dpmiller

steady progress with not too many dramas, and hopefully habitable by September.

OK. Rooflights are in. Keylites really are a doddle compared to Velux, the frames just drop into place with the bracket heights preset. But the 1340x980 units are HEAVY. Even though we'd scaff up in the hallway, it just wan't tall enough so a hastily-built stock of blocks with a pallet atop (and a ratchet strap holding it all to the scaff to be sure) gave us a platform to get the unit out to the roof on. Thankfully the pivots drop into place easily once the unit is set roughly into position. But talk about an anxious couple of minutes... Solar remote system works well, I've currently one channel for each window but they *could* both be on the same.

It's a shitty phone pic at dusk, but this is the *why*.. Birds singing, sun setting off to the left, water trickling, traffic noise a half-mile away. Bliss. Oh, but the Robin that flitting in-and-out through a gap in the felt? mate, you need somewhere else to shit.

So where are we now. Blockwork keeps on going, we've got all the *big* lintels in place now so the guys can just keep on plugging on , each course is shorter than the last now. Chimney stuff is here, sills are here (and look gorgeous, really fine finish on the concrete) and we're lifting the big Keylite windows into place tomorrow. SHMBO needs to be making final decisions on the position of sanitaryware and then it'll be first fix city. Window guys return 9th, roof stuff arrives that week too. Moving on...

only 35mm insulation?

two ufh manifolds and blending valves for me- £70 off. sweet.

I'm wondering whether you can furtle with the flow switch on the pump- move the reedswitch down a bit/ sleeve the chamber for a closer fit to the float/ put a light spring under the float.

how restrictive is the showerhead?

tried blowing through it?

enquiring minds, and all that.

Rendered over with EML sounds like a plan... The portions I'm looking at are part of the main TF so 140mm with all the insulation package inside, so it really is just choosing a means of standing the render clear of the frame a distance to match the blockwork. They aren't even massive areas, perhaps 1.5m2 each panel. I do have one "normal" dormer to deal with at the back but that'll be easier to detail as there's nothing it needs to align with.

@Mr Punter I'm intrigued- why the Celotex? Seems like an expensive way just to make up depth and as all the specc'ed insulation is on the inside of the frame would this not require reconsideration of condensation risk? I presume that any airgaps in this built panel don't have to align with the TF-block cavity? On the render side of things, as we're undecided as to whether it'll be a simple sand and cement affair or a monocouche would it be safest to site the renderboard back behind the block a bit with EML on?

any thoughts here please?

try this chap: http://www.psdesign-architecture.com/services.html

You might laugh @lizzie but hot glue is used routinely by the guys that do paintless dent repairs on cars- search for "glue pull". The glue is easily removed afterwards with a spray of alcohol before rolling it off in one piece. No harm is done to the finish.

blob of hot glue?

Well not really, but this is the closest section I can think of to put the Q... Above our porch- and in a similar fashion at the rear of the house- we've small triangular areas that need building up as spandrel panels to continue a return block wall. Crappy photo of the scenario below, the blockwork will rise as a vertical edge to the left. So I've 150mm of depth to fill (100mm block + 50mm cavity). The outside will be half inch renderboard but what else? 140mm treated CLS straight onto the TF, or is some counterbatten a Good Idea? Studs are all 400ctrs max...

where is the boundary?

My preference wouldn't have a Riello burner... I'm mightily impressed with our Turkington/ Turco condenser but i don't think you's go far wrong with any of the usual suspects- Grant/Warmflow/ Firebird etc. We've got all these close to home so tend not to see so much WB or HRM this side of the wee pond. /except for the special models that WB made for NI "refurb" installs, long after condensers were mandatory...

yes.

how high up the pipe? same as the level in the header tank.

same thng really.

Grand here actually, they haven't lost much time and the blocks are sitting up and sheltered from any rain but getting a nice blow dry. Oh yes, knew there was something else- the new Keylite windows arrived. Seems the Polar Solar models are actually only to hit the market in the new year (even tho they've been in the price list for quite some time) so we got an early delivery. Waiting for the system chimneys to arrive imminently and all the sills are ordered and in production.

And so time passes. Most of the windows went in on Tuesday. There are a couple of booboos to sort, a unit damaged, a couple not to spec, and an umm... tolerancing issue with a couple of the openings. All to be addressed over the next few days hopefully. Blockwork continues. They're approaching GF lintels now and were awaiting a visit from the BCO to confirm what heads he'd let us away with.

One caveat on the single-phase motor- starting current is high and too much voltage drop can fry the motor so the rest of the garage wiring needs to be to-spec. A 3Hp motor will take between 10 and 13A full load but it's starting current could be double or even treble that.