Home DIY

thank you

thanks @rodabod

Good roofers are hard to find, there are lots of shit roofers. I can give you a list to avoid. ;)

About to lay some cables (fnarr) under the floorboards, will I be breaking and building standards if I install network sockets, audio, hdmi etc (no power) into the skirting? I have to redo skirting after anyway and installing them into the wall is not an option. Thinking something like these will do the job for me.

Ah, Approved Document M of the Building Regs codifies DDA2005, is aimed at preventing discrimination against those who are disabled. If you come to sell, or get building control sign-off, the inspector/buyer's surveyor would expect to see these 'new' outlets at between 450mm and 1200mm above floor level.

Ok, well I guess I could take them out pretty easily in that circumstance. More concerned with breaking electrical codes for safety reasons, but as they're all low powered cables it should all be pretty safe right?

<50V, not within scope of BS7671; however must not be run in the same containment as emergency services cabling (fire alarm systems, emergency lighting, emergency call stations)

Cool, sound good.

A question for you all ... We now a Victorian end-of-terrace and have a wooden/single pane glass 'lean-to' that runs the length of our kitchen and bathroom in the gap between our house and our neighbours. It is rickety as fuck and rotting apart, and is, from what I can tell, held up by hanging basket brackets.

We want (need) to replace it, and are not sure what we are looking for. A conservatory would be expensive, and it is more a covered outdoor space than indoor, since the drains for the house are inside it. Would a modern, treated timber building (such as http://www.customtimberbuildingsltd.co.uk/Photos.html#green_houses) make more sense? What do folk think?

what is your predicted use and lifetime of the proposed asset, and your budget?

imho, those on the link look like a waste of money for anything past 5 years

although he looks happy enough..

For use, the idea is for it to be a place to keep my bikes safe and dry (and we have more than just this to protect them, a locked gate and looks on the bikes) and for turbo sessions, and keeping plants and other outdoorsy stuff.

For lifespan, I'd like it to be in sufficiently good nick in five years time when we come to sell that it doesn't form a problem and maybe adds value.

for plants you'd maybe want light - windows? for security against nosey parkers maybe no windows

timber shiplap ≠ secure unless weldmesh between thick steel columns with wooden rails, insulation batting, and timber cladding over the top.

after 2 years you'd be dabbing at the felt with sealant (or re-felting) and plugging holes where those pesky elements/wildlife get in.

planning application would be required as the 'porch' would be over 2m sq floor area. if in a conservation area then doubly so, and no white upvc and stone cladding..

Would planning permission be required in replacing like for like (or in fact with something smaller?)

it might be, your LA will most likely have a 'planning portal' with FAQ section to answer precisely that question

It should be ok if under 2.5m tall. Purely according to George Clarke's amazing spaces. Just cite that if/when the council stick their nose in.

look up that pisslicker's views on wet/dry rot...

They're a good thing?

Polycarbonate triple wall sheeting for the roof, rest of the structure can be temporary, so pressure treated wood on a block base.

That bloke hasn't got a clue.

Google finds nothing. Got link?

http://www.theselfbuilder.com/interiors/330-site/news-views-kevin-mccloud-2/681-ask-our-architect

mebbe 'look up' wasn't the right instruction...

i can't find the quote, but i remember watching one of his shows where he explained wet rot as happening where wood gets too wet and dry rot when it gets too dry, or sommat like that. he obviously gets someone else to answer his agony aunt column.

you can imagine all of the barboured up building surveyors seething...

Interesting fact: I used to work in a lab where the other PhDs were trying to work out how to make use of the cellulose digesting properties of fungus.
And also something to do with sheep wool grease.
I think I was the lucky one. I was playing with sausages to find parasite material.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eIyo4kpsEas