Rattling or Thumping Pipes – Cures

These cures relate to general rattling or banging when you turn the tap on.

The various reasons for these noises, and their cures are:

Air in Pipes
Typically occurs in new systems, or after some plumbing alterations. You need to purge the air from the system. To do this

  1. Start at the lowest tap or valve and slowly turn on to full. If there is some spluttering leave on until the water runs smoothly then turn off.
  2. Go to the next lowest tap and repeat the procedure, continue working your way around the house until you reach the highest outlet.
  3. Don’t forget outside taps, toilet cisterns and shower heads.

Steam in Pipes
Can affect solar hot water systems and hydronic heating. Generally means the system is running too hot.

  • For solar systems the first thing is to reduce the temperature for the circulation pump start. This will take the hot water from the panels at a lower temperature. If that doesn’t work it may be the storage tank is too small for the area of panels. If you can’t afford a bigger tank shading the panels on summer days can help.
  • For Hydronic heating systems you will need to lower the boiler thermostat.

Insufficient Fixing of Pipes
Affect all sorts of plumbing systems. May need a combination of four different approaches

  • Pack around any loose pipe clips.
  • Install additional clips between existing clips.
  • Install pipe insulation.
  • For pipes in cavities push foam tube insulation along the pipe so it stops the pipe banging on the walls.

If the problem is a bang when you turn the tap off then you need to see the post on Water Hammer.

Brickwork – Mortar Joints

During your Selection or Pre-Start meeting It isn’t just Picking a Brick. You also have to pick a mortar colour and a type of mortar joint.

Mortar Colour

If you have been to a Brick Display Centre check what colour mortar they use in the test wall of the brick you like. This will probably be the best colour for your house.

Joint Types

Below are the more common types of brick joints:

  • The ‘Ironed’ or ‘Rounded’ joint is quite common and helps to keep the water out of the brickwork
  • The ‘Weather’ joint, which is not so common in Australia, also helps to keep the wall dry.
  • The ‘Raked’ joint does give an interesting texture to the wall, but is the least moisture resistant joint. Best choice for beveled edge, or tumbled, bricks. It is unsuitable for bricks that only have a surface coating on the sides as the body colour will be exposed at the joints.   Because the mortar is almost always in shade it will look darker than you expect.
  • A flush joint is reasonable weather resistant but can look uneven. It is unsuitable for rustic or rounded edged bricks. Another issue is it is more likely to result in staining of the brick face.

My E book Guide to Selection/Pre-Start includes lots more information and checklists to help you choose the details that will make your new house a home.

 

Bell Push – Fail

Over a week I would probably visit between 150 – 200 homes.

That’s a lot of door bells pushed……..and if the bell doesn’t work it can be a lot of sore knuckles knocking.

The bell push in the picture above, seems to me, to be most often found at houses where the doorbell doesn’t work.

If you are looking for a doorbell push I couldn’t honestly recommend this one!

On a lighter note here is a different sort of door bell, that worked first time.

 

For more Unusual Houses and Fails see What the………………….?

Re-Branding

Regular visitors to this blog will notice a few changes going on.

A logo has appeared next to the title at the top of the page, and some of the other parts of the blog are looking different.

My daughter, a professional web designer, has decided that dad has been muddling through for long enough and needs a re-branding and general upgrade of the look. I can’t disagree as my interest for this site has been more about the content, rather than the look.

Work on changing the look and feel of the site will continue over the next couple of weeks. It will include new covers for the two existing E books, and the new book “Choosing a Block”, to be released soon.

One thing that will remain the same is the actual content of the posts and books

Retaining Walls – Sleeper Wall

Retaining walls are created to hold soil behind them. They can be made to control soil erosion due to hard rains, surround a garden, create a terraced yard, or retain soil along a highway. 

When designing a retaining wall, take note that there are several factors that will affect the type of wall and material you build.

These include the following:

Location – it’s best to understand your property lines and your underground as well as above-ground utilities, including stormwater irrigation and management systems.

Soil – the soil that makes the base or foundation of your wall must be checked to determine if it meets the strength needed to support the wall. The bearing capacity of the soil, its type, friction angle, and stress parameters of the soil used for the foundation should be determined. Generally, wet soils, like clay, aren’t suggested for infilling. In locations with freezing temperatures, wet soil can contract or expand, possibly damaging the wall. Sandy soils provide excellent draining. 

Design – To start the design, you should calculate the footprint sizes, wall heights, slopes, and setback angle, which depends on the site grade and elevation. 

Drainage – Since water is usually the primary reason why retaining walls fail, it’s crucial to ensure that your wall has excellent drainage and there won’t be water buildup behind the wall. It’s best to check the site for drainage patterns and create a drainage system behind the wall. For excavation services, you may contact professionals, such as Hammer Excavations Melbourne, to help you. A good drainage system can include the use of drain pipes, backfilling, or using ‘weep’ holes to let water pass through a wall.

Details

Here are some details I would be using to build a retaining wall with galvanized steel posts up to 800mm high. This is not a guarantee that these details will be suitable for your application.

Ground

I would want to be building it in reasonable ground such as Hard Clay, Compacted Coarse Sand, or Gravel.

It is possible to build walls in poorer ground such as fine sand, soft clay and more loamy soil but specialist advice will be required.

Post Hole

A minimum diameter hole of 300mm dia holes at 1250 spacing (so sleepers cut in half will fit) between posts. Depth to be equivalent to wall height plus 100mm for a gravel layer at the bottom of the hole.

Posts

The minimum post lengths to be twice as long as the final height of the wall.

Aim to slope the post back at a gradient of 10-20mm for each sleeper height. Sometimes when a wall is loaded it does move slightly which compacts the ground. If you make the wall vertical and it then tilts  a little after backfilling it really looks bad. When the wall is built with a back slope it just finishes up a bit more vertical.

Set the posts a minimum of 5mm below the planned finished height. It’s safer with the hard steel edges below the softer timber.

Spend some time making sure the tops of the posts are level as any mistakes really show up.

If I was using timber, rather than galvanised steel posts, I would have them on the front face of the wall so the whalings would press against the post.

Drainage

Use an Aggi Pipe with a 100mm gravel surround, maximum stone size of 10mm. Continue the gravel up to just below the surface at least 100mm thick behind the wall. This is to relieve water pressure on the face of the wall. (not to drain surface run off in a storm)

Make sure the ground slopes away from the base of the wall as it helps to keep the soil around the post holes from becoming waterlogged and softening.

See Understanding Retaining walls for more information

Pre-Start / Selection Guide 2nd Edition

Available now the latest edition of the E-book

PRE-START / SELECTION GUIDE

This major revision, and expansion, of the Guide means you now get:

  • 90 pages of information and advice
  • 8 pages of checklists

All aimed at making sure you think about all the details that need to be included in your new home.

Previous Purchasers

  • All those who bought the previous edition between 1st April and today should have already received a Free update by Email.
  • If you have bought the E-book before this date and would like a Free Copy of this edition send an Email to brian.anewhouse@gmail.com with a copy of the file for the 1st edition attached and I will send you a Free Copy.

Still only $4

Be prepared for your new house Selection / Pre-Start Meeting.

CLICK HERE To find out more

Stuck On Decoration – Fail

I was walking through one of the Western Suburbs the other day and came to a sudden stop when I saw this facade with stuck on decoration.

The owner must like it after all it would have cost them extra………… So what is wrong with it?

  • These sort of decorative pieces are meant to provide a bit of interest to a rendered finish, or at least provide a dividing line between brickwork and and render. Definitely not to be put on plain brickwork
  • The point of the arch shape is to match it with an arched window. Having a straight brickwork on a lintel below the ‘arch’ is absolutely out of character.
  • If you are going to go along this route at least colour match it with the window cills.
  • The joins between the pieces are clearly visible rather than smoothed out.

Am I just being a ratbag?…… or have I got it right?

 

For more fails and unusual houses go to What the………………….?

Retaining Wall – Sleeper Walls

Although most people refer to these as Sleeper Walls the Technical term is ‘Post’ and ‘Whaling’ * Walls.

The posts can be Galvanised Steel like the example on the right.

Other alternatives are timber sleepers, like the example below, or even round timber posts.

For Whalings the choices are:

  • Timber Sleepers, Probably the most popular
  • Concrete, Usually similar dimensions to Timber sleepers
  • Round ‘Logs’,  These are machined to be a consistent diameter.

Actual suitable railway sleepers aren’t that common now but most landscape suppliers will be able to supply new timber ‘sleepers’ with the following dimensions

– 2400 x 200 x 50mm – Suitable for Whalings in walls up to 800mm high**,  and Posts, spaced at no more than 1200mm, for walls up to 600mm high.

– 2400 x 200 x 75mm – Suitable for Posts, spaced at no more than 1200mm, for walls up to 800mm high.

As the sleepers are going to be in contact with the ground make sure they are well treated with a preservative.

* Some references say ‘Wales’ but being a Pom I was always taught that they were ‘ Whales’.
** You will need specialist advice, and council permits, for walls taller than 4 sleepers (800mm).

See Understanding Retaining Walls for information on the sort of loads Walls have to carry

Rainwater – Pump Size

One of the reasons why most rainwater systems use too much power is because because the pump is too big. For other reasons see Rainwater – Pump Issues

Most pump suppliers and design charts will specify a larger pump than you really need (They sell a more expensive pump, It’s less likely that the pump will be returned because it isn’t big enough, and they aren’t paying the power bill)

If you want to pick the most economic pump here is how to go about it.

Instantaneous Flow

What is the most flow you need at any one time. Here are some figures for typical house fittings.

Fitting Flow Litres/min
Tap 10 to 15
Tap with Flow Restrictor 4 to 6
Low Flow Shower 7 to 9
Washing Machine* 4 to 10
Dishwasher 4 to 6
Toilet 3 to 5
Garden Sprinkler** 10 to 15

*To get to the lower figure you will need to close the supply valve this will add a few minutes to the wash but will help with issues like Water Hammer.

**It’s really better to irrigate the garden with a separate pump.

Add together the highest flow rate fittings that you think you will want to run together, which will give you a Total Flow Rate ‘Q’

Pressure

You need to aim for a pressure at the fitting of around 150kPa (15m of Head)

To get this pressure you need to:

  1. Measure the height of the furthest fitting above the lowest level in  the tank ‘Hs)
  2. Calculate the Pressure  Loss ‘Hf‘ due to Friction in the pipes See table below
Max Flow Rate
Litres/min
Hf  m head per 100m of pipe
20 25 32 40
12 10.9 3.7 1.2 0.4
24 13.4 3.9 1.3
36 8.3 2.8

The Required Pump Pressure is then calculated from:

Required Pump HeadP‘ m = 15 +Hs + Hf
Or
Required Pump Head ‘P‘ KPa = 150 +(Hs +Hf)) x 10

Ordering

To order a pump you just need to quote the Total Flow and Required Pump Head

 

When you are ordering a pump think about getting a Pressure Tank

Spot the Garage


Can you see the garage?

Not just one, but two!

Perhaps this second photo helps


This is a device called a Cardok which I hear is coming to Australia.

Its quite expensive at around $60,000 each, but probably cheaper than having a basement garage with ramp.  It also would probably be easier to fit in a tight city block.

NB I have not been paid to promote this product I included it because it seems an interesting idea.

For more unusual houses go to What the………………….?

 

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