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Took the drip bead former and sides off of my pier cap mould. Looks like it has potential. Clearly a (very) few air bubbles got trapped but thinking maybe I can fill them with something? Gave the top a quick going over with a piece of broken Celcon then hoovered the top and the drip channels. I'll let it set for a couple of days then invert onto a pallet and see what the top side has come out like. Where I siliconed the internal corners and ran the Fugi Cramer tool along seems to have worked and given me rounded edges. I'll put the two best edges the side you see! ?

Just screw them down a-la @PeterW’s advice! Making holes in membranes is neither here nor there. Failing to keep your UFH pipes down on the deck will be a multiples of £1000 fcuk up with no chance of repair. Seriously……. Just drill the 6mm hole for a concrete screw, then immediately prior to putting the screw home fill the hole top with sealant, smother the screw thread, wind it in, and repeat. This will be of zero detriment to any of the layers. Screw them down or prepare to fail.

My local art stone cill fabricator won't ship to a customer for 10 days in order to let the casting strengthen.

Does not surprise me at all, the building industry is bandit country. The daft thing is that I want a legitimate air test so I can make sure there are no leaks, if you want a dodgy result - nay drama big lad, what, you want a legit result - cue beer being spat out in laughter at my naivety!

Here are some digital renders of the open plan kitchen diner we are doing with our 1930s semi

This is just a quick introduction post, I'll create another with more ?

@Onoff further to your enquiries re. useage: last 2 night I've kipped in it.. great success, though the stream's quite prominent so takes a while to drift off. But got some lino (had lined up for porch job/ now ideal for cabin) down/ a futon.. & I'm 1/2 back in my vw camper parked up wild next to some river somewhere late 90's. Happy as a pig in the proverbial. It does offer me possibility now of doing b&b next year too. zH

We have some oak posts holding up roof overhangs and the like. We used stainless steel pins to locate the bottom of the posts on plinths. That were cemented into the plinth with about 6" sticking up into holes drilled in the bottom of the posts.

I waited 5 months for the write up of my pre app to see how the existing planning could be modified. You can tell the planning officer never bothered looking at it properly because after I lodged a complaint and a freedom of information request to see how many emails and calls they had logged which had been ignored they called back in a flap because the original planning was undischarged on material samples. It cost me a lot of money I was due to exchange on the plot that week, and I’ve now had to look elsewhere. yes they’re busy, but no they’re not fit for purpose.

Unfair on Planners, well most anyway. They have to spend a disproportionate time dealing with aggressive and determined housing developers, who put in excessive amounts of paperwork, and have lawyers and planning consultants ready to pounce on errors. They are then bombarded with objections from the current residents, and perhaps have some sort of pressure from their employer who wants the development (money per house, and gold stars from Westminster) but doesn't want to upset their constituents. Then we put in little applications and can either get stamped straight through or be ignored. Meanwhile they have to deal with councillors, who wander in and can demand attention (Elected Member don't you know), some of whom don't follow rules, don't read the paperwork and sometimes have an agenda of their own. When we get back to normal, I suggest going to a council planning meeting. They can be very interesting. I have seen Planners have to give very strict instructions to councillors who don't understand a thing...very diplomatically of course. Some are just not very efficient, and that might be your situation. You seem to be well supported by reasonable emails, so you are unlikely to get in very big trouble for a tentative start. If it was me, I would email to say I was starting and would be happy to hear from them. A risk, so up to you.

My full Oak frame (11m X 5.5m by 1.1/2 story) isn't bolted down, just rests on the dwarf wall, they used hi-load DPC as it's thicker and rubberised to account for brickwork height variance plus I guess it helps with increased friction to sideways loads.

I imagine canopy doors are mostly a standard size whereas sectionals and rollers are easily made to your specific dimensions to order. I recently bought a sectional and was given the exact opening required for an off the shelf 16’ wide door but then learnt that it would be no extra to have it made to the mm of my opening. Garador are a popular choice for up and overs, I’d get in touch with them and other brands you may have in mind and ask for the overall frame width. Alternatively you could always fit it inside the reveal to the timber but you would obviously lose some internal length which may be a consideration.

thanks! I'm not having much luck with getting recommendations from friends (as they never seem to need tradespeople over the years). I have been recommended tradesmen by some tradespeople who have come in to quote themselves, but then they are the ones that have just disappeared into thin air. So now I am apprehensive about calling any people recommended by other tradespeople. They seem to be a complete waste of time.

No difference. Now if you were comparing the Kingspan Kooltherm or other higher spec insulation there is a difference but not with the Kingspan thermowall. The biggest difference will be in the installation rather than insulation. A well installed insulation board with no gaps will perform much better than a poorly cut and fitted board.

This also requires prior approval from the DNO as it's a G100 connection and doesn't come under G98 for 3.68kWp systems. Assuming you mean a 5kWp inverter with 5kWp of panels that limits it's output to the grid to 3.68kW rather than as I describe below... I had to go down the route of connecting 5kWp of panels to a 3.68kWp inverter to avoid the DNO charges mentioned above. There'll be some clipping on high sun days, but the array in total should output for longer and put out more power than 3.68kWp of panels on the 3.68kWp inverter. Currently trying to invent new dump loads to keep my voltage rise in check...

If rendering upto the metal frame on outside, then work on a removable closer on the inside to allow removal of the frame if needed. rare but it does happen

Noted. Thanks Mark.

Partner hit him with the rolling pin once too often because of wet feet traipsed all over the living room carpet: hence the question about drainage. No @doingitmyself, a well drained patio will not dry your trainers enough for you to be able to waltz all over the super clean carpet without drying your feet. To answer your question : 1:100 - maybe 1:60ish - fall, gravel strip to suit, and an easy to clean door mat. Then treat yourself to £20's worth of pure joy . ?

I think this is now a right mess to sort out and a world of pain which I suspect will result in a parting of ways. The builder is wrong, plain and simple. Sounds like the sort of bloke that won't take too kindly to being told that he is wrong. If he was the sort then I expect at the first query he would have stopped, checked and confirmed before proceeding. He didn't. He had the I know what I'm doing mentality and cracked on. You now have 2.4m high blockwork which needs to come down so it can be fixed properly. This is a PITA and I doubt he will be the sort to go, no worries pal, I'll get on it now. If you don't stop this now though, you will be fretting about it for a long long time. If you let it go any further it will be even more pain to sort out. I would suggest you act sharpish if you intend to rather than dithering over it. The longer you wait the harder it gets. You may need to mentally prepare for the scenario where the builder goes and you have to find someone else.

Agree re the gravel strip. Maybe 150mm against the side wall - line it up with the size of the gulley. By the book.... you should slope down to get to 150mm below DPC once past the door. However it's a relatively short length until you hit the fence so you'd just make it hard to use (as it'd be sloping and directing water to your neighbour). So I'd keep is level against the wall with the doors and slope uniformly away to the garden. You could put in a channel drain at the bottom of the patio as it'd be easy to direct it into the gulley pot. But if it's pretty free draining soil that's not really necessary. My soil goes a bit soggy immediately next to the patio but it all slopes away.

As above 100 gap where it meets the building, and pea gravel. Even some other fancy stone if your feeling flush.

First off, what's with the footwear display? Regarding drainage, if there were no issues before there should be none now. Best have a fall away from the house. I would be tempted to leave a 100mm wide channel against the walls and fill with pea gravel in case the walls get saturated above DPC with splashes but it depends how exposed they are.

So if it’s like the UFH and bathroom, it will be turned out tomorrow, a photo posted of it and then nothing..... then you’ll see them installed in 2024 using a scratch built hoist that uses the rear axle of a Capri along with some “spare” RSJ and powered by an 18v battery drill ... ?

Its pulling my finger out Joe.. hard when the sun's finally come out to sweat it on yr knees on a floor fretting all day. Urgh. Downhill now! paint the walls, varnish frame, fill the edge gaps in time: I tried to do with grout but its too much volume, over 1" deep & a good 3/4" along gaps to 3 walls. Maybe mortar fill up to a cm.. then top off with grout-? I'll cut 4x bits when an anglegrinder happens by, & mortar these 4 in (adjacent to door) as Ive no glue left. Save a bit of grout for them. should be ok.

£444+VAT installed for 2.8m3 in South Wales - Belitex liquid screed

Can't believe protek are still out the game that's crazy. I had hoped to go with them after end of tax year but seems to still be an issue. I grudge self build zone. Taking the pee with the costs...

Looks like we are going with Self Build Zone. At £4k it certainly isn't cheap. What did you decide to do @Mike_scotland?

As above. or have the isolator internal with appropriate signage, advising of this

Did we ever get a real solution to the difference between system size and inverter size?

I recognise that ASHP... Just screw the isolator to the side of the unit

Our MVHR covers up to 250m2 but we are only 106m2. This was bought larger on purpose to try and reduce wear and noise. We used rigid pipes and insulated all of the pipes, in and out with rigid insulation. We have summer/winter option and humidity sensors for the wet rooms. MVHR very quiet. It uses about 20 watts on normal We have 3 niggles: Cooking smell lingered until I read here that it's a good idea to put the system on boost when cooking. Sound travels a bit between rooms down the pipes and I am yet to put baffles in. (lazy and so it cant be that bad) If we leave the en-suite room door shut the extracted air is only replaced with the colder air entering under the door so we have to open the door some time after use. We have realised that if the temperature outside is above the inside temperature we are better leaving the system on "winter" as the cooler air being expelled cools the fresh air coming in. Also we have had no humidity issues. I clean filters about once a year and inspected the condensation trap once so far with no problems. Installed in 2018 and it has worked for us: https://www.polypipe.com/sites/default/files/HRX2_MVHR_Technical_Data_Sheet.pdf Ours system includes the summer bypass. Hope this helps Marvin

From what I remember the slower the air is circulated the better the heat recovery also oversized means the fans can go slower and create less noise. Undersized units will have to work harder and potentially generate more fan noise. I cant be sure about these facts but maybe a starting point of the thread is me getting corrected!

What a pita. All the site sprayers i have seen over the years have always sanded all the walls and ceilings before any spraying. One of those fancy round sanders on a pole with a big round head. Hope you get it sorted.

I think it is driven by shortages brought on by businesses being greedy and furloughing staff. I know of so many businesses that were just shutting down with no real reason to do so other than so management and owners could take the year off and not worry about the financial implications. Clearly this is not the story for all and for many financial problems are rampant, but there was some sheer greed and stupidity at play. When they stopped making plasterboard and milling wood that was just ridiculous because it was still being consumed apart for the first 4-5 weeks of initial lockdown. But lots of manufacturers saw the opportunity to stop paying wages, shaft the government and sit and do very little. So now we have shortages of everything due to backlog and also a boom in building projects, Brexit has nothing to do with it. Costs should drop again when it all levels but I fear they won't as everyone gets greedy.

Gas barrier is irrelevant - concrete isn’t gas porous and unless you’ve built a sump etc and got positive pressure under the floor you won’t extract it anyway. If it worked the way you think it will be coming up the outside edges where you’ve turned them up the walls.

Permanent dwelling or holiday home is a planning matter. A lot of caravan sites have planning that only allows say 10 months of the year. How many units is again planning, though I believe a croft for instance can have 3 "caravans" under permitted development. It is perfectly possible to make a modern, warm, energy eficcient house as a "caravan" and live in it permanently if you can accept the caravan size limits which is a little over 100 square metres and of course single storey. I have worked on several such modular homes.

My supplier wanted £1 per m to coat my cedar, I thought this was extortionate until I started doing it myself, it has taken hours and hours and hours. So it all depends if your cash poor and time rich or not, I also found the cost of the oil was more than I had bargained for.

Looking good. I'm so excited. (and a sad git)

No. 40 is course 240 is fine. The number is the amount of grains of sand in one square inch of sandpaper.

I know right! the decorator disappeared on us after having waited 3 months for him. The bath fitter also after waiting nearly 5 months. I know they are getting the pick of the bunch but it is down right annoying, they should just say they don't want the job. My plasterer never returned my messages and finally responded but would have to wait 5 months for him to show - leaving us in a pickle if we decided to wait and he no-showed also!

@Onoff perhaps ... if you can find them you could hire the Pocster-Team “ I love it when a plan f ups “ ” shut it fool ! - just paint the wall “

Optimistic !!

You need to re read my cracked spray paint thread again for an adrenaline rush !!

Was trying to avoid the 100mm gravel gap as not too keen on the look, but better safe than sorry! Will absolutely splash out on that beautiful mat. Thanks all.

Frankly, this is the most exciting thing going on at the moment. (I lead a sad life) Waiting to see how this turns out......

I used to make rad boxes as a sideline before they became available in the sheds etc. I used to make very good money to be honest. IMO make sure the grill you chose is minimum 50% open..... Make sure you have not got TRV's on the rads...... Paint the rad, and the background inside the box in Matt Black...... Only bother with the foil if the rads are on outside walls, and even then i'm not sure i would bother.

I had the same issues with Powys CC. Planner never answered our calls or replied to a SINGLE email for 7 months. Then after I escalated it to the head of planning he sent me an email saying he was leaving the council in 3 days time so would leave it to the next bod to review! They are totally incompetent. They say they are overwhelmed with applications but half the problem is they create the burden upon themselves with ridiculous interpretation of the policies they administer. I couldn't help laughing in amongst all the frustration though. When some of the locals were asking why it was taking so long for me to start on site I told them the planners were being unresponsive and that I'd emailed the local councilor to try and rally some support. They laughed and said ' you'll be lucky, our councilor? he's a 80 year old farmer, he doesn't know what email is and hasn't got a computer'. Explains why I never got a response from him!