Your pet peeve, technical or otherwise.

[themadhippy]

Is that still used in current construction?

in the uk yea,even with plasterboard walls  its not uncommon to put a skim over them,although cheaper chuck em up quick new builds may only skim  the joints between boards.This place was built late 50's so all  the walls are brick or block work with 1/2" of rough plaster  on top,then a thin smooth skim on top of that

[SilverSolder]

Blown plaster.seems its only the wall paper thats holding the very thin skim coat onto the walls.

Is that still used in current construction? Here plaster over lathe (thin wood slats with gaps between) was common up until sometime in the 1940s or so when sheetrock was developed and since then that has been used everywhere. There are still a few people around who do the old fashioned plastering but it's only used in historical structures.

In the US, wood framed houses with sheetrock are the norm.  In the UK, bricks are the norm (even in new houses).

Having lived in both countries, my experience is that UK brick houses are much more durable than the US constructions - there was almost no maintenance on my UK house, compared to my American one (new vinyl siding, new roof, new gutters, new windows, it's never ending...  the materials are simply not as durable as brick walls and tile roofs).

[james_s]

In the US, wood framed houses with sheetrock are the norm.  In the UK, bricks are the norm (even in new houses).

Having lived in both countries, my experience is that UK brick houses are much more durable than the US constructions - there was almost no maintenance on my UK house, compared to my American one (new vinyl siding, new roof, new gutters, new windows, it's never ending...  the materials are simply not as durable as brick walls and tile roofs).

For interior walls and ceilings though? Aren't those built of wood studs faced with some kind of panel even in brick houses?

[themadhippy]

For interior walls and ceilings though? Aren't those built of wood studs faced with some kind of panel even in brick houses

In the uk house construction varies a bit,in general though  brick or some other type of block is used for the outer walls,theirs  normally  2  walls with a cavity between them,the outer wall will be your nice finished bricks whilst the inner wall can be rough  blocks . Internal partition walls may use some form of block work,or a frame work,either wood or metal, with plasterboard attached to it,The internal finish  on brick/block walls tends to be either plaster ,or plaster board fixed to the blocks by dot n dab.The plaster board itself might be plaster,or just a skim were the boards join,ceilings tend to be plaster board fixed to the joists ,again it might be fully plastered or just were boards join.

[james_s]

Is plaster board more or less the same as what we call sheetrock? It's a layer of plaster 3/8-1/2" thick sandwiched between a layer of heavy paper on both sides. You screw or nail it to the studs then tape the seams with paper tape and use joint compound to smooth over the seams and indents from screws/nails. After that it's common to spray on a texture, otherwise you have to do a much nicer job of taping and finishing before you paint or the seams will be visible.

[Monkeh]

I think this justifies a new pet peeve: Typing a 13 word question with a 17 word description and a I'm tired of counting now elaboration instead of going to Google or Wikipedia and typing 'plasterboard'.

And yes, it's exactly the same product.

[SilverSolder]

Is plaster board more or less the same as what we call sheetrock? It's a layer of plaster 3/8-1/2" thick sandwiched between a layer of heavy paper on both sides. You screw or nail it to the studs then tape the seams with paper tape and use joint compound to smooth over the seams and indents from screws/nails. After that it's common to spray on a texture, otherwise you have to do a much nicer job of taping and finishing before you paint or the seams will be visible.

Yes except UK houses typically don't have studs like American houses, you often get bricks right behind the plaster / sheetrock.  Older houses tend to have brickwork even inside the house, separating the rooms.   Put it this way, you never see kids accidentally punching holes in the wall in UK houses the way it sometimes goes down in the US, lol!

[Monkeh]

UK houses typically don't have studs like American houses, you often get bricks right behind the plaster / sheetrock.  Older houses tend to have brickwork even inside the house, separating the rooms.

Yes, they do. Non-supporting walls are perfectly ordinary internally. Masonry for internal walls is usually to support the upper floors, roof structure and a central chimney or chimneys.

[IDEngineer]

If there's no space between the plaster and bricks, where do the utilities run through the walls?

[perdrix]

Wherever they want to - they just drill a hole.  Otherwise run under floorboards between joists.

D.

[themadhippy]

If there's no space between the plaster and bricks, where do the utilities run through the walls?

wiring is covered with capping or oval conduit  thats  nailed to the brick work,and then gets buried in the plaster.

[Nominal Animal]

Another pet peeve: UPS drivers who stop in front of your house for ten seconds, not even leaving the driver's seat, just so they can claim they couldn't deliver the package.

[SilverSolder]

UK houses typically don't have studs like American houses, you often get bricks right behind the plaster / sheetrock.  Older houses tend to have brickwork even inside the house, separating the rooms.

Yes, they do. Non-supporting walls are perfectly ordinary internally. Masonry for internal walls is usually to support the upper floors, roof structure and a central chimney or chimneys.

Depends on the house, when it was built, etc. etc., I guess.  My house had only brick walls everywhere.  Built in 1933 and will probably still be standing in 3033! 

[SilverSolder]

If there's no space between the plaster and bricks, where do the utilities run through the walls?

wiring is covered with capping or oval conduit  thats  nailed to the brick work,and then gets buried in the plaster.

Exactly, you literally dig a trench in the wall to run cables, then cover with metal (or use conduit in the first place)

[themadhippy]

then cover with metal

no need for metal,plastics perfectly acceptable,its only job is to stop the cable being damaged by the plasters trowel

[Syntax Error]

If there's no space between the plaster and bricks, where do the utilities run through the walls?

wiring is covered with capping or oval conduit  thats  nailed to the brick work,and then gets buried in the plaster.

An day cutting channels with a multitool and vacuum cleaner, followed by a day of making the channel invisible with smooth surface filler. Fun fun fun.
Another peeve; people who do block schematics that are backwards compatible with 1950s typewriters. Ever heard of MS Word?

[james_s]

then cover with metal

no need for metal,plastics perfectly acceptable,its only job is to stop the cable being damaged by the plasters trowel

An inspector over here would have a heart attack seeing that. Seems like incidents of someone hanging a picture and managing to pound the tack right into a live wire would be common enough to be problematic. You'd never hit a wire like that if you were trying, but random events have a way of doing that sort of thing.

[james_s]

Another pet peeve: UPS drivers who stop in front of your house for ten seconds, not even leaving the driver's seat, just so they can claim they couldn't deliver the package.

My biggest delivery peeve are the FedEx drivers who set the package right on the edge of my front porch in the spot that is most clearly visible from the street and not protected from rain by the roof. I once saw a package delivered while I was at work and the driver set it in the one patch of porch that was already wet with torrential rains predicted for the day. I had to call my mother and get her to drive over to my house and collect the package which was already soaking wet. The driver could have set it 2 feet further back and it would have been fine. They seem to be unaware of the existence of doorbells, we've started calling FedEx the package ninjas.

[Bud]

Here Amazon drivers never ring the bell. UPS and Fedex still do.

[themadhippy]

An inspector over here would have a heart attack seeing that. Seems like incidents of someone hanging a picture and managing to pound the tack right into a live wire would be common enough to be problematic. You'd never hit a wire like that if you were trying, but random events have a way of doing that sort of thing.

Were only supposed to run cables in "safe zones" but of course that dont stop people deciding they really must have a picture hung directly above a socket,or diy daves draping there cable diagonally across the wall to save a few inches of cable

[SilverSolder]

An inspector over here would have a heart attack seeing that. Seems like incidents of someone hanging a picture and managing to pound the tack right into a live wire would be common enough to be problematic. You'd never hit a wire like that if you were trying, but random events have a way of doing that sort of thing.

Were only supposed to run cables in "safe zones" but of course that dont stop people deciding they really must have a picture hung directly above a socket,or diy daves draping there cable diagonally across the wall to save a few inches of cable

That's why I like covering the cables with metal...  you have to try harder with the picture hook to make an impression, and you have a grounded conduit there to short the whole thing out with an almighty bang to teach a lesson!

[IDEngineer]

Yep, I second the james_s comment about inspectors and that scheme. Honestly it just seems dangerous no matter what the local standards may allow.

Speaking of metal coverings... here in the States we have these little metal plates with sharpened points that you hammer on the top of studs to protect pipes that pass through the studs. Again, this is to prevent penetration of a water or gas pipe with a screw or nail by a hapless homeowner. I'm not always a fan of building codes but in these cases they make a lot of sense.

EDIT: Here's a photo.

[Ed.Kloonk]

Hot should be above the cold.

[IDEngineer]

Maybe red is used for cold in that jurisdiction. 

[Ed.Kloonk]

Maybe red is used for cold in that jurisdiction.