CC45

Spend hours walking and ice climbing in that area in my younger days - midges are more of a pain than the snow!

It is very good, tempted to order another box of 10 and then sell surplus. Going to order some Gerband split release tape for the windows and doors. Thats the next two weeks (evenings and weekends) sorted! C

Bought Sica sicrall off ebay - box of 10. Less than £200 delivered from Germany. Impressed with the tape. Got 1 roll left so need more now. Angling towards Gerband at the minute.

Hello, Been investigating further..... Does anyone have any comments / observations of the following: Tesco varna profil 12/48 Contega solido 12/68 Gerband 12/48 and 12/88. Tempted to use the Gerband. Thanks in advance for any replies. C

Hi @DRT, Will start on this shortly - where did you get hold of it? Cheers

CCA was banned some time ago (5yrs or perhaps 10) - I seem to recall that proper Creosote was banned at approx the same time. pre that the posts lasted 10yrs+. Wet and then dry is the issue. Im in the farming industry and there are lots of fences not lasting - you think they are loose in the ground when in fact they have rotted and its the wire thats holding the post up.

Pretty easy to slide tube on or wrap around post. Needs some heat then to shrink it. Better than replacing them in 5 years time.

Our frame has been up nearly 2 years - not too sure it will shrink any more but the fold is a good idea. Thanks.

Check out postsaver.com if you use wooden posts. CCA is now baned so posts rot in 4 or 5 years, these products are fantastic. Farmer friends use it - they dont spend money unless necessary.

Hi, We started off with what you've got. Dpm then 2 layers of insulation - 1st at 90deg to the beams. We used 75mm celotex - this 'crushes' slightly - joints taped. Next 150mm celotex at 90deg to the first layer - if they rock (celotex is far from 'flat' - this surprised me) then use some sand to bed them onto. Take your time and you will achieve a level floor that doesnt rock. The screed will take out any imperfections. We put another sheet down under the ufh pipe and don't skimp on the clips - you dont want them lifting while the screed is going down (screeders said this wasnt unheard of). Remember to grout the B&B (ours wasnt done very well so I redid it). Dont be tempted to turn the celotex upside down - the underside foil isnt bonded on very well. Hope that helps.

Hi Dave, Going to bring green vcl down to virtually the floor (timber frame errectors were a but careless in a few places and put holes in the tony tray material, I'm happy to use a bit more vcl to get peace of mind. Horizontal battens to minimise cold bridging, no other reason. Like you I'm doing the lot on our build so I'm willing to spend a bit more time on the boarding. Cant wait for that day to arrive to be honest, progress is slow when you're on your own and have a full time job as well. Cheers for replying.

Resurrecting this post due to wanting some advice on my VCL. The attached picture shows upstairs - celotex as insulation, green VCL & the 'Tony tray' from the room below. I'm taping all the joins when two strips of plastic overlap; horizontal battens to go on top yet - to give a services cavity. My query is this - should I also tape the 'Tony tray' to the insulation? I intend to tape the plastic to the floor (Siga tape used throughout) - so I'm not too sure taping the 'Tony tray' is necessary but I'd welcome you thoughts. Cheers CC

B&B didnt work out much more for us. Make sure its grouted in as soon as its down or it will just fill with rubbish. Quick and easy to lay.

We use induction now - I would have put in gas hobs but the domestic services department didnt want gas. I'd not go back to gas now, the induction is brilliant. Don't buy a cheap one. CC

Hi, Trying to complete the garage before returning to the house and an imminent decision is about how to supply hot water to the basin in the toilet and the two sinks (one downstairs in a sort of utility room and one upstairs in my man cave). These are highly unlikely to be used simultaneously and in fact won't be used that frequently so I'd prefer whatever device I fit not to store hot water. The garage is detached. A quick internet search has come up with the following: 1. Stiebel eletron type boiler. Seen these in work supplying sinks. Seem to work well enough and not seen one replaced yet (even in our relatively hard water area) 2. Domestic shower plumbed in 3. DAFI water heater (on ebay). I've tried to put links in this post but failed (frustrated by the tablet and my lack of IT). I suspect several of you may be toying with this question. Any comments gratefully received. CC

Good luck with your build. Time is the one thing you will need a lot of if you are doing it all yourself - we are & time seems to fly by with progress being slower than I would like. Patience is the biggest asset.

10 rolls delivered from Germany for £179.

This is the tape I've used. Bought 10 rolls from Germany. Damn good. As Nick says - keeping the standards high on stuff I wont be able to redo. Nadolig Llawen.

I was told to use plastic sheet designed for vc - 'cheap' tape continues to give off volatile chemicals (I'm told) that make the tape come away. I'm not taking the risk of this so will use good tape + physically fix, I may even put a smear of silicone between the two layers. Should be ok.

I,ve bought vc plastic & good quality tape. I will physically seal all the joints as well as tape them. The cost of the 'proper' membranes will pay for 5yrs+ of heating! Just couldnt convince myself that they were worth it.

We bought metal stairs off ebay - it was a school fire escape. 3 days with a welder etc saw it firmly fixed in place. Thankfully my farm upbringing furnished me with good fabrication skills. Balustrade will be fabricated post xmas - uprights in 40mm box with 19mm tube every 97mm. What has surprised me is the cost - its going to be 1k, still this is way less than anything new. Merrt xmas to all

Ours is clay pipe & insulation between it and the chimney. Draws well. We held it all up with lintels & blocks but a far better idea is to cast the bottom slab with the pipe in it & use B&B set up to 'roof' of the fire place. Not got a pic unfortunately..

Life must be tough for a perfectionist! Bet most wouldnt notice. Good to see you back on line.

Wouldnt it be better for any heat loss from the pipes to be lost under the bath so perhaps not covering the pipes with insulation? I always pack the space under a bath with loose insulation - I think it helps keep the water warm for longer CC

Hi Mike, How much are you expecting that 35kw combi to be? We are in a similar position to you. Fitted 3 combi boilers and they are straightforward to do. CC