Grosey

So do you think I could router a groove in to a standard lining, or just surface mount the strip (also seen this mentioned a couple times as well as putting the strip on the door itself?

I have a 3 storey house and so require all internal doors to be FD30, however becoming confused about the appropriate door linings. Today i I bought some specific howdens fire check linings without realising how expensive they were (joys of using an account!) Do I have to use these firecheck linings or will a standard MDF primed lining work with an intumescent strip, or do I not even need an intumescent strip? The howdens catalogue seems to suggest I can use the MDF ones with a strip but I don't believe it has the groove. Very confused - help appreciated!

We're so happy with the Cedral, particularly with the white render now in place it really makes it "pop". It's amazing how different the colours of the cladding can look in different weathers / lights. The pure brilliant white may have been an error, it's been a bit squinty on site in the past few days of sunshine.

Rendering and all cladding completed. Couple coats of paint on the render and we'll probably give it another towards the end of the summer when we hopefully finish the build. Also Cecil the Lion is in place, this stone lion head is on every house that my family (my Grandad, Dad and now me) has self built, 4 in this town currently, 3 of which are still owned by the family. The story of how this tradition began is a little lacking in detail, but I did enjoy placing it 50+ years after my Grandad did the very same thing just a mile or so up the road.

A

Keep seeing 2 scoops of thought on whether to tank cement board products or not, what's the general concensus here?

Just wondering what people recommend for the walls of a 3 sided walk in shower, it will be fully tiled. Aquapanel / cement board Moisture resistant plasterboard Plywood Other?

Hi, I'm looking for recommendations for a CCTV system. Started out looking at the Nest Cam external for pure simplicity, then looking on amazon and screwfix saw a multitude of options and now I'm confused. I need the system more for viewing awkward parts parts of the house where I can't see from any windows, i.e. The main approach to my house I cant actually look out on to see whose coming, sounds daft but is what it is. I live in a suburban Cornish town and crime prevention is slightly lower down on the agenda. I need something that can be accessed quick ideally via a nice slick phone app so if I hear a car pull up I can see who it is. POE, Night vision,remote access are also required, would be great if I could view the cameras on my TV as well, either via cable or via browser to a webpage. Thanks in advance. Neil

Hmmm, I'm interested in this as I bought my plot with planning permission originally to include a jack and Jill bathroom, I decided to split this up in to 2 smaller en suites so i could potentially come in to the same issue as you when we get to the reclaim stage.

Yes, then you are only dealing with the weight of the wooden frames. Not exactly removing the glass, more the whole sash as it comes off the front of the frame on a gasket. Perhaps it was obvious to others but our first attempt was at fitting then glazed in their full 200kg weight.

I've been looking at these, what control system and power input did you go for?

Pretty key piece of info that I missed was... take the bloody glass off before you try to fit them!!! Dunno what that tool is called but I saw the guy who surveyed for my uPVC windows brought one as well so must be a fairly standard type of slide rule.

Yup, I'm in

I hired a nice Vietnamese man via Upwork.com, sent him a copy of my plans with a description of what the general look would be and he created me a 3D model in sketchup, complete with 4 full rendered drawings. Best $50usd I've ever spent... also had quotes from designers in western countries for over $500 for exactly the same job! there are people on that site with skills in many software packages if you prefer something other than sketchup.

Finally got watertight after much fighting with Velfac doors, wrestled with insulation, polythene, underfloor heating, shuttering for liquid screed, access for 3x concrete trucks. Anyway the pumped screed was finally completed today and this has always been a major milestone in my mind. It also happened to coincide with the day the scaffold came down which has put today up there with the best days of the build so far for me. Sitting back with a brew now enjoying the moment after having quite a few low times feeling rock bottom over the past 10 weeks! Such is the emotional rollercoaster of self build. Big Travis delivery coming first thing tomorrow with all the CLS so I can start on studwork and materials for cousin to start external rendering on Monday. Externally the place should look finished within a couple of weeks, internally a slightly different story. Ive always seen this journey as split in to thirds - first third was admin, raising funds completing the purchase tendering for builder etc, lots of work with little achievement, second third was all the work I put out to my builder (watertight shell), final third now is me finishing the build and turning it in to a home. 4-6 month push now starting tomorrow morning, on the home straight! P.S big credit to @jamiehamy for posting me some samples of the Cedral light oak cladding, it firmed our decision to go for it and we are really pleased. He wouldn't take any payment or gift of thanks so here's a public thank you at least!

If it's just covenants you are worried about could you not purchase a copy of the title deeds yourself from the land registry website yourself and check? I'm fairly sure that's all a solicitor would do, except a solicitor is £100s and getting the documents yourself is about £3

As a coincidence I had the ordinance survey chap randomly arrive at my place today. As you say nice enough chaps and I had no real reason to doubt what he was up to. Wandering around with a tablet and a satellite on a stick he covered most of the boundaries and said he'd come back again when I had final fences etc in place. I don't believe he was at all linked to land registry but I could be long. His opening line was "Hello, im here to put your house on the map!" which I did quite like, yet I'm easily pleased ?

Just looked the casette 1000 up, looks like a potential option especially as I could combine it with a 500 to achieve my desired size. This could start to become expensive though! Are the logs an integral part of the top lid of the unit, or are they literally just a separate set of logs that sit on top and could be replaced by pebbles or whatever? I've just seen a video where after refilling the water they place the lid and logs back on as one piece...

Not necessarily, I've just moved on to looking at the LCD ones, but at the width I want 1000mm upwards they also start to get quite expensive. Its purely just as a focal point so heat output or any other features are very much secondary to realistic flame looks.

That optimist does look like quite a realistic system, but I'm after something contemporary, to create that long ribbon of fire look. It's a shame they don't have many products in the optimist range, the fake logs just aren't the look I'm after.

Should be sorted now?

Evening all, We are looking at creating something such as this - By purchasing something such as this - https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/252356313733 and building it in, which is where the questions begin. The main rear wall is single skin block so no issues with it taking the weight of TV and fireplace. The queries really are regarding building all the boxing around the fireplace. The one in the eBay link is a full self contained unit, I may be over simplifying it but could I just build a frame from stud work, and line the boxing for the fireplace in vermiculite or something similar? Plasterboard the front. With the fireplace fixed to the rear block wall I could probably even create this so that no timber is actually in contact with the fireplace, it could just kind of float around it - hopefully that makes sense? All comments appreciated as always.

I did get a £20 Stanley one from Screwfix, tested it on the block wall, hit too hard, instantly jammed it up completely and had to take it back home to fully dismantle and repair. So so yes I do now own a hammer tacker but I've now completed the job I needed it for without it. Wish id only spent £8 now haha. Update on the polythene, pretty much all done with one room of UFH complete -

Update, decided to take it all up and start again with 500 gauge / 125mu polythene, first impressions are that it's going to be 100 times easier to work with, doesn't appear too flimsy either. Just though I'd close this loop for anyone browsing this forum in the future. Also so planning on picking up a hammer tracker tomorrow to help with keeping it tight in to the wall / floor corner. Yet to see how well it will staple in to blockwork. If if anyone is happening to be reading this any advice for an adhesive I can use to stick the expansion strip to slightly damp blockwork, spray adhesive or similar but something that won't react with the foam strip itself.

Has anyone installed a set of these, 4 x 1m sashes with the 2 middle ones being bi-parting. Installation instruction are crap so wouldnt mind any hints or tips from someone in the know? Could do with a video like this but for initial installation.