Recent content by BenFrearson

Yeah, this was my thinking - I think your comment about efflourescense seals the deal: I've had to redecorate our hallway 3 years in a row dealing with the stuff! Thanks.

Thanks, that link is really helpful! It appears that a double skin is what's needed. I guess my next question is whether it needs to be designed as a fully retaining wall: We've dug out the side of a shallow, but long slope in the garden. There's 600mm of untouched earth than formed the...

Hi, I'm building a 5m retaining wall up to a height of 1m. I currently have enough reclaimed bricks (approx 1/3 engineering and 2/3 house bricks) to build a singe skin wall up to this height, but I can't find any clear information on whether this is safe or not. I was planning to put in...

Great thanks. I'll get onto this when I get home. What happens if I don't do this btw? The boiler's been working at a steady pressure of about 1 bar cold for the past 24 hours and there's no problems at the moment?

Ok, I'll put my hand up and say that maybe it's me not being clear enough. I fully intend to follow Ian's advice, there's no issue with that and those instructions are clear. But I'm not sure it's a good idea to tell someone to stop asking questions and start a process when there's still...

I know that, sorry if I wasn't being clear - I was talking about the pressure on the air pump I was using to pressurise the expansion vessel. I realise that the water pressure is irrelevant, however if the system is open, then then water is still under atmospheric pressure. The volume of air...

Yeah I understand the process. My question was what needs to happen before I begin. There's already air in the expansion vessel because I (obviously incorrectly) put it there. If the pressure is higher than it needs to be, as far as I understand it I'll only be able to lower it (by depressing...

Great thanks for the help guys - looks like I'm on the hunt for soggy walls or ceilings! :/

It's just a regular brass tap, but here you go. Can't get my camera in any closer than that - there's too many pipes and cupboards in the way. Right, I'll have a look in the loft for any signs of a water.

Right, but just checking - before I start, should I completely let the air out of the expansion vessel, or does the air in there not matter?

Yeah, I read the instructions in the FAQ - Do I need to fully expel the air from the expansion vessel by opening the schrader valve before I drain the boiler? Otherwise I can't see how I can get below 1 bar. Just to check - I can do this with the boiler isolated from the rest of the system right?

Haha yeah, I'm investigating whether there's any water in the house. I just wondered if there might have been a common reason for a separate stop tap on old heating systems or specific appliances?

Oh. I guess not all DIY advice is born equal, as I followed instructions that suggested doing just that. Forgive me if I'm being dense, but surely there must be some water pressure in the system when doing this, as the manual says it should be charged to 0.5 bar. If the system is empty and I...

So in trying to fix my combo boiler issues in my other thread (https://www.diynot.com/diy/threads/combi-losing-and-gaining-pressure-expansion-vessel-or-filling-loop.479830/) I went to turn off the mains water supply under the sink. There are two stop taps. One is fully open and provides mains...

Hi, I've got a Glowworm ultra com 30 cxi that has been losing pressure. The PRV drain was dripping so last week I replaced the PRV and repressurised to 1bar. However as the central heating came on I noticed the pressure rose to around 2.6 bar. Clearly something is causing pressure to rise and...