Peter M

Aluminium

I'm hoping that someone on this wonderful forum will be able to point me in the right direction to get an independent window surveyor that can write up a report for the windows and doors that we have had supplied and installed by what we hoped would be a reputable company. After the installation started just before Xmas 2021 it was noticed that not everything that was being delivered and installed matched exactly what we had believed we would be getting, we approved and signed off the CAD drawings but despite this two weeks prior to the start of installation an email was sent to us "confirming" a change to one of the windows that hadn't been requested or spoken about, long story short we now have a long list, almost three pages long, that we are now of the opinion that the only way that we can get sense applied to our situation is to employ an independent surveyor who knows the window supply and install world. I'm not at this stage happy about sharing the name of the company concerned as we are still in discussion with them about these issues but we do need to have in our possession the correct information to challenge their responses should we feel that we are being mislead in any way. If anyone has experienced a like situation and can advise me I'd be very grateful even if you feel that I'm 'barking up the wrong tree'

We are at the point of preparing our lounge floor (block & beam) with sand blinding, DPM and 150mm insulation but I'm unsure what can or can't be under the glass hearth. Will it be sufficient for the glass hearth to be placed directly onto the finish floor screed and have the insulation under the floor just like the rest of the floor area minus any ufh pipes? or should I create a hard shaped raised area to match the shape of the glass hearth in the same way as I did for the shower base in the master en-suite and build it up to the same height as the insulation and have the liquid screed float over the top? My thinking is that if there is no insulation under the hearth the heat generated by the log burner will be partially soaked up by the cold floor area and give a cold spot in the corner of the room when/if the fire is not lit, is there a regulation that dictates what is or isn't beneath a log burner? Also I have a question about ventilation for the log burner given the fact that we have block & beam, can I run the fresh an air feed via a grill ducted from below the floor and the into the void and can it be non forced air or is this dependant on the log burner that we ultimately go for which will probably be >5kwh. Appreciate any answers that these two questions may generate.

Cheers appreciate the reply, as were having cladding where the meter box will be installed and not wanting the box to project to far out from the blockwork I'm guessing that the supply cable will be routed on the surface of the blockwork & behind the cladding before it enters the meter box, from there, after the main supply meter there will be 10mm tails to the consumer unit? is this correct? also should any of this cabling be ducted or chased into the internal masonry??

It would appear from what I am reading is that different DNO's have different requirements, what I am unable to find out however is what provision should be made in relation to the electricity supply cable actually entering the shell of the house and then eventually ending up in the electric meter box, my existing property looks as if it is in the cavity coming up from somewhere in the foundations but as this house is yonks years old I can only assume that things have moved on and some regulation or other exists out there that we self builders must adhere to. Another rub is that all the external meter boxes out there seem to be white GRP or plastic, yuck, especially as we will be having dark slate grey cladding, is it OK to have the box sprayed a matching RAL colour to match the exterior finish or is that against the rules!! Any thoughts or ideas would be appreciated.

Oohh now there is something that I definitely didn't think about, a pit, would have been so easy to plan and construct, boy do I feel like an idiot, but then again with the high water table that we have here that would have created loads of extra issues and concerns that would have cost us such as tanking and sump pump to name just two, not to mention the tight budget that we're working to.

Good point may well consider doing that?with the UFH piping although I haven't got a classic Ford just a rather juicy 3.0 litre Audi Allroad ? And 150mm of concrete would be difficult to achieve now without digging up all the prepared sub-base and redoing it all again, can't go higher as we wouldn't be able to get the 100mm step down plus the A142 was specified by the structural engineer due to a bit of dodgy ground in one corner, may go for 10mm mesh to be sure as it is a totally floating slab

Wow two layers, makes sense I guess, I'm also guessing that the top layer of dpm would need to be dressed into the dampcourse of the internal blockwork, we've opted for a double skin construction with full rockwool insulation to "future proof the garages which could be converted into livable spaces at a later stage if so desired.

On the same sort of tack I am about to construct our garage floor/base, this is planned to be insulated with 100mm of PIR with a 100mm solid concrete slab in fibrecrete crack resisting mix, the whole slab will be reinforced with sheets of A142 mesh, I know I need to add a DPM but I'm not sure if it needs to be between the compacted crushed concrete sub-base or on top of the PIR (celotex or similar) if anyone can steer me in the right direction I'd be most grateful. BTW it's an integral garage that will be 100mm lower than the finished floor of the house due to building regs, the building inspector doesn't seem to be that bothered about the construction so I feel that I'm not really able to pose the question with him, his last comment on his last visit was "as the garage is a non habitatal space they don't have any jurisdiction"

Sadly our architect didn't give any clear details about the plinth and cladding as it was only shown as an option in the building regs document we can of course go back to him but as we will be applying for a minimal change on window and door positions we'll ensure that the plinth is also covered at the same time but for now up to DPC detail is not so important but suffice to say that there will be a traditional block and block cavity where cladding is involved

As an ex bricklayer I'm aware of ensuring that the bonding is set out correctly and some thought has to go into the bonding it's the kind of detail that spoil the overall effect if not properly thought out. Appreciate your comments tho

No it's more like a metre from concrete strip foundation to underside of windowsills and then mostly cladding above the plinth

I have found a couple of suppliers that carry both concrete and lightweight 50mm blocks but I wasn't too sure if I should go for the strength of concrete over the slightly higher cost of lightweight block option really.

The outer wall thickness of 155mm is to provide suitable support for the plinth brick which when laid will then provide at least 105mm for the courses of brickwork that will form the outer skin of the standard cavity construction eg. 105/100/100 I hope that I have explained clearly

I am just about to start our exterior facing brick and blockwork upto DPC which will involve a skin of 105mm facing brick and backed up with a 50mm block to give a 155mm (ish) outer skin which will eventually be set in by 50mm once the plinth brick has been laid. My question is, would I be better placed to use a 50mm dense concrete or a lightweight aircrete block, the building regs document does not specify which to use and as there will be an inner skin of 100mm thermalite block together with 100mm cavity insulation strength over cost may be the major consideration, there are probably pros and cons apart from the cost angle so I'd be happy and interested to hear what you guy's thoughts are. Cheers

Thanks a lot for all your advice and replies guy's (and gals) the info has been really helpful, cheers ?

Sorry guy's I know nothing about curtains ?

Does anyone know of the best non-timber external cladding to use? we want to use a low maintenance product that will not require yearly painting or treating to maintain the look and longevity, several products are available out there but when it comes to choosing the right one it's a little bit of a minefield taking into account cost (primarily) availability, ease of use and overall appearance, any pointers or suggestions that you guy's may have would be most welcome.

We've tried twice to complete the online form that openreach say has to be completed before they will commit to acknowledging that they will be able to supply a domestic line, each time when trying to fill this form in we've hit a certain point where the terminology starts to baffle us and answers required are less than clear, so we tried phoning openreach to get some guidance but have not as yet had anyone actually answer the call(s) very frustrating to say the least. Any advice or do we just keep phoning and hope someone answers or perhaps put any old response on the online form and try to argue it out later. PS.. the latter worked with the electric supply company but I felt guilty for putting the wrong info on to the application form.