saveasteading

And delivered next day! btw, I had the family do a detailed level survey of the slab, and they found a lot more variation than they had expected. As you can't easily change thicknesses, we have gone for 25 +100, all PIR. Local hollows are being filled with screed to avoid any voids under the PIR. Also btw, the diy concrete slab with fibres has been a great success. Contraction joints cut on day 4 (pushing their luck a bit) and NO signs of shrinkage cracks at all. Recommended for ease and economy. Saved us £2,000 of mesh, plus the labour and nuisance of it, and the pour of 11m3 was done by 5 amateurs

I sat through many a talk by BRE about SAP, EPC and Breeam and never got a sensible answer about any queries. The presenters were simply that. The boffins I met who created the nonsense computer suites (garbage in , garbage out) didn't really understand what they were doing either, and it is they who put in the stuff about turbines, air conditioning....and for Breeam, whether there are buses running or furry animals introduced. We bought the EPC computer suite and played with it, to get good answers. Not what you are supposed to do, but showed where the junk bits of formulae were, to avoid them. Then all these years pass and .....no change. I think you get bonus points for a water turbine too, regardless of its efficiency. (See Prodave experiment).

NO. It is a gimmick and an expensive one. To put it in perspective, about 15 years ago at Ecobuild in London there were 20 companies displaying wind turbines. I spoke to every one, and they were all commercially unviable, just gimmicks. That dropped to none over a few years. I haven't been for 3 years but there was one at last visit and it was basically a yacht model, plus another fixed to a lamp-post, so it could run an led light for one night, off mains.

Dig a hole to bury the clay? clever. Advice....use your prep time to talk to people. Good tradespersons will have other good contacts. Bad tradespersons will have bad contacts. Builders merchants have business cards up on their walls usually, but that doesn't mean they are good. Look at other projects. Be cheeky and speak to the workers, and the client if possible.

Would this be a Victorian age house, or slightly later. They were surprisingly standard whoever built them, and so the chimneys are very predictable and , yes, the 2 pots on your side are yours. I agree with all said. Repair chimney and keep the rain out. Change the flue, which is the cheapest part of the work. In the upstairs rooms, are there still chimney breasts or have they been removed? Often they are knocked out and not supported.

Agreed. I can understand why people specify fancy non-shrink grout (actually expanding is better), because it is easy, pretty good, and moderately idiot proof. The trouble is you have no idea whether it is in contact with the steel or not, unless you drill holes in the plate. I have seen removed columns where there was only 50% contact. Having been responsible for say 5,000 columns I prefer as Tonyshouse says. It is lo-tech, easily done by any builder whether experienced or not as long as they do as told. Dryish mix* with small aggregate, pushed into place and then banged in with a stick against a timber on the opposite face. The flaunching gives a little more pressure into place and prevents any suggestion of edge displacement. This isn't possible though if the column is recessed and doesn't allow access....then the specialist grout is the way. * manageable and doesn't shrink. Then tighten the bolts again.

Feedback time. Thanks for the info, which was used in further research and contacts. I am very pleased to report that the local, friendly, non-national, builders merchant came out best by a bit. they beat the online specialists by a bit, and delivery their standard £15 instead of £100 or more. National BM prices silly. The published price was very much higher, but I suppose is reasonable for a single board. Always worth giving the locals a try.

Snap an end off, and if it comes off clean, then no need to destring. If a string comes with it then it needs to be pulled off. If the end is bendy then past its best.

I favour chemical anchors over mechanical. I have known expanding bolts to come free after repeated movement, which wind might provide. On the other hand, chemical anchors require due care to install. My greenhouse is fixed down by 9 screws into plastic pugs, into paving slabs and has survived several named storms. For your shed, the plastic at the fixings is the likeliest weak point, so I agree as above. Square washers for fencing are very sturdy.

Today I looked up the NHBC tolerances for floors. Shockingly tolerant. The 3mm over a 3m straight-edge is sensible and reasonable. But 20mm overall variation over 6m being acceptable? Therefore if you are worried about 10mm, as we all should be, then it seems you have to write our own specification.

these photos didn't come through, not to me anyway. As TBC says, Read. Read buildhub and search back to older discussions as most of it is on here somewhere. Read up about other projects near you, and look over their hedges. Read the Building Regulations...(in stages) : builders mostly don't. I have been in construction 45 years and am learning from BH and as the project proceeds. Every project is different.

I must have been lucky then, or have quality windows. But noted that the conditions may state to lubricate frequently.

A lot are available online, although it may need a variety of search terms to find them. I suggest looking at every one even if it looks vague, the wrong subject matter or of the wrong era, because they sometimes link in to other versions. Also zoom in as they may change map completely in the process, or have a timeline. For example a geological map may morph into a general local map. Plus Google Earth has a timeline, with the oldest maps being wartime reconnaissance photos overlaid on the map.

Have anyone's windows failed or stuck or become squeaky inside 5 years? 10 years? Maintenance is good, but there seems to be something wrong when this happens with new windows.

if it stinks it will do. but water it down a lot for use.

So the floor is going in. The second half of the sub-floor area of concrete was done diy by family and friends, using fibre reinforced concrete. A great success, and who needs groundworkers, as long as you have one skilled person and 4 barrows with 4 helpers? 150mm of insulation is next. Planning on 2 layers, 100 over 50, thanks to the very helpful older discussions. as it is slightly cheaper, allows laps, and also better for cutting in isolated pipes and ducts. Then there will be 50mm Cemfloor with UFH. Maybe use 50EPS for the bottom as it will save about £1,000 and there is a diminishing return as it gets thicker. On the other hand, for a big order perhaps PIR will reduce in price enough. Any suggestions as to buying from the national specialist merchants, local merchants or the online companies? I think someone said that PIR only comes via merchants but EPS can come from manufacturers. Total area is 270m2, so pretty well a small lorry load. Perhaps that can come straight from the manufacturer and save double handling by the merchant that takes an easy fee. FYI online prices are, per single sheet, PIR 50mm £22 or EPS £11 100mm £39 150.. £62 (and sometimes 125mm is dearer than 150.)

it is all explained here too. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/442889/BR_PDF_AD_H_2015.pdf

You can do this. Calculating the percolation rate requires a spade for a small hole, a bucket and a watch. It is not worth fiddling the results as it is you who will have stinky ground. read here and come back with any queries. https://www.jdpipes.co.uk/knowledge/sewage-treatment/how-to-perform-a-percolation-test.html then write it up on a posh table to inspire confidence.

Better than a ladder, but only if it is sitting flat on the floor, not up steps.

First impressions as others. an are of ceiling has been replaced using 2 boards. Why the joints should appear is not clear, and worth looking for clues, as Gus suggestions. My guess is that the joints are not fixed over joists, or enough. The worry would be if the repair was done for a reason that has recurred. The best outcome is that it needs more screws into the joists, and perhaps noggins the other direction.

I used actual Wago on a lighting circuit and called in the electrician to connect to a suspect 2 way switch, and to certify it. He stripped all the Wagos off and fitted boxes. I had done all the complex feeds through floors and ceilings (builder's work and thinking) so it was still worth it. Electricians had quoted stupid money for surface mounting. He wouldn't say why they wouldn't leave on the Wagos. I guess they would have wanted to check all my connections, and then they used their preferred methods. Or is there a fundamental worry about wires popping out?

Cemfloor say Pouring between 40mm and 50mm of liquid floor screed for underfloor heating is optimal. The diameter of the heating pipe is included in this depth. We are going for 50 as 40 doesn't allow much tolerance for any wobbles.

I got a smaller version of that in a diy store but it looks the same. Not to be confused with a professional version made with tubes. Even standing at 2m it feels very wobbly, but is better than a ladder for a longer job. I took to climbing to it on a step ladder rather than through the hatch. Also it is bolted together so is a performance unless you can keep it erected. And the bolts need checking every time. For that high version, I think I would want to tied it to the wall. For the right diy job, and with care, it could be ok.

Is it a groundbearing floor or suspended? Pipe along the skirting? Doesn't have to be round. 60mm dia for a 5kW burner if I recall and prorata mm2 for smaller or bigger.

The subject is in my expertise, but it is complex. Would need to know what you have proposed. Using a crate manufacturer can save having to use a consultant, but you know the answer will be lots of crates. My interest has generally been to avoid lots of crates using other solutions. Even then, there may be other considerations eg soakaway location and design. The query re drainage field etc doesn't seem to make complete sense....I think bco trying to be helpful but getting in a muddle re terms. As ProDave says....have you a percolation test? What are your results? With more info perhaps we can help.