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Bitpipe

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  1. Bitpipe
    Parex reps have been out with the contractor, not sure if board vendor was there too. Plan is to re-convene this spring with MBC also and see if we can't figure it out.
  2. Bitpipe
    Yep - batten is 25mm with insect mesh top and bottom. all walls have the effect to varying degrees. At the top of the non gables, the render either finishes within 3mm of the soffit which allowed for alu cladding (the contractor suggested sealing that gap but I never did) or tucks under a grp edged flat roof. The gables have an alu coping but that sits on a bracket and there is a generous overhang and gap so airflow should not be impeded.
  3. Bitpipe
    Yep, would do it pretty much all the same again - more external blinds I think as I love the ones we have got and miss them where they are not installed. Both basement (shuttered pour) and MBC frame were turnkey enough to remove uncertainty for a novice builder but gave enough flexibility around finishing the exterior (windows, doors, roof, render) and a semi finished interior (stud walls, floor decks) to crack on with first fix.
  4. Bitpipe
    They used Euroform Rendaboard 12mm which was approved by Parex. Contractor thinks that hot air is building up behind the boards and that it's not suitably vented at the top but I think this is off target as the coping sits on a bracket with a generous drip overhang so unlikely to interrupt airflow.
  5. Bitpipe
    It took a year or so for the issue to appear, firm are very professional and established - they've committed to fix it but we agreed that best for me to finish landscaping etc first and then they'll return so teeing that up for this summer. Regarding board gaps, how do you stop them getting fouled by the initial coat of render, are they taped? This was the reason that our guys did not see the need for gaps (and neither did the board manufacturer). I suspect it's a combination of factors, board expansion is putting strain on the batten fixings to the frame and these are flexing, allowing the boards to move.
  6. Bitpipe
    We had the exact same situation. Plumber left the first fix 40mm waste poking up through bathroom floor, tiler neatly tiled around it (underneath tiles was latex, ufh heaiting matt, backer board and 22mm OSB deck). Plumber returned, for 2nd fix took a look a the supplied trap and laughed. We then had to cut a hole in the newly tiled floor (thankfully UFH mat was not under bath) and fit a standard trap with flex connector to bath. As it's a 'wet room' style we needed to put a 'wall' of sealant around the edge of the hole to prevent any water finding its way in and down to ceiling below. Nick also suggested getting some angle bead, mitring the corners and folding it into a square shape and sealing down the edges. Had to do this in two bathrooms. All worked out but total faff.
  7. Bitpipe
    That has been discussed - they are butted up tight but it has been determined that that is per the board manufacturers recommendation. Will see what actually happens...
  8. Bitpipe
    Low Expansion foam (gun grade) is a pretty easy way of sticking EPS to anything - I used it to clad the exterior of the basement which was about about 120m2..
  9. Bitpipe
    We left a 100mm gap between bottom of the render system and what was then expected to be ground level. I dressed this with an additional strip of 20mm thick x 200mm deep EPS over the EPS cladding the basement wall, digging out a bit to get the depth. We then ran our paving flush with the top of the render (to allow no step entry to house on all sides) but set 100mm back to from a 100x200mm channel round the house. Next job is to line the EPS with Ubiflex flashing and backfill the channel with decorative white stone chips to act as a french drain, leaving a 100mm gap between the render and air gap and the top of the stone. When rendering the garage with the same system, I managed to get the Ubiflex onto the base of the garage wall first so it runs under the bottom batten - thought of it too late for the house. However if the render is getting fixed then I may hold off and apply it then. Will send a pic later.
  10. Bitpipe
    We have a render issue which may have been caused by lack of compression joints, not sure. It may also have been caused by insufficient fixing of the battens to the timber frame outer skin (panelvent board). The boards under the Parex render are pillowing up as soon as it gets warm causing an unsightly effect. The parex is highly elastic so no risk of cracking but does not look good. Render firm committed to fix it but don't understand the root cause yet and understandably only want to do it once. Going to push to have it resolved this year now that everything else is done.
  11. Bitpipe
    Beautiful house - not too dis-similar to ours in terms of aesthetic but our basement is fully enclosed and not a curve in sight Echo everything above, 22 is our steady state temp (passive house) in SE England. That is t-shirt temp. My advice is to plan for external motorised shutters on east and roof glazing and south if possible - makes a huge difference to overheating. Consider RAL 7012 (Basalt Grey) as a less harsh grey than the standard anthracite (7016) - goes great with white render.
  12. Bitpipe
    I submitted loads of invoices, probably the majority of my submission, they all had different names (cash invoice, pro-forma invoice etc). Some indicated that they were paid or goods shipped but f not noted, you may want to write PAID with the date on them and whether cash or CC etc. Belt and braces to supply proof of payment alongside - not sure it necessary but it won't hurt. I only did this for international orders to show the currency conversion. Main thing is that they have the traders VAT number on them (VAT paid does not need explicitly called out as you can submit those under part E). If over a certain value (can't recall) they need to have your name and address on them also.
  13. Bitpipe
    I used an even cheaper pocket door system (from Hafele) which only had two steel vertical supports with timber inserts that clipped into the top and bottom horizontal supports. Once plastered and skimmed, the wall is fairly solid but poor soundproofing - we used denser blue pb to mitigate as they're used in bathrooms upstairs. We have four single and two doubles (in basement, act as room dividers) and they work ok - the space saved offsets the hollow wall issue.
  14. Bitpipe
    I will dedicate the same energy to this thread as I did on The Thead That Cannot Be Named. I had a nice electric stapler that died on me, was never able to get it going again. I feel your pain.
  15. Bitpipe
    How long before this thread gets to 50 pages...
  16. Bitpipe
    Might need to sneak out and buy one then
  17. Bitpipe
    That's the delay he's set on his time lapse camera...
  18. Bitpipe
    I bet the letters are made up though. '..'one thing led to another and before we knew it, the airtightness was 0.6 ACH !"
  19. Bitpipe
    Do they have a 'Reader's homes' section or is it all professional photos. Asking for a friend.
  20. Bitpipe
    Would have done but couldn't get the aquaduct or vomitorium past the planners...
  21. Bitpipe
    Best approach is to avoid overheating in the first place by leveraging existing shading and designing in your own, whether bris soleil, blinds, overhangs etc. A split air con would make sense, problem with MVHR is that the air flow is too low to appreciably cool a room so you need something more meaty. Assuming that it's used when it's sunny, PV would take care of the energy used. Quite a few here cool their slab by running the UFH cool via the ASHP and keep it just above the dew point so water doesn't condense out on it. I looked into creating a heat dump when excavating the basement but it all got too complicated. Basement itself is lovely in summer - never goes above 22 and has no heating or cooling in it what so ever. I travel to Arizona regularly and it's 40+ there during the summer, mid 20s in winter. Lots of homes and restaurants have chilled mist sprayers that don't make you wet but do take the heat out of the immediate area.
  22. Bitpipe
    Not normal historically but expected to be more typical. https://www.theguardian.com/science/2018/nov/02/uk-heatwaves-lasting-twice-as-long-as-50-years-ago-met-office A house built today needs to deal with the future, not the past.
  23. Bitpipe
    I need to redecorate a few areas this summer as the original paint has now got a bit grubby and knocked after 2 1/2 years of living in it! Does this have the same splatter issue as rollers? That's my main concern, protecting the floor etc.
  24. Bitpipe
    I live in SE England - inside the house is usually 22oc all year round. Exterior was in the 30s for quite a chunk of the summer last year - 20s and high teens in the shoulder months. We only use an oven in the evening to cook, the overheating we experience from that window can start from 10am unless we shade it internally.
  25. Bitpipe
    On a warm day, where the air outside is warm, opening a window makes no difference and may make things worse. Also, in an airtight house, you need to open two windows to create a through draft. You also don't need a mega window to cause a problem - our kitchen window is 1600mm x 1200mm and is south facing. We didn't fit it with an external blind as it faces the neighbours gable but it does let in a lot of sun when it's lower in the sky (spring & autumn) and can quite quickly warm up that room. We do use roof windows to purge the house in summer if the air temp is lower outside (i.e. in evening).
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