Design and reality

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On the ceiling it turned out how much the project is, to put it mildly, “messed up”. Apart from the fact that one of the chimneys had to be moved, because it entered the basket in the roof, and it was connected with the change of foundations, the ceiling, as it turned out, turned out to be undeveloped. Shocking !!! A mistake that could have had disastrous consequences. He was just wrongly counted …

It’s good that we have a contractor who thinks and has experience. They stood on the ceiling reinforcement instead of 1.5 tons, it took 3 tons. So I started to wonder how many houses built with the economic system, where people who did not have much to do with building worked, were burdened with such serious errors … My hair bristled.

Reinforcement

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We will spend another moment on the roof, but what you can see above is the effect of over a week of work of six people. Some tapped with hammers to arrange the planks on the roof, while others at the bottom tied the reinforcement, which was then thrown upstairs and tied there together.

At this stage, the spill pins were directly attached to the reinforcement, to which the roof will be attached so that it would not “fly away” in stronger winds. A place for the stairs to the attic was also prepared immediately. In the photo above you can see a place without reinforcement – this is where the stairs will be.

At the bottom, however, we have …… a forest

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As it turned out, this forest was a shelter for rabbits which, hopping around the house, left characteristic traces in the wood chips.

Suddenly it got somehow cramped … I started to wonder where is this space? The house is supposed to have 118 m2 of space and I have to squeeze through the trees …

One fine day we noticed a nest between the formwork. The poor little bird had to be terribly stressed as the workers smashed themselves with hammers and clinked with reinforcement. Sounds like on a construction site. We looked at it from the bird’s point of view. Apparently, he had to install this socket when it was quiet when no one was there, but … it has a roof, the socket is sheltered on 4 sides and hidden from predators … The place is perfect. However, he did not take into account that his greatest enemy in this place would be man. However, we took it as a good sign. This means that not only do we want to live here, but also animals that instinctively feel what is good for them.

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When I came to the construction site one morning, I saw a picture again of pouring foundations.

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The only thing that needs to be done is to compact this concrete between the reinforcements.

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The forest that we grew below will be standing for three more weeks.
After all these efforts, it was finally possible to go in and stand firmly on the ceiling to continue bricking the chimneys, but, but … PVC sewer pipes stick out from the ceiling … Why are they there?

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We present the R-RAWL-WW90CH gas nailer for wooden structures

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The Rawlplug Group is an international holding company that brings together production plants and distribution companies from 16 countries around the world. The Rawlplug Group deals with the development of innovative solutions in the field of fastening techniques, their design, production and distribution. The Group’s product portfolio includes the highest quality mechanical fasteners, threaded products, chemical anchors, drills, circular saws as well as tools and power tools.

Today we would like to present the R-RAWL-WW90CH gas nailer for wooden structures, which will be perfect for the installation of battens and counterpart, formwork, installation of soffits and wooden facades. With its help, you can easily mount light wooden structures, boxes and chipboards to the wooden frame.

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Technical data:

  • Power Type: gas
  • Dimensions: 376 mm x 371 mm x 108 mm
  • Number of batteries: 2 pcs.
  • Deposition energy 92 J.
  • Noise level: 94 dB
  • Magazine capacity: 60 nails
  • Transport case: Yes
  • Max working length: 90 mm
  • Mass: 3.4 kg
  • Equipment: 2 batteries

WW90CH -sealing_-depth_adjustment

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The kit includes:

  • nailer
  • 2 batteries
  • Power Supply
  • charger
  • user manual
  • suitcase
  • goggles
  • hearing protectors

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User manual:

Cleaning instructions:

We invite you to read the detailed leaflet and to the website of the KOELNER company.

Source: PSB partner material

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Water installation – practical information

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Water installation at home is one of the most important types of installation in any building. Often invisible and ignored until a failure occurs, which can be very bothersome. For this reason, it is worth getting to know your water installation and its components.

Such installation consists of a system of pipes, fittings and devices supplying water to selected rooms. Assuming that most of the elements are in an inaccessible place (in the wall, behind the plasterboard, etc.), we expect that the whole thing will be failure-free, will provide water at the desired temperature and will not absorb our attention. However, in order to enjoy the water in the whole apartment, it is necessary to pay special attention to the proper installation.

Water installation – preferably with the project

The laying of water pipes is of course not as responsible a task as the electrical or gas installation. For this reason, contractors are not required to have additional specialist powers. It is worth noting, however, that a poorly performed installation is only a problem.

Without knowledge of the rules, experience and a large amount of skills – absolutely do not perform such an installation yourself. If we have a water system design (attached to the building design), it is worth ordering it to be made in accordance with this document. If we do not have such a project, an order will be a good solution – the cost of the project is about PLN 1,000 – 1,500.

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Between the water meter and the tap

Installation is not only pipes, but also other important elements. Water supplied from the water supply system should be delivered through the connection to the collection points throughout the house (kitchen, bathrooms, toilet, utility rooms, and sometimes even in the garage). Usually, in addition to cold water, hot water will also be needed in many places – depending on the type of heating selected, this can have a significant impact on the shape of the water system.

Hot water, which is prepared in individual heaters (installed next to the batteries), a main pipe with cold water runs from the connection, and from it there is a connection to all consumption points. The water is heated in the boiler (or other common heater), then the cold water pipe is led to the individual batteries, and behind it there is a parallel pipe with heated water (often even a third – circulation). Thanks to this solution, hot water constantly circulates in the installation and even when the whole is very large, the waiting time for hot water is short.

Water instalation

It is good to know that water pipes run below gas pipes and electrical wiring. In addition, the hot water line should always be placed above the cold water line. Directly behind the water meter, it is worth installing a mechanical mesh filter (sedimentation tank), which protects the internal installation against coarse solid impurities (e.g. sand or rust).

Such contamination can lead to the destruction of batteries or other devices connected to the installation. A valve with a connection to a garden hose should be installed outside the house. It is not required, but it greatly increases the comfort when we do not have to draw water for watering the garden from inside the house.

It is worth remembering that the working pressure in the water supply system should be 0.4 – 0.5 Mpa, but it may periodically increase up to 0.6 Mpa – e.g. in the case of a small water consumption. Pressure reducing valves installed at the start of the installation can prevent this.

Plumbing is easy, but even simple things can be problematic if done incorrectly. For this reason, it is always worth using the services of a specialized company that will guarantee appropriate performance and comfort of use.

It is never worth saving on internal installations, because subsequent repairs can be very troublesome and costly.

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Walls for allergy sufferers

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Although you can be allergic to almost anything, we are very often allergic to dust and mold spores, carried by air currents. Therefore, it is worth eliminating their potential habitats in the home of every allergy sufferer.

The construction, finish and condition of the walls of the rooms in which we are staying are of great importance here.

The walls in the home of an allergy sufferer should be smooth (so that dust does not settle on them) and suitable for wet cleaning. They should also not emit any harmful chemicals. Therefore, both decorative ones will be inadvisable textured plasters (collecting dust) as well as paneling made of plywood, chipboard or fibreboard, containing irritating formaldehyde.

Emulsion is recommended for painting walls water-based paints manufactured on the basis of acrylic, vinyl or latex. They create a durable, washable and vapor-permeable coating. Their advantage is also the fact that they dry quickly (so they emit harmful chemicals soon). Manufacturers of paints also try to reduce the content of allergenic substances – the effect of these actions are paints marked with the mark of the Polish Society of Allergology.

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For painting walls in rooms, dispersion paints, also called emulsion paints, are most often used. They can be used to paint walls in rooms of people prone to allergies

In the case of wallpapers, they are not recommended for allergy sufferers vinyl wallpaperswhich emit volatile substances. Other types of wallpaper can be used, provided that they are carefully attached with an adhesive that prevents the growth of bacteria and fungi, which could (otherwise) accumulate in nooks, folds and (on the underside of the wallpaper) on inaccurately glued elements.

An allergy sufferer may also be at home paneling (painted with hypoallergenic varnish so that you can vacuum it with a damp cloth).

It works very well too jamwhich (thanks to its natural antistatic properties) is not conducive to dust settling, does not absorb moisture and is resistant to the growth of microorganisms, fungi and mold.

They meet all safety requirements too ceramic tilesbecause even the mortars on which they are applied are completely harmless after drying.

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Glass houses – utopia or reality

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Glass houses is a vision of Żeromski, which for many years strongly influenced my imagination. As a lover of modern architecture, I tried to imagine whether the vision of a completely glass house is feasible. However, technology has gone so far forward that what was impossible before the war is now starting to become real. So are glass houses a utopia or a reality?

A look back

Glass has long been an interesting building material for architects. As early as the mid-nineteenth century, the first structures with a large amount of glass were built, such as the Crystal Palace in London. The walls were filled with crystal glass, but their structure was based on cast iron elements, although for those times it was a very modern solution.

In the following years, and especially in the interwar period, the first timid attempts to replace larger and larger building elements with glass appeared in the United States, but these were only elements, not entire structures.

Modernity = glass houses

Contemporary construction also more and more often tries to be transparent and the determinant of modernity are huge glazing used in built houses. Many office buildings have glass walls, but the main structure is still based on a strong reinforced concrete structure. However, the architects have not yet said the last word and are still trying to create a house entirely made of glass. Italian architects and designers Carlo Santambrogio and Ennio Arosio created the design of an entirely transparent house. For now, however, it can only be admired on visualizations, and the architects are waiting for a wealthy and brave investor.

The house is completely transparent, entirely made of glass and also equipped with glass elements. Its creators are lovers of this material and, apart from the glass house design, they also offer glass furniture: sofas, sofas, tables.

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Is their vision likely to come true? I suppose it is technically possible and there will probably be someone ready to implement this bold assumption. The only question is what is the point of building such houses where there is no room for any intimacy and one could only build them in a complete remote area, and such houses in Europe are becoming more and more difficult.

Source of photos

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Geothermal installations – is it profitable?

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Polish air is one of the worst in Europe, and its pollution is largely due to low emissions. More and more often, in order to improve this situation, alternative, clean energy sources for heating houses are being searched for, which could replace old coal and fine coal boilers.

One such ‘green’ source is geothermal energy – heat produced by the Earth’s core that can be harvested and used on a large scale. Hot springs (known, among others, from thermal pools in Podhale), after appropriate boreholes are made and installations are built, can also be used to heat houses.

Requirements

Geothermal energy is used all over the world. Photo Freeimages.com

Hot water can be used to heat residential premises in almost all of Poland, but in many cases obtaining them is unprofitable. There are several factors for this. One of them is the depth of locating the springs (the best to exploit are those located shallow – they require shallower boreholes). The second factor is the temperature of groundwater (the warmer the better, but it is estimated that those boreholes where the water at a depth of 2 km is at least 65 ° C are profitable). Equally important is the salinity (max 30 g / l; otherwise additional desalination installations must be installed) and the efficiency of the sources.

Advantages and disadvantages of using geothermal waters

One of the greatest advantages of geothermal waters is their ecological nature. This method of obtaining thermal energy is considered relatively clean and harmless to the environment. It does not produce exhaust fumes and smog, and does not generate harmful waste. After cooling, the water returns to the ground, where it heats up again.

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The disadvantage of geothermal energy is still the cost. The construction of boreholes and heat distribution installations is higher than using other energy sources, although the operation itself is relatively cheap. As a result, despite the availability of warm groundwater, other sources of heating are still selected. Any human interference with nature is also a danger. Deep waters can be contaminated during drilling.

Geothermal energy at home?

Useful water can be heated with the heat from the inside of the Earth. Photo Freeimages.com

Thermal energy from the interior of the Earth can be used on an industrial scale (in geothermal power plants – such as in Iceland) or individually (through the installation of heat pumps in homes). In Poland, it is used for heating houses (radiators or underfloor heating), domestic hot water (boiler) and cooling rooms in summer (air conditioning).

Domestic geothermal installations are divided into vertical and horizontal.

Vertical installations are expensive – they require prior research, profitability estimation and drilling. These are significant costs (in the order of a dozen or even several dozen thousand zlotys; the price of 1mb of the well is about PLN 125), which must be incurred at the first stages of the investment. The final price depends on the number of boreholes, their depth and soil conditions. The costs also include the price of the heat pump, which can cost twice as much with installation.

Horizontal installations are much cheaper (also called shallow; the price of 1 meter is about PLN 25), but these have lower thermal efficiency. A lot also depends on the house itself – rooms heated with geothermal energy must have perfect insulation to limit heat loss. If this does not happen, in more severe climatic conditions (e.g. frost of -20 ° C) the installation may not be sufficiently effective, even though the pump will run at maximum settings.

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The running costs are low, but you have to invest a lot in the beginning. Photo Freeimages.com

Ground installations consist of laying a system of pipes approx. 1.5 m below the ground surface. Their disadvantage is the requirement to have a large area of ​​land to build the installation. It is estimated that effective operation will be ensured by an installation at least twice the size of the house.

Horizontal collectors have one more disadvantage: they make it impossible to arrange the garden freely. Trees or shrubs with a strong and deep root system can damage the plant, so it is not possible for it to grow on the soil above it. So it may turn out that when we decide to use a heat pump, we will have to throw out our favorite plants from the garden.

Operating costs

The cost of heating with a heat pump itself (not counting the initial investment) is low. It is estimated that a well-made installation will heat the apartment about 2 times cheaper than a natural gas boiler, and even 4 times cheaper than heating with electricity. Unfortunately, the high entry costs make heat pumps only worthwhile as a long-term investment (the investment starts to pay off after, for example, 10 years or more). Many pumps work without problems for up to 20 years, but the constantly appearing technical innovations can change the technology of their production and work efficiency. Then you may have to invest in a new, better device, which is another significant expense.

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Internal plasters

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What plasters to apply in a new home: cement-lime or gypsum? When making this decision, several factors must be taken into account, most of all: the physical properties of the plaster.

Gypsum plaster maintain a microclimate favorable for humans – gypsum absorbs excess moisture and gives it back when the room is too dry. However, the works can be started only a quarter after the house is finished and the preliminary installation works (wires and connections) have already been carried out. Before that, you should also insert external doors, windows and internal door frames. In spring and autumn, the heating should already work in the interiors.

Gypsum plaster can be applied only inside the house, but in almost all its rooms (including the bathroom, if the humidity in it does not exceed 70 percent). Gypsum plasters should not be used in places exposed to mechanical damage – in garages, workshops, etc. Gypsum plasters are easy to apply, because they are applied in one layer, which becomes smooth after spreading, thus eliminating the need to finish the walls with plaster.

More and more often gypsum plasters are replacing the traditional ones, i.e. cement and lime. No wonder – they are often cheaper than them, and most of all they are put on much faster

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They also show good thermal insulation, are able to regulate the level of humidity in rooms, do not inhibit the flow of water vapor through walls and protect against the spread of fire. However, they are less resistant to damage than plasters, the main binder of which is cement. They are also not resistant to water and permanent moisture. Wherever gypsum plasters do not work, the correct ones turn out to be less smooth and more difficult to lay, but much more resistant (especially to mechanical damage), cement-lime plasters.

This type of plastering mortar is evenly applied with a trowel or machine using a plastering unit. Its excess is collected with a wooden or metal patch, and when laying the last, finishing layer of plaster – with a trowel. The most difficult thing to do while laying the plaster is blurring it. If it is started too late, the surface may dry out excessively, making it very difficult to achieve the smoothness effect. This is one of the reasons why cement and lime plasters are more and more often blurred “sharply” – they deliberately leave a rough texture.

Works should be performed at an ambient temperature of 5 to 30 degrees C, and fresh plaster should be protected against both too quick drying and excessive moisture. Cement-lime plasters should also remain unpainted on the wall for at least 2 weeks. Otherwise, they may not harden sufficiently and – after painting – come off with the paint. The exception is painting them with lime paints.

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Painting in practice

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Painting is one of the activities that we can do ourselves. We just need to equip ourselves with convenient tools and a bit of knowledge to facilitate the work. Let’s start with the proper preparation of the walls. The unevenness of the surface will never hide under a new layer of paint.

Therefore, it is recommended to scrape the peeling off paint down to the plaster layer, then evenly fill and sand. In the case of smooth and in good condition walls, thorough washing is enough to remove grease and dust.

The importance of good wall preparation is hard to overestimate – professionals spend about 75 percent of the time devoted to the service (leaving only 25 percent for proper painting).

We start painting from the ceiling, from the place closest to the window. If the room has two windows placed on different walls, we start work from the more sunny side. The first layer of paint is applied parallel to the largest window, the second – perpendicular. We use matt paints for ceilings, which suppress light reflections, conceal surface unevenness and hide any painting errors.

We paint the walls only after the ceiling is dry, starting from the corners. For painting the corners, we use small rollers (width 10 – 15 cm) with the same bristle length as the large rollers, which we will use to paint larger parts of the walls.
We paint large surfaces from top to bottom (in the case of high rooms, extension handles will certainly be useful). Remember also that after painting the first layer, wait for the paint to dry completely and then apply the second layer.

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We paint the walls only after the ceiling is dry, i.e. after at least 3 hours. When we paint them in a different color than the ceiling, we cover the places where both surfaces are joined with a painting tape in order to avoid contamination of previously painted surfaces

Among the paints we can find resistant to washing and intended for more humid rooms. So we can easily select one that is adequate to our needs.

When choosing a color, however, remember that:

  • in a bright room, the paint may look lighter than it actually is, in darker rooms, it is darker;
  • in the evening (with the light of the lamps) the colors look more intense and brighter, in the natural light they fade away;
  • the color on a rough surface will look darker, on an even surface – lighter;
  • each color has its own temperature, which affects the atmosphere of the interior;
  • bright colors add light to the room;
  • paints with a semi-glossy texture reflect light and optically enlarge the interior;
  • the use of many shades of the same color deceives the eyesight and makes the room seem larger than it really is;
  • contrasting juxtapositions mask the flaws of architecture.

Kabe

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Electric oil heater – a way to heat up when the heating system is not enough

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Sometimes the heating system is not enough or it has failed, then additional support is needed … An electric oil heater is a good solution! It is perfect for use in changing thermal conditions, it is not permanently assigned to a given place, so we can place it where it is necessary at a given moment.

Operation of an oil heater

An oil heater is a device used as a supplement to central heating or as an independent heating device in places where there is no other heating installation, such as, for example, holiday homes. Due to the fact that they are not stationary, it is possible to place them in the room where it is necessary at a given moment – in order to raise the temperature prevailing there. These portable devices are silent and work by radiation. The heat source is the oil inside the heater. Oil heaters filled with ecological oil do not dry the air and do not burn dust. Due to the fact that the air is free of allergens and mites, they are perfect for places where there are small children and the elderly, or those suffering from inhalation allergies.

Heater power supply

The heater is started after it is connected to the mains (socket). Some models additionally have an activation button on the housing, there are also those that are equipped with a timer – then the activation time can be programmed. It is also possible to set the temperature. Heaters with LCD displays will show the operating parameters of the heater. The radiator’s power is between 700W and 2,500W. By choosing a heater with power regulation, it will certainly be helpful in selecting the heating power to suit your current needs.

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Outer garment of an oil heater

Oil-filled radiators visually resemble traditional cast iron radiators, i.e. they are rib-shaped with a steel casing. Inside there are heaters that heat the oil. The hot oil heats up the radiator walls, which dissipate heat into the room. Due to its properties, the oil heats up for a long time, but cools down slowly, which makes it warm for some time after being turned off.

Before you buy a heater …

Before buying a radiator, you should probably pay attention to the details that will prove helpful in practice. Particular attention should be paid to whether the heater will be used in rooms with increased humidity – such as, for example, a bathroom. Then it should be checked whether the manufacturer allows the use of the model chosen by us in such conditions. You can also choose a color to match the interior design.

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