You really can't! Thanks 🤓

Agree, excellent series 👌🏽

@@inimitableknight9791 Thanks so much, means a lot to me 🙌

Ali Dymock Im in the process of building my workshop. Very similar construction 3.6m x 7.2m, suspended floor, flat roof. I’m a Civil Engineer so was able to be more economical on timber however you saved me a lot of research/reading (eg. warm vs cold roof, Lux). Your project is looking fantastic. Well done.

Inimitable Knight can you give any examples about how to be more economical? For those of us still hoping to follow this path? I appreciate I'd need to do own research and at my own risk, but a clue about where to look would help. I had already thought another row of piers would reduce floor joist spans, so could maybe allow smaller (cheaper) timber there?

Always so good to hear from you Maria. Love your support, thank you!

@@AliDymock 😃😃😃😃

😂you've not slept for 4+ months? Yikes ;)

@@AliDymock I don't think I've slept in the past year

I'm an Electrician and we'll done. 32A ring final is abit old hack. 20A radial for general power would have done and 20A radial for the heaters would have sufficed. Edit. Ring finals were used to save on copper. You would sling a ring upstairs and spur one cable through the floor and down the wall for down stairs sockets. Rings are generally used for kitchens or high earth leakage (computers) now.

Had to look that guy up, pretty cool. Hopefully I'm getting better, still a bit camera shy though!

You're welcome. Glad this one is helping as it took me ages!

Glad you like it Patrick! When I started I had to pull all this info from all over the internet to figure it out. Felt it must be shared :)

Fab! I look forward to seeing some pics!

Thank you John, glad you like it!

Thanks Chris and congrats on your progress. Send me a pic when you're done 👍

That's brilliant, great to know that's correct from a professional.

Yeh, I reckon a sofa would be good in mine but that's pricey. I'll probably build a desk etc myself though :)

@@AliDymock you may recall me asking about the 0 rated fire cladding...u sugguested magply....in the end i used cement board....cheap as chips....it was £8 for a 10 x 4 sheet though managed to get it for £4 a sheet.

@@gman1087 I remember - tell me more! What was the cement board called? From where did you get it? What thickness? How did you attach? Did you paint it? Did it need priming? How did you handle the seams where the boards met? 😛

@@AliDymock i was watching another chanel where they build garden rooms to meet permitted development specs....they were talking about cement boards if with in 2 meters of the boundary for 0 rated fire thingy. Well it just so happened that heathrow fencing were selling them. £8 for 10 x 4 sheets and actually only paid £4 / sheet. They are 8mm thick very heavy....mmmm considerably cheeper than magply which was coming in at £25 a sheet...ouch! Seems were jointed using a silicone adhesive also water proof and the joint overlapped with some flat pvc trim also cheep as chips...cutting drilling and screwing to timber frame was no bother and similar to plasterboard in this respect. The boards came primed in grey which meant it was easy to paint. I used johnstons paint for it, they could mix up just about any colour, its expensive at £70 for 5 ltr, i was lucky as they had them on sale with i think 60% / 65% off so i got 2 tins! Excellent product great as no need to prime the bare wood cladding used for the front. I didnt run water gas or waste as you did though so no need for planning permission. I also went for led lighting ....ebay at £1 a bulb pack of 10 and 30 min fire rated flush mounted holders. Im not a fan of leds i much prefer the halogen ones but increasiingly difficult to source. Id like to send you some pictures but not sure how?..any how thanks so much u did all the hard work i just followed ur lead re specs for permitted development. Ive made 2 rooms total 27 sq meters one a bigger home office and the other set out as a 9.3.4 dolby atmos 4k projector come multi function space great for when the lads are over....i think it will be about a year before we get if furnished as we would like...well once we have built up our depleted bank account!! Thanks again Ali Glen x

That's great to hear. This was the hardest video I've made as I knew nothing about it electrics and it doesn't come naturally to me either.

cheers matey :)

Yeah, I pay 0.60 €

haha. I actually let him go at it and then asked some questions and figured out the rest afterwards. You're absolutely right but you know I do like a good, clear explanation! Knew nothing about electrics before and still don't know much lol, but I did my best :)

Good stuff Gareth. Shame the clocks have gone back. If I had it my way we'd stay on BST all year round

Ali Dymock I know. I hear rumours they might cancel it...... who knows. Cheers again.

@@woodworkingsparky2571 We need a referendum 😝😄

Ah yeh, I learnt that afterwards. Thanks, I will get to that at the end

That would be awesome and I’d love that too. Time and money being the limiting factors at the moment!

you're welcome Richard! I'm so glad to have this one done, very heavy going with loads of research required.

🙌

You're very welcome 😀

Yes, I put that right in the pinned comment at the top though I discovered today that my house has 240V - every house differs apparently depending on distance from the sub station but yeh, 230V is the normal V to calculate from

Hi Phil, my goal is to finish the garden room series as a first priority so the videos are coming. It might be a while until I get to second fix though, do you want to email me any particular questions you have? An electrician will be able to tell you more than me, that's for sure, but I'm happy to help! hello@alidymock.com

Thanks for the response Ali. To be honest I don't really have any specific questions at the moment. To be honest it is just that your videos and detailed descriptions of what you have been doing is very informative and interesting and I was thinking it might contain some info or pointers that might possibly ensure I avoid a few issues. You know the kind of thing that with hindsight you thing why didn't I consider this, or why didn't I do that in such a way to avoid some problem etc.

@@philcaine1818 I guess the only thing I can think of is consider what bulbs you will use - perhaps you want warmer light or cooler blue light which is determined by the kelvin of the bulbs. Most of the decisions will be done at first fix stage so second fix there's not a lot to go wrong 👍

I don’t have a figure right now, I will at the end when I’ve added everything up but I try to give an idea here: www.alidymock.com/start-here/

Sounds great

Thank you Charlie!

Part 16 this week. Yes I will at the end of the series. Nope, house still belongs to my mum so have full access for future vids :)

Bring on the Spring I say!

You'll beat me to the cladding video but if you have any questions I can try to help-feel free to email me. The link should be viewable in the description. If not it's: www.alidymock.com - easy to remember!

Yup, sounds about right!

Your absolutely right David, I made that amendment in my pinned comment. As it so happens this house has 240V but as you say the standard is 230V 👍

Nice! Good choice. There'll be no limits with that

@@AliDymock I figured it would let me have 100amps to garage if needed.

Gosh, I can't remember, I think I just googled around to grab something to demonstrate the point. Air con unit is a good option though, planning on it for my next build.

Thanks, really glad you like them. So I wouldn't do that personally as that will under all the good work you've done insulating elsewhere as essentially all you'll have between the room and the outside will be a bit of platerboard and soffit - I'd also worry about insects getting in even with meshed vents-not such a big issue in the soffits but you don't want them in your above the plasterboard. A warm roof doesn't need to be ventilated but having SOME ventilation in the room is important so mine comes through the trickle vents in the windows and doors - hope that helps!

You know I've been thinking about a ground heat pump for our new house and get rid of the boiler. Any info you know on what's involved would be great to hear.

@@AliDymock if your local temp isnt under -10*C in winter just buy air to air heat pump Of course ground heat pump is better under 0*C but still its cost 10x the price od air heat pump But if you have under -10*C ....-15 maybe -20*C from 1kw it make maybe 2kw of heat....so it wont generate enough heat (max input power work like limitter) If you want to build your own ground heat pump ....you cant if you dont have enought space , they need to drill few holes as deep as possible (until specific temp) If you have enough Space you just dig 2 or more meters and lay pipe with anti freeze liquid. Air heatpump is cheaper ,easy to instal , and until there isnt -10*C or lower it will work great :) Ps. With air heat pumo its always better to have second heat source (with ground too) if it will fail ,there isnt electricity or its to coold to generate enought heat Ps If someone say to you induction water heater is better ...it isnt (around generate 98% from input vs 400+ % for heatpump :)

Very helpful! It never gets colder than about -2 or -3C here and usually higher than that so it sounds like an air heat pump is the better choice. If it runs off electricity how does the cost compare with heating with a gas boiler? Sounds like I need some solar panels and then a air heat pump with the gas boiler for backup!

This time I went for posts in the ground, about 60cm deep, postcreted in (I've done a whole fencing series showing the process). The joists are then attached to the building with joist hangers. The reason I didn't go for blocks is that they are pretty wide so catch the rain which will then sit on the block rotting the wood. Not a problem under a building when they stay dry :)

It really depends on what you want. For a workshop I'd recommend going brighter, maybe 500lux but as mine will now be for general recreation 250lux is fine. The beauty of LEDs is that you can always up the lumens without using too much power. A white bulb will produce more light than warm bulb and white painted walls and ceilings will also help reflect light around your workshop but if it's all wood and OSB then less so. Andy's choice looks good for its purpose.

Oh Rodger, you're pushing my knowledge there but I believe that it was done at the house end rather than the garden room end.

@@AliDymock cool, thanks for the reply. In not an electrician I feel I should point out, merely an enthusiast with a lot of KZfaq experience under his belt. There does seem to be some debate over what method should be used, some sparks saying it's a big no no to export the PME, opting to instal an earth stake, while others are happy enough to just export it.

I was looking through all the stuff my electrican left behind (boxes) and I think they were just IP rated ones but not 100% sure. They shouldn't get wet, but there may be better alternatives.

Hey, do you mean in the walls? Yeh definitely a good place to use rockwool though it's u-value isn't as good but much cheaper and easier to fit. Or do you mean on the outside of the walls?

Ali Dymock i mean between timbers but extririor walls

Ali Dymock so walls faceing the outside

That should be fine, your electrician will be able to tell you where the electrics can go and how wide a hole or notch can be made for the cables.

Thank you for the reply 👍🏻 great work.

Sign of a good electrician I say! I think that was his apprentice doing the clearing up

@@AliDymock great videos Ali, only just found your channel. Look forward to potential future projects you might have in the pipeline. 👌😁

This was by far the toughest Part for me to make as I knew sweet FA when I started - i still don't know much as it doesn't come naturally to me. That height came from my electrician so I presumed it was correct! Good to know though, I may have to correct that in a future video. Does a garden room count as a 'new build' in regards to b regs? Maybe that's why... Other questions: - If a new house only has a low under stairs cupboard, does it mean you need to site the CU elsewhere? - My armoured cable when it comes through my floor comes out of the wall and into the consumer unit - is that normal and could it not have been put in the walls or is the current carrying capacity impeded like the other cables if it were to do so?

Ali Dymock the armoured cable probably comes out of the wall before entering the CU in order to correctly terminate it. Your electrician needed to put a gland on the end which wouldn’t be done from the rear. Another way would be to gland into an adaptable box then joint it to PVC twin and earth in order to bring into the rear of the CU but that needs to be accessible, hence why it’s been done the way it has been. In the past I have worked alongside joiners who have boxed in the CU (allowing access) so the SWA isn’t an eyesore. I would deem your garden room as a new build as there wasn’t previously a CU, it’s a new installation as opposed to replacing/upgrading an existing one. For your other point, new builds are generally designed to allow for the services to meet current regulations (part P for electrical), all new builds I have worked in recently have had CU mounted at 1300-1400mm from ground level.

Great info, thank you. I'll bring that point up then. Good to know armoured cable was correct - ended up boxing it in with some painted mdf :) If you work in the South east, let me know.

Great feed, great video as usual. Having just begun wiring up myself on the basis of a 450mm CU height per your video the 1300-1400mm height in Part M is concerning me. Would you expect it wouldn't get signed off if it were at 450mm??

Electrics -probably after battens to outside but while the internal wall are empty of insulation would be my recommendation. As for 400m centres - they won't fit 8 x 4' ply, no. So either cut the ply or go for metric sized OSB.

Hey Kieron, it came from Fascia Expert, like my fascias. Really easy as it all slots together but I cut it in short pieces so the lines run perpendicular to the building rather than running the whole 5m length parallel.

@@AliDymock can't get my head around this, have you got any pictures or anything you can share showing how it attaches and stays in place under the fascia? I know there is a lip under the front face, but what about the back edge against the building?

You may well be right Matthew. Sometimes though it's quite good to go deep when you're learning and then make judgement calls as become more experienced.

I mis-spoke in the video. It's actually an ethernet cable, not fibre-optic so the ethernet runs to the router in the house.

Thanks for clarifying Lazlo, that's useful to know on both counts. Thought I saw 22mm2 available but obvs not.

@@AliDymock I think the SWA armour is measured at 22mm2 on certain sizes of cable. This can be used as the cpc.....

Hi Mel, it's a great question and not something i know a bunch about but I believe this was done at the house end. I left it up to my electrician. Definitely something i'll have to delve into at some point to clarify.

@@AliDymock Hi Ali, did you every clarify this?

Either will do the job but I believe I went for 50

@@AliDymock great, thanks. And keep the videos coming, really great stuff 👍.

Good question. You know, I'm not sure as I left my electrician to choose but looking through the boxes I think he used the same as he used in the bathroom (not bulbs though). So they are water resistant but the soffit never gets wet so all is well. They may be better choices that I'm not aware of though.

@@AliDymock thank you for your response! Might be best if I get some sort of IP rated downlights for outdoor use.

Yeh in the last shot of the video you can see my green polythene vapour barrier

Ha yes apologies ! I'd stopped as you were wrapping up ! I look forward to the next video. I'm starting to fret that the OSB I've used externally on my build is going to act as a vapour barrier and therefore trap moisture and a vapour barrier internally !

@@Bulla666 I think it's pretty permeable to water vapour and will allow any to escape. Use the vapour barrier inside to help slow the entry of moisture into the walls and you'll be fine

It's on a separate consumer unit in the house next to the main consumer unit. I think you can have it on the main consumer unit, I'm not sure why my electrician did a separate one though

My sparky friend has just been round this morning as I’m now at the first fix wiring stage. He also said a separate consumer unit in the house would be best. Didn’t understand why though! I’m happy to defer to my friend on this one!

@@AliDymock as you have such a large supply calculation and cable, the internal domestic consumer unit, whose internal rating is usually 100A, can't take the expected load of your additional building, especially with the shower, water heater and electric heaters. The incoming supply therefore gets split after the meter. A more general point is you have used the circuit protective device (breaker/CPD) rating for each circuit, rather than the expected demand, to calculate your load. Even with the diversity factor (ie you wouldn't use everything all the time) the figures are very high. The 6A breaker protects the 1mm2 cable (which could catch fire if loaded above 6A for a length of time, eg a short circuit or faulty lamp) but the load isn't 6A. The alarm draws next to nothing (1A or so) and could have been connected to the 32A power circuit with a FCU and 3A fuse. It's not a 6A load for your calcs. The 32A socket circuit is unlikely to draw anywhere near 32A especially as heating is on another breaker. What gets plugged in? You don't add up the breaker rating, but the expected load, then do the diversity calcs. Your 10mm2 supply seems much more realistic than the proposed 16. Has anything ever tripped? The main thing is that the CPD back at the house is the right rating for the size and length of cable run installed. I rate your building skills very highly and love the series. Electrics are the only bit I actually get...

Yes because mine is 3m tall and less than 2m from a boundary but generally it can all be done without planning permission. See Part 3 of this series for what you need to adhere to.

I haven't totalled it up yet, but I try to answer the question here: www.alidymock.com/start-here/

Cheers John, I really appreciate the support

I used Sketchup, there’s a free version and quite a few tutorials on KZfaq to get to grips with the basics

Ali Dymock cheers mate I tried emailing you but not sure if you got it

Yeh it varies quite a bit I hear, distance from sub-station i think!

Hi Neil, I'm sure you're right and I wish I had your knowledge. As you suggest I had my electrician do all of the calculations and everything and had it explained to me afterwards. Nearly everyone will use an electrician but I hoped the video would give some understanding behind it and would help when it came to insulating the walls. I knew I would get a bit of flack in the comments with this video, I did my best with it :) If you fancy emailing me with how you would do the calculations that would be awesome!

Obviously he's not an electrician, this is KZfaq and nobody (at least nobody with any sense) expects it to be definitive. Still an excellent channel with far more detail, carefully explained, than one can easily get anywhere else.