Carrerahill

Not on a perp joint - mortar isn't giving any real strength when in shear like it is in a perp joint. Mortar is basically a filler, it obviously binds the bricks and blocks together but it isn't actually strong in it's own right, basically it is "filler/bedding" material which in compression has excellent strength. If you look at blockwork after a year or two you can often see hairline cracks around a lot of mortar joints, this is normal, the mortar may not actually be chemically "stuck" to the brick/block but it still conforms to the surface of the brick/block and will stay in place well as it's locked into place. That wall isn't now weak because of these little cracks. Look at sleeper walls in solums and what not, they leave a whopping great gap between the bricks for ventilation, these walls are often structural too supporting brick walls directly above, they are fine. Walls also gain strength from their own weight and the compression on all the joints. If you have ever tried to remove a single brick from low down in a wall you will know what I mean. Also consider that walls sit on a piece of DPC - basically a piece of plastic which the mortar it laid, that first brick or block on a DPC is not actually bonded to the bricks under the DPC.

You are going to end up with a substantial house here, so although you are appealing to bankers who don't really get this building with SIPs deal you are also getting to my mind the best of both worlds. So what is your planned make-up? Sip panel wrapped in a membrane then a cavity then block skin? In terms of how you end up cladding the block I would be thinking of the following: Whatever I cover the block in will not be easily repaired or replaced - full cladding off job, so it needs to last. If I paint it, it may flake and bubble in 5-10 years, where does that leave me? If I fix treated battens or possibly galvanised metal etc. to the block with good quality fixings then membrane over that, as long as I use one of these exposed membranes that you often see behind cladding like this then the inner structure is going to be protected and the "consumable" aspect is just the larch and membrane (it will need to be designed for full life exposure, i.e. UV stable) which can be changed out every 30-50 years. I would also be thinking about alternatives, possibly longer lives alternatives. I would also consider having the membrane in direct contact with the block, then stained black battens over the top (like a roof make-up) as this would also mean the membrane didn't get as much moisture coming into contact with it, which could then sit directly behind the cladding and would let the cladding dry out quicker. I have seen this done so many ways from log cabins we have stayed in to modern architectural wonders in the city centre with cladding and I am always that guy poking about looking to see how it was done and have so far never seen "the way" as there seems to be many. Use black bricks!

This is really just one idea out of many possibles but may shed some light, when the first and second part of the building were built foundations as we know them today didn't really exist, they used corbelled brick foundations which are basically wide brick walls laid directly into a prepared trench. Many many 100,000 of buildings and structures, millions in fact stand across the UK like this, have done for a century an will do for another with basic maintenance and care. Sometimes due to lack of a unified foundation individual areas of the building can settle and move, it is possible that at some point someone even removed these lower bricks not understanding what they were - "oh there is a row of bricks, they are in my way" they are removed and all seems fine, fast forward a few decades and another course of two drops and gives you this "floating" column. It could also just have slipped - the fact is the bricks went somewhere, it was not built like that, it only stands because it is tied into the other walls. If it was me I think I would dig a local pit around this column, investigate the makeup and then place a proper foundation around it all and make up to the underside of the column. What I would want to achieve by exposing more down below is how the column and the wall behind it all ties in together and make certain that it is going to stand for another 100 years without any issues.

https://tradefixdirect.com/hilti-type-cartridge-nails

Things have changed but this was always Hilti-gun territory but as I say, things have changed and some manufacturers make air and gas powered concrete nailers so have a look but I suspect these will be pricey and probably not the sort of tool you will use much of after the build so maybe hiring? It might be worth hiring a Hilti-gun and the correct cartridge for your use - I used a hilti-gun years ago to fix battens to a concrete ceiling and steel flanges directly onto the ceiling too - I must say it was the business but they are pretty dangerous so take care.

Honestly, I think you are worrying about nothing, and I think through and over engineering everything! I paint the cut ends of treated wood and all the cut ends of my roof structure etc so I am hearing you, but I think too much worry. Get it up there! Damp transmission is from damp, is this ply damp? When you say lying in his entry what do you mean? Inside his house? Does he have a termite infestation or woodworm? As I say, use that nasty, Carbopadox stuff or whatever it is (I have used it on all out important timbers in potentially damp areas) and it claims to stop more or less everything that attacks wood.

If the sheets are new why would you suspect rot? Ply is not likely to have the same issues that normal timber will see, but that is not the rule, ply is mostly damaged, with enough exposure, from water damage and starts to peel/flake. So unless there are these signs I would not worry. If you are very concerned I would treat the original timbers with some of that Dulux Trade wood preservative which also stops little beasties, wood worm etc. However, in all honesty, I'd just inspect it and check it all seems fine. Construction timber often gets wet and isn't usually a cause for concern, up here I see OSB and ply decks on builds sitting with what can only be described as swimming pools on them for months on end and are all OK.

I assume you mean £14.00 for the whole job? In which case for £14.00 go up a size - from my supplier the cost difference between 16mm and 25mm is £10.92 on a 13m run.

Depends on load and distance. Confirm those and the rest is easy - however, word of advice, always over engineer here. So if it calcs as 6mm go 10 for 20p a meter more!

3m is not good, it depends certainly on the size of the rail 75x45mm or something? and height of the fence. I did ours with 4x4 posts, 75x45mm rails and that was on about 2m spacing, fence was 1800mm tall so wanted strength, if a lower fence you can open that up a bit. By your guys logic all our rooms should be exact multiples of 1200mm for plasterboard sizes!

Thanks for the responses all. I think as with most things, it's all in the prep, I am fairly sure my usual approach to slab laying will work here. I am going to lay them out on the lawn to find the pattern and number them with chalk and make a plan once I know what I want. I think that is the simplest way, I was going to measure them and count the bits and CAD it up to see how it looks but I think it would be better to actually lay it out.

Technically it can go onto anything! Most new builds mount it on a piece of OSB. There is no direct reg in BS7671 18th - which states the mounting material must be non-combustible. There are a couple of regs, 421.1.? which states that materials used to form enclosures for electrical equipment must be non-combustible or the enclosure must be non-combustible, and it even gives the example of a ferrous metal, in other words, make it in steel and you are exempt from making things out of non-combustible materials. Now just because the regs say something, doesn't mean they are infallible! So as the consumer unit itself is metal and is supposed to be fully sealed to stop the spread of fire, if the CU's integrity has been maintained, then fire should not be able to escape, so worry more about ensuring the unit is using appropriate glands and intumescent seals etc. I personally think that it should be on a non-combustible material, I made a board for my unit out of 11mm OSB covered with 12.5mm plasterboard.

How old are the radiators? Cold spots are probably not flow issues to be honest. Our house, as we bought it, was all plumbed in 22mm primary flow and return lines for ground and first then down to 15mm as things split off and finally 8mm out from manifolds and T 15mm Tee's with 8mm reducers, we have never had an issue and some of the 8mm runs are probably as long as 5/6m. Must say, on the rater occasion we run the boiler the radiators get blinking hot blinking quick! It may be worth analysing your system and doing a schematic then post it here. I have seen some frankly odd odd plumbing, I once saw an entire ground floor circuit of radiators plumbed in series - if the first room got too hot or the stat was off none of the other radiators got hot! I also once worked in an office where they ran about 20 radiators around the perimeter walls of the open plan office in series. They told me when I started it was broken and didn't work correctly. I explained the issue and we learnt how to balance all the stats to keep some sort of flow going. As for the change in pipe size, if you are going to upgrade to 15mm then you really want to upgrade as much of it as possible.

Hello All. I picked up a pack of polished Indian Sandstone today, I've always wanted one of these patios as I think they look very smart, so I am now the proud owner of 1/4 of a ton of polished sandstone in a random assortment of sizes. I have laid plenty of patios over the years and always do them properly so I am not unfamiliar with laying slabs, but these guys are a different kettle of fish I feel. To be honest they are more like really thick tiles. So I am looking for someone with experience of laying this stuff - any tips or tricks - does the method change much from ordinary, more robust slabs? Usual sharp and cement mix? Thanks.

Can you not use PIR insulation and do away with the OSB - this sounds like you are creating a cassette floor which will be prone to moisture issues and the OSB crushing will be the least of your worries in a few years. Another option would be to use breathable membrane or mesh, sling it over the joists, insulation sits in the "hammock" and then fix it to the top of the next and so on and so forth, I'd not let it touch the ground though. If it was me I would be knocking in PIR between them, if I was not confident in my cutting skills I would be fixing 25mm treated battens to the bottom of the faces of the joists then knocking PIR down onto them to seat.

Not really, the details posted by myself above were just to show the detail, you would rotate it to suit, so for example you take the top details and have the opening wall side. The detail above requires more distance and or a more diffuse source. For a uniform light without any hot spots or dull areas I'd always use the second bounce approach, in your detail (which I have yet to see used well anywhere frankly) the wall becomes the "reflector", not good. Have a look at this - note the washing to the centre core, this was done using the detail I posted originally.

Non-Corrosive LED battens. At my workshop end I wanted higher illuminance so I went for 2 x 4500Lm LED battens equally spaced across 2 purlins, at about 3.2m at the front where there will be less activities and daylight when the door is open I have a single 6000Lm batten at the ridge at about 4.2m. Works well and total power consumption is about 110W for good usable lighting - also being LED instant full brightness so ideal for flipping the light on for 30 seconds to get something and leave, something flo's hate in the cold and reduces lamp life and output significantly.

There are several ways to create the detail shown in the image. One common method we would specify is a builders detail, whereby a cover detail is creating by framing and plasterboarding it, it get plastered and essentially a ledge with an upstand is created where an LED product sits. Tape is the contractors friend but is not always the best option, stuff from the merchants and Screwfix and B&Q is pretty poor. I usually specify ridged LED profiles which come in 200mm to 10000mm and these sit into the "builders detail". Another way to do it is using a profile that gets plastered into the ceiling or a continuous light fitting. https://www.lightnet-group.com/en/product/matric-f1-ip54-342 https://arc-led.co.uk/plaster-in/897-arc-pbuw-plasterboard-flush-mounted-aluminium-led-profile.html?gclid=CjwKCAjwps75BRAcEiwAEiACMb52xzv6lGqe6O-jfx1aSE2yr8KNYtC8CseBOq4YkqObIgcYTWF62xoCZzYQAvD_BwE

The wall that it would mount to is nearly 3.8m up so it is well out of sight, the ceiling is totally void of anything, there is no lighting, nothing on it, the whole lighting is done by a single indirect light source which lights the whole kitchen. The plasterers knew that essentially the ceiling was going to be a big reflector and as such made an impeccably good job of it. To then site an alarm on it would stink - also, first fix is in and it's on the wall! To put it on the ceiling now I'd need to run it surface - so it gets even worse. I think I may just have found one! A Kidde unit.

The regs are fine, it's the products! I am in compliance with BS5389 - but if the product says no, then I know I will be falling foul - on something like this I am sure the BCO will also know this and I don't want the question or debate. I just want to be able to comply while doing it my way so I can show him the evidence that it is conforming.

Yes, what you have read and interpreted is the same as what I have found - as you see Aico say no to heat. If they could even explain why not then I'd listen but you cannot tell me no without a logical reason. He kept telling me that heat travels down the walls and cools, I explained to him that yes this was the wall, but it was within the peak of the ceiling, I don't think he actually understood me. Do you think what I am proposing is reasonable or do you think I am being silly? The mad thing is, if the wall it was to be mounted on had a pitch to it, it would satisfy the Aico installation instructions as it would no longer be a wall. As soon as the surface becomes 100% vertical, albeit it is so high really it is the peak and no cooling can take place, or if it does only very slightly, it no longer complies.

Just so there is no dubiety, this is what I want to do.

I knew it! He kept just quoting their siteing instructions, which I stated I had already read and understood but also pointed out their siteing instructions didn't actually mention my situation and I wanted clarification, he came back with another cheeky email. Do you have an email address or details of the clearly more intelligent Aico employee you go hold of? What is your exact situation - I will go and sketch what we have here for clarity.

That I get, in my line of work I understand that fully, it is also my job to design safe and compliant solutions to achieve the hopes and dreams of others. This little boy was just cheeky and arrogant and couldn't string together a coherent email to save himself. I did have one manufacturer go away and confirm with their US design office that it could be done but their type rating wasn't approved for wall use yet and until this was official they couldn't sell it as such. They also admitted that generally they say no to wall mounting, much like lockdown, to deal with the inept and those lacking in common sense, therefore you have a strategy aimed at "playing it safe". It is done with commercially designed systems often enough, I used to work in an office next to a team of fire engineers and stupidly lost touch over the years - we often had to include wiring spec within our specification and wall mounted heat detectors were used.

Basically wall mounting a heat alarm - we have a mono-pitched ceiling, rather than put it on the sloped ceiling within the prescribed distance from the apex (I think it was 150mm), I wish to mount it on the wall at 150mm from the peak but on the wall. We all know heat rises and in the event of a fire this top "triangle" of space is going to get rather hot fairly quickly, I see no reason why the thermistor type alarm would not work just fine on the wall within the apex area. The little boy on the other end of this email just kept repeating the same rubbish and wasn't willing to use his head and do some thinking. Looking at all the guidance and interpreting BS5839 it appears acceptable to mount a heat detector on a wall if certain criteria are met, I have spoken to some people and they have concurred with my thinking. 1 of three things will happen here: 1. I mount it on the wall where I want it, BCO rejects it and I move it to the ceiling, he checks it, he signs it all off and I move it back to the wall when he goes. 2. I mount it on the ceiling, BCO is happy, he leaves, he signs off and I move it to the wall. 3. I find a product that will go on the wall, with literature or an email or a design to back it up and the BCO accepts it because there is a piece of paper removing his liability!