saveasteading

I have noticed that some electricians can 'read' a building and forecast where a problem is, and can also use some very complex testing kit. Others have a bag of screwdrivers, and don't / can't do as above, and don't really understand electricity. Dare I say, it is shocking.

We are the same. With the price of timber likely to keep rising I have an idea.....but it might be silly....so here goes. Someone on the forum showed a type of timber frame, named after the inventor, made of small timbers connected by ply plates, a bit like a fabricated joist. If we were to make our own, probably in a former, then we could use this for the inner liner. It would use less timber, we could buy the cheapest £/m3 which is CLS etc, and also break the cold bridge through the timbers themselves. Also replaces timber with more insulation in the void. More labour of course, so perhaps only for a diy job. Also for very large quantities the price can get much better. I once bought a whole bundle of 2 x 2. (6m3). As it was straight from the docks and no handling at the depot, the price plummeted. We can call it the Buildhub Stud Method. Comments?

If you look at the inside of your stove glass you will prob see a string gasket making the seal to the metal. It obviously has to be fireproof. That is the material I meant. It was just a thought, and presumably you have another solution if proceeding. Good luck, it isn't easy but the above advice is good. The cone might not have enough flexibility but we must hope.

Building Inspectors are very wary on this, post Grenfell. One who used to take a pragmatic or common sense view told me that this was no longer an option. Hence very difficult to prove any build-up that isn't exactly the same as a tested system with certification.

That depends on the quality of the treatment. Having built in a pressure chamber system to a timber works, I studied this in action. It seems to me that if the timber is treated in a powerful autoclave tank, where a proper vacuum is created (and not rushed) , then the chemicals get right into the pores. Meanwhile I think poorer treatments are little more than surface treatment. But the cut ends need some more however good the process was.

If you had installed just one, would it have been in that room?

One more thing. Some of the rwh manufacturers include or suggest a 'leaf diverter' which skims 10% of the water away from the surface with leaves etc and dumps it. This seems like a lot of waste and defeating the object. The same can be achieved by having the rwps go through a grille, or insert a filter in line. My solution was a catch-pit where the silt and leaves were caught, but in real life the muck was insignificant. As SimonR, the backup from the manufacturer was appalling. My supplier has dropped out of the rwh market, fortunately.

Yes but.... If you are only catching half the roof, then the solution is barrels. If you can catch all the water without extensive drainage revisions then it becomes more useful because twice the size of tank is only about 30% dearer. For a retrofit I doubt if it is viable commercially, and could probably prove it is not viable sustainably either. Agree with all NickfromWales says. Proof: I designed and built our own office block with all such considerations in mind. all rainwater collected from the 500m2 roof, through a stilling chamber then to a very big rwh. It was sized so that it would catch all the rain from a big downpour. (ie twice the usual recommended size). then overflow to soakaways and a lagoon. I predicted a 12 year payback, but it was better than that. Because no rainwater went into the sewers there was a big reduction in rates. PLUS because the sewage charge is based on the amount of water used, that cost was very low too. From checking the water bill, i appeared that the tank was only empty for perhaps 2 weeks of the summer. With that in mind the payback looked more like 8 years. However. 1. the pump broke down and cost a lot to fix 2. No idea of the electric cost for pumping 3. the pump broke down again.. 4. It is an office so a high proportion of flushing water compared to potable. At home I have inserted a weir into a gutter to guide most rain to the downpipe with the barrel) On another project where aesthetics were not an issue, I designed a surface rwh using 3 IBCs linked together...capital cost £50. For a house 1 would do, but very ugly and bulky. Summary: Newbuild, designed to suit, and my eagerness to be seen to care. commercially just about viable sustainability...yes a good thing in our case. Ugly newbuild with space..use IBC Retrofit? Unlikely to be viable so convert all down pipes to accept barrels, and connect several if you want to collect it all. If you want, you can divert the overflow to the garden rather than drains. Catch all the rainwater if possible, and you can get your rates reduced,

Predrill, and use self-tapping screws (concrete or steel specific) or plugs. https://www.bgs.ac.uk/datasets/radon-data-indicative-atlas-of-radon/ is the simplest, and there is a link to buy a certificate for your postcode. £5.

Welcome. There are lots of us with interest and/or knowledge in this subject. Ask away. 1400 ft altitude is a very long way up. So you are -3C compared to sea level simply through altitude. You don't need to tell where you are ( and perhaps best not to) , but an overview will be good with your first questions.

Yes. Often described as a Hilti gun. They go straight into steel or concrete with no pilot. Very nasty kick back as you might expect, and needs attention and strength. The only real life issue is in going into extra hard concrete, or extra-strength steel (or too weak a material that just breaks). There are different lengths of nails and different explosive levels too, so check for that. The guns can be hired. I seldom use them where there is any other option, especially as screws are so good these days.

There is no complete section drawing but the details are attached. It is stick built as a Glulam ridge beam, with props and a couple of structural cross-walls. There are complex corners to tie the replacement into the existing, which are A frames, with ties at about 1/3 up. But if we can sort the simple frames out, then the rest will follow. We were happy to have tied frames but the Engineer insisted this would be better value. Cost is clearly not their thing and so far they have agreed to most of our proposed revisions, saving £15k to date. That is not really a saving though: it is avoiding un-necessary cost, and now I want to do the same with this. Of course the joiner would likely love this bracket as it is very easy for him, hence asking for help now before he is shown this ridge detail.

anywhere you like fixed to wall not bath.

It sells much better with a different name. desert sand, cautious camel, ..can't think of any more.

The stove mastic I have used is very brittle so poss no good to close this gap (ie it might fail in a short time and that would be a big problem.. I suggest you try to fill he gap with the fibreglass string that is used to seal the glass into the door. It is a consumable as it needs replacing after a few years , so should be easy to find. Plus some stove mastic.

and the compulsory empty coke can and fag packet.

If you fix the boards yourself and use previous cut pieces at corners then the wastage is negligible, but still exists. 2%to 5%? depending on room sizes. If using a contractor, they are quite likely to take a new sheet every time and have a lot of cuts left. Either 10% wastage or 10% shortage. If your ceilings are high, note that longer sheets are available but not always stocked. A pile of boards gets in the way, so be sure that you have space to store it and some spare to protect the corners when people brush past it.

It is a ridge beam with props. I don't expect that the cost is known to the Engineer, because I already complained about the £45 holding down brackets for the wall to base detail,(stainless steel in 5mm thickness), and the director interjected and said just to use something else (£5 for galvanised 4mm from TS)

3/4 full, slightly press in, cover. Wait a week and the root emerges first and lifts the bean.

We did some serious shopping around for plastic pipes this week. The quotes were open for only 2 weeks, then one merchant announced that plain pipes were about to double in price. Makes sense as they are made from oil, and made with electricity. Our quotes varied from £500 to £800 for the same order, before any increases. Toolstation cheapest but many parts not available, so not really best. Tried a small supplier and got the best price by a distance IF we ordered next day. We just beat the rise by getting an order in, and increased the order to be for the whole job in advance of need. It will look like a groundworkers yard for a while. If you are in this position, then an investment in stock next week may be worth thinking about.

We, perhaps stupidly, asked our compulsory Engineer for the rafter to ridge beam detail. The response is for this bracket which costs £22 Each x 2 sides a 50 = £2,200, just to buy. (I think it may come down to £15 for bulk) How can that piece of stamped and bent metal cost so much? I know that nails used to work, having had the tricky job of removing the old ones from the very old sections of removed old roof. But it seems they don't any longer, Any suggestions please?

Yes. This is a very specific part which has been made for this door and will not be available from anywhere else. Without it perhaps any water finds its way ut, or perhps it runs down the screw and ....then out of the ends of the door frame? Contact the manufacturer. Failing that you could make something to provide that sloping top surface, and lose the deep exposed channel

I looked into reflective layers in some depth, as the published benefits seemed unrealistic. In doing so I noticed that foil-backed plasterboard was no longer advertised as aiding U values, just vapour resistance. Ditto PIR slabs. In summary, the reflective layer does reflect energy, even in the dark. In time it loses some reflectance but still works a bit. BUT fundamentally it has to be reflecting energy back where it came from and into a space: an air gap. otherwise it is no use at all. I am all for adding it if the cost is low, and am intending to use an aluminised inner vapour barrier internally, with a service void inside of that. It is a very strong membrane so won't tear, and the shininess costs just a few tens of pounds to the project. However if searching to tweak a U value to satisfy Building Regs, then it is an easy addition.

To complete the completed list, i like Marsh. A person to talk to at the actual factory to help with the spec. The last time i used them they phoned before delivery, and it turned up on a trailer behind a landrover. They now sell only through BMs but deliver direct or to the BM. No moving parts.

It would be great to see photos of the pipes going down, and get any immediate comments from you.