bmj1

Hi all, We've got beam and block ground floor, and a 150mm cavity. I'm just figuring out the best way to close the front door threshold: Questions: 1) Should I put e.g. 100mm of PIR in the gap ? Should it be wrapped in plastic ? And then fill the remaining 50mm void with concrete ? Should I wrap the concrete in plastic ? 2) I've got some spare insulated board on site (link) - which I could then use to bridge the threshold 3) Are there any other considerations in terms of DPC or drainage ? It's going to be a flush threshold to a raised step in front (not yet built) 4) Any principles I need to apply here ? Thank you in advance.

We aren't yet in - ask me again in a few weeks

Thanks both - all sorted !

I've got a suspended ceiling grid, with the plasterboard now up and skimmed. Speaker cut-outs have been made, and ceiling painted, and unfortunately 1 of them clashes with the grid (it's about 20mm out). Option 1 is of course to redo the cut-out, repair the ceiling and repaint. Is there an option 2 where we add a piece of timber adjacent to the piece of metal that is in the way, screw through the metal to the wood, and then cut the piece of metal that is in the way ?

Hi all, I have a question, and will be grateful for advice. In A JCT Intermediate Building Contract, where: The contractor has charged for "Temporary Protection" as part of their preliminaries; and Where a named sub-contractor has laid flooring; and The Main Contractor has been paid Overhead & Profit on this item - Who is responsible for organising temporary protection of the floor, and liable for the cost ? E.g: The Main Contractor; or The Client Thank you in advance

We've run some lighting cables from internally through the cavity to our bricks on the front of the house. (We've now closed up/plastered/painted). The lighting cables are loose, coming through the brickwork/mortar. I'd like to use these: https://www.downlightsdirect.co.uk/eyelid-led-marker-light.html Our electrician is advising this isn't feasible as there is no ability to make a connection (e.g. with junction boxes). Is there a solution that means we could use these? I love the elegance of these. E.g. some kind of way of doing the connection without use of a big junction box, etc ? Something like this perhaps ? Set out like this: And then combined with heat shrink tubing ? So the end result would be this, which could then fit in the holes in the brickwork ?

I need to close a couple of door reveals, with fairly minimal thickness/build-up. Dot + dab insulated plasterboard is going to take 40mm+ of build-up. Could I use tilebacker board/wediboard (these are good for insulation) ? And then plaster skim on top ? How would I fix it to the concrete block ? Thank you in advance.

Glazing has been cut too low for the channel. Glazer says they can't redo unless the tile above is removed as not possible to slide it in, and is blaming the builder. Builder says they can't remove the tile above, and is blaming the glazer. I'm stuck in the middle, trying to figure out the best way to fix it, my current thinking is to use some kind of saw to grind back the channel above the glass, and then fill it with marble dust. Thoughts?

Yes. It's often referred to as a "slip membrane", can be the thinnest/cheapest plastic that can survive a couple of days of foot traffic as you lay the ufh piping and pour the screed. VCL isn't really the best term for this layer.

Switch out to 40mm of liquid screed instead of 70mm of sand/cement. That gives you an extra 30mm for insulation (e.g. giving you 130mm total for insulation), and liquid screed has 3X conductivity meaning more heat goes into the house instead of into the ground below. If you want to bump up performance further... For the insulation, you could go with this: https://www.secondsandco.co.uk/product-page/20-x-70-85mm-kooltherm-non-foil-1-2-x-2-4-s and then add a layer of 50mm regular PIR on top (stagger the joints). To be honest, likely simpler to just put in ~130mm PIR and be done with it.

Thanks all. Thank you for the feedback. As you say, cancelling the screed was never realistic. It's wooden floor anyway on the step. Appreciate all the support and advice. It's amazing how much you learn doing a build... Will do it better next time 😅

Architect detailed screed first with all GF partitions and staircase on top of the screed

To be fair, architect didn't detail this way, was the builder thinking he knew better...

@nod @JohnMo @joe90 - thanks, good to know. The plan was to clad the step with engineered wood. Do I need to worry about moisture coming up through the concrete and damaging the wood ? We're beam and block, and DPC is in place underneath, so I'm hoping should be okay, but figured I would ask the question

Solid concrete staircase sitting directly onto the beam and block oversite, bypassing our insulation. Is this a cause for concern ? Anything I should do to rectify ? W

Hi all, We've got the following two options, please can you advise ? Option 1 Kingspan K103 at 75mm depth 45mm to 65mm of sand/cement screed with hardener Option 2 Kingspan K103 at 75mm depth 2nd layer of floor insulation at 20mm depth 25mm to 45mm of Liquid screed Thought process is: The K103 is already purchased and on-site, so no option to go with a different product This would be a significant improvement in performance: u value goes from 0.158 -> 0.138 A liquid screed would conduct more heat into the building, rather than below the house, so would be more efficient to run Key notes: 1) This is on Ground Floor. Construction is beam and block. 2) We have UFH. Questions: 1) Does this make sense ? 2) Is there a disadvantage to a liquid screed ? 3) Are there any issues with laying a 20mm depth PIR on top of a 75mm depth PIR ?

I got my access hatch from fakro. They had one that wasn't plastic, which I preferred

We're using 25.5mm insulated plasterboard in our reveals (17mm PIR + 9.5mm plasterboard) Given we've got sash windows with wide frames, this works nicely visually, and provides a good airtight finish.

Cement fillet on the outside to match mortar colour might look nice also ?

1. Agreed to fix with brackets, this is the manufacturer recommendation 2. Compriband around sides sounds sensible. 3. Silicone or PVC trim ? Assume you'd match colour to the outside colour of the sash window ? I've seen examples of silicone and it doesn't look that neat to me - is trim nicer ? Or would you do clear silicone ?

Hi all, We've got some PVC box sash windows to fit in straight reveals. Any advice in terms of how best to fit these? I.e. sealant, etc. Also, was thinking coloured sealant to match the outside colour would make sense, rather than cement ? Does that make sense? We've already put decent cavity closers in. Thank you in advance !

I got a shock when our sparky drilled some decent size holes in our structural steel beams holding up the 2nd floor. Checked with our SE, and it was all fine. These holes were 30mm diameter.

We did internally but using the blue acoustic soil pipes, to avoid hearing anything

Thinking was that 75mm phenolic is like 90mm PIR... Should be okay? Especially with a liquid screed so heat won't have much resistance going upwards

Proposed GF buildup: 1) beam and block (already done) 2) radon barrier 3) 75mm phenolic insulation 4) slip membrane 5) UFH pipes 6) 40mm liquid screed We are very height constrained.. I'm just wondering if there is any kind of radon barrier or slip membrane that would help me reflect the heat upwards ?