BadgerBodger

@Nickfromwales, on it 👊

Sounds it. My windows were on time but whilst I had the concept in mind I under thought the solutions for airtight/thermal bridge (or at least didn’t anticipate them to be so fiddly). Such is life.

Nice. Looks like different scenarios will likely call for different solutions. They all vary slightly. Very few will I be luck enough to get tucked behind the frame. Most will be abutting. I’ll give feedback in due course

I see. I have both these products already. Just have a habit of still calling them “silicone”. Thanks for clarity. And bonding compound for drywall not suitable? Tile adhesives is preferred?

Yes, this is the way. And airtight with silicone/sealant?

British standards are the first step in understanding what good should look like… then you have NSSS for steel and NSCS for concrete (which both basically reflect relevant BS in a slightly easier to read format) or the Highways Specification Series for earthworks, surfacing etc. But, good luck if your run of the mill builder has ever read or understands the whys and wherefores of them. And that’s what you have to manage… Expectations and realities.

My bricklayer never saw them, my architect never saw them, I never saw them. Until I came here, then I SAW them. And I sold them the my bricklayer and my architect and I got what I wanted. It’s seriously tough when you don’t have the experience, but by being objective and listening to their needs you can usually find a way of communicating your needs. if you haven’t got detailed drawings, sketches or a written scope it’s hard for anyone to do anything on a price. Were marmox blocks clearly on the cards when they took the job?

Nice. Looks like I was half way there. Yeah, it’s deceptive but could be at little as 15mm so I was thinking 12 mm marmox and skim. Was hoping to avoid shimming though 🤣

Thoughts on a postcard… I have a number of concepts which I’m sure will work but looking for fresh takes on how to take airtight AVCL line from door frame to Iinternal insulation (inner face) - gap circa 415 to traverse but only 20mm or so to work with…. Current lines of thought are to AVCL to frame behind build-up and use jacko/marmox board to form reveal with stop end bead to frame to restrain the board. Seems like a lot of work though. So if anyone has a cleaner solution from experience it’s welcome. Maybe the more slight frames were a bad choice. doesn’t leave much to work with. Problem occurs 13x to varying degrees albeit this is one of the tighter ones

Absolutely can be done yourself with resin paints. Trowels resin coatings are a little more tricky…

It’s a swizz, I’m sure of it. The thing is from my experience, nearly every floor layer plays the same game. I’ve done whole secondary schools with a slab poured 12 months prior, many metal rib with only 150mm max thickness, they put the probes in, it says moisture too high (especially for resilient floor coverings like linoleum) and they say DPM or no guarantee. 90% the time, it’s ok. 10% the adhesive fails and it’s a very expensive job to make good. ultimately, they don’t want the risk. I get it’s we pay because we don’t want the risk either. it’s not always the case but often. you can always tell them you will take the risk? Imho, less of an issue when the floor can breathe like timber

Out of curiosity are you using premixed mortar or adding a pigment. My experience of using either for coloured mortar is expect some variance in the batches/mixes. The mix on site can be worse or better than ready spread depending on the diligence of your brickie and his choice of “gauging” - for some it’s the gauging bucket, for others it’s a shovel… I’ve found it really hit and miss over the years but for my self build I went with white cement, and hydrated lime with a batch of sand that was more than I needed so I got colour continuity throughout. The sand you get from your merchant can vary - we used to get a red/orange sand but my brickies told me a good grey/brown sand to order direct from a quarry and it worked a treat.

I think you’re right, my problem is that I do this and then don’t want to let go. You know, maybe, maybe I’ll need it again… you know. Fortunately the seller immediately accepted the return when I offered to get a second opinion from Hilti. Can’t for the life of me figure what would have prompted that. Might give it one more try and if not, I’ll have to bite the bullet and empty my wallet with Hilti. They do have mighty fine tools!

Hmmm. Sounds like admin. Too many times disappointed. I think my experience with eBay has been 1:5 for acceptable product v. Disappointment. and pretty much all the satisfactory transactions were for new products. it’s just frustrating that when I sell, I make a point of listing and photographing all worn parts, stating age and serviceability, known quirks etc. my problem with this specific tool is I need it for roughly 10 weeks, likely never again, rental is likely to cost more than purchase (rented tool will be over spec for my needs) and often that comes with a load of running about too when the tool breaks down etc.

Where do people get good quality second hand tools. I’ve had yet another bad experience on EBay, this time with a Hilti PAT. I always swear I’ll never go back, but new for a while, then the lure of a better price for a tool I’ll use for a couple of weeks calls….