I missed it as I wasn't at home at the time but from your posting above, it's always the same complaints over and over again but the these so called problems can be easily solved.

Those Anti BH only want us out even if there is no problem at all and maybe because they are just jealous of us and once they try it, they will be our greatest supporters  as they do have the loudest mouths. As like @ Seremban, I spoke of all problems @ towns can be solved or corrected but the Majlis group from Seremban stand up and told all that the MPK want BHs out of town whether or not it create a problem is immaterial. 

For those stubborn headed people, there is no way but to induce them into the industry. Personally, I did my very best to make peace with my neighbours by ensuring that their complaints on BHs in the neighbourhood is taken care of. That's why I always spoke of having a local Swiftlets Association to assist in the complaints and unhappiness of the town folks if any toward the trade. All matter pertaining to the industry can be forwarded to the Association and the BOD should and must take positive action to clear any misunderstanding and unhappiness esp. sound pollution which till now still create problem due to some stuborn fools in the trade.
Like one owner of a new BH @ my place which refused to abide by our advice and later got a letter from the MPK require him to return the building to the former status within 2 weeks. He then went to the Association to seek help from the Association and the Association went to help him to solve the matter ( if leave it to me, I will refuse to help him in the matter) and luckily with the good relationship that the Association have with the MPK, the matter was considered suspended and no action was taken by the MPK. On the advice from the Association,  the owner concerned has written a letter to apologizes for disturbing the peace and will in future abide all rules and regulations.  The Association has also warned the culprit that the Association will not help him in any future action taken by the MPK on him.

So  all here, we are here trying to solve our problems, if you can't help but at least, don't create trouble for the industry. We are already in the storm with bad wind blowing all directions without you in the ship rocking the ship. Sit quitely and let other brave men try hard to save the ship from sinking.

For readers with friends doing what not right, do advice them as your's are also sharing the same fate for if the ship sank, all are gone.

Ps: Hope that I didn't hurt anyone with my sincere and honest comments on the subject above.

Cal Sil ?  that is a refractory type of material used for high temperature insulation.  I use 4" calcium silicate for my wood fired oven. 800F inside and 100F outside. It is used because it cannot melt at high temperatures  whereas styrofoam, which is a much better insulator, will melt and burn.

Calcium silicate sheets 6-9mm., are recommended for the ceilings of BHs converted from ready built premises. Fair insulation and good echo properties.

There are refractory heat conducting bricks as used in furnaces which help to retain and regulate the heat and refractory insulating bricks that help to keep the heat inside. So a furnace is made of both types.

In my case I am using the red bricks as a means of regulating the temperature and humidity inside whilst the outside fluctuates greatly in the period of 24 hrs. The outside is also not painted so as to allow the movement of water. This is perhaps how a cave wall works.

Lime and clay is fairly porous and the heat is retained with the help of the water trapped inside. As it gets hotter outside, some of this water evaporates and helps cool the inside down.  There are clay water pots that are semi  porous that cool the water within so much so that the water actually tastes cooler.

Styrofoam is an impermeable insulating medium. Water cannot pass through it and heat/cold also passes through very slowly. Using styrofoam in between the walls will not allow any evaporation and any internal cooling or heating will require artificial means.

I only use styrofoam between the top floor ceiling and the roof. the is no styrofoam in my walls.  Roof slab 4" RC then 3" styrofoam on top and 2" RC to hold the styrofoam down. Note that if the roof floods, even with the weight of 2" RC it may float so make sure there are adequate overflow holes.

Use of impermeable insulation depends on the area you are in. If your location is very hot and dry then it may be necessary to insulate from the heat and loss of moisture.

Use styrofoam in between walls in the wrong location and you'll have very wet walls, if you cannot ventilate properly. Too much ventilation and the birds will not stay.

My location has high rainfall and is within a valley with overall high ambient humidity.

To me, I would liquidate the BH asap if my gut feeling tells me that my BH is in PTUAB. I don't want to wait till the argument of PTUAB become clearer and clearer. By the time everyone knows the official definition of PTUAB, RM1000 per nest become RM30 per nest liao...... 

The above is my personal view only.

WW,  I use 3" EPS on my roof.

The roof slab is laid, then the EPS sheets are placed, keeping them together with masking tape. Lastly a 2" approx. layer of reinforced concrete is poured over the EPS.

My daytime roof top temperature gets to be 40+deg. C and above, sometimes much more, but the ceiling temperature directly underneath remains a steady 30 deg.C. +- 1 deg.C

Interlocking EPS sheets would make placing much easier as wind tends to move the sheets unless quickly weighted down by BRC mesh. 

2" RC is probably minimum over the EPS as if your drainage holes get blocked up,

So, make sure that the drainage holes are large. I use 4 x 4" pipe even then sometimes leaves etc can block it up.

EPS under pressure can also waterproof your roof slab if it has hairline cracks, which is quite common.

EPS cost is negligable,  the contractor must have charged more for other items.  Because the EPS is very bulky, the transportation cost can be relatively high but then again a 8 wheeler lorry will probably add maybe Rm1k +  There is hardly any expertise required to use EPS sheet insulation.

I also use 3" EPS sheets under my bungalow roof, above the ceiling boards. The roof is the notoriously hot (uninsulated)corrugated metal sheeting yet the temperature inside , even during a very hot day remains noticeably cool.

I've worked with other insulations before but none come close to EPS for price and insulating properties. Durability ! well this stuff supposedly does not degrade appreciably in our lifetime, though some insects like to bore into them. Due to it's durability, it is a biohazard so we should not be using EPS food containers, which is common practice in Malaysia.

I'm in no way connected to the above company but they are free to offer me some commission after this post. Please PM me for my bank account number.

In practical terms, it would be a mess !  It is quite time consuming to get all the 4' x 8' pieces of EPS in place and by then the newly laid concrete will be hard.

If concrete infiltrates the EPS, which it won't, not by any significant amount, it'll make this junction brittle besides, EPS is a closed cell foam produced under high pressure so does not have pores but sometimes have very fine fissures between each cell when manufactured under lower pressures. Think of millions of inflated balloons bonded together under high pressure. The brittle junction will not hold the EPS in place unless there is weight from above.

BTW if you pour wet concrete on top of EPS without any formwork around it, the EPS may float to the top and concrete flow to the bottom. So it is essential to have formwork all around the perimeter to prevent the concrete from flowing to the bottom. The need for a formwork requires the first pour to be at least solidified.

Heat is emitted from a hot body via the infra red spectrum. Hence the term "infra red heat".

Matt Black bodies emit more efficiently than shining white bodies. So Black bodies also absorb heat whilst shining white bodies reflect heat.

Infra red heat will cross a vacuum. There is no conduction or convection through vacuum.

As with any form of heat transfer, there implies that there must be a difference or gradient between the 2 bodies.

Conduction and convection are both probably far more efficient at transferring heat than radiation. eg. touch is conduction, being very close is usually convection, as in touching hot water, holding your hand very close above hot water and part radiation when you hold your hands to the side, avoiding the hot air.

Radiation is also subject to the inverse square law where if you double the distance you quarter the radiation. Which is why our Sun does not burn us to crisp.

A radiant barrier is a shiny white surface as in aluminium foil, mirror surfaces etc. that will reflect heat transfer by radiation.

Some special paints have specialised particles that reflect such heat. As the heat from out sun is radiant, having such paints will be effective in reducing the radiation from the sun. Manufacturer claims may seem miraculous but in actual practice, the paints' performance decreases very quickly with time. Similarly, shining aluminium foil becomes dull very quickly.

Spacecraft rely on pure Gold foil for lasting effects. Space is relatively dust free whereas on Earth, dust will quickly settle and render the shining surface as good as gone.

So, do we need a radiant barrier.

IMHO, it is unnecessary and impractical, especially in a stand alone BH where you can use insulation like EPS. In the event that insulation is not good enough, then painting the top white might help(but that requires mantainence).  OTOH, spreading a little muck on the top and allowing moss and algae to grow will effectively reduce very much radiation from the sun as this vegetation will effectively absorb the heat. So far most people in Malaysia have been happy with using 3" EPS to maintain about 29-31 deg. c. Lower temperatures might not be good for the hatching of eggs.

Wow, this must be my Christmas present. Thank you. Very informative.

Firstly, I have access to civets, several species of civets. I will definitely look into that. I assume that my first candidate will be the 'Pandan' civet being the strongest smelling or the larger ring tailed civet which smells like a rubbish dump ; )

Smell imprinting has been used in the breeding of many types of animals and I use a similar method as I breed hunting dogs. This is of course why Salmon return to their place of hatching.

We are of course discussing a smell that ATTRACTS A.Fuciphagus and if by imprinting with a certain smell which also attracts the A.Fuciphagus, we are definitely into a good thing. That makes sense! I will definitely make an unbiased report. Your representative is also welcome to inspect my location before and after for verification.

I am in South Kedah, who is your nearest representative ? I'll PM you my address.

I assume that you are a Vet. , that is very interesting. I had a vet friend who was with the Penang Turf Club who then moved to the National Stud Farm in Tg. Rambutan but since then lost contact.

Thank you again,  this subject is moving forward at a very exciting pace !

A Happy New Year to everyone.

Any chemical scent secreted by animal, insect or plant is a pheromone. All of us posses it and can detect it but sometimes in some species, as in man, the reaction to such is perhaps very much subdued.

In humans, though we may not consciously know realise it, a man can often detect a female human ovulating ! This happens all the time in the animal, insect and plant kingdom and is a principle form of communication. 

Makers of perfumes use this knowledge to make their products effective, so if a man goes crazy after smelling a girl wearing a suitable perfume, blame it on the perfume manufacturer !

Perfume manufacturers us plant, animal and insect extracts to produce their highly secretive scents for humans and hopefully we can emulate their success with our relatively simple means to attract swiftlets.

That's I need to know, so many questions in my tiny brain need some answer from young scientists @ the forum.

1. How to extract swiftlet's oil from the feathers ......by boiling ??

2. Is the oil extracted provide any significant to the increment of the nests?

4. Thanks for the input and I learn alot of science here even learning how to breed dogs to remember returning back to me... as I have a dog who always go missing and need to search for him....difficult as M dog always go missing in search of B*** luckily, we human has lose this instinct or else all ladies better watch out as we are on the prowl............seeking out which lady on heat...hahahaha sori- once a joker, always a joker.

Again, although Pheromones science isn't my field, but by suggesting it trigger my concern for fellow readers and a big red "WARNING",  my sincere and true advice is don't try using any aroma using Civet Pheromones (even cats or dog or other animal other than birds of similar type) as the above case history has proven that even without the presence of civet in the BH, the smell of civet, urine or its  Pheromones  already create chaos in the new BH. Old successful BH is another matter and for such old BH, even the present of giant lizards, snake, rats and owls will not deter the birds from returning, only afew birds will be disappear each day. Also, they will also cause a tiny dent in the increment of nests. Once you tried any aroma on your planks, there isn't any easy way to remove the smell if it has reverse reaction on the BH other than to change your expensive planks; a very expensive mistake, I would say. Don't B a GP and try even for Free.

Listen only if you think that I make sense as I am no pheromones expert .......or follow your Doctor of Pheromones experts.