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I've subsequently discovered that you can cut a 45 degree angle on the PIR to hide the edge. One final question. How do you get a smooth enough finish on the slab for PIR. Do you simply use a piece of timber with a side to side motion and then use a bull float at 90 degrees. I really need to be able to do the slabs myself with my brother as I struggle to find anyone to do it without changing lots of £££

I've been watching this playlist by Buildhubber @CJO on how they prepped and built their passive slab using Isoquick. It's really well put together and very well explained. The methods may not be universal but I have a lot more confidence that I understand the process and how to go about it now. (I tried to link to the whole playlist but it just takes you straight to the most recent video which is annoying. Here's the first one of three - I'll link to the others individually below).

Great looking job, very well done!

I don't think you are at fault. We do actually have a couple of single origin doors ourselves which we are very happy with. I wonder what exactly happened regarding your survey - did they produce dimensioned drawings afterwards and gain your explicit sign-off/approval of them prior to manufacture ? Did the drawings show or specify the distances to the wall as an explicit design constraint ? Did they change your cill design when they realised the wall mistake and adjusted the fitting ? Were you always going to have a traditional cill rather than a low profile one ? Looks like a 50mm error - did someone build the wall out of position ? I just wonder because if there was some clear evidence that the wall issue was their reponsibility to take account of and they failed to do that then I would have thought you would have been within your rights to refuse the original fit. I found there is actually quite a lot to think about for the sizing and positioning of doors and windows - exact FFL, handle clearances, reveal clearances, threshold fixings, lintel/steel fixings, plaster lines, render lines etc. I attach our bifold drawing to show the level of info specified. You almost need to be autistic about it all. ID Systems fitters came across country last summer and were still working until 8pm one summer evening to get everything right. I would query that seal and the gasket. I think both should be fixable. When new stuff finally gets installed it is easy to be euphoric and not check it all over. On the unfinished cut edges, you could go back to a showroom and examine the showroom origin doors - do they have the same finish - if not you could raise it. Does the fall angle on the open bifolds match the non-plumb angle on the frame install ? When you build up the outside with slabs where will your drainage falls go anyway ? Normally a fall away from the house. In the end certain things are fixable with different degrees of consequence: Changing seals Changing gaskets Replacing Framing pieces Reinstalling the whole frames and doors Cutting a notch in the wall for the bifolds to open into Fitting a whole new door set made to different dimensions Replacing with different bifold make or different fitters All depends how unhappy you are, and how much you may or may not be willing/able to spend to address it.

My panels went up on my standing seam roof i absolutely hated them, for a couple of weeks I considered removing them and not bothering with Solar at all, two years later I don’t even notice they are there. people even ask if I have Solar and I have to point them out.

We looked at that system, years ago now, and eventually decided against it. If the bonding fails (and it’ll get bloody hot up there) or the panels fail what could you actually do about it with the roof in situ? Do you mean conventional panels? That’s what we went with in the end. Black PV panels mounted on the seams of a dark grey SS roof, looks nice IMO and no room for birds etc to get underneath the panels, but those panels hide a lot of expensive zinc. If you’re going with SS and dead against conventional panels then I’d say @JohnMo’s advice is spot on. Get a big battery and TOU tariff.

Thanks Spinny. Re the seal in the pic. Would you see that as a problem? The company that did mine came out and surveyed twice yet still managed to forget the position of the retaining wall in relation to the door opening which mean the doors ended up being set further back than intended meaning the cill didn't cover the bottom of the wall. They tick the box on looks but seem like hype in every other way. Described as the Bentley of doors but seem more like a ford escort to my untrained eye. My fault for not doing my homework.

👍👍👍

If your only option is stick panels at silly prices I wouldn't bother, just get a battery and that allows a TOU tariff and use cheap periods during the peak ones

Seen that - thought this was a slightly different topic and didn't want to change the focus of that thread. Roof was actually specified by us. The whole build is going to be barn-like in appearance and, for our area, metal roofing is the more common solution. The only other common option around here would be clay tiles and I'm no fan of those.

Lack of space and being in a national park limit options somewhat but, given the opportunity yes I'd agree would be much easier/cheaper.

No it started a few days before I posted. Had been running for 6ish years without issue. I suspect adjusting the level just temporarily resolved the issue, time will tell!

By putting in UFH pipework, you can always run it off a Willis heater for very low capital cost. That way you can bake the clay floor. (I put earth flooring in the same category as lime concretes, we have improved alternatives now)

I knew nothing about it until quite recently! Worms would be an interesting addition...

We did the same and you're absolutely right, it probably makes sense to put the pipes in regardless as a backup... we'll only get the one chance to do it.

As I didn't know that a traditional floor had linseed oil in it, you'll gather I now nothing. I had a house with clay paviors straight on earth, probably clay. There were worms.

That would make me popular I can see why that would make sense, but with the system we're using the heat would be problematic during the cure.

Or stupid I love the aesthetic and feel of earthen floors. Our site is predominantly clay and we'll be excavating a fair few tonnes. It will mostly be distributed around a field, but the possibility of actually using some in the house seems to good to miss There have certainly been a few raised eyebrows when it's been mentioned. Thankfully my wife is wonderfully understanding and will entertain these ideas. She also knows that unless we arrive at a robust solution it won't be going in the house. One of the downsides of a traditional earthen floor is the curing time, so we're essentially eliminating the linseed oil and replacing it with a much faster alternative. It's not rocket science, we design resin systems daily and have access to some useful test equipment (abrasion, tensile, impact, UV exposure). There's very little worth watching on telly, so it's a good way to spend an evening

see current discussion. Solar Gurus, please disect! It's only fair to say that I am not a fan of SS. Aesthetics? Yes if done very, very well. Practicality, No. Cost? I'm afraid they often get drawn on by a party who isn't paying or detailing.

Another thread on this last week - have actually looked a price? Shockingly expensive, not sure how you could ever justify PV going that route. Anything other than standard panels is really an expensive folly. Ground mount and fence mount are other cost effective options

Big (expletive deleted)ing argument over flowers having shadows....

You may want ufh to help it set hard, have this picture of someone walking through wet sludge if it all goes wrong. Maybe ok for a mud hut, not sure I would bother for a house. At least you can dig your way out of it - literally

I'd have thought there's a structural adhesive that could cope with bonding brackets, rails to fix the panels to. +1, especially if you're looking at flexible panels for a curved roof?

Ours too, but as suggested above depends how you buy. We have sourced the majority of things.

Thanks for the reply. Was your issue then right from the start rather than developing some time after installation?