epsilonGreedy

I read a report on this issue and the problem was blamed on some parts of the construction industry changing to mortars specified to meet performance criteria rather than specified by ingredient ratios. Once something as nebulous as mortar "performance" is used it is simpler to cut corners.

The following YouTube video demonstrates a technique for forming weep holes to allow the tray to shed moisture. Starts at 3 minutes 15. The video producer runs a business that fabricates lead chimney trays. An interesting feature of his trays is that the flu liners below and above the tray are separated by a circular upstand formed in the tray.

@MortarThePointI have been cogitating the same aspects of chimney construction as you, though in my case I am just debating the upper or lower position for the tray. My conclusion is that because in my case the chimney sits on both the outer facing bricks and inner wall block wall it is more important to protect against moisture descending into the inner blocks with potential for damp in bedrooms. In this situation tying the tray into the top of the back gutter flashing seems optimal. My roof has a 30 degree pitch so that won't leave many bricks exposed on the downhill site of the chimney before the eave flashing offers protection. My chimney is 550mm wide (2 1/2 bricks) in the direction of the roof slope which equates to about 5 courses of bricks exposed between the tray and the eave side flashing assuming 150mm high eave side flashing and 225 high flashing on the back gutter side.

Between the zig zag lead flashing that clings to the main house wall and the garage roof slates we see some odd white thing behind the gap. A classic finishing detail is an extra layer of lead mini tiles called soakers. We expect to see these load soakers in that slate to vertical flashing gap. If there is nothing at this junction point then this is your biggest building fault discussed so far. Is there any sign of damp inside the garage where the garage roof meets the main house wall? What colour is the garage fabric roof felt under the slates visible when you look up inside the garage?

Would I be correct in thinking the bricks provide a temporary platform that the plastboard sheets rest on while the dot & dab adhesive is drying?

Edit: Skirting boards? Pleasure ignore question, these would be the plaster boards I assume. Does the boundary expansion/insulation strip act help act as a moisture barrier?

The neat positioning of the manifold is a future problem I am already thinking about. I see some photos of UFH pipes emerging chaotically from the floor screed.

Hi I don;t think I have posted in this thread, you quoted @Carrerahillin your post. A few years ago I was involved with a discussion here about how to top up the U-value of a masonry wall with internal insulation. Options in that discussion were (1) battens with a rockwool layer sandwiched between block and plasterboard (2) as 1 but with say 2" of pir sheet or (3) PIR backed plasterboard. I am leaning towards PIR backed plasterboard now having watched Charliediyty use it however @PeterWreckons it requires a skilled trademan to fit it with a pro end result.

Have you compared notes with your neighbour? They might be interested in their own temperature readings from you gun. Could you change the ceiling light fitting to a recessed spot light and have a look at the insulation while this is in progress. I assume there is not any storage upstairs that uses the roof space and a possible access point?

My thinking is that criminals vary in their level of planning, determination and risk they are prepared to face. At one end of the scale there are opportunistic prowlers who will enter an unlocked or open building looking for easy pickings, others are prepared to engage in short duration smash & grab crime and others plan. Most of use will padlock a garden shed. I think a lockable door that offers 30 seconds resistance against a few kicks is better than nothing though I like @willbish's reverse psychology about the message given by an un protected building.

Interesting. Were you living onsite that night? Was it a surgical break-in of the type hinted at by @PeterW or a brute force entry?

Precisely. Having achieved an equal token splintering barrier for doors and windows what additional benefit is gained from hinge bolts and extra 5 lever locks in the front door? An extra 90 seconds before a police SWAT team squad ram their way through the front door?

One thing that I do not get about home security is all these front door features designed to keep out the 101st Airborne division when a regular window frame next to it offers a token barrier.

We live onsite and the bedroom of the static caravan is just 7m from the temporary door. My minimum requirements are: Keep the weather out. Deter nesting birds particularly when the swallows arrive. Keep prowling cats out. Deter opportunistic prowlers by creating a barrier that needs to be forced and splintered. I could add a bolt top and bottom and padlock those each night.

I have fitted a temporary external door today made from a sheet of 12mm osb. Temporary is a relative thing as this door might be the primary entrance door in daily use for a year during the remainder of the build. The door needs a handle, latch and be lockable from the outside. This simple £11 "Rim Lock" ticks the boxes, is there something more suitable? I have never fitted a door lock before. https://www.toolstation.com/rim-lock-with-handles/p79578

@Buzzhave the crane hire people specified a working hardstanding platform. I was told 6m x 6m of stone. In the end my trusses were lifted up on a telehandler but were only 6m across. I guess yours will be 150kg to 200kg.

£ 12k wow, what are you building? Regular roof trusses for houses between 1500 sq ft and 1700 sq ft come in between £2k to £ 4k.

I assume the total distance of the current route is less than 100m? The max flying span for regular BT cable is 55m so you can probably work out if one extra pole will fix the problem. The cost will increase a lot if a public road closure is required to reroute your neighbour's line. I would investigate going underground, it is the modern way. Nooo. Don't leave these things to chance. Advise your solicitor of your concern and tell him you don't want your neighbour to have any residual rights to retain this service route across your land, then it is up to them to spot the risk and propose a solution. I am assuming here that the plot will only be legally split on the day of purchase completion.

An historical wayleave with OpenReach that you could terminate would have been useful but given the plot history I doubt one exists. You probably have to deal with default oversailing regs as @joe90suggests. The more difficult situation for you would be if you have purchased the plot and failed to notice that your deeds give ongoing rights to the neighbour for existing services routed under or over your land. I wonder if you could swing a deal with OpenReach whereby you dig a conduit for both your future landline and also take his line underground.

Should it cost you anything? Did the previous owner of your plot enter into a wayleave agreement for the current installation? How can this wayleave be terminated? One problem you have is that 4m in height is a permissible droop for a line running across another property so I think you will need to demonstrate it interferes with future building activity such as scaffolding.

Ok trying to turn this into a formula: Fascia height = Projection above rafter top to support first row of slates (minimum = height of roofing battens) - Minus thickness of plastic eave tray support. (25mm) Plus Drop to top upper lip of gutter which is likely determined by downward projection of the lower lip of the eave support tray (??mm) Plus Gutter cross section height (80mm) Plus Required gradient drop for the longest run of guttering (35mm) Plus Clear exposed fascia below gutter which is an aesthetic feature (0mm) Plus (Special in my case) Height of 45 degree bevel trimmed off lower edge of wooden fascia (5mm) Total = 145mm

Ok this is an extra subtlety I had not thought about. Is soffit to brick course sync an aesthetic point?

Yes defo high enough, I probably wasted money on a superfluous course. The brickie did ask for eave design clarification. I need to settle on an exact amount of upward projection here, people talk about giving a kick to the first row of tiles though I am not sure this is the right design feature for a 30 degree pitch with hip ends. Another forum member fitting slates had to add an extra wooden strip onto his fascia to overcome a calculation error. I assume I just need 25mm to match the batten height plus a touch more to ensure no slate rattle in the wind. I am going for under soffit ventilation hence no thick over the fascia ventilation plastic to account for.

What material would you like to use for the replacement? Is your property subject to any special control or in a conservation area? Is there any fancy late Victorian or Edwardian detailing in the eaves?

No one has mentioned power over ethernet uses so far. My priorities when wiring my house will be: Support for two WiFi zones that I assume provide automatic handover to the strongest access point. External WiFi zone to cast a decent signal into the main patio. Entrance door security cam+speaker via wired POE. A few external POE security cams plus an internal garage cam, probably won't wire these up until I am half way through retirement. Two wired telephone sockets because GSM is weak in the village. Extra isolated wired connection to the home office for network security. An extra smart router that can fail over to a GSM antenna in the attic because our rural broadband has multiple bad days each month when the data rate plummets from 35 to 0.5. A cable at each possible TV location. People often recommend two, not sure why?