G and J

Every knows electricity is generated by scaring children in their sleep. Just ask Sully, he’ll show you. 😉

I’m sorry, I simply don’t accept that Racey deserve an apology.

We had quotes for norrsken and kloeber as well as from our local aluminium window supplier who is a Smart Systems manufacturer. We are going with the latter, full measure, supply and fit. The cost was about 25 to 30% lower BUT the decision was based on the facts that 1. They are local with a good reputation 2. The can deliver the u value we "need" and all of the window door options we want in the same range (alitherm 400) 3. Both other quotes "bent" the truth ..." building regs say you must have 3G", " you can't have an outward opening front door and comply with pas 24", and both changed the size of at least 1 window opening to suit their range without mentioning it (double chk what the quote says) 4. Our suppliers order in the profile, spray to the ral colour we want, THEN measure the actual holes and manufacture in about 5 weeks, the others had timescales that meant windows would need to be surveyed off plan or would have a 10 to 14 week lead time. Our decision was also helped by the fact we actively did not want a wood finish inside and if necessary fitting could be done in more than one stage. Time will tell if we made the right decision.

Ah. Who spec’d the cladding/lead? Maybe there’s some attractive vent grills you can instal along the top afterwards.

Yep, they eat through them. Especially if they can sit there, hidden from view behind cladding. Does that lead at the top allow ventilation? As I understand it you effectively want to have a chimney effect thingy going on to keep your cladding, etc. dry.

Those air bricks are very frequent, far more so than on our ‘91 build. I’d not worry about encapsulating them behind vertical cladding. You want good ventilation behind the cladding anyway. I would worry about plastic air bricks and vermin. You may wish to carefully protect the void behind the cladding top and bottom with SS mesh.

Methinks that stuff like that floor build up often gets dumped down onto drawings without thought - more or less standard formula. Don’t assume that everything on your drawings is there first a good reason. You are the client - it is your right to question. If you are installing UFH it would be different. If you need air removed from your kitchen then you could still catch the grease with a recirculating hood and have a boost to your chosen ventilation system. I did once link a previously recirculating hood to an external vent via a flat-ish rectangular duct along the top of some kitchen wall cupboards. Sort of worked but I think the flow rate wasn’t what it could have been and on full it sounded like a hovercraft. Plus I suspect the guests rarely turned the bloody thing on anyway.

Does anything else matter? 🤔

Questions (having noted you are doing a refurb and therefore I’m assuming you won’t have MVHR). If you are laying a wood floor why do you need a screed? You could have a floating wooden floor on thicker insulation. Why not use a recirculating hood?

Hmmmm. Many things to think on. @ProDave No door stop above door - does that not leave it looking a bit ‘unfinished’? No offence intended. I like the idea of full depth door stops (possibly not a brilliant way to describe them) but presumably they require the door to be fitted to the pre-made door recess. I’m ok at hanging doors generally but will that make it super difficult? Can one buy adjustable mortice plates?

My answer, and I can say this with great confidence, is either, i.e. whichever side you prefer. Just make sure they are either: A) all the same way up, or B) if not all the same way up at least arrange them so they are in a pattern (e.g. checkerboard or stripes or chevrons or whatever). Do I get extra housepoints?

@zzPaulzz form an orderly queue behind @Alan Ambrose lol How about someone flips a coin to decide who hosts a meet up next month?

Is there a reason not to use HEP2O throughout?

If you are dead set against a concrete floor why not do a floating double layer wood floor over high compressive strength EPS? That way you only have to return the 100mm timbers. I think a vapour barrier under the wood floor would stop condensation under the EPS and if you used 75mm insulation you’d end up with a similar floor level. I don’t think even two later caberdeck would withstand a large weight dropped from height but most peeps home gyms focus on machines and relatively light weights anyway. (Actually I used to use free weights and I think it’s awfully bad form to drop weights anyway, but that’s another story.) But rowing machines, treadmills, cross trainers, etc. would be fine. And that should leave spare cash for the most important bits, huge tv, sound system, mirrors, etc…. 😉

Gee thanks - I now have the floral dance playing in my head. That doesn’t help. But perhaps after the build we could bring Flora (the Explorer) down to Flora day.

Accepted, and appreciated. Especially as we’re sitting in Flora, our camper van, on a campsite having a few days away. Hard life innit. 😉

Loads and nothing. I need to do another entry to clear out my head but my head’s too full to do a blog entry…. Plus I need a milestone like some visible progress to make me feel like it’s reasonable to do one. When you’re there every day it feels like so little changes.

Have you looked at part O yet? That may throw some changes into the mix

Aka an element of control freakism. I think we all try (try being the operative word) to stay within bounds of what we can/should do, when we don't ......there be dragons....stretch not stress and all that. Looking at your blog, you're motoring, so whatever you're doing/have done....it's working.

Not at the moment, but that's a great offer, thanks.....will keep in mind

Maybe someone should invent wallpaper with post it note glue already on it. It could be marketed as reusable and hence eco.

Top tip, thanks johnMo Not a grand design by any means but "clean" modern house, with aluminium windows/porch canopy/parapet capping,silvered (not everyone's cuppa I know) so kind of fits.......if could get it square in ral colour then....... oh and specified on planning (could of course seek a change) but in the end budget may have something to say anyway Sound like it'll be a "project" but will give satisfaction if we do it. Thanks for info.....site restrictions would make even 6m lengths difficult and we have 4 x 12m runs if we did in one piece 😞

Just started looking to where we will source guttering. Not going lindlab, very nice but galvanised and were having larch cladding Nearly fell off chair at marley alutec quote. Guttercrest look more "reasonable" cost wise and I see that @Russell griffiths has used and looked good, so 3 questions Russell how's it looking a few years on? Has anyone had more recent dealing with Guttercrest? Who else should I be looking at? Thnx

As the female of the partnership and the one who could be claimed to deliver "the look" (although in all honesty I think we can and do both deliver it) I would say a big no to wallpaper.....choose the most outrageous colour or colours you like, but leave the wall surface unblemished Sp edit

Ummm, is this buzzword bingo?