Our Journey North of the Border

Looks like your guys know what they are doing Ramius?

Work of art that is!

That is a very tidy job.  I wonder will they leave out the screed upstairs on the bits where lots of pipes run together to the manifolds?  That's what I did otherwise that area might get too warm.

That’s very tidy ..! Surprised he used ordinary nail in pipe clips but they’ve done the job. And the floor fitters can’t exactly say they didn’t know where the pipes were ...

51 minutes ago, ProDave said:

That is a very tidy job.  I wonder will they leave out the screed upstairs on the bits where lots of pipes run together to the manifolds?  That's what I did otherwise that area might get too warm.

 

Good point @ProDave I will discuss this with the UFH  fitter and screed layers Monday - thanks.

that is a really neat job - lot of attention to detail from what I can see; I wish our frame erector had done a job half that good.

 

Upstairs - what depth were the battens you put down and what thickness of board did you put on top of it? (I'm assuming you screeded between the battens).

 

Looks really good so far - you must spend some time on cleaning and tidying!

On 14/07/2018 at 21:15, Redoctober said:

 

Good point @ProDave I will discuss this with the UFH  fitter and screed layers Monday - thanks.

Was going to ask about the lack of spreader plates. Neat job  

20 hours ago, CC45 said:

that is a really neat job - lot of attention to detail from what I can see; I wish our frame erector had done a job half that good.

 

Upstairs - what depth were the battens you put down and what thickness of board did you put on top of it? (I'm assuming you screeded between the battens).

 

Looks really good so far - you must spend some time on cleaning and tidying!

 

The battens are 33mm deep and the eggerboards going on top will be 22mm The screed is a lengthy job as it has to be transported upstairs in buckets by yours truly whilst the lad is mixing and the builder spreading ! Should be finished tomorrow though. These pictures might also assist.

 

Hope it wasn't as hot as we had - I continue to be impressed with the build quality of your frame - is it as good in reality as it is on the pictures?!

 

What mix did you use for the screed?

13 minutes ago, CC45 said:

Hope it wasn't as hot as we had - I continue to be impressed with the build quality of your frame - is it as good in reality as it is on the pictures?!

 

What mix did you use for the screed?

Unfortunately it was and proved to be quite a work out for someone like me who in a previous life drove a desk!

Anyway really pleased with the frame, it's construction and erection. Fleming Homes. Would recommend them.

 

 

 

do you know what the screed mix was?

 

Got to do this in a mates house before the end of the year....

Looks very tidy. UFH fitter has done a great job there.

18 hours ago, CC45 said:

do you know what the screed mix was?

 

Yes sorry @CC45 forgot to mention last time round - It is 8 parts sand and 1 part cement with a splash of water. Tested it today and what was laid yesterday is rock solid.

What a wonderful looking bit of work.  It almost seems a shame to cover it all up.  Love all the photos, as well, just so useful.

I still don't see the attraction of the pug mix for UFH when spreader plates are so quick and simple. 

And not a bucket or cement mixer in sight. Plates, pipes and boarded in a day and a half. 

 

Agree though, neat job and a good clean workplace. What's the intended floor covering over the pug mix?

14 hours ago, Nickfromwales said:

I still don't see the attraction of the pug mix for UFH when spreader plates are so quick and simple. 

And not a bucket or cement mixer in sight. Plates, pipes and boarded in a day and a half. 

 

Agree though, neat job and a good clean workplace. What's the intended floor covering over the pug mix?

 

Cost? Cheaper surely than all that ali? And if you can get some mug to play labrador and bucket the stuff in...

 

And doesn't the screed retain heat long after the ali has given it up?

40 minutes ago, Nickfromwales said:

Agree though, neat job and a good clean workplace. What's the intended floor covering over the pug mix?

 

The covering will be 22mm egger boarding which went down today - a combination of nails via a nail gun and glue.

38 minutes ago, Onoff said:

 

Cost? Cheaper surely than all that ali? And if you can get some mug to play labrador and bucket the stuff in...

 

And doesn't the screed retain heat long after the ali has given it up?

 

Cost wise, the actual screed mix cost £250 tops - I did the fetching and carrying, whilst the 2 builders did the other stuff - One and a half days [12 hrs x 2 = £600] work charged at £25 per hour.

Just a question- did you have to have reinforced roof trusses/ joists upstairs, we were originally looking at putting ufh upstairs as well as downstairs but couldn’t find a company who would do it with a screed without reinforcing trusses and SE was not happy about the trusses being notched out for plates so we ended up taking the easy route of radiators 

3 minutes ago, Christine Walker said:

Just a question- did you have to have reinforced roof trusses/ joists upstairs, we were originally looking at putting ufh upstairs as well as downstairs but couldn’t find a company who would do it with a screed without reinforcing trusses and SE was not happy about the trusses being notched out for plates so we ended up taking the easy route of radiators 

 

Hi @Christine Walker yes the downside to having UFH upstairs with the biscuit mix was the fact that we had to upgrade out joists to metal web joists. In our case the additional costs for the upgrade came in at around £4k. ?

Surprised you had 38mm battens. I found 25mm is plenty for 16mm pipes and the pug mix.  I fixed mine down with plastic P clips (cheap as chips from CPC) and large headed screws.  Last time I used the nail in clips and found they had a tendancy to pull out easily when just nailed into OSB

 

Our first house had the same UFH system and just had standard timber joists. The frame designer was aware of the UFH method.  This time round they specified JJI joists downstairs and and Posi joists upstairs.

 

I did our UFH mix 5 parts sand to 1 part cement, and to do our living room took just over a ton of sand. That was a dry mix, well just using the moisture in the sand no water added. It has set hard. Easy to mix in a mixer and barrow in, and because you are mixing dry, a joy to clean the mixer afterwards.

 

I chose the pug mix method as we had the sand and cement left over, so cost was £0  I would have had to buy some spreader plates, and then dispose of all that spare sand and left over cement.

 

Of you paid £4K extra to upgrade the josts for pug mix UFH, I think I would instead have bought the spreader plates.

57 minutes ago, ProDave said:

Surprised you had 38mm battens. I found 25mm is plenty for 16mm pipes and the pug mix.  I fixed mine down with plastic P clips (cheap as chips from CPC) and large headed screws.  Last time I used the nail in clips and found they had a tendancy to pull out easily when just nailed into OSB

 

Our first house had the same UFH system and just had standard timber joists. The frame designer was aware of the UFH method.  This time round they specified JJI joists downstairs and and Posi joists upstairs.

 

I did our UFH mix 5 parts sand to 1 part cement, and to do our living room took just over a ton of sand. That was a dry mix, well just using the moisture in the sand no water added. It has set hard. Easy to mix in a mixer and barrow in, and because you are mixing dry, a joy to clean the mixer afterwards.

 

I chose the pug mix method as we had the sand and cement left over, so cost was £0  I would have had to buy some spreader plates, and then dispose of all that spare sand and left over cement.

 

Of you paid £4K extra to upgrade the josts for pug mix UFH, I think I would instead have bought the spreader plates.

 

Hi @ProDave This is exactly why I am doing a "blog" detailing my experiences and routes for various aspects of the self build. We will never be embarking on such a project again which is a great shame when you consider the "learning" one gains from such a venture. Yes, I can sit back and reflect on where I could have made a saving and or used a different approach but as long as we get over the finish line without breaking the bank, I shall consider it a successful mission. 

I just hope others reading this record will be able to consider options they may not have considered, as explained by either myself or contributors such as yourself.

12 minutes ago, Redoctober said:

 

I just hope others reading this record will be able to consider options they may not have considered, as explained by either myself or contributors such as yourself.

 

Same for me. I can recount endless things I would have, should have done differently and I will share them all here if it helps those who come after, plus I am getting endless help with the bits that have turned into a nightmare too. Pay it forward is how it all works here. There is no shame in asking for help, the only shame is not sharing what you learned. I am really enjoying your warts and all blog and you are creating something wonderful at the same time. 

14 hours ago, Onoff said:

 

Cost? Cheaper surely than all that ali? And if you can get some mug to play labrador and bucket the stuff in...

 

And doesn't the screed retain heat long after the ali has given it up?

It heats up a lot quicker so is more able to match timed heating events. With 22mm of P5 over them, then 6mm ply, then tiles and adhesive there was no problem with the heat output at all. Only complaint I got was it worked too well so I dropped the flow temp down a bit. 

 

£175 for 40 plates here.

 

13 hours ago, Redoctober said:

 

Hi @Christine Walker yes the downside to having UFH upstairs with the biscuit mix was the fact that we had to upgrade out joists to metal web joists. In our case the additional costs for the upgrade came in at around £4k. ?

So £4,850 in total to use pug mix. 

I think plates would have paid for a holiday ! Wowzers. 

 

Oh well, think of all that lovely thermal mass youve gained  More pics as you progress please  

 

 

Oh, and all the photos of the pipes / timbers / intersections will be invaluable for the ongoing trades. Top idea.