Sites to do with homes, building...
Please visit The Hunger Site. Whenever you do so, money will be donated to charity.
You should also look at John Tankard's links. Send him recommendations, additions & deletions at hotlinks@tankard.com.
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Search WWW Search fam-english web site |
We are very happy with the loft conversion we had done by Lawsons Lofts: nice people to do business with; flexible; did what they said they'd do, when they said they'd do it... YMMV.
Magazines, clubs, email lists, self-build etc. web sites.
 | Individual Homes' Homebuilding and Renovating Magazine's web site - they also have a busy listserver (email mailing list) for self-builders, which I strongly recommend. Click here for details on how to access the archive. |
| A web based self-build discussion "board" or "forum" |
| Fine Homebuilding magazine is a good ?US magazine. |
| Brian Orpin writes: "I have just created The Self Build Web Ring. If you want to find out more about web rings go to www.webring.com else to join go to www.borpin.co.uk. |
| Brian Orpin's web page is also the host for the excellent selfbuild faq [frequently asked questions list]. |
| Builder news is a 'library' of other relevant - mainly US newsgroups. |
| http://members.boardhost.com/selfbuild/ is an independent web-based selfbuild discussion board. |
| http://www.bre.co.uk/ (Part of the Building Research Establishment which manages the Governments Energy Efficiency Best Practice programme for buildings) |
| Steve Clark has set up a Yahoo club at http://clubs.yahoo.com/clubs/ukselfbuild. "... there is a picture of my plot in the Photos section. To view this you will need to select Join in the top right and set up a user profile on Yahoo. Then you can do what you like. Feel free to add links to your site, pictures, calendar dates, messages. There's a chat area if anyone fancies a flames war ;-)". |
| www.integerproject.co.uk - the people behind the BBC's "Dream house". |
| Self-Build association have a web site at http://www.thisis.co.uk/assoc_selfbuild/index.html |
| I've just come across a great US site for (US) self-builders: http://builder.hw.net/plans/. |
| http://www.diynet.com/: lots of information on how to do DIY tasks. |
| Forum for discussing building regulations: http://clix.to/Regs. |
| DIY TV programme web sites (mainly American) include: New Yankee Workshop: http://www.wgbh.org/wgbh/tv/nyw/nywindex.html; This Old House http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/thisoldhouse/; All things Bob Vila http://www.bobvila.com/; Hometime http://www.hometime.com/;Our House (Down Under) http://www.ourhouse.ninemsn.com.au/. |
| University of Sussex’ Housing Innovation Knowledge Bank |
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Sources of useful information (especially official sources).
| To find out who owns land you fancy building on, you can contact the HM Land Registry. they are likely to be able to give you a full run down on who owns it. It costs £4 payable "HM Land Registry" for a copy of the title, all you need to supply is the address. The head office is in London - 0171 9178888. |
| All BS standards are available on line at |
| UK building regulationsare now available at the Department of Transport, Local Government and the Regions (DTLR) web site: http://www.safety.dtlr.gov.uk/bregs/. Approved Docs should be in the reference section of any good library or try your friendly local BCO. |
| Customs and excise. For information on claiming VAT back on your build, go to this sites and search for Notice 719 - that has all the details. You need claim pack VAT431. |
| Increasingly people are becoming interested in using Structural Insulated Panels for building. More information about thiese is available at http://www.bpac.co.uk and http://www.sipltd.com. | ||||||||||||||
| The uk.d-i-y newsgroup's FAQs are available at http://pages.eidosnet.co.uk/~ukdiy/index.html. Dave Nash has put the wiring and heating FAQs on his website at http://gnasher.future.easyspace.com/selfbuild/. | ||||||||||||||
| The BRE are starting up a new on-line information service from 31 January 2000, www.askBRE.co.uk/insight, with an offer of 30 days free access. E-mail insight@bre.co.uk for more information. | ||||||||||||||
| PlotSearch, who will, for a fee, give you access to a lis of plots for sale. | ||||||||||||||
| Tradesmen. It may be worth visiting www.improveline.com for general advice and information on employing builders etc. They claim that every builder put forward has been credit checked, has no county court judgements against them, has been in business for at least 2 years and has been recommended by previous customers. | ||||||||||||||
| Another similar site is called www.hi-revolution.com. They offer to find you an accredited tradesperson for your job if you enter the details on their site. (I have no personal experience or involvement with either of these services.)There are more cabling etc. links in the blue sky section of this page. | ||||||||||||||
| The best on-line guide on things like wiring up an RJ45 used to be at http://www.rwdata.co.uk/. | ||||||||||||||
| Peter Colebrook has put together a document (download it here) with wiring details for CAT5 cabling and RJ45 sockets. (Please email Peter at peter.colebrook@dial.pipex.com for more details.) | ||||||||||||||
| Electrical information at http://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Information/, including information on how to wire, and check, telephone wiring at http://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Technical/Telecoms/Telephone%20Wiring.htm and electrical symbols at http://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Technical/Symbols/Index.htm. | ||||||||||||||
| You can claim VAT back on new-builds (but not renovation). Details and electronic reclaim forms (VAT 431) can be obtained from http://www.hmce.gov.uk/bus/vat/index.htm (thanks to Richard on the Self-build list for this website). | ||||||||||||||
| Information on how to calculate the radiator sizes you need (or, to put it another way, the heat loss from your house/rooms) the is available inf the form of their heat loss manager:- www.myson.co.uk/heatloss01.html. (Thanks to John Tankard and Howard Atkins for this tip.) | ||||||||||||||
| Natural handyman (site appears broken at present - or I've not got the URL quite right). | ||||||||||||||
| The Timber Research and Development Association (TRADA) is at http://www.tradatechnology.co.uk/. | ||||||||||||||
| Electro Osmotic Damp Courses: I find it hard to believe that these work (nothing works until there is good evidence to the contrary as far as I'm concerned!), but the following websites should answer some of the questions being asked: http://www.lectros.com/about/default.htm and http://homepages.enterprise.net/brierley/elecos.html. | ||||||||||||||
| Something else that sounds at first like snake oil, but which might work, is water-softening using electric or magnetic fields. I have forgotten the URL for an independent US government web site that explained how this works, but http://www.scale-watcher.com/sworks.html (which is NOT independent) also explains it. There is a lot of evidence of efficacy, but much of it is what I would class as anecdotal or "expert opinion" at best. If you know of good, independent evidence for the efficacy of these systems, please let me know! | ||||||||||||||
| Rick Hughes writes: "... an interesting link that I have added to the SelfBuild bookmark list. It is for a FAQ page on cement, mortar & concrete. http://www.mdx.ac.uk/~john49/cemfaq.htm". | ||||||||||||||
| John Schmitt's "Damp Problems in Houses" FAQ. | ||||||||||||||
| Two sites mentioned on the self-build list for those wanting to know more about electroomagnetic radiation include http://www.radio.fer.hr/cost244/main/bboard.htm, which has all sorts of links for safety issues on power lines, mobile phones, radars, rf heaters, etc.; and http://www.mcw.edu/gcrc/cop/powerlines-cancer-FAQ/toc.html, which this covers the entire frequency range but concentrates on power line radiation. | ||||||||||||||
| Domestic sprinkler systems for fire safety have been discussed on the home build mailing list. I've found one UK web sites relating to this (Residential Sprinkler Assoc., with list of UK installers: http://firesprinklers.org.uk. Non UK sites include http://www.firesafehome.org/sprinkfacts.htm and http://www.sprinklernet.org/. There is a paper on residential multipurpose installation i.e. compined with your normal plumbing at http://www.sprinklernet.org/papers/Multipurpose.html. | ||||||||||||||
| Asbestos removal is a subject where specialist knowledge and equipment is necessary. We deal with a number of firms in this area. You could start by contacting ARCA - the Asbestos Removal Contractors Association. | ||||||||||||||
| Jerry (John Harpur [jharpur@indigo.ie]) picked
out the following (re [piled] foundations) using web ferret : Mackley Construction http://www.users.dircon.co.uk/~mackley/index.htm Guardian Foundations http://www.gfcl.demon.co.uk/home.htm M.G. Construction Ltd. - Piling, Boring & Underpinning http://www.mgconstruction.co.uk/ Anvil Foundations - minipiling, foundation specialists, underpinning, f... http://www.anvil-co.demon.co.uk/index.htm Boyle Construction Ltd. http://www.marketsite.co.uk/boyle/engineer.htm CITIBUILD Mini-Piling, Underpinning and subsidence control - UK. http://www.citibuild.co.uk/main.htm Stent Introduction http://tina.comp.lancs.ac.uk/engineering/research/mechatronics/constrobotics/stent/stentmain.html | ||||||||||||||
| British Woodworking Federation
56 - 64 Leonard St London EC2A 4JX Phone : 0171 608 5050 Fax: 0171 608 5398 | ||||||||||||||
| Insulation materials:
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| For anyone interested in solid wooden floors these articles from an American mag might be of interest: Installing Hardwood Strip Flooring; and Hardwood Flooring with UFH. | ||||||||||||||
| Forest Floors for hard wood floors. | ||||||||||||||
| OSMO products might also be of interest to wood flooring enthusiasts. | ||||||||||||||
| A "Brilliantly useful website on paving etc.": www.tmac.clara.net/paving/pavpage/paving.htm | ||||||||||||||
| www.plotsearch.co.uk - if you want to self-build, these people MIGHT be able to help you find a plot. For a fee. |
| Information about British Gypsum at www.leonardoUK.com. Information on ISOWOOL can be found at British Gypsum's web site http://www.bpb-industries.com/products/index.htm. |
| The Worcester Bosch web site at www.combi-boiler.co.uk |
| http://www.loftshop.co.uk |
| How to fit plaster coving: http://www.geocities.com/jahoye/fitting_coving.htm. |
| If you're looking for a cheap low-tech solution for fitting ceiling plasterboards or similar, Martek make something called a Ceiling Board Hanger. It's a bit like a pair of G-clamps with an industrial cuphook on the back of each. You clamp one to the joist, one to the end of the board, interlock the cuphooks, and it acts as a hinge so you can swing the other end of the board up. Jam your deadman in place, slap the first few screws or nails in then unclamp and finish fixing. Says on the packaging it'll do a 2440 x 1200 sheet of plasterboard; one person operation; horizontal and sloping/dormer ceilings; fits all joist up to 50mm; keeps edge of plaster board in line with joist centre; easy adjustment for narrower joists; available from builders merchants. Oh, and it also says it's award winning - but doesn't say for what. It looks like it'll work. Martek, Redruth, Cornwall Tel 0209 219911. There’s a picture of it on a US website: http://www.right-tool.com/ceilboarhan.html. |
Plumbing information
| Lots of plumbing information is available at http://www.heatweb.com/. |
| http://www.cam.org/~jacobie/faqonp~1.htm for "all the questions you ever wanted to ask about flow rates etc. plus a load you would never have dreamed of asking" |
| Plumbing Express "offers kitchen and bathroom sinks, faucets, tubs, and toilets from brand names such as Kohler, Moen, Jacuzzi, American Standard, and others." (Probably only of use in USA, except to get an idea what they are using Stateside.) |
| http://www.myson.co.uk/Features.html The site has been recently updated and the Heatloss Manager now has a tutorial and a FAQ. |
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Trade shows
The biggest building trade show in Europe in 2000 was held in Brussels from 24th Feb - 5th March 2000. http://www.batibouw.com/index.htm
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Software for self-builders.
| Estimating the cost of a building project. There are several products to help with this, including an estimating package called House Builder XL. "The package provides highly detailed estimating of all aspects of house construction. The package also includes a Bar Chart Planner to chart the plan the Job. The combination of the Estimating Package and Planner allows the user to create task lists, materials schedules and cashflow forecasts etc. |
| Autodesk produce CAD software, which could be used for house design. (This is a link to their demonstration packages.) A "lite" version of Softcad 3D can be downloaded from http://www.softcad.com. You have to agree to let them email you stuff to get to the download. They also have a proper Architectural product which is detailed at this site. Deltacad is 20 dollars for the full version and you can download a 45 day trial (it's a 2Mb file). It is limited but very intuitive and if you wanted to simply draw and dimension some plans then it looks quite good. |
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Green building
| Association for Environmentally Conscious Building. |
| An excellent link on insulation. Well worth reading: http://www.its-canada.com/reed/insul/index.htm. US R-values are 5.68 times bigger than metric. E.g., US R20 (F-ft^2-h/Btu) is metric 20/5.68 = R3.52 (m^2K/W). R = 1/U within either system, e.g., R3.52 is U 0.284. |
| www.rethinkinghousebuilding.org |
| The Association for Enviromnent Concious Builders (AECB) has an excellent web site, with lots of links on green building. "It is a very useful organisation for sourcing green anything." |
| Energy saving trust - ideas on energy efficiency. Seems to have very little content. Apparently, this is who was giving grants to people getting a condensing boiler. |
| www.warmcel.com/excel/warmhome.html - cellulose-based (very green) insulation material. |
| Foamglas is another insultating material. TIt claims to be impervious to water and water vapour, eliminating the need for a vapour barrier or air gap. |
| New Zealand wool insulation is available from Klober There may be a UK version might be out soon. |
| Solar Century, an independent designer, installer of solar electric systems, supplying the world's leading solar technologies. Essentially we import several different kinds of solar from many different manufacturers from Europe and the US. You'll have seen there house, tiiled with solar panels that look like attractive tiles. Contact Clare Hawtin, Deputy Marketing Manager, tel 0208 334 4144, fax 0870 735 8101 |
| http://www.futureenergies.com/ |
| For anyone interested in future housing trends Breathing Walls, superinsulated homes, factory produced wall, floor and roof panels, re-cycled building materials, rapid build times, reduced build costs, green issues, environmental impact and much more please visit the Chartered Institute of Housing, who have planned a great Conference and Exhibition which will take our housing forward and assess the environmental cost of building new homes today. Their "cost" for new homes includes factors for social and environmental concerns and issues as well. |
| Seconds and Co. supply rigid foam insulation boards - similar to those made by Kingspan and Celotex - to end-users, builders, merchant chains and distributors. http://secondsandco.co.uk/. |
| Information on ISOWOOL can be found at British Gypsum's web site. The address is: http://www.bpb-industries.com/products/index.htm. |
| Another similar supplier is Solar Plating, which uses "thermal diodes" to avoid re-radiating heat when the sun goes in at night (but their web sites uses irritatingly large text, and spelling errors ["transfered"] in publicity blurb don't didn't inspire confidence in me). The panels apparently double as a roof covering, doing away with the need for tiles... |
| For more information on solar cells you might want to visit the newsgroup "alt.solar.photvoltaic". |
| www.homepower.com (US site all about wind and solar including those who illegally feed power back into the grid!) |
| You could also try these sites about green building, and passive solar heating systems. There is also the geosciences web site. ("GeoScience Limited is the UK's longest established specialist Geothermal Energy Consultancy and the leading UK designer and installer of EarthEnergy systems or Ground Coupled Heat Pumps.") Heat pumps are expensive, at least in th UK (cheaper in the USA though). |
| GE in the USA are to be first to sell a domestic Combined Heat & Power fuel cell in early 2001, that runs on natural gas or LPG gas. I believe it will be sold for under $US 10,000. It is obviously geared for world sales as it also gives out 50Hz 230volt too. It has a lifespan of approx 15 years. I suppose this has to compare with diesel generators. Another CHP unit is available from New Zealand Company Whisper Tech Limited. I quote: "Every now and then this topic rises and it seems that general availability is closer and closer. There is some encouraging progress from Whisper Gen, http://www.whispertech.co.nz, with units on sale and on trail in many countries. Other organisations are looking into Stirling CHP units too. The most efficient approach seems to be the free cyle piston Stirling unit. This has a piston that moved up and down with no crankshaft. There are magnets in the piston and a stator, producing electricity. All the stirling units are sealed as is a fridge compressor. Home-scale generators, Micro Combined Heat and Power (MCHP) A small (single household sized) combined heat and power system which runs quietly on most liquid or gas fuels has been developed in Christchurch (New Zealand) by Whisper Tech Limited. The system, known as the WhisperGen, is in effect a Personal Power Station. The WhisperGen is based on a "Stirling" cycle engine which drives an electrical generator to produce electricity. The WhisperGen is also a co-generation system that provides heat in the form of hot water suitable for water or space heating. The WhisperGen engine's unique feature is the "wobble yoke" linkage, a patented development which overcomes some of the previous Stirling Engine design problems, and has allowed the design of a compact, low vibration engine. The WhisperGen's Stirling engine is an external combustion engine in which fuel is burnt in a continuous manner outside the engine's cylinders. This is unlike an internal combustion engine where the fuel is injected into the cylinders intermittently and then exploded. Because the WhisperGen burns fuel continuously and not explosively, the engine operates very smoothly and quietly - noise levels are less than 50dBA during operation and exhaust emissions are at lower levels than those produced by a conventional generator. Other advantages include its multi fuel nature (it can run on almost any liquid or gas fuel from natural gas, LPG and diesel, to oil and biogas). WhisperGen's are available as AC or DC systems, each producing 750 Watts of electrical output and 5-6kW of thermal output. The DC system is being sold as a commercial product for marine applications in Western Europe, it is CE marked and distribution channels are now being established. The DC system is designed to charge batteries such as those used to provide power in remote homes, yachts or other mobile dwellings. In this situation the WhisperGen can be seen as a generator with a by-product of heat. A system the size of the WhisperGen will provide more than enough electricity and heat to satisfy the requirements of the average remote area home. The AC WhisperGen system, which is gas fired, is now being sold as a trial and demonstration system and is currently being evaluated internationally with systems operating in several countries including the UK, Netherlands, Denmark, Germany, USA and Korea. This system is designed to be grid connected and to pump ("export") excess electricity directly back into the network. It is intended for use in countries where central heating boilers are the norm. In these countries the AC WhisperGen can replace the central heating boiler and thus be considered as a heater with a by-product of electricity. A service interval of 2,000 hours is expected for both systems. This equates to about one year's average use in a home or more than three years in a yacht or holiday home. The regular service required is generally a simple inspection and cleaning operation. There is no oil to change and regular maintenance is reduced to checking coolant levels, cleaning the burner etc. The major overhaul interval is expected to be in excess of 20,000 hrs." |
| Sunpower (a research organisation working with BG I believe): http://www.sunpower.com/tech_papers/pub67/ucogen.html Sunpower state that payback is less than 3 years (interesting): The payback time is reduced directly with the installation and maintenance cost. The $1000/kW base line figure was based on 10,000 units/year, but this would be reduced at higher volumes. The figure makes clear that reducing the system cost has more effect on payback time than any likely improvement in system efficiency and that, in areas where the electric cost is greater than the national average, Stirling systems can be attractive to the consumer. At a installation and maintenance cost of $750/kW and electric cost of $0.1/kWh using a 30% efficient engine/alternator, the payback period is less than three years. |
| If you are interested in earth-sheltered building, have a look at www.earth-sheltered.com. |
| A company called Thermomax manufacture solar heating vacuum tubes for hot water - you could use them to heat your pool in Summer and your domestic hot water in Winter (or both) and they seem to take up very little room compared with black plastic pipe. I think they work out at about £2000 per panel of 20 tubes. They say that a single panel provides all the DHW for a decent sized house year round. Read their blurb on their website: http://www.thermomax.com/. You may also be able to buy them through your local electricity board. |
| The Whole House Book. You can get to it via the Centre for Alternative Technology web site on http://www.cat.org.uk. It describes the state of the green art in terms of material selection and design techniques. If one of the reasons for building your own home is be a little greener, this book allows you to benchmark what you want against what is possible. |
| Green paints. Construction Resources (Tel +44 (20) 7450 2211) in London have a range of environmental paints. Not a large range of colours but they can be mixed. |
| For environmentally friendly paint, Keim might be a good bet. It is mineral paint and doesn't contain volatile organic compounds. Not as expensive as "organic" paints, in fact not much dearer than emulsion and much more pleasant to use. Tel 01746 714543. Reps reputedly helpful. |
| Real Goods in California sell "Green" products mail order. They are a non-profit making organisation. They sell a version of the radiant barriers that can be used for insulation, for much less than it seems to cost in Europe. |
| Radiant barriers, also known as reflective, or "low emissivity" insulation materials work rather differently to regular insulation in that they reflect radiant heat, just like aluminium foil behind a radiator. Their big advantage is that they are thin. However none of them are cheap and its difficult to get very good insulation levels with them - if you use them in addition to ordinary insulation, the added R values are not cumulative. They include Alrefax (Dutch), Actis (French), Thermaflect (UK) and Thermobrite (USA). Alrefax 2L2 samples were just thin bubble wrap with foil on both sides, 'bubbles' 10mm dia. The 1L1 is a single layer of foil sided wrap, the 2L2 a double layer. Their BBA sheet (93/2861) lists it as cavity wall insulation and cavity rain barrier. Contact is Thermal Economics Ltd., 1, Cardigan St., Luton, Beds, LU1 1RP, Tel. 01582 540814. Email: info@thermal-economics.co.uk. If anyone is a believer, you might like to go to the www.radiantbarrier.com web site and look at the double-bubble insulation. They offer (or used to offer) double bubble for $.30 per sqft, which is about £1.90 per sqm. Assuming the R value alone (ie ignoring the vapour barrier or radiant heat effects) this is still a borderline win, or just about anyway. Shipping didn't seem exorbitant if you can wait for a ship. Bear in mind that these impressive looking R figures quoted are in American Inch-Pound units. |
| http://WWW.MICROHYDRO.COM - a website from a manufacture of small scale water power kit. |
| Enertia, an American companywith an agent in the UK. http://www.enertia.com/science.htm. |
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Materials
(See also the section on tools, and the section on DIY sheds etc in my "places you can buy things from" page.)
| Wickes (USA); or "To celebrate the joining forces of Focus Do It All, Focus (formerly Great Mills) and Wickes, we are delighted to launch a new look for our website - www.focusdiy.co.uk." |
| "Construction Plus is opening for business it's new, smart online sourcing tool http://www.constructionintelligence.com. There is no quicker and easier way for you to specify or purchase building materials in the UK." |
| TJM is True Joist MacMillan, they manufacture the SilentFloor system using TJI beams. Joists which look like a wooden RSJ. (US parent company with links to Europe operation. UK address: East Barn, Perry Mill Farm, Birmingham Road, Hopwood, Worcestershire, B48 7AJ. Phone: 01214 456666 fax: 01214 456677.) |
| Masonite make a similar (or maybe not so
similar?) system. (UK distributor of Swedish made I-beams. UK address: Fillcrete Ltd., Grindell Street, Hull, HU9 1RT. Phone: 01482 223405 fax: 01482 327957. |
| Another tip from the homebuilder's mailing list. "There is a very good US website devoted to lighting. It gives lots of data sheets that can be read using Acrobat Reader, or ordered via the Net. The products are American and may be difficult to obtain (and use -110v), but the information about required luminance is spot-on. They also propose many design suggestions for each specific room. The URL is www.lightolier.com." |
| A Kerdi mat is a waterproof membrane to seal walls and floors before tiling (in showers and bathrooms). It is manufactured by Schluter Systems in Germany, and consists of a sandwich of a flexible waterproof layer between two felt-like layers. You can fix it to a wall or floor with tile cement, and then tile directly to the other side. It can be overlapped and bent round corners or pipes. It comes in rolls 1 m x 30m, although I bought it from my local tile shop by the metre. |
| Have a look at http://www.goin.co.uk/neatdek.html for inset shower tray systems. Their system covers both concrete floor and suspended wooden floor installations. Also, look at http://www.altro.co.uk/uk/index.htm for watertight flooring. |
| Beco has a site at http://www.becowallform.co.uk but it is one page! |
| This web site promotes double envelope houses. |
| Woodco of Scotland. |
| Hepworth make plastic plumbing pipes, and an
alternative to normal traps. They also produce a lot of plumbing information. The
FREE Hepworth Plumbing Technical Advisory Service can be contacted at:- Hepworth Plumbing Hazlehead, Crow Edge Sheffield, UK S36 4HG Tel: +44 (0)1226 762014 Fax: +44 (0)1226 766057 HepworthPlumbing Literature service on tel:- +44 (0)1226 766927 Email: plumbing@hepworthbp.co.uk |
| "The Marley Equator system is a pex based pipe whereas Osma Gold is polybute. Just like Hep 2o. And wow! That Equator web site is pretty impressive. Seems very cheap too." |
| Plumbworld UK - supposedly cheap, three days delivery. |
| Worcester Bosch. Self-builders wanting information should identify themselves as installers on the home page. |
| The Trussed Rafter Association. |
| The Farnell catalogue is available on the internet at http://www.farnell.co.uk - the entire catalogue is on-line and the Internet ordering system works. |
| The Timber Research and Development Association (TRADA) is at http://www.tradatechnology.co.uk/. |
| Palgrave Brown, who also sell timber glulam I-Beams. |
| www.webbstones.demon.co.uk - wonderful stone carvings. |
| Staircases: http://www.staircase.co.uk and http://www.lyndalestairs.co.uk |
| If you want to build a swimming pool, Rick Hughes writes: "I have built cast concrete pools (best) liner pools (cheapest) and oneabove ground pool (horrible). There is another type the ready made drop in place fibreglass pool, such as Sundance, quick, should be very reliable and price seems to be less than a cast pool. take a look at following :- http://www.sundancepools.com/; http://www.sspools.ie/; http://www.atlantica.co.uk/books/inform.html; http://www.poolsandspasonline.com/; http://scottpool.com/; http://www.swimmingpools.com/. The last 3 are US sites but have good diy sections giving a good background on building the various types of pool." |
| There are laminates, and there are the floating floors made out of a thick veneer (4mm thick hardwood layer) on a hardwood multi-ply substrate - very resistant to shrinkage, cupping etc. And with 4mm thickness can take more wear, and re-sandings than my life expectancy. The tongue and groove on solid wood planks are usually done at a depth from the surface of 5mm. This means that re-sanding can only be done to this depth so life is almost the same anyway. If anybody is interested in this product take a look at: http://www.unicorn-connection.co.uk/woodflooring/. |
| If you were thinking of installing isdn comms system, using the multi subscriber numbering feature, Cirrus8 do a small basic kit that seems quite flexible. IIID do a lot of interesting kit of this type - including switches you can operate via the telephone, and a range of DECT (digital cordless) phones. |
| VELUX website |
| Redland is the biggest roofing manufacturer in the UK. They offer a free service: send them your plans and they will provide a complete quantities of the materials needed, listing all wraparound tiles, verge tiles, tile&half, batten, nails etc. that you could easily get wrong if you did the estimate yourself. Roofer also know the Redland quote is accurate and will price off it very easily. You can also take the Redland quote No., and give this to Redland outlets and they will provide a materials price from this reference. |
| There are a surprising number of systems for piping light down from a roof into a dark wall. Here are some of them: |
| Useful new building products web site is www.leonardouk.com. |
| Rawlplug and artex |
| British Gypsum's site (plasterboard, dry-lining...) |
| Rugby Joinery (the parent company is Rugby Cement). Includes John Carr and Boulton & Paul - both brand names in timber joinery. Contact them on 01302 394000. |
| Sash window workshop |
| Andersen Windows trade as: Black Millwork Co. Inc., Andersen House, Dallow St.,
Burton-on-Trent, Staffs., DE14 2PQ. Tel 01283 511122 (Fax 01283 510863). They do a 217 page Window Guide. |
| Reddiseals produce a catalogue entitled 'All you'll ever need for sash windows'. This has all the components to refurbish and upgrade sash windows, including weather seals, parting and staff beads, fasteners and fittings, pulleys, weights, etc. It's fully priced and has an order form: Reddiseals, The Furlong, Droitwich, Worcs, WR9 9BG; Tel: 01905 779961 Fax: 01905 770131 email: reddiseals@reddiplex.co.uk. |
| http://www.rytons.com/ - ventilation products – with explanations. |
| http://www.ironmongerydirect.co.uk/ |
| French DIY/building product sources include Castorama and Leroy Merlin. |
| The largest DIY shed in Belgium (Brico) now has an on-line catalogue with prices. It doesn't list everything in the stores, but the equivalent hardcopy runs to 300 pages, so it covers many items of interest to the self-builder. It's more B&Q than Builder's Merchant, so don't expect to find basic building materials. |
| One manufacturor of pre-hung door sets (very popular in Scandinavia, Holland, Germany... apparently) is Swedoors. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Magnet (windows, bedrooms and kitchens). http://www.magnet.co.uk | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| DIY sheds include B-and-Q, Homebase ... | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| www.immonord.de/bs/kalk1.htm | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ideal Standard have a good web site. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The Dutch company Gibo make plaster blocks whic, apparently, are laid like lego (should be Danish, not Dutch :-) )as partition walls. They are supposedly pre-finished, so no need for plasterers or drylining. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| the Uniclic floor system from Quickstep. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Green Island lighting | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Christopher-Wray - wonderful lighting place. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Oligo - more lighting, specialising in low voltage halogen systems. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Electrical bits from:
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| Painted Provencal Furniture (catalogue available on request) - for furniture, knick-knacks, and smellies. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| We have a flat warm roof and were considering turning it into a deck. Check out the following website, I guess this is what’s needed. http://www.caro.co.uk/caro_systems.html. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| SIKA T2 is a glue that remains elastic forever, is designed to stick wood on steel, concrete and other similar surfaces, comes in standard cartriges, fills gaps of 5mm easily and costs about 6.50 & VAT per cartridge. The SIKA headoffice is in Welwyn Garden City on 01707 394444. SIKA have a full WEB site at http://www.sika.co.uk/. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Agas and similar cookers:
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Tools
| Duotool "have a fast mail order turn round. Their catalogue has dozens of different types of screws and fastenings." | ||||||||||
| Triton make a much-discussed T"compact saw-table. | ||||||||||
| Another useful site for tools is http://rswww.com. | ||||||||||
| Power tools:
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| Screwfix. | ||||||||||
| Unifix | ||||||||||
| Axminster tools (or www.itslondon.co.uk/). | ||||||||||
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Kit house manufacturers
| Potton (""The market leaders in Timber Frame building"). They have three demo' houses. They are not opened on Saturday's - business must be good - but Sandia-Hus in East Grinstead is (01342 327977). |
| The Swedish House Company |
| Welsh Oak Frame |
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Heating
| To hlep you calculate the size of boiler and radiators you need (given the size of the rooms, insulation levels, etc.), you could use the calculator at the Myson web site, or you could get the free heat loss manager from John Tankard's Building Links Page. |
| Heating can be provided by fires, radiators, warm air, passive solar, or under-floor heating. An interesting hybrid is a kick-space heater using an electrical fan, but connected to a wet heating system. Myson do one - details at www.myson.co.uk/Fan03.html. |
| I am told that the best skirting rads are by Heat Profile. They look just like normal skirting rads, and come in wood and other effects too. The Myson skirting rads look like the stuff you see in the doctors waiting room - semi-commercial, which is their main market. All those contemplating expensive UFH, or any other form of heating for that matter, should also consider the Heat Profile skirting heaters. They don't have to be on all walls, depending on your heat loading. |
| There are pictures showing some of the options for under floor heating ("UFH") at www.btinternet.com/~Robbens. |
| We got the electric under-floor heating for our bathroom from WarmUp. |
| David Stone writes: Iif you require an information pack or a free - no obligation quotation for our award winning underfloor heating system either email myself at Kee.Radiant@btinternet.com or phone 018206 24141 or alternatively post in your plans to:- |
*Kee Radiant Floor Heat Ltd,
Unit 26 Scarva Road Ind Est,
Banbridge,
Co Down,
BT32 3QD.
Northern Ireland.
Phone 018206 24141
Fax 018206 28358.
* Please note this is our new address, we have now moved to a new purpose purpose built factory.
| "The Marley Equator system is a pex based pipe whereas Osma Gold is polybute. Just like Hep 2o. And wow! That Equator web site is pretty impressive. Seems very cheap too." | ||||
| The US site www.warmair.com contains a great deal of information on various systems. | ||||
| For information about Isokern - the safety chimney and their "Manor firechests" see the website, or email Frank Duffy. Another useful source of information about fireplaces, chimneys and so on - recommended by Frank - is the Solid Fuel Association (tel 0800 600 000). | ||||
| The details for Dominique Imbert's focus woodburners are available from http://www.focus-creation.com (email info@focus-creation.com). An english brochure is available from their distributor Diligence c/o M Peter Beresford, Highbank House, Up Somborne - Stockbridge, Hampshire SO20 6QZ. This info was current as of 11/97. A word of warning - the UK prices may be higher than buying direct from Atelier Dominique Imbert in France (by up to 40%), so it's worth boning up on a little French and buying a ferry ticket! | ||||
| From the Home Front web support site: Beachscape Gas Fire - Platonic Fireplace Company Tel/Fax: 020 8891 5904; CVO Fire Tel: 020 7580 5333; B&D Design 020 7289 0545. | ||||
| For information on fireplaces and chimneys, you can call the British Flue and Chimney Manufacturers Association on 01628 531186. They produce a leaflet called "Choosing and using Flues and Chimney for domestic solid fuel and wood burning appliances - all about building fireplaces." The National Fireplace Association - 0121 200 2100 - have a list of publications , ie leaflets that they charge £2.95 each for about various aspects of designing and building fireplaces. | ||||
| Trane, a large air-con/warm-air manufacturer. They have 3 dealer outlets in the UK, and residential and commercial divisions. | ||||
| An FAQ about warm air heating and air conditioning (in the USA warm-air units are referred to as furnaces) at: http://216.46.232.99/residential/library/faqs.asp. | ||||
| Also here is the web site of Lennox. Some very useful info on ventilation, how HVAC works etc. http://www.lennox.com. | ||||
| Ventilation companys:
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| Landis & Gyr heating controllers | ||||
| DCD heating controllers (there's an FAQ at the website). | ||||
| The Worcester Bosch web site at www.combi-boiler.co.uk | ||||
| Check out http://hearth.com/ for an American biased site with good general information on stoves and fires. See also http://www.france-turbo.com/eentree.htm for French stoves. |
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Blue sky stuff and home automation
| http://science.nasa.gov/faq/faqframe.htm NASA FAQ site. (Well, it has stuff on aerogels, an insulating material...) | ||
| Visit the Housing Innovation Knowledge Bank at www.rethinkinghousebuilding.org | ||
| Home automation sites include the UK Home Automation mailing lists, through 'Automated Home UK', UK home automation web site; Krazy Keith's World of DIY Home Automation; Blackfirs; www.mindspring.com/~dr_ed/automa/ha.htm; www.homeautomator.com/homevision.htm; and http://www.comfort.org.uk, http://hometoys.com/, http://members.home.net/ncherry/, http://www.smarthome.com, http://www.sky.com/home/GeneralIndex.html, www.letsautomate.com (which is UK based), and others available through a HA webring : http://homepages.ihug.co.nz/~rich/webring/. | ||
| The best guides for CAT5 wiring are at http://www.rwdata.co.uk/: follow link, choose Technical Support/Installation guide. | ||
| Signal Point The Ultimate Home Upgrade – Share broadband Internet access, Operate a computer from any TV in the house, Listen to the main Stereo in any room at any volume, See who is at the front door from any TV!: Signal Point The Ultimate Home Upgrade – Share broadband Internet access, Operate a computer from any TV in the house, Listen to the main Stereo in any room at any volume, See who is at the front door from any TV!: http://www.belkin.com/. | ||
| www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Bay/7206/ includes home automation - including a link to a home automation webring - but is actually a diary of a self builder in the states. | ||
| There's the UK Home Automation mailing lists, through 'Automated Home UK', and several other Home Automation link pages. | ||
| For more info have a look at the definitive home automation index run by Dan Hoehnen Dan Hoehnen's home automation site, which also covers links to cabling sites. (If the URL is wrong, try John Tankard's useful site for the correct link, or here.) | ||
| The Internet Home | ||
| http://www.residentialcabling.com/ | ||
| This site has excellent graphics and clear explanations about how to put cabling, inlcuding for home networks. They have a section specifically about combining voice & data in single cat5 run. | ||
| John Tankard (I think it was Dr John) also writes: "I don't know of one product which combines all the functions you are asking for but one product comes close, the basic unit is £350. It is really a alarm system with a lot of automation features, the company has added lots of accessories, and in Home Automation circles is highly rated: http://www.comfort.org.uk/. You could also consider two other products which are more expensive these are more general home automation products JDS's Stargate, a very nice product http://www.jdstechnologies.com/. And lastly (and my favourite) computer solutions HomeVision, this is a first rate product, but you need to have some computer experience, not really programming more macro writing experience to get the most out of it. http://www.csi3.com/homevis2.htm. However before taking the plunge, anyone thinking of using this stuff should spend some time in the home automation index... http://www.infinet.com/~dhoehnen/ha/list.html. In short dont buy anything without reading the last site, you need to decide on the medium first, in the states the vast majority is X10 (powerline)." Comfort may give a discount to H&R's self-build mailing list members, one of whose other members writes | ||
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Another writes:
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Peter M B English
Revised: September 17, 2004.