RMweb Gold Harlequin Posted February 23, 2018 RMweb Gold Share Posted February 23, 2018 (edited) Some domestic DIY grade LED tapes can be disappointing in their light levels and the (lack of) density of light sources. Best to get architectural grade LED tapes, if it's not too late... Edited February 23, 2018 by Harlequin Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
73c Posted February 23, 2018 Share Posted February 23, 2018 Agree, glad I don't use them, some are really poor light levels. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold teaky Posted February 23, 2018 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted February 23, 2018 Some domestic DIY grade LED tapes can be disappointing in their light levels and the (lack of) density of light sources. Best to get architectural grade LED tapes, if it's not too late... Agree, glad I don't use them, some are really poor light levels. Thanks for the warning chaps but fear not, it's a proper professional jobbie. As an experiment I bought a shorter one to replace a set of duff "DIY" LED fittings under a run of kitchen units which suffered from the common fault of fading to a lower level of light output after only a few years. I was pleased with the quality of the new fitting and the light emitted so I went ahead and bought a much longer one for the loft. I also intend, as far as I am able, to fit the lighting in a way that facilitates replacement. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold teaky Posted February 23, 2018 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted February 23, 2018 Great minds... :-) Ah, one of my favourite misquotations. Apparently it should be "Great minds rarely think alike, fools seldom differ." Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold teaky Posted March 3, 2018 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted March 3, 2018 The latest thrilling installment: windows trimmed. Apologies for the low light levels. The windows are covered in snow. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
manna Posted March 3, 2018 Share Posted March 3, 2018 G'Day Folks Any leaks, melting snow is perfect for checking. manna Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
grob1234 Posted March 4, 2018 Share Posted March 4, 2018 Is there much snow? Nicely trimmed windows though. I do like a nicely trimmed window... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold teaky Posted March 4, 2018 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted March 4, 2018 G'Day Folks Any leaks, melting snow is perfect for checking. manna Nothing so far. The windows have been in a few months now and prior to this week's snow we've had plenty of rain too. I bought the window manufacturer's flashing kits which help to give a tidy seal between the window and roof tiles. So far, so good. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold teaky Posted March 4, 2018 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted March 4, 2018 Is there much snow? Nicely trimmed windows though. I do like a nicely trimmed window... We've not had much snow here. There was 20cm on the lawn yesterday morning but that's about it. It is raining as I type this, so I'm expecting much of the snow to be gone today. When I took the photos the windows had about 5cm of snow on them which I am viewing as a good thing since it indicates they are keeping the heat in as they should. There is a huge mound of snow over a metre high across from where I am sitting which could well take the rest of the week to melt. Our neighbour seems to have some kind of fetish for shovelling snow whereas I just leave most of it unless it is turning into ice. Our road is a bit of a hill but I've only seen one LWB delivery van get stuck and there is a line of rear wheel drive BMWs parked around the corner who cannot get up the hill (they only grit the larger roads around here these days). I confess that I have managed to avoid driving for the last few days anyway and been to the shops on foot in walking gear and rucksack without any problems. Thanks for the comment about the windows. It's surprising what a bit of plasterboard, filler and angle bead can hide. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Podhunter Posted March 4, 2018 Share Posted March 4, 2018 Best to get architectural grade LED tapes, if it's not too late... Please elaborate: what determines whether a LED tape is 'architectural grade' and where does one obtain them? Thanks! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold teaky Posted March 4, 2018 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted March 4, 2018 (edited) Hopefully, Harlequin will be along to help with a definition in due course. I am unable to provide one. My approach was to order a shorter LED strip for use in the kitchen. I was satisfied with the quality of the strip and with the service provided, so I ordered the longer length I required for the loft. I ordered via eBay but this is the company: https://www.brightlightz.co.uk/220v-led-strip-light-uk-plug-cool-white-1-metre-100-metre-lengths Purchase of the longer strip coincided with a one day 20% off offer on eBay, so it was the way to go on that occasion. If you are prepared to wait longer for delivery and perhaps take a risk on the level of service should there be any problems I think I have seen the same strips for sale direct from Hong Kong via eBay. This didn't suit my needs on this occasion and I was very happy with the service provided by Brighlightz and would buy from them again. Edited March 4, 2018 by teaky Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Harlequin Posted March 4, 2018 RMweb Gold Share Posted March 4, 2018 (edited) Please elaborate: what determines whether a LED tape is 'architectural grade' and where does one obtain them? Thanks! Hopefully, Harlequin will be along to help with a definition in due course. I am unable to provide one. My approach was to order a shorter LED strip for use in the kitchen. I was satisfied with the quality of the strip and with the service provided, so I ordered the longer length I required for the loft. I ordered via eBay but this is the company: https://www.brightlightz.co.uk/220v-led-strip-light-uk-plug-cool-white-1-metre-100-metre-lengths Purchase of the longer strip coincided with a one day 20% off offer on eBay, so it was the way to go on that occasion. If you are prepared to wait longer for delivery and perhaps take a risk on the level of service should there be any problems I think I have seen the same strips for sale direct from Hong Kong via eBay. This didn't suit my needs on this occasion and I was very happy with the service provided by Brighlightz and would buy from them again. I was kind of hoping one of the Pro Electricians would turn up and answer this question! Architect grade LED tape is advertised as reliable, efficient, having a long service lifetime, LED chips are equally spaced (so gives even light) and it achieves a specified light output (in lumens per metre). It is allegedly higher quality than tapes which are manufactured to hit a price point. If you search for "Architect grade LED tape" you'll find lots of suppliers. I used these people: https://www.instyleled.co.uk (no connection, just a satisfied customer). ("Architect grade" is a bit of a woolly concept in general but it means a product that an Architect would be happy to specify, knowing that it is not going to cause problems which would reflect badly on him/her.) Edited March 4, 2018 by Harlequin Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold teaky Posted March 6, 2018 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted March 6, 2018 You probably weren't wondering but I'm going to tell you anyway. I completed the first fix electrics for the main part of the room today so rather than a few rough holes there are a series of dry-wall boxes with cables tucked into them. All the cable ends are temporarily protected using connection blocks and insulation tape. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
73c Posted March 6, 2018 Share Posted March 6, 2018 Can I ask why you've protected the ends of the cable's in this way. Usually just coil them up and tuck them inside the box. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold teaky Posted March 7, 2018 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted March 7, 2018 Can I ask why you've protected the ends of the cable's in this way. Usually just coil them up and tuck them inside the box. You're correct. That does appear to be the way things are generally done. I accept it is a little OTT but I have one socket on the circuit which I am using occasionally to power the vacuum cleaner and re-charge drill batteries so it seemed safer this way. Plus the ends of the cables would have needed stripping anyway when it came to fitting the sockets themselves. The connection blocks I either already had and/or will be re-used on something else, and the only waste is a little insulation tape. If I was doing all this on a commercial basis where time is money then I would have a different approach to several of the things I have done and to the number of hours each day I spend working on the loft. There's also the amateur factor. Some tasks are either new to me or more substantial than I have tackled before, or are things which would ordinarily be done by more than one person at a time. I have found that doing a little thinking before or during a task is beneficial. A professional would probably have done things before and just know what to do or be working with someone who could guide them. In addition, based on what I have seen go into skips in the past, there is a lot more waste when professionals are involved. This is understandable when over ordering a few materials is cheaper than the time required to use them more efficiently, but my time is free so I can avoid waste which pleases me from a financial and environmental angle. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold chris p bacon Posted March 7, 2018 RMweb Gold Share Posted March 7, 2018 A professional would probably have done things before and just know what to do or be working with someone who could guide them. I know of some plumbers who can easily disprove that.... In addition, based on what I have seen go into skips in the past, there is a lot more waste when professionals are involved. This is understandable when over ordering a few materials is cheaper than the time required to use them more efficiently, but my time is free so I can avoid waste which pleases me from a financial and environmental angle. Waste is a huge bugbear of mine. I was asked where my skip was once, I said if it goes in a skip it doesn't come on site. I tend to have 2-3 dump bags that are formed into a coral, cardboard and plastic are separated and any food waste the men have goes back home with them not thrown about (apple cores apart as they're thrown for blackbirds) Having a discussion with another builder that does some subcontract work for me as well as building his own houses and flats, his approach is speed and so tends to overorder and use bulk purchase and he always has skips of materials left over at the end. Sitting in his office we calculated that he has to build 1.6 houses for every one I build to make the same monies. Mine do take longer though which suits me but wouldn't him. 7 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Stubby47 Posted March 7, 2018 RMweb Gold Share Posted March 7, 2018 Does he manage to build his 1.6 houses quicker than you build your 1.0 house ? 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold teaky Posted March 7, 2018 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted March 7, 2018 I know of some plumbers who can easily disprove that.... Waste is a huge bugbear of mine. I was asked where my skip was once, I said if it goes in a skip it doesn't come on site. I tend to have 2-3 dump bags that are formed into a coral, cardboard and plastic are separated and any food waste the men have goes back home with them not thrown about (apple cores apart as they're thrown for blackbirds) Having a discussion with another builder that does some subcontract work for me as well as building his own houses and flats, his approach is speed and so tends to overorder and use bulk purchase and he always has skips of materials left over at the end. Sitting in his office we calculated that he has to build 1.6 houses for every one I build to make the same monies. Mine do take longer though which suits me but wouldn't him. I'm impressed Dave. You appear to have the same attitude as I do but it's easier for me to apply it in a non-commercial situation where everything is completely under my control. When I had the builders here for the early 'heavy lift' stage they weren't too bad but they did seem to have a wasteful attitude to timber in particular. Not that much actually stayed in the skip mind you due to my top notch skip diving skills. I have a good stock of treated battens, and some flooring joists and rafters which I am gradually using up. To be fair, the skip was hired from a local recycling company who have a facility a few miles from here where the skip contents get sorted into similar categories to the local recycling tip. Thus far the only waste that has gone to landfill that I am aware of are the off cuts and trimmings of PIR insulation, some polyethylene wrapping and dust, lots of dust! 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold chris p bacon Posted March 7, 2018 RMweb Gold Share Posted March 7, 2018 Does he manage to build his 1.6 houses quicker than you build your 1.0 house ? He does, and he fills an awful lot of diminishing landfill doing so. His margins are lower, and for a small builder he has a £20,000 a week payroll so speed is everything to him. I'd rather build slower and cheaper, I also don't get 'snagging' as poor workmanship and defects generally come with speed. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold chris p bacon Posted March 7, 2018 RMweb Gold Share Posted March 7, 2018 To be fair, the skip was hired from a local recycling company who have a facility a few miles from here where the skip contents get sorted into similar categories to the local recycling tip. At £250 a ton I take as little general waste as possible to the recyclers, recyclable such as timber/inert waste is 'only' £50 a ton. While building I have everything sorted into piles timber/plasterboard/bricks etc so that you can easily see what you've got and don't overorder. Thus far the only waste that has gone to landfill that I am aware of are the off cuts and trimmings of PIR insulation. I use 99% of it, and whatever is left is bagged and goes to various individuals for scenery. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold teaky Posted March 7, 2018 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted March 7, 2018 At £250 a ton I take as little general waste as possible to the recyclers, recyclable such as timber/inert waste is 'only' £50 a ton. While building I have everything sorted into piles timber/plasterboard/bricks etc so that you can easily see what you've got and don't overorder. I use 99% of it, and whatever is left is bagged and goes to various individuals for scenery. I figured that the excess battens were a result of not knowing what condition the roof was in under the tiles, the one extra rafter a precaution and the additional two joists a miscalculation perhaps. The timber was all too long for the builders' vans to collect an extra length of, so I can understand the desire to avoid additional delivery charges. When I say trimmings of PIR, I really do mean trimmings. They would actually have been quite fiddly to use for scenery e.g. a 2.4m length of roughly 50mm square PIR was one of the larger pieces. Most of it was much smaller and/or thinner. I was able to use up quite a lot of pieces when filling in the sides of the steel beams by squaring it off, pushing it into place, plugging any small gaps and putting a neat cover piece over the inside. This was one of the handy features of using thicknesses that multiplied up, i.e. 25mm, 50mm and 100mm. If I calculated that I needed, say, 7.5 sheets of 100m for an area, I ordered 7 sheets of 100mm plus one sheet of 50mm. I think I ended up with about a third of a sheet of 100mm and a quarter of a sheet of 25mm. Both of these will be used in the front eaves area so whilst they are surplus they won't be wasted. Scenery will be wire mesh because I definitely over ordered on that! A key challenge I have is storage of materials and this has required careful thought throughout each stage of the build plus some inefficient double handling of materials to ensure nothing sat outside in the rain. I also had to compromise, from an environmental viewpoint, and have the insulation in three (free) deliveries. It also meant that the day a delivery was due was largely written off since it was delivery plus move into storage and, in the case of the PIR, partially cut to size in order to be able to fit it through the entrance. Not much I'd do differently though. Just part of the planning. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold teaky Posted March 7, 2018 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted March 7, 2018 At £250 a ton I take as little general waste as possible to the recyclers, recyclable such as timber/inert waste is 'only' £50 a ton. Not sure how this compares to around here. The skip was £144 including VAT. It was nowhere near full and even had plenty of room for the large branch the skip driver 'pruned' from the tree next to our drive. Any other stuff like off cuts of timber and bags of dust I have taken to the tip myself en-route to the DIY shed or builders merchants. The two sacks of PIR off cuts and sweepings were taken by the bin men as part of our normal collection. They're usually OK with that kind of thing, especially since our (refuse) wheelie bin could last for months before it actually needs emptying. (I've calculated that we produce only 25L of waste every 2 weeks.) Even the sacks I used arrived as packaging padding for a parcel. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium TheQ Posted March 7, 2018 RMweb Premium Share Posted March 7, 2018 (edited) I know I when I was a maintenance man for Tescos, we had two extensions done, one after the other. I recovered, the following that I was told to skip... 6 tons of Bricks and slabs. Some of the slabs are under the Model railway Shed 4 6ft wide rolls of fibre glass insulation, unopened, left in the insulated Loft. Now insulating the Model railway shed roof, Three part rolls of 3 phase and earth armoured cable, total length over 100 yards. Quite heavy current ratings too.. Now power to the model railway shed with lots still left... A box and a half of Intumescent sealant.. Other stuff that would have gone in skips, during various upgrades, 12 4ft flourescent tubes and fittings, now lighting the model railway shed. Various part drums of various types and ratings of mains cable, now powering some of the model railway shed, Some lengths of Angle Aluminium. Various aluminium shelves and supports, from canteens and Butchery areas. Numerous short extension cables. When they supplied a complete new charging station for .com delivery systems, instead of the bodged together system on shelves, which extended the... 5ft long multisocketed unit with RCD and it's own lead from their original charging station, now awaiting installation on my electronics / locomotive repair bench. One section of an aluminum extention ladder that they never came back for, despite being told, now handy for getting up to clear the leaves off the Model railway shed roof... And.... A big (10 or 12 ft) plastic, Christmas tree issued every year. The old one would be kept for a year in case the new one failed to turn up. When it did turn up, I had to dispose of the old one, So I got them, most went to various charity / social groups. Though I've still kept one for myself in the loft. Oh even for DIY waste they will from April charge quite considerably at our local tips, £3 to £15 pounds a bag depending on contents!! Since they claim my landrover is commercial and want paying anyway I don't use them...timber off cuts get burnt in the stove, the rest gets broken up for the bin or buried under a BIG patio still under construction.. Edited March 7, 2018 by TheQ 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold chris p bacon Posted March 7, 2018 RMweb Gold Share Posted March 7, 2018 When I say trimmings of PIR, I really do mean trimmings. . a 2.4m length of roughly 50mm square PIR was one of the larger pieces. I class that as a full sheet Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
manna Posted March 7, 2018 Share Posted March 7, 2018 G'Day Gents About 30 years ago, the motor in our Nissan broke, so we fitted a new one, the old one was to heavy to take to the dump, so it got buried under the new paving slabs that were just going down, as far as I know it's still there, the archaeologists in the future are going to have some fun. manna 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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