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You really are showing your ignorance now. He was highlighting the difference between real science (physics in his case) and social science, which tries to use scientific terms and techniques to give it credibility, but is not a science, it is opinions.

I think it does. It was not until my third year that we covered Philosophy of Science, even though we had it drummed into us that the data shows the results, even if you don't like them for the previous 2 years. Those two years were really leading up to how to design and manage good experiments that left little opportunity for error and ambiguity. All the theory, mathematics and statistics, previous research and, sometimes, unrelated topics (for a broader view) were just there to make our lives easier, though it did not seem it at the time. There are bad scientists, but they tend to be caught out early on, and very really get published. The ones that do slip though get caught out later. When it comes to Climate Change Science, the old trope about the planet going into a new Ice Age is usually dragged out from the coffin. What happened there is that rather than a binary, or absolute figure, bring out on an outcome, a number of scenarios are modelled, each scenario has a probability factor attached to it. The extremes, i.e. ice age, 12°C extra warming had very low probabilities, about 2.5% each, of happening. What then happens is that those extremes are highlighted as an example of science being fundamentally corrupt. The people that want to go along with that are called (expletive deleted).

The history of science is chock full of denial, resistance, and persecution of those that question the accepted narrative of the day. From heliocentrism, through antiseptic practices, and heliobacter pylori. Science advances one funeral at a time. Sadly climate 'science' is often what Feynman would have called 'cargo cult science'. Models only output what you input into them - a set of assumptions and assumed relationships in a highly complex multivariate system - very few of which have ever been experimentally examined, and whose relative importance is extremely poorly understood. Never underestimate the fear and resistance and lengths to which people can and do go to to protect their jobs, careers, and positions - rather than countenance what data and truth show. Anthropomorphic Climate Change is a very uncertain hypothesis but has now become a huge bandwagon with many people riding on it's back. The public perception of anthropomorphic climate change is based on propaganda media coverage and almost total underlying ignorance of the actual scientific uncertainty involved.

Stop trying to reinvent this job. sealing around the service pipes is easy. you do not try and cut a hole in the membrane and seal that to the pipe. cut a 300mm hole in the membrane, poke it over the pipe, then cut a 600 mm square of extra membrane, cut a 120 mm hole in the centre, poke it over the pipe and tape it up, then tape your patch down to the main sheet. easy, each pipe penetration will take 15 mins max. why buy two membranes to do one job. if your finish concrete is rough the pir insulation won’t give a monkeys it will just deform to the shape of the slab when it has 15 tonne of screed on top of it.

has your detail changed?

+1 for all comments. As a building virgin 4 years ago I can say there is a lot to understand about how building works, and that the project management is far more demanding than you might imagine, even if you have done project management in commercial business environments. Most independent trades people are small outfits, often one man bands, sometimes 2 or 3 working together. Your job is typically small beer to them - perhaps 2/3/4 weeks work. You are likely a one off customer. So you don't have much power over them turning up compared to a builder that may give them a steady stream of work year after year after year. Even if you stay on schedule they can say I can't come that week now, will have to be 3 weeks later. Can't come wife is ill, going on holiday, cut my hand, another job overrunning, got the flu, having a baby, etc. You mostly have to suck this up. A good builder will know multiple people in each trade and have some power - I give you £80k work every year - be there monday or else. So what you are doing is herding somewhat ferrel cats. No tradesperson will EVER phone you. They will NEVER call and say, 'just after an update - do you need me again next week', 'just thought I'd let you know going to be out of the country next month' etc. You have to call them, always, they may not respond - for days or even weeks. (It gets somewhat better as you move up the stack, finishing trades have to have customer relationship skills) There is stuff that crops up 'between trades'. Who is going to sort that threshold gap before the flooring people come ? Too small a job to interest any tradesperson - do it yourself or get stuck. A builder can usually call in a favour to get it done. You need to know what is right and what is not. Who you going to ask ? You need to be able to call an architect, or an SE, or BuildHub, or YouTube, or ChatGPT. A stitch in time saves ninety-nine. Stuff done wrong is disasterous. Now it has got to be undone, then redone right. Maybe pay twice over. Everyone frustrated. So you have to be eyes on - all the time, everyday - catch things straight away - that doorway needs to be 6 inches over - that alcove isn't deep enough for the kitchen units - that reveal is well out of plumb, those pipes are in the way, etc etc. Catch it early and one spoken sentence on the day fixes it. A lot depends how much quality/precisian you are after. As a self builder likely more than average. I had an architect tell me some builders in London were trying to write contract terms saying the building would be within 10% of drawing dimensions !!?! Good trades peole are good, good builders are good, but they are hard to find. Find a good builder early - check them out diligently. By far the most important thing is openness and honesty - stuff happens.

Does it require years in university to understand the scientific method? Being human they are not immune from bias. Even if personally incorruptible, scientists are subject to the whims of political and commercial funding. What results isn't necessarily bad science, but it does skew the volumes of papers and reports published on a particular topic leading to incorrect a public perception of its relative importance.

What you suggest can be done. It'll take 4 times a long as a main contractor unless you want a gash result.

Yet another building job limited my by my fundamental lack of arms. A water leak and the bean sprout might make itself known! In seriousness, one thing I would consider is buying a 110mm hole saw and making osb or Ply "gaskets" to slide on the waste pipes before plasterboard. Then secure them to the back to the plasterboard with a few screws through from the room side. You'll get a much more perfect air seal than anything you'll attempt with cutting a hole in a sheet of plasterboard and sliding it over the pipe.

That does seem like the logical approach. Do you know whether the SCC can be easily worked so it provides a suitable surface for Radon membrane / insulation. My concern is that the concrete slab is laid and the surface resembles the Alps and then needs remedial works to get it flat enough for PIR / Radon. My plan is to put the the Radon membrane on top of the slab and a sacrificial DPM below the slab. The utilities are quite high and if Radon membrane goes below the slab, it's going to be a hatchet job sealing around the pipes, due to the fact that at that level I am either on the start of the curve of the rest bend, or sat directly on the rest bend collar. Going above the slab puts me on the vertical and will mean I can use the top hats for sealing.

I think you should go the standard route. hardcore, concrete ,insulation , screed, finished floor. this method gives you the ability to juggle finished floor height. without wanting to sound like a wa##er you have had a few problems so far, if you get the concrete height wrong by 15mm when going for the final finish height this is going to totally bugger you up with door cill heights and all manner of other things. especially as you have finished brickwork outside. stick to putting a screed on top of the insulation so that level can be worked out at a later date when doors are in and you have a better idea on floor finishes. building 15mm up with self leveling compound over 100m will be a major ball ache if you change from tiles to LVT, but it’s easy to get the screeners to add another 15mm when they do their bit.

Agreed as above. All of it. Building is difficult. Someone with knowledge has to be in control. That has a cost. When you say 'planning' , what stage are you at? Presumably you have some set ideas on layout and budget. Underpinning! A horrible, messy, expensive job. Recently there have been some technical ways to support the building rather than the old ways, but I haven't researched it. You should do that and perhaps there is knowledge on here. Perhaps do the underpinning first and preserve the building before starting to knock holes in it and excavate around it. After that you'll know what budget remains and a bit more about your building. If you have pics or reports of the structural issues then we can maybe help.

The reason for attempting it myself is mainly due to an inability to find anyone who can do the job OR who I trust to do a good job. Having already had a poor experience of trades, my confidence is at rock bottom.

We are doing exactly this where we are both working full time. However our jobs (well mostly my partner’s) have a great amount of flexibility to work remotely most days. It’s going OK, not the smoothest ride but also not quite disastrous. We have done a great deal DIY but also have had tradies come and do work. In all honesty, some of the most stressful times for us have been when the tradies are working (as opposed to doing DIY). It’s my partner who supervises on site most of the time owing to her work arrangements and so a lot of the oversight is by me, through her. The translation isn’t always seamless, let’s say but even then having someone on site tends to keep them on the straight and narrow.. I have found that on the days that we haven’t been on site during the day is when things are most likely to have gone a bit awry (dinged the doors, bashed a pipe, not done what was asked). We have been lucky that they have mostly put things right when told (it helps if there’s only one tradie at any time on site to avoid finger pointing) but I can easily imagine things having gone very differently. So all that to say that it’s not impossible but it is very stressful so go in with your eyes wide open (and a steady supply of whatever keeps you calm) Also massive +1 on not working with friends and family. One chap we know has been getting friends to work on his house and has caused him massive delays. 7 years on and he’s still not moved in.

but if you asked me about groundworker whole different story. all fine in end but the grief!

Ah! Ok, different beast and a but more forgiving Clockwork screed guys were shit hot, and I’d recommend anyone in their catchment areas to use them. Cost was very reasonable too.

believe me it was good. we had planned to use smoother (leveller) but was pointless! Not your normal LVT with trowelled adhesive - more like a carpet tile without any fluff. (Interface)

+1 to all of the above. To use a friend means you need to risk losing that friend, as you need to be ‘that guy’; if you expect him to become responsible, punctual, think on his feet, foresee issues, prevent disasters, deal with conflicts, oh and be a wet nurse (and be able to stay calm and pop back in any spat out dummy's). I’ve just been on one such similar site where the client was trying to pilot the ship, whilst in work full time, and let’s just say it went ‘quite badly’…… Builders won’t want to principal over other trades unless they’re putting a reasonable % on everything these people do, as they are directly responsible for 6 years after completion as the PC. Underpinning needs specialist insurances too, and you need to see a copy of this, and confirm the cover is in place by phoning the insurer, BEFORE work starts.

Indeed, my question was about building regulation requirements rather than planning - the planning permission has already been granted.

Structural If you’ve LVT going down without a feathering (smoothing) compound, then you will likely see some ‘tide’ marks when the sun shines across the floors. Did you rub the floor over with a carborundum block first, at least? That’s the minimum I’d ask for. Agree there are some very good screeders out there, but not seen a floor good enough to omit any feathering out.

Sounds like a disaster ready to happen. You can't manage a project like that, you are working when all the trades are working. Who is managing what? My advice is get someone to do the management. That doesn't need to a project manager, it could be the architect. You need someone that understands the process and understands how to engage the right people at the right time with no gaps in responsibility. We did a renovation project that way and everything worked well basically a principal contractor responsible for delivery of the project, architect did the contract tenders, held progress meetings, managed timescales, managed the detailed quotes for 3rd party stuff like windows, heating, electrics etc. The house build I did myself working full time at site. You either take time off yourself or you get someone else to do it (from start to finish) and you do your day job. Short cuts, expensive, take longer and cause stress and general a poor overall outcome.

assuming 'slab' not structural have a look at liquid screeds. Finish that good we just needed primer and tackifier adhesive + suitable LVT straight on top. No 'leveller' (which should be called 'smoother' in my book anyway - that's another topic and daily conversation for me!).

That's the excuse of the less well informed that you are repeating. The vast majority of scientists are too busy being scientists (knowledge, analysis, complicated stuff) to get involved in politics. They are not inclined to lie or push propaganda either. They will also say' it isnt that simple ' unlike the worst of politicians who say what the audiene wants to hear, Those who don't understand science are often disinclined to believe just how clever some other people can be. If you excuse me I will exit this otherwise useful conversation: we self builders are designing with climate change in mid after all, and maybe become old if we can keep indoor temperatures in control. after passing some rather tricky exams at school . It's much easier to not understand and to assume it is bluff.

Because it has been blotchy for a while so not rally 10 years aesthetically. thanks for the names, Ill read up a bit incl Hammerite. Rustoleum I know the name, but the others are new. Only one typo is good going with my fingers. I dont fancy taking it down as it is probably 70 years since it was last fitted (we are told that the roof was originally shingles but didn't last long.) and will be 25 years older than that. Just the steel brush perhaps, then whichever paint seems to be the stickiest.

Nonsense argument. 🤦‍♂️. ”Disabled visitable”, “Disabled adaptable”, or “Disabled persons home”? Do you expect a wheelchair bound visitor to your home to be able to reach your oven isolator? A disabled persons home would be built around their own, stated, specific needs, such as @Benpointer. Apologies for terminology, I’m never sure if I should be saying “less-abled” or other. If the home owner is 5’ tall, the electrician should suggest things to suit their stature, much as this week I have asked my (non 5’ tall) clients if they’d like to accept my suggestion that we raise the vanity units by 30mm to suit their ‘tallness’. If you told said 5-foot nothing lady she doesn’t need wall units in her kitchen because she’ll never be able to reach them, I’d expect her to punch you in the bollocks, without bending down, and then go get a step stool out for you to sit on until the pain subsided. .