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I'm glad I am no longer a Mod. I'd have shut this thread down long ago. Whats the matter with some of you ... ? Expletives and childish insults all over the place.

Are the pipes empty and house up? I have my pipes in my insulated foundation, installed in April and have never had water or anything in them yet. House is up now and windows doors in, but no heating or anything else and I'm not planning putting anything in them. If there is no water why add it?

Google asbestos test kit. They are quite cheap.

If you search through the forum several of us have lost relatives to asbestosis. But short, incidental exposure to embedded asbestos is at the low end of the spectrum, and we are vocal about it in high risk situations - such as extended potential exposure to fibres. So low risk on several dimensions of the scale. F

I don't have the time just now, but search for posts by me within the last year I think it would be, I posted a huge screed about asbestos and all the issues and concerns and limitations etc. etc. I know where you are coming from, just relax and read my post, I am certain it will help you.

You'll remember our quote for ideas for our dressing room/walk in wardrobe being about £7k purpose built. Ikea PAX was coming in a about £2k for just the frames plus we wanted island, dressing table etc and it didn't quite fit our space. Have just got around 10 metres of Porcelanosa walk in wardrobe/dressing room units plus 1.2m island and dressing table for £1000. It's more units than what we need but we can adjust the configuration to suit and due to the height I'm thinking they will need to go through our windows (good job it's a bungalow) and potentially hacked in/may need magic man to sort out any minor marks. Hopefully won't be noticable when they are fitted. Unfortunately didn't include the granite island top and dressing table granite top but we can explore alternatives to use as worktops. So excited!!!!!

Quality of workmanship it a problem in building. But as said by someone before. Your concern is thermal by pass, where warm air escapes around your fancy insulation via voids to a cold void. So long as the boards are tight fitting (doubtful) there should be no issue. The best you can do is to make sure the cavity walls are effective sealed at all openings and tops and services to limit the movement of warm air to cold spaces. Obviously thermal dry lining will improve what ever u value you would have had without it.

That’s exactly what I did

I think it’s a poor taste thread, does you opinion of one person in one job sour everyone that does the same job?

I've had several conversations with folks at various stages of planning applications that are geared towards para 79/80 houses and decided to document our journey so far: Firstly we consulted a local architect who has worked on several Class Q developments. They walked the site with us and mentioned that it's highly unlikely we could gain approval due to being classed as "open countryside", however we could pursue a specific "country house" clause that they didn't feel best equipped to pursue. March 2020: Grand Designs: we watched most episodes, making a list of houses that we liked the look off and the architects that were responsible for the designs. This gave us a long list to begin researching. It was here that terms such as the "country house clause", PPS7, Paragraph 55 and Paragraph 79 were mentioned. We started researching para 79e (as it was at the time) housing requirements. There didn't seem to be a ton of information around the process however Studiobark conducted an incredible study focused on previous applications, including creating an interactive map - I highly recommend reading this should you be looking to go down this route. Richard Hawkes has a Youtube channel which was also very helpful in providing additional information and context around the criteria; I'd highly recommend the two video's focused on the Braintree case to provide context on the "isolation" principle that needs to be met. A few more hand links below: - https://www.architecture.com/knowledge-and-resources/knowledge-landing-page/using-paragraph-79-to-design-innovative-country-houses - https://www.countrylife.co.uk/property/the-exceptional-houses-being-built-in-idyllic-countryside-spots-thanks-to-the-foresight-of-paragraph-79-215618 - https://urbanistarchitecture.co.uk/paragraph-79-house/ - https://www.hawkesarchitecture.co.uk/para-79/ - https://www.hughesplanning.co.uk/para-55-houses-explained After reviewing a large number of both successful and unsuccessful applications the Pareto principle certainly seems to be present - a large number of approvals come from a small number of architects/firms (I'm unsure on the rules with regards to promotion (I have no stake in any of the firms), however I'd be happy to share a list of the firms should admin be happy with this). June: 2020 An initial site visit is the first stage each firm recommended where they would be identifying various strategic opportunities & constraints being presented by the site and its context. This would be followed by a detailed research exercise which would involve a comprehensive analysis of local and national policy as well as looking into planning history within the local area. This stage is crucial as without enough elements to play with any future planning application would likely be unsuccessful. The fee's for this stage varied a lot (several hundred to several thousand)! I'll add another couple of posts later today/tomorrow focusing on: - Site visit to pre-app - Pre-app to Design Review Panel - Design Review Panel feedback and next steps Hopefully this will be useful to some.

As I have said before, I don't like expanding foam. It is not controllable, goes where you don't want it and not where you do. Also somewhat irreversible. I would leave the plastic bag where it is, perhaps adjusting the position, to act as a stop. Then fill the end of the pipe with concrete or mortar, perhaps in 2 stages. Let it harden and shrink then paint on a coat of bitumen paint. OR wrap a bag around the outside of the pipe with a tie around it, and fill the hole with weak concrete/mortar. Close off the other end when the time comes too, in case the pipe becomes a home for creeping things, or there is some other pipe connection in the run

To sum up. The property is rubbish. Throw 8kW of heat at it from a stove and it barely dents the heating requirement of the house and it is still cold. Throw a similar amount of heat at it from an ASHP and because that does not heat the house, people are quick to blame the heat pump as being rubbish. What is rubbish is whoever thought a small heating system of any heat source was going to be adequate for such a rubbish house. That is the issue that is faced with a lot of houses.

@Onoff Thanks for this. Although already very solid I inclipped the cistern like you did and inserted another couple of screws through the very top mounting holes.

I accept what you have done but a wood burning stove on for a few hours in the evenings isn't the same as having heat pumped into every room in the house 24 hours a day. I suspect it's what steamytea told me when I mentioned about my house in another thread which was that drying out the fabric of the building takes more than twice the energy of heating the fabric of the building. I do hope you manage to sort something out so you are comfortable this winter.

I think you will require a test just to put your mind at rest. However, asbestos was mainly used in insulating and fire proof products. It is unlikely to be in residential plaster/board. If you had ceiling tiles or Artex I would be more concerned. Even if there is asbestos there, it is cumulative long term exposure that is most concerning and you would not have reached that point.

Watch out for costs, of course. This can be expensive. So you need to decide where you wish to be on the risk / cost balance for each item.

Thank you for your messages and Saveasteading for the link. i think i will get the company back out and ask them to test the plaster and plasterboards. if it is in both the dust is everywhere as i have pulled every ceiling down in the house. im coming to terms that is low risk for the floor tiles but im concerned about the plaster and plasterboard and think if it is in this then i need to leave the house and get someone in to completely clean the house. if possible.

No problem, here it is. https://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/guidance/a23.pdf Please note that this comes under the heading of non-licensed work. ie it can be done by anyone and obviously is not seen as high risk. Of course they are wearing masks in the pictures. Why wouldn't you, if you knew? Now please stop worrying yourself about what you have already completed. btw a test kit is not a test kit. It is a mask and a bag for putting a sample in, and you have done all that stuff.

Well yes, you could get an asbestos survey done. I was amazed myself at just how many products it's in, gutters, celing, under steel sink, even the cistern can have it. At the very least damp down and wear PPE. You can get the bags online and dump it responsibly. Also, the risk to you and your dad should still be low - don't stress.

Yes but in order for the house to "make" you £250, in my book that means it generates your entire usage AND exports enough to get you paid £250.

I wonder if it's worth cleaning and painting with a primer containing a biocide? Indeed doing the same for any new wood you fit. Something like this: https://www.zinsseruk.com/product/bulls-eye-1-2-3/ Reassuringly expensive btw!

I should have added. If you google the subject you find mostly contractors and consultants looking for the work, so they say it is dangerous and to call them in. Hence the HSE document is best. Although the risk is low, and you are allowed to remove them yourself, (not required to be a licensed specialist) you should follow protocols. They are all in the leaflet from hse. For now, if you have already removed some, they should be in plastic bags. the tiles will cut through a normal bag so either use rubble bags, or put the bag into another, with carboard round it to stop it cutting through. if opening the bag, wet it so that there is no dust. When you have made sure it is in 2 layers of plastic bag, your local authority will take it and dispose of it safely. Normally you phone them and they take it from you at an agreed transfer station. no charge, as they don't want it fly-tipped or binned. It gets taken to a special tip and buried and capped for ever. Check out you local authority website for this. Dust. It has been removed already, I'm sure. If you were to come across any pockets in the future: dampen it and brush it up, just in case, but it will probably just be house dust.

Here it is, less than £1700 all in with the quartz worktops, wardrobes and fitting. Only minor gripe is that as our dressing table was in a slightly different place than it was originally fitted and connected to things and as we don't have it connected to anything you can see where the skirting was cut and in hindsight we should have had the worktop longer so the joiner could have put an end piece on. There will be a standing mirror there so you won't see it and perhaps we can think of something to put there to cover it. Needless to say we are putting clothes into something not made of cardboard tonight ? VID_20211029_165849.mp4

I have to say I have some sympathy for this perspective. One of the biggest concerns I have right now is that a small number of extremely rich technocrats, like Bill Gates, are going to take it upon themselves to intervene using geo-enginering when they actually understand very little, and cannot in any way predict, its effects on a global scale. The fact that some people are taking this approach seriously is just bonkers. I mean, would you really trust the global climate to the guy responsible for Windows? For me another problem is that very few understand the extend to which things have to change to reach the current goals and to do that while maintaining the holy grail of exponential GDP growth is a sign that the current crop of policy makers have their heads stuck somewhere rather dark. From another perspective entirely, there are number of environmental scientists who are not bought into the hysteria but have a more moderate view based on the planet's complex self-organising behaviour. I've only seen a small handful of those published and maybe right now they're pressured into remaining largely silent. A lot of the fear is because we simply don't know what's going to happen and cannot actually predict it, despite the rhetoric. Frankly, we don't know if the changes to our climate might self-organise in a way that subsequently cools the planet down, or not, or the timescales involved, and we don't have either the tools or knowledge to model these effects. We already know there are serious problems with existing models because from a systems perspective, they have failed to predict that some climate change patterns will accelerate faster as the existing system adapts - yet from a system theory perspective this type of acceleration within a reorganising system is already understood to happen. As I think I may have said in another thread, I think what is going on is serious but I think the hysteria is the wrong way to approach it and will often lead to detrimental short-term knee-jerk reactions. I actually think the idea of replacing all the UK's and possibly the world's boilers with a/w heatpumps is up there with those.

There is reliable information on this in the HSE documentation, ie saying that the risk is very low. if still concerned, reply and I will find it. Have taken these tiles up many-a-time and it is a normal contractor job, not even specialist. To be dangerous you would have to grind these tiles up to expose the fibres (2% of the total volume) then breathe it in. I don't expect you have done that. Relax.

So great to hear from people who have done it. The design is clear, that 9mm osb is enough, and it doesn't need double footer or header. The reality on site can be different so I didn't, for example, want to show 9mm then find that "everybody uses 18mm" at contractor's insistence and all the dims be out immediately by 9mm (they all add up). More importantly the double header and footer needs to be drawn , to avoid any errors in height. (This will join into existing and so has constraints). I would like the drawing to building control to be close to site practice. I have done this before with 3 storeys and factory panels, but it was a package and these details were not of concern.. It was interesting how different the 2 suppliers were in details at foundation level, (one required a pre-fixed timber and utterly level footer and the other wanted a concrete kerb, also dead level) but there was no use of double headers. I am thinking that the extra footer can be laid dead level to take out inevitable wobbles in the masonry base, and the extra header is a tidy way to build it if making the panels on the ground. But that may not be necessary if all made in place. Have not chosen a joiner yet, so no doubt they will all have different ideas of 'the only way'. I will ponder and report back. Don't stop the suggestions and advice coming though.

Very low risk as the fibre concentration is low and embedded in the resin/adhesive.

The only time you need to double up sole and top plates is when studs and rafters don't line up. + 1 to that. Don't add any osb until you've got at least some cover from the roof. I wouldn't brace until it's upright as it can then be trued up in all directions. As for 9 or 11mm it would typiclly depend on what the SE specifies. Same for the the roof. And to risk being picky, you'll either be building using 38 x 140 cls (50 x 150 unfinished) or 47 x 150 (45 x 145 nominal finished) carcassing, these differences will make a difference to your frame and subsequent dimensions. The cls can be ideal because you can get it at 2.7m lengths too. . That's very neat. Still lots of stick framing going on in Sweden mind you, it's seen more as the diy route nowadays but it's understandable given the climate why they like to go indoors to make their houses. I'm still bemused why there isn't more in the UK. Instead there seems around us to be a massive growth in the use of tin hat scaffolds at major cost to the customer. I have a slight hybrid of the framing method where I have a glulam ring beam and my 1st floor joists hang off that rather than penetrating througth the tf.

I used coach screws for the side fixings, into the stud work. The sort you do up with a ratchet and socket. I had to unclip the cistern and lean it back to get to those. Mine fixed to what was a blocked up doorway so was quite deep, I made up extensions for the top. Resin anchored the studs in: Bottom into concrete: I lined the recess with sound absorption panels: I glued 9mm ply to the front of my frame as I had to bring the wall out by that much: Test fit the Aqua Panel to go over the front: A bit of Sikaflex over the ply:

Would also build frame without OSB. Just a diagonal on the opposite side. Add OSB afterwards. Minimises weight to lift and you can square up the the house this way then nail it all before it moves. You can also let it get wet (the solid timber) if you must before having a couple of dry days going crazy with the OSB and getting it covered up before it turns to weetabix? Walls were built in max 6 x 3 metre sections here. 10 studs. Header and sole plate. 2x8s so approx 200 kg a section. 2 men to lift; 1 man to prop and stabilise with rope until secured.

I upgrade external hinges/ locks with longer screws and ensure frames are secure from kicking in doors. Fit pir lights to illuminate areas, also helps when scanning cctv at multiple speed as you see light activation and stop. have dusk/dawn lights at from door. keep ladders/garden tools locked up and out of site. I have a couple of cameras covering the drive and front door, just to see if any issues arise helpful when queries arise regarding deliveries. intruder alarm professional installed, local company with bell boxes on front, side and garage elevation. I hide the remote control when info on holiday so the bast&&ds may steal my tv but I have the remote - yes I know you get all in one remotes but small victories. Small and discrete dog roaming free sign on front gate and rear fence.

Use 18 mm for making structural box beams? 9/10/11/12 mm is PLENTY for sheathing to give shear resistance. It's also walkable on 600 centres for the purposes of adding insulation / putting on a roof etch as long as you're not a particularly fat bastard or jumping up and down etc. For headers...I would do this next time: https://bygghouse.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Summary-of-Swedish-Wall-Element-Construction.pdf http://blog.lamidesign.com/p/swedish-platform-framing-info.html (single header, bring the wall studs all the way up to the level with the floor, then put your "second header" vertically against the inside of the wall to carry the floor load - after you've lapped your airtightness membrane over the top of the header ready to sandwich it under the floorboard. Tape the bottom piece of airtightness membrane down onto the floorboards before you build the next level of wall on top. It'll then be squashed down by the sol plate of the floor above. Roof trusses can be treated the same way. Those little diamond tiedowns pick up the roof truss at the top, then the header on the two side ears, and (if aligned) the wall stud on the bottom ear...but from the outside not from the inside. so that there's nothing to interrupt your airtightness membrane...that you remembered to lap over the top of the header, taped to the existing wall membrane, before you sat the trusses on top of it. Use some little tiling battens to squash the taped joint flat for extra security if you like.

A few years ago there was a spate of cars being stolen around our old house. People broke a door lock and came into our kitchen, but the alarm went off and scared them away, so a small piece of anecdotal evidence there. On the other hand, neighbours across the street were on holiday and people broke in. It took them less than two minutes to silence the alarm, search the house for their car keys and drive off. I caught it all on our Ring camera, but could only see what was happening and not identify anything specific. Discussion with neighbours then ensued. Everyone wanted a high tech and expensive wa to protect their cars. This was ridiculous in my view. The best way to stop burglaries is physical protection. If they cannot get in or see anything worth stealing they will move on. Certainly here, mos burglaries are to get car keys and the simple solution is to put you car in the garage. We have been doing this every day for years now and had no further issues. I just could not persuade people to do this instead of spending money on more exciting, but less useful high tech solutions. Maybe it is best to think about how to increase security and what gives the best cost benefit. 1. Physical security - Locks - After our french door lock was broken, I was surprised to find that an enormous percentage of burglaries involve lock snapping as had ours. We replaced all our locks with higher quality locks where this could not happen easily. This cost just a few pounds per lock and the mind boggles that window companies and builders do not fit these as standard as the extra cost on new doors and windows would only be a few pounds. A total no brainer. Laminated glass - Again, a very high percentage of burglaries involve broken windows. My parents were broken into by simply chucking a brick through their patio doors. All of our windows are laminated. I consider this one of the best ways to prevent burglary. It would be quite hard to get into my house or already replacing windows. Great if building a new house, too expensive otherwise. You can add film to existing windows to the same effect, but this is not that easy. Lights - The data you attached suggests that security lights are a cheap no brainer. LED lights now mean that you can light up your house quite cheaply and easily at night. We have dawn to dusk lights on permanently. They can also make it look like you are at home, up early etc. Again, a cheap no brainer. Secure your car - Garage, bollards, gates etc. A decent percentage brurglaries are to get your car keys. If you car is in the garage or behind bollards or a gate then they will move on to an easier target. It could well be free to put your car away, it also stops it frosting over, keeps it cleaner etc. Total no brainer. 2. Alarms These probably are of minor deterrent use, but the key thing is do people actually use them. We had our alarm on when broken into and it scared them off. Today our alarm is app connected and very easy to set from in bed our when out/ on holiday etc. I can turn it off when on holiday if someone wants to check the house then back on. I feel that using the alarm is key and that the right kind of system today makes using the alarm much easier. Monitoring etc need not be expensive. We have a wireless system, professionally installed. The lack of cabling makes the install match cheaper. Monitoring and servicing costs £250 a year. You get part of this back in reduced insurance. However, I would say that monitoring is only useful when not at home and the main deterrent factor is that the alarm wakes you up and scares off burglars. The reason I think insurance companies like to see you pay for this is that it tells them the alarm works and you use it. People are more often than not at home when burgled. 3. Cameras. I have CCTV cameras, but I am very skeptical of their worth. The reason for this is that most burglaries occur when it is dark and that you cannot identify people in the dark on a camera. Similarly all it requires is putting on a big hood to cover your face. I have them so that I can monitor what is going on around the house and for a bit of a deterrent, but I consider other things much better security. I think a Ring type doorbell camera is probably better than CCTV as a lot of people will try your front door to see if anyone is home and to see if it is left open. 4. Don't be overly flash with easy to steal stuff. Much as this smacks of victim blaming. Putting loads of expensive stuff on display is very tempting. Again the evidence you posted shows that burglars look at risk/reward. What do most people have of value in their house that could be easily stolen nowadays. TVs have collapsed in value. Maybe laptops. Jewellery, watches, cash etc are much higher value small items. If you show off these things it increases the chance of being targeted. Similarly if you have an expensive car, put it in the garage. Why would you break in to a house to steal a car when you don't know if it is even there. You car is likely worth multiple times anythignthat could be stolen from in the house. In smart many kinds of physical security cost next to nothing to massively reduce your chances of being broken into. Not flashing your wad of cash and wearing your Rolex everywhere would also help, but is probably not relevant to most people. After this cameras and alarms are more expensive with less incremental improvement, but the combination of multiple approaches will likely make you safer. To me an alarm is relatively cheap compared to the hassle and distress of being burgled.

If the insulation is contiguous, with no gaps between the boards, there should not be massive amounts of outside air circulating between the boards and the blockwork. For the rest of the wall, make sure the blockwork is built up with wall ties and retaining clips and mortar cleaned off as it progresses. I think that dry sand may cause issues should you need to drill through the wall in future. Also, if the gap is quite wide you would need lots.

@zoothorn If it were me I would just have it fitted and then use Nick's guarantee if needed.

Exactly, and wot I dun (with knowledge of my building inspector). Note, I used rockwall full fill batts. Perhaps the regs are intended for vented cavity.

There is a few things which occur during the glass making process and some that occur later. Such as thermal stress fractures, which are not covered under warranty. Others such as roller wave is caused by the heat treatment process of the glass and it basically sags as it goes over the rollers. You need to talk to the supplier. If following the guidelines it needs to be checked that it is within guidelines. If it is, then it's not covered as a defect nor can it be claimed as a warranty defect. However, that is terrible. Probably one of the worst that I have seen. If the supplier is a decent supplier, they would be raising a complaint with the glass supplier and organising replacements. I would personally have rejected this immediately and delayed the delivery as a result. Sometimes you only see this after delivery and I would immediately raise a complaint and to be honest, I would have organised replacement immediately even if it was at our expense. Have a look at section 4.4 of the attached. GGF Standard Data Sheet 4.4.pdf

Since I posted this I got in touch with a CDM advisor. Site visit, a chat and set me straight on my legal obligations. It's a little complicated and grey, as under CDM regs I'm considered designer/ contractor, but under employment and workplace law, I'm not considered an employer. But best to cover all bases. I've a few kew bits of paperwork and procedures to have in place, and a load of posters. Hardest part is getting guys to wear their feckin hard hats!!! Her view is that HSE primarily want to help you run a safe site, and their first approach is to advise and improve.

Ended up painting the spindles white as with an oak for we thought it was just too much oak so needed to break it up. The dog sits there and watches the front door ready to attack and lick visitors to death.

I used ballykelly joinery in banbridge for mine. They where pretty good to deal with. Of hand I think for my stairs, open treads spindles Bannister in oak with the cut string in softwood painted white, and 14 softwood door frames was approx £2000. That was 3 years ago though but they where much cheaper than anyone else I got a price from. http://www.ballykellygroup.co.uk Will take a pic when I get home.

Does it have to be in NI? We used a company in Wales who CNC machine oak (and other timbers) into staircases and the price was very good. Our oak staircase, with 10mm glass balustrade and oak hand rails and newel posts was a bit over £2k, including the landing. The firm were Pear Stairs: https://www.pearstairs.co.uk/ The stair case was delivered by a courier, very well packaged with loads of foam etc. The glass was sent separately, after the stairs were in place, as they needed confirmation of the fitted dimensions. This is what it looks like:

They were my first option but by god did they not torment me with phone calls trying to push the sale through. Nearly a call every 2-3 days at all hours of the day. After that it was a polite no. Sun renewables done mine and a few others here but I don't know about the in roof type.

Recently found a leak in the plumbing under the sink and looking for patch up advice. This was fixed (new pipes) about 9 months ago but has sprung another leak. Video attached, any thoughts how to patch up? I am a total layman and think the plumbing under there is a total shambles so please don’t hold back if you feel the same! IMG_8730.MOV

(Expletive deleted) agree.

That's my technique. Take a Green Party person along, and buy the one that causes the loudest shriek

Call it a Finnish Shed. The idea is to then sand, prime and paint after the burning.

Craig.. thanks for your post.. every day is a school day re first floor windows. Being Scottish based most of the burglers are too incapacitated to reach the first floor! it's the Buckfast effect. For all Uk wide just make sure you have covered the regs regarding fire escape, it's easy to get caught out here in the excitement of you new home.

Bet you saw a few fun guys in them though! ?

If this blue mould lives off the free sugars in the timber, maybe a blast over with a blow torch, which will combust the sugars, will permanently sort the problem. See what I did there, I got burning back into the processes.