Rolling DIY & home improvements thread

Ahh ok. Solicitors and surveyors just love creating work!

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The problem for us is that we’ve got a building slot for December and if this delays things past then, it’ll be pushed to spring/summer.

I’m still keeping my cool over it because I can’t control shit decision making from other people, can I, but I’m hearing a LOT of stomping and crashing coming from downstairs so I’m guessing this isn’t a household-wide attitude.

I’m reasoning that with the extension we’re planning it’s probably best to get into the habit of being blase about huge seemingly unnecessary bills coming in, because once they actually start doing things there’ll be plenty of time for wailing and gnashing of teeth then. No point in starting the party early.

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How fucking dare you

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I have asked around a load of mates and had no luck yet. I was going to try the neighbours tonight, Like you say, it’s very common! I’d certainly happily give up a bit of paint for someone in my position.

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Was the fee quoted to you by your party wall surveyor for them to act for both parties?

If this was the case, then you should be able to negotiate a reduction, if the neighbour is engaging someone else on their side.

Oh god Dr Mrs Epimer has just gone next door to have a word

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How did it go @Epimer ?

:oncoming_police_car:

nothing changed

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You wouldn’t believe how much of a shitter getting these hung up was. Followed the instructions on getting the screws they’re hanging on in the right place, but would have been much much better off just doing measurements ourselves.

We had to do that, for both sides!

Ooooooooft

Greeting DIY-Sers. Anyone have any tips/do’s/don’ts for insulating a loft?

The existing insulation in ours is pretty thin, so was planning on laying another layer over the top before winter arrives but now that it’s got a bit cooler to work up there - sounds straightforward, but I’m pretty sure I’ll fall through the ceiling at some point :+1:

Don’t fall through the ceiling.

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Oh what a feeling!

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Is it a pitched roof, and are you planning on insulating in the floor joist zone, or in the rafter zone?

The important thing to remember is that you should not block any ventilation in the roof.

If it’s an old roof, it may not have pre-made vents, but will almost certainly require ventilation/infiltration of some kind in order to avoid condensation and joist rot. When I did mine, I slipped these into the gaps between the rafters to maintain the ventilation gap at the eaves:

You can then pack the insulation right into the head of the wall.

I also would be wary of boosting the insulation if you don’t have tile vents in your roof. Most houses have these, even old ones if they’ve been re-roofed in the past 30 years or so, but I’d check first.

If you have downlighters in your bathroom, for example, you should get those covers, to stop them overheating (which is a fire risk).

I took the opportunity to properly clear out our loft, increase the insulation, and to board it out using LoftLegs. It was a dirty job, but I’m glad I did it properly.

I’ve found an old post about it, with photos:

Thanks. I think it’s going to be relatively simple as I’ll be insulating in the floor joists where the existing insulation is and there’s no downlighters to worry about. We had roof ventilation fitted last year fortunately.

Fortunately already completed this joyful task last year when we moved in :grimacing:

Ideally, you should insulate between the floor joists, and then another layer, above the floor joists in the opposite direction. That will bring your loft up to somewhere near current building regs standards for new build homes.

If you do that though, you shouldn’t store things on top of the insulation, as it will compress it, so it’s best to install boards on spacers like cross battens or the loft legs things in my photographs above. There’s no point boarding out right into the eaves as you can’t store anything in that area, so it’s actually a pretty straightforward and not unpleasant task as you’re not laying flat on your stomach or crawling around.

I still haven’t finished our front loft and have got stuck at the point where I’m about a third of the way through clearing out all of the crap, and it’s easily the worst part of the task.