Leaderboard

Probably work the priming and waxing But one day will be full I’d make sure he’s not learning on your house It’s not something you can just pick up

@puntloos"Can you rephrase that last sentence?" Hi puntloos... of course! On reflection I should have chosen a different form of wording, but enthusiasm took over! BH has a great range of members, from folk that are just starting out to serial self builders, professional Contractors, Architects, SE's and other real specialists that really know their subject inside and out. One common trait many have on BH (whether just starting out on you first DIY project or not) is that we spend a lot of time just thinking. I had a recent discussion with a highly experienced Architect (40+ years experience) where we mulled over how much time you "charge for" and how much "brain time" time you really spend on a project. Some folk on BH will for example be sitting having say lunch, a Greggs bakers experience, putting the bins out.. just day to day stuff and presto.. into your head crops up an idea about your build / DIY project, how you solve a problem. This applies to almost everyone including those who make a living from design and construction. This thinking time often does not appear on any invoice / balance / spread sheet. Things can become counter productive when there is a lack of clarity, understanding between the design team and / or the contractor. Most commonly this is precipitated by a lack of effective communication. If you are say a novice self builder then you learn as you go. At some point you may become frustrated that things are not to your absolute satisfaction as you have been learning plenty..and this can start to eat away at you.. thus counter productive or words to that effect?

Think I would reply asking him to refer it to the Planning Committee. Repeat the sentiment expressed in the above paragraph in the letter and point out that the Parish and neighbours are happy and tell him it would be your intention to appeal if the application is refused. It wouldn't be unreasonable to copy the Chair of the Planning Committee and/or your Councillor with the letter and perhaps include your best rendering to remind him of the proposal.

Tell them you have gone for oil. get the £3k connection and fit the inverter ASHP.

Ours has dIsagreed with the flood expert Could understand how land could show as Zone 2 on the Environment website and to have change to zone 1 Our expert simply said if that’s her attitude There’s no point trying to educate her Bypass her Sorry for drifting off topic But it all amounts to the same thing In Most walks of life You have to justify your actions Planners don’t seem to think they have to On our first build Someone on here told me Planners are playing with peoples lives Ps Design looks absolutely fabulous

Thankfully the Planning Inspector has not made the Dwelling-house lawful, he's only quashed the incorrect enforcement notice against the caravan, so no precedent set. It's for the LPA for restart enforcement against the Dwelling-house. If you are not already, keep on at the LPA to take action. The squeaky wheel gets the oil. Have they given their reasoning for why they believe it is no longer enforceable, in writing. Has it brought up a consideration that we have over-looked within this thread? If their argument is incorrect and can be challenged, then that's a good basis for a formal complaint if they don't then take action once it is pointed out to them. On the subject of the over-flowing cesspit, I'm surprised the EA didn't respond. In a similar, but lesser polluting local example, we had the EA Officer out the following week, when the local Pub's Treatment Plant started spewing untreated sewage into the adjacent ditch (undersized treatment plant and new Owner refusing to have it emptied like the old owner did). Your situation is more clear-cut, and installation that does not meet the Binding Rules and I assume the operator does not have a permit from the EA. Should be an open and shut case for the EA.

Seems to me in some cases that people don't like change regardless of there being some merit in the application, therefore they'll refuse/object in the hope it will put the applicant's off the process - and I've seen this happen too. Perseverance is key as it sounds like you have a case. Good luck

I was refused for the same reasons, yes go fir committee next (tho that failed with us) I think you need to get a local councillor to call it to committee . If that fails then go to appeal like I did (and won?), like you we had a big site (1 acre) , frankly going to appeal was easier than applying for planning. I did my own and the appeal officer said the local planners were not abiding by their own policies!!,,,, don’t give up.

If a neighbor has built bigger than your development and with similar materials, surely this sets a precedent for approval at appeal stage?

I found on the vaulted ceilings the PB lifter was less useful than a flat ceiling. Ours was similar height, just over 4M to ridge, 45 degree pitch. What I did was screw some temporary bits of wood at the bottom to slot the bottom end of a board in, then you just have to hold the top end of the board while you get a few screws in. Then more temporary bits of timber to make the next slot for the bottom of the next board etc. Then did the same for the plasterboard. Easy job for 2 working from scaffold (Kwikstage in our case)

Another vote for a DIY blower door. I made mine out of a substantial sheet of cardboard, lots of tape and an old office desk fan as the blower. You won't get a reading of air tightness but you will be able to go around and find any leaks and deal with them. Set it up so the blower extracts air so any leaks will be blowing in and be easy to find.

RHI payments are simply based on the EPC annual demand and the ASHP approved SCOP for the quoted design flow temperature (each product has a table). Aim for the lowest possible design flow temperature. Also bear in mind that in use, the number of daily compressor run hours will also affect the flow temperatures needed. If you only heat the house for 3 hours in the evening due to work patterns etc, go really big on radiator sizing. If you have it running all day or 24x7, the radiators can be much smaller relatively. Especially with the cost of electricity now and it’s likely to rise significantly further, my advice FWIW would be to design for the lowest practical temperatures as it will reduce your running costs and increase your RHI payments at the same time. So just replace the radiators.

Yes if you tape the OSB in place correctly. 18mm OSB is generally considered airtight however I reckon 11mm is too if it is a well made board. Don't bother getting a professional to do a trial. Rather buy something the car fan below. Bigger is better. Then screw and tape it into one of your sheets of OSB. Get some crocodile clips and wire and attach to your car battery. They develop a howling gale compared to a proper blowerdoor. It makes it easy to find leaks and you can do so without time pressure. You should be able to just reverse the polarity to change fan direction if needed. Listen for the biggest leaks. Lick the back of your hand and feel for the smaller ones. Use a lighted candle and ram it into a length of conduit or tape it to a broom for a hyper sensitive leak finder.

Hmm...on the test flint the Sticks Like Sh!t seemed to have fully dried after 24hrs. The (white) Ever Build Multi Stick was still a bit sticky underneath. On balance I'd say the Sticks Like Sh!t was adhered better. Still managed to pull it off. Try again! Second panel flints in their sand box for reference. I figured the flints being spotlessly clean might help. To think SWMBO moans I never load the dishwasher! You know that calm before the storm feeling...

I’ve been doing Lime plasters for around 30 years now I normally charge around £80 m2 supply and fit Ive just been to apply the hardener to a Clayworks we started before Christmas £80 a bag

You could make a couple of custom OSB/MDF boxes wit a larger inner volume to compensate for the bends. Also MVHR fittings can oft be very expensive for no good reason.

Firstly, where is the noise coming from? Air borne, such as voices and radios? The fluffy stuff is best for reducing that. Impact? Footsteps on the floor, doors shutting, This is mostly resounding through hard surfaces and resonating when it reaches you. Does next door's tv hang on the party wall? Draw some sketches, cross sections through your walls, floors & ceilings, and try to work out the likeliest routes for the sounds. The likeliest solution will be to build new stud walls that don't touch the existing wall. This then receives density (plasterboard, perhaps even 2 thicknesses) and an absorbent filling of mineral wool. Any mineral wool will do but the 'acoustic' is obviously better. That will reduce noise directly through the wall because the new wall will not resonate from noise next-door. You might want to strip the plaster first to limit the loss of floor space. You might even find then that there are gaps in the block wall and could fill them. Once you have done the sketches you may establish whether noise is likely to be coming from their floor to yours. Can't suggest much at this stage. It would be good if your first floor joist was close to but not touching the party wall, so have a look at the nail line on the boards. If there is a gap you can fill that with mineral wool .too. Carpets and underlay are a very simple sound deadener. There is a limit though, as your cross-walls are joined to the party wall, and will provide some transfer.

Tell them in view of their response, you're thinking of selling the plot for an executive ghetto - bet they'll whoop with joy as it will make their numbers easier to achieve. More seriously, don't let them get you down, make sure of all your facts, try to get the local councillor on board etc. and appeal if nothing else works. Plenty on here have and have won - we did in the Green Belt... Simon PS Also talk to the neighbours and find out how much their back hander was, or who they know in the planning department.....

No idea but I know a very good plasterer in Bristol that does it, I could get you a ball park figure if you let me know how much is to be done !

My planner even told me I would probably win if I went to appeal, go figure ?

Yes, in my experience tossers with a limited vocabulary of - massing, bulk, form, scale, incongruous and discordant used for refusing applications.

My installer got Samsung UK to talk to the DNO. They had mistook the 16kW ASHP as the power demand instead of power output. Actual draw was peak 3.8kW - about the same as an electric hob and not much more than a kettle (max 3kW). Also other comments about the inverter and direct start were also clarified, although I believe it mainly came down to an ignorant DNO employee. The specification of the proposed ASHP should be easy enough to get online and that will give the power input / power demand.

It is doable. I have had to get sound tests for specific buildings such as schools* and nursing homes (pass but worrying: how do you resolve it on a finished building). And once to find a solution to some noise transfer that just wasn't acceptable (flanking noise through a common concrete floor....cut a joint). The fundamental lesson was to not trust the lab reports because they are in ideal conditions, but to examine where noise might leak through, and to use the next level up of construction. ie don't use a 40dB wall for 40dB reduction, but use 60dB and that should work as 40 (rough figures) *woodwork class next to maths needs a very good wall and is best avoided, but is possible.

I suspect that if you set yourself some theoretical goal of xyz dB you'll likely be disappointed. If you stand in room A in absolute quiet, then turn up the bass in room B, you will be disappointed. But "from day to day" I think it will be fine, even if you only do a "decent level of basics".

Yes, the combination of the deep filled cavity, triple glazing and airtightness has that effect on outside noise, ours is similar. Greg made extra provision for internal soundproofing between rooms with rubber matting, resilient bars, sound block board etc but it seemed to make little difference.

Letter on I subscribe to @IanR's notion that the HoP was badly advised. So I need to be persistent: And (winces) I think all self builders have that characteristic in spades Yes @ProDave you are right, that issue has been ducked too: it was permssion to stay for him (the owner) pending the outcome of the Planning Application. So he moves his partenr in and then, after 3 years of failing to get anywhere, claims a housing need so when the LPA kick him out then they will need to house him. One of the heavies (shoulders like a barn door, neck like tree stump) growled in my ear when the last lot of enforcement fireworks went off ... he had parked his car in our drive - I opened my mouth to tell him to feck off'a my drive, only to hear myself ask if I could possibly get him a Digestive biscuit and a cup of Earl Grey tea. ".... See it all 't time mert: we kick em off only to see em claim 'ousin' : they fookin' looves 't outskirts o' Blackpool, looves it" My son's girl friend is a CSI - she goes to more murders there than anywhere else. We'll see about ducking @saveasteading, we'll see about that. ?

When Estimating was my job, I used 3 year old Spons as about right and only for elements I didn't know enough about. ie if there was an element worth 2% of the project I couldn't get a quote for, then a 20% overprice on 2% was not critical, and better than a guess. On one project, because it wasn't fully designed, we were asked to quote using Spons +/- a percentage. I think we went in on -15% and made a good margin still. Yes, I think many QSs use this, and it normally creates a falsely high price, but perhaps not in times of shortage. Use it as a starting point perhaps. I don't quite agree. I think it is great for research of optional materials and cost levels. However a good relationship with a local merchant is preferable. They will usually match what can be found elsewhere, as long as you know the target price. Even if a little high they will probably include prompt delivery and offloading. They will also respect you as a valued customer, so you can get deliveries when there are shortages, and quick deliveries when you are caught short. Also use Wickes as a price tool. If the merchant won't beat Wickes with their first quote then they are not playing fair and you ditch them. I detest "tell us your best price and we will match it". That is cheating and is their policy, so best use someone else. Where this does not apply is with large quantities of special products. eg timber direct from a mill/importer or insulation by the lorry load.

@harry_angel In 2019 I was in a situation where due to bank pulling their remortgage offer on a BTL property, a purchase from Auction was at risk after having paid a deposit. The only thing that helped in that very stressful situation were friends and family as I was 70k short while remortgaging a different property took few months. So I do value the importance of reliable real friends and family.

There was an article in The Guardian last week about the lack of enforcement on fly-tipping and waste sites. The bottom line was that EA are vastly under-resourced and officers have written orders to try to ignore the biggest problems, and that the local officers (planning and EA) are sometimes very scared to act due to the circumstances. I wonder if the planners are ducking this for similar reasons.

I would go with condensation forming on the stack, then running down

Condensation from the stack?

Why do you not just go to a broker and seek to re mortgage with a new lender for the existing mortgage amount plus what you wish to release?

Can you go for an equity release project "for my retirement", then back out of it in a few years?

Well to keep things simple. From the outside it looks like a caravan. it does not look like a dwellinghouse. Therefore if there is a dwellinghouse hidden inside there, it must have been concealed as you do not see the dwellinhouse from the outside. Another tack then. What is the time limit for building control enforcing action against a structure that has been built that does not meet building regs? It is certain that this dwellinghouse would net comply with building regs for a number of reasons, so I would be making sure they were aware of this construction and perhaps they might enforce it's demolition? Local press might be fun. If only to name and shame the council into doing something. I don't see the motive argument. The guy that built his house behind a stack of hay bales could have claimed they just happened to be there and it was not his intention to hide the house. The firepalce and fire hazard argument does not stack up for me either. If you just wanted warmth, it is perfectly possible to install a wood burning stive inside a caravan and it remains as a caravan, still on wheels and still moveable. This is just someone trying to be clever and game the system. I hope he is happy living in his tiny sub standard dwellinghouse. It can't be much wider than about 8ft inside now it is blocked up.

It looks obvious to me that those walls are to hide what they we’re doing!. There was another thread here about someone being denied permission to built such walls, do they need permission?. Perhaps the environment agency would be interested in that open cess pit, when my sister had a broken foul drain near her property that the council etc refused to get involved with the environment agency got involved and enforced the council/water co to fix it. edit, proDave beat me to it ?

A self builder needs to think positive. Look at what you have achieved, rather than concentrating on what is still to do. Once you get part of it habitable and move in, that will boost your confidence and be a high point of the build.

yes, should work fine. the OSB should be a bit lighter than PB I'd think?

The cheaper ones will use EPS, more expensive ones use XPS, XPS performs slightly better, and i do mean slightly.

Yours sounds very similar to my wife and myself It’s well worth in the end Three years after finishing We are about to do it all again Good luck

You’re wet plastering,aren’t you? It’s my understanding (though I may be wrong) that a parge coat is used to assist air tightness when dot & dabbing.

Or in other words, complicated Engineering stuff. Much more encouraging to see this than the standard computer outputs where you put in some numbers and an answer comes out. What is behind your concern?

EW is ΣW (Sigma W) which is the sum of the all the factored load (W is the loads from the ULS column) on the beam. Thus ΣW = sum of total ULS load =0.46 + 0.45 = 0.91 kN/m (kilo Newtons per metre run) * 4.0m (beam length) = 3.64 kN (kilo Newtons) = the factored design load applied to each beam. Zyy Req... Z is called the section modulus and the yy indicates about which axis of the beam the value of Z applies to. The British Standards and Eurocodes use a different axis of notation. Your SE is using the Eurocode here. The letters "req" are short for required. The SE is working out what value of Z (a geometric property) the beam needs to have as a minimum to carry the load. To calculate the Zyy required we use the formula Z req = maximum bending moment / maximum design stress allowed in the timber. The bending moment is shown as m = 1.8 kNm and the design stress is 14.8 N/mm^ (Newtons per mm squared). We need to make the units compatible so to convert kNm (Kilo Newton metres) to Nmm (Newton millimtres) we multiply by 10^6 as below. Thus Zyy req = 1.8 * 10^6 / 14.8 = 121621 mm^3 = 121.6 x 10^3 mm^3 this is the minimum value of Zyy required to carry the load. Next the SE is checking to see if a 150 x 47 timber has a Zyy value greater than the required minimum. Zyy for the proposed timber is calculated by the formula b*d^2 / 6. Beam width = b = 47mm, Beam depth = d =150mm thus Zyy = 47 *150 *150/6 = 176250 mm^3 = ~ 176.3 x 10^3 mm^3 (millimetres cubed) > 121.6 x 10^3 required thus OK. The Iyy is called the second moment of area (units mm^4 ) and you'll probably see this on the next page when the SE checks the deflection.

Picking up some threads in the hope of helping: It sounds here as if you intend to use a single contactor, acting as main contractor. If they are a hands-on, owner 'on the tools' contractor, then they can't possibly know everything about everything, and their time is best spent making rather than buying. We all have different skills, so the great builder is unlikely to be a great researcher and buyer...that is a specialist skill and takes time. As above, they will tend to go to one supplier for everything as the service is good, the prices always reasonable, and they have an account there. You can shop around and get better prices for some major purchases. Insulation, timber, masonry. But then the builder has to handle it, and there can be arguments about wastage and damage. Whose responsibility if it is delayed/ delivered incorrectly? Who prepares the schedule of sizes, details and quantities? If he drops your toilet pan, who pays for a replacement? And who decides the specification? When you see the contractor's rates they are building in wastage and risk as well as a handling charge. (for example a very good and trusting client once asked why our internal doors were £300 when they cost £30 at Wickes. After explanation (as above) and ironmongery , frames etc all was well but it caused short term mistrust.) Therefore your consultants should specify everything. If it is a standard building they may have their lists already, hence mentioning the required glue isn't an over-requirement) (example again: only recently on this site did I learn of floor glue that expands to fill every gap and stop creaking: perhaps your builder knows and would use it, perhaps not). Also, if there is a standard list, all competing contractors are on the same terms. You can also welcome suggestions from them, but do respect their ideas and don't share them out....that really annoys them and they may walk away. Trust and respect are needed 3 ways here: client, consultant, contractor.

Any help https://www.infrastructure-ni.gov.uk/topics/rivers-and-flooding/flood-maps-ni

Hi Aine, Welcome to the forum - Newbie here too from Co. Antrim.

Ask who ever your architect is do they know anyone local. A quick Google for Northern Ireland brings up a lot of possibilities but can't say if any or all good or not.

Welcome. These days, for knowledge work, (probably a desk study in your case) location doesn't matter as much as it used to. Our architect (for example) works in Hereford, Manchester and Lancaster. When I ask him to do something for us, it really doesn't matter if he's based in Chile. It might be an idea for you to have a look at other publicly available online desk-based studies for your location. Have a look at a wide selection of the authors' work . That'll give you a simple metric of the quality of the surveyour's work. Then ask around - locally if you want - . Best of luck Ian

Hi Aine I’ve just finished doing the flood reports While he is local to us All was done as a desktop study See attachment

Time for an update here, as I've managed to sort out all the issues I was having with the Daikin Altherma 3. Shortly after installation I was getting a COP of 2.5 in a mild autumn. I managed to get this to 2.7 by being more careful with target temperature, etc but still way below the target scop of 3.7. The dining room radiator that was cold at the bottom was clogged with sludge. I took it off the wall, emptied and hosed it out. There was a lot of thick black water and it probably collected in that radiator because of its shape, being a column radiator, and is the last rad on the circuit. I think the installers should have done a powerflush, but at least now it's sorted. The installers said this about the Zilmet vessel, ""We have installed a Volumiser vessel which provides additional water volume to the central heating system, this is required when the system goes into de-frost." They offered to lag it, but I just went ahead and did that as I had some leftover from lagging the water tank. See pic below. Also I replaced heating circuit pipe lagging in the loft with all 25mm wall, instead of the standard 9mm they had fitted. 9mm pipe lagging makes a huge difference compared to bare pipes, but using this calculator https://kalk.pro/en/heating/pipeline-heat-loss-calculator/ I realised it would be worth upgrading to 25mm. It cost about £50 to buy but I reckon I'll reduce heat loss by 3kwh a day. If that's 1kwh consumption, that's about £6-7 a month saved, so it pays for itself pretty quickly. Still no idea why the DHW cylinder loses heat so quickly. That hasn't changed. I finally found the leak! After checking nearly all pipes, I noticed the copper below the lockshield valve in the bathroom was a bit stained. There was no feeling of damp, but I cleaned up the copper and tightened the lockshield, and finally the pressure stabilised. Luckily I didn't have to resort to Roger of SkillBuilder's YouTube suggestion - putting poundland purfume in the system and waiting a few days until one room "...smell's like a Tart's boudoir!" (that's a quote) After much badgering I finally got the installers to agree to move the condenser unit in mid December, so it's now 300mm from the back wall and 250mm from the side. However they did also say they've found Daikin send out the condensers pre-charged with refrigerant, but haven't been putting enough in. So he weighed the gas out at 1.35kg, but put back in 1.6kg. Both these things would have been contributing to low COP, so in a way I'm lucky they put it in the wrong place and had to empty out the unit anyway, because if the cop had been a little bit better I might not have persisted in getting it moved. After this fix the COP improved 25% overnight. One other important point was I miscalculated radiator capacity downstairs. I basically increased capacity x 1.5 throughout the house, but I'd forgotten that the open plan lounge/diner/kitchen was always a bit cold, which I used to overcome by turning the gas boiler up, and the upstairs radiators down. When I checked the heat loss calculations it was clear I needed more capacity, so changed one rad from a type 21 2.2kwh to a type 22 3.2kwh, and that's made it much easier to keep downstairs warm. With all these fixes the cop is probably now around 3.3ish. I'm now testing dropping the flow to 40c to see what's the lowest flow temp that will keep the downstairs warm. I'm also trying out a thing called a Speed Comfort, which is a bit noisy, but I think a good idea - it's basically 3 computer fans in a block with magnetic catches, and a thermostatic switch. You put it at the bottom of the radiator and it blows air up through the convectors to distribute heat into the room better. I've only got one on a 1800mm rad, (they say you need three) and it was £55, but I think it might prove to be worth the money because so far the room feels warmer and heats up more quickly, even at this lower flow temp. I'll reserve judgement for now, and we had a lot of very mild weather so I won't know how good the cop and consumption is until we've had some cold weather to compare. Before the fixes listed the system was using 16-17kwh daily average. In similar weather I reckon that's more like 10-11kwh now, so a huge improvement. Thanks again for all the advice given, and happy new year to you all.

As said, do get log burner(s) but don't connect them to the ASHP. Bear in mind that over a certain output (I think 7kW) they have to drill a massive hole in the house for air supply. So you might conclude that a smaller log burner without the 5" hole is better, depending obviously on the overall heat demand. As an aside, a log burner can also be a useful way to achieve a really warm lounge on a cold evening without having to play with the heat pump too much. i.e. let the ASHP keep the fabric broadly steady pretty much 24x7 and use the log burner when you fancy a toasty warm night in as well.