Thorfun

was 100% going to pilot hole. this is interesting. I was planning on using washers simply because the hole for the fixing is quite wide and I thought washers would reduce the risk of the screw head going through. didn't know about using them to spread load! thanks. tbh, I don't remember how they fixed it sorry. and I don't see any specific photos of how it was done.

we wanted the clean aesthetics from the landing so as to not interfere with the view up and through.

That’d do it and if I’d thought of it 6 months ago before plasterboard and plastering I might have done just that!

If I’m too worried then I’ll see how much an SE will charge to do the calculations. It’s just frustrating that manufacturers don’t test. Don’t suppose any SEs on here would be willing to do some calculations?

No balustrade suppliers I can find seem to certify for timber, they only test in concrete. 😢

I do have some 160mm M12 coach screws left over from fitting our external brise soleil. I was originally going to use those but the chippie said probably excessive and had potential concerns about the amount in to the wood and structural integrity of the timbers. But I was thinking 160mm is only just over 50% of the depth so still plenty of depth below them.

Here’s how it is with the 22mm chipboard flooring

Additional information: red lines show where the channels will be and the timbers they’re going in to.

Edit: Fixed straight down through 22mm chipboard flooring in to the timbers.

Fixing straight down in to 90mm x 304mm glulams. Was planning on using M10 x 100mm coach screws. I’m not near the profile at the moment but the fixing holes are approximately 300mm apart. plenty of room above the fixing hole for a hex head. here’s the tech spec if you’re interested

Sad thing is that no balustrade manufacturer that I can find calculate for fitting in to timber. They only test in to concrete.

definitely no opportunity for bolts! think i will just go with the chippie's recommendation. thank you.

thanks. i'll be fixing aluminium U-profile channelling for an internal frameless glass balustrade. a chippie mate is saying to use coach screws and a builder mate is saying to use Timberloks! hence the research. i have some M10 x 100mm coach screws and will need to use washers and it's internal so i think i'll be fine with the coach screws.

i've tried to Google this but have failed. is there a difference between Timberlok screws and coach screws? or is 'Timberlok' just a brand name for a coach screw and used unilaterally like 'Hoover' or 'Celotex'?

happens a lot on here but sometimes you get real gems of information by that off-topic veering so don't knock it and do, as you did, gently veer it back on track. 😉 Surely you could calculate this yourself? you can use pvgis to get an estimate of your solar yield and then calculate your daily/monthly usage for day and night and battery storage size and then calculate how much will be exported and how much you will use overnight to size your battery accordingly. I wouldn't blindly trust what installers are saying tbh. they want to sell a system and make money. unless they're guaranteeing a figure and will repay you if you don't make that (as if anyone would do that though!) then either calculating it yourself or just not worrying about it an do what you want is the only way forward.

overheating - our solution is external blinds, brise soleils, overhangs etc. we also installed AC and solar panels. in the summer the PV will generate enough to power the AC. and then in the winter the AC can be used for supplementary heat if required as we have no main heating on the first floor. emergency exit from the basement - we were told we needed those stairs too. only later in the build did I find out I could've done away with those if we installed a fire suppression system. I would suggest investigating the costs of such a system and how that will effect the other things it resolves, e.g. first floor emergency egress windows, protected staircases, fire doors etc.

Have a table of suppliers and VAT numbers and then use VLOOKUPS to automatically fill in the values. come on! I thought you were technical.

there's no getting around the problem that is @Pocster. you just have to accept it.

We used Purdy. Seemed to do a great job.

Out of interest why did you do it by post and not the new online portal?

ended up buying this https://www.toolstation.com/toupret-wood-repair-filler/p10260 and it seems to have done the job. screws holding nicely.

damn! they're so much cheaper than the hep2o ones. even if you have to buy hep2o couplers and run a bit of copper to the hep2o coupler and then plastic on from there it'll still be so much cheaper. it's too late for me but I'll be interested in Nick's response.

there are many threads on peoples thoughts about window suppliers on here. take a long read through the sub-forum and you'll get lots of opinions. we used Norrsken.

with the caveat that we're not living in it yet and the basement is still bare concrete....... over the winter i've had the heating on down there with a target temperature of 18°C in order to allow heat to rise up to the rest of the house before the ground floor UFH was turned on. it was lovely and warm! tbh, i don't think i'd want it any warmer. i have between 50mm - 100mm of EPS under the screed on the GF. it was mostly to have something to staple the ufh pipes to and also to raise the level of the floor in a cheaper way than a deeper screed. i have no idea what sort of difference it makes tbh. our flow temp is 30°C at the moment. i'll probably take it up to 35°C next winter once we're living in there to get our target temp of 20°C but we'll see.

Possibly. Will investigate some more when I get some time!