MikeGrahamT21

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.

Theres no need to remove anything which is permeable from the cavity, this is fine and actually better for the overall effect as others have commented. There are loads of properties having this done with cavity wall, not read of any issues, just needs designing properly and simulating beforehand to ensure there is no risk. http://www.yougen.co.uk/blog-entry/2560/Can+you+have+both+cavity+wall+insulation+and+external+or+internal+wall+insulation'3F/

If your internet is faster than 100Mbps, you'll need the Tenda MW6's or MW5G's with Gigabit ports on them ?

Have a look at the Tenda Mesh APs, they are super cheap and work a treat in my house (bungalow, so spread over quite a large area). When I visit my Dad over the road I still get a connection to my WiFi!

In a bathroom it might be preferable to get some PVC skirting board so its protected from any moisture ingress.

I should also be able to get a few pallets, and decant them onto those to lift them up off the ground. OK, will have a think about it, thanks for the replies, im hoping the discount amount goes up where i found them, as it also shows 15 and 20% off, today was 10%, will see what state of play is tomorrow ?

Yeah I've alsorts running through my head, the usual what ifs. I've got loads of breather membrane which I could put over and weight down which should do the trick.

Can't seem to find any firm info on this... I'm thinking of buying all the bricks I need for my extension now, before Brexit kicks in (not even sure if that will make a difference), and they have 10% off this week for Black Friday (1425 bricks for £876, Ibstock Hardwicke Minster Beckstone Mixture), they would have to sit on the driveway which in itself drains well, but there is no cover. What would you do?

So what if you live in a power cut area, are they going to invalidate your warranty because you had a power cut every day. I found Nuaire difficult to work with, they did a design for me, and even said semi-rigid ducting would invalidate their warranty, and they would only support 125mm metal ducting. Nuaire do have a very expensive NOx Box so I'm surprised they didn't recommend you one of those, but as i said before, there is no guaranteed solution. Also poor design isn't necessarily the issue for me...we can't control what happens around us, and for me I wanted to (and still want to) ascertain how much of a problem the smoke/smell actually is before spending a lot of money on expensive filters, and in my case so far I've not found it bad enough to need to do anything, but its nice to have a plan to act if i need to.

As promised, here are my completed (I hope) drawings for building control, which I've just submitted to the local council. I'll post back on here with what they come back with, any changes required, and also any restrictions imposed. I know some were asking what was required for BC plans, so hopefully this will give a good guide for a masonry cavity wall build. Side Extension Drawing BC.pdf

I've also looked into something similar, much less of a pressure drop with the hydroponics ones and far cheaper.

Its possible, but there will be an associated pressure drop with a sprung flap i would imagine. The plan is to get something like this if needs be: https://www.blauberg.co.uk/en/blauberg-cleanbox-nox-carbon-polution-pollen-indoor-air-quality-filter-box-for-heat-recovery-ventilation-systems Like you say, its unlikely to be 100%, and no one will ever guarantee it will cure a smoke problem, but it should mitigate it somewhat.

Yeah absolutely, Vortice (the manufacturer of my MVHR) even sell a VOC sensor. Trouble is if its windy and smokey, the air could in theory still pass through the ducting, so would be better with some form of filter to fix the problem permanently.

Last night was a good first test for the MVHR in smoke conditions, i could definitely smell it in the house, especially near the supply vents, however when comparing to the outside smell, id say it was roughly around 10-20% of the strength using my smell-o-meter. The test as to whether i get a NOx box is how it performs with the wood burners nearby, and time will tell, so for now i'm not doing anything.

Its a plumbing supplies company. PSW Trade Suppliers

If you want MLCP without the expense of one of those tools, try these: https://pswtradesuppliers.co.uk/ I used it for my manifold system for the radiators, and it worked a treat, same kind of system with 16mm pipe, aluminium core, and eurocones, but this has a compression nut instead of needing the tool for press fit.

I've seen someone use one of these on a video before: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/124213392454 Longer you need it just get more extension bits

They look a little like these: https://www.simplypaving.com/products/driveway-block-paving/heavy-duty-block-paving/charcon-woburn-original/rustic/ I have absolutely shed loads of them (non rumbled, so quite a sharp edge to them), and more next year when i build an extension on the drive. Not sure where you are in the country.

Lack of cavity tray is the only thing which would cause this I think, but installing one would be a huge job. If water is getting into the cavity though, no matter how much sealing up you do, you'll just be moving the problem somewhere else. If penetration is indeed the issue, you could consider masonry brick/stone waterproofing cream, which should reduce penetration of moisture, and this may be enough to sort it. Does this property have a cavity or is it solid walled? If its solid the cream may well help, but having never used it myself, i can't comment how good it is. See what you find first and take it from there.

got loft boarded out this weekend, and had installed a new longer ladder to reach the new deck. I know the MVHR duct work needs to be changed to rigid at some point!