JohnBishop

I dug into the concrete expansion gap and in two places I was not able to hit the soil but it looks like more concrete. The gap is between 3-4 inches deep but how thick is the concrete below the gap I don't know? I cannot check around it as there is kerb all around it.

I am in Midlands, England.

Hi All, I hope you are doing well. I am looking into Zigbee to do some monitoring (temperature, smoke, temp/humidity, motion sensors) and simple automation lighting in the house. Rather than bulbs (I don't want LED light) I would control lamps with a motion sensor + a Zigbee plug. As you are aware there is tons of vendors. The priority is to deploy a controller (RPi + Sonoff Dongle-E) with MQQT and then a number of temp + smoke alarms, CO alarm. I would prefer to monitor the temperature rather than smoke what I believe gives me the earliest warning. Smoke in the house can be extinguished but in the wooden shed or a wooden garden office it's probably already too late. Please correct me if I am wrong. The automation is less of a priority. This will be added later. I have seen some Heiman, Xiaomi, Shelly, Frient, Aqara sensors. I would even prefer to mix them as if I stick to a single vendor I can be fooled e.g. one man bought a Frient smoke/temp sensor, it looked like it's working but it wasn't (was faulty). If you mix then less probability they are all end up faulty. What would you recommend?

but can I paint it with an exterior masonry paint or just leave it as is?

yes, I am in the process of digging a dungeon

right so you say it's nonsensical to do that on those bricks. Not sure if this is actually bitumen paint but it looks like it must be at least 15 years old.

Just another picture of the shed. Not finished yet but done the cladding, just need to finish of some bits and pieces.

This is the concrete. Not sure how thick it is. I reckon 3 inches?

I am talking about this:

In my case anchoring is quite important because polycarbonate roof is going to be a sail and it won't have that much weight like the guy's patio in the video. His is heavy on its own, has 7 posts and is wall mounted!

I like the Raspberry Pi idea. I have 4 generations of them, some can be repurposed exactly for that.

Hi again, I look for a PoE smoke detector and CO detector. Or if there is a PoE hub of some sort that reads from these battery powered detectors wirelessly (not Wifi) but some low power wifi. A hub that can be accessed remotely or send notifications. I don't need a proprietary system that can only be accessed with a proprietary app. You see I also want to install smoke sensors in my shed and in the garden office but I don't have network wiring in there. If I go for a regular smoke detector and if I am away how do I know if any of the neighbours is going to react to the alarm? If it's at night then no one will see the smoke. When fire shows up it's probably too late anyway. I think there are some better sensors that look detect temperature difference rather than smoke. I think that's a better solution as it gives you as early warning as possible. I would prefer a notification then I check the cameras and call a fire brigade.

so this 150mm variant would work for my 6" posts. I would do this for front posts. What would be a better way of anchoring the back posts (near the wall) if I already have concrete there?

I understand the idea of vertical anchors is unreliable in this case because if the wind decides to lift the roof up it will take these anchors with ease but not if the anchors were horizontal or embedded in concrete. Where can I get these brackets/anchors? How are they called?

should I use different than Simpson bases? or something that is literally embedded into the cement while it is still fluid. Or even welded into the steel rebars that are sunken in cement?

Hi again, I am going back to this patio project. 3m by 2m between the posts. The overhanging roof 4.2m x 2.60m at a sufficient slope. I decided to go for 4x 6x6" posts. All 4 will stand on 4x Simpson Post APB100/150 bases. There will be two concrete bases forward, the back two Simpson bases will be screwed to the existing concrete base (by the wall). I have no experience but I really like the mortis and tenon joinery. In this case I would use 5x5" timbers to marry it together. I reckon it would be easier to use 2x12 girders instead however I want these not to obstruct the view from the window so the beam has to be 220cm above the ground (front). On the sides it does not matter but it will end up lower. Then a roof structure on top made of 2x4" to accommodate polycarbonate sheets. The wall is insulated on the outside so I cannot use it to support the patio like it is the case in most scenarios - it has to stand on its own millimetres away from that wall. what do you think about his concrete bases. Is it sufficient or an overkill? I have to put it all together in Sketchup. Any advise welcome. Thank you

Yes, the DPC.

Hi All, I hope you are well. I have the outer insulation however below the damp line there are red bricks. There is some black residue but it's worn out. I was wondering if I should repaint it with a bitumen paint? What do you say? Best

have any of you come across a PoE smoke sensor and/or other PoE sensors as well?

Hi again, you said about bottom and top battens but then what about the airflow?

The insulation will go to my next building I build next year. I reckon it will be some Knauf. Regarding the breathable membrane, should I put it from the bottom over the DPM or start where DPM ends?

Ok. Thank you. Did you stain your battens with anything? I have seen a man staining them with some green stuff and on the cuts he stained with some black stuff. Will add some more pictures soon.

Gents, considering that this shed is built from pallets that have gaps not plywood sheets do I need battens after I attach the breathable membrane?

I come across this man who done his pergola: Very meticulous job however I think it's a bit overkill to my liking, feel too heavy over the head I think too much timer for this size of a pergola. I reckon rated for 100mph gusts. I think it creates too much shade though. I would go for 6 posts tops but the concrete bases make sense. He used the twinwall polycarbonate sheeting.