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jack

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Everything posted by jack

  1. jack
    One of the problems with cars is that they tend to concentrate their pollution in cities. Even if efficiency were the same, it would still make sense to consider remote production (enabled by electric cars) in order to make cities safer to live in.
  2. jack
    Our younger one is part racehorse, I'm sure.
  3. jack
    Great news Lizzie, sounds like a satisfactory outcome on a crappy situation. That said, it's unacceptable to be shouted at in this situation. I know I'm a bit soft, but I'm not sure I could personally work with someone who'd reacted like this to reasonable feedback on unreasonable workmanship. Also, where is your project manager in all of this? Really, having it out with a tradesperson over shoddy workmanship shouldn't be your job! Anyway, well done for standing your ground. I'm pleased he apparently knows how to skim!
  4. jack
    Our kids virtually never remember to flush the toilet or wash their hands on their own, despite many, many years of pestering.
  5. jack
    I'm sure that's part of it, especially with the Genvex where you have only a single UK supplier of a relatively unique product. However, the higher prices often seem to exist even where there's more than one supplier of the product, and the product itself is competing with other comparable products. It does seem worse with products (like MVHR) that are still considered somewhat niche in the UK.
  6. jack
    Quick update - I had a closer look at this tonight and note that the lid actually just clears the actuator and rests on the tiles immediately above.
  7. jack
    Wow, that's a serious amount of money to save. Well done. I'm convinced that we often pay more for continental products because the manufacturers insist on having a local distributor, which adds a further layer of mark-up. There's really no excuse for it costing an additional £3k to buy in the UK compared to Denmark.
  8. jack
    We had to go with this option (seat rests on flush actuator) on all of our toilets. It's mildly annoying having to move the seat forward to flush every time, but not the end of the world. No issues yet from the seat resting on the (plastic) flush actuator.
  9. jack
    Same with us, even down to the same MBC construction. In our house, the upstairs rooms are noticeably cooler in winter, despite us having a very wide and open area above the stairs and a double-height slot along the length of our kitchen/diner. I assume that the low temp UFH downstairs is perhaps not sufficient to get any real convection currents going, so not enough warm air moves upstairs to overcome the cooling effect of the slightly cooler air coming in through the MVHR.
  10. jack

    Amanda

    jack replied to Amanda's topic in Introduce Yourself

    Welcome Amanda, that sounds like an interesting project. We'd definitely be interested in hearing how you get on. We have polished concrete floors throughout the ground floor of our house. I'm pretty happy with it, although even with sealing we've found it to not wear well in the kitchen (things stain if not wiped up immediately, so that drop of oil that you thought was a drop of water leaves a permanent mark if not wiped off quickly!) For controlling solar gain, I'm sure you know that nothing beats some form of external shading. We have overhangs and external blinds on our west facing windows and they do a sterling job of keeping the worst of the sun out. An adjustable brise soleil that you can periodically change the angle of, and ideally move completely out of the way during the colder months, is a potentially cheaper option for large expanses of glass. For thin walls that are also "solid", you could consider ICF with additional external insulation.
  11. jack
    Ooh, I remember that one. That's the one where they used a German prefab company to do everything except the cladding, which was handled by a British company. The German company finished on time and on budget, but the cladding still wasn't on months and months later. They also insisted on having a fire, against the advice of the German builder. From memory, they admitted they'd never lit it as the house was always warm enough.
  12. jack
    +several million
  13. jack
    It's how you tell them
  14. jack
    In our area, we have a very clear prevailing wind direction, partly due to location and partly due to local geography. Subjectively, it seems to blow from there 90% of the time. Perhaps monitor it as best you can over winter in your house and see whether you find something similar?
  15. jack
    Welcome to Buildhub. Really sorry to hear that. Re: credit cards, as I understand it only a portion (but > £100) of the payment needs to be on the card to get full protection. For example, put £200 on credit card and the rest in cash. Also, do start a thread about your search for a manufacturer. @ryder72 is very knowledgeable about the kitchen landscape in the UK and may be able to provide feedback on where you're headed. One other thing: I was told, and it's been my experience, that good fitting makes all the difference. Whatever you do, make sure that the people fitting the kitchen will do a superb job, and that will help tremendously. Sorry your arrival here is under such painful circumstances. Hopefully it'll all work out for you in the end.
  16. jack
    Agree with all that. The problem here is the result of the project manager's choice of tradespeople. What's the point in googling plasterers - why doesn't your PM have at least one, and ideally two or three, teams he can call on? You shouldn't be expected to go onsite at 7:30 to tell people how to do their jobs. That's your PM's job - otherwise what are you paying him for? You're getting to that stage of the build where things will be on show. I still wince most days at some of the tiling and skirting boards in our house. Others may not notice, but you will, and that's why getting this right now is so important, even if it slows things down. All the very, very best. Do feel free to come on here and rant at any time - you'll get a lot of sympathy from those of us who've been there!
  17. jack
    Ah yes, I remember that feeling well! It's never happened to me before or since.
  18. jack
    Interesting theory. I'd query whether steam rising from lower areas would be able to get close enough to the already burning cladding to initiate the described reaction with the aluminium. Between expanding air/combustion products and updrafts, I suspect any such steam would at best be carried straight up, or more likely slightly away from the facade. The idea of water that had already been absorbed into the PIR over time seems plausible - you can imagine it being vaporised and expelled due to the heat.
  19. jack
    Describe self-building 5 words: Hopefully nothing too serious.
  20. jack
    With the telehandler?
  21. jack
    Speak for yourself!
  22. jack
    That's great news Ian. The map definitely isn't always the territory when it comes to practical skills like this.
  23. jack
    Call Hasbean and have a chat with them. Tell them what you like and they'll give you some ideas of what to go for.
  24. jack
    Maybe Onoff's bathroom is a black hole, and time dilation happens when he enters. Bit of an issue with him coming back over the event horizon though.
  25. jack
    Sainsbury's Colombian is okay at a pinch.
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