Leaderboard

Both of you need to breath. A friend of mine has the saying 'What's this really about?' Apologise. Understand each other's POV. Get an automatic, bags of salt, some time, and book yourselves in with Relate. The housebuilding has driven you both bonkers and you are frustrated that you have spent so much time and money and it's still not perfect... Sometimes we try to control one thing because something else is out of control. You will probably still have to redo the drive, but try to live with it for a while to both figure out what would be best collaboratively, or she may still not like the result...

Hi. The gaps under the threshold are unacceptable and zero requirement for disabled access compliance. Complete and total bollocks, I’m afraid. Negligence in setting the entire door / frame unit in, to be sympathetic to your chosen floor covering is just poor practice, and again, shouldn’t be tolerated. Damp / water ingress from outdoors to inside is a fundamental installation error and that should have been mitigated BEFORE the unit was installed, and cannot practically be done retrospectively afaic. The unit needs to be removed and reinstalled, with those measures considered and executed correctly. This is utter nonsense, and simply fails to accept the problems which 100% defo exist here. The unit needs to come out, there is no other way. That will allow for the threshold height to be set to the internal finished floor level ( ffl ) according to what you prescribe that to be. Tell this muppet “no sale”.

Just visiting my brother and thought I would show @zoot some photos of the posts/rail etc. ( still not finished the post tops yet).

I agree with all the above points, people like this give builders a bad name, totally unacceptable

Total BS. 1) The Building Regulations (Part M) normally only require the front door to be "level access" and even then you are allowed a 12mm high step/weather bar above the finished floor level (eg above any wood flooring or carpet). 2) There is no excuse for a loose frame. 3) The water is coming in because its not fitted correctly. Worse they propose sealing it with tape on the inside ! Totally wrong. The water seal should be on the outside but that might mean taking the door out and fitting it correctly. As others have said the door needs to come out and be correctly fitted. The door might need to be remade.... It's quite possible they measured or built the opening incorrectly so when it came to fitting the door frame it was too tall. It's too difficult to raise the lintel above the door so they probably removed or cut bricks at the bottom and installed the door lower than it should be. The correct thing to do was get the door remade.

This lockdown seems to have produced a lot of gardeners, people who have never grown anything before are all trying their hands at growing their own produce and I’m wondering how many of you have done similar? Our “garden “ was just flattened out after the build and left to be revisited when time allowed ,however because we were due a new grandchild in the midst of all this and because we would have to look after our granddaughter when the time came we found ourselves having to self isolate for a fortnight so stocked up with everything we would need in that time and that included a poly tunnel and loads of seed , compost etc. All in all it’s been quite successful and we are now harvesting the first of our produce. We are plagued with rabbits here so we built raised beds and erected small fences around them and now have a good crop of turnip, cabbage, broccoli, lettuce, beetroot to name but a few, unfortunately we got so involved in this that other things (like the garage) have taken a back seat! It has however moved us on garden wise to now make flower borders etc and it’s amazing how when you start one area it all evolves, hopefully by the autumn we will have made a good impression on what was previously a building site so not wasted time and the lettuce are far superior to anything shop bought!

It'll need to be accompanied by a spatula. Tricky not to scrape the frames.

Congratulations and welcome. Well done for sharing with the crowd. I wish I had. So much knowledge here. I'll keep it brief. Good. 1.Layout. 2. Form factor. 3. Simple shape( Only one sticky out bit and one sticky in bit ) 4. Elegant overall proportions. For further consideration. 1. OVERHEATING!!! Large SW Windows with no shading will bake you not to mention the skylights in the living room. 2. Stone facade. A bit disengenious looking, not to mention far more expensive compared to other cladding on a TF. 3. Window jumble sale. To paraphrase Goldilocks, they're either -too small ( lots of thermal bridges and no light) -too tall(poor views) -too large (overheating and heat loss) -too wide ( structurally expensive if done well thermally) 4. Flat roof on sticky out bit would be better off pitched and ditch the parapet. It's a recipie for long term trouble. I really like TF but you need to be doubly defensive about weathering. Good luck!

That's an interesting solution. We have access to both of those resources. My only problem would be that the following year might be a difficult one? We are getting on in years and really don't want a lot of work. We are thinking of a wildflower garden which would mean the opposite to your solution. We would need poor soil which would mean disposing of our heap of topsoil. Seems such a waste I suppose we could try a half and half solution by making one half wild flower meadow and the other a more productive area. Our garden wraps around the bungalow.

Since I found out how well vegetable oil lifts paint off your hands (I know... proper painters keep it on the brush), I'd be tempted to give that a try. Cheap, easily available, and fairly innocuous. As above, test where it won't be noticeable 😉

Try Multisolve and follow the instructions. WD40 even used sparingly.

I K rendered our five years ago we are surrounded by trees Still looks like new Quik squirt with Algiside and the rain does the rest Beings it up like new

If your property is suitable and if the alternative is electric (resistance) heating, then ASHP may very well be a good choice. Properly set up it should use about a third to a quarter the electricity that electric resistance heating will use. However there is a substantial upfront cost, different behaviours to get used to and a poorly set up one will be expensive. If mains gas is possible then that will probably be your cheapest install, and likely about the same cost to run (with current prices) as a well set up ASHP, albeit that many (including myself) feel that that is bound to change in favour of ASHP in time. I don't know the prices of off-grid gas or oil so cant compare. Iyf you haven't got many rooms it might just be worth considering the solution often adopted in commercial properties namely 'air to air' ASHP. Basically you have a wall mounted fan unit in each room (or (instead of radiators) connected to an external unit. These are easier to set up, cheaper to install and by and large they just work. However fans make a noise and you might not find that tolerable, particularly in a bedroom. Its not a common configuration for a domestic situation, but probably shouldn't be ruled out. It really does depend on what you have, what sources of fuel you can get, and whether you can stomach/afford a large upfront cost. As others say, don't get sucked in by sales talk. Having said that, if someone else is funding it, they will have some set criteria and types of install and your concern is just to minimise the running costs (which presumably they aren't funding). Post some stuff here (including more information about the house/fuel availability) and I am sure you will get useful comments.

Sorry, not a professional by any stretch of the imagination; more of an enthusiastic amateur 🙂 Crack-stitching involves cleaning out a horizontal mortar joint, maybe 50cm either side of the crack, and then embedding a helical steel rod deep in the joint with a resin compound. You can buy kits and diy it, but you really need a professional opinion as to whether it's an appropriate solution for your situation.

You rake out mortar across a crack, insert a small length of reinforcing (mesh, rod, brick-tie) and then repoint the mortar. Leave to cure and then do the next joint. (You can do a few joints at once but not adjacent or the crack can open more while mortar is going off) .. unless you bend rod into a elongated U shape and hook over the ends of bricks into vertical joints.

Check out the custom lagging t-pieces in this article: https://www.neighbourhoodconstruction.org/2017/07/03/1972/

You can use a Combi in a small, medium or large house. You can get very good flow out of a combi if it big enough and you choose the right one. Performance varies quite a lot.

I've been interested in PV for a while but put off by the variance of estimated savings making it difficult to determine how useful it would be to my specific house. PVGIS is a fantastic tool, but how much of that generation could I actually use? "Around 50%" wasn't specific enough for me but fortunately, my smart meter was recently updated to connect to DCC, so it was time to go down that rabbit hole, results shared here to prompt debate and so others can point out errors and maybe explore a similar study on their own property. Firstly, hourly data for the proposed install location was downloaded from PVGIS and averaged over the 2005-2020 period available: https://re.jrc.ec.europa.eu/pvg_tools/en/. This average was then dumped into an InfluxDB database Next, half-hourly consumption data from my smart meter is available via a DCC connected company, with 13 months of data available. There are a number available, I chose Bright as they have API support: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=uk.co.hildebrand.brightionic. This data was pulled down with a python library into the InfluxDB database: https://github.com/cybermaggedon/pyglowmarkt. Note I had to pull 10000 minutes at a time as there seems to be a limit on request size. Now I have all the data, there's a few options on what to do with it. Firstly, Grafana was used to support detailed interrogation of the data as well as an in-built method for summing timeseries data. Below pictures are for a 3kW system mounted vertically on a ~SSE facing house wall: Annual utilised PV is just the min of usage/generation for each hour in the time series. The result is... disappointing, suggesting if I'd had this system installed over the last year I'd only have used 40% of the generated power. As with most houses, the culprit is significant evening usage - computers, TVs, dishwasher etc. I can shift some of the usage to mid day, but not enough to make a significant enough impact. Inspecting a random day (6th September) confirms an increase in PV size would not solve the problem either: Area on this graph is kWh so it's easy to see a lot of wasted generation mid day (between the blue and orange lines) followed by significant grid usage in the evening (between the green and blue lines). Note that electicity consumption is quite low as my heating and hot water is from mains gas. Ideally this excess could be dumped into a hot water tank but we have a combi boiler and I'm struggling to make the sums add up once you factor in even more initial investment for a tank etc. Therefore I'm ignoring offsetting gas consumption and purely looking at the significantly more expensive unit rate electricity consumption. That aim then brings us to battery storage. I couldn't find a way to simulate state in Grafana so used the InfluxDB Python bindings to set up a basic charge/discharge simulation across the year. It does not factor in battery efficiency due to me being lazy which will slightly skew figures. This simulation takes three parameters: PV system power in kW, battery capacity in kWh and the unit electricity rate to calculate savings. Hard to predict for a long term investment so I just used the current 27.09p/kWh rate. It's then possible to experiment with proposed systems: $ ./battery_sim 0 0 0.2709 0.00kWh utilised and 0.00kWh stored out of 0.00kWh generated. Total 0.00kWh (0%). From grid: 2280.95kWh. Annual Saving £0.00 $ ./battery_sim 2 0 0.2709 750.32kWh utilised and 0.00kWh stored out of 1424.67kWh generated. Total 750.32kWh (53%). From grid: 1530.63kWh. Annual Saving £203.26 $ ./battery_sim 3 0 0.2709 863.03kWh utilised and 0.00kWh stored out of 2137.00kWh generated. Total 863.03kWh (40%). From grid: 1417.92kWh. Annual Saving £233.79 $ ./battery_sim 3 5 0.2709 863.03kWh utilised and 998.04kWh stored out of 2137.00kWh generated. Total 1861.07kWh (87%). From grid: 419.89kWh. Annual Saving £504.16 $ ./battery_sim 4 5 0.2709 930.05kWh utilised and 1102.64kWh stored out of 2849.34kWh generated. Total 2032.69kWh (71%). From grid: 248.26kWh. Annual Saving £550.66 $ ./battery_sim 4 9.5 0.2709 930.05kWh utilised and 1151.73kWh stored out of 2849.34kWh generated. Total 2081.78kWh (73%). From grid: 199.17kWh. Annual Saving £563.96 $ ./battery_sim 5 9.5 0.2709 970.84kWh utilised and 1211.10kWh stored out of 3561.67kWh generated. Total 2181.94kWh (61%). From grid: 99.01kWh. Annual Saving £591.09 $ ./battery_sim 5 13.5 0.2709 970.84kWh utilised and 1221.01kWh stored out of 3561.67kWh generated. Total 2191.85kWh (62%). From grid: 89.10kWh. Annual Saving £593.77 $ ./battery_sim 7 13.5 0.2709 1018.43kWh utilised and 1268.62kWh stored out of 4986.34kWh generated. Total 2287.04kWh (46%). From grid: 0.00kWh. Annual Saving £619.56 Quite easy to spot the return on investment of the PV and battery capacity is tightly coupled, no point having loads of generation you can't store or massive storage with no excess generation. This is where I've stopped for now, it'd be trivial to go one step further and optimise the system for most cost-effective setup but that would need a cost function for £/kW solar and £/kWh storage (installed) that I haven't bothered to put together yet. Note that the upgrade to a Tesla Powerwall (13.5kWh) is very cost-ineffective, but could technically provide 100% of my usage with a 7kW solar array. The 5kWh battery with 3kW PV seems a sweet spot for me and uses 87% of the generated power but I'm unsure on the costs of such a system yet. To go ahead I'd prefer a maximum 10 year ROI which sets pretty tight budgets, ~£2k for a 2kW system with no battery or ~£5k for a 3kW PV 5kWh battery system. This obviously rules out MCS, but has anyone got close to this with self installation and connection by an electrician? Comments and questions welcome, does this line up with actual performance people have seen from their installs?

Pumped will (should) not flow under a vertical shutter unless over poked to make it flow. When pouring a big slab with perimeter walls you do the perimeter of the slab first poking to flow under the shutter, then the middle to allow a few minutes settling and then pour the walls being careful not to over poke causing the slab to move. so do your low level pours first then go back and pour the higher sections allowing the mix to flow up to the shutter.

I heard that @pocster is well well hung.

If the concrete flows under the shutter then it if far too wet. Our steps were small so the shuttering was very simple.

Just plant fruit trees. Preferably fruit you like. Then put an A2AHP in it. Move your inflatable spa, a sunbed (I can deliver that) and a massage table (can deliver that as well). Then charge the locals to enjoy the facilities. Put in a couple of webcams and @pocster will be entertained for hours.

This will tell you your mean flow temp. Mean flow temp half your delta T between flow and return taken away from the flow temp. House total loss divided by UFH area. To get W/m2. Get your pipe spacing a draw a line, as illustrated.

You'll have massive overshoot of internal temperatures at 45C flow temp. We are in an ICF build, and flow temps generally run between 30 and 35C. We also have a Mitsubishi Ecodan 8.5 kW with FTC5 controller, set at 21C target temp through winter. Personally, I'd use the auto function and target temperature on the controller and let it sort itself out.

Running a heat pump in the night will minimise its efficiency of operation because it is colder at night than during the day. But if you have an Economy 7 tariff or similar it would be worthwhile. In winter I leave my hot water heating on from 06:30 to 22:30 with the temperature set to 50 C; this is to ensure I have hot water whenever it is needed. In summer I heat the cylinder via my solar panels on sunny days.

Yes another Ecodan 8.5kW system here!

Or an automatic, most modern cars have auto handbrakes nowadays, perhaps SHE could buy herself a new car.

You don't want to upset SWMBO too often, slippery slope that.

So her fault as much as yours (but your not complaining?) So do you, are you complaining? as she is the one with the problem perhaps you could ask what SHE is going to do about it? (I firmly believe in equality and that covers EVERYTHING)

From another source….. Carbon blacks protect the polymer from UV degradation, act as a black pigment and improve the conductivity of the plastic. Carbon blacks also increase the performance of the plastic by enhancing the abrasion resistance, modulus, tear and tensile strength.

The door manufacturer will have a specification for building in a level threshold design, ask them for it then ask builder/fitter if its been complied with. There are not many who make them. We have used successfully in the past a standard full cill, where the cill provides the both the drainage channel for the frame and the weatherproofing, this is then slabbed over tight top the frame. You must make sure though that the cill can drain under this either by bedding on pea gravel if your ground doesn't pool or a linear under it tight to house and then drain to the soakaway (better). Lastly as you are breaching the DPC i would recommend the builder fits a cavity tray along the full elevation of that wall 1 block higher on the inside to comply with building regs about ground level being below DPC by a min 75mm etc All of this cant be done as an afterthought and needs to be planned from the get go which many on a price builders wont care/do as it requires time and effort. Architects even more clueless if your unlucky enough to be paying one to 'manage' it.

PS: If this door does need to be wheelchair friendly for some reason.... I believe they have used the wrong type of door and sill. It looks like they have just fitted a standard non-wheelchair type too low in the hope that will do. A clue is the thin upstand nearest to you in this photo. I don't think its strong enough for a wheel chair to drive over regularly..

says the person self building a dungeon with house above. strewth.

these?

MF all the way. It'll be done in a fraction of the time and ceiling will be dead flat.

Black IBC's are used for shipping light-sensitive products. I don't think it extends the life of the IBC itself tbh.

“Carbon black is a strong, effective, and very common blocker for outdoor applications, blocking against UV rays ” from https://www.fastradius.com/resources/top-uv-resistant-plastics/

Surely black will absorb more of the spectrum than a single, non black, colour. There are additives to make plastics more UV resistant.

I am a convert to 'no dig'. I would spread masses of manure asap and let the worms do the work. This will be esp important if droughts become the norm. Also catch all rainwater, even diverting it over the garden if that works for you. Plant nothing that is expensive. The nursery has had a difficult time growing it, and it will surely die. Gardening is a hobby. Why pay someone else to have the fun?

I only have a tiny patch of earth to work with, so have most things in pots. Last year I decided to get rid of a lot of the pots, so just tipped them out onto the ground, levelled it off, and decided to see what would happen. I also had some bamboo that I dug up and put in pots, then neglected, for 6 years. This spring I made a planter out the front, moved the small grass that was growing and put the bamboo next to it. All taken very well. Including the wind blown/bird pooped echiums.

Mine grows rather more than I might otherwise like, and I have spent some ttime (bah - keyboard is bouncing) this spring trying to recover parts of the garden I inherited from mum. I think my top tips would be to plan your shed somewhere it will be well-hidden, half an hour every day (I fail miserably) in the cool time, and make sure that you have at least some budh or hedge you allow tto grow a bitt ttaller for roosting small birds - which means 2.5m nott 1.8m. Ferdinand

View of a bit of wall in our ventilated (cold) loft: View of inside hallway on the other side of that same blockwork: Been here over 20 years and not grokked that we have an uninsulated wall inside the house. Two actually because there's an identical setup on the other side. A separate loft space is to the right of this link bridge. In fact, that one's worse as it's just one width of dense concrete block whereas at least the main house to the left has lightweight blocks laid flat. No wonder the hallway gets cold in the winter!

On the hill start/stop. Buy an EV they are great for starting and stopping on hills. If you got a Model X the doors won’t swing back. £100k and problem solved. Cheaper than divorce too.

If its not a fire escape window make it non-opening (remove handles). Get signed off, re-attach handles.

Option 4. Move.

No guys ! . Have you not learnt ! . It requires skill and time . Me not do . Me want easy option . Me want less work not more .

I am parked up at Penzance prom. There are no birds here at all, not one. Even the local swans have gone. Seems bird flu has killed them all.