Thorfun

ahhh...then maybe they've done this. I didn't see that and I've not climbed up to look that closely at the top. i'll take a look tomorrow.

I can't be sure but I think they only kicked up once the fixing clamps were installed. so I can only presume that the pressure of the clamps is lifting the slates.

we have the metal trays down the side. the manual you sent does say (p29) you can replace the top flashings with a flexible strip. also, it looks from the manual that the trays were installed correctly as they aren't covering the flashing and the flashing is visible below the trays: it's just the pv panels themselves that are hanging down over the flashing

thanks for the manual, I'll take a read and send it to the company. I don't have a photo of the top and it's a bit dark now to go out walking on the scaffolding! I'll try and get a photo tomorrow. we had a few issues with the install already in that the wrong size GSE Trays were ordered and only discovered once they were all fitted. Also, we fitted a product called Fast Flash (the flashing you can see in the photo). both myself and the roofer were pretty impressed with it. it went down easily and looks really good. But then the fitters turned up and stuck some of the horrible corrugated stuff on top of it! I then removed it and they've used the corrugated stuff at the top but it won't be seen.

we had out GSE Trays and solar panels installed the other day and where they are fixed to the battens the slate tiles are sitting erect (see photo) anyone got any ideas how to flatten them down and keep them there? the roofer is due back on Tuesday so I'll speak to him then but I was wondering if anyone has come across this before and how best to deal with it. I think the the problem is that we were told to cut eaves tiles below the flashing and the panels are sitting right on the edge of the tiles which is lifting them up. it's frustrating as this is what we were told to do by the company dealing with our Solar PV. They are very visible from the ground level and I know will annoy me every time I look up at the roof. if the roofer had only cut the tiles a little longer or the PV panels were a little shorter we probably wouldn't have this issue. fyi, the solar guys said that even when they loosened the bottom fixing the tiles still stayed lifted and that they've not seen slates do that before. They suggested silicone.

Yep. I understand the single point of failure concept but, as you say, it’s a home environment and I’m not going to pay for multiple redundant systems! no CCTV at the moment but it’s on the cards for the new house. Just running the Dream machine pro, 24 port switch and Wi-Fi APs which will be transferred to the new house when it’s done. The beauty of the setup is I can add APs in the new house running from the old house if required before Openreach put our new connection in. oh, and a QNAP NAS running VMs and movies.

I have one of these. I like it a lot. I liked the idea of having it all in one box rather than the separate key gen and secure gateway etc.

actually, sorry, I think these are the other way around. to connect to Linux hosts from a Windows host. probably VNC is your best bet as suggested above by @Onoff

yes. it's called RDP, Remote Desktop Protocol, but the Home edition of windows doesn't allow it. you need the enterprise version. https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/troubleshoot/windows-server/remote/understanding-remote-desktop-protocol https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/how-to-use-remote-desktop-5fe128d5-8fb1-7a23-3b8a-41e636865e8c

Cygwin? eXceed? any other X-windows software? Then ssh -Y to give X11 forwarding and you can export the gui/desktop/programs back to your Mac.

yeah, I did a lot of reading on this stuff when I started out as ScandiaHaus use it. I decided it wasn't for me (and ScandiaHaus were stupidly expensive!) but I know that some on here have had very good results with it. I'm a sceptic though and decided to stick with 'normal' insulation.

and they need to have an air gap to get the claimed performance, right? at least that's what I remember although I have been known to be wrong before.

thanks. I have skills with iMovie! not sure about house building skills yet but I'm learning. ?

ahhh, yes that makes perfect sense thank you. I have my wife out with me assisting but once she gets bored and I'm out doing it on my own this is a great tip! ?

and Roofshield has UV protection for only a few months so need to slate it as soon as possible really +1

was discussing this all with the wife and we've come to the same conclusion. we'll do this from now on even though we're planning on having hidden fixings it's not too much effort to do it this way just in case we don't get the hidden fixings I'm sorry but I don't actually understand what you mean here! I am special sometimes so please forgive me but can you explain this a bit more?

the Roofshield should not, in my opinion, be leaking! in our place when the Roofshield went on the only rain that got in was through the open windows. I've now sheeted some of them with plastic sheeting, albeit rather thin plastic sheeting which I'm thinking of replacing with thicker stuff! in those rooms I've started putting the mineral wool between the studs as it's dry in there now even with just the Roofshield on the roof. I'd be asking your building why the roof is leaking, even in small amounts, where the Roofshield is.

we thought that but we're planning on having hidden fixing shiplap cladding so hopefully none of the fixings will be seen!

for the bit circled in red we were unsure if we should just join them half over the batten behind like @JamesP did or stagger them like @Gone West did! looking at it now it looks a bit 'wrong'. should we keep the run straight and sit them both joining on the same vertical? btw, we did it like that as the battens we have aren't long enough to do that entire width.

we've made a start and before we get too far I thought it prudent to post a picture so people can critique our work. I'm happy for good and bad comments! I promise I won't take it personally.

great photos and information, thank you!

thanks for the photos, they're very useful. I see the staggering of the horizontal battens, how did that affect the fixing of the vertical cladding, if at all? and when you say 'very slight slope' was that a sideways slope to drain left to right or front to back slope (which I'm struggling to think how to do unless you put packers behind the top of the batten)?

is this still necessary with the vertical battening? won't any water drain down them? or is it wise to use cambered battens so that any water hitting the horizontal battens falls rather than sits on the horizontal battens? thanks for the link. I did have that open in a tab to read but hadn't done so yet and this is a very timely reminder! ? we've already planned insect mesh at the bottom of the cladding. in fact one reason we decided to not use open jointed cladding and are going for shiplap tongue and groove is to negate the need for an insect mesh all over (although some say it's not necessary).

that is a very good question! none of the architects/BR drawings mention them, the TF company didn't supply them and BCO hasn't mentioned them at all. BUT....I am not going to assume they're not required and I will make some inquiries with the relevant professionals next week. my nail gun is one of the best tools I've bought. ? but, I quite like the idea of the horizontal battens fixing through the verticals and into the studs rather than just attaching to the vertical battens. I'll have a think about that one although the roofer has put 2 x 47mm battens at the ends of the roof to lay slates out and past the cladding and they're just nailed with 90mm nails and he stands on them to get off the roof and they've not come down yet so I'm thinking the 90mm nails should be strong enough. thanks. I'll check out the ebook. any tips or hints or pearls of wisdom that you learnt when doing yours?

Greetings. while we still have the scaffolding up I will be embarking on fitting the counter battens and battens for our vertical timber cladding. In doing my research on this subject I found https://www.robbins.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/TTF-Cladding-Handbook.pdf but it doesn't really go in to detail how to batten/counter batten it just mentions 600mm centers really. I've been through the https://forum.buildhub.org.uk/forum/141-general-joinery/ forum but there's not much information on there either. so, either it's actually really simple to do and I'm worried about nothing or it's one of those special secrets that no one wants to share! I thought I'd start a thread where people could add their tips, hints, gotchas, what not to dos, mistakes, successes, photos and so on when it comes to battening. In my situation, for vertical timber cladding I will be starting with the vertical counter battens. they will be 47mm x 47mm battens and then horizontal 47mm x 47mm battens to fix the vertical cladding to ((we need 80mm minimum to hide the external blinds behind the cladding) and I have a few questions. 1. do I put vertical battens on EVERY stud that is marked on the membrane by the timber frame company? even if those studs are less than 600mm centers? 2. do I start and end the vertical battens at the very edge of every corner of the house? And then I presume the fixing (horizontal battens) protrude out further to join with the horizontal battens on the other wall? something like this? 3. what do you do at gable ends. is it the done thing to cut the vertical battens to match the pitch of the roof or do you just leave them square and a little down from the top of the roof? e.g. which one of these? 4. and then with the horizontal battens do you cut to match the pitch of the roof or is that just excessive? 5. how do you detail around windows and doors for the battening? vertical battens in the way as the drawing in question 2 like the outside corner of a building? 6. fixings? with our 47mm battens I was just going to use 90mm nails from the nail gun. too much? 7. is it just me that has all these questions and others just get on with it without making such a fuss? looking forward to reading other people's input. thanks in advance.