Thorfun

ahhh....Newton's 3rd law. i got an E in my physics A-level. but my body has lots of soft and squidgy bits that can absorb forces so definitely not as rigid as a solid floor above!

I have a friend with a Spit gun I’ve borrowed before but thank you for the offer. My concern is the force of the nailer and any potential effect on the finished flooring on the floor above. there’s about 50mm EPS, ufh pipes in 50mm Cemfloor screed, then porcelain tiles. For the sake of time I would be extremely gutted if the vibrations did anything to damage the tiles.

sometimes @nod I need a translator to understand what you mean! luckily, these days we have ChatGPT. so, using that information do you mean something like this? https://www.toolstation.com/dewalt-tapper-pro-blue-hex-head-self-tapping-screws/p86871 and this https://www.fastbuildsupplies.co.uk/tapcon-hex-head-screw?child_id=5019&gad_source=1&gbraid=0AAAAADLDIQF58tKyCzXVc2eAGcaNGrnBw&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIofe35fvliQMVk6VQBh0h3BhqEAQYAyABEgKu2vD_BwE and I know they say self-tapping but surely that's not in to concrete, right? so drill a hole in the block and use these to fix the MF in to the block?

Interestingly I found a link the TIMco nail-in anchors (https://timco.co.uk/0640ZNA-zamac-nail-in-anchors-zinc) and it states ”NOTE: Not recommended for overhead applications such as suspended ceilings.”

Found this on Google https://www.fastco.co.uk/blog/what-are-tek-screws/ but it suggests that they’re used to screw in to metal. @nod how do these work in to blocks?

Thinking ahead. Creating a false ceiling in the basement using MF and will need to fix to the blocks in the block and beam ceiling. I will put 100mm Rockwool above and hang 19mm Gyproc plank and 12.5mm standard plasterboard underneath. so that will be quite a weight at about 28kg/m2. i’m planning on using MF12 soffit cleats and FEA1 folded angles as my hangers for the MF7 and MF5 ceiling sections. what’s the best fixings to make sure things stay up? Concrete screws? Rawl plugs and wood screws? Something special? and how far in to the blocks should the maximum be? I.e. fixing length.

done. Didn’t take as long as I thought it would. Which is a first! 😂

Not sure what it says. I think it’s ducting to the pole. I’ve started now so I’ll carry on until I finish or it’s dark! do they come with ducting bits? I’m short a 45deg bend and I’m hoping they’ll have some on-board to save me going to buy one.

Thanks. Time to get the shovel out then. 😢

the water in to the sump is constant! there's an aquifer that runs under the sandstone 2m down and the flow is constant. so without power we will soon flood regardless of the weather. 😞 it is more of a trickle in the summer months so it does ebb and flow with the seasons.

Greetings all. today's job is to finish running the ducting for our new BT connection next week to near where the pole will go. it's currently about 4-5m away. anyone been through the process of getting a new pole installed and know how close they want/need the ducting to be? do they turn up with a mini-digger to dig a hole for the pole anyway and so can extend what i've done to be in the exact location? or do they want it to be exactly where the pole will be?

I do have solar pv (10.5kWp array) and batteries (LuxPower with 6.4kWh storage) but the LuxPower has a max 13A on the EPS so we only have a few emergency items running from it in case of a power cut. I didn't want to put the whole house lights through it hence looking for 24V batteries so Loxone can run and can power the low voltage lighting which is enough to allow us to see in all rooms of the house if needed. I also found that the LuxPower is not quick enough to react to a power cut (despite what their manual says) and my computer equipment did not remain on in the last power trip we had. and so I have bought a dedicated UPS for that simply to keep the equipment going until the LuxPower kicks in. yet to test it in anger yet though but it should mean that our wifi and router remain active allowing me to wfh in a power cut. my advice is to make sure you know how much power the battery system for your whole house backup can run.

Wise words sensei

Lucky to get away

can't believe you beat me. I thought you'd be still at it for another 10 years! congratulations. I'm only a couple of weeks behind you.

Had a thought (which I’m now considering) can you use expanding foam injected in through a hole or two?

if they're coming in through the garage and then in to the house rather than the multiple other entrances then there's something much worse happening!

cork seems to have a thermal conductivity of 0.036-0.38 W/mK which isn't too bad. i'd probably still want to put 6mm/9mm ply over the top so i can screw the handle to it so if i'm doing that i might as well stick 25mm PIR which has a thermal conductivity of around 0.023W/mK. that is my current plan unless i can find a reasonably priced proper insulated fire door.

4k seems a little excessive. i actually need one as our firedoor to the garage from the house is just a standard internal FD30 door. so i've been thinking about sticking some celotex to it and putting a piece of ply over the top! but i will research "proper" doors but if they're even half of what you say then i will just go with a similar solution to yours.

Tbh, I like @Conor’s suggestion the best.

not a great lambda value though, but better than nothing! Thermal Conductivity – 0.07 W/mK. i believe cellulose is around 0.040W/mK?

when i was looking for warranty providers NHBC no longer dealt with single self-builders so had to look elsewhere.

We agonised for ages over the same dilemma. Then I realised that after I sprayed water on the various shades of different slate samples they all looked exactly the same. ended up going for the cheapest option we had. I’m sure I wrote a blog and a few posts about our slate journey. A quick search will find them but I came to the same conclusion as the others above.

my Erbauer SDS+ has done me very proud. cored multiple holes through concrete blocks too.