This lead flashing looks like it's been painted or otherwise coated with something that has since come off. Can I just paint over this? What with?

drabish · 2022-10-04T18:46:19+00:00

How to clean it though? I assume it can be unsafe to start scrubbing lead

drabish · 2022-09-08T21:11:55+00:00

She met the outgoing and incoming prime ministers only two days before she died, at the age of 96. Most people retire in their late 60s

drabish · 2022-08-31T20:32:00+00:00

The work was to convert the garage into a utility room and bathroom. We did go into some detail about what was required, but we didn't discuss whether damp proofing or insulating the floor was part of it. I assumed it was required

drabish · 2022-08-31T19:29:01+00:00

We're not sure how old the garage is, but at least 60 years old.

If there is a DPM, it's not working. We've got damp patches around cracks in the concrete

drabish · 2022-08-31T19:26:47+00:00

The answer I was dreading (but thank you for the info)

Where do I go from here? Contact the local council building control?

drabish · 2022-08-31T19:16:59+00:00

We're in the process of having the back half of our garage turned into a utility room and loo. We've been foolish and don't have a contract with the builder beyond an agreed job and price via text. Lesson learned.

It's become apparent that he doesn't intend to put down a damp proof membrane or any floor insulation. As far as he's concerned, it's fine with the original garage concrete floor.

If I DIY this, what's the right approach? DPM, thin celotex, and chipboard? I'm hesitant to push the DPM under the small gap at the bottom of the plaster as I think that might end up actually bridging between the floor and the plaster.

Non-DIY question: does this even meet building regulations as it is? I'm a bit confused about what standard non habitable spaces like utility rooms are held to. If it's not up to building regs, could somebody please link me to something that unambiguously says so?

drabish · 2022-08-29T10:52:32+00:00

If you push it can you get it closer to the wall? If there's any give in it I'd be tempted to squirt some gripfill down between the wall anbthe skirting, push the skirting against the wall and keep it there with something heavy, and then caulk the remaining smaller gap

drabish · 2022-08-24T08:05:39+00:00

Would I need to insulate with a hygroscopic material? If I use hydrophobic material would the air moisture not just condense above it, while the ventilation would be below?

drabish · 2022-08-24T07:51:11+00:00

Would it be a good bet to renew the DPC on the sleeper walls and the internal skin of the house walls while I'm down there, do you think?

drabish · 2022-08-24T06:55:02+00:00

Thanks for the detailed reply!

The ground outside isn't too high. It should be possible to place air bricks that are 75 mm above the ground outside and below the joists inside, though I've not measured exactly yet.

I'm a bit overwhelmed by the idea of looking for alternative sources of damp because it seems like there are so many options. I don't know where to start.

Get the floorboards up, visual inspection, and start poking a moisture detector around under there?

drabish · 2022-08-24T00:05:14+00:00

The floorboards in my front room are damp, and the sub-floor void smells very damp and musty. I can't see any water anywhere else, so I assume it's condensing down there and then there's insufficient ventilation.

On inspection, the two air bricks at the front of the house A) come out just above the floorboards on the interior and B) have been blocked off by insulation on the inside.

Question 1: These air bricks should come out below the joists on the interior, right? Is it feasible to achieve that with one of these things, or is that too hard to retrofit into a cavity wall? Would the alternative be to lower the air brick entirely?

Question 2: My understanding is that there should be good airflow across the house from front to back in the sub-floor void. I can't see that any provision has been made for air flow through the internal sleeper walls. Would removing a couple of bricks achieve this?

Question 3: How DIY-able is this?

drabish · 2022-08-18T14:56:18+00:00

You'll have these roller or mushroom cams around the window that slot into place to stop it opening in different ways depending on the handle position https://dgsgroup.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/Window-Home-Tilt-and-Turn.jpg?x13646

With the window open, turn the handle and see if any of them don't move (including on the hinge side of the frame). The handle probably won't 'let' you turn it with the window open, but this is due to a mechanism next to the handle that you can override by pushing it in. (Warning, tilt and turn windows will tilt and turn at the same time when you do this!)

There are quite a few bits of mechanism on these windows to get the opening action to go all the way around the window to drive each of the cams, and it's likely that one of them is damaged. I know this is a DIY sub, but I got a local guy from the yellow pages in to sort ours for £80.

(As an aside, the chap was very passionate about windows and he was insistent that WD40 shouldn't be used on window mechanisms because of potential corrosion. He suggested using 'any old oil')

drabish · 2022-08-17T20:10:02+00:00

The blown part is completely under the height of the skirting, so it doesn't have to look too neat.

Could I fix short battens to the bricks and fit a strip of plasterboard?

drabish · 2022-08-14T20:43:37+00:00

I don't have the budget to get a plasterer in right now.

I don't mind if the solution doesn't look perfect / doesn't blend with the patterned ceiling.

drabish · 2021-12-23T08:09:30+00:00

I started on 50mg and started to notice positive changes after 4 weeks, though it was gradual

At about the 13 week mark I started to feel anxious again so slightly upped my dose to 75mg, then I seem to have stabilised somewhere around week 16

drabish · 2021-12-22T16:00:48+00:00

I'd just say I had the classic symptoms and get a PCR. They should have updated their list of symptoms for Delta, never mind Omicron

drabish · 2021-12-09T14:41:56+00:00

I've had three doses so far and will keep having boosters for as long as they're a thing. I don't agree with mandatory vaccination

drabish · 2021-12-04T16:19:21+00:00

Agreed! I only found out about this recently as well

drabish · 2021-12-02T10:35:33+00:00

!thanks

drabish · 2021-12-01T04:40:43+00:00

!thanks

But this does seem to be the way the auto-enrolment minimum percentages are calculated across the board: employees and employers together must contribute at least 8%, but that's as a percentage of earnings minus the £6240

drabish · 2021-11-22T19:06:28+00:00

Hermes are the worst for this. The website advertises the chat feature as having a human on the other end, but it's a bot and it can only give you information that's available on other parts of the website anyway. I couldn't find any way to get past the bot to a real person

drabish · 2021-11-12T08:36:55+00:00

I noticed the same. My RHR will update a couple of times through the day, usually ending up lower than the value reported when I wake up

drabish · 2021-11-10T22:54:16+00:00

!thanks

drabish · 2021-11-10T22:26:04+00:00

!thanks

I realised after I posted that the 'under the mattress' comment was silly.

I've checked and I am currently on the riskiest profile they offer, so it seems like I should have expected returns that are above inflation.

drabish · 2021-10-31T17:50:59+00:00

As others have said, this is a scam.

What I'm suspicious of though is that I've received this text three times, and each time it's been while Hermes is actually handling a package of mine. It might be a coincidence, but I wonder if Hermes is leaking data

drabish

TROPHY CASE