scottishjohn

copper pipe in those areas would seem best solution I know i have mice Ihave seen them running up the pebble dash to get in at roof line . but its only winter when they looking for somewhere warm -summer no problem

what temp is this thermo plastic melting at ? did you scan the old one or just design it on cad?

Is this not really a failure in your planning ? you could do all the goggling before the day of the job to find out the way to proceed with the job in hand then make a plan . I,m the same as you guys --getting old and stiff --so planning is essential and being realistic on what i can do on my own no more clutch jobs for me if i cannot get my transmission jack to lift the g/box out and in with another body at hand to steady things I know i think I,m the greatest at car repairs --but if someone is brining in a car i have not seen before or job i haven,t done on that car --as soon as its booked in I go goggling the car and how to tackle the job --just in case there are bobby traps . and then decide how much of it i will believe and make a plan . the mercruiser out drive on a 27ft day fihing boat i did last month was good example -- just replace the rubber giators --sounds simple -- soon as you goggle that job 30 + ways of doing it come up --this tells me its right bastard of a job to do . 10mins googgling and I find I need special tools to remove things and realign them on rebuilding ----so off to lathe to make them before the boat comes in and fills my workshop. yes its still a bastard job to get at -- but all goes to plan no problem -- hence why marine engineers had quoted him £800 to do - job done -- bill was well under what he had been quoted --so everybody happy " If you fail to plan --you plan to fail"

It basically has ,as no one ever wants an engine or a g/box rebuilt -they will scrap the car ,as we are in a throw away world recyling or refurbishing just does not happen . and will not as long as it is cheaper to throw things away .

and we can blame all this on the education system which has for decades looked down upon manual skilled workers as being a FAILURE--and it is instilled at school that paper certs is the only way forward ,so we now have people who canb,t do diddly if its not on a key board when you need to have a 3 day course to teach someone to use a ladder !! when taking on trainee mechanics i have always found that with 2 weeks you know if they are going to cut it . I suppose now that would be 2 months ,by the time you allow for the hours they stand about looking at mobile phones . last one i had left when itold him he could not use his phone inworks time --just looking for a pay cheque not a trade. that is the biggest brain killer out there -snap crap face box ,etc etc . I also think it was wtrong to make kids stay at school so long If you interest is in a skill ,then you need them young when the enthusuiasm is still there and they will listen . not everyone is suited for acamdemic life as the school system seems to think

yes you are correct I have not seem fermacell done was the big job you mention TF or ICF or block work steel stud work? I suspect TF will suffer more due to shrinkage of frame as the americans say " I will take that under advisement"

It always looks shite ove time - EG. you tell its was just joints done If you building an office block --OK but your house --skim it why do think "artec" became so popular with mass builders --cos it covered up skrim tape and fill jobs

once you involve professional waste people or get bore holes drilled to check for contamnated ground --then they are bound to report to council if they find pollution AN EXAMPLE an old gas works in newton stewart was closed and flattened --this was the last working coal gas plant in mainland uk - should have been kept as a tourisit attaraction any way it flattened - and site was sold -supposedly the soil polluted from 150 years of gas prodcution was removed new building put up 15 years later same site was sold to ALDI by now laws had changed and council insisted on bore hole investigations,even though it had not beeen gasworks for years RESULT job stopped for 6 months while hundreds of truck loads of subsoil was removed from below the recently built founds of the other building,down to the level of the river next to it --about 10m .If this had been a private site i think they mgiht have got it done quick and no council checks so beware if its brown fieldsite and its use in past was something that could pollute -then they copuld insist on ground checks once you open it up ,or even before at planning stage So open it, tell no onne of any doubts about pollution and get it filled in again quick .

so next question is what will its resale value be after you have done all the refurb ?-- maybe its not a viable idea with out a rebuild if its not going to be worth that much ? full stone and hard lime plaster walls -- you will never stop the damp coming up from ground ,as there will be no damp course or poissibly even foundations If you keen -speak to someone whio is very familar with these type of houses in your area who has already brought one into 21st century condtion --sounds like a real money pit to me what size is the plot and what is guide price ?. all mains services ? or septic tank and well water

we need to now EXACTLY how its constructed now to give best advice pictures would be good walls --stone ,but is there then a gap and lathe ~plaster? how big are the rooms --how much space can you afford to loose in the rooms . - Is exterior insulation + water proof render an option -you kill two birds with one stone -- walls will never get wet again and can then act like a heat sink if insulation is exterior ? also you loose no interior space , so many ways --common choice for barn conversions is to spray inside of wall with a layer of CLOSED cell foam --water proof,so damp does not get inside then build new stud(house inside a house - no doubt old floor joist are set in walls --ends rot off --so you can move them at same time - basically TF inside stone skin ? do alot of searching to decide best way for yuor house --no two old hoses are built the same then there s the question would you be allowed to flatten and build re-lacement -that would laways be first choice if you areallowed iif you wanting 21st century economy running costs at cheapest and definable costs before you start much easier and probably cheaper to do than major refurb with all the bobby traps you don,t know about till you get stuck in ,so can you ask planning if it would be possible for flatten and rebuild before auction -

could it be a fake? or rejects? -at price of this stuff its maybe worth makng copies

you obviously haven,t tried to do many deals with asians , they will always want a deal ,then another one at end of job. one of the reasons i moved out of manchester you spend 30mins aruing about price of a set of tyres or something ,then when they come back they insist that was not the price,even when they had a printed quote ,which they somehow loose ,or "me no speaky de english" the one thing they all seemed understand was "jack the fxxer up fred and renove the tryes"-then all of a sudden they understand and pay up -

I agree with that ,but if there is an accident and it goes to court ,then employer laways gets unrealistically penalised REAL EXAMPLE a mechanic hits himself on hand with his own hammer and crushes it-off work for months,should have been a few weeks --but strecthed it out to close to a year --mechanic goes to tribunal to obtain a lump sum judgement 75% employers fault --employee 25% the employer should have made sure the emplyee did not use a hammer with grease on shaft the man had 20 years in the trade .so to my mind if any blame it should have other way round ,but really maybe the mech should not have been on the piss all weekend -this was not a large garage that was being sued ,but a very small one- result this insurance ran away ,due the verdict of tribunal--so he had to find £15K + £5 k court expenses--nearlty put him out of biz-- that was an unreasonable placement of blame for the accident -,

door size --there is a minimimum , 1000mm?I remember that from doing our disabled loo in garage when we split it ito 3 units . there is or was ,in Scotland, a half way house which is sometimes allowed depending on BC man and the building you are working with It is called an ambulant toilet-- it can be samller . I was allowed that in my showroom unit. yet for my workshop /customer reception where there will never be any wheelchair mechanics I had to have full disabled, you begin to wonder when it will be a requirement for a new build to have a disabled loo or at least an ambulant one ,we already have to have ramps and as most houses will have more than one --then i can see ground floor one could be a target for them to be made compliant,even if its just size tostart with so it can be converted infutre if need arises to make stay at home social care a bigger possibility ,certainly worth considering if designing your new forever home that and enough space for a lift shaft in future,which can be storage space till then floor plan --check this out https://www.moreability.co.uk/help-advice/2018/08/disabled-toilet-size

insultion as in pipe lagging works both ways -keeing things hot or cold -not a problem in my mind . other than drinking direct from tap --does it really matter if cold is a few degrees warmer and thats a maybe It should be lagged anyway and it still should be 750mm down anyway where ever it rtuns

maybe time to make network of ducts for wiring in your new poured slab UFH floor -- make stud walls to run it all behind?

well if you follow any of the trheads onhere what always conmes to the top is do it once do it right and "fabric first " when searching for effiency so why not go back ot stone walls -- and tan ktem or maybe get them sprayed with CLOSED cell foam - that is water proof and sorts the insualton at same tiem what ever you do isee it as imperative you sort the damp problems once and for all tough tio t looked like the oputside of house was cut stone showing not rendered in any way if its render then there are lots of water proof versions ,but you still need to up the insulation on other side of stonework lots of goggling for yuo to do

there are some things that i do agree with like safety equipment when using a chainsaw --even for a simple job you get a good arterial bleed and you,ll be dead before you can ring for an ambulance but mostly its just common sense and having a few close shaves when young and foolish but a 3 day course to teach you to use a ladder -- which my son inlaw had to go on to fir new flashiing light bulbs to a police van roof ,when he worked as police mechanic. as he says he jumps 10 times higher and falls off when going mountain biking

my digger man told me that he now has to have a safety harness with fall arestment when getting up on back of digger to check oils etc not much point he says as the arrestor system don,t lock until its dropped 2 m --which would mean he would be face down in the mud but site he is working on has insisted he uses fall arrestment gear when getting up on the digger . this week he got in trouble again with HSE man on site he was holding up traffic and helping concrete trucks back onot the tight site he,s working on have you done a traffic management course ? NO ,then do not help the trucks back on site- we,ll send you on a course next year ,another 3 days wasted he says

so -- what are you doing to general insulation spec if you are going to trouble of fitting UFH maybe strip walls back to stone work and make a nice new insulated envelope so your stone walls cannot chill the inside? just adding better heating is only half the job if you going to let it all dissapear through the stone walls. KEEPING THE HEAT IN WILL DRASTICALLY RDUCE THE AMOUNT OF HEAT ING YOU HAVE TO DO

welcome to the forum sounds like you going for full 21stcentury upgrade lots of piccies please

Ilearnt that long time ago when I Flew model aircraft --props need boiling up at least once year to make them less brittle and to survive less than perfect landings especially in winter I gave up model flying --I took up real flying -- it worked about about the same hourly rate once you factored in the repair costs for the models and exclude training costs to get PPL and no crashes LOL

bi metal type is the way to go --with a GOOD frame . If they are cheap they will be crap-get sandvik or something with a name you can always tell who can use a hacksaw --the paint will be off 80% of the blade --not just the middle 5" and use the right no of teeeth blade for what you are cutting very important with mechanical hacksaw where the blades can be £15 a time minimum of 3 teeth should be inthe thickness of the metal you are cutting at all time -- for most hand hack saw jobs 24 -28teeth is best option . and junior hacksaws have always been a joke,virtually extinct since multi cut tools came onthe scene

I sent an email to dwi-defra a very nice woman came back to me and we discussed things If stored water volume is only a 1-2 supply in the break tank then --she sees no problem as the rate of the chorine etc coming out of the water will be much slower than the usage ,so no need for UV In fact as the water is coming from a reservoir --eg surface collected water,then adding UV could in extreme cases cause conversion of dissolved organics into nasties not normal ,but possible --so her advice was --no UV drain down chalets at end of each season and just flush plenty of clean water through at beginning of next one along with careful cleaing of all spouts and taps and shower heads --normal good practice basically

you are probably correct -- fit a uv and have some overkill,was going to do that on rented chalets anyway - if they ever get built . first problems first --get house sorted with them in mind