All Activity

I am indeed in mid wales. Where i can afford what i wanted. Yes, of course, if you are near Edinburgh or Cardiff then clearly to wont be cheap. I assumed that was a given.

Assuming the HP came with a new build 2 years ago then it will likely have a controller or app that will display COP or SCOP. Have a look at the user manual and find the COP/SCOP. Once you've found that value look up the HPs data sheet and compare your value to the values in the data sheet. If you've got a value near the top of the range(higher value is better) then you're doing OK and you'll have to teach yourself alot to improve things for what may only ever be a small gain/saving. If youre lower down the range then the gains/savings may be greater and worth your while reading up on HP efficiency so you can assess your system and make changes. Finding out your COP/SCOP is the first step.

This type of waste is fairly common in France. During my previously mentioned hotel experience when flexible tap connectors were bursting all over the place, there were zero problems with flexible waste pipes blocking or leaking, so I wouldn't be concerned.

If you want some better quality feedback then this is the way to go. There may well be a simple solution to this. You may not be seeing the wood from the trees. It maybe that someone on BH comes up with a simple observation?

You absolutely technically correct about the space frame! I'll try and reason out my thoughts. I do like your example of the racing car, same applies to certain types of boat construction.. solid timber, ply and plenty glue. You also not wrong and again technically correct. For a bit of context. I was delighted to be invited by @Square Feet to get involved right at the early planning stage of this project. My brief is roughly be the SE. @Square Feet Now referred to as SQ. The brief is fabric first, high levels of thermal performance, eco friendly all on a very tight budget. The house has to be elegant, play to the outstanding views, be functional for example. The budget does not easily allow us to just make the house bigger to solve design issues! Now lots of the materials we are thinking about using are for example hemp, wool based products and internal lime plaster. We need to take cognisance of the fact that some of these don't have the best fire ratings for example. The walls are going to be thick and that introduces structural issues around bracing the building against sideways sway under wind loading. We also have to be very careful to avoid condensation within the walls, could be a disaster if we don't set this up right. SQ and I have had a fair bit of correspondence initially. Then we had a preliminary design meeting for a day, just to meet face to face is very important. Our last meeting was structured so that it included me giving a one to two hour introduction to the basic structural design concepts, call that a "structures lecture". The objective is to allow SQ to see, follow and appreciate the types of things we need to do structurally so we can actually marry up the insulation etc with a structure that is not going to fall down, crack or protest later. The walls are going to be thick. If we want to use say Hemp and achieve as close as we can to passive house standards. The easiest way for me to describe this to SQ was to call it a space frame. It's not entirely correct, technically, but it's probably the easiest way to explain some of the basic concepts to a first time self builder. If I do this it means they have a basic understanding of SE stuff and this enables them to make better informed decisions. It removes some of the uncertainty that self builders encounter, gives them confidence. The house is going to rest on some ground that may have problems. I've plumped for a ground bearing slab at the moment. The slab is thicker than what you may often see. But on balance I feel it will allow me to reinforce locally without complex thickening at the edges or internally where I have point loads. While we use more concrete on the face of it, it makes it more buildable, easier to set out and arguably more carbon efficient, just due to the simplicity. The house is not heavy, single story. The design is very early stage. But I knocked up the detail below, just to explore for myself, not least, how I would fit all the materials together that SQ wants to use. CAUTION! The detail below is a concept to promote discussion, I know it will have flaws in it so do not copy! To explain the above. The inner timbers are vertical load bearing (the roof load). The outer timbers carry the vertical load from the cladding. The cladding vertical load is transferred back to the slab edge as the ply gussets are glue with a structural glue. The inner timbers are clad with structural ply, to resist the in plane wind loads (looking into the page). The glued ply gussets are rigid moment connections, unlike a standard truss used as a wall element. The sheet of more breathable ply on the outside also acts as a stiffening element, but if push comes to shove the ply can act compositely with the vertical timbers. The ply plates turn the wall element into a compound element so the wind suction and internal pressure loads get shared by the inner and outer timbers, then if I need to I can also increase the effective area of the timbers by utilising the ply, the ply turns the timbers into a structural Tee member. But in summary, yes it's not a true space frame, but close. We might say it's a version of the Larsen truss concept.. not really. Most familiar to folk will be the concept of using Posi joists as the vertical wall element or a flat timber truss, like on a flat roof, but as a wall element. But we only have the slab edge so we need to be a bit more crafty. To summarise. Technically you are all correct. I've used loose language. Once SQ and I get into the detailed design then we can come up with a name for this kind of bespoke construction that takes into account the types of materials we want to use and their nuances. But to finish I can tell you all, both SQ and I very much appreciate all your comments, every day is a school day!

Yes agree with JohnMo - bin it and fit a new one. It wont have just rusted in the one place - could be like rice paper over a pin cushion. And while you're at it inject some Fernox or your choice of inhibitor into the system to delay the rust process in the rest of the kit. I'm guessing its not had a dose for some considerable time if rusting through....

I’ll take some in progress photos when I make the next ones

Lots of the Ikea bathroom basins seen to come with the same bottle trap with weird telescopic extension. I'm sure there are better replacements available (suggestions welcome), but I'd like to give their setup a chance. That said, the weird telescopic bit feels like it would be likely to clog with shaving residues. Does anyone have good experience with these waste setups? The bottom most part of the parts below is an adaptor that allows the flexible main waste tube to be connected to the house plumbing. I've also copied their diagram of using that to connect to a 40mm pipe. It is a very snug fit inside a 40mm solvent waste pipe, but I expect the material is PP so wouldn't weld. How have others made this connection to 40mm solvent plumbing? I am wondering about Mcalpine's T18-ABS adaptor. Parts: Adaptor to 40mm:

Now I suspect - but may take you as long to check it hasn't gone off on a tangent.

@sansserif Do you care to share details of your layout? We have an open plan layout and no protected stairwell. I had quite a bit of fun with the Building Control inspectors and the fire service (ours had a lot of other issues). It wasn’t very complex though. Are you sure they are truly “inner rooms”? I can’t help at all regarding your proximity to the boundary issue though, not a problem for us.

I've always done my own rough take offs but good to know how much they are. When will ai be able to do it.

Aren't land/property prices more affected by employment opportunity/wages than available land. There are exceptions, I live in one of them. But as a general rule.

Scotland is rather a general statement. Land is not cheap in or near the big cities. Ditto Wales I'd expect, hence I'm surprised at the comment as you are stated to be in mid Wales. Re "The North" meaning England, does the same apply, you 'Northerners'?

Bin fit a new one

You could make these yourself too. Allowing you to use treated timber and get the exact sizes.

Current house, not the project: We saw a paint blister on the back of a rad, just over the top edge. Of course we popped it, and some mucky water sprayed the wall. How much water? negligible, 1/20 of a teaspoonful. There is perhaps 50mm x 30mm of loose paint which has rubbed off easily. Strangely there does not appear to be any leak other than that initial spray. But there is probably air at the top....in which case where does the water spray come from? I'm guessing rust caused in the air gap at the top. I don't think we've bled it for a year. And that if I bled the rad, a pinhole would become apparent and leak. Patch or new rad?

Brilliant! Thanks I have an SE I have used before who I think will be able to do this at reasonable price. I'll do the drawings and send it off to him. And send the same drawings to a glulam manufacturer. You wouldn't use open web joists? I quite like the idea of exposed web joists, kind of structural aesthetic. Plus I was thinking it could be a nesting site for swallows which I don't mind. Anyway, thanks for your help.

Inclined to agree with Johnmo. Not luck, just choice. Plenty of cheapish plots about in scotland, wales and the north.

Estimators charged ~ £300. As far as I was concerned it was great value for money. Just knowing up front how much everything would cost (materials, labour rates) really does ensure you don't go in blind. The more detailed your drawings, the better, otherwise, they make assumptions. Eg gas boiler, radiators upstairs..

I've just had 2 single room aircons installed in our Spanish place. One Mitsubishi, one Fujitsu. These are simple units of one inside and one immediately outside. I got out the manuals with enthusiasm. Switch on remote control, Select temperature. The louvre directions can be altered. That's it. X 25 languages. That's impressive really. In among it all was a small tech table with the efficiency and other stuff. The installer pointed out the condensation pipe outside and suggested a plant pot under it. What is very Spanish about it is that the two units (4 machines) are powered from one plug, into a wall socket.

What did estimators online charge you for the take off

Taking a day off from the bathroom job and going to finally tile my internal porch. Be good for practice as well. Everything cut and dry fitted, so now it's time to get to it. I've got Ultra tile Pro Primer, what's the best way to use this? Instructions on the back are rubbish at best, I was going to mix it up with 25% water and then just lash it all over the floor (P5 chipboard with a glued and screwed 6mm ply top). Let it soak in and then crack on with the adhesive. Sound correct?

I think if nothing else, it serves as a useful tool to validate quotes you receive from a local merchant to make sure that you are not being robbed.

The quote I accepted was < £20 delivery and was nearly a £1000 cheaper than the next merchant quote. It came from a reputable supplier on the South Coast. The quote I received from the local merchant was as follows. Caberdek £12.15 OSB3 £18.55 My aim with all material purchases, is to beat the price specified on my 'Estimators Online' QS. Every time I do that, it hopefully helps in either bringing the build in cheaper or helping to offset those unnecessary costs that you incur along the way. Estimators had flooring at ~ £17 and OSB3 at ~ £27

I don't think it does - maths is just maths Whenwe bought the house it was 23,000 kWh of gas annually - I got it down to 16,500 kWh of gas a year for CH and HW with typical home improvements before I started my optimisation efforts - I reduced it to 8,500 a year (with scheduled heating) but it's now stable at 10,250 running 24/7 with a DHWP and WC set up (I'm running a gas boiler like a heat pump) Latest change should see me back below 10,000 within a year