willbish

I have a steel ridge specified with two sizes. 203x102x23 joined to 356x171x57 The pitch of the roof to the front is 45°, and to the rear 16.2°, although there is a section to the rear that is 45° highlighted above The rafters are 195mm x 45mm @ 600c. I'm having difficulty finding a suitable position for the steel that allows an acceptable birds mouth on all rafters. I've found that if I offset the steel by ~100mm to the rear I get a good seat for both rafters on both sizes of steel. Like this: Having an offset doesn't work for the section where the rear rafters are also 45°. So I'm now thinking the steel has to be on center line. But to get a decent bearing for the rear rafters I would need extra timber, a lot of extra timber which is not acceptable, is it? Any thoughts greatly appreciated.

I think, do you need the 25mm insulation? Is it going to be make a significant different to target Uvalue. The supplier is probably right, the temperature in the void between the posi's will be very close to room temp. Chance of condensation very minimal I would have thought.

True, although @JSHarris then went on to say that he had deliberately misled. Intentionally and deliberately are fine hairs to part. I'm trying to understand why he is considered such an untrustworthy source when his ideas and arguments garner support.

You are certainly under no obligation but if you remember it that well it wouldn't hurt to back up some quite strong opinions made publicly with a bit of evidence. I'm sure you are not wrong in finding an error in his work, we all make mistakes.

Jeremy you haven't demonstrated where/when he has been misleading. It just seems a little strong to call someone an 'unreliable source' and 'deliberately misleading' without referring to specific occasions.

Haha sure, I was using @JSHarris term...

Sorry to push, but where exactly did he deliberately mislead his readers?

Ok, so nothing in Monbiot's recent books or articles that you know to be factually misleading?

Can you cite some examples where Monbiot has intentionally misled? I've been reading his articles and books for a while and always found them very well referenced. Of course his subject matter is often controversial and therefore some people seem intent on finding errors within his work in the hope of discrediting his ideas. In general I think his work is very accurate.

Its likely I'll have the roof on in a small number of months but I'm not going to risk it. So far with this build I've avoided ongoing rental costs such as scaffolding, heras fencing, portaloo etc. Even abandoned plans for a highway licence for the scaffold, £70/month, no chance. As a result I've reduced the time pressure on myself and I think increased my enjoyment of the build so far. The egger board is going in the same category; not worth the stress of having to meet a deadline.

Now you're making me think again @PeterW Egger protect is guaranteed for 60days exposed. If I install at the same time as the joists I will far exceed this. That's why I thought a temporary deck first then a permanent deck when in the dry. I had thought the permanent deck I would use wouldn't need to be a water proof one but I think what you are saying is water proof board is good to have regardless of whether it is exposed or not? Because of potential damage from bathrooms & leaks etc

Im not going for a weather proof board. My plan is to chuck down temporary OSB, I can get 20 sheets painted one side for £100 and wait until the roof is on before installing the permanent chipboard. If I cover the whole area in DPM the water still has to drain off somewhere. I can't see the joists staying dry.

Good point @Vijay I haven't asked for details of the treatment yet. Might also be a good opportunity to squeeze them on price. Treated for additional 5% please?!

@Big Neil Here's my final Easi Joist plan from Manderwood 59 Joists and a few binders 400mm centers apart from one area which is opened to 600 centers to hide duct cooler in ceiling void Most joists 72mm or 97mm wide, with a couple of real chunkers at 172mm wide. Top hung on pole plates and steel predominantly 7 - 10 day delivery £2611 with VAT (untreated!)

Im making the same decision, treated or untreated. Like @PeterW, I don't think Ive ever (knowingly) seen treated web joists. My quote is asking an additional 12.5% for treated. Im considering it because my progress is slower than a snail on sedatives and the joists will be exposed until the autumn. @Ian BS5268 Part 5 covers the Code of practice for the preservative treatment of structural timber. I can't read it for free online, do you know if it says structural timber must be treated if exposed for a certain period or is it purely a recommendation?

That's reassuring. Good to know they've acknowledged a charging problem, made some alterations and have tried to upgrade existing models. Once the dust has settled and you are confident your unit is charging as expected, nothing to stop you installing your indicator light again...

Has been very quiet on the Sunamp front for a while. I take that as a good sign I've finally received a response back from Sunamp, which Ive pasted below. I asked them would any mechanical or software changes be made to my Sunamp units, which are currently sat in Sunamp HQ, before being delivered @JSHarris Did you receive a new controller? How is it performing? I do apologise for the delay however I managed to track down our Technical Director who has responded as follows: My comments: As part continuous process of product improvement, we have improved the heat transfer rate between the heating element and the heat battery heat store. The power input is managed by the controller by cycling the heater on and off during the charging phase. With the above improvement, the cycling of the heater is now rarely required and therefore this has allowed us to increase the power input during heating from cold phase of charging the battery. In addition to the above, charging control algorithms have been refined and the charging is now re-enabled as soon as a small quantity of water has been run off, OR when the heat battery has lost some heat through standing losses after several hours. ther compatibility problems with some makes of diversion controllers have been resolved. Your unit will have an updated controller. Kind regards

Cheers @Temp Cementing my decision to move away from mortar

Originally we were going to use Stonemarket man made bullnose flags but they have been discontinued from the 2019 catalogue for an unspecified reason. I'm guessing they've had quality issues. Whatever we use will continue up the stairs on to the terrace and also at ground level. Trying to achieve a traditional look rather than contemporary which I associate with sawn. Ive been persuaded to build the staircase and then face with the pavers much later on in the build to avoid them being damaged. Will be allowing for a 50mm thick tread. The dimension of the paver used to face the riser is less critical. Allowing for 20-30mm

Thanks @Russell griffiths hadn't thought of using tile adhesive. Been recommended Mapei Keraquick from the tile guru's.

Because I don't want to live in an industrial unit!

I found this helpful when looking up structural opening sizes. Opening-Dims.pdf

I'll soon be getting started on building an outside staircase and bin store underneath with the help of my block layer. The structure will be concrete block and lintels for the treads. Rising 2.7m up to access the roof terrace. At the moment I'm wondering on the best way to adhere the limestone treads and risers to the concrete lintels. I was thinking of using a very good grab adhesive, any recommendations? Or just a traditional mortar bed. Obviously will be looking for a slight fall on the treads.

100mm still £1 a block inc VAT round these ere parts

Would large volumes of air recirculating through fan cooling units cause any upset to the MVHR unit?