Monthly archives: January 2018

8 posts

Playing with plaster

The BEACON project is supported by the European Regional Development Fund, through the Welsh Government, and the primary aim is to undertake company-relevant innovation and R&D in relation to biorefining and the low carbon economy. One of our interests is in plants as building products. This week, together with Neighbourhood Construction, we have been working on creating samples of breathable plasters containing plant materials, in order to investigate their thermal properties and their capacity to buffer moisture. 

Evening talk and social

Evening talk and social – a series of short talks from practitioners that would like to share their stories. The evening will be interspersed with conversation and the opportunity to meet others undertaking successful home improvements.
The Portcullis has good pub food, we’ll be convening upstairs from 6 pm, presentations will be 7 – 9 pm and there will be plenty of time for conversation afterwards – Join us.

76-year-old non-scientific woman gathered the following

One of the things I have been impressed with is the idea of the partnership between ‘customer’ and ‘provider’ of work. The ethos of the Co-operative is to encourage the owners to join in and experiment for themselves. This can cut down cost and spread the knowledge around.

Don’t beware the temporary measure

The evidence-led approach provides a clear understanding of why, how, what and where the house is reacting in this way. Looking at things in context, the short, medium and long term also, makes you think about future ownership of this house and how I could make a more positive contribution as part of its history.

Moving on… or fixer up’er

For the past thirteen years, I have lived in fear of selling my house and “downsizing”. Down deep is the fear that a prospective buyer will discover just how many faults this huge Georgian house has. The Neighbourhood Construction home tutorial showed me that these fears are totally unfounded.

Cold damp and rather miserable – Victorian house

We spent the best part of a day looking at my project in my house. It was one of those moments when all of those question marks, all of those suspicions about what I could do, or should do with the property were crossed off my list. Decisions that I had put off for three years were made that day.

What is third fix carpentry?

Most of the work I do revolves around fixing doors and windows. Draught proofing them is often what people come to me for but the door or window in question is often malfunctioning. It usually has some form of wear or damage that is stopping it from performing it’s primary function thus creating the draughts in the first place.