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Where to start
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Biomass Heating
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Renovation Build Cost Calculator
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Extensions - Useful Contacts
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Video: How To Repair Damaged Brick Work
How-to Videos
Take a look at our how to videos for advice on DIY tasks
Company Listings
 JB KIND doors www.jbkind.com Category: Doors |
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Grand Designs Live
Looking back
Who? Tom and Liz Miller, and their children.
Where? Beyton, Suffolk.
What? Environmentally-aware cottage renovation and extension.
How? Long Six months.
High point? ‘When our frame went up in just two days and suddenly you could see the building.’
Low point? ‘The outside was more or less complete, we were itching to finish and we had to wait eight weeks for the plumbers to come and do their bit.’
Tip ‘Accept that delays will happen on all projects. It's just how the economics of building work out: there's only one sensible order in which a building can be done’
Budget? Bought for £120,000; renovation, extension materials and costs were £72,000.
Did You Know...
Only 33 per cent of England’s household waste was recycled last year, with Londoners recycling the least at 23 per cent, and those in the South West the most at 37 per cent. For more green facts visit www.sustainable-development.gov.uk
Quick eco fix
Old-fashioned toilets are formidable water wasters, with standard toilet cisterns installed before 2001 using nine to 11 litres of water with every flush. The quickest and cheapest way to reduce this amount by two to three litres is to plonk a space-filling object into your toilet cistern. A standard brick does the trick, although make sure you cover it in bubble wrap to protect the brick from crumbling or going mouldy. Alternatively, fill up an old container, like an ice cream tub or drinks bottle, with water, which as long as it’s sealed will work just as well. Finally, if you’re not confident with these methods you can buy a Water Hippo. A pack of three costs £7.99 with free postage from www.hippo-the-watersaver.co.uk. A word of warning: the cistern space should not be reduced in toilets installed after 2001 as these will have a standard six-litre flush, or even less with a dual flush. Hippos installed in the average home provide a saving on your metered bills of approximately £20 per annum, with a pay back on your initial investment within 8 - 12 weeks.
