BIG MAC

Racking my brains I cant remember the material we got instead of PVA but it was brill its  a stabiliser for patch mortar repairs I think but did the trick. RE PVA it's not intended as a stick all or a coating to provide a smooth surface to substrates or a waterproofer (all common misconceptions) it's best used fairly well diluted as an agent to be absorbed by the substrate the idea being that it reduces suction from the substrate and allows the tile adhesive time to set up properly and form a bond.

We buy it in sieve sizes here...last lot I got was 15mm landbase (not seashore or river pebble)

silly thought but is there something that looks like a bank of batteries somewhere...could be a UPS (Uninteruptible Power Supply) discharged cells?

And the best bit? you will be able to take a knife to it and a scraper and tidy it up really easily if you so choose. My bet is with a kiddy involved they will quickly discover the joy of picking at it in a bubblewrapesque kind of fixation! (I find funny-foam as we call it hard to resist)

I have had my drawings done in Autocad with all descriptors and calcs translated. I intend to get a French Architect simply to adopt the design and produce a suite of drawings under their title block.....money for old rope...still costly though..it's to do with their PI insurance apparently. Nothing to stop you giving them existing elevations and floors etc. I like the two tranche idea...

Cack  adj. Profoundly lacking in aesthetic merit. Or summat....;)  

I work in the construction Industry and recently recieved a technical bulletin relating to aerosols of expanding foam. Apparently a chap was killed recently by a can exploding and the base of the can hitting him on the chest with such force that it stopped his heart! Has anyone thought of using foam strip with an adhesive backing to form a gasket between shed and tiles? neater, quicker, easier and as effective.

Cheers JR, Any ideas on how to put a JB in an accessible location without it looking cack?

I am converting  a Cave and was intending to use studded delta membrane on walls then cast slab up to the back of the vertical dpm so allowing condensation from the wall to migrate to ground, prior to tanking slab insulating and screeding. Question is it ok to run gaine between the montants and rails forming the stud walls to conceal wiring dropping from the ceiling void (these cables will likewise be tubed) do I need access elbows at wall ceiling junctions?

You could route soil through wall after slab is in You could bring soil up under where slope of bath will be then make connection and box in (Not sure if Normes require a Durgo type air admittance valve) If you fancy being flash and space not a problem how about setting the bog at a 45 degree andgle to the room with a false wall behind and soil riser within? creates a nice shelf for plants etc and easily removable as a rodding access very flexible re alignment as you can make up the connections then tile. Service valves etc can also be in the boxing

 Brick corbel Dog-tooth bond (Variation on dentilated bond)

http://www.victorianvilla.com/sims-mitchell/local/craft/ph/02/09-image.jpg   Is it a brick corbel you refer to perhaps as per the link above?

Lassay les Chateaux for a wee coffee then beetle down toward Sarthe on the bendys Is  a nice little run

You can tile over them providing they are soundly fixed. Clean the floor with sugar soap and use a polymer modified adhesive. Remove any unsound ones and skim the void with rapid setting cement or tile adhesive. Or scrape off the loose, laytex screed then lay new. Pretty much standard practice in shops, hospitals and schools.

http://www.leroymerlin.fr/ Hi either click on the link or paste the above into your web browser and you will see some but looks like E1300 for trad acrylics cheaper

Secondaires E672 per metre! I hope not or I am looking for E6,720 which is ludicrous. I am maintaining housing stock which otherwise would have been ruin. Paying all my local taxation and utilities, TAV on just about every thing and putting work into the local economy.

toilet cisterns can crack due to ice but its very rare, the toilet bowl due to its shape allows the freezing water to rise and expand usually without grief.

Hi Rose, I note you are tight for headroom? Have you considered battening the sides of the chamber joists and isulating placo between them for the trad look. Or insulation between and just a single layer of placoacross the faces to minimise intrusion? Either way of installing UF heating you will need to consider heat loss going the other way down through the existing slab. Also damp being pulled through it by capiliary action (Heat atttracts dampness bit like water climbing paper if touched against it)  perhaps baseboard heating may be an option in your tight headroom areas.

Errr oks then so every chance that its simply a fuseable link in a fusebox that stands between you and a tickle. Presumably a radial circuit so effectively a hefty load on the end of an extension lead fused at source....should be fine.   To the other respondent I agree the random earthing in our place is a concern. Its taken us a while to sort out what we want and where we are putting it so we have held off doing much for the moment. Now that we know where wallsand ceilings are going we can start to carcasse out the new and get all the gaine in position. We will be using all new from the Incoming supply and will have most of it in situ wired into a ten way MCB Board with RCD protection for power plus a 6 way for lighting and fire detection. Its now down to trying to get a French sparks who is prepared to do the terminations and testing down so that we are ok on the Insurance front...I hope. For those sparkists out there having a chuckle, its easy seen I am a plumber and too many years away from me toolbag....

I stand corrected. However, the appliance is not fused save for the disconjuncteur? (Pardon the spelling) presumably? Going by my place an earth leakage device is an alien concept. therefore its down to (In our case) best route to earth. which may well be a non double insulated solid billet of steel or the person touching it. It amazez me that if I leave our electrics alone, we are insured. If I start rewiring we are not. Likely we will carcasse out then get a French artisan to do the terminations and tests, but unsure if they would still then caveat with a comment along the lines of "I didnt do that bit" I digress, Sockets in our place are not earthed. except for the cooker supply

couple of things to consider. some old type tiles contained bonded asbestos. you can use a floor lifter which will make short work of them however if the intention is to retile I would simply remove the loose material then use a lightweight laytex screed prior to retiling.

Aha another playmate...Go on do it...CBF Thous nice comfy bikes

Why not use bonded cement fibre sheet rather than placo? Not sure if aqua panel would be suitable but theres bound to be a French equivalent

Moot point 16a plug top is usually fused at 13a or 5a   Ernie you are drawing about 1kw with your grill which being an elderly UK appliance may not even be double insulated through effectively a two pin plug...good luck..sure you will be fine.

Seasons Greetings to you all.....Of course you're talking KH two stroke triples when you are talking about sweet sounds....aren't you?