Carrerahill

Off the top of my head I think the 3M 6057 will do organic gas & vapour - which is basically your petrochem based solvents and paints but also inorganic gas & vapour which I like to have because etch primers etc. can have inorganic chemicals in the makeup. There are so many in the 3M range, make sure you add a dust filter on top of the cartridge, on the 3M 6057 I list above, you then get a little pad of filter material that click on top with a retention bezel, get the best filtration which is FFP3. You can change these more frequently but the cartridges are good for 12 months or when breathing feel laboured through them. This setup is also good for doing MDF/PLY because it covers the dust but also any formaldehyde (or other resins) or off gassing from cutting the material.

See my answer to your other post... you might need a coffee!

We will see how the weather holds up, if nice I will hit the top half of that (bottom done last night) with the 2K solid white paint - I'll post the results as I suspect you will be doing all this soon! I really enjoy painting but it can be stressful, so do it when you have time, there is no such thing as a quick paint 5-10minutes to build the gun, mix the paint, 5 minutes for final degrease of items, maybe only 3 minutes of actual painting, with waiting time between coat, then you can spend 15 minutes cleaning the gun! In that time you also don't want anyone harassing our or even present without a mask - I usually do it when I am home alone and like a breeze to help carry away the fumes/paint dust. Allow an hour for even 1 door, oddly, allow about the same for 4 doors.

IF loaded with the right filters yes - read my big post above.

I have been painting for nearly 20 years, started out with a cheap gun and some white Hammerite to see what I could do and slowly progressed from there. In the early days a very friendly, former painter turned paint salesman gave me a lot of guidance on paints and how to work with them and the actual painting bit was just time and practise. The first thing is prep, doesn’t matter what I am going to paint I always clean the whole lot with thinners/panel prep (thinners is better unless over 1K paints, but by that stage you shouldn’t be needing to degrease). Ban all silicone procuts from the area, even silicone sealant when off-gassing can contaminate a panel and cause it to fish-eye. After that I sand, if you sand greasy or contaminated substrates you are only spreading the contamination and pushing it into the scores created by the sanding. Scotch pads are fine for giving a generally good condition item, painted or not a rub down. The rest of the time I would use a combination of what is needed for the surface could be bad, 80 grit then 120 then 240 etc. Maybe just a light 400. Once clean degrease with clean lint-free cloths and thinners – keep using clean bits until you can see the panel is actually clean. You will be surprised. For Something like a kitchen door I would hit with a 240 grit random orbital for a nice keyed flat finish, I might go up to 400 but doubt it. Gun setup is a skill in itself, a gravity fed cup gun would be best, there are quite a few settings. First thing I do is wind the air control in until it is very low, then wind it out till I get what I know to be right, difficult to explain, but you want it to carry the paint in a fine mist, but not so much air that you create a dust cloud, you can actually paint with low air volume but it’s not great for the finish as the mist is not fine enough. The other setting is paint volume, you need to wind this in quite a bit so that when you pull the trigger 100% you don’t just shoot heaps or paint, I use trigger control to initially do my light mist blow in, then more trigger for the final coats. You also have a pattern control, narrow is great for very lightly blowing in an awkward bit or an edge but must be used carefully so I advise any novice painter not to. Go for about a 4-6” pattern. You can also control the pattern angle by rotating the front air cap, I always set my gun up with the spray pattern fan sitting vertical, so as I hold the gun naturally and pass over a panel side to side the paint is hitting the panel wide, if you set it the other way and go side to side you will cause runs and is only really good for painting tall things you cannot move so you are going up and down. As you move the gun keep it back about a foot from the panel and when you move keep the gun at the same distance to the panel, people often swing the gun resulting in the mid-point being close to the panel and the outer of the swing being further back which changes so many variables as you go that you will notice it on the paint. Start painting furthest away from you, this means if anything falls from your overall-clothes you get the chance to blow it off (pull the trigger enough to get air, but no paint). For paint volumes for an average kitchen door, depending on paint, you would want about 30-40ml – for your first rodeo have a little extra to allow for some waste, but don’t be tempted to get it all on the door, its paint not plaster! A thin film of well adhered paint is all you need as long as you cannot see any shadowing or bleed through from primer which is why it is a good idea to use the right primer for the job, for light colours, like white, I like an offwhite or beige primer, white primer for white topcoat is bad because you cannot always see what is primer and what is topcoat and may miss bits. I would then use a 1k primer or filler primer for these doors, I would however need to check adhesion of the primer on the melamine because you might need to use a plastic primer or get a direct adhesion primer. Do some tests, I’d use a dab of primer from the can onto the door and leave it for min. 36 hours, then use your fingernail to see how well it adhered, do not panic if fresh paint just comes off, the chemical adhesion is not good until full cure which is why new paint is so delicate. The primer is the easiest to work with because it tends to lay down nicely and has good coverage so your not tempted to overpaint it. I use a 1.2mm nozzle for primer and mist it on finely to get the initial bond, round the edges or any tricky bits first, then the top (face of door), cross the panel across the shorter length and keep the paint flowing as you start and finish on the panel, overlay it a little, then lay it on in 2 slightly heavier coats after that tacks up and flashes off. If the primer starts to look quite glossy while you’re putting it on, you are putting on too much too soon, it should only ever look sort of satin/med gloss which is about right, matt is even better but that is very thin fast flash off territory. You can leave primer for a while if you want, but once primer appears dry you can move on, depends what I am doing will depend if I flatten it, if the prep was good then the primer will look good and so will the next coat(s). I use IR lamps to speed things up but the garage door open on a summer days with air moving will have it touch dry within 20-40minutes. I am assuming you will use a solid 2K colour, if not, apply basecoat with similar technique to primer, then treat your 2k lacquer as the following. If the primer is perfect, I just move on. 2K paint is almost always 2 paint to 1 hardner and then I use about 10% thinners, if painting the doors on the flat I would paint them with 10-15% thinners. I use a 1.2mm or 1.4mm nozzle for 2K. Hit the doors edges first quickly with a light coat, then proceed across the door, same as primer really, let that tack, you should still be able to see primer after this coat, it is just a mist, then come across with the gun flowing at a higher volume of paint (I use trigger control but you can wind the pin in or out to control volume) keep the spray pattern wide for a novice as less chances of runs. After the first coast back off and wait, look across the garden or think about something else, even be tempted to hang the gun up, walk away, take your mask off and just look at something else for 1-2 minutes because human nature is to keep blasting on paint, there really is no rush. Now add another coat. Once the panel is basically fully covered and looks “done” tip your paint back into your mixing cup and add a dash more thinners, swirl that up and tip back into your gun, on a high volume spray and wide pattern, mist the whole panel with over lap briskly (but not too fast) from side to side, the extra thinned paint will land on the existing coats, the solvent will help to level the paint and you should, if you get it right, be left with a really really smooth and if gloss paint, really really glossy finish. However, be very careful, too narrow a spray pattern or too slow and you will cause a run at this stage. If when you think you are done the panel looks dry or matt, its not “wet” enough. You need more paint on it, that will dry as orange peel. I have intentionally created a textured or “dry” finish before and that is lots of paint, wide pattern, lots of air and too far back, result can be almost chalky with the right paint, not good for kitchen cabinets! If it looks dry, get another pass on it with higher paint flow, even if you have run out of paint, go quickly mix up enough for 1 more pass and you will be fine. Have a bright light or torch handy, when you’re done, shine it over the panel looking for dry bits or bits that are a bit thin, quickly just mist over that whole bit again once the last coat has tacked a bit, 2-3 minutes. Now, screw ups. If you make a mistake on primer, don’t worry, it just means you will need to flatten it, let it cure well (too soon it will bog down and clog the paper or peel/rub off), and then 1200 it to remove specks or runs, flatten it and blend it all, you should not need to blow in more primer if you are careful. If you make a mistake on 2k, don’t panic either. Just leave it, do not even think about trying to rectify it at this stage. Walk away and clean your gun. After about 12 hours you can take water and 1200 or 2400 grit to 2k no bother, dampen it down, little block and sand out any runs or imperfections, always use a block or your fingers might cause the paper to rub through the paint. Once the defect has gone you can use Farecla rubbing compound (basically like a very fine sand paper) followed by Farecla finishing compound (Halfords do their own version in little tubes too) OR you can lightly rubdown the whole panel/door etc. and hit with a very fine, 20-25% thinned 2K and just mist it on to refinish the door. H&S – 2k paint hardener contains isocyanides and 2K will set like jelly, if you breath it in you end up with that in your lungs, you may fall over and end up in a very bad way, some people cannot cope with it at all. So, you need to take care. They recommend you wear an airfed mask, but I use a full face cover 2M mask with FPP3 filters over organic/inorganic gas and vapour filters which will cover all the nasties. When wearing the mask, I cannot even smell the paint. Make sure you spec your mask up with the right filters. Not sure what you mean by radioactive style, radioactive protection is just dust protection so you don’t breath in radioactive particles, for painting 2K you actually need higher protection believe it or not. I would also consider painting outside on a slightly breezy day, this does bring with it issues though, but I quite often paint outside, I painted outside at the weekend and didn’t get a single bit of dust or anything stuck in the paint, if outside conditions are not good I paint in my garage, I raise the door about 2 feet and have plywood boards with huge car fans mounted in them, then get jammed in to extract from floor level, I then open the side door, with the fans running I can sand and paint in the garage and there is not even so much as a hint of a haze in the garage, I still of course wear the mask. Also wear gloves at all times and ideally lint-free long sleeves because the paint landing on your skin can be absorbed. These H&S tips are not perfect, but it works for me. I would get your gun setup with some cheap thinned emulsion and practise, practise the spray pattern adjustment, practise the air volume and the paint volume (pin) control. Anything else, key to your painting, just ask.

I was spraying 2k at the weekend, more to do tonight. I spray paint most things that I need to paint, I work with everything from waterbased, cellulose, 1k and 2k (my favourite for a tough finish) - always have a fairly wide range in stock in my garage at any given time ready for most eventualities! Weekends efforts in etch primer:

Google and download the GSE Configurator tool - I have it here but cannot attach to the post. Find your panel size, then use the GSE configurator to produce a full spec/shopping list. Very good and makes it dead simple. I used it for spec'ing my in-roof system.

I think I would revise my budget/programme and not waste time tarting that kitchen up. It may appear cheaper just now, but in the long run that will transpire to be the wrong move.

First, I would get them galvanised or cancel and reorder galvanised steel posts. If it is all too late for that I would weld a cap onto them, then pour some thinners into it and swish around to degrease, then use something like Galvafroid paint or a good zinc chromate primer tipped into them, thinned a bit and swished, or get Dinitrol type stuff, swish it around until fully coated and tip out the excess. Let that dry. Then drill a vent hole, about 12mm (bigger on any side you wont see) just below the cap on each side, recoat with paint. Drill vent holes around the post about 100mm above what will be ground level, paint the holes. Sand and degrease the post and paint it properly, I would personally spray it with Etch primer and then primer it then 2k paint it, but DIY store products applied well will work too. First fill your hole with clean gravel and set your post, then backfill for the first 100mm of the post with gravel, this will stop the post just rotting out in damp concrete and let it breath. Then fill with concrete. That should last well. Thing to consider, when this post is cold and air temps rise condensation will form inside and out, this cycling over time can lead to the inside slowly rotting away, so internal protection from good paint products is a must. You do not want to seal the post at the bottom by concrete or a cap as moisture will run down inside and pool and the rot will start. Essentially you want to do the opposite of what may seem logical at first, you want it to breath. I have seen raw steel sit outside for decades and never come to any real harm past surface rust because the steel has been able to breath internally and dry out quickly.

I would say this technology has many hurdles, one of them is certainly installers who don't know enough about them therefore, so it is 'technology the industry is frankly still having issues with', however there are many more issues with them from size, space to install them (block of flats, where do you put them?), some can be noisy, low temp issues on some models (creeping up now), not a good direct replacement for gas systems etc etc. In a new build with a properly spec'ed system they will be fine, but this is not the majority of UK housing stock, the industry needs to solve the retro-fit issue and they need to become more mainstream before the industry will come to grips with ASHP's. We still have issues with gas boiler installs! Nearly every plumber you talk to always says, "We will just put in the big one and that will cover everything" which has lead to many issues over the years, including reduced efficiently, short cycling, boilers not condensing because they are running too hot etc. etc.

Go Gas Boiler with PV - but with a caveat. I'll give you my thoughts based on my personal home situation and my professional observations (we have the gas/ASHP/PV/Sunamp debate for new buildings weekly). I have PV and a gas boiler, the boiler is relatively cheap to run, its not even a year old (I made the call to replace with gas and not go ASHP last Feb). On a crisp bright winters days I can also heat some space I am using with some small electric heaters, for free if I want. For example I am looking at electric UFH for the bathroom and adding an electric option to my office and maybe loft room so I can make use of day time sun for heat in the room I occupy most, I can whittle away at my energy import and balance things out a bit through the year. I then have the gas boiler for the simple hot water production and on demand space heating when needed. I am currently working on building services designs for a 4 residential developments ranging from 7 storey flatted development in London to smaller blocks of flats in Glasgow and a house, some will be gas boilers with a PV allowance per house, some will be ASHP some will be Sunamp's charged straight off the grid. When looking at heat loss for these flats or houses and the heating method we cringe at the cost some of them will cost to heat. The fact is electricity is expensive, things like ASHP's are expensive the whole lot will just be painful until electricity becomes cheap to produce nationally/globally. If it was me building from new, I would stick a gas boiler in, a hot water cylinder with a water coil and element fed from PV, more PV than I need, and electric heating options in various spaces, I would spend a bit more on insulation and try and create a building which needs little heat. I would leave in allowance in space and technical spec for more PV and battery storage when prices come down and my long term plan would be to lose the gas boiler, well, if that is the way things go, maybe we will see an alternative gas supply and boilers to suit, in which case I will be pleased I have the gas infrastructure. My thinking is that this will give me green credentials and cheap electricity to use however I wish, but the low capital cost of a has CH system but with options further down the line. If I go ASHP now, then to my mind, I have just signed away a lot of money on technology the industry is frankly still having trouble with, I also diversify my energy sources, I do think we are going to see more energy issues in the coming years, it could be gas or electricity shortages or sever price hikes. If you had told Germans 2-3 years ago, look boys you might run out of gas and struggle to keep the heat on most would have laughed, it is very real now. Which is why I am keeping my options open, it is why I have a diesel and a petrol car, at present my petrol is cheaper to run as Petrol is 20p a litre cheaper round here and my Petrol & Diesel get almost the same MPG. Spend some of the ASHP money on future proofing, make allowances for things you might install so you are sitting pretty and can, if you want, when technology and prices improve and maybe electric costs stabilise, go ASHP in the future. High temp versions are coming through now that will work as a direct replacement to a gas boiler without rad changes, maybe even increase panel size so that come slightly lower temps you still have good heating from them.

Just done this. Based on the value my account is in credit, my current monthly bills, the £66/67 payments starting in October, the big pile of seasoned firewood and the new solar panels I think a DD reduction will be wise for us.

I was on a site visit a few weeks ago and the guys were plastering aerated block, they had dampened the walls (maybe PVA was involved too) floor was all wet walls clearly damp. They were using Thistle Browning directly onto the block and had bags of multi on a pallet near where they were working. I think Thistle Hardwall would ensure adhesion as its designed for even higher suction backgrounds - but they seemed to use Browning. Given they were about half way through a 3 storey care home and had 1000's m² to do, I reckon they knew what they were doing and it would not be falling off. My plasters that I have used for the renovations and extension are good, I like them, I have often discussed plastering weird and wonderful substrates and things they have plastered before and they reckon they can make plaster stick to just about anything (sensible) you can throw at them and have proven to be right with some oddities in my house. Waterproof PVA I reckon would ensure you would get good adhesion. The mechanical key is there, it is just the suction that ruins the plaster bond as it dries it out too quickly.

All sounds reasonable to me. Just make sure the electrical installation is properly designed and executed to BS7671.

What happened to Jeremy?

I would 2 no. fibre cables from the downstairs comms position to the upstairs comms position. I would then run in CAT6 cable from your switch/patch panel to each room where you require service.

You can still feed into the grid without the MCS certified installer, you will find it hard to get SEG payments, but, contrary to popular belief, not impossible. I disagree with the MCS accreditation monopoly, it is really nothing more than a subscription based cash generator. You would install the system as you propose, then send in a G98 to your DNO which simply tells them your have it and its there (keep it under 16A or you need to go to G99 form). I have done what you are proposing, but I have not done the G98 form and will only do so when my procrastinating gets so bad I decide to do it. I bought my mounting system, panels and inverter & cables etc. from 4 separate companies because no one seemed to have stock of all the bits I wanted. I was originally going to use Midsummer Wholesale but they didn't have much in stock, I got some Canadian Solar panels from Bimble in the end, inverter from TradeSparky, mounting rails from Sunshine Solar and DC cable from Voltacon Solar.

What is the post sitting on? If it was loadbearing the load is being transferred somewhere, what is that somewhere? If it is just sitting on the floorboards no where near a joist then that would go a long way to suggest it is non-loadbearing.

I am in the process of doing this actually, I am grid connected now, but am working towards all loads going off grid by end of 2024, in short, the answer is yes. However, there are lots of caveats but I have worked it all out - just need to find all the kit and start the process. I am going to start with 2 consumer units, 1 will be mains loads, 1 will be off-grid. The first circuits to move over will be lighting etc. with the last loads moving over being the high consumers like kitchen appliances. The plan is to have have inverters with a backup AC input which can be grid or generator, at first it will be grid until I have a proven track record over a winter, then look at telling the utility where to go.

A method statement is usually a document with all the contracting parties business details on it then project details and project location, responsible person etc. then a job description then usually a tabulated list of how they will do it all safely. They are odd documents to read and write because they usually spell out the bloomin obvious, mean really boring stuff - they have a place, but day to day they are a bit over the top for basic tasks. I have done a couple over the years but not for civils work. I usually take the P a bit when I write them and make them totally ridiculous because I think they are generally ridiculous for many tasks. If you are taking a nuclear reactor offline, fair enough, if you are transferring chlorine gas from a lorry to a ship, fair enough, but when you hear someone wants one written to inspect a light fitting you really are left wondering what to write. They are really about safety too, so not sure why your neighbour wants one. I once saw once which simply said, "Use common sense".

It seems you want to smooth the way before starting. In which case, why not trying getting your contractor, yourself and your neighbour into a little informal meeting and discuss? If you appease him maybe he will back off a bit - make sure your contractor seems knowledgeable and can string meaningful sentences together. However, you might struggle to get him out as he will see it as a waste of time and want to just do the job.

No. I don't understand why you are letting him have so much authority.

Get your multidisciplinary civils contractor to change the name on the one they use every time and submit that for your trench. Then they will go and do it any way they see fit.

In our original planning application for the extension & garage I had 2 tress that nearly stopped my garage being built, we just had to change from a strip found to a slab with minimal ground disturbance - they accepted that and I also proved the roots for that species wouldn't be anywhere near the garage. I actually put in a piece of strip found at the back of the garage to build a retaining wall a couple of years later, trees are still there and healthy as ever!

Personally, given you are going down the combined route, I would combine them on site. I am sure you can win that argument if it came to it.