Sparrowhawk

First morning with internal condensation on the 2g windows. 8.8C minimum outside with 95% RH, internal temperatures remained above 18C and a RH of around 70%. A window supplier came round to quote. Harder to get rid of than the JW's and vague when pushed on details.

Well sure, but the feel of 6l/min coming out of a shower head at 3-4 bar is going to be different to the feel at 1-1.5 bar. I'm having a job putting "drench" and "6l/min" together in the same sentence so keen to hear more as I'd like to cut our water usage.

Which shower are you using, and at what input pressure?

This is a better search term: https://www.google.com/search?q=plasterboard+thermal+bypass Mark Siddall's guide for The Passivehaus Trust on thermal bypass risks is very much worth a read: https://www.passivhaustrust.org.uk/UserFiles/File/Technical Papers/Thermal bypass risks v1.0 222909.pdf

That's the stuff and it doesn't expand a lot - it's well controllable. However the blue is strong - you can wipe the foam off if it goes too far but in my experience the blue colour stays forever. For this reason only I've switched to the Illbruck FM330 that everyone else mentions, despite the price/having to buy online.

I have a collection of blunt wood saws so will give this a go without grinding and hope for the best. My studs are 20-30cm apart (every one different) so plenty of cutting to do.

Ah but if it appeals to the right people... my (young) other half on seeing the purple colour with a happy octopus on it: "Oh that's cute!". So that's one barrier gone to getting them installed.

When the temperature outside is roughly the same as inside, the relative humidity RH which is what these meter measure is going to be similar to outside. Today the outside humidity where I live is below 65% here; on a damper day or early morning when the dew is evaporating it's 75%+. We're keeping inside at a lower humidity by not opening the windows. Keep an eye on them this winter. When it's near freezing outside, that's when you expect the humidity to be in the 30-50% range indoors.

You missed the first sentence of my first post John "posting after digging online for figures to use in a friend's thermal model." but fine let's move on 🤷

Except. Sometimes the figure being quoted is the @50Pa already converted, i.e. divided by 20 as @IanR says, to ACH at atmospheric pressure. When the figure is "0.35ACH" it's hard to tell if that's a good build, or a standard build "7ACH @ 50Pa". In this case it was the latter.

Rant posting after digging online for figures to use in a friend's thermal model. When someone quotes their air changes as "1.5ACH" do they mean "at 50Pa" or "at normal atmospheric pressure"? The web is awash with figures from people who don't specify. Some are helpful and use "ACH @ 50Pa" or "ACH (50)" and similar. Others use "ACH (nat). I made the assumption because no pressure was quoted then it was normal atmospheric pressure... but from the range of figures I found it could be either. Is there an accepted meaning for "ACH" on its own?

So the consensus is messy, but make airtight and carry on, no need to get a builder in?

97 years old (I think). Almost 100 anyhow

I took the window sill off the bay to make it airtight and don't know what to make of the state of the outer brickwork inside the cavity. Does this need attention or is it okay to ignore and carry on? Here's the outside. The horizontal cracking is at the wall tie level (tried painting them to waterproof the cracks with paint that didn't match). And now for inside

I have been wondering if strip metal screwed to the underside of the shelves would prevent this bit of sag (we have the same on our Billy bookcases)? Anyone able to comment if it would be strong enough without reaching for an L section or square tube, which would be more visible than a strip?

There is a plugin for Invision Community to do this, along with an internal setting that we seem to have disabled: https://invisioncommunity.com/files/file/9757-hide-ignored-content-completly/ I haven't seen any technical discussions behind the scenes either.

I picked up https://www.screwfix.com/p/magnusson-bar-set-3-pieces/5341v yesterday as it was in stock and put it to work on some 2000's architrave and skirting on stud walls last night. I am disappointed how blunt/unhoned the ends are on the bars. I used the 8" pry bar and there was no way it would get down the joint. I ended up using my Xpert Deglazing Chisel (great bit of kit, best buy this year) to open it up a crack, and then the pry bar worked a treat. Is there a technique to getting the pry bar in or its a matter of honing the end or using another tool like I did to get it started?

Thanks, I've been looking for a pair that are (mostly) thorn proof. I'm tearing up ivy out and brambles are mixed in with it, and garden centre standard gardening gloves are providing minimal protection.

Thanks, I'd never heard of that before. The flatter shape means less force exerted on the surface? https://www.axminstertools.com/japanese-restorer-s-cat-s-paw-110206

If you were bothered about the plaster, what would you use? I was hoping an offcut between it and the wall would help Those look great thanks. Esp the "Zombie apocalypse tool" as the reviews brand the Fubar 😀 Not at the moment (maybe later for IWI on 1 wall). But I do have a stone fireplace surround to lift. They are sat on pads of mortar on the wooden floorboards, so a bolster looks good to break them free. Carefully is the aim as I am trying to avoid replastering, but expect to have to patch and skim. Upstairs walls are 1920s lath and plaster, downstairs may be horse hair plaster too? I also need to remove the window surrounds. Am thinking remove the trim (looks like door architrave) with a utility bar and then lever off the plank?

Showing my newbie status and lack of knowledge here: I have 2 stud walls to take down, nailed floorboards to lift, and metre upon metre of 1920s skirting to remove. I thought buying a crowbar would be the easy part, but what size do I want for these jobs? I can buy a 7-13" like https://www.toolstation.com/roughneck-toolbox-bar-set/p82899 or 15" like https://www.screwfix.com/p/roughneck-utility-bar-15/58202 or 36" like https://www.screwfix.com/p/roughneck-gorilla-wrecking-bar-36-/46975. What do I need, and what jobs are the ones I don't need right now good for?

When permission was granted for this work, was frosted/privacy glass in the window a condition of approval? As it overlooks your neighbour I would expect that to be the case.

Yes and to add, if you want to use your raised bed to grow veg, don't use reclaimed in case that stuff leaches into the soil.

I've started stripping back our bay window, which confirmed that the sides are open to the cavity. To insulate I need to remove these original wooden surrounds. My first thought was a chisel in at the corner would split the plank away from the moulding but now I'm not sure I had pictured the construction correctly. I'm now thinking there is a 2x2" or 2x1" timber behind the plank that it's attached to, and the moulding facing the room is also attached to that? What do you think the construction is and how would you go about taking this off? There's 1+ coats of lead paint under the gloss, so I'm keen to keep sawing to a minimum.

With the boundary being the wall of your garage, it seems odd that you would have an outward-opening window there, as you would be opening into your neighbour's "airspace" for want of a better term.