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PeterW

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Everything posted by PeterW

  1. PeterW
    You need one of these @ProDave http://gripclip.moonfruit.com/
  2. PeterW
    I use Estimators Online and then convert it to a spreadsheet. Takes a couple of hours but can be pretty accurate. Odd things missing such as all the box ends, joints etc on fascias, roof ancillaries and a lack of PIR on walls despite it being on plans has meant I'm about 3% out on costs but have made savings elsewhere.
  3. PeterW
    +1 to this approach. My brickie did me a cost per 1000 laid but we didn't count on there being less as the QS did it on metric bricks and they are imperial reclaims - 10% saving there for me. Flip side is that I was charged per metre for soldier courses and I also included a few changes along the way such as making internal walls downstairs from block work. Roofer was was on a priced rate and they vastly underestimated the effort but that was their problem.... QS estimate was out on tiles too so ended up needing more. Electrical work is bizarre as the QS is 100% out on wire required so the costs may be much lower than estimate. All of my trades are done via a text, an email or a handshake.... payment terms are agreed up front and any invoice presented by Friday 5pm is paid the following Monday. This has worked throughout and no issues so far ... In contrast my only problem has been with a door supplier who insisted on having payment up front and a contract signed - and then asked me to sign the door order... when I pointed out the cill was wrong on the order it was too late as they had ordered it from their supplier and it's taken 3 weeks to resolve - and that's a formal contract and agreed terms ..!! Contracts have their place in a lot of builds if you are making significant payments to single suppliers - mine are all less than £10k to any one supplier so my risk exposure is low. Change that to £100k to a single supplier and I would very much be in the detail of the fine print ..!!
  4. PeterW
    The act is enforced by the council Environmental Health teams - one of the ones that's taken the biggest hit in most councils. They are also now facing the new Food Hygiene Regs and implementing that so limited resources are being stretched further. There is a long running thread on GBF about one mans fight against smoke and it makes horrendous reading as to the way - despite being armed with evidence and expert witness statements - the local council have ignored the issue as it is not on their agenda... Khan doesn't have the clout to change statute legislation - he's only managing to implement his own policies on road emissions as there is already pre-existing legislation that he can use.
  5. PeterW

    TKstairs

    PeterW replied to Barney12's topic in General Joinery

    I just priced mine with TKStairs and it's about £150 more than Pears Stairs .... have you included all the balustrades etc..?
  6. PeterW
    It won't happen for 2 reasons... 1. The Clean Air Act as statute is virtually impossible to enforce now so DEFRA will not change it. 2. He won't be in power in 2025.... He creates too many loopholes in his own legislation to pander to specific groups so it's unlikely he would want to upset these people - the ones that vote him in - to bring in yet more legislation and try and get overstretched boroughs to enforce them.
  7. PeterW
    Ikea stuff has a long warranty and they will honour it. We looked at the vanity unit for a downstairs WC and I was impressed - quality of the porcelain seems good too. If you shop around there are some decent bargains to be had.
  8. PeterW
    The maximum span for 18mm P4/P5 chipboard is 450mm, the maximum for 22mm is 650mm. Just re-read the spec though and he's specified OSB3... that does go to 600mm span but it's more expensive ..! It also is not as easy to get hold of as T&G boards for flooring....
  9. PeterW
    Right.... so you have to use 22mm..!! Architect should know that ..!
  10. PeterW
    What's your joist spacing ..??? 18mm is only good to 400mm centres, 22mm is much stronger and you will notice the difference and it's not much more cost wise either.
  11. PeterW
    I've got a stacked CU with 2 trays of RCBOs. Did consider two separate CUs but in the end it was just a cost thing. Or it will be when the sparky actually gets started on Monday..
  12. PeterW
    Just to clarify I have 27m between the meter disconnect and the CU..!
  13. PeterW
    Thats what I have fitted at the CU end. At the meter end it's one of these : https://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Products/CGMSF100.html This protects the SWA run from the meter to the house.
  14. PeterW
    Contract ...?? What's a contract ..?? They are useful documents for the lawyers to argue over in court when it's all gone wrong, and they will spend your money for you advising why spending money on a contract was a good investment ..... and that's about it ..! Is this a standard JCT terms contract ..?? Small works ..? Less than £25k..? If so, the only schedule you need is the payments and milestones and the agreement about who buys what. Anything else and you're into micro detail that is irrelevant for something of that size. Trust doesn't start with a contract ....
  15. PeterW
    You can make your own electric towel rail and they aren't that complicated. Pick any towel rail you like and get a PTC element to suit -eBay is your friend. You also need a second chrome plug as you will need them for each of the ends of the side rails. Fit the element and a plug in the base then turn the rad the right way up and fit the air bleed plug. Use a funnel and fill the rad with either a low concentration mix of inhibitor and water or silicone oil. You can get silicone oil off eBay - you need to measure the volume of the rad though first. Fill until you have a 2" gap at the top of the side rail - leave the air bleed undone if its not a rad with a top rail at the absolute top as otherwise you may get an uneven fill. Put the cap on and do the vent up and fit it. There is enough expansion to allow for the liquid to expand with a small air space. Don't be tempted to vent it when it's hot as you may create a vacuum and damage the seals on the heating element.
  16. PeterW
    I've got similar - a fused switch at the meter and then a double pole disconnect at the house before the CU.
  17. PeterW
    I'll dig out the detail but I've got the section for an insulated corner column somewhere at home that we had done for a design with full height panels to a corner of a building. Bridging was pretty low on it from memory - it used 2 steel angles one inside the other to provide the vertical strength and only had a slim profile. Would need to be confirmed by an engineer though as this was a single storey building.
  18. PeterW
    Only for a new build .... conversations that are done under Part L1B are exempt from all the stuff such as pressure testing and other shenanigans ... I'll still be doing a home brew pressure test though but it's not needed for any calcs for BCO.
  19. PeterW
    My new saw wasn't cheap when the roofers bought it at full price on my account from the merchants .... and took it with them ..! I did get 3 trestles in return, and when their apprentice emptied the van into my skip I also gained about 70kg of scrap lead....
  20. PeterW
    Recycle bin ..??? If it's Windows it should be there ..?
  21. PeterW
    A standard MVHR cannot heat incoming air more than the energy available in the outgoing air. Some advanced MVHR units such as the Paul ones and the Genvex ones have a separate air to air heat pump built into the unit that allows increased supply air temperature. They are expensive ...!!
  22. PeterW
    Riiiiigght .... Rim joist should be the depth of the joists they are supporting and a minimum of 47mm thick. This allows twist shank nails to be used to fix the joist hangers without coming through the back. I'm bemused by the Durisol use of "yoghurt consistency" cement to fill a hole in a vertical plane - it's going to run straight back out ...!! if you wanted some structural strength to the Durisol then cast some concrete "plugs" in short lengths of 50mm waste pipe slightly less than the thickness of the Durisol and core the Durisol and insert one in each hole - it would spread the twisting load. Other option is a second row of bolts staggered with the first so you're at 400mm/c top and bottom of the rim joist.
  23. PeterW
    I reckon he's counting on the weight of the sedum holding this lot down .... 270mm of PIR is more than enough for that roof - you could get away with 200mm and still be well inside BRegs without even considering the sedum. How much of a flat roof is there ..??
  24. PeterW
    4x3 is becoming standard - it's what I had to use too. A mortar bed is designed to take up the irregularity between the timber and the block work below. I can't see how you can do that unless you've got a copy or a photo of the top wall plate detail ..? and coring out the Durisol sounds a real faff - is that their only option ..??
  25. PeterW
    .... and was CNC cut from steel and then galvanised to within an inch of its life ..... Real question is how are you holding down the wallplates to the walls ..?? Are you glueing/bolting the plates to the concrete core ..? I'm not sure how you can use ordinary straps as you can't screw them tight to the concrete.
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