Leaderboard

Once the plasters on the walls its too late to worry about design issues. The design needs to be agreed with the client before the build starts. Plan things like service runs, location of plant room, levels of insulation, the use of modern technology to heat water and space heating, solar PV, light and shade etc. MHVR, ASHP. Fabric First .... The list goes on.

After a slightly odd but pleasant summer on our narrow boat we returned to site at the beginning of the month to resume work. We started with a simple job, putting our doors. We had done one last spring and had four more to do. It’s a simple and rewarding job, the Horman doors have a very solid feel to them. Next on our work list was completing the window reveals, a task we had started back in May and had completed two windows. While we were still fresh we had decided we would tackle the reveal on the staircase window, a job we have been dreading. This is a BIG window with the top over 8m from the floor and a frame height of 5.3m combined with awkward access. After a bit of head scratching and a lot of measuring we decided to make the frame in a single piece on the first floor and manoeuvrer it into place through the stair void. To further complicate the frame the reveal was a taper on both verticals due to an error when bracing the ICF wall which meant one wall was 100mm out of line at roof level. The ply reveals are an exacting job and would not look good it they don’t make very good fit with the window. After some experimentation cutting the long tapered sections we bought a track saw, a couple of hundred, but worth every penny. Without it a difficult job would have been a nightmare. With the frame cut and assembled it was time to move it into place. Fortunately the measurements were OK and the window just cleared the purlin allow it to be rotated into place. With a bit of huffing/puffing and knee tremors due to the working height, the window reveal positioned and screwed into place. With the most difficult window done we started work on the remaining nine window reveals. They are now done and it’s transformed the look of the windows. Not all went smoothly, some of the other windows were also out of line, again due to bracing errors during the pours. This meant the reveal boards needed to be cut with fine tapers, more work for the track saw. One point it bought home is that errors early in the build add significant work. If we were going to do another build we would definitely get the builder to allow more preparation time for the pours. Recovering from poor preparation has cost us several of weeks remedial work. The floor was next to allow us to get on with some of the ‘clean’ tasks. Again this transformed the look of the rooms…..it does look like we’ll be pretty much finished by February next year. Before we stopped work we had ordered most of the bathroom furniture and fixtures but not the kitchen. The design had been sorted out regarding appliance placing etc but not the cabinet style or colour. This is not an area of comfort for me and I’m only to happy to leave it to the boss. However kitchens are an area where pricing discussions tend to open with what’s your budget. It does not take much research to find out that kitchen prices can be plain bonkers. Our working method is get three quotes and if they are within 20% of each other that’s what it costs. With kitchens its multipliers rather than percentage, yes, they are different qualities but all essentially the same materials. We ended up getting quotes from a local bespoke kitchen supplier (high end), one from Howdens (mid range) and finally from Discount Kitchens. DIY kitchens have come in for quite a lot of praise in the Buildhub but we had to discount them. Our design used contrast between the carcase and doors, our carcases are a light wood finish, not an option provided by DIY kitchens. In all probability any of the three options would have worked for us. In the end we opted for Howdens, their design was the best and they could deliver before Christmas. More pricey than Discount Kitchens but within our budget at 8k. More on the kitchen next month.

A story with a happy ending. Vision AGI were receptive to paying for our third party costs and have paid up. Plasterer in Friday to cover the hole and then we paint. Good as new. Thanks everyone for the support and the words for the email. Phew.

I don't know what the extent of knowledge on here is for this sort of thing (probably deep and wide) but all opinions appreciated as always... We're properly off-grid as far as electricity goes. The quote for connection was well over £20k eight years ago, the nearest juice-poles are half a mile away and coming off the back of a few years living off all of the grids on a sailing boat it made sense for us to remain un-connected - we were familiar with the demands and had got used to a low-consumption boat-based existence. Our current P.V. array is only 1kW but together with a small wind turbine it easily keeps up with our demands living in a caravan. Once we're in the house the array will increase to 4kW and I don't anticipate problems with juice abundance. The fly in the ointment is the battery bank. We currently have a 345ah, 48V bank of flooded, deep-cycle lead-acid batteries made by Crown. Despite regular equalisation and diligent maintenance we've had two fail in two years necessitating a eight hour round trip for a replacement in the first instance and in the second recent case the purchase of a new battery - £170. I'm contemplating replacing the bank with something more robust, reliable and if possible lower maintenance. I've thought about AGM, about lithium and about NiFe... I'm wondering if anyone has any opinions or even better - real world experience - of living with a bank?

Quick search and they do leak - set of o rings for it aren’t expensive https://www.heating-parts.co.uk/Grant-O-ring-kit-MagOne-Filter-VM12-X/product/239060/239060/

Honestly don't be sad. Insulate well, control heat losses through ventilation. Reduce heat demand and it becomes much less critical what the source is. For a rental flat using something with minimum capital outlay and easy for any random tenant to understand and operate is of great value. Heating technology is always advancing and much easier to change a boiler at some point in future than improve critical errors in the design/build of the fabric

Potentially yes, though you would have to do some pretty stupid things wrong to make them so.

The biggest problem is running out of energy... just paint it all magnolia and we'll worry about it later.

If not too late.. http://www.screwpilebasesystems.co.uk/2-uncategorised?start=12 "As the screwpile does not require any earth removed during installation the need of a party wall act can be eliminated, as you are not undermining your neighbour’s foundation."

Is it worth asking Building control if they have a record of work being done on the ground floor flat. It doesnt look as if there has been any movement.

I am going Sunamp. Mind you, i've not bought it yet. I was just mulling over alternative options! This happens when you come back to your hot water design after 18 months!

These may be helpful in addition to @SteamyTea recollections, which I are good. I think (I downloaded them without any references!!!) the attached are Jeremy's orIginal UFH design and his later mods for the SUNAMP. Heating and cooling system.pdf Hot water layout - Sunamp PV.pdf

Just remember you cannot self install an unvented cylinder unless you hold a G3 certificate. Everything else is fine.

My experience so far is that anyone "qualified" to install an ASHP setup does so for the racketeering that is an MCS installation. The minute you tell them exactly what you want and you are not interested in the RHI as it is pennies in payments the shutters come down or they try you have your trousers down at £350 day rate?‍♂️ I have done a fair bit of reading in the evening of the last few nights and I can see no reason why I can't do this myself, therefore I will be doing it myself. I'm actually looking forward to cracking on with it now, I'm just not at that stage yet.

My first flat was a new build one bedroom flat all electric that was 25 years ago storage in hall storage in lounge with convector panel heaters everywhere else electric shower. E7 supply no hassle. now insulate to the max. storage in hall storage in lounge with convector panel heaters everywhere else electric shower. so the only change would be to insulate to a higher standard to reduce heat loss.

Search the reputable merchants. You could always look on ebay, but that is a bit of a lottery and is becoming imho more of a dodgy place to buy stuff.

I will admit to doing the same but with a proper waterproof sealant, Stixall i think was the one. You don't actually need much, usually only a small area of the shower tray touches the floor. Measure and mark out what bits actually touch the floor. 17 years later no movement no leaks.

All plasticisers are is additives to make the mortar more workable. It adds nothing to the finished product. I’ve laid big shower trays on cheap tile adhesive before now as it sets just as quick and is easier to level as it is slightly more fluid.

I've not even considered asking someone for a price to supply and install as I know it'll just be a disappointment, way overinflated pricing or badly designed. Which in itself is a bit of a sad comment. I do have high standards for most things and like it done my way, unless of course I have employed an expert to do a better job. E.g. I would never considering rendering my house. The reason you are getting adverts though is likely as you'd done some searches and its now targeted advertising.

Portable crane by the sound of it.

Yep same difference - a 25kg bag.

Couple of screw in ground anchors and ratchet straps will stop it moving. Would also be worth getting some OSB framing around the base of the vans to stop the wind blowing under them as the insulation in the floor is negligible.

See this video. For a start the bloke has used the green moisture resistant plasterboard. People do use standard pb but then tanking is even more important: Then this one: Same kit as I used. I went mad and did a huge area, used 2 kits.

He's still on the staff list so I'd be surprised if he doesn't look in on us occasionally.

For £35 of that £85 per SQM I will mix that adhesive in 9 inch high heels and a Tu Tu gladly.

About 15 litres of mortar needed so that’s about half a bag of sand if you buy a maxi bag from Wickes and you won’t need much cement. Worth buying Mastercrete as it already has a plasticiser in it. No need to add anything else. I would put the tray in place and lift it from the front and prop it then spread the sand and cement and drop the tray gently onto it. @Nickfromwales advises scouting the bottom of the tray first as otherwise the sand and cement doesn’t bond well.

Unless you want to move it, what is the point? A waste of a nice trailer that is never going to move.

I have given my answer. a 2M high fence in that position is permitted development and I believe they have correctly measured the height from the ground level it sits on. I also believe all they have done is trimmed the hedge that was trespassing on their property back to allow them to put the fence there. You seem to be looking for a dispute with your neighbour?

You will need to waterproof the whole shower wet area tanking membrane with specific waterproof corner sections and details. Do not be thinking you can just tile the plasterboard, that’s a disaster waiting to happen. Lots of posts on here about bathroom tanking @Onoff is the man who likes taking lots and lots of pictures.

Looks like a water leak to me, gutter, overflow pipe- heating or water. the crystals will ne sodium nitrate (dissolve in water) could be wet getting into the wall, what is on the other side of the wall.

That screams wet cavity insulation to me, is this on all walls or just outer?

This could be condensation. Was there any furniture in front of this? Has the house had cavity wall insulation? Are the external levels at least 150mm lower than your floor and the DPC?

Skirting in a bathroom ...? Preference would be a tiled skirting to match the floor tiles, or if you use “ordinary” skirting then use solid wood not MDF. Make sure they prime it all round with a decent primer, eggshell is better and make sure you get 2 coats on all cut sides including the one joining the floor. Then bed it on decent sealant to stop any water getting under it and blowing the wood.

Whatever comes first! If they are “forever “ units, put them in first then skirting up to them (easiest). If you may change them in the future skirting first and scribe the units round them.

Dewalt 18v here too, very handy.

I have a Lidl Parkside 230V multi tool. It just keeps going, I mean it really does keep going, the on/off switch is stuck or broken.

I think the cordless will be fine, I opted for a dewalt corded version which has a really long cable. I was trying to get as much tool as I could for the cash I had and did not really need the cordless version as I have power wherever it’s needed.

to give you an example, our chippey has a battery 12" dewalt chop saw (2 x 54v) he says it has more power than the mains version.

just wanted to say a big thank you to @A_L for his assistance on this one. with his direction I have extrapolated the table as he suggested and plotted a trendline in Excel and using that I have been able to easily see the difference that different thickness and type of EPS makes to the basement walls. I've come to the conclusion that 200mm EPS 70 outside the basement walls will yield a U-value of 0.095W/m2K and the basement floor with 200mm EPS300 a U-value of 0.09W/m2K, when adding in the effect of the soil, which easily hit our required targets. I've really enjoyed the journey this research has taken me on. this forum is brilliant. long may it continue.

Well after what seems forever, the doors are finally finshed. My home made Oak door frames as described above worked well, but it took ages sourcing enough Oak from the builders merchant to complete them all. They were only receiving small batches with several weeks wait before they could get any more. Then having completed the frames, I tried to contact my trusted joiner to get him to hang the doors, but he was not answering his phone or answering texts, so I hope he is okay. In desperation I hung them all myself, which is not a job I enjoy or am particularly good at, but needs must. The Architraves and skirting are Howdens Oak veneered MDF, cunningly sold in lengths just too short to get 2 full uprights from, hence the use of corner blocks to make the lengths needed slightly shorter.

Just to update this - a few years down the line. My 345ah@48V flooded lead acid bank has done the job for over 5 years now but a very busy recent work period and various other factors have contributed to some shoddy maintenance and FLA doesn't like that. They need tending and every bit of neglect takes it's toll. Anyway - the bank of twelve 115ah FLAs is now a bank of eight battered, prematurely aged sulphated hulks. I'm probably going with lithium - Pylontech. The price has come down, the warranties are long, they play well with Victron kit and will do what they're supposed to without me having to mess around with sulphuric acid once a month.

@readiescards is in a similar 'boat' to you . Im not sure how far along he is with his 'offgriddyness' but he'll see the nudge and hopefully update accordingly .

https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/noahs-ark-construction-186687086 ?

I'll give you her number, you ask. Seems irrational thought / insanity is all part of the menopause.

I have one packet of fixings came with the pan set: The little plastic inserts fit the pan but also the cistern (the holes that bolt it to the wall). Surely the fact these fixings come with little chrome dome nuts, means they're the ones meant to bolt the pan to the floor? I can't use them anyway as I'm going into an 18mm t&g chipboard floor aka Weetabix! This doesn't bode well. SWMBO has stuck the cheapest of cheap, I'll fitting, pi$$ trap self adhesive tiles over the old vinyl that was there. I can't therefore even bond the pan down ? The previous pan at least had 4 fixings. Just wait till it gets my fat ar$e on it!

What I find strange is plumbers in particular seem scared of them. I was talking to one only yesterday and he regards it as black magic and does not want to touch them. What is even more bizarre is a few years back I wired the new build of a local plumber. I suggested we install the ASHP between us, but no he would not touch it and got a local renewable energy company to fit it.

Bodge alert! My mate who is a plumber put my shower tray on a bed of decorators caulk (3 tubes if I remember). No movement in the 12 years I had the house. Lay it down on 2 thin battens then pull them out.

When is your turn to be the bitch?

Ì have had a Bosch cordless multitool. I got so sick of it running out, i got a Makita corded. Nice long cord.