Sparrowhawk

Thanks for that Alan - I've not had a chance to visit Battersea yet. Do screeds have a different feel to concrete, or are they merely a different concrete mix?

@LSB Yes they're awesome aren't they! There is an Extensions book under development and I hope she'll do a Retrofit book in the future to help when looking at structures that don't mee the current building regs.

This but you have to keep on top of the weeding. I didn't this year and now having to "dig" to get the big weeds out, disturbing the worms and lovely soil 😒

Cheeky ask - I've done a floorplan in the free web version and need to export it to scale (1:50). Would any kind person with the full version be willing to do the export for me?

I used to do that but eventually the pin wouldn't close properly due to built up hardened foam where the knife blade wouldn't reach. Now when I'm done I screw the gun shut and clean the nozzle with acetone. Seems to be working to prevent build-up.

I want to add CO2 concentration to the data I currently monitor (power, temperature and relative humidity). I've already discovered how inaccurate humidity sensors can be and the need for calibration, and would like to start with CO2 sensors that are likely to be accurate. Zigbee support preferred as that's what everything else is using. What have people experience with?

This house came with a lot of strong colours on the walls. I started overpainting using Johnstone's trade brilliant white from Brewers but got fed up with the number of coats. I read online that the Leyland acrylic primer would cover better so gave that a go. I've now switched to Tikkurila Optiva primer which is far nicer to work with than the previous two - and is designed for this purpose. But I've run out of the very strong colours to overpaint so haven't a fair comparison of its covering power.

I'd thought it was the chemical reaction one as after skimming the orange-peel paint from the previous owners and sanding back, there are points of the original wall paint that come to the surface. But Optiva primer had the same problem, so it wasn't that.

A finish as smooth as I'd like still eludes me with a roller, even adding 10-15% water there's more stipple texture than I want. Upstairs I'd mist coated some old but bare plaster (long story) which went on fine, then at the weekend put the first coat on. The wall was more absorbent than I thought it'd be and while coverage was good it's dried looking like 400 grit sandpaper. Be nice when I master this skill and don't have to keep sanding back. Any recommendations? I'm using an Allpro short pile (3/8" knap IIRC) microfibre roller sleeve, and trying to put on the paint, work it over the wall and then lightly roll off in one direction.

100% floating floors. I've lifted 2 floating laminate floors here to get to pipes underneath and it's made life easy. Helps they didn't tuck these ones under the skirting boards - which IMO looks poor but is easy to work with. I like the concept of 3mm foam as the underlay. I need to lift a few more floorboards and check the level is consistent throughout to see if we've got anything like that depth. The knot hole I measured through gave 300mm from top of joist to earth. Fingers crossed I measured on a pile of crap and we have 350-400mm elsewhere. How much has this raised the floor by? Or are the UF pipes recessed between the joists, using the 30mm left by OSB+150mm PIR? What would you go for next time? Thanks and yes I've seen the concerns about timber laminate in other threads, plus the max temperature you're meant to use under it (which doesn't seem that high). 🤣 That decision is beyond us at the moment. Both through being indecisive people and because everything is at an early stage. I know OH's wish would be for some kind of herringbone in the lounge, and I'd like something more reflective (tiles?) in the dark, north-facing back of house. She's put off tiles because the ones we've got - upstairs in the bathroom laid on uninsulated chipboard, or in the kitchen laid onto concrete with probably 50mm EPS in the slab if we're lucky, are freezing cold! UFH isn't decided - the first architect(ural designer - an interior designer it turns out) we had a free consultation with was all about knocking out a wall with 40% of our downstairs radiators against it to open it up, making a big space with nowhere obvious to re-site them. I like the idea of UFH to regain wall space to hang art and be able to position furniture but we will have to weight it up - and then do the thermal calcs. We'll be speaking to more architects.

We currently have a suspended wood floor covered with engineered wood downstairs in our 1930s house. Because we'd quite like underfloor heating and there isn't much space to insulate under them without excavating down a bit, one idea we're toying with is replacing the floor with an insulated concrete slab. There may be 100 reasons this is a bad idea but assuming it's workable... We walk around in socks or bare feet for most of the year. We like the slight springyness of a suspended timber floor underfoot, especially when exercising. I've lived in rented houses in the past with concrete floors with thin carpet and poor underlay and the hardness is noticeable. We'd want to use laminate or engineered wood and with UFH I think underlay would get in the way of transmitting heat? So - are there any ways to make a concrete floor feel less like you're walking barefoot on a driveway?

Postman can also import curl commands, see https://www.shipengine.com/docs/curl/#running-curl-examples-in-postman (I ****** hate Postman but it does have its uses)

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/how-to-create-a-put-request-in-postman You're replicating the cURL command inside Postman. It's a different syntax but does allow you to save these commands in a playbook to rerun in future.

Since you're on Windows, can you install Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL)? It makes tasks like this much easier (I have run out of patience with curl on Windows). Alternatively use Postman (it's free) and run the command there instead of at the command line.

Thanks, if you can find that PDF I'd appreciate it

What software are you using @Iceverge? Ubakus gives me nice theoretical numbers but this goes a whole way beyond by taking thermal bridging into account.

(emphasis added) All replies so far have overlooked this key line. Under current building regs, if you want to avoid trickle vents what alternatives do you have to MVHR with vents in each room? I don't think PIV covers it, being a central input to the house?

Coming from a family of accountants there are innocent(ish) reasons accounts can be late. The company can be totally disorganised and not submit their books by the deadline, so the accounts are late. They are ill or don't get round to signing them. Or their accountants are **** and don't get things done on time. All are minor red flags around competence but not "OMG they're going to rip me off" level. But. That second company could well be. It depends how large and profitable they are. Are they trying something probably-illegal to avoid the corporation tax rise by splitting profits between two companies? Back to the original issue. Is your build secure and weathertight enough to store the kitchen on-site?

Reduce or add nutrients? I always thought the latter hence the Q

I do. Then your PIR cutting is better than mine, and any I've seen pre-installed in our house. It's keeping the blade perpendicular to the surface when cutting the PIR that's challenging - as a result there are voids. Gapotape negates much of this problem but is an extra expense. True, the lack of air movement is going to make a difference. Have you read https://aecb.net/thermal-bypass-risks-a-passivhaus-report-by-mark-siddall/ ?

Yes, an airtightness membrane will mitigate some of the disadavantages of PIR. There's two components to well-functioning suspended floor insulation: airtightness and insulation. PIR is good at insulation, but the normal problem is getting it airtight when installing it because of the fit at the sides of the insulation. So if your membrane stops cold external air from being forced up the sides of the PIR and cooling the floor or insulation, it'll alleviate much of that problem. Edit: But you will still get thermal bypass and your insulation will be less effective than you expect, because the air on both sides of the membrane will be at the same temperature. What you're avoiding is windwashing and larg-scale air circulation.

I didn't know the situation had changed re bags. I have a Festool L class for sanding so use that for building dust as well. As L & M class has come up above: unless you are working on commercial sites M class is not worthwhile. L & M class cleaners have the same bags, the same filters, but M class are required to be fitted with an audible alarm to alert you when suction drops off. When there's just you and a hoover - you'll know what's going on. @markocosic Much as I'd like a £680 positive pressure respirator (especially any time I touch a can of spray foam) for dust I use a well-fitted FFP3 mask which seems to provide enough filtration.

Screwfix Titan TTB774VAC. Cheap so you won't mind bashing it around, and can be used wet or dry.

Who are these doors from? That level of quality is very nice to have and it sounds like the price point is right. Lovely work @Furnace she is a very lucky daughter! Am hiding this picture from my wife because she will want it

Card processing is an area I know, and for the situation of taking a deposit on a larger order, these fees are negligible. Taking a pay-as-you-go card processor as an example (i.e. the most expensive fees on offer) a £100 payment by card has £1.60 in fees. If you're doing volume you can quickly negotiate these down. If a company wouldn't accept a small fee + accounting overhead to secure an order worth thousands, I'd be concerned they weren't credit-worthy enough to be accepted by any card processor. Or their order books are so full they can be choosy. Which when I come to order windows is the argument I expect they will make... I'm sorry for everyone caught up in this liquidation. I've been caught in a couple (losing 4-digit amounts each time) and it's an absolute emotional rollercoster. After the shock and anger came an "I feel so f*****g stupid" phase which was the worst. Stay strong.