How-To & DIY
151 sources in the library on how-to & diy. Each one says what the document covers and what it is good for. Name a source to see which document it is and where to read it. One at a time. Page 3 of 4.
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Energy Saving Trust
Water use figures for a UK home. Ofwat puts average personal use at around 150 litres a day. A UK Government report puts hot water at around 18% of a household's heat demand. Swapping an inefficient shower head for a water efficient one saves a typical home £65 a year in Great Britain and £25 in Northern Ireland across combined heating and water bills. Consumer Council for Water figures put a running tap at around nine litres a minute, and it takes just 95 seconds of a typical running tap to use as much water as filling a washing up bowl. A dripping tap wastes thousands of litres a year, so washers should be changed promptly. Last updated 19 June 2026.
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Energy Saving Trust
A costed micro measure. Radiator foil panels cost around £25 for a roll from a DIY store, cut to size to fit snugly behind the radiator. Fitted to radiators on uninsulated external walls they save £18 a year in Great Britain or £20 in Northern Ireland, and cut carbon by 60kg a year in GB or 110kg in NI. Last updated 31 October 2025.
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HomeOwners Alliance
Identification and cost of the three damp types. Rising damp is recognised by a tide mark typically up to 1m above floor level, sometimes higher, with salt deposits in the plaster from groundwater. A damp proof course in a newer house sits about 15cm above external ground level and links to a damp proof membrane under the floor; many older houses have neither. Costs: a standalone damp survey £200 to £600 depending on property size and depth of investigation, best taken from a Property Care Association approved specialist; a good extractor fan for a condensation problem from £500; a remedial damp proof course with associated replastering to a flat 5m wall from £1,200. Advises at least 3 quotes. Condensation reduction tips include running cold water into the bath before hot, which cuts up to 90% of the steam.
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HomeOwners Alliance
Costed flood resilience measures for a house. Air brick covers £50 to £300, to be removed once flooding passes so the bricks can dry. Non return valves on drains and pipes to stop sewage backflow £50 to £500. Raising electrical sockets to about 1.5m £1,000 to £4,000. Raising door thresholds above flood level, front door and porch, £1,000 to £10,000. Sealing exterior walls around £500, with a warning it can trap damp in poor condition brickwork. Water resistant air bricks £500 to £1,000, needing careful maintenance to avoid seepage. Flood boards or flood resistant doors and windows £500 to £3,000, requiring permanently visible fixings. A pump, the most effective answer to groundwater, £50 to £2,500, with the inlet installed lower than the water being pumped. Basement tanking £10,000 to £20,000. On insurance, Flood Re is funded by a levy all UK home insurers must pay, and a home qualifies only if it was built before 2009 and is in council tax bands A to H.
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Leeds Beckett University, Leeds Sustainability Institute
Review of measured in-use indoor air quality in more than 600 Passive House or PH-like newly built or retrofitted dwellings (Rojas, Fletcher, Johnston and Siddall, Energy and Buildings 306, 2024). Findings: pollutant and CO2 concentrations are generally lower than in naturally ventilated homes, attributed to the required balanced MVHR system, and the quality assurance of PH certification measurably improves ventilation and IAQ performance. The paper adopts CO2 up to 1400 ppm as the indicator of acceptable ventilation from a health perspective, assuming low-emitting materials, and notes typical steady-state figures of 1350 to 1800 ppm for standard occupancy assumptions. Numbers a specifier can use: PH ventilation criteria require MVHR heat recovery efficiency above 75 per cent, specific fan power including controls below 0.45 Wh/m3, supply and extract air flows balanced to within 10 per cent, and internal leakage of the MVHR unit limited to under 3 per cent. Filter grade moved to ePM1(50 per cent) or better in November 2018. The named weakness of the standard is the lack of a cooking fume capture requirement, combined with efforts to avoid the energy losses of extraction.
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Leeds Beckett University, Leeds Sustainability Institute
The method statement for the coheating test, which is how whole-house heat loss is actually measured rather than modelled. The dwelling is left unoccupied and heated electrically by portable point heaters to a mean elevated internal temperature, typically 25 C, held over a number of days, with data collected 24 hours a day; a test typically runs for 1 to 4 weeks once the dwelling is heat saturated. Daily heat input in Watts is plotted against the temperature difference between inside and outside, and the slope of that plot gives the raw uncorrected heat loss coefficient in W/K, which combines fabric heat loss and background ventilation loss. It is a quasi-steady state aggregate method, one of only a few capable of measuring whole dwelling heat loss in situ (the alternative named is the PSTAR method), and it has existed since the 1970s. Practical cautions given: solar radiation absorbed one day may not be re-emitted until the next, and in a very airtight dwelling the ventilation rate can be so low that it takes 2 to 3 days for all the air in the dwelling to be exchanged.
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London Fire Brigade
Where to put detection in a home and which type. Smoke alarms go in every room where a fire may start, not just the hall and landing, but never in a kitchen or anywhere with excess smoke or steam; a heat alarm, which triggers on a rapid rise in temperature, goes in the kitchen instead and is not set off by cooking fumes. States around 60% of home fires start in the kitchen. Recommends alarms with a 10 year or long lasting sealed battery, and interlinking battery or mains alarms so that one detection sounds them all, which matters most where someone's escape may be delayed. Mains powered alarms must be installed by a qualified electrician. Domestic fire suppression such as sprinklers is raised as an option where quick escape is unlikely. LFB offers a free Home Fire Safety Visit and will fit free smoke alarms where existing ones are inadequate.
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National Grid Electricity Distribution
Contains the rules on where a meter may sit and two fully worked cost examples. Permissible meter locations: in an external meter box (recommended), inside the property on an external wall, or in a suitable weatherproof meter cubicle; the cubicle detail is 1.5m high by 0.6m wide by 0.45m deep, and the internal-wall position allows 1,250mm by 550mm. Meters must not be located inside a dustbin, coal or refuse store, above doorways, in a bathroom, toilet or shower room, in a basement or cellar, under stairs where headroom is less than 2m, on plasterboard or drywall partition walls, close to a water source that could damage the equipment or cause an electrocution risk, or anywhere in breach of BS 7671. A surface mounted meter box protrudes 230mm from the wall, so check it will not obstruct or be damaged; a flush fit box is best built into new brickwork. Once the works are complete the meter box and cable guard become the customer's property to maintain. Worked example 1, overhead supply: overhead re-connection £1,091 plus £182 plus £91, no trench, total £1,364. Worked example 2, underground supply, customer excavation: underground re-connection £980 plus 10m of cable at £26/m (£260), total £1,240; the same job with NGED excavation: underground re-connection £2,437 plus £260 of cable plus 5m grass trench at £83/m (£415) plus 5m tarmac trench at £169/m (£845), total £3,957. A joint hole is needed to expose the existing cable, with at least 200mm of excavated ground below the cable, and warning tape is laid 75mm above the cable depth. Preparatory work such as installing the meter box must be finished before the visit or the job may be cancelled and an aborted visit charged. Bespoke offers are needed to move a three phase supply, to replace an overhead cable with an underground one, for routes crossing third party land, and for routes needing traffic lights or road closures.
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NIE Networks
The meter board is the wooden (sometimes other material) board carrying the electricity meter and main fuse, mounted on a wall or inside an outdoor meter box; the meter cubicle is the outdoor box that protects the equipment. A board that is old, worn, damp, rotten or vandalised must be replaced by the homeowner's own electrician, who removes and re-attaches the electrical equipment and fits a new board, while NIE Networks temporarily removes and re-attaches the meter and its own equipment, quoted through a connection application for an alteration. Critical warning repeated twice: under no circumstances may an electrician or electrical contractor remove NIE seals or equipment to do this work, as it is illegal. Replacement meter box doors and keys can be bought from most builders merchants, electrical wholesalers or online. If NIE Networks finds a defect such as a damaged or missing door or a wet or damp backboard it writes to the customer requiring repair. A meter that has come loose from the backboard should be reported immediately on 03457 643 643 as it may be a dangerous situation.
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NIE Networks
Splits an electricity alteration in Northern Ireland into jobs NIE Networks does and jobs the customer's own electrician must do. NIE Networks moves poles, stays, mini-pillar cabinets, manhole chambers, and underground or overhead cables, and relocates the meter itself. The customer or their electrician must install the new cubicle, the backboard, the incoming hockey stick duct, and the meter tails into the premises. NIE Networks will not replace a meter backboard or a meter box (cubicle): the electrician does that, and NIE Networks temporarily turns off the power to allow it, which is built into the design so a separate temporary disconnection application is not needed. Process: apply online with a registered account, then a quotation pack sets out costs and responsibilities, and the customer has 90 days to accept, sign the offer documents and pay. Customer-side preparation such as trench excavation or installing the new meter box must be finished first, and if the site is not ready the start date is delayed.
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Northern Gas Networks
The three reconnection options after a meter move, which decide whether you also need to book your own Gas Safe engineer. Full reconnection: NGN disconnects the meter, moves it and reconnects internal pipework and appliances, available only where no more than 2 metres of internal (copper outlet) pipework is required, and a representative may visit first to confirm. Partial reconnection: NGN moves the meter but does not reconnect internal pipework, which applies where more than 2 metres of internal pipework is needed, and the customer must arrange a Gas Safe registered engineer. No reconnection: NGN moves neither meter nor connections, which applies when changing to or from a semi-concealed meter box or when the customer is arranging reconnection separately; in that case an Ofgem Approved Meter Installer (OAMI) is needed to reconnect the meter to the service pipe. Customers can opt to do their own excavations or install the meter boxes, but that must be done before the planned start date. Connections Team 0800 040 7766 option 2. Annual gas load is calculated as hourly gas load x usage hours per day x usage days per week x usage weeks per year.
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Northern Gas Networks
The information the application form actually demands, which is what delays most gas alterations. The applicant must give the distance in metres between the existing and proposed positions, always rounded up to the nearest metre, and an annual gas load estimate calculated as hourly load times hours used per week times number of weeks in the year. The reconnection choice must be made on the form: full reconnection where no more than 2 metres of internal pipework is needed, with NGN disconnecting, moving and reconnecting the meter, pipework and appliances, subject to a possible site visit to confirm; partial reconnection where more than 2 metres of internal pipework is needed, with the customer arranging a Gas Safe registered engineer to reconnect; or no reconnection, which applies when changing to or from a semi-concealed meter box or when arranging reconnection separately, in which case an Ofgem-Approved Meter Installer must be engaged to reconnect the meter to the service pipe and internal pipework, and the gas supplier contacted if the meter itself is changing.
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Northern Powergrid
Sets out exactly who owns what at the incoming supply, which is the single most misunderstood point in a rewire or extension. Northern Powergrid owns and is responsible for the service cable, the cut-out (service fuse unit) and the meter board; the energy supplier owns the meter, the timeswitch and the double-insulated cables between cut-out and meter; the homeowner owns the tails from meter to fusebox, the switchfuse and the consumer unit. Northern Powergrid will expose and cut the service cable, live joint it, reposition the cut-out, test and energise, and recover redundant equipment, but explicitly will not alter your wiring or move the meter, which must be arranged separately with the electricity supplier. The customer must install the outside meter cabinet, service duct, hockey stick and tile tape before the crew arrives. Technical requirements: ducts to ENATS 12-24, black and embossed 'Electric Cable Duct'; meter cabinets to ENATS 12-23; service ducts for 230V single conductors 38mm (125mm for three phase), smooth outer wall, uPVC or HDPE; 150mm wide tile tape laid 75mm above service ducting or 100mm above mains ducting to satisfy the Electricity Safety, Quality and Continuity Regulations 2002; duct laid so the top is 450mm (18 inches) below pathways and 600mm (24 inches) under driveways. Wrong ducting or missing tile tape means the crew will refuse to lay the cable and the connection is delayed. Freephone 0800 011 3332.
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Northern Powergrid
The split of duties when a supply has to move for an extension or a new kitchen wall. Northern Powergrid moves the service cable and the mains fuse; the electricity supplier moves the meter, and the customer must arrange for the supplier to attend on the day the network work is done; a qualified electrician must do any work on the customer's own internal wiring. Cost varies with the service required, the complexity of the work, and how and where the connection is made, and the company points customers to its published guide prices and timescales rather than quoting a flat rate.
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Northern Powergrid
Practical safety services a builder can actually book. Northern Powergrid installs shrouding on overhead lines where work will take place close to them, and offers a fast-track service for a fee under which the shrouding is completed within two working days, which matters when scaffolding or roof work is already programmed. Overgrown trees and plants near overhead lines are treated as a safety hazard and vegetation can be reported for trimming free of charge. The company also runs a live power cut map giving real-time restoration updates and a route to report a power cut.
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Openreach
The installation visit, useful when planning where sockets and services go in a refurbishment. A Full Fibre install usually takes around four hours. The engineer phones ahead, agrees a route for the fibre cable and where a hole will be drilled to bring it in, and may drill a couple of extra holes outside for ladder safety, which are then repaired. A permission to work form must be signed by the customer before any drilling or digging. The fibre is run from a nearby pole or from underground to a small junction box on an external wall, then a cable runs from that junction box to the Optical Network Terminal, a white wall-mounted box inside the property. The ONT and the router must be close together and near a double socket, which is the single planning decision a homeowner should make before first fix. More complex jobs may need a return visit. Anyone relying on the phone line for an intruder alarm, health pendant or wrist alarm should tell their service provider before the copper switchover.
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Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings
Dating and caring for historic floors. Medieval floorboards were predominantly oak, riven, axed or pit sawn, in widths up to 450mm or more and varying within a single floor, laid parallel to and rebated into the upper edges of heavy joists laid flat rather than on edge. Elm boards typically 300mm wide were common in the 17th century, softwood came into general use in the 18th century as carpeting spread, and tongued and grooved boards came later. Defects to worry about are structural failure from removing posts or partitions below, inadequately supported joists, and insect attack or rot in beam ends embedded in walls. Voids can open under solid floors from collapsed buried features or clay shrinkage leaving a gap of up to 50mm, with the slabs spanning as a beam until one fails. Gypsum plaster floors are a layer of gypsum binder with aggregates such as crushed brick, burnt wood and coal, typically 35 to 75mm thick, laid on water reed or straw over timber joists; cracks are raked out to a good key, edges dampened to control suction, and defective areas cut back to full depth. On cleaning, avoid household soaps, washing powders, alkaline cleaners, bleach and abrasives, using at most a little neutral pH soap.
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Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings
Douglas Kent's technical advice note on dampness in buildings predating about 1919. Key figures: relative humidity becomes detrimental at 70% or higher; rising damp usually extends only 10 to 50mm above internal floor level, though it can reach 900mm or more depending on external ground levels, masonry type, water table and evaporation rate; timber in a normal dry living environment sits at roughly 9 to 16% moisture content and becomes susceptible to fungal decay above 21%. States that most pre 1919 buildings were built without damp proof courses or damp proof membranes by design, that rising damp is usually far less of a problem than commonly supposed, and that inserted DPMs and chemical injection are frequently unnecessary treatments applied after misdiagnosis, where maintenance and occupancy changes plus respecting the building's need to breathe are the appropriate response. Also covers rainwater penetration, condensation on porous lime surfaces and hygroscopic salts, and notes listed building consent may be required.
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Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings
Philip Hughes' step by step method for patching rather than replacing old boards. Tools and materials specified include a hardened steel plate, a hammer, a 13mm (half inch) batten roughly 200mm (8 inches) longer than the opening to support the board while it is cut, and 25mm thick slats laid on battens beneath. Sets the judgement threshold that a board weakened by holes may still be sound, but wear approaching 5mm (a quarter inch) or more changes the assessment. Describes billiard cue jointing for splicing across the width of a board and the use of 25mm dimensions in the patch detail.
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Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings
Andrew Townsend and Martyn Clarke on repairing rather than replacing wood windows. Argues from durability: many replacement windows fitted in the last 30 years have already decayed beyond repair while original windows from the 18th century and earlier survive. Thousands of repairable wood windows are destroyed each year, degrading the character of old buildings. Covers window types, defects and deterioration, splice repairs, glass, preservatives, pointing and painting. Practical figures include glazing bars often around 50mm wide, bedding in lime mortar or mastic, a linseed oil putty bevel covering about 1mm of the glass, and a burnt sand and quicklime mix in a 1:3 ratio by weight, with haired lime mortar used for bedding.
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Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings
Philip Hughes on why modern impervious materials fail in old buildings. Old walls of brick or stone were bedded in lime and sand, sometimes earth or earth and lime mortars, rendered in lime and decorated almost exclusively with limewash, so the fabric absorbed and released moisture. Modern buildings instead rely on an impervious barrier. Sets the rule that pointing mortar should be a soft lime mix weaker than the surrounding brickwork, and shows the failure mode when it is not: strong cement pointing is forced off the wall, efflorescence and decay migrate into the brick faces instead of the joints, and cement render traps moisture and causes decay of earth and lime mortars behind. Cement render can sometimes be removed by working the surface over and taking it off in small pieces by forming hairline cracks, then making good with a lime mix. Paint should be replaced with limewash once existing impermeable coatings have broken down.
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Thames Water
The document checklist to assemble before applying, because an incomplete submission delays the application: a location plan; existing and proposed building and drainage plans; a sectional drawing showing the proposed foundations against the sewer. Additional items where they apply: proof of disability benefit to claim the fee discount, a piling method statement if using piled foundations, and structural calculations if using a raft. Thames Water notes the plans an architect prepares for building regulations are usually not the same as those needed here, and publishes example drawings to hand to the architect or structural engineer.
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Thames Water
Lead in water pipes has been banned since the 1970s, so a home built after 1970, or one fully re-piped since 1970, is unlikely to have lead. The mains themselves are not lead and there is virtually no lead in water leaving the treatment works; the risk is the supply pipe to the property or internal plumbing. Identification test for a homeowner: unpainted lead pipe is dull grey, joints are rounded and swollen where two pipes meet, a scratch reveals shiny silver metal, and tapping gives a dull thud rather than the clear ring of copper or iron. Look at the pipe feeding the internal stop valve, typically under the kitchen sink, behind kitchen units or in the understairs cupboard. Thames Water doses most of its water with a small amount of phosphate, which coats the pipe like limescale and lowers dissolved lead; it says that dose is around 500 times lower than the phosphate level in milk. Homeowners are warned not to disturb lead pipework because that raises lead content. Where samples show elevated lead the company will only replace its own communications pipe; the customer-side pipe is the owner's, though a lead replacement scheme is offered. Sampling line 0800 316 9800.
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Thames Water
The step-by-step clock and the inspection rules for a new water supply. Thames Water aims to issue a quote within 28 days of receiving the completed application form and fees; the quote covers only its work between the property boundary and the water main, with everything on private land the applicant's responsibility, and the charge is cost-recovery. Allow 5 working days for payment to be processed and another 5 working days for the company to process the pipework notification. Any plumber may lay the supply pipe, but Thames Water recommends a WaterSafe approved one, because if the plumber is not WaterSafe approved a water regulations inspection must be booked (0800 009 3921) and the company aims to visit within 7 working days. A chlorination procedure is required for pipes 63mm or over, which does not apply to a typical house, since a home usually needs 25mm or 32mm. For a genuinely new supply, billing account setup follows within 60 days. A 2026/27 online calculator gives a preliminary estimate, with the caveat it can take up to 28 days to receive a real quote.
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Thames Water
Applying for a water meter is free. Thames Water aims to fit the meter outside the property within 50 days of the request; if that is not possible it looks at fitting inside, so the internal stop valve must be accessible for the visit. Installation may be refused where there is limited space, unsuitable pipework, or the property is on a shared supply, all three of which are common in older terraces and converted flats and are worth checking before planning a bathroom or kitchen around a meter position. Eligibility extends to the bill payer and to tenants with a tenancy of six months or more. A metered bill combines measured water and wastewater volumes with fixed charges for providing the services.
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UCL (Institute for Environmental Design and Engineering)
A comparison table of insulation materials by thermal conductivity (lambda, W/mK) and vapour diffusion resistance factor (mu), the two numbers that decide whether an insulation suits a breathable old wall. Bio-based: high-density wood fibre board 0.038-0.050 lambda, mu 5-10; low-density wood fibre quilt 0.035-0.040, mu 1-2; cork 0.037-0.040, mu 5-10; sheep's wool 0.035-0.040, mu 1-2; hemp 0.040-0.045, mu 1-5; straw 0.045-0.050, mu 1-2. Insulating lime plasters: hydraulic 0.800-0.900, mu 10-15; non-hydraulic 0.700-0.800, mu 5-10. Mineral board: calcium silicate 0.050-0.060, mu 5-10. Foams: open cell spray foam 0.035-0.040, mu 3-5; EPS 0.030-0.040, mu 30-70; XPS 0.025-0.035, mu 80-200; closed cell spray foam 0.023-0.026, mu 30-60; PIR 0.023-0.025, mu 50-100; phenolic foam 0.020-0.025, mu 50-100. Others: mineral wool 0.030-0.045, mu 1-5; aerogel 0.013-0.018, mu 5-10. The paper's central caution is that vapour permeability, moisture storage and liquid transport are not directly linked, so labelling a material simply 'vapour permeable' or 'breathable' is not sufficient: mineral wool is vapour permeable but is neither moisture-storing nor capillary active, and permeability is a gradual scale rather than a binary.
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UK Power Networks
The six-step sequence for a domestic supply move, and the two things that hold jobs up. UK Power Networks calls back to discuss the project and may arrange a site survey; a surveyor visits and can meet the homeowner, builder or electrician; a detailed price follows the visit and full payment is required before the work is booked. Before the crew arrives the customer must have the trench ready if they chose to dig it themselves, and must have the meter box already installed in the position the meter is moving to. If UK Power Networks is doing the digging it may take a few days before the cable is moved. Critically, the electricity supplier must attend on the same day to refit the meter, otherwise the power cannot be restored, so that appointment has to be booked by the customer in parallel.
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United Utilities
The government banned lead in water pipes in 1970, so a property built after 1970 will not have lead pipework; anything built before 1970 may still have a lead supply pipe underground and lead pipe inside. The greatest health risk is stated as being to children under six and pregnant women. Mains are not lead and water leaving the treatment works contains virtually no lead; the lead is picked up in the customer's own pipework or in the connecting pipe. Identification checks at the internal stop tap, usually behind kitchen cupboards or in a downstairs toilet: unpainted lead pipe is a dull grey; there is often a swollen joint next to the tap; tapping with a metal object gives a dull thud where other metals ring clearly. Explicit correction of a common myth: boiling the water does not help and will not remove lead. Do not knock or disturb lead pipes, which raises lead levels. The permanent fix is an application to United Utilities' Lead Replacement Scheme, after which replacement is done by a WaterSafe approved plumber.
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University of Portsmouth
A year-long practical test of rising damp on walls built from different mortars, compared against theoretical models. Findings: mortar characteristics significantly affect the height to which damp rises, and the rate of water absorption into the mortar is the key factor determining the height of the rising damp front, with a strong correlation to the Sharp Front Model. A second measured result is useful for diagnosis: walls that had received rising damp treatment were warmer than the untreated control walls, because reducing surface moisture removes the evaporative cooling effect, which is why a damp wall reads cold to the touch and on a thermal camera. The paper reviews the controlling mechanisms of capillary effect, water absorption, evaporation and salt formation.
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Yorkshire Water
Who is allowed to do which part of a water or drainage connection, which decides whether the job can go to a general builder. Work that must be done by a competent contractor includes laying a water supply pipe inside the property boundary, and laying new or replacement sewers or making new sewer connections in either private or public land. Work that can go either way includes new water mains and connections serving a development, which can be done by Yorkshire Water directly or by an accredited self-lay provider subject to acceptance, with adoption agreements governed by Ofwat's Codes for Adoption and Yorkshire Water taking ownership of new assets in the public highway on completion. For a single property or a small development, given as fewer than six properties, Yorkshire Water connects to the existing main. No connection may be made to the public water or sewer network without approval, and where the work crosses third-party land the affected landowner's consent is needed first. The statutory routes are named: Section 45 for water connections to the public main, Section 62 for permanent disconnection, Section 106 for sewer connections and Section 115 for highway drainage connections. Water connections enquiries wbu.service.centre@yorkshirewater.co.uk, 8am to 5pm Monday to Friday.
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ARDEX UK
Manufacturer data for ARDITEX NA latex based levelling and smoothing compound. Coverage is approximately 5 m2 at 3mm thick per unit, so a 20 m2 room at 3mm needs about four units. Application thickness is 3mm to 6mm generally, extending to 3mm to 30mm over pitch adhesive residues provided the residue is hard, sound, not water softenable and cohesive. Over steel the surface must first be abraded or shot blasted to bright metal before applying at 3-6mm. Above 8mm ARDEX Coarse Aggregate improves coverage. Embodied carbon is quoted at 0.49 kg CO2 eq per kg. The manufacturer notes that properties built before the 1970s commonly lack a structural damp proof membrane and can read up to 98 per cent relative humidity, in which case a pre-smoothing layer is followed by a surface damp proof membrane. ARDEX also notes 1 N/mm2 equals about 100 tonnes/m2, and that some products in the range walk on in as little as 1 hour and deep fill to 50mm.
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ARDEX UK
Manufacturer data for a rapid drying white tile adhesive formulated for moisture sensitive natural stone wall and floor tiles, where a normal cement adhesive would stain the stone as it dries. Tiles can be trafficked and grouted 2 hours after fixing regardless of bed thickness, which is the significant claim because most rapid adhesives qualify their cure time by bed depth. Coverage is up to 6.4 m2 per bag at 3mm bed thickness.
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ARDEX UK
Manufacturer data for a rapid setting deformable S1 tile adhesive. Tiles can be grouted and trafficked just 3 hours after fixing. The S1 classification means the adhesive is deformable under BS EN 12004, the grade required for floors that move or warm up such as timber substrates and underfloor heating, so this product combines the deformability of an S1 with a same day grouting time.
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ARDEX UK
Manufacturer data for a fibre reinforced flexible tile adhesive. Pot life is 3 hours and open time is 60 minutes, both far longer than the 15 to 45 minutes typical of standard and rapid adhesives, which is what allows mixing and fixing in larger batches. Coverage is up to 8 m2 from a single 20 kg bag, and ARDEX claims this goes up to 40 per cent further than leading competitors, comparing published coverage and mixing data for 20 kg cement based adhesives. Embodied carbon is 0.49 kg CO2 eq per kg for the grey version and 0.96 kg CO2 eq per kg for the white, so the white adhesive carries roughly double the embodied carbon of the grey.
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BAL (Building Adhesives Ltd)
Manufacturer coverage table for an SBR primer and admixture, the numbers behind a preparation estimate. As a primer, coverage is 12 m2 per litre undiluted (60 m2 from a 5 litre tub), 36 m2 per litre diluted 1:2 with water (180 m2 per 5 litres) and 40 m2 per litre diluted 1:4 (300 m2 per 5 litres). As a bonding and gauging additive, coverage is 5 m2 per litre for 12mm plastering, 1.5 m2 per litre for 12mm rendering and 0.25 m2 per litre for 50mm screeding, the latter two quoted at 10 litres per 50 kg of OPC. As a slurry coat with Portland cement it covers 3 m2 per litre, mixed 1 part sand to 1 part cement by weight. Drying time is 15 to 30 minutes at 20C. Pack sizes are 1 litre and 5 litres. Approved backgrounds include plasterboard, rendering and shower areas. For an integral plaster mix the dose is 2 to 4 litres of SBR.
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BAL (Building Adhesives Ltd)
Manufacturer technical data for a floor levelling compound. Bed depth is 2mm to 80mm, with up to 80mm only in localised areas, and a minimum 3mm over timber floors. Coverage is 5 m2 at 3mm per unit, or 0.2 m2 per kg at 3mm bed thickness applied with a steel trowel. Working time is more than 30 minutes and it sets in 3 to 4 hours at 20C. Ceramic or natural stone tiles can be laid after 4 hours at 20C, but soft floor coverings such as carpet and vinyl need a minimum of 24 hours, and in wet areas a minimum of 24 hours is required before proceeding. Service temperature range is -30C to 100C. Underfloor heating must be switched off for a minimum of 48 hours before application. BAL defines the flatness target as 3mm or less under a 2 metre straight edge. Anhydrite and calcium sulfate screeds are approved subject to a suitability check and a suitable primer.
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BAL (Building Adhesives Ltd)
Manufacturer technical data for a flexible cementitious tile grout. Coverage depends entirely on tile size and joint width: 6.05 m2 per kg for 200 x 200 x 6mm tiles with a 2mm joint, 4.03 m2 per kg for 300 x 300 x 9mm tiles with a 3mm joint, and 8.01 m2 per kg for 600 x 600 x 9mm tiles with a 3mm joint, which shows that larger tiles need far less grout for the same area. A 2.5 kg pack takes 0.512 litres of water. It sets in 2 to 3 hours at 20C. Classification exceeds BS EN 13888 CG2WA, an improved cementitious grout with additional characteristics. Service temperature range is -15C to 70C. BAL states the grout must not be used below 5C, that porous tiles should be dampened when grouting above 25C, and that a new shower must not be used for at least 2 weeks after grouting. The key warning for a bathroom note: the grout is water resistant but NOT impervious to water and is not a substitute for a waterproof tanking system.
- supplier figure RN-47MI4P
BAL (Building Adhesives Ltd)
Manufacturer technical data for a rapid setting tile adhesive usable in a thick bed. Bed thickness is 2 to 25mm with a typical application of 2 to 6mm, and a minimum 3mm for floor tiling. Open time is more than 30 minutes with 60 minutes adjustment and a 3 hour set, and it can be grouted after just 3 hours at any thickness. Coverage from a 20 kg bag is 0.5 m2 per kg with a 4mm notched trowel on dry wall, 0.4 m2 per kg with a 6mm notch on dry wall, 0.3 m2 per kg with a 6mm notch on wet wall, 0.25 m2 per kg with a 10mm notch solid bed on exteriors and floors, and 0.125 m2 per kg with a 20mm notch, so a thick bed roughly doubles the adhesive needed for the same area. Service temperature range is -30C to 100C. All open and setting times extend in colder temperatures and when fixing low porosity tiles, and external tiling needs protection against inclement weather.
- supplier figure RN-0M6HXA
BAL (Building Adhesives Ltd)
Manufacturer technical data for a rapid setting flexible tile adhesive, with the numbers a tiling estimate needs. At 20C and a 2-6mm bed the open time is 20 minutes, adjustment time 45 minutes and set time 3 hours, and tiles can be grouted after 3 hours. Coverage depends on trowel and background: 1.0 m2 per kg with a 4mm notched trowel on dry wall, 0.8 m2 per kg with a 6mm notch on dry wall, 0.64 m2 per kg with a 6mm notch on wet wall, and 0.42 m2 per kg with a 10mm notch on exteriors and floors. A minimum 3mm bed is required for floor tiling. All times extend in colder temperatures, on impervious backgrounds and with low porosity tiles. Service temperature range is -30C to 100C. Critically for a bathroom job, BAL states a maximum 20 kg/m2 tile weight when tiling onto plaster and a maximum 32 kg/m2 onto the heavier background, which is the limit that decides whether large format porcelain can go on an existing wall at all.
- supplier figure RN-1WL47I
BAL (Building Adhesives Ltd)
Manufacturer technical data for a very fast setting tile adhesive. At 20C in a 2 to 10mm bed the open time is 10 minutes, adjustment 15 minutes and set 30 minutes, and it can be grouted after 30 minutes, which is the trade-off for the speed. Minimum bed for floor tiling is 3mm. Coverage is 0.5 m2 per kg with a 6mm notch on dry wall, 0.4 m2 per kg with a 6mm notch on wet wall and 0.26 m2 per kg with a 10mm notch on exteriors and floors. Service temperature is -30C to 100C. Maximum tile weight including adhesive is 20 kg/m2 onto plaster and 32 kg/m2 onto plasterboard. It can be used with BAL Rapid-Mat or BAL Flexbone 2Easy uncoupling mats. A significant restriction the manufacturer notes: as of May 2024 plywood and timber is no longer an approved background. A new shower must not be used for at least 2 weeks after completion.