Recent content by EllaGnu

Hello all. Just in case one of you knowledgable people understands the intricacies of flow and return planning I'd like to ask for your advice. I've just ripped out most of the old ground floors in my house and laid underfloor heating. I've laid a new flow and return from the existing...

Hello all I am an ex-plumber and heating engineer. When I left the trade 25 years ago underfloor heating, unvented systems and plastic pipe were just coming in... I am renovating my house and laying pipework in each room myself as I complete it with a view to getting a professional...

Thanks. I am inclined to paint then brick colour (terracotta?) or black I think. I'm perplexed by thermal bridging and don't know whether I should consider it an issue or not. As I said we are using insulated cavity closures but it seems to be that the windows bridge the cavity but worse...

Yes I was intending to recess them roughly 90mm to ensure a good seal with outer brickwork. The thermal bridging aspect is still a worry though. I can use a wooden fillet (how to fix it though?) but am not too sure how the edge will look (and then add in the edge of the catnic too...)? Paint...

The guy making the windows uses stiff metal straps that fix to the internal reveal (and are then rendered over).

I've just had a look at the drawings and the architect has specified half a brick, or 100mm... even deeper than 3.5"! He's done this is to match most of the existing windows. The windows being fitted are wooden flush casement. They will bridge the 100mm cavity but these are already closed...

Hello. I'm building an extension with fair faced brickwork. The windows are set back 3.5" from the external face. A catnic type steel lintel supports brick soldiers on the outside skin. My problem is how to make the underneath of the catnic look ok. I could paint it white (same as the...

Butch and Kevin the brickies have said the block splitters don't work well and the bricks tend to crumble. They've also said with that many bricks a diamond tipped angle grinder is the only way to go. I'm thinking of rigging up the Black and Decker Workmate to hold the bricks, such that 8 or 10...

No, that's 700 bricks, 700 cuts! :-) I have 22 year old employed to do the cuts. I worry that the trowel method will see him a few fingers short by the end of the first day, and ill not end up with many accurate cuts. I'm looking at one of these...

For 700 bricks?

Type of construction is a done deal (planning, struct eng, etc etc). I have two 'heads down' brickies starting on Wednesday. They reckon they are going to finish the block and brick work for my two storey 7.7m x 4.5m extension, including a brick base for 11m x 4.5m oak barn, in three weeks...

I had to match 4 types of brick, two from Ibstock in Chailey and two from Freshfield at Danehill . They were very hard to source. Due to excessive demand the factories have had to close their books on some bricks and are quoting delivery times of over a year on others. Specials and half bricks...

Hello, I am organising the start of an extension to my property. Although building cavity walls I have to emulate a flemish bond used for the rest of the house. This means cutting near on a thousand bricks in half! Does anyone know of a method to do this very efficiently? I am thinking of...

Thanks for the replies. It is a semi-agricultural settings. It'll not get much traffic and when it does it's as likely as not to be a tractor! I have road planing on my drive and it's fine for the traffic... but it's got loads of crap in it (as it is intended to add gravel at some point) and is...

Hello. I have just been granted planning permission to build a barn in the field at the back of our house. I need to put in some hard standing and a field drain. I know what type of hard standing finish I want, but have no idea what it is called or where to get it. Can anyone identify it for...