boxrick

Don't bother with the cooling battery? Is it not worth it to temper the temperature (probably downwards) a few degrees?

I am completely gutting my house, hopefully getting it quite airtight and installing a warm side ceiling void I have been quoted basically 7.5k + VAT ( design/ supply and commission without install ) and 8.5k+ VAT ( design and supply. No commission or install ) by 21 degrees and Paul Heat Recovery respectively, regarding MHVR install of a Zehnder Q350 + pipes + silencers and cooling battery. My first fix is looking to be around early July, and my final fix around late August. Simply put I am being quoted around 4-6 weeks for the design, when I am guessing I will need all my stuff much sooner than that. So my question is... whats my best option at this point? Do I just pay the deposit to one of these companies and hope for the best? Is a self guided route going to give me the same sort of performance and acoustics one of these companies is likely to specialise in? Any guidance or direction would be appreciated!

I've requested a removal with a bit of an explanation. I'm hoping they will be sensible about it... I'll wait for a human to quote for me Let's see

So basically leaving it bare ( soil ), or a weed barrier + gravel is probably fine from my own pov?

I have just had my gas suppler cap off and remove my gas. I'm trying to fill all service entry points into my wall. I have this I need basically taking back to the ground and out of my property. cadent say about £800 plus £100s per meter. But say others are authorised to work on their pipework. Any advice for getting rid? Im based in Manchester

And for clarity a DPM is going *over* the block and beam.

Hello! I have posted in the introduction forum about this but thought it required its own thoughts. Simply put I am renovating and building an extension. I was flooded at the start of the year and my property is raised around 60cm off the ground, we are adding another 10cm approx as part of this renovation. My foundations are piled with above surface ground beam, with block and beam on top and anti-flood air bricks so the subfloor has ventilation. The builder has simply thrown down a plastic membrane beneath on top of the soil floor. I don't even know if its taped together. From what I read, usual preparation is to basically put down the plastic layer, then sand then compacted hardcore and a thin concrete layer. From a flood perspective, I am thinking that a permeable weed membrane and some compacted gravel may be best. But right now I basically have a plastic membrane thrown down ( And not installed correctly according to building regs ) Simply put I am looking for some advice on what may be best to do in this instance? My builder I don't believe has built the subfloor up properly, and regardless I don't think thats potentially the right solution given I am in a flood zone. What are some peoples thoughts here?

I was going to put EPS beads in the existing wall, but are you saying this is the approach I should have perhaps taken for the extension too? It was originally spec'd for PIR but I changed it to the mineral wool. Re the builder I have raised these in an email and asked him to fix it and take more care for the rest of the build. Hes been reasonable so far, and I have confidence this will be sorted.

And for some more info, holes are for the back of airbricks that are going to the subfloor we are using antiflood ones. Walls look pretty straight

The weird structure was purely thrown up quickly from bits of leftover fence and roof to keep the rain off. It was done in a rush when we had weeks of dry then terrential rain from no where. I had a local bricklayer come by to take a look at some of the recent work on my build and got some honest feedback. Thought I would share the main points he talked about He did said it was fairly typical and far from the worst he's seen 1. The bricklayer pointed out that some of the mortar joints are quite thick. He mentioned this could be hiding issues underneath possibly out of level blocks and recommended I check the walls carefully with a level to see what is really going on behind those thick joints. 2. There are a few spots where holes have been left where the wall ties have been pushed in. These could be potential ingress points for moisture. The advice was that these should have been sealed up properly easily done with a quick thumb close 3. Not Enough Mortar ‘Buttering’ One recurring issue is that some of the the Thermalite blocks haven’t been ‘buttered’ with enough mortar, this is particularly obvious on one wall. This means that the mortar has dried out and shrank back which isn't great for the overall finish or for thermal performance. 4. He did notice there are a lot more wall ties than you would typically see. He said this usually suggests the builders are making extra effort on that front, so that’s at least one positive. 5. The good news is, he didn’t see any structural issues with the brickwork. It’s just a matter of getting the finishing up to standard. 6. He flagged that the cavity is getting a bit messy and should be cleaned out before any further work is done. 7. Finally in regards to the insulation he said it was fairly common for people to cut the insulation and just slot it in, but its generator better to build it in as the wall goes up. Overall, the main takeaway is that the structure itself seems fine, but the quality of the finishing needs attention. Has anyone else had similar issues with thick joints or gaps in the mortar? Is it common for builders to overdo the wall ties day? I'm assuming I'll loose a lot of thermal performance from this randomly placed insulation?

The insulating bricks at the bottom are marmox inside skin is thermalite outside is thermalite heavy duty.

It's really unfortunate since I get on with him very well, at least so far. I really don't want to sack him... I did raise it and basically said "Just had a nosey. Some shoddy cement work on internal wall (gaps) I can see light through in a few places and a smashed damaged external brick which will need patching up / replacing." And his reply "Don’t worry all gaps will be pointed and patched There’s plenty time until the other blocks arrive" So the question is do I take him at his word. Since this is one of those things that should be done right from the outset. And as has been mentioned the insulation isn't even right. It's never going to go in properly with metal rods in the way

Hello folks! I'm having my house completely gutted and a new extension built. I don't know much about building but I have a couple of concerns: - The quality of the brickwork going up seems poor. I can see gaps in the internal skin between the mortar. This concerns me greatly. - I am having glasswool full fill insulation, but won't all these wall ties block the insulation going in the gap properly? - I'm guessing they shouldn't be using broken bricks?

Wouldn't you need them at both levels? I am thinking of skipping near DPC for now and just retrofitting the flood ones if it turns into an issue, but still not entirely sure of this decision.

I am building an extension and renovating my home. I am in a flood zone and my builder is asking me about the cavity on the extension saying he normally installs weep holes through the DPC layer and wanted my thoughts on this due to flood risks. I am wondering can we skip them entirely or is it best to use something like this? I believe we need over 50 for my build https://www.m3floodtec.com/shop/products/one-way-weep-vent-m3whvw I am also installing EWI everywhere

Construction methods. BCO were mostly like, nah computer says no. My architect has stated why and requested for an exemption. So I think my choices are: - Leave it be ( don't like this one ) - Poke it full of holes, fill over with gravel - Pull it out, replace with a weed barrier, cover in gravel.

Hello folks! I am building a new roof with my house refurbishment, a high efficiency build and am working on the ceiling service void, which will be on the warm side of the airtight layer, and I am looking for a bit of guidance on the typical build-up. My builder has a few questions and we are hoping to get this right from the start. What is the usual way to build up the ceiling void in this situation? Does it need to be physically separated from the insulation layer by a layer of plasterboard or wood? Any advice or examples would be really appreciated. Just trying to understand what works, my architect has been thin on details here.

Roughly what's the price of screed material you have been quoted for that floor?

I am hoping to get specific advice from a flood specialist. Failing that I think the most sensible thing to do to keep BC happy is just puncture it a bunch of times and then cover in gravel... will mitigate any stagnant trapped water in the future hopefully.

So below the block and beam floor he has placed a level of visqueen which is basically an impenetrable plastic barrier. If I flood and it somehow gets into my subfloor, I assume this will simply gather water. Is it sensible at this point in time to get him to remove that and replace with some material which allows water to drain and then perhaps cover in a layer of gravel so it doesn't float?

https://www.floodprotectionsolutions.co.uk/products/airbrick/?srsltid=AfmBOooX8CZN8nbIxS9IMB5RuO3GjgvpVdBLunvWpxD9GTruvOoCOYcP Basically when it floods the little ball blocks up stopping water ingress.

FFL is going to match and be equal in new and old build. It was already around 70cm in height, we have further raised it as part of this renovation I think a further 10cm. In respect of the re-build, we don't have a tonne of other choices. The building itself was very small so not attractive to either live in or sell. In respect of home for life... I honestly don't know. Will just have to see where the next years take us. Right now this is in a particurly desirable location, any other property of similar size or quality would be more or less double what I paid + rebuild. We are using anti flood air bricks which will have a channel right through to the void underneath block and beam, avoiding the cavity. Existing property airbricks to be removed as we are infilling with concrete. We already have a membrane here which was just laid on the soil as mostly a weed barrier. Should I get my builder to rip this out? Ventilation is up to building regs which is approx every 1-2m

We have exposed ringbeam and it's mostly bare soil with a membrane over the top. At the lowest point we are already putting anti flood air bricks but this sit basically on top of the ring beam.

In the existing property we are going for a full fill concrete floor. The new property is on piles and is block and beam and it's all going to be a good bit higher too. Is there something else I can be doing beneath the block and beam before it gets fully encased?

I didn't really have a whole lot of choice, our house would be worthless if we didn't. Luckily we are in a very good area and demand for houses here is high. Hopefully the measure we are taking will help mitigate future floods. This spot has never flooded its a 1/100 year event, but obviously things are getting worse. In this case, the river broke its banks which meant it flooded worse than before and spread further. You could say unlucky, but honestly I have had a big payout from insurance. We have had accommodation paid for whilst we are doing our rebuild, so despite the stress of having to manage it all. Its been a blessing in disguise. We managed to move most of our nicer possessions onto worktops and similar. I will get flood gates for our sliding doors / front door I think.