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Seriously. Get a scaffold tower on wheels for this job.

I have found during our self build that we have gone against the norm for what you would expect a new self build to contain. One area was how we would heat the house. The main concern I had as we entered the winter was whether we did the right thing in disregarding the need for underfloor heating and radiators. I have found that during the day we do not need to heat the house as having sufficient true south facing glazing provides the solar gains to heat the house during the day time. When you are outside and it's -5c wind chill it's a pleasant feeling to come into a house that is 20c with no heating. At night time the temperature would slowly drop without any form of heating. This is where our centrally placed stove surrounded by dense concrete block is used. Stoves in the self build community are loved by some and loathed by others. I feel if they are used in the right setting they can be a perfect addition to a self build project. For us it was a best choice as having access to wood, space to store and being willing to provide a little bit of hard work results in the heating bills being zero. When we designed the house having a centrally place stove was one of the first items on our list. For our stove we burn a trug load of home grown logs each evening in the winter. I would never have imagined how satisfying it can be to spend an hour on a Saturday morning splitting wood to keep my family warm. It's a great way to keep fit and can be an enjoyable hobby. Recently we cut back some alder and birch trees which will be left to season and will form next year's winter wood. Using coppicing as a woodland management will allow the trees with their established roots to regenerate quickly in the spring and perhaps be cut back again in ten years. It has been an interesting learning curve over the last few months regarding heating our house with wood. I have learnt a lot from my father-in law and also from this book which I would recommend. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Wood-Fire-Handbook-complete-perfect/dp/1784726192/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=the+wood+fire+book&qid=1613167239&sr=8-1 The garden is currently a blank canvas and this will be the focus for the spring. One job that I am working on at the moment is sorting a load of old stone to build a dry stone wall. It's hard work but a perfect remedy after a long week of crunching numbers at a computer. Hope to provide an update in the Spring. Thanks for reading.

In order to get my house built and complete the shower I put in was a major compromise. It was just as simple as it was all I could afford at the time. Now I have got enough time,money and the actual will to redo it it's time has come this weekend. Every single one here building will some where along the course of the build have to make a choice of what they want and what they can afford. It's just how it goes. But the important thing is to just get the build finished to the best possible balance of what you want and what the wallet says you can buy.

Glue and screw 20mm timber to the joist tops, and put another 20mm insulation in place?

OK, I'll go with the tower route. It is more sensible.

agree, i wouldn't want to be waving bits of insulation around while up a ladder, holding the insulation and fixing in place is a two hand job, get a tower.

Amazing!

Well less than half the people allowed to vote have done that. Morons.

Can you believe I'm actually ready to do this? Cut the brass down and made a lovely job: It fits in a treat. Just happened to have saved an offcut of 14mm Allen key years back: Now to fit this: It fits in just below the tile surface as per instruction: The intent is to ditch the rubber washer it came with and PTFE both ends of the brass: So do I put 22-25 turns of PTFE BOTH ends of the thread, screw in with the Allen key then wind in the chrome bit until plumb and make sure I don't turn it back? Then pump full of CT1, push chrome ring against the tile and baby wipe off? Quote Edit Nickfromwales 3,072 Posted January 21, 2019

I bought an Electra Elecheib induction hob from Comet as they were going bust in September 2012. That well known make designed in Israel and made in Turkey. Started at £399...reduced to £199 and then found a 15% off code. So £169.15 all in. Schott Ceran glass etc. Figured for the money we'd take a chance. Fambloodytastic it's been too!

@Russell griffiths thanks for that. I’ve got 16mm of thread exposed and that thread extender doesn’t seem to offer much more so I’m kinda hoping 16mm and that thread sealer will see me right. With the CT1 filling the hole then I’m fairly confident that any failure will be evident on the front of the tiles and not quietly dripping away down the back.

You can get a tread extender if you need a bit more length. Ooh Er misses.

This is an old thread to be reopening but I’ve seen some info that is relevant that I have been given permission to share. Here is the info in its entirety. “We complete hopefully today. In the run up to this we’d also be requesting a structural warranty cert. We purchased our warranty from CRL who inturn engaged the building inspector to undertake inspections for them. our inspectors were great (Salus) CRL informed us that their insurers Alpha had lost a legal case and were in administration as a result, CRL them came back to us asking for further money for a new policy, we refused and left it there, as we were still having BC inspections and recording everything. So this leaves us without a warranty, our mortgage co Ecology, has dropped the requirement so we are okay mortgage wise. Latest news on this if you have the same is that the FSA are refunding 90% of warranty fees for the remaining period, claim directly through them. We can now purchase a PPC cert which can be backdated in effect which allows us to remortgage should we need to. This can’t only have effected us so hopeful this is helpful to someone in the same position.”

Ok I will shut up, I like the stainless steel look ( ok at work ) not at home. i have granite at home with gas?

Stick a wifi antenna on it? Turn it on remotely with an app? more appealing now? ?

Only one make and that is Gaggenau

The only junction is a single doorway between the two areas. Subfloor will be osb with solid wooden floor above to finish. I was initially hoping I could disappear it..until my wife noticed and asked me about it to confirm we were having no elevation changes in the floor anywhere ? Yes, I will take @MikeGrahamT21 's suggestion on that one.

Hello! my name is Adam, I am in the process of designing a small home that will hopefully be constructed in Portugal. I will be sharing my designs and knowledge and asking questions too! Warm regards, Adam

Welcome and good luck Adam

the wood will still breathe cos you only do it between the rafters and not on tops of batons

Cancel request. I managed to get some expanding foam in there without pumping it all down the boss so hopefully I’ll be able to continue a la @Russell griffiths previous instructions once the expanding foam has cured. Or does CT1 eat expanding foam alive and I’ll be back to square one? I’m only left with 16mm of the brass fitting sticking out of the wall. Is that more than enough?

If it's only a few seconds I wouldn't worry about it. When electric motors (such as those in ASHP compressors) start up or change speed they need a brief spike of additional power to do so, meaning you should see the spikes corresponding with the unit starting to provide heat or changing power levels. The energy consumed by these spikes is trivial - you're billed on (power consumption) x (time), so the energy bill you're getting will be driven by the steady state ~500W (12 kWh/day) rather than the odd spike of a few seconds.

I sold the other one as well, just because I did not really have the space to store it. At the end of a project the lockup just fills up with stuff.

Just a quick note, I think your CurrentCost uses a clamp on sensor, these can misread from an inductive load and they do not compensate for different voltages. Usually this is not a problem, but don't trust the number totally, it is usually within 5%, but depending on the power factor, can be 20 percent out. Though I never found much difference over a year, but then I don't have any large inductive loads. Does it have an RJ11 socket in the back?

may not be cheapest way -- but If i were wanting to insulate that tiled roof and make it vapour proof I would buy a froth pak - kit and just spray i with closed cell foam --not only will it insulate and make a water proof seal - it will stick and loose tiles in place for ever

Yep when I see it shoot up again I'll turn the HP off and see if it's that!

That's a good decision.

For a few moments, yes. Longer, no. Look at the treads: they are rounded square in section. Half an hour on those and your feet will hurt. You need treads that are angled so they are level when the ladder is set at 4:1. Hire a scaffold or a tower.... please.

Hello, I'm in the process of renovating a late Victorian terraced house in North Cornwall. Where possible, I'm trying to do things using the traditional materials. It's a slow process, particularly as I'm learning while doing. All the best Jim

Yes. And very good it is. I thought you had two, @Mr Punter. What happened to the other one? Aside: He's a ruthless negotiator. "Can I have another £20 off?" "No." (He was right.) This one (gloats: all *mine*) is a Zarges Reachmaster. It can be put up in half an hour or so on your own, and fits in a normal estate car. Mine is tall enough that it has been used to re-render gables on a cottage. To op: Spend about £750-1000 on a decent scaffold tower; you will use it multiple times a year. It is not much more expensive than the wheelchair you might need to buy when you fall off your mackled up ladder, which would start from about £300. I can recommend models, as I bought one for my invalided mum 3 and a bit years ago. Forgive my directness; this is not a place to skimp, and I think you are being willfully stupid. Nobody on this forum will tell you different. Of if you must have something cheaper, there are decent quality work platforms available for a couple of hundred that may do it. I have one like one of these Youngman ones which I bought as a Wickes own brand. Well under £200. Had it for 8 years now. Built a conservatory using it. https://www.youngmanaccess.com/combination-ladders/Pro-DeckSeries/5101518) F

I can't feel damp. Every time when taking putting away the washing I have to ask "is this damp, or is this cold?"

and you will still be alive not fallen off the ladder and head like split melon when you hit the floor

If you are going to put up with going up and down ladder with every bit of insulation and trying to string a vpc on your own --then i don,t see building the tower on your own is a big thing the time taken to do this will cut the job time by 50% or more

I had an aluminium folding scaffold tower that I could assemble myself although easier with 2. @Ferdinand has it now. I still pine for it sometimes...

You are a winner mate, don't let anyone put you down.

@pocster has more warnings, sure, but your content more frequently has to be moderated to remove inappropriate comments and off-colour jokes. The point doesn't change even if you're the second or third most moderated member. In fairness to the original poster, I'm going to leave it there. Feel free to have the last word - I've said all I need to say.

This from the member who has needed more moderation for his shit-stirring than any other in the history of BuildHub. I'm clearly posting as a member, not a moderator. I'm pleased that your experience as a teacher has taught you not to let people's comments get to you.

Good luck with that one! Right now I have a semi finished wooden paddleboard and a downhill mountain bike frame with all the bits lying around to go onto it that my son wanted to do during lockdown 1 (paddleboard) and lockdown 3 (mtb). They can't even compete with the Xbox ? but he just going on 13. Not that I'm cynical at all. Aerospace engineering is a tough degree so good luck to your son.

That is probably what I'm most scared about. I have to give myself a slap when we're out for a walk and I start looking at derelict properties or infill land, then while I'm working away on the house I find myself daydreaming about how to raise the capital for the next project while living in this house. I've been through a phase of properly hating this house, now I'm starting to really like it again and can't understand why I'm still thinking postively about the prospect of more! At least I'm not the only one. ? Yet I've still got months of work to go here....

Garden to do next but travelling is in the agenda. My son finishes his aerospace degree this year but with Covid he is not sure what he will do if he cannot get a job. He has worked on many houses with me since he was 10/11 and fancies doing properties up so may have to get him started (with the proviso that we work normal hours and the xbox is used sparingly)

I had to do an emergency repair on a PU moulding machine when I worked in the Derbyshire. Now take into account that this was the 1990's, and the humour of the area. My impersonation of Lenny Henry went down quite well. "Katanga"

Ok for normal planning but for Class Q conversions, after 15 April 2015, the GPDO said that development must be completed within a period of three years from the approval date.

No - once you start there is no time limit on planning to completion.

What about DPC like this with a cavity try over and do away with the external lower dpc

thats not that straight forward tho......the hard standing as is is above the ground level as is the existing garage which will be removed, i asume this is due to the flooding that happens when it rains hard so everything existing isnt a true representation. if i raised the garage to curb hight id have a 3ft tall driveway wall running across the garden......that just a no no.....ive spoken the the council planning thisafternoon and he seams to think as its a garage, on the boundry with the highway that a curb hight of 4.08m is ok but has asked the inspector to call me next week, shes very easy to get along with so im hoping common sense will kick in and ill get a usable garage, it doesnt affect anyone in any way...

What do you call "very cold"? My 5kW LG ASHP has continied to heat my house and DHW when it was -14 last night and now at a daytime high of -4. No doubt the COP is not as good and it has needed to defrost a couple of times, but it has not stopped working.

Not necessarily, mine does not, I still get 48’ DHW and same to use in my buffer tank blended down for the UFH!!! it may have defrosted a few times when the dew point is reached, but that is more about RH rather than temp.

Good job I did not hold my breath waiting for the brickie's "mate" to repay the favour Was there ever a worse year for bricklaying, weather wise? If it is not peeing down (the worst for a hundred years) then it is below 4deg C so no bricklaying can take place. Now we have several inches of snow! All this has left us with several inches of water, which turned to ice, inside the build. Pre covid we could have had an ice skating party! Bless our bricklayer he has soldiered on, when he can, even doing Sundays. Good job he did because we finally have the carpenters here to put up the roof trusses and fix the soffits where they can. Just been hearing about their "little job" in Buckingham Palace! The guy we chose as our roofer has been absolutely amazing in organising an electrician to quote for solar panels, the carpenters to quote for the trusses and now he is here, on the day he said he would be here, to fix the felt! The carpenters worked in a snow storm to make ready for him. The only hold up we had was down to the, usually very good, supplier. The roofer even went round to give them a good ear full about some scratches on the fascias and their tardiness in sorting it all out. He missed his vocation as a project manager! It is feeling such an achievement to get the bungalow water tight. Sods Law means that not another drop of rain will fall. Well, not until we start building the garage or landscaping anyway. If you want prior warning then let me know Feeling a bit nervous about the prospect of installing the windows which have been in storage for nearly a year. Roof tiling first, though, so that the scaffolding can come down.

Oh of course. Indeed, it's been in the rules for many years but the new regulations made it enforced when a house was being sold and now apply to everyone with no grandfather rights. All my point was people seem to have jumped to the conclusion 'septic tank bad' which isn't the case when combined with drainage fields.

if there's one thing I've learnt in my brief self-build journey so far it's that things always take longer than you expect/want them too! that includes quotes.