JohnBishop

I have black IBC tanks I just wasn't convinced if the black plastic does the job in terms of extending the life of the IBC tanks significantly e.g. double it, I know it works for algae. Because if black colour extends the lifespan of an IBC tank e.g. by 2 years only maybe it's better to wrap it in black DPM. Ideally to keep them indoors but I don't have a space and a tall enough shed to keep inside two IBC tanks stacked.

Hi again Gents, I have the IBC totes and I bought them black. My new (perhaps silly) question is should I wrap it in a black plastic anyway? e.g. to prevent sun from deteriorating the container over time. I reckon sun does not mind if it's white or black. I can be wrong but I ca imagine that since it's black it absorbs more of the rays and deteriorates quicker thank white one that reflects some of it. I have a 1000 gauge DPM I could wrap it in perhaps too thick for the task but decided to ask first as it may be pointless. Cheers

Hi All, I was going to ask you about acclimatisation. The vendor says 48h but on YT the same vendor also says about the need to have radiant heating ON during acclimatisation. I don't have the heating turned on in the house at the moment but should I do it before and during the installation? In my case 7-8mm thick laminate floorboards. What is the exact reason behind this process? Is this the temperature, humidity or both? Without heating the humidity is relatively high 60-65%. If I turn the heating on the humidity will drop and the boards will start shrinking. I reckon I want to find a sweet spot otherwise it's going to be detrimental either in Winter or in Summer. Thanks

Hi All, I bought that solvent based paint from Dulux to paint the doors. As I could expect the smell is awful so I moved the painting outside the building as painting inside even in well ventilated room does not work to my liking, the smell follows you for hours. How long should I leave these doors outside for the paint to lose it's smell / harmful properties? I reckon we are talking days. I already bought water based paint to use for skirting and door frames as this will make the property inhabitable for days. Thanks

Hi again, Can I attach tiles to a painted wall / plasterboard? Cheers

The ones I was thinking about: https://www.factory-direct-flooring.co.uk/prestige-8mm-castle-oak-ac4-laminate https://www.factory-direct-flooring.co.uk/prestige-natur-oak-7mm-v-groove-click-laminate-flooring-3903 https://www.factory-direct-flooring.co.uk/prestige-7mm-spirit-oak-nature-laminate-flooring-3125 The thickest they have is 12mm and it's rated for 25 years, heavy domestic use https://www.woodfloorwarehouse.co.uk/oxford-oak-grey-brown https://www.woodfloorwarehouse.co.uk/natural-charlotte-oak https://www.woodfloorwarehouse.co.uk/achensee-oak but again it turned out more expensive. Floor King has this one I like but again this has to be ordered from the same supplier otherwise I lose on deliveries: https://www.flooringking.co.uk/shop/laminate-flooring/cfs-lam/cfs-supernatural-classic-8mm-harlech-oak/

8mm - heavy use - 20 years domestic use (living room, higher traffic areas) 7mm - medium use - 15 years domestic use (bed rooms) The Costco ones are almost twice as thick. I checked the doors and on the ground floor and in the dining doom there is at least 18mm clearance and between 25 and 30mm in the living room. Upstairs it is at least 22mm clearance but I put the wood fibre underlay boards only. I could consider a much thicker boards downstairs. Wherever I read they say to put 5mm underlay boards but do I have to do it if laying thick 12mm+ boards and on concrete? I think I meant Factory Direct Flooring has the best deals IMHO https://www.factory-direct-flooring.co.uk Wood Floor Warehouse - is more expensive on smaller orders and the delivery is a bit pricey. They don't go under £60 on delivery

Hi All, Would you suggest any other suppliers? I am after 7 and 8mm thick laminate boards. I have looked into Woodfloor Warehouse https://www.woodfloorwarehouse.co.uk but Flooring King is cheaper for under 30sqm orders. https://www.flooringking.co.uk Have you seen any better deals? Thanks

I am looking into liners and you suggested to go for a double skin. I can see two types: 5" 316 / 904 Ultraflex Chimney Liner 5" 904 / 904 Ultraflex Chimney Liner I can see that the guarantee is extra 5 years making it 25 years. 316 is only couple quid cheaper not sure what would be the reason to buy it.

I spent about 2 weeks to sort out the fireplace before we can move on to the roof repair. My neighbour is not interested in contributing to the work apart from maybe fixing the chimney, cap it properly rather than do half of it just on my side. I have a number of quotes and it is kind of a dilemma because installing the secret gutter is the best option BUT it is also quite disruptive and if the neighbour does not contribute I don't want any complaints later and pay for additional call outs if there are some leaks on his side. I don't want his slate to be touched and I think that is how the housing association did it last time. People have different priorities and it's hard to agree on jobs like that. I am going to fix the ridge tiles. Fixing the chimney £400 and the ridge tiles £800. Secret gutter work ranges between £1500-1600. I had a quote for a secret gutter on both sides and a chimney work for £1850 in total which is the best option in my opinion but I won't be spending that much just to prove how good neighbour I am.

I am looking into strengthening these concrete blocks On this video the man is applying some liquid onto the lintel and bricks? What is that? Diluted PVA or basically some water?

I can see there is a DPM and some concrete on top in the chimney breast. How can I build on top of that? I think I just use the cement board on the sides and back but not sure how to go around this poly-ethylene stuff. I think on the right side originally the chimney breast was not vertical and they kind of reconstructed it to make it straight on the outside but there is a bit of a mess on the inside.

right so you suggest to do a bit of an arch

When I open the whole chimney breast it is going to be about 1080mm wide. If I put 1200mm long lintel is it going to be enough? Like 6.5cm on each side. I only see 1350mm long lintels if 1200 is too short.

no, these are two different things. The spec says to use a 5" liner, 150-200mm is the clearance between the chimney breast walls and the sides and back of the stove.

this is about 90 years old house. As far as I know there were no chimney breasts upstairs on this chimney but there was a chimney on the other side of the property, outside wall, it was taken down at some point.

I think it makes sense to add another vent. One roofer also recommended to put an air-vent tile in the loft so there is some airflow for the chimney to dry out. The black marks and white residue indicates penetrating water from inside to outside. These two things would help with the ventilation on both sides of the brick.

You said 250mm minimum around the stove however the spec says minimum 50mm but they recommend 150mm for the best heat output and I get your point 250mm is even better but depth of chimney breast is 500mm so if I do 250mm gap at the back the stove will be sticking out by 50mm. I reckon the best would be to do 200mm as a compromise. I am not entirely sure about the height of the fireplace I should demolish. I can see most people do the height of the stove + the height of the pipe so the register plate is level with the breast opening so in my case it's 580mm + 280mm = 860mm I reckon I need to go even higher, get rid of these concrete blocks and replace them with a long supporting block that can reach from one end to the other unless there are other options at supporting it e.g. with steel. I think the idea is so the hot air leaves the chimney breast into the room rather than circulate under the concealed register plate so I think it is preferred to have a larger opening. I think the chimney is completely blocked because I don't feel any draft.

It's safe. There were 2 gas safety men. The gas stove has been removed years ago. There is no gas leak anywhere. The pipe that delivered gas is plugged.

there was a gas heater in the past

Looking at the chimney stack above how do I know which ones belong to who? Considering the right hand side of the chimney breast is mine the right side of the chimney should also be mine. So the neighbour has the big pot and the small smoked thingy as he has a gas heater while mine is the white one. If the big pot and white one is mine then the two flues must twist in a awkward way. I just don't know how they build these wide chimney breasts side by side but it must be a lot of fun.

A bit of an update, the fireplace has been reopened and it looks like there is a 5" liner in there already. Because the chimney breast is 50/50 side by side, it's quite wide 145cm, 50cm deep. It does not make sense to open the whole thing. I think we leave some of the cheeks. The stove is H58cm x W49cm x D29cm It seems I need to move the center support block at least one concrete block higher because at the moment it would touch the stove.

I got an after market 5kW stove Cast Tec Juno 5. I think it's a good choice. The spec says that "The diameter of the flue should not be less than 150mm and not more than 200mm." So the 5" liner is going to be used. How can I tell that the liner is of good quality? I am replacing the glass on the stove and there is this thin foam around the glass? It disintegrated. What is it called?

Apparently vermiculate holds water. That was their explanation I have not fact checked it.

Speaking about vermiculite. One of many HETAS installers I have contacted has come back to me and said that they don't pour vermiculite because it's not recommended and leads flue to rot. 😀