ab12

For those members who have a log burner what are the running costof timber fuel in the winter on average per month? Am thinking of getting 5Kw or possible 7kw log burner and want to have a rough idea if I was too run it every day for about 4 hours for the winter months, so at least 4 months, say November to February how much would it cost to purchase the timbers say per month on this basis? On average if you pack the burner with timbers how long does 1 burn cycle last? thanks

I'm a little bit confused. Have had a new extension built with pitched roof and 7 by 2 joists were use. When I measured the joist the other day to work out what insulation will fully fit the joits depth they weren't fully measuring 175mm but about 165mm. So technically theyre not truely 7 inches. Is this normal? Looks like real value is different from the nominal stated value. Does the same sort of things go for other timber e.g. studs. Bit confused

I need to do the same stud walls and fluffy insulation between the studs- DIY project. I know its basic question but can you advise how to make sure I get the studs level both vertically and horizontally so that when plasterboard is attached to the boards it sits nice and flush and wall is nice and even to prevent cracking of plaster at the joins between adjacent boards. Will I need to use packers behind the studs to level them. I should have added some of the walls are bare to the brick so I will be getting plasterer to do a parge coat of lime based plaster for breathability. How long do I leave between the parge coat and adding the stud wall? dunno how long lime based plasters take to dry up and become nice and firm

DIY project- need some tips please. So I need to plasterboard my ceilings. Problme joist are in good condition but old and when I put a level on the ceiling joists are not all level. Now If I fix plasterboard its not going to be level. How do I overcome this? Use packers between the plasterboard between the ceiling joists?

What is everyone's go to floor finish for UFH on a solid slab- LVT or tiles or something else. My main considerations are longevity of the floor finish and also one which gives the best heat outcome for UFH- basically which one will feel the warmest to walk on. Had a little google research LVT can last about 10-20 years wheres tiles can last a lot longer upto 50 years. I've got experience with neither floor finish. So floors in question are for living room, bathroom and a kitchen.

Probably a daft question but is there a need to use ventilated fibre cement tiles in places on a pitched roof if when using a breather membrane. I suspect not but thought about belt and braces option. My current roof has old bitumen felt under fibre cement tiles, is ventilated at eaves and has a few ventilated fibre cement slates in places for airflow. Thing is old roofer actually cut thorugh the felt just under ventilated slates and this is allowing water ingress in places. Also is there a need to leave an air gap between insulation and breather membrane when using an air and vapour open memrane?

OMG are we talking modern DG PVC sliding sashes? Kind of expect old single glazed timber sliding sashes to be draughty but not the current DG PVC types. Is it down to poor craftmanship? quality of profile? I was thinking of getting PVC sashes but this........the fact yoiu mentione they're draughty...... has kind of dented my confidence

So just to recap, no taping for cold roof but better to tape for warm roof?

Which type of tape please?

Thank you everyone. Had a look at the prices and SD values Permavent £160 SD value 0.01 Roofshield £150 SD Value 0.013 and Klober £259 SD value 0.009 On paper Kolbre wins in terms of breathability but is there a bif difference between 0.009 and 0.1 SD value? If not then I think either Permavent or Roofshield Also I don't quite understand do these membranes to be taped or can they be used untaped. Look at the brochure if taped for example Permavent require 100mm overlap and if untaped then 150 mm overlap. In terms of tape- any specific type of tape ? or standard waterproof duck tape?

All together 3 areas to cover: Area 1 approx 18m2 Area 2 approx 10m2 Area 3 approx 13m2 I was think of laying dry screed with help of about 2 or 3 labourers who will muck in do the screeding. Idea was to order ready made dry screed and levels it off. Off course liquid screed will be much quicker fix but I'm pretty sure there will be a cost differential but I dont know exactly how much. UFH installer recommended WET screed mainly because he feels it is slef levelling and you can get a more level finsih. Personally I think you should be able to get a decent finish with Dry screed aswell

I'm in the process of doing a full re-roof to replace old bitumen leaky felt. Would like to go with breather membrane that is air and vapour permeable. Any recommendations please. Pitched roof will be finished off with fibre cement tiles with a dry ridge system and eaves ventilation. It appears most of the membranes on the market are air tight and vapour permeable and a limited supply are both air and vapour permeable.

Is it possible to put in a request under Permitted Development for a dormer whilst planning request has already been granted for single storey rear ground floor extension? I dont know whether the council will require the first project to be completed (the rear extension) before the second can start (dormer)? Thanks

I would be grateful if you could explain the reasoning behind this please. Im about to do my roof and have a dormer like this but it finishes flush with the external gable wall rather than on the pitched rood part. Now I would like to have toilet, shower and sink in the new room to be formed by a partition next to the dormer. Of course will have a good extractor fan in there. Is there a risk I will be introducing problems with moisture or condensation by having a shower room there? How can I mitigate any risk? Thanks

In terms of insulation I will putting 150mm PIR even though 100mm will suffice. Going with the extra insulation hopefully should be better. Initially though plan was to fit 100mm and so I purchased most of the boards already. Now have changed mind and will be ordering the 50mm boards. So I will be laying 50mm PIR first and them 100mm on top. In hindsight I should have ordered 150mm board. Other option is to use use 50mm Polystyrene such as Jabalit and then 100mm PIR on top- Cheaper option. Watched a you tube video about this and learnt the following: Polystyrene boards break easily and can be a bit more tricky to cut but I don't have prior experience so basing everything on what I saw in the video. Have you worked with Jabalite? Is it fairly easy to work with?