Ferdinand

Interesting little document from the "Land Value Tax" people. (Attached) It would have interesting effects on self-build, but I have no idea what they would be. land-for-the-many.pdf

Welcome

I was saying look away from London not towards it, in general - but not so far out that they do not understand the extra hoopla.

I think i'll be trying the stick down ones initially, as I guess they will require some careful abrasive cleaning done later. Ferdinand

This project has now been going for a week, and should be finished with just under another day of work. Tiling and grouting has been done, and it is now just to fit the shower, the loo, and install shower screen and those grab handles etc that we have obtained so far. Then it will a case of experimenting and putting the final touches in as the shower is used. Here are a few slightly rushed photos taken at this stage. Two runs of pipe installed for the future just in case, which go through to where most of the plumbing related gubbins live beyond the other end of the bathroom. Shower tray protected from the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune. Access hatch for future maintenance Give it a shout - get on and grout. It's Friday. Nice corner detail Stay out and let it set If anyone has any bright ideas, I need to have a set of hooks about a foot below these. Is there any product that hangs hooks off the other hooks? We should have wrapped up by Monday afternoon, and I'll aim to do one more piece, with details and costs.

I am just trying to canvas reasons different people have for a preference. I tend to prefer walk-in showers, as I perceive wetrooms to be more vulnerable to damage / wear and tear. Though I think of showers as being weaker wrt non-slip, and also level changes, What did you decide, and why? Ferdinand

Yes, but for intermediate calcs when doing approximations I tend to work in 5s and 10s then adjust by multiples of 10% at the end. And here I am just after something better than a guesstimate. That is growing up with Countdown. So 6 would be 5 plus 10% twice. But thanks. 5.678 is a nice one to remember. No idea how other people do this. I have a mate who counts indetermine numbers of ‘things’ by mentally arranging them into dominoes. And this is also why I will personally put out a contract on any politician who sets VAT to a Prime Number. Do people who grew up with LSD work in 12s and 6s? Which does actually fit with dice and dominoes. F

So based on 9/5 F = 1 C, 10.74 square feet = 1 square metre, and 1W = 3.5 BTU/hr, my fiddle factor for converting a USA R value into a European R Value is about 5.5 as a ratio with no dimensions. Which means that his R20 wall has an R Value of around 3.6, or a U-Value of around 0.28. If I call 5.5 to be 5 to within an engineering approximation, that is 4 and 0.25 for those numbers. And that is near enough for me to think with on the fly, so I am happy. Cheers Ferdinand

If I wear a stove pipe hat like Mr Brunel, will it teleport be far enough back in time to do an appropriate Mindwarp? Let’s do the mind warp again...

Was working on this. There is no way his wall with 55mm of foam has a u value of 0.05, which is half of the u value of one of our walls with 150mm of celotex, and about twice as good as required by passive. And he was talking about R30, nevermind R20. When I renovate a solid 9” brick wall I roughly need 75mm of PIR to get under 0.25 for the u-value. So .. is there a rule of thumb for getting to grips with these USA units? Cheers Ferdinand

Need help here. Can someone convert an R20 wall into European for me? It seems to be a US terminology that is rarely explained. I have never made the calculations quite work as straight R values. 2.25 inches of foam insulation does not seem like a lot, and he suggested that that removed the need for anything else. Thanks Ferdinand

I am now looking for thoughts on non-slip mats for the walk-in shower. In a wet room environment the floor comes textured as a matter of course, unless somebody gets it badly wrong. My walk in shower has a smooth tray, properly textured trays being a little rare, and I now need to find a suitable mat for both new walk in showers. Might as well do both. I will need one that is about 600x1200mm and one that is about 750mm x 1500mm. I have seen these things about the size of a tea towel or a hand towel that the showerer needs to take care to stand on, and I would prefer something which makes the whole thing non-slippy .. perhaps more like the things you find around swimming pools. These look alright, but I would prefer the whole thing covered: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Bath-Shower-Safety-Durable-Bathtub/dp/B077RX8F2H/ I guess that in theory a piece of wet room liner cut to shape could be used if it is strong enough and weighty. I am also considering a product called Gripwalker and similar where you order a length off a roll, of width 122cm or 91cm. Need to make sure that is soft and comfy for delicate feet. Not chap, mind at about 50-60 per shower, though it should outlast mum. Any thoughts? Especially @AliG F Ferdinand

I think all of those are properly answered by your pro adviser as each site will be different, though you may be able to get some idea if you can get information on soil types etc, or by digging your own hole first. With luck it will be bedrock at 2 feet. My one comment would be to look to eg Milton Keynes for your engineer, rather than London. Ferdinand

It has some combination of ufh and sand/cement screed, on top of some combination of concrete / insulation. We took the view that the crack is stable and related to the strains imposed by ugh, so did not dig down to find out. It now looks like this

A Calendar Quarter. FC booklet: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/699889/treefellingaugust.pdf You are going to be exempt if you do not sell it I think.

Removal of > 5 cubic m within one quarter requires a felling license from the Forestry Commission. Do it 4 cubic m bits, 14 weeks apart. Except for nests and bats. F

You’ll be about 3 days from the phone call requesting a time extension agreement, then . Ours do not look at it until the end of the comment period, essentially.

Take the £1000 and treat it as a windfall.

Thanks @ragg987, that's a useful checklist. When mine is done I'll come back point by point explaining differences. Your checklist is one for @Powerjen also.

Actually went for these: https://www.screwfix.com/p/ideal-standard-della-close-coupled-toilet-dual-flush-6ltr/6779j "Due to hygiene reasons this product is excluded from our 30 Day Money Back Guarantee (your statutory rights are not affected)." Because spare seats are available.

... unless the previous owner would provide a Statement of Truth as to previous use as a bedroom. Is much weight given to EA particulars? Ferdinand

Might even pay you back for the Dartford Warblers, if you are in that SPA!

If this is you, it says you can claim back to 2015. https://www.southeastwater.co.uk/get-help/one-bill/surface-water-rebate

In my experience .. ie both bathroom floors have cracked .. trad sand and cement screed is vulnerable to the expansion and contraction due to ufh heating cycles. I know that one crack is in the screen because I have had the bathroom redone this week. I believe that the ufh pipes are in the screed itself but have not dug that up to investigate, as it is not a disastrous crack. Presumably fibres will mitigate (?) Ferdinand

They are longer than they look ... 20 inches. F