Ferdinand

A couple of supplementary questions: 1 - How soon after spraying should a coat be "backrolled" to slightly de-smooth the surface. If it is say a paint that should dry in 2-4 hours, is that something to do immediately, while it is touch-dry etc? 2 - I will need to do the same to the skirtings, which we are pre-spraying. Is the a rule of thumb (or intelligent guess) for "back-brushing" sprayed skirtings? Cheers Ferdinand

@recoveringacademic I have a couple of concerns about using concrete screwbolts in Durisol, and possibly the cost. I have used the hex-headed screwbolt on a number of occasions, eg to fix a wallplate for a conservatory roof onto brick or for fixing bolt down "post supports" for fence posts to a slab, American-style. Questions: 1 - Gripping Strength into Durisol, and size of hole ISTM that these (and concrete screws) rely on a really tight fix to the hard material - brick or concrete) where they are screwed. I am told (not sure that I have always done it) that Thunderbolts are put into a slightly smaller hole (eg M12 into 10mm hole), and the thread is self-tapped. In my experience just a hole 1/2mm too large will make a concrete screw much weaker, so is the concrete infilled matrix of Durisol strong enough everywhere for these to be put in anywhere? I have not done a test with Thunderbolts. I can see that fixing into the solid concrete in the Durisol voids would be suitable, however that could mean 30mm long Screwbolts, which could add quite a bit to the cost. Perhaps one to check. 2 - Cost. It is dead easy to end up paying 70p-£1 each for these, as prices are highly variable. Mine have usually cost more than the wood in toto, but I am probably being cautious on the number used. There are a couple of alternative brands to Thunderbolt available. One is called Lightning Bolts (same manufacturer?), De Walt do a range, and Screwfix have a product called "Easyfix". I usually use the Screwfix one, but no longer (unless I wangle that Trade Account and it applies): Have a talk to a company called Bapp Industrial Supplies who style themselves "The Largest Independent Fastener Stockist in the UK". @PeterW and others I know swear by them, but I only found out recently. They have a Preston branch. Just talked to them about Thunderbolts and their price is £45 per 100 for M12 x 100mm bolts, which go in a 10mm hole. 3 - If using these for mounting a wallplate I also get some large washers to prevent it sinking into the wood - say 2-3 times the screw diameter. Ferdinand

For information - is this 65% post pour, and is it based on wall volume, block volume, or just the content of the 'shredded wheat' part of the block, ignoring the void which fills fully with concrete? I would love to see a cross section of a post-pour Durisol block, but have not been able to find one. F

Good point, but I would counsel slight caution on the interpretation of Which? reviews for the long term, unless it is supported by long-term surveys. Their long-term surveys (particularly for cars) are imo more reliable. I would perhaps put more weight on mass or long-term web reviews, or the reliability of the manufacturer of the gubbins (not the badge), and the availaility of support should I need it. I see that Samsung's model numbers are now as incomprehensible as Neff's. Ferdinand

:-) (which is where we all are in some way or other)

Reporting back on the Wagner Project Pro 119 from @alexc. That is a £600 machine when new. My handyman did his first ever session earlier this week, and did 3 rooms with 2 coats of Leyland Trade Contract White over new plaster - walls and ceilings. Total surface sprayed was about 140-150 sqm x 2 coats = just under 300 sqm. That took 5 hours of actual spraying using a total of around 27 litres of paint, which had been diluted 10%. I went with Leyaland because current Wickes offers gave a good price of £1.30 per litre for an order of 30 or 60 litres (10l tubs 3 for 2) - about 30% below the best price the Johnstone's Centre could do even with a Trade Account unless I bought pallets of it. That is just about 1 sqm per minute, which is probably slow in the scheme of things - as we ran it at a lower pressure setting than Alex said was possible. So coverage was just on 10 sqm per litre - a little low but one coat was the first one on the plaster. We deliberately took an elapsed day or two to learn the system and work out the tricks and let the knowledge sink in. Masking the rooms was done carefully, and took about half a day, and cleaning the machine afterwards took about an hour. The estimate is that overall it is probably 3 times quicker if including the masking in this case over using rollers etc. We mixed the tubs for about 15 minutes with a drill paddle immediately before us, and had a bucket of water to submerge the gun when not actively using it - that may be overkill. There was quite a lot of overspray, but that is probably partly down to the learning curve. Masking the floor with building membrane would fix that. i think the easiest mistake to make would be to dispense paint into a bucket which has been used before and not cleaned *really* thorough - the little bits of paint which flake off are exactly the right type to block the gun and waste half an hour cleaning it. We just diluted the new 10l tubs 10% and put the paint pipes in there. Were I using buckets I think I would use a new one every session; the 75p or 99p for the bucket is cheaper than time cleaning out blockages. A good purchase, which will pay for itself within one job just in saved time. And I want Alex's plot moved to Derbyshire to build a house on. Ferdinand

I think your idea is more cost effective, and your price is good for new timber. However, cheaper is available on eBay depending on delivery or collect, and as low as £1 per metre for reclaimed. Or try a request on Freecycle ... people have to pay to dispose of old timber or take it in themselves sometimes. And are 18mm OSB or chipboard sheets cheaper than loft flooring ... your space is almost exactly 2 x 5 8x4 sheets, which would be about £15-18 each or a bit less for OSB3 Wickes or chipboard B&Q? COnsiderably less at Wickes if you nurdle the discounts and trade account etc. B&Q cut it up for free in many stores, and at Wickes you take a saw and horse and cut it in the car park if no van.

In many areas of the country there are setups that will insulate your loft for free, regardless of circumstances - even now. Call the Energy Saving Trust to check: In some places it *is* means tested; in others not. The same applies to Cavity Wall insulation iirc. More information is here: http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/utilities/free-cavity-loft-insulation Quite often they will want a partial contribution if you have over 100mm. One way to deal with that is to decide that your shed / downstairs underfloor / whatever needs insulating, and recycle the existing insulation for such a purpose. But check in general terms first :-) ,or you may get a warm shed and a cold house if they say no! Some might suggest this is a little marginal, but it is funded by us. There may be building regs records of what was done to your house in the past but that probably will not be a problem. On loft legs - what is too expensive? The cheapest I have seen is about 85p each delivered if you order 120+ from here: https://www.lbsbmonline.co.uk/loft-flooring-leg-175mm I hope that is helpful in finding possible alternatives.

Laundry chute in the Hot Press or corner of Landing :-). (Edit: Or dumb waiter.) F

@Ryan8087 You may find this "spending regrets" thread helpful: Somewhere there is an excellent post about overdoing the future-proofing, but I cannot find it.

@Ryan8087 I think that has come on significantly - looking really good. I love the variation of the S-facade. Further quick comments: 1 - You have not posted details of tech spec, but if it is anything towards what is "good" these days, those fireplaces will be mainly ornamental. I think I would argue for doors to outside and a terrace outside the 'living area' to give a good flow to the back garden for BBQs etc. Brick pizza oven outside ? 2 - Personally I would also argue for similar French Doors from the playroom to the garden. 3 - Playroom/study. Perhaps you need to think about how that will cope with being on the phone to a billionaire client while the kids are murdering each other in the background or practising the trombone. There are ways ... or the lounge could be an alternative study. 4 - For the showers, you have space for bigger showers (ie bath sized footprint) rather than cubicles except for the master ensuite. It makes a big difference, and in the one downstairs you may need room to shower down a large muddy dog. I like fixed screens not doors. 5 - I think now would be a good time to think about house / garden integration - axes, views and outline design of your garden and the landscape, prevailing winds and shelter/microclimate, vistas, what is hidden to be discovered later as you go deeper in, hiding or showing sheds and garden buildings, playing with the route followed by visitors and what they see, inside/outside living and so on. Lutyens was really good on this on a larger scale. 6 - What about all the things you will need to store, and where they will go. eg If the width of the porch was increased slightly, does that give you a place where potentially bikes, mobility scooters etc or other stuff could go at some point. A bike store is likely to be a planning requirement - but that could equally go at the back. Quick points: 7 - If you are planning for sprinklers, then just check your room sizes. I may be wrong here, but I think that some of those sizes may be just over the line to requiring an extra sprinkler head in practice. May or may not be significant. That is based on a nagging memory of a project. 8 - Pair of ensuites between bedrooms 3 and 4, or built-in wardrobes? 9 - The potential grannexe. Perhaps bear in mind the idea of a door in the hall corridor and a potential future door into the lounge opposite the d/s bathroom such that it could be a 1 bed annexe if desired. That really means do not put any infrastructure across the potential door that is expensive to move later eg core electrics. Ferdinand

I have several MX showers in student houses, which have been in for about 4-5 years. No problem so far.

Take a rain check on how carefully the properties are inspected. Offspring could get stung for the full cost of restitution. Ferdinand

@Daiking, as a strategic thing they need also to deal with next door being empty. This is a huge issue now. Write to the Council Empty Homes team, or report it here: https://www.gov.uk/report-derelict-abandoned-building Or to You Spot Property: http://youspotproperty.com/ Or make an offer to buy it, even. Ferdinand

@Ed_MK Reading the pre-App they seem to want a) More turning space but b) Less hardstanding. I think that "permeable paving" may be useful here for part of your turning/parking area ... ie the stuff that is a matrix but lets grass grow in the gaps. Not that expensive, and can be very recycled (point that out). @Calvinmiddle used this in his plans. It may be that the things that are easy for people to say in the 'this is our opinion' pre-App may evaporate once they have to take responsibility for it properly. You do not have to do every dot and tittle they want, it has to be I think "acceptable in planning terms". If they fixate on something, parking is quite good - at least there are defined objective standards for it, so you are not eating blancmange with chopsticks while debating the finer points of oenology with a teetotaller. One possibility for your drive/parking could be an in/out driveway, say with echelon parking in front of the house or against the hedge. Visitor parking can then possibly be on the driveway itself. That might well give the Landscape Architect a fit due to the extra 0.000000000014% of Milton Keynes' endangered stock of hawthorn bushes it would cost, but if you put a net benefit into your landscape plan or your D&A backed by say a letter from your Tree Man (or natural-ologist if you have one) eg double the thickness of the hedge between the entrances, then it might be acceptable on balance. I think you need to take great care as to what you say "we will do", "the applicant intends to do" etc. Do not over promise on specifics where you do not need to. That could be a rod for your back. One for a conversation with your architect. Shades of grey are very useful colours. Ferdinand

@Ed_MK That is probably not legalese - it is quite likely to be people with not-run-of-the-mill designs or sites with some difficult aspect trying to demonstrate to the Council that their unusual approach meets all the policies. That is (channelling and modifying Cromwell ) watering the opposition's potential gunpowder before the start of battle. In the last few years with Local Plans passing and not passing and being approved / not approved / half-approved / going round in circles, a lot of people have used the "presumption in favour of sustainable development" national guideline which applies when a Local Plan and supply of Housing Land is not in place. That often needs a planning argument. Sometimes there can be some bluster, or sometimes the argument can be a work of art. The ideal is not to need to do it at all. It all depends on the context, and you with advice from your architect or professional have to decide what you need to do. A good architect or professional will also - crucially - also tell you what in their opinion you do *not* need to do. That is something it is useful to say when you set the tone of the relationship, and useful to ask from time to time. Ferdinand

If you do it by dunking them in a bath for a few they can suck up a LOT of treatment.

Ian Dreadful news after all you have done / been through. I do not think I have a construction cocktail for this. Have PM'd you with a couple of items and offers to help where I currently am able. Those nearly free kitchens on Ebay we were talking about may be looking attractive at this point. Ferdinand

@Stones Cheers. I am planning to backroll the walls. Perhaps for the skirting as well.

It will be the same person, so I think the second one above with the one set of spare filters is the one for the first job when blowback etc with a new paint machine is more likely, and see whether he prefers disposables once the technique settles down. Ferdinand

I think this is the best place to ask whether there are any recommendations for appropriate respirator masks when doing airless spraying. In my case it will be my maintenance and renovation man, so I want something good. I am thinking about two from Screwfix: One is a 3m Model 4251 at about £20, which seems to be a 28-day and throw away respirator. 100 reviews averaging nearly 5*. The other is also highly rated, and uses replaceable filters, by Reliance, also with a number of reviews averaging nearly 5* . Given that work patterns will be intermittent, a few days here, and a bit more a month or two later, the second seems more appropriate. I do not think I need a full air-fed system for this application. I would welcome guidance, however. Ferdinand

Good point @Nickfromwales The plan is effectively to construct a spray booth in one of the larger rooms with a membrane as the floor. And I think to start at the top so dust does not get puffed up and up.

@Russell griffiths Thanks for the reply. It is an airless spray setup, so prep and washup time is significant - while spray time for that will be short. And since it is a whole bungalow, it seemed to make sense. I will need them again when I renovate the next one. Ferdinand

Following on from the other thread about paint sprayers, I now have one, and the next thing I need is to build some dismountable racks for supporting skirting boards for finishing / painting. I need enough to spray do about 32 4m lengths of skirting in one session, and I need to be able to store them in a small space for next time. My current thinking is for a pair of 2.4m CLS (bought too much CLS) A-frames, joined by a pair of horizontals each side which can be removed for storage. The skirtings to be supported by 2" screws driven 15mm in on the faces of the A-frames at 225mm intervals. That would give me space for 8x 4m or 5m lengths each side for spraying with a finish or paint. i was trying to do a diagram, but it was looking comical so I may just build one and take a photo. I wonder if anyone has any tested designs they could post? Thanks for any help. Ferdinand

Just a note: if that is the corrugated sheet with attached insulation, then perhaps take care to make sure you can work with it first. I had a family member use that to reroof a rear bathroom extension on a terrace and they had difficulty with things such as cutting it and fixing through with long screws etc. It may not have been the Kingspan version, and this was back in the early noughties. One problem was finding a way to cut corrugated metal cleanly with something that could cut a thickness of several inches of insulation at the same time. Another was disposal of offcuts. I am sure it should be fine with the right tools, but they found it awkward to handle and relatively expensive. Ferdinand