A quick hello

[Captain Pugwash]

 

I'm here on behalf of my father - the builder doing work on his bungalow had a stroke before finishing the job so I'm going to take over the finishing works.

 

I've done lots of DIY, have built an extension many years back and have replaced the rotten timbers on a thatched roof whilst the thatch was still on it.

Am able to rewire and undertake plumbing jobs so fairly handy.

 

Most of my recent experience is from about 20 yrs ago and the rest is even earlier.

 

Will have to ask a few questions for help with my fathers current project as I'm out of date ........... nice to be here and thanks for having me.

[joe90]

Welcome captain (ha, that was my nickname when at school!,,!), we love a project and pictures, lots of knowledge here from folk that have been there done that but don’t forget there is no such think as a stupid question, stupid is not asking. I too was out of date when I started my build and very helpful people here advised on best practice so bring on the questions. 

[SteamyTea]

Welcome.

How far along is the project?

We don't want to say 'I would not start from here'

[Captain Pugwash]

Thanks for the welcome Joe .... nickname ... been there and had all the jokes ... used to them now and happy to embrace the name ... Lol !!

 

Steamy ... " I wouldn't start there " .... well if it has to be said I'd rather hear it .... and sooner is always better than later ( easier and cheaper in the end . )

 

Early 1960's chalet bungalow, brick built with cavity walls, semi-detached.

 

All downstairs structural work done, wiring done, no internal doors anywhere justing linings so fairly well advanced I guess.

I have to extend the dormer to get space for an upstairs " loo " so waiting for fairer weather with this.

There is of course a lot of plastering to do ( me ) and lots of woodwork ( me )

 

I guess my first problem is that one side of the house doesn't get much sun and as such is quite cold so the builder has fitted 25mm foil backed insulated plasterboards to the internal walls on this side of the house which has made a big difference to warmth even without any heating being connected up yet.

In the bedroom it is fine but in the kitchen which is waiting to be fitted out ( bare walls ) I wondering how on earth I'm going to fit wall cupbords - a lot of weight ! What sort of fixings will I have to use ?  This is where my experience is years out of date !  Will I need extra support, what and how ?

 

Sounds like a silly thing to fret over ??  ....

 

when you've had the experience of radiators falling off walls when fitted to thermalite blocks ( thankyou Westbury Homes !! ) you can see why I'll be asking questions about kitchen cupboards.

 

Anyway I realise this is the intro section so will start a new post in the correct area but this will perhaps give a flavour of my position, picking up after someone else is always a pain and could be why another builder is reluctant to take the job on.

 

P.S. I''m not a builder by trade and work in Mech Eng

 

Edited December 30, 2024 by Captain Pugwash

[Thorfun]

2 hours ago, Captain Pugwash said:

in the kitchen which is waiting to be fitted out ( bare walls ) I wondering how on earth I'm going to fit wall cupbords - a lot of weight ! What sort of fixings will I have to use ?  This is where my experience is years out of date !  Will I need extra support, what and how ?

we put up 18mm ply on the wall where our kitchen was going and then plasterboarded over that. plenty of bite for hanging stuff off.

 

the other way is simple noggins but you have to know where the hanging points will be before hand so a blanket of covering with 18mm ply was just easiest for us.

Edited December 30, 2024 by Thorfun

[joe90]

5 hours ago, Thorfun said:

the other way is simple noggins but you have to know where the hanging points will be before hand so a blanket of covering with 18mm ply was just easiest for us.

And fir hanging the stuff you forgot about in your design 🤷‍♂️

[Thorfun]

51 minutes ago, joe90 said:

And fir hanging the stuff you forgot about in your design 🤷‍♂️

the problems start when i'm asked to hang a picture on the wall and i get out the plasterboard rawl plug and start drilling a hole only to find out that i'd forgotten we put ply there! 🤦‍♂️

[Captain Pugwash]

Good replies thanks !

 

18mm sounds like it should be a decent scatter gun, like it - large surface area and a big target.

 

However the walls already have 25mm insulated boards already attached to them.

 

Still pondering over wall fixings.

 

Haven't bought the kitchen units yet ( to save storing them ) so not sure what they look like from behind / fixing methods, guess I need to get some deliveries sorted too.

 

 

 

 

[Redbeard]

On 30/12/2024 at 08:16, Captain Pugwash said:

In the bedroom it is fine but in the kitchen which is waiting to be fitted out ( bare walls )

 

I took 'bare walls' as meaning that the walls were stripped back, whereas in fact

16 minutes ago, Captain Pugwash said:

the walls already have 25mm insulated boards already attached to them.

 

25mm is pretty thin, but as your experience shows it is on the 'steep bit of the curve' in terms of insulation efficiency. Nevertheless, since you do not have what I thought was a 'blank canvas' (to 'engineer' a lay-up with both insulation and support) I suspect the answer is to fix battens for the units through the insulated plasterboard, doing your best to make good the VCL which you puncture (a 'liquid grommet' of silicone is the best I can suggest, or small 'tabs' of EPDM or butyl tape) and then make sure your screws through the back of the units go no further than batten depth + plasterboard depth.

 

If your insulation were much thicker I would be worried about torsional stress on the screws but 25mm is pretty minimal.

 

Edit: Just realised this is still in the 'introduce yourself' section. OP, you may want to see if the moderators can move it to the correct section, where it will be more accessible for others searching re similar issues in future.

Edited December 31, 2024 by Redbeard
Suggest move to relevant sub-section

[Iceverge]

If you need to make significant fixings you could always cut a section out of the insulated plasterboard and replace it with ply direct to the wall for a solid surface to fix to. 

 

 

Have the cavities been insulated?

 

EPS beads would be my recommendation. 

[jack]

On 30/12/2024 at 08:16, Captain Pugwash said:

Anyway I realise this is the intro section so will start a new post in the correct area ...

 

That's a good idea. A lot of members don't look at the Introduce Yourself sub-forum, so you'll generally get more and better advice if you post in the right sub-forum.