All Activity

I think I read somewhere that they shouldn't be upside down because there is risk of stuff falling into the top, but afaics the top and bottom are the same. But if they are not directional, then why install them upside down? They've been installed like this for a few months so I'm not losing any sleep over this, it just is, like do many other things, a bit sub optimal. 😏 The layout is generally terrible. There is a second consumer unit to the top left that will run cables down and to the right. 🤦 Drives me mental. Rant over.

Here's how it would look with a tilt fillet and smaller facia to match the main house, vent strip in soffit not shown. I'm told I need to maintain the flow of air interrupted by a Velux window further up the roof. Could I do this with vents in the ply above and below the window? I'd rather avoid ventilating tiles where possible, I know I'll need at least one for a bathroom fan vent though.

There is no technical reason not to mount them like this. Just that the writing is the wrong way up. What don't you like? The writing the wrong way up? Or the layout of the cables?

For some reason the sparks brought the main 3-phase cable down from the ceiling, to the bottom of the plant room then back up to the isolator and Henley blocks and then into the two consumer units. This layout is a bit crap. Bringing the cable in at the bottom wastes loads of space needed for other bits yet to be installed, but what triggers my OCD is that all the henley blocks are upside down. And one cover is broken because the blocks are too close together for the cover to fit. I know that in theory the henley blocks shouldn't be installed like this but is it worth complaining about and telling the sparks to relocate the mains isolator to feed the henley blocks from the top?

Thanks, did have an inkling that may be the case. I’ll try again on the calculator tomorrow with the 100mm PIR only and report back. It’s not going to have a high heating demand.

Classic bad design hybrid roof - that is the cause of your issues. Either do the insulation above or below. If doing both a smaller amount below than above.

Also, with solar glazing, you are losing the benefit of “free” solar heating in the winter months.

My understanding of solar control glass is that up close you can see the coating on it. And that coating also reduces the light transmittance to around 70%, similar to triple glazing. So if the slider can take the weight then I'd go 3g

Hi everyone, I'm currently building a garden room, it will be site office, come long term office/further accom over time. Built to be non permanent, it is on piers with a 8x2 base, 4x2 walls and 6x2 roof with 10 deg pitch. The room is around 20sqm. I thought I had cracked this insulation malarkey, but now I'm not sure. I've also already bought the materials without double-checking. For the walls, I was planning 100mm 035 mineral wool with 50mm pir internally. This would have a breather membrane externally and Proclima Intello Plus internally. For the roof, I was aiming for a warm roof with 100m PIR on the deck with 100mm mineral wool between rafters. I'm not sure, though, after seeing the attached UBAKUS calculation, which suggests a very poor drying time. Have I got the membranes in the wrong places or something else? I've attached a photo of the current state of the building - still some structural work required on it and also the Ubakus PDF printout. u-wert-berechnung (5).pdf

We were self sufficient in gas for a fair while so the switch wasn't as completely mad idea. But we are where we are and our best par forward is ramping up renewables - investing in battery storage at a domestic level, longer term storage at a national level and electrifying as much as we can.

Part of a job my daughter and son in law have underway is posing an either or type discussion..... This is..... The rear of the property is being extended and will be approx 70..ish sq metres once complete. The aspect is pretty much dead west facing, so plenty of sun. The glazed elements of this rear section are.... Slider of approx 4 metres by 2.4 metres Single pane t&t window of approx 1.8 metres high by a metre wide. Velux Rooflight of approx 2.5 metres long by 1 metre wide, split into two sections, one half fixed and other half electrically operated opener, fitted into small section of flatroof. Now, given the fact that this is west facing, which means a fair solar gain, would people choose 2g with solar glass, or 3g with standard glass? I ask, as the prices come in about the same for each. To me anyhow, this is how they stack up.... Benefits of 2g and solar glass 1) less solar gain. Thats about it from what I can come up with. Benefits of 3g std glass 1) Less noise during heavy rain 2) Better ability to trap in warm air that rises within the room during colder weather 3) Lower risk of condensation Given the fact that this rooflight has the ability to open during hot summer weather too, which allows warm air out, how much benefit does solar glass provide in reality? Both will have some affect on light transmission I know, but I've not looked into what the "actual" diff is. At the same cost, what would you pick and why? Am I missing anything obvious here?

The rules are very clear and well articulated. IKEA PAX wardrobes are most definitely furniture rather than building materials. https://www.gov.uk/guidance/vat-refunds-for-new-builds-if-youre-a-diy-housebuilder "You can also claim for basic wardrobes installed on their own with all the following characteristics. 1. The wardrobe encloses a space bordered by the walls, ceiling and floor. Units, for example, whose design includes an element to bridge over a bed or create a dressing table are furniture and cannot be claimed. 2. The side and back use 3 walls of the room (such as across the end of a wall), or 2 walls and a stub wall. A wardrobe installed in the corner of a room where one side is a closing end panel is furniture and cannot be claimed. 3. On opening the wardrobe, you should see the walls of the building. These would normally be either bare plaster or painted plaster. Wardrobes with internal panelling, typically as part of a modular or carcass system, are furniture and cannot be claimed. 4. The wardrobe should have no more than a single shelf running the full length of the wardrobe, a rail for hanging clothes and a closing door or doors. Wardrobes with internal divisions, drawers, shoe racks or other features are furniture and cannot be claimed."

We WERE self sufficient in electricity production when we mined and burned our own COAL. If we had half an eye on energy security back then, we would have not bothered with using gas for electricity generation, and instead ramped up renewable generation much earlier and decreased coal burning as renewables ramped up. We are now paying the price of short term policies without regard to energy security.

With Robes, you were allowed a single shelf, and a single rail. Its been a while, Like 10 years since i did robes into new builds. I did a few hundred meters over the years, and at One point got caught, and had to give £27k to the VAT man. I can't remember if backs were allowed. Best of luck

Hiya We are just starting landscaping and want to get some turf down before the growing session ends. Can anyone recommend a turf supplier? If it's relevant, we are in Lincolnshire. Thanks all

Up from low 1.80 a bout a week ago to mid/high 1.90's I was looking at the display on the pump today as I filled up and at the big sign outside. I'm not sure they can display a number starting with a "2"....😂

Back up and running, fault code cleared. It’s a real mystery. It does a lot of moving during power up, half open, half closed, fully open, fully closed finally reverting to fully closed (or the other way around, but a lot of moving nonetheless). I’d add a video but it’s too big, is that 2MB limit a new thing? Or have my pictures/videos got bigger??

I’ll keep an eye on that but I’m sure it’s been opening and closing a fair bit over the summer, I generally just leave it to do its thing but if I select ‘night ventilation mode’ I’m pretty sure selects the bypass open, I’ll have to check the manual. Anyway, all glued up so I’ll chuck it back together and hope for the best, if it fails I think I’ll get a flapper thingy 3d printed because I don’t suspect Brink we’ll sell me just that little bit.

Probably a good idea once fixed to operate the bypass from time to time to discourage it from sticking again.

It certainly does and certainly is. I just can’t fathom why there would be any resistance to the flapper moving.

Clearly the motor has rotated, probably during the power up after I’d cleaned the filters, but the flapper was stuck so the motor broke out of the plastic moulding. What ‘stuck’ the flapper is the mystery.

That looks like a weak design, so anything you can do to beef it up a bit would help. I would perhaps be looking at some type of metal sleeve or strapping to go over the repair.

Agreed Dave. Turns out I’ve found the problem. That little bit of plastic has broken off the bypass flapper thingy allowing the motor to rotate without moving the flapper. I shall superglue it back together, actually I’ll probably superglue the flapper to the motor, I don’t think the flapper needs to be removable from the motor. The only good thing is how easy it is to work on this Brink.

I think the video showed the bypass unit being replaced with a new one, not the old one put straight back. There can't be much to it, a motor to move the flap and a switch to show the controller that the flap has moved? My guess is (like my different make mvhr) at power up tt closes then opens the bypass, checking for the feedback from the switch that it has moved, and of not flags an error.

Crikey! That was easier than falling off a log. No obvious signs of impairment though so I guess I’ll just give it a quick clean (it’s not really dirty) bung it back in and hope for the best.