Owning your own home

https://www.bose.co.uk/GB/en/home-and-personal-audio/headphones/noise-cancelling-headphones/quietcomfort-25-acoustic-noise-cancelling-headphones-for-apple-devices/?mc=GB/05_PS_HP_BO_GO_&gclid=CMCq1oKmwsoCFUYTwwodaIEImQ

Start by blocking up the fireplaces. If next door's are open too that's where a lot of the noise will be coming from.

Our boiler is acting up and this seems to be the place for advice.

It's on, but the water is intermittently hot and freezing cold. It's showing 'F' on the screen but no code to go with it.

Because it's just over a year old it's still under guarantee, but:

-There's a £90 deposit for a fallout from a Heatline technician, which we don't get back if it's a fault with the installation or the boiler

-We now have doubts as to whether the person who fitted it could be classed as 'competent', and he now apparently has cancer.

Searching has suggested this is likely a problem with something in the boiler (I can't remember what exactly), and the pdf manual won't load properly on my phone.

Any suggestions on the best course of action?

Rockwool in the floor and wall cavities.

And block up the unused fireplace.

Extending a circuit doesn't require notification unless it's in a Bathroom. Adding and changing sockets on an existing circuit are considered minor works for most locations. However, you are obliged to meet the standards for electrical safety which can be achieved by following the standard BS7671.

This would oblige you to check circuit continuity, resistance, insulation resistance and prospective fault current for the circuit and assess that the breaker meets current regs and would operate in fault conditions.

If the shit hit the fan in the future and someone died or there's a house fire a professional would face jail time if he hadn't done this, a homeowner could only be fined up to £5000.

A new amendment to regulations has allowed third party certification of electrical installation. So you can now find a professional who will test and sign off your work, it's not yet been fully accepted by the most popular certification body but they look like they will be allowing their members to do it soon. You are also obliged to engage them before you carry out the work.

As a householder you needn't worry too much about the law, you should be more concerned with the safety of the installation and if you feel that you have made a good job of the work and given consideration to the potential for short circuit/earth fault and danger to occupants in the case of a fault then you've probably fulfilled your obligation to health and safety. Being able to carry out the tests confirms to professionals who have a greater legal responsibility that their circuits are safe.

Have you switched it off and back on again? If you give the full reference for the boiler one of us can look up the manual and let you know the meaning of the code.

If it's a vaillant and the code if F.00 it's - This means that your Flow NTC (Negative Temperature Coeficient Thermostat) cable is either defective or broken and needs to be replaced.

I'm going to guess it's not that though. F on it's own could be Failure to light after 3 attempts.

Is it cold enough where you are for the condensation pipe to freeze?

We've tried that a couple of times, and also tried putting into different modes for a while, with no success.

The burner is coming on for a while, and then shutting off again rather than remaining constant.

I doubt it could have been that it froze, we're in east London and it's not been that cold.

The model is a CaprizPlus.

Considering the move out of London and wanted opinions from people who've done it. Looking North - Borehamwood and Mill Hill at the moment.

Does anyone know how easy it is to get out to nice rides from that part of the world? Borehamwood says Hertfordshire on the label which sounds like the country.

Any other ideas for places that are an easy train commute into LDN? (can't be South)

Also looking at East and bits of North (albeit very few) as a way to stay in London. Other than Walthamstow, Leyton, Forest Gate are there any other places where you can still get +2 real bedrooms and a garden and still feel like london?

Oh and for people who've moved to places like Forest Gate do you have kids/plan to, in which case what do you do about schools? Do the rankings give a fair reflection? Do you go/plan to go private, or are your kids at an age where you figure they'll improve before it becomes an issue and you move somewhere else if they don't?

Sorry for all the Qs, but I don't actually know anyone who has lived in London and then moved out to the 'burbs - just friends who've gone full scale country.

I'll give that a try - fireplace has the potential for noise coming through - it's the 1st port of call really. Thank you.

I don't want it to cost a bomb but as it's our keep house, I will pay for the best I can afford. It's sleep long term that counts. Cheers for advice.

Kingspan (if you're talking the foam board, which I presume you are as you said 120mm) isn't a good choice for acoustic insulation, you need something designed to be used as such.

In the revamped rear of our flat we've had a load of Earthwool acoustic insulation installed between the joists:
http://www.knaufinsulation.co.uk/products/glass-mineral-wool-rolls/acoustic-rolls/earthwool-acoustic-roll

Then a plasterboard ceiling which is decoupled from the joists using a resilient bar system.

We needed to buy insulation anyway (the Earthwool is also an effective thermal insulator) and it was about £500 extra to have the decoupling system.

Well worth it as I hate noise - the front of our house is original victorian and has no soundproofing or insulation at all, there's now a big difference. It doesn't stop all noise but it dampens it massively.

There's a button with a circle and a line in it. press that for 7 seconds and it should tell you the status of the boiler (error code basically). Press the mode button for 3 seconds to exit that status screen.

Lazy answer on my part, I didn't want to mention resilient bars and decoupling. You're right though, Kingspan is not a great acoustic insulator. As you mention you need a decoupled cavity, preferably tuned to the wavelengths you want to diminish by trapping them in the cavity.

My brother has a shitload of Rockwool if you're interested.

He very slightly overordered.

It's saying 0.

Thanks for this.

Apparently while I was out it was seen to flash F23. And we found the paper manual.

That is 'Maximum temperature difference reached between return and flow heating - water circulation fault - check the flow and return heating sensor connection - check the pump speed'

Basically the question is, is that a boiler or installation fault? Sounds like the former but could it be caused by incompetence?

Does anyone have any experience with external doors. I want to put a porch on the front of our house and have found these guys online. Looking at a five point locking pvc/composite type.

https://www.globaldoor.co.uk/?gclid=CKDGyuq3wsoCFWsJwwod548Ldw

Reviews seem pretty good, but does anyone have any better ideas?

We used these guys:

https://www.mybuilder.com/profile/view/grpclearview

We were well impressed, amazing price/quality ratio compared to other quotes, and they custom built a very small door to our odd specs and then kept to the quoted price despite encountering nasty surprises in the door frame.

Their reviews on Mybuilder and Check a trade are universally excellent as well.

Thanks for this, very useful and thorough.

I'm happy with the work in as much as I have no concerns over safety or I certainly wouldn't be using it. I've also had my dad around to OK it and dads know everything.

Thanks for the recommendation it's more the door itself that I'm concerned with. I've got a really good builder after having dealt with some right numpties.

check the pump speed

This explains CH pump problems

Last week @amey was asking when Downham would be gentrified. I present two links, which refer to events on two consecutive days on my street:

http://www.newsshopper.co.uk/news/14224544.UPDATE__Axe_wielding_man_arrested_and_taken_to_hospital_after_Downham_brawl/?ref=ar

http://www.newsshopper.co.uk/news/14226590.Man_arrested_after_alleged_ammonia_attack_at_Downham_pub/?ref=twtrec

We moved to Hitchin (previously renting in Herne Hill, Brixton before that). We've been delighted.

Pros:

• Trains are very very good, far better than the St. Albans line in terms of reliability/seating, and they run until 1:30 at night (or two if you want to cab from Letchworth). Takes me 1 hour door-to-door to get to my office in Fleet St.
  
• Town is lovely and new, decent places are beginning to spring up. There's two good indie coffee places and a great tapas place. Only downside is the relatively few good non-chains pubs, although there are a couple I like.
  
• Access to countryside for riding, village pubs is great.
  
• Loads of lovely old Victorian housing stock.
  
  

Cons:

• Roughly £3700 for a season ticket, (train only)
  
• Just got rated #9 in fastest selling houses outside London
  
• Prices are going up.
  
• It is between Stevenage and Luton. These places are shit holes. You have to pass through them a lot.