Squaredy

New question: anyone recommend a good glazing sealant for softwood (sequoia)? I am not using putty as it goes hard and brittle eventually, so I want a high quality glazing sealant which will adhere well to glass and timber and not be affected by the weather. Also, am I better off applying the sealant directly to the wooden frame, or should I seal the frame first? My intention is to use Danish oil. My inclination is to fit and seal the glass in bare wood frames, then apply oil but maybe you disagree? Thank you in advance as always Arbtalkers for your help.

Oh yes, the newest Land Rover I ever owned was at least 25 years old.

Well I have found all manner of items used to bodge repairs in old land rovers. Occasionally I even found decent quality parts properly fitted.

I think there are alternatives as showers have been around at least a century. But I personally think a good quality sealant is fine if used in the right place for the right reason. I have so often seen cheap sealant used to hide bodges, bad workmanship etc etc etc.

Have you had your chimney/flue checked and swept?

Well I do now. I quite like making it in a pot though!

Buggles had it right by saying this is the plastic age. And that was back in 1980 or so. I often wonder how we managed before plastics took over the world. I am of course typing this on my wooden smart phone.

Not saying it isn’t the wood burner, but you should consider all the appliances in your house. Do you have a gas boiler, gas cooker, gas fire, or indeed oil of any of these? All are capable of producing CO.

Good point. I wonder if anybody has pointed this out to the bbc?

Yes apparently all our houses are filled with plastic dust (presumably from our clothes). Even more shocking that a single cup of tea apparently can contain 14 billion (yes BILLION) microplastic/nanoplastic particles. Here is a link re the tea bags: Microplastics: Premium teabags leak billions of particles - study WWW.BBC.CO.UK Microplastics in drinking water do not appear to pose a health risk at current levels, research suggests. When you see stats like this you wonder what to think and what to believe. Can we really swallow that many particles each time we make a cuppa? Personally I have stopped buying tea bags containing plastic - I did wonder why my home made compost contained many not quite rotted tea bags even after several years of decomposition. Is there any large scale independent research about all these particles and how harmful they are? Apparently it has been discovered that car tyre dust reached the poles at least fifty years ago! So it is everywhere - we just need to know how it is going to affect us, and all the other organisms around the world that ingest it.

As has been said not a lot you can do really. Had it been left as a log the same thing would have happened. Slow drying may have reduced it but in the end it was always going to split. You could slice it into two along the crack and fit each one to a wall somewhere. Each piece would be unlikely to split then.

I especially have a hatred of all plastic windows, and doors. Some are better than others, but in my view virtually any house built before about 1965 in the UK was more attractive when built than when upgraded to plastic windows and doors. I make my living by running a sawmill so I am biased but I think timber is the best material for windows and doors. It is a pity timber windows got a bad reputation for rot through poor quality construction and design and fitting. I love going to a Georgian or Victorian building that still has its original timber windows, and often in perfect condition. Cold I admit!

Just a personal preference for things that last a lifetime. Double glazed windows are fine until they fail, then in the bin they go. There are currently three DG windows in my house that have misted and are awaiting replacement. But for the house I accept they are probably worth it. For a porch probably not. As long as the porch can stay a few degrees warmer than outside I will be happy.

Yes I have heard that laminated glass is a bit better than single sheet, so I guess that is probably what I will go for. Safer as well I guess. I appreciate your input.

Yes I get where you are coming from. The new porch is built and the wooden frames are integral. Therefore I just need glass bedded in mastic. As I said it is not all about cost, I will avoid double glazing if I can. Here it is - made of coastal redwood if anyone is interested. Not quite finished - needs a threshold and glass and roofing sheets.

Thank you for your replies. I could go down the double glazed route I know. It is only a porch and I don’t really feel it is necessary. I just wondered if there is something single glazed which is a bit better than just plain glass. I regard double glazing as a necessary evil for the rest of the house but to be avoided where possible.

Yes the product is mono rt+ which is claimed to have a thermal conductivity of 3.6 compared to standard 4mm glass of 5.6.

No I am asking about different types of glass. Are there types of glass which give better thermal performance without being double glazed?

If I want to fit new glass to a frame and don’t want to go for double glazing, what glass is going to be the best insulation? Google mainly returns loads of results for secondary glazing, double glazing etc. I did find a company called histoglass who have a special glass which is meant to be an improvement on standard glass, but cost for supply only of five panes was about a thousand pounds plus £800 delivery (from Germany). Any suggestions (other than go for double glazing)?

I know the rules (on emissions) are being tightened over time, but the UK now burns around 15 to 20 million tons of domestic and commercial waste every year in dozens of enormous "Energy Recovery Facilities". A decade ago when they wanted to put one of these incinerators on the Gwent Levels one of the objections raised was that although PM10 particles were filtered out and monitored there was nothing to even measure PM 2.5 particles. Is that still the case I wonder? If so these facilities will be pumping out PM2.5 particles on (literally) an industrial scale.

I suggest contacting Coed Cymru who give advice on this sort of thing to landowners. If as is stated above it is too small for harvester and forwarder then I guess you need a small scale forester who will hand fell and winch or skid the logs. I am guessing it will be 700 to 1000 tons of logs, so I guess that is a big job for hand cutting? But hey - I am not a forester. Speak to Coed Cymru and I am sure they will give you some contacts. Sorry, the people I know who could advise you are all South Wales.

Just a thought - they might be suitable for export. Some less developed countries might appreciate hefty old fashioned quality and have endless cheap labour to install and set up. But you would need a contact who knows about how to do this sort of thing. I wouldn't fancy trying to arrange it. So easy to get taken for a ride and get it all prepped for shipment and then be let down.

Sadly I think a local scrap man is probably the best way to get a little bit of value from that machinery. I doubt they are old enough to be of interest to a museum, but they are pretty much obsolete in a commercial sense. Their modern equivalent would be so much easier to use and set up that the only buyer for that type of kit I would say will be an enthusiast who wants it for what it is. Just removing servicing and installing that bandsaw will cost as much as a new machine, and then be so much more difficult to use. The large circular saw is a Robinson by the looks of it - I have a similar one in perfect working order which I may want to dispose of and I know I will struggle to sell, so even mine may go for scrap. It is a shame as the quality of those machines is fantastic; but like a glorious steam engine times have moved on. Unlike a steam engine there are not so many museums that might be interested in that type of kit.

If it contains either of those qualities then at least one of the various political groups on the island of Ireland will soon reject it.

Wow, what a bowl. I am sure the flooring looks great - I love spalted alder. Maybe it needs a more general photo to show the effect. In response to durability questions - don't bother with alder for outdoor projects - despite the general belief that it is durable underwater. Lots of timbers are durable underwater - deep in mud there may be no oxygen. Indoors though it is great. Not hard though, so bathroom floor it is ideal for - or bedroom. But not a hall or kitchen or dance floor!