Thorfun

I'm sure it'll work fine but please let us know how you get on. I might need one soon-ish!

I went through looking at getting my DMX relays from AliExpress and even though they're cheaper I decided that in the end I wanted to support a UK (local-ish) business. Plus Mike was very responsive to my many emails and you can't put a price on that sort of customer service.

the problems start when i'm asked to hang a picture on the wall and i get out the plasterboard rawl plug and start drilling a hole only to find out that i'd forgotten we put ply there! 🤦‍♂️

so experiment number 1 is a success as far as i can tell. it's not budged a mm and has been hanging with that weight for 72hrs. so i think i will be fine using the 5mm SDS bit. But, because i'm not a cowboy like @Pocster, i have ordered a 4.8mm bit anyway. will be interesting to see if i can "feel" any difference when fixing the screw.

we put up 18mm ply on the wall where our kitchen was going and then plasterboarded over that. plenty of bite for hanging stuff off. the other way is simple noggins but you have to know where the hanging points will be before hand so a blanket of covering with 18mm ply was just easiest for us.

We had type 3 specified for our driveway to allow it to drain freely. At the start of our journey we dug out and put the subbase of type 3 down using virgin type 3 granite. Was really expensive! later in the build when the ground workers were backfilling the basement they used zero-fines hardcore which was loads cheaper and still free draining! speak to an aggregate company and ask if they can do fines-free recycled hardcore at the required specified size (think it’s 5mm - 40mm for type 3)

I have not! but I will check it out. thank you.

I see that Mike from WhiteWing is now offering a 16 channel DMX relay http://whitewing.co.uk/dmxrelay.html. I wonder if he saw an opening in the market when I was talking to him about how expensive the Loxone relays were? (and no I'm not looking for commission!) wish these were available when I was putting my Loxone cabinet together, could've saved a small fortune over the Loxone relays. at over half the price per channel it will be my next purchase when I need more relays for the basement lighting. it works out at £10.93 + VAT per channel compared to the £23.61 +VAT per channel for the Loxone relay . I already have a 16 channel mains dimmer and 48 channel 24V dimmer and both work great.

yeah. I also got 10k credit limit at Jewson and had a great relationship with my sales guy throughout our build. but he moved back out in to the yard and off sales and I got passed on to the store manager who didn't seem to give a s**t about me to the point where he didn't respond to my quote requests. and as I'm not one to go begging people to take my money I have started with a new BM. they've definitely given me good prices on the MF materials, plasterboard and Rockwool and I'll ask them for a quote on the Gyproc acoustic sealant but they're closed until 2nd Jan now and being patient is not something I'm good at!

Yeah. But it’s Sunday and I love researching. 😂

We don’t all have your purchasing power! have you ever tried the AC50?

I know that @nod uses Gyproc acoustic sealant and the prices he pays for it it's a no brainer but for us normal people I'm wondering if the extra money for Gyproc Acoustic Sealant is worth it instead of plumping for the Everbuild AC50. Gyproc stuff is about 5x the price of the AC50!! online reviews of the differences between the 2 are non-existent from my searching

yeah. pretty tight. I'm sure it'll be fine and the final load on each screw for the ceiling won't be as much as a concrete block pulling straight down as the load is spread across the whole ceiling and all the screws. so maybe for the sake of a few screws I reduce it to a 600mm x 600mm grid and that will then be completely over the top for fixings and reduce the load per fixing as well.

first experiment underway. 5mm SDS bill. it seems pretty darn solid but will see how long it lasts.

overthinking is what I do best! 🤣 I'm fixing in to concrete blocks that form a block and beam ceiling. I have an SDS drill but also a standard chuck hammer drill too so either is possible. I think 5.5 is too big. I have loads of spare blocks I can test on and can start with 5mm and see where that takes me. I know DeWalt might not know but I'm really confused as to why they say a 4.8mm bit when they don't offer one. it's not like DeWalt at all! normally a manufacturer will only recommend their own products so they can sell more stuff. and yes I am a cynical b*****d.

I'm planning on asking DeWalt technical support what drill bit they recommend. I can't believe they'd recommend something they don't make themselves!

Yeah I saw that. It’s not that I can’t find a 4.8mm bit I just think it’s weird that DeWalt make Tek screws that require a drill bit they don’t produce!

Nice. They don’t do a 4.8mm bit though. although what’s confusing the Tek screws I have are DeWalt and say they need a 4.8mm bit but DeWalt don’t make a 4.8mm masonry drill bit that I can find.

well, I have some concrete screws that do not say on the packaging what drill bit size to use. and research on the web seems to suggest that it depends on the material being screwed in to.

yes! but what size drill bit do you use for those 6.3 x 32mm blue Tek screws? the DeWalt ones I bought say 4.8mm drill bit on the box but other makes on the web say 5mm.

What size drill bit would you use for 6.3mm Tek screws in to concrete blocks? 😊

sadly the day job keeps getting in the way of the self-building and I've used all my holiday allocation up this year on the house so the only time I have left to work on the house is weekends and public holidays.

**** it. everything I can find online says for 6.3mm concrete screws to use a 5mm drill bit. I'm sure it'll be fine.

thanks all. was measuring it up and I'm kind of limited by the beams and not wanting to fix too close to the edge of a block! so after a long think I'm going to fix in to the first block from the wall (approx 300mm) and then every second block which equates to approx 1000mm centres along each primary. it's a similar story for the distance between each primary in that I don't want to fix too close to the edge of a block and so I'm going to see what distance works best. it'll probably be a bit all over the place but hopefully will be a mixture of either 600mm or 900mm centres if I can make that work and will be more effort having to cut the insulation to size rather than just slotting it in but, like @joe90 says, as long as I don't exceed the maximum centre distance then I can fix as often as I like, right? the more the better for strength it just costs more and takes more time. my issue now is I bought these https://www.toolstation.com/dewalt-tapper-pro-blue-hex-head-self-tapping-screws/p86871 as @nod said the blue tex screws are best for fixing the hangers but the box says to use a 4.8mm drill bit! ffs. I have a 5mm drill bit and it's now too late on Christmas Eve to get a 4.8mm bit. if I can't fit the ceiling I'm going to have to spend time with the family over Christmas instead.

i'm struggling to find definitive answer to how far from the walls the first hanger should be for the MF7s to connect to. most of the information on the web just says "install a 1200mm center grid". but some mention 450mm for the first hanger from the wall and others i hear mention 450mm from EVERY wall should be the first hanger and then 1200mm centers from there. so confusing. i've trawled videos and the whitebook but can't get a definitive answer and some even contradict themselves! e.g. one video says that the hangers should be 450mm from every wall but then the video shows only 450mm from one wall. in the whitebook i see these drawings for standard ceilings which simply show 120mm from each wall for the first hanger. and this video also shows just 1200mm from each wall but this video says the first fixing must be max 450mm from the wall and then at 1200mm centers. anyone help clear this up please?