Search the Community

I am embarking on a kitchen/diner and repair project on my home that will require the installation of new/replacement windows and a bi-fold or French door. My property is a grade two listed building so my planning/listed building consent is conditional. The conditions are that I use wood for the construction of windows and doors and that they are painted white. They will have to have Georgian glazing bars and these will have to pass through the window so no stuck-on bars will be permitted. Each pain will have to be an individual unit such as the Wescountry Heritage range http://www.westcountryglass.co.uk/westcountry-heritage My application can be seen at https://planning.eastdevon.gov.uk/online-applications/simpleSearchResults.do?action=firstPage I am contacting joiners at present and have had a number of different suggestions as to the type of timber to be used. The suggestions include: Accoya Douglas Fir European Oak Utile Idigbo Baltic Pine/Scandinavian Redwood I have contacted the Wood Window Alliance http://www.woodwindowalliance.com/, which is already providing me with some good information. I would be grateful for any views on the suitability of timbers in my list or alternative suggestions. Also any links to useful sources of information or forums would help. Many thanks in anticipation!

Hi I'm building a cold frame for the garden, and I have to join 50mm batton's together at a shallow angle, see attached drawing. How do I attach batton A to B without the frame being slightly twisted. It looks like I need a 45 x 3mm wedge but that doesn't look very easy to make as i'm just a diy'er. Is there a better/simpler solution?

I am making my own door casings out of MR MDF as I cannot source my frames due to different widths. SO I am going to use 18mm for the frame with a 12mm plant on to form rebate. I am having shadow gaps around the door casings so no architrave. Has anybody made themselves a jig as I have 15 door casings to put in? I an thinking something along the lines of a 4 x 2 rectangular frame made to smallest door measurement and properly square. I can attach my door casing to the outside (screwed through the rectangular frame into the MDF)and then place in the opening and pack accordingly. If I drill some elongated holes in the 4 x 2 frame where I would fix the casing I can then fix the casing permanently, remove the screws I attached the casing to the rectangular frame and Bob's ur titfer. Has anybody done this as it must be quicker than doing each casing the traditional way? TIA

Evening All. Its along story ...so i will condense. Basically Window company was supplying some bi-folds to go with our chartwell green UPVC theirs was aluminium ...and they asked is for a RAL ....we told then couldnt they just match it and that said they worked off RAL etc etc anyway the net result of all this is that RAL 6021 looks NOTHING like chartwell green ...far far darker So we decided to have them sprayed ...as the "blame game" was going on forever .... A company came out and try as they might they did not have a tape that would stick to the internal rubber seal to mask it ... no problem they said ....we will pull it out ....its a wedge gasket 5 minutes later they handed me a bunch of varying lengths of rubber and said "keep them clean and pop them in once its all dry and unmasked! I had to hand it to them their paint colour was SPOT ON ...but ..... when i went to put the gaskets in 2 days later ...no way would they go...tried using thin tools ..plastic tools euro wedges everything ... any more pressure and the glass would break for sure. Now along came the joiner and he noticed that around the aluminium doors was a detachable profile ...and after a bit of a wiggle and waggle it came loose BINGO ! ...so off i went with silicone spray and a plastic scraper and squeezed it into the profile ...as i THOUGHT it should go ....but it doesn't LOOK right and when i try to clip the profile back on its like there is TOO MUCH rubber on the other side or something ..it must be in wrong So i am hoping someone can tell me how to proceed ..I have some pics of the detachable profile and a rough image of the gasket cross section PS as you look at the pic...the LONG corner of the profile is the bit that sits deep in and effectively under the glass edge...and the tall flattest section is the one that faces into the sun-room. I know the bead MUST go into that rectangle notch some way ...but how is the question What a palava !

I'm having an MBC frame with Velfac windows and a Parex render on my new house. Whilst they all promised to liaise with each other re: final aperture sizes at the time of booking, it's less than a month before we start and no one is willing to take responsibly for the final size of the windows. Velfac say MBC's aperture sizes need to be adjusted for the battening, cementboard and render as this needs to be done before the windows can be installed. The render company will not promise an exact thickness, and MBC are trying not to get involved. How do I ensure the window sizes are right?

Hi all be grateful for some help on a worrying (to me) scenario that has developed on our mbc frame in the last few days. Lots of rain and the building is not watertight, the roof boards leak like a sieve even with a membrane. We are going as fast as we can with trusses to get it ready for single ply membrane finish. The mbc roof boarding is really wet in places and so are the joists underneath. The walls are wet but too a lesser degree. We have puddles all over the place inside with water collection in dips in the slab so its a very warm moist atmosphere due to window openings being covered in heavy duty polythene awaiting window arrival. Yesteday I notice what appears to be black mould spots on the roof boards and the joists. Can anyone tell me if this is an issue both for construction and health. I have a serious health issue and cannot tolerate any mould whatsoever, part of the reason for the build was to have a clean air healthy house and now I have seen the mould I am very worried and in something of a panic. Pics attached. All input gratefully received. Many thanks Liz

These are on the way up near our current flat. I'm trying to work out what the make up is here - the walls are steel framed, but can't quite make out what is sheathing it - some sort of board that is taped? Assuming insulation is packed into the steel and PIR or similar on the inside?I see the steel sections arriving every morning when i head to work. I think the exterior is to be rendered, so assuming this will be straight onto the boards? Seems all very lightweight. It's an extremely exposed location - hope it doesn't suffer the problems countless other new build flats down the Clyde have suffered with damp and moisture penetration. Would be interested if anyone knows any more about this? Thanks, J