saveasteading

If you go back to basics.....You do not have to remove Japanese knotweed from your land, but you could be prosecuted or given a community protection notice for causing a nuisance if you allow it to spread onto anyone else’s property. So it is quite simple: do what you can to keep it in check. In my book that means that you spray your side, the neighbour sprays (or whatever) theirs. https://www.gov.uk/guidance/prevent-japanese-knotweed-from-spreading

Agreed. This would be seen as reasonable in any future argument so the planners would be unwise to pursue it. You could make it even less combative by suggesting that you have the right to submit a formal planning application for the same matter, but you don't wish to be awkward and appreciate that it would not not help their workload.

Can you clarify the current status please? It appears that he originally said that dot and dab was the only way, but now has taken the plasterboard down? I would almost certainly have kept the old ceiling in place because of the mess it would cause in removing it. Then screwing up plasterboard to the joists would tidy it all up and secure it. Then a plaster skim would sort out the undulations. You are still in a position to do this. If the 'builder' speaks to a mate with the slightest knowledge, he will be told that he must use screws. The advice above is good. To summarise: Make a list of the points you want to make. You can cut and paste from here and quote 'expert advice' because that is what you have had. Have a witness, just a friend will do, and no tech knowledge required. Ask if he is able and willing to continue the work by screwing the board. If he is not then sadly you must part ways and you wish him well, but it will now cost you more to get someone else in, and so there is no payment...at all. There will follow a whine about making a living, and at least some payment for his time /so he can pay the lads etc. But really he is not entitled and should not be claiming to be an expert. Male /female doesn't matter. In fact a male with knowledge might wind him up more. but a witness will make a huge difference to your confidence and his choice of response.. then write some notes on what happened and email it to your mate, or put it on here, and it is recorded. If he says, no problem, I have made a mistake and will now do it properly.....are you happy to continue with him? NO upfront money or that may be the last you see of him. * I reckon there are 3 ways to find the joists from underneath. Joist finder machine (£30), tapping, or drilling. Probably a combination of these. He should know this. So just ask him how he knows where the joists are and one or more of these should be the response.. And good luck. Once this is resolved you will be so much happier. Never forget...you are in the right here.

I asked my wife if she knew hiw to find joist positions. She did. This is not just a bodge but dangerous. Screws into oists essential to revert to just a bodge. Really it should be removed along with the dots and start again. No payment!

That would be messy, I agree. My queries remain. Does the inverter do anything other than allow a steady start? Do heat pumps run at other than 100%, and how?

The skim adds extra weight so the dot and dab is holding even more up. what is the ceiling made of? the new ceiling is pulling against whatever is on the surface. Paint/wallpaper/ the outer skin of paper of a previous board. Is he joking? If not then he either has knowledge issues or is taking you for a pushover. Finding joists is easy, and was even easier before he put the new boards up. Joists are in straight lines at regular centres. find one and the others are easy. Ask if you need t know any more. What is above the ceiling? What else is he doing for you?

Thanks, that matters as would be really annoying, and might trip fuses. Might a slower running fan work better anyway, especially in cold weather? Just a hunch and have not troubled myself with the physics.

Much worse than that. A bandage on a bandage may be sensible first aid. A falling ceiling might hurt or kill someone. Now when the screws are added it will pull tight when near a dot of plaster , but have a bridge behind where between dots . May be a tricky job, but he deserves it. If screwed up in the first place, then every screw would have pulled the pbd up tight to the original ceiling. There will be visible screws. If you were already going to skim then not a problem (except for the extra weight) . If not then he now has to fill over each screw...which is maybe what he was trying to avoid.

I refer you to my previous response.

yours is 192mm so looks ok but very precise work in lining up your wall hole. How precisely are the joists laid? a few mm +/- may give you issues. Is there any concern that your pipe could vibrate and transfer noise to the joists and then room?

So it will fall off at some stage, maybe next week or next decade. If it is well stuck then it may also rip off some of the previous surface, making a huge mess and maybe landing on the family. Must have screws into the timber (and they may be quite long as has 2 layers to go through). It will be screwed in is, I think, your next instruction. How close together will be according to the manual.

If you can spare time to expand a little, I would be very interested. 1. Variable speed works better because....? 2. How is the optimum speed decided and set? Is there a +/- set on a master thermostat to avoid cycling? 3. If an inverter changes DC to AC, and we start with AC anyway, what is happening and how does this control the fan?

Good to know. I couldn't see 200 on Starrett. The reviews are good which explains why this is £50. But for 2 holes, perhaps not .... jigsaw.

If it was 150 or less then I would use a hole saw. It is easy and a clean and precise cut. But they don't seen to exist above 160, so jigsaw seems to be the way.

Interesting question. They both have plenty of layers so strength the same. Subject to woodworm and rot?...perhaps the softwood will attract British worms more than the tropical wood? But the tropical aspect decides it for me. Another tree down in the Amazon or Madagascar, with a lovely certificate appearing along its trail? Even if genuinely 'sustainable' it increases the demand for such wood. So the better choice is the softwood one, to me. I might give it a swipe of 5in-one wood treatment esp on the cut edges, in case you get plumbing drips at some stage.

I am not one to add unnecessary work, but I would use these clips. You have some doubts about the build quality, so this would be a small insurance, and you can relax on a windy day. And fill the gaps in the PIR.

what is the purpose of the foil? I don't know the product or context.

Are you sure? If ever Ii have to get on steps so my head is near the ceiling, it feels much warmer there. If there is lots of movement and a lowish ceiling, then not so much.

The other factor is that a warm floor provides warm feet and a better comfort level than the air-temperature might suggest. Whereas ducted warm air rises straight to the ceiling. The higher the ceiling the more energy benefit. This will be especially the case in situations such as children playing on the floor, watching telly with the legs stretched out, and bare feet situations. Impossible to evaluate I expect.

I was about to say that any engineered floor needs at least a third layer as a 'balancing' layer to prevent warping. But ply should do that. How many ply, and how thick and which direction of grain is the outer one.? Quite a risk to lay all this and then it warps or splits or shrinks leaving gaps, and you have no guarantee. I suggest you ask the supplier to clarify whether it is, or is not, suitable for UFH. It cant be both. If not confirmed in writing then they must take it back. Or perhaps your Architect will guarantee it.. haha. I once laid herringbone using tiny wooden tiles on a mesh backing. They expanded more than the expansion strip specified, and buckled into mounds. so I re-laid them with even more expansion edge, and then they shrank and there have since been characterful gaps and lips, probably moving with the seasons.

I salvaged the bricks from some old storage heaters. Incredibly heavy for their size, and I am guessing there is a lot of iron in there. Why, you ask? They are in the greenhouse as plant stands as they absorb (a lot of) heat in the day and keep the plants a little bit warmer for a little bit longer. I have come across ironstone in excavations and the weight and heat absorption are similar, although the bricks were clearly manufactured to a precise shape

That is what the manufacturers say. But physics has not changed and energy in = energy out. What has improved is the control system for temperature and time. But it is still using electricity to heat a brick in the night while the price is lower: not really sophisticated at all.

Also, some sounds are more annoying than others. A distant motorway sound just like a waterfall. There will be a big difference in keeping out all traffic noise, as opposed to occasional big lorries/ sirens etc.

I think you have all the comments you need here now. What I would pick from them is. 1. tell them "I have done some homework and am concerned about the sand blinding. Show me something to confirm that your statement is correct, that this is a recommended procedure." 2. dpc, "likewise show me proof of what you think is an acceptable distance from new paving to dpc". 3. stop work and payment until you have done this. Where to find proof? Suppliers of paving products, Marshalls being an obvious one. for block paviours they will show a sand bed, but I think it is unlikely to be appropriate for slabs. However I can't see anything useful from them, but did find this. https://www.paving.org/index.php/how-to-lay-paving-slabs/

I would be more inclined to leave the PIR as it is bought and the hard work done, but then batten out twice to put in a layer of mineral wool, an air gap then a layer of any plasterboard. I don't think it needs acoustic seals as you have created a very long path for airborne sound. The shortcut might be by vibration through the roof via the rafters, so your resilient bar might be a useful insurance to break the contact to the pb. Is the noise high or low pitched, air-borne or including vibration?