MikeGrahamT21

You need stainless steel wire rope of whatever thickness you want ?

My personal view is that the overall climate is less of a problem for window frame colour. Its more the direct heat of the sun which causes any warping/distortion etc. If the general climate is warmer, then this in theory should be less of an issue, but the sun will still heat the frames to a good 70-80C.

One thing I would note is to say be careful of the MVHR sucking in foul drain gases from the soil stack. With regards the boiler, you are quite right to be concerned. My gut instinct would be to go with boiler through roof, and MVHR through wall, but there would likely need to be some distance between the two. I have around 4m between my intake and the boiler flue, and the boiler flu is also downwind from the prevailing winds.

Yeah that looks roughly about the same thickness as what I took off in my 1960's bungalow, around 15mm thick.

I have to question rising damp there. Looks like the render has go over the top of the DPC with no break in it. That left hand wall looks very damp also, paint peeling etc. How wet is the ground around there? Digging a trench next to the wall and filling with pea gravel may help, but i'd say a DPC bridge is going to be an even bigger issue.

Perfectly normal, there is a strip of foam under the tiles there to stop them rattling during high winds

What about the roof? I wonder if there is a leak over the cavity and water is dripping all the way down

I'd probably guess at penetrating damp or rising damp, especially since the radiator is so close. Even if that air vent was working (if it currently isn't), it probably wouldn't fix that problem. What type of wall construction is it? Damp Proof Membrane in place? Pointing on the outside in good condition?

Assuming your plaster was in date? Poured the plaster into water, not water into plaster? Consistency should be like greek yoghurt, nice and creamy. All equipment fully clean, and water crystal clear? Any speck of plaster will cause it to go off super quick. If you splash with water too soon it makes it go off also, water causes it to harden. I've seen all sorts of tricks to slow or quicken the setting times in videos online.

Yeah that was the biggest thing I learnt too when plastering, patience, leave it alone, its amazing how it wets back up to smooth it. Would also say if your final coat was sagging you may have been a bit on the thick side. I know its hard when doing a patch though.

Well it seems to be working so far: (for those who don't show signatures) Gas (CH only) - 5679kWh (December 2020) Gas (DHW only) - approx 840kWh Electric - 1420kWh (November 2020) Solar - 16 Panel, 4kWp - 3355kWh (2019) Water - 38m3/a or 104L/person/day Heated Floor Area - 62m2 Space Heating Requirement - Approx 92kWh/m2/a In the last 2 months my EAC has dropped nearly 1000kWh, now approaching 90kWh/m2/a

I plan to have an air test one day when I’ve finished keep building extensions, I dread to think the result, but I try as best as I can to seal everything up and use membranes and tapes where necessary, I just keep thinking as long as my annual consumption of gas keeps dropping, whilst also adding more floor area, that’s got to be a good thing! Having completed around 40% of the total floor area this year I can certainly tell a massive difference, but know I still have a long way to go yet. Keeps me busy ?

I can't see the lockshields listed anymore actually. I've got loads spare if you are after one or two or them, just PM me your address and I'll send some over to you. The MLCP stuff is still there, its all listed under UFH Water Heating System. Their website has changed a lot since I bought from them and its harder to find stuff now. Also the pipe has WRAS printed on it:

Would you like me to change my signature? ? ? Please don't make me do the water... 104L.Person-1.day-1

My entire system was cheaper than using a comparable 15mm pipe system, and the only non-standard bits that are used as the eurocones, I fitted the 16mm eurocones inside the standard TRVs, and the lockshields were purpose bought 16mm eurocone ones but were cheaper than their 15mm counterparts. The 16mm MLCP pipe is a million times better than any PEX ive ever used, and I wouldn't recommend anything else for any form of heating now All my kit came from https://pswtradesuppliers.co.uk/

Surely it'd be better taping the joints in the PIR too to stop the concrete seeping down and negating the insulation though?

@Oz07 Its a 1960's bungalow, part way through renovation. Recently come under the 100kwh/m2/a, im hoping this comes down quite a bit more over the course of the winter, as this is the first winter with a big chunk of the house renovation complete, and the MVHR in place.

You'll need the foil boards, taped with aluminium tape, so it acts as a VCL, and also stops the screed soaking in/leaking through. As @A_L has said, if you are putting a membrane above the insulation, this will be all you will need, and the board type doesn't matter, just go with a cheapest in the insulant type you choose. Seconds could well be bowed, depends on which you are buying. I've bought loads of Kooltherm boards from seconds and co, and they're always perfect, you'd never know the difference, until you measure them, they're often a few mm different in thickness to what they should be. They can also be one thickness at one end and another at the other, so something to be aware of. Kooltherm boards come in a 0.018, but they obviously carry a price premium.

All my figures are in my signature, I have electric hob for cooking, so gas is purely hot water and space heating.

If you look closely in the small print, usually they state "yellowing may occur". Its generally hard to notice yellowing, until you go to repaint, and then you see it a mile off.

I've used Crown's Water based quick dry gloss for many years, and it always seems to leave a nice finish, and doesn't smell. All white paint will yellow slightly over the years.

As long as your cavity is filled with insulation where the step is, there will be a small bridge where your wall ties are, but its likely to be a very very small area.

They'll likely use high compressive strength closed cell EPS. This isn't viable to EWI plinth insulation, as it can't be thick enough, and EPS300 doesn't perform as well as XPS thermally.

Needs to be XPS or some form of insulation which doesn't readily absorb water. EPS is open cell so will absorb a fair amount of water, no good for below DPC. With regards the airtight paint (passive purple or blowerproof), for a cavity wall house, or probably any other house which is having EWI this is a total waste of money! This type of paint is meant to go on the inside face of the walls inside the property to seal any cracks etc, and give an airtight layer beneath the finish plaster. All of these systems etc will have BBA approval documents which show how they should be used, and these are valid with LABC.

Agree with Russell, counter battening gets rid of the requirement to leave a gap within the insulation layer, you can full fill.