pump and thermostat and are specifically designed for your application).
  12. O

    Neighbour extension.

    Your neighbours are taking the mick a bit- presumably the wall of their new extension is right on the boundary so eaves etc will overhang by 300mm or so. This would obviously affect your ability to build a similar extension. Building control approval is meaningless here- they look at technical...
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    Closed Loop via Heat Exchanger

    The time for contemplating this cunning plan was BEFORE you changed your boiler etc. A retrofit is going to be expensive and probably not ideal. Some safety questions first. Is the back boiler on the fireplace still wet (ie is it still connected to live F & E tank). You say the back boiler is...
  14. O

    Broken sewage plastic pipe

    Its not really up to the digger driver to determine the appropriate repair (unless you're employing him directly). The main contractor is responsible for what gets handed over to you, you need to be talking to him. If this was a diy job i'd be thinking yes glue the top of the pot back on (if it...
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    Constant call for heat from cylinder thermostat?

    Has the system ever worked properly? As above posters have mentioned, a multimeter will be useful- first job is draw up a rough schematic of what is actually connected to what. You can get problems with latching if the switched live from the thermostat is used on the microswitch on the motorised...
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    FCU in restaurant

    Ignoring any questions about the supply to that socket...If the cable from the FCU to the plug is 3 core flex, at least 1.5mm, properly glanded from the FCU then yes it is OK. Undesirable though (every connection is a potential failure point and there are redundant connections in that setup).
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    Really Quick Question about Speedfit Inserts

    Those O ring inserts are a real nuisance if you are putting temporary pipework in for any reason - when you remove the pipe from a (Speedfit) fitting the insert tends to stay in the fitting and is a pain to extract
  18. O

    Need help wiring these lights

    That sketch plan you linked to does not show daisy-chain, it shows the lampholders wired in parallel, which would be correct for 240v lamps (and 2A is plenty for each individual lamp). If you are planning on using 240v lamps make sure all that metalwork is correctly earthed. If you don't...
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    Fensa regs utterly insane?

    Unless they've changed, the FENSA regs don't cover the installation, just the frame and glass. All BCO did on doors and windows i put in (as part of a larger scheme) was used a magic box to check the glass was the right way round (coated side outside to get the rated U value).
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    Light fitting earth wire

    Short answer- yes it can. You can get green/yellow sleeving for the bare copper cpc. Also worth checking it is actually connected to earth.
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