Leaderboard

I know a guy who is a bit stuck doing his bathroom up. Has been at it for a while now.

Hi everyone, So here is my brief introduction... We have recently moved into our new house and are about start planning a rear extension. We could not find a suitably proportioned property within our budget so after some investigation felt that this was the best (or only) way to achieve what we are after. It is currently a 3 bed mid terrace and, all going to plan, we will be adding a new kitchen and a multipurpose (guest room, home office etc) room downstairs and a fourth bedroom located centrally upstairs. The existing small kitchen and small dining room will most likely become a large dining room open to the new kitchen. Attached is a rough external view from the rear. The plan is that I will do the majority of the architectural work with the support of various resources, including you guys. We will employ the services of a structural engineer and use a good builder who can advise us too. I am a design and project engineer of electro-mechanical products for various industries, hence I have a solid engineering approach but don't have much experience in the specifics of the architectural application. So I'm more self design than self build - I hope that is ok on this forum? Do let me know if not! I am very grateful for the responses I have had so far to my first post re possibly sharing a party wall with our neighbours. I'd love to build it myself but its just not practical for us. 1pm is here so I must get back to the day job. Thanks!

Um...referred to now as 230 and 400V since mid '90s. Even though it may measure differently as we all know. In practice nothing has changed except us falling into line with Europe. Roll on Brexit and we can go back to proper colours where RED is live and dangerous as nature intended. Let's face it brown looks "cuddly"!

Sounds just what I want, please can you post a photo? @Jude1234 this is mine I have tech spec if you want it......I had this in my last house too so I know it works for me.

The only 'early fail' component in the dual port SA units is the electrical immersion heater which they say should be good for 10 years, and iirc is warrantied accordingly. They've actually adopted a better setup IMO and have chosen to fit 3 x 1kw immersions rather than a single 3kw one so triple redundancy. Probably to do with a more even heat transfer characteristic.

It's exactly what I've done, Peter, and I've read of others doing the same. PH rates seem pretty close to being the sort of ventilation rate we're comfortable with, in fact I'm tempted to turn the background rate down a little bit more, as there are only two of us in what is a fairly high volume house. My understanding (I could be wrong) is that the building regs rates were set to be sure of having sufficient ventilation to remove volatiles given off by furnishings etc, in pretty much the worse case. I would lay money that the MVHR ventilation rates in the regs are massively greater than the real-world ventilation rates for a standard leaky house with just window trickle vents open.

I contacted the lady at Network Rail today. My God she can talk for Scotland and I could hardly get a word in edgeways . Anyway I think we will find some middle ground. She started off by saying that maybe they could agree to restrict parking to 3 vehicles and I said that this wasn't possible as the agreed access point would not allow for that, and nor was it desirable for them to park outside on the road. I asked if they could maybe park in the cemetery car park a couple of hundred yards further up the road (it's always empty), and she's agreed to ask the contractors and staff to park there in future rather than on my property. That way their 'briefings' that she said were so important to hold will only be waking the dead and not me . And if they only walk through here to access the gate and are then gone that will be fine and I doubt I will even notice them. They are apparently doing improvements to a stretch of the line for 11 weeks. I have asked that they provide notification of when it is planned that they work in this location and need access. We half agreed on this point and she said that she couldn't agree to that all the time but they would try. They have a tendency to send generic letters to everyone with a property that borders the railway line and on this occasion they had sent a letter saying sorry for any disturbance until end April (3 months). I actually contacted them when I received this letter and asked if they needed access during this time and was told no (which she admits was wrong). I said that a generic letter may be acceptable for information for most people but for those of us with properties that would be accessed this was not enough, and we required more specific letters with more specific details and plans for access. My main concern around this is that the people doing the updates seem to be a tad incompetent (I didn't say that to her ). I said that I would not be allowing access to anyone who had no ID and where I had not been given notification of works, and if this was in the night I may be forced to call the police. I noted that there had been thefts from the farm / farmhouse a bit further up and I said that it was unreasonable to ask me to make an assumption that everyone who arrived in an unmarked white van was here on railway business rather than up to no good. They very occasionally have the track alarm on here. It makes a cheeping sound when things are 'safe', and a more 'busy' sound that warns when a train is due. That doesn't bother me to be honest. I don't hear it inside so maybe on the 1 day of summer in Scotland I may hear it but they don't use it at night when the railway is closed and given most of the work is at night it's a non issue really. So in summary it looks like the parking issue is hopefully nailed, the noise / behavioral issues may be nailed, and there will be some more negotiation to be had over the notice period and the identification of personnel. And all without resorting to a solicitor although I may still need one to help me understand the full legal implications of the Deed of Conditions. It's not in their interest to annoy householders to the extent that they become uncooperative really. Thank you to everyone on here for their input. All the responses allowed me to think through the implications of the different courses of action, and focus on what I wanted the end result to be. I was thus able to communicate my desired outcome in a clear, unambiguous way, and it appears that we can agree on at least 2 of the points. I will not be compromising on the point regarding proper ID, but if I don't get the 48 hours notice, well if they are only walking up the drive to the gate on a occasional basis that's not a major issue for me really.

A boring title, I know, but it's succinct and to the point. I find it hard to get excited about windows, to be honest, which has surprised me given how much they cost but slogging through different window systems and deciding what's best hasn't been the most fun thing to do. I guess one aspect that takes any joy out of the process is the lack of uniformity in windows where each company does their own thing and has their own systems which, I'm sure, are terribly important to them and they believe gives them their USPs. From my point of view, too much choice isn't necessarily a good thing and it just makes it impossible to do a direct comparison between window companies. But then, you all knew that already, didn't you?! There's certainly been enough discussion about it. My process for choosing the window supplier was unscientific (apologies Jeremy) and lacking in rigour (apologies everyone) but it worked for me. I contacted 5 companies, Rationel, Ecohaus Internorm, Norrsken, Velfac and Katzenbeck. 4 replied, I never got anything back from Katzenbeck. I sent out our planning permission drawings with floorplans and elevations and described the kind of windows I wanted. Rationel weren't able to do what I wanted with the sliding doors on the ground floor, (a 2 part slider with mullions to make it look as though there are 4 panels) so that didn't go any further after the initial quote. Velfac sent me a quote, but didn't quote on exactly what I'd asked for, including the sliding doors, but I sort of kept the quote in play just to get a feel for their prices. I was a little wary of their attention to detail because I'd also specified 3G with no trickle vents and their first quote was for 2G with vents. Hmm. Ecohaus were outrageously expensive. A nice product, sure, but really expensive at £65k with fitting. That leaves me with Norrsken, and they're my final choice. I've settled on Norrsken for a few reasons, not just the price although that heavily influenced me, of course. I've got about 37m2 of triple glazing and it's coming in at about £35k, with another £8k for fitting. So far, Norrsken have been a pleasure to deal with - not slippery or patronising in any way and very straightforward. They also have their own in-house installation team; I can't comment on them as yet apart from saying that the installations manager came across as well as their sales guy. I'll mention the quote from Velfac here, as it came in about £1500 less than Norrsken, but they are supply only and so I'd have to go and find an installations team that would be able to work with MBC and get the fitting right in those super thick walls. Norrsken have worked with MBC a few times and are familiar with fitting the windows into a passive house; I'm sure that there are plenty of good installers out there but, as is often commented on here, locating them and hiring them is the tricky part. Also, because Norrsken offer a supply and fit package, they can do this with zero VAT which means I don't have to bother with a reclaim on a hefty chunk of spending. As for the windows themselves, well, they look nice, they are triple glazed, they open how I want them to and I can have them in the colours I want. I did say it was unscientific. No doubt I could go into far more detailed research but that lot is good enough for me.

Having eventually got around to organising myself to change the bottom element on my E7 water heater, I have found it is leaking. So that takes one unknown away. So are all Vented, E7, DHW cylinders basically the same. To the best of my measuring, mine is 1.5m high, 0.5m wide and with about 40mm of insulation. The elements are both on the same side with the feed pipe going in at the bottom and a few degrees anticlockwise, the drain is opposite. There are some pictures below. I have been to a couple of websites and they seem to be around the £300 mark. Is that about right? I am hoping to just get a direct swap as that will save any mucking about with pipes, but I could, fairly easily, extend the top pipe downwards and re-jig the feed pipe. would rather not though. It would give me less heat losses, a slightly cheaper cylinder (though not much) and a larger airing cupboard (which might be useful). (edit, seems the website does not like .png files)

Hi all, My name is Callum and I’m emailing from the television production company Remarkable – I’ve attached our site address at the bottom but essentially we produce factual and entertainment shows and are responsible for many renovation TV programmes. We are currently looking for home owners who are looking to renovate or update a part of their property for a brand new primetime series. The premise of the show is to give people expert help with their designs using architects with cutting edge graphics. We are looking for people who are ready to make changes and would love to hear from anyone who could do with expert help. I’ve attached our casting flyer to give you an idea of what we are doing, and if you or anyone you know may be in this situation and needing help - please get in touch! www.remarkable.tv Likewise, I'm happy to answer any questions or queries. Many thanks, Callum [If you are interested please contact via PM - Thanks Admin]

Well that Was a fun job. 500 of the little buggers every 400mm. (At least there will be when I get the utility done as well. But I’m tired and need a shower now) And just in case you wondered how I was going to hold it in the little chairs where it is trying to lift in some places I’m useing these. Technically they are for holding Teram down but they seem to be working well for this.

+1. Pity SWMBO here wants WHITE PVC!

I found the tiles I liked at the grand designs exhibition and then managed to blag a trade account direct with the factory in Spain. UK retail was £65 per m2, and I paid £19 , it worked out at another £2 per m2 to get the pallets shipped (I did order about 500m2 of tiles altogether though).

A thing I think I can see which adds the bling is mirror finish chromed tile trims. Chalk and cheese to the polished aluminium. Not cheap, but really look smart.

I can neither confirm nor deny that allegation.

Is that the guy whose wife has been desperate for some while, she's desperate to transform her home, but he never quite gets round to it? You know, the one with the ' ... nightmare hallway and awful kitchen... ' ?

Community hugs & support! Feeling better now, thanks lads! Struggling getting this bit of DPM in place. Had to roll it as tight as then sort of unroll bit by bit, pull a bit, repeat. Just getting the first bit under knackered me and I'm having to recover with a Doom Bar! It's like playing Twister as I can't lean on the mesh. I suppose I could ask SWMBO for help but we'd likely fight to the death! EDIT: By the power of Doom Bar Needs some trimming to fit round the rough edges but happy with that. BEER makes everything better! Debating the London Pride now... NEW cunning plan to put temporary screeding rails in to get the wall drain falls exactly as per the CAD. It's a winner!

Yes I am, no need for anything else in my opinion. All pretty easy to get too, but had forgotten to specify where the drain cock is (opposite the feed). Not ordered yet. I shall see what they quote as because of one thing and another, it will not get sorted for a day or two. She is away on holiday, so no 'advantage' there at the moment, and she is a redhead that has the decency to dye it blonde.

Don't forget to also check mining records. Over the years I've worked on quite a few sites which had either vertical shafts or horizontal tunnels under the site which affected the way that the site was developed. For some sites, eg ones in built up areas, its also worth checking old OS maps in your local library. I had one site in St Helens where checks showed an underground culverted river that crossed a corner of the site.

Our house has a volume of 475m3 and we ventilate at around 115m3/hr. We have found in previous houses that below 20% of house volume starts to cause problems in terms of air quality and condensation. 4 of us in the house, so it may well end up being a lower figure as and when the kids leave home.

You MUST use the supply that is there, as you have solar PV and the FIT contract will be tied to your MPAN (Meter Point Administration Number) If you get a new supply it will have a different MPAN and goodbye FIT. In fact I would play safe and just keep it as 3 phase. you don't want to do anything to kill off your FIT payments.

A bathroom spanning 2 forums and about 70 pages......and he says "the baths working to be fair"

Even I might finish my build before your bathroom is complete ?

Only if they can't be serviced / replaced from the front.

Similar here. 289m2 house, four occupants (and a doggo), and we run the MVHR at 80m3 per hour. In fact, we ran it at 50m3 per hour for the first year we were here and have never had any issues with moisture or air freshness. I think the critical thing is that the air is being refreshed continuously, even when we're out, or there's only one or two of us at home. There's no boost when people are having showers, and steam clears away very quickly. The only time I turn it up is if we're going to cook something smelly or we have a lot of people over and need more fresh air.

With my MVHR the house meets building regs if you turn the control to 3 out of 3. We are a family of 4 in quite a high volume house and have found we can run it at 1 which is I think lower than passive house level. We never even use boost as there is only ever steam in bathrooms if the kids have long showers one after the other and this quickly disappears. House is approx 700m3 and I set the extract at 100m3 per hour. The figures given to building control were with fan set at 3. They didn't question it at all. I have a number of humidity sensors and these show a pretty constant 45% and dropped down to 35% over the cold dry weather we had recently.This would suggest there is no problem with humidity build up even with low extraction rates. It never ceases to amaze me how quickly washing dries in the house. There is no point whatsoever in having a tumble drier.

I am not yet at this stage but have already thought that I would set the MVHR as I want it but make up the figures to keep the building inspector happy, there is no way he will challenge it anyway ? ( I have a copy of Jeremy’s spreadsheet).

I think you probably want a recording when the War and Peace document is being explained in all its gory glory, for future reference when you are unclear on something in 2 or 6 years time. And probably at some point to confirm your restrictions in writing. What about "Network Rail workers will only be allowed in chicken suits"?

I have that screwfix one, wish I’d read the reviews. It’s as sh1te as everyone says!!!

Out of interest why are you choosing to renovate rather than rebuild ? I totally understand the desire to renovate but after doing a few in my life and seeing many of my friends do it i am now of the opinion that rebuild should be seriously considered as a first choice for seriously decrepit structures. Good advice.

Of course. Sorry for being an idiot. I had just clicked on Jack's link without properly taking in his post. Thought I was going to have to get a cheese eating dog for a minute.

I went with the Roflex grommets that Jack linked to, plus some Airtightness tape: This image is from the outside, and my airtight layer is the outside sheathing board. The membrane then just overlaid this with a hole in in for the duct. You'd need to fix the grommet to the inside.

Just a short rant from me. Need to vent! If you aren't already familiar, we're one of the builders at this new and leading custom build project in the UK called Graven Hill. We reserved in March last year and as yet haven't been able to set foot on that piece of land... largely due to the (in)famous Golden Brick. It's been a long process; lots of hoops and lots of compromises that we wouldn't otherwise had to do with a normal build. Then again, I suspect there's a lot of pitfalls we've likely avoided due to the same. Swings and roundabouts. We are at the stage where engineering calcs are being done by MBC for the TF loads, so that we can get the foundation designed and the Golden Brick costed and contracts exchanged. it's been a massive chicken and egg scenario between the TF and foundation which has cost us months of time, but that's what it is. Today we received a formal letter from Graven Hill informing us that our plot price could be re-evaluated if we don't close before the end of the month. That is three and a half weeks notice. To get all of the above done... If they adjust according to the market then our project is as good as dead. We've absorbed ~£30k already on a plot price that was more than expected. Another ~£40k in labour and material cost increases alone in the last year. And we suspect the Golden brick will be double the quantity surveyors estimate due to it not being self built. Thats another ~£25-30k. An increase of nearly £100k (+50%) against our original budget before we even own the plot. We've accounted for it and can just about manage that if we do about ~£40k in DIY (a lot!!) in just two years. We're assured by our architect that this is more an attempt to light a fire under us and get this done. But hell, it's rubbed me the wrong way today. I'm sure it'll be alright, but it's just another of those unexpected bumps in the long self-built road...