saveasteading

Good work AliG. It is a common theme 'my house I will do as I please'.' Nobody will make me take it down..' and maybe they won't. In plan it looks like a supermarket.

As long as they aren't coming out the other side of the timber, its ok. Treat yourself to some high quality screws.

Like in Lord of the Rings? Anyway, that sounds better than ' an area of trees was felled to make room for the house.' Seriously, I assume they are conifers so of no risk to the founds? The needles might fill the gutters though if that close.

I think it should always be visible, otherwise there is a dampness link past it. If the bed mortar is recessed (bucket handle) then that might expose it, while also concealing it a little.

Not bc's concern, even though they tend to be in adjacent offices to the planners. Very different people who couldn't do each others' jobs. The article says they had an Architect. Could be some interesting discussions going on with them.

The trees march to within a few feet of the house and a stream burbles its way past the property. Someone is a poet! Thanks for sharing the article. I hope, for the sake of the view, that the fields are very fertile and the farmer isn't tempted by grants to plant a forest.

I had an awkward room with a low sloping ceiling. Went to local plumbers merchant and they had one made specially. It meant I paid list price, no discount, which was very fair. It had to fit at my risk of course.

Not that much, as the internals are reducing. But I agree in principle and am more used to reducing than increasing runs. But the dual run gives you very simple runs and connections. If there is any issue, it is a simple rod to chamber. The internal one has multiple junctions and connections, and angles that could be fiddly. Once the 'water' has dropped over the edge in the chamber, it isn't coming back. The chance of 2 x wc plus a bath draining and clashing at the same time is low, but worth minimising.

Agree with ProDave. For the sake of 5m extra drain run i would have the external run on both sides of the house, and keep all internal pipes simple and short. A chamber outside the bathroom could take 2 connections. All very easy to rod, but less likely to block in the first place.

I found that I need about 8 turns in the UK (all that will usually fit) but 25 to 30 turns with Spanish fittings, because they appear to be variously imperial (surprisingly) and metric, and rather approximate. I wonder if ptfe tape comes in different thicknesses?

Not being that skilled, I really appreciate the screws that come with a head that is so precisely made that the screw sits on (even under) the head as if magnetised. And an ultra sharp point Philips Ulti-mate my favourite. Leaves another hand free to hold on to the ladder, and don't drop many.

On a plane landing at Copenhagen several years ago, I could see the turbines scattered throughout farmland, rather than in clusters. Plus the big wind-farms out at sea. I believe they also have relatively small farm waste to power, stations, also scattered around the grid.

Is that copyright? Moonshine, it is available at Wickes or online. For avoidance of doubt, these are tiny hair-like plastic fibres, not the steel variety used for runways. They are simply sprinkled into your mixer, or into the concrete truck on a larger scale.

We had a client ask for a glass floor in his office so that he could look down into reception. He hadn't thought it through either, and was embarrassed, but pleased we had explained the issue.

Lots of people can lay concrete to a decent standard, so you probably can too, using the advice above. Very few can do a dry screed. I watched 1000m2 being laid over the course of a week. The guy was on his knees all day. Amazing workmanship, but usually unnecessary. Keep it on the dry side and it won't crack. I would add some fibres for the £5 investment but it isnt necessary.

Most people are surprised how much variation there is in what looks like a smooth slab..eg a b & q shed. There is a difference between smooth, and level. also that i have known a flooring company want a smooth concrete floor to be scabbled to get a grippy surface, and it then looked like yours. I can't really say any more because it has to be up to you and your relationship with the tiler. If you wanted to persuade him that it was ok, you put a long spirit level down and see how much gap there is.

I didn't like hollow wall anchors because of the way they spun and ripped plasterboard, until i discovered setting tools. Like a rivet gun. The anchors can be 70mm long, maybe more. Used for very heavy duty eg toilet cubicles where the supplier denied all responsibility fof wall fixings. Very successful...so much so that the tool didappeared. content://com.android.chrome.FileProvider/images/screenshot/1673180082309677399860.jpg Ceiling?...in theory yes but a noggin has to be favourite.

I'm not talking about any chemical reactions but of insulation floating. 50p/m2 takes away the risk.

On the positive side. Problem seen and sorted rather than built in. A good day.

Adrian Walker, thanks for that link. Fascinating. Can anyone explain how London is using 2.2% hydro? Also, and excuse me if it is all explained and I haven't read it, is the 'imported' figure a total, thus including French nuclear?

Yes you can sort those 5mm dips out beforehand with self leveller. It will be very thin so make sure to get a product designed to be thin (it is on the bag). I might be tempted to use tile adhesive instead. It is nice to work with, goes on thin and sticks like... The general roughness shouldn't matter, assuming it is 1 or 2mm blips. want to send a pic? The advantage of doing it in advance is that the tiler wont be perching tiles on very thick adhesive, with possibly some voids. Shouldn't happen as I learnt the wonders of double buttering. Maybe someone on bh is an actual tiler and can confirm or contradict.

I think it is beyond budget. perhaps allow an extra £20,000? Just guessing: best find a local who knows. That is assuming brick-like stone blocks are readily available. please don't consider man-made fake stone. That is what you need to be doing. Not necessarily Loch Rannoch, but your own area as Perthshire is big and very varied. You may even find a builder on a site and can ask about costs, incl stone.

Thanks Sparrowhawk. I couldn't find this. Back to the original discussion about resilient bar: page 40 has graphs showing how effective the 'decoupling' of a resilient bar or staggered studs is. 10 dB (and more) is lots. A real wall or floor will not work as well, but the comparisons should stand. The usual downfall of any compartment is at edges, or with sound travelling through the adjoining walls or floors (flanking)

Yes. the screed is generally quite sloppy and finds gaps between insulation and floats it. I have been at the floating of a whole area and it wasn't fun. Our plumber had insisted on doing the concrete, but it turned out hadn't done it before. Me to the rescue with the brilliant instruction to stop pouring. Then concrete blocks to keep it down. In theory all your taped joints might be sound, and not stick to someone's boot. In practice it isn't worth the risk,