Nickfromwales

Dispersion is pretty much unmanageable with LED strips. Would you not be better off installing the strip near to the inside edge of the upper opening ‘door’? You can then have a stubby timber pelmet which stops the light from shining ‘inwards’.

Some builders just can't take the needle off the record. Soooo much concrete and blocks! The ship has sailed, so onwards we must go! What has the building control officer specified? How do you plan on meeting the minimum standard that they will mandate, especially for a heated floor? Should be around 140mm of PIR under this. What has been requested?

Just need to position the LED strip so the glare / reflection doesn't affect the user (from reflection off the monitor).

It has it's uses if the house is enormous, and you need a packed lunch to travel between switches, but after that I'd rather spend the huge amount of money required on a holiday.

Just think of the time, money, and effort one could save if scene setting wasn't "life or death"..... Once you live with the (then seemingly rational) constraints of the choices you made during the design and construction phases, you may regret this pursuit and it's price tag. All I hear from adopters of HA is how it has a short lifespan, support and equipment longevity issues (becoming obsolete), and how much it costs when shit breaks, and then breaks again. And again.

Why B&B 1st floor?? Massive OTT.

Have you tried the threat of violence? Seems it would save you a fortune......

They'd only be able to turn the light on once it is opened. Job done.

I use these LINK and you just swipe your hand in front of them, a-la a mirror light bathroom cabinet. For LED strip just go on Amazon / other and buy a 5m roll for cheap as chips and you can cut these every 3 LED's to the length you want. Look for one that is a kit so you get the PSU etc with it.

Yup. Don't shout at the painter. If they were pole sanding then you should commend them, as a lot won't bother as it's hard work BUT it is necessary for flat smooth surfaces and an excellent finish. The person who screwed the boards on has likely used too few screws, and the boards have pulled away from / were never tight against the joists. Every refurb I ever did, which had plasterboard nails and not screws, but where we were to plaster over artex etc, I always got my drywall screw-gun and put screws in every 6-8". You could literally see the boards pulling up to the joists as you went along the joist, and almost every single nail would pop. This is the fault of the boarders, and bean-counting the screws.

Lindab?

Are you saying block walls upstairs? What is the first floor made up from? Another B&B level / posi-joists / other?

Yup, I asked as I don't think I've ever seen so many on one domestic floor before!! I lost count at 15 seemingly unnecessary beams . The problem is, where these are there will be huge thermal (cold) bridges to address, so wondered if any could be cut out. This appears to be a can of worms tbh.

Where are you building? If you don't mind me asking? Are there a lot of load-bearing walls rising?

If you are renting it, then leave well alone?

VIP's will also bankrupt you Knock the blocks out, sell them for hardcore, and insulate with the beam(fill) insulation option(s). You pay for insulation once, and energy to heat for the rest of your life. "Fabric first, people!!".

Do you need it to be Luxone (or anything else HA) friendly ? I'll be making mine 'fit and forget' and it'll be accessible via the 'net, so that will be all I need from it.

Hello, stranger! Yes, as with everything the government are involved with, a complete cake & arse party. Forget it. Better option would be to chase any grant for fabric improvements like insulation (cavity & EWI) and 3G. How infinite is your supply of properly seasoned (20% or less) wood?

If you are on oil, what improvements have you made to make a move to an ASHP sensible? You can pretty much forget calculations including maths from an assumed flow of 30oC?! If you have not nearly doubled the size of the radiators, increased the size of all of the primary pipework, improved the insulation / 3G glazing, and more, then I think you are being VERY optimistic of an SCoP of over 3.5! Retro-fit of an ASHP is often done poorly, or badly, or worse. Increasing the size of you roil tank x2 and strategizing when you buy oil (when it is at it's cheapest) may be a better solution for the next 3/5/7 years or so. Costs of electricity (increases of) must be inclusive of your overall decision making here per the same 3/5/7 year period . What standard is the dwelling at for airtightness and insulation / overall fabric quality, currently? If it's a passive house I'll stand down.

There's nothing that will stick to the aluminium tape, hence me asking you to cut in at an angle and remove the aluminium tape / create a valley in one action. Also, to answer your other question, yes you will need to prime the open surfaces of the plasterboard with 50/50 PVA/water and do that a few times until it doesn't soak in any more, then a neat coat of PVA immediately prior to fillering.

Ok, so you’ll be taping / filling aka dry lining? If so, just use the paper tape as said, filling the valley with filler first. Then sand it out. Me personally, I’d skim it. Much better job and by the time you’ve filled taped and sanded, the plaster would have been done, finished and in the pub.

What space / which room is this?

I buy OK ones off eBay for cheap enough to just change whenever a job requires a new sharp blade. Don’t forget there’s different blades for different tasks.

Can you cut this back at an angle first, with a sharp blade, so there is a valley for the filler to go into?

Yes, a lot of my clients say they've managed to date, but the issue becomes problematic when installing new equipment and expecting the warranties to be honoured. Most manufacturers will swab when there is a failure, and if the PPM is above what they accept, then bye bye warranty. Your call of course. WS's are around £600 for an entry level unit, others may have found cheaper units that they are happy with. Incoming rising main needs to be, Stopcock Double-check non return (installed immediately after stopcock) Drain off cock