Leaderboard

So after a month or so in the house, the time has provided us with an opportunity to reflect on what we have achieved and what if anything, we would change or could have done differently. In truth there is very little if anything that we would change. The rooms flow, the doors open in the right direction and the lights can be switched on and off in the appropriate places. Even the WBS has proven to be a worry that wasn't worth worrying about, as it's position within the hearth is no longer an issue due to it being vented through the back as opposed to the top. Some jobs have been completed such as the down pipes and a few jobs remain outstanding but nothing that has an impact upon our daily lives. One such job is the porch that needs to be slated. Thankfully I still have some financial leverage over those various trades so I know they will return. Our satisfaction I suppose, has to be routed in the preparation work, the research and being a member of this superb forum. None of these elements should be underestimated. Therefore I would like to sign off this blog with a heartfelt thanks to all those who have contributed, not only to my issues over the past couple of years, but to all the other threads, as they too are just as relevant / enlightening. I have also attached some images which complete the project, namely the WBS chimney installation and the erection of the much mentioned porch. For a final time, thanks for reading, and given the date, seasons greetings to you all. Paul.

Beginning to wonder if that 90% setting was originally intended to be when it's discharged to 90% state of charge (i.e., 10% discharged) but it got misinterpreted by the programmer/technical writer and the management at Sunamp haven't yet realised what's happened.

Yep, I have read it again and am still none the wiser, and I regard myself as reasonably intelligent. When you drop in a word like "Symbiotic" into the description, that to me is a "bamboozle alert" I suspect they mean it only charges the Sun Amps when green, low or zero carbon electricity is available, if that is the case, why not say that?

Bearing in mind that doesn't happen in Scotland until about a week after New Year.

I’ve had similar although the roofers were the funniest when the apprentice got the job of cleaning the van one afternoon and he chucked £100 of scrap lead into my skip.... would be rude not to weigh it in ?

Damn, I have the Plymouth Gin but forgot the Angostura Bitters!

Didn't @Stones mix and match oak and oiled pine on his stairs, to good effect? Depends on how fussy you are going to be. I'm quite glad that I made the decision to go with painted MDF skirts/arcs, and painted pine for the liners. Filler and paint can hide a multitude of sins and it's massively easier and cheaper.

If you make one then consider what type of pallet you'll mostly be stripping and adjust to suit so it slips over the main bearers. My one is a bit restricted to the circa 2" wide bearers though you can unbolt the angles and have them facing outward. Original thread on it here: tripping

Existing one should be fine as that’s a 47mm top chord with a 22mm board, putting the coach screw (or bolt..?) in the middle of the top chord. If you glue and screw 12mm ply across the front of the joist to give a flat surface for the channel to fit to, it will be fine. The rotational force will snap the glass before it pulls the coach screw out of the timber.

Yvonne, my better half, was responsible for all interior design and colour selection. She bought a RAL Colour Wheel very early in the design process and carried it with her everywhere. She bought it on ebay - https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Original-Ral-K7-Color-Fan-Deck-Swatches-Classic-213-Colour-Tones-Newest-Version-/192590016704 She used it all the time for every decision involving colour or colour matching. She also had a bag of samples, containing a decent sample of everything we had selected for finishes - tiles, wooden flooring, paint sample sheets, curtains, sofa covering, etc etc. Again, that was dragged around show rooms. She never relied on colours on the computer - she always sent off for actual colour samples for everything she was interested in selecting. She still using the Colour Wheel for fabrics for cushions and window seats. We moved in two years ago...

Dog rough sketch of the one I made in the video:

It was online, following on from a recommendation from Joiner. Normally I'd not risk buying timber without seeing it first, especially something that's going to be on show, but I have to say that these people were pretty good, with all the timber that arrived usable and most of it excellent. I bought random lengths, with, I think, a minimum of around 2.5m long, and found that most lengths were well over 3m long, which minimised the number of joints I needed to make in the skirting boards, and reduced wastage a fair bit.

Essential to build!

Got the pallets above first. A few were 10' long. Concrete base was sized to suit the pallets. Outside is wrapped in a breathable membrane. No insulation in this one though we did discuss putting a membrane in the inside too then filling with eps beads.

Yes but how many customers would buy this when promised a "symbiotic relationship" compared to how many would buy it if they were just promised that by clever grid controls it would only use low or no carbon renewable energy to run the heating system? There was also some waffle about bolstering the grid which to me meant exporting power to the grid to cover short term shortages, but if my understanding is correct, please tell me how they do that from a Sun Amp?

Best bet will be to buy cheaper narrow boards and hide the joint under the stops, as narrow boards are generally cheaper than wide ones. We bought all our oak from British Hardwoods, on the recommendation of Joiner (from Ebuild). I have to say they were very good, and all the oak we received from them was near-perfect. Their price was pretty good too, but I did buy a lot of oak from them, as all our skirtings, architraves, shelving as well as the doors and linings, are in a plain oiled oak finish. I still have some 120 x 20 and 70 x 20 boards left over, and have been using it for odd jobs, like the CNC machined house name sign we put up earlier this year (I laminated up two 20mm thick boards to make that thick enough). Biscuit jointing narrower oak boards should be easy enough, and the joints don't need to be tidy, as they will be hidden. Also worth placing all the screw fixings under the stops too. We did this and it worked a treat, hiding all the fastenings and saving me having to cut and glue plugs.

So I made a router jig. Worked an absolute treat. 3" hinges fit like a glove: Needs a bit of sanding... Pity I did 6" at the bottom and 9" at the top! Turned the effin door through 180 like an idiot! They're now through housings...

Shame that last joist is not a glulam or LVL. Are you planning on plasterboard to run up to the underside of the glazing channel? I think with channel you will need a continuous sheet of ply as the fixing will probably only just get the bottom edge of the top chord. You could look at the stand-off type fixings instead of the channel. Are you going without handrail? Although it looks sleek it is not comfortable, although it will mean that it does not get approached or leaned against much.

I would think you would need to bring out the bottom cord of the posi joist by 50mm to incorporate that 47mm wide channel then ply over the entire face and then plasterboard the thing you will need to pay attention to is the junction between the balcony glass and the angled piece going up the stairs, as bringing out the balcony bit will alter the size of the panes coming up the side of the stairs. You will need to pay attention to the quality of this work as the force exerted on the top of that glass as somebody leans on it will be fairly large.

Make up your lining and assemble the three pieces, leaving the jambs over long. Header should be measured to give an opening at least 4mm wider than the door. Tack a bit of batten across the top of the roughed out opening, rest your door against this with something to prop it up. Shim up the bottom of the door to give the desired clearance to the floor, and to bring it level. The brand new door should be perfectly square- mine were anyway. Lift the lining into place around the door. Determine how much you need to chop off the jamb on each side, and cut to size. Install the liner into the rough opening using packers as required to maintain the desired gap all around. Ideally you can fix it using screws which will be hidden underneath the stops. You probably knew half of that already

This is going to be a good thread. So a set of bookshelves, and when you remove the "special" book, the shelf opens to reveal a door. @Onoff will design the actuators for you. P.S This must be the most inventive idea to get the council tax band down, hide half the house from view so he values it as a small house......

And that quote gets "gobbledegook of 2018 award" Anyone care to have a guess at what it actually means?

A quick photo update, I will do proper blog posts over the next few days...... The ground works were started back in August, however there was a long delay with the timber frame being manufactured (partly due the the first floor layout changes), which meant that the TF kit wasn't delivered until November the 18th. Last week the house was made wind and watertight. This week the ground floor UFH was laid and the screed poured. We are hoping that the steel for the cantilevered stair will be fabricated and installed over the next 2 weeks.

QS told me to cut up the PB and lose it in all the internal stud walls. I thought he was a cock at first, but the more you think about it, and after @JSHarris identified that it has high thermal ‘capacity’, it makes a good bit of sense perhaps.

I turfed my cabin roof, the build up was. Vented void sarking boards underlay heavy gauge plastic x2 layer pond liner x 1 layer old wool carpet Ground fabric 25mm pea gravel for drainage and polystyrene to reduce weight More ground fabric 70mm turf this was a total diy job and done as a bit of fun. It works great and yes it dies back in drought but regrows within weeks. Stops the sound of rain and helps to keep temperatures stable. Heath Robinson but works great and people love the look.

Not much chance of that on the West Coast. It actually made the local news this year, that Stornoway had 28 consecutive days without rain.