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And yet.... and yet... houses do get built. I think this thread is another data point underscoring the aphorism that; Systems and people show themselves for what they really are when -not if- things go wrong

If it is on the invoice as walls then that will becend of story surely. Don't use the word wardrobe.

I like 2 layers of grey in preference to one of pink. The ends can lap, and cutting-in gets tidier. If they think it has to be pink, then use pink as the outer layer.

I've never known a faulty one. The other huge advantages are in being a one person operation and bypassing obstructions. I think it's cheap to buy one to reduce amusement.

If the panels are going on a roof, how does the bifacial part work?

If going in trays this is of vital importance. If on a rail system, not so much, but a very good point!

@sgt_woulds I appreciate the 'pulling up', and I usually recommend WUFI to my clients anyway, as each case is different, but my suggestion not to have a membrane was not without (WUFI'd) precedent, from a refurb we did on a cement-based pebble-dashed 19th C house 8 or 9 years ago in Yorkshire (micro-climates vary!!). Nevertheless you are right that WUFI is advisable in the vast majority of IWI cases (in my vie whatever material you are using), especially if you use a merchant who offers it free anyway. My own preference, when I was contracting, was to aim for 100mm WF (c0.35W/m2K on a 225 solid brick wall - no so far from the Part L 0.3 target) and then use WUFI to tell me it's safe or not. A general note - If you don't find merchant offering WUFI then independent 'WUFI-wranglers' are a bit few and far-between. I have been told of one, though I am not sure on Buildhub's advertising rules. *Mods,( @Nickfromwales, are you a mod - I think so. Sorry if I am wrong) can you confirm it's OK to give the name*? I can't see why not. Edit: I see I did give the advice to use WUFI in my post on Monday at 20.35. I read @sgt_woulds's post as if I hadn't, and was surprised at myself! If framing I agree with your use of Intello and have used a great deal of it, not least in my own house.

Watch your flow temperature, your Vaillant is likely to give long run times, so set to a fixed flow temp, no lower than 16 to 17 degs, otherwise you may get dew point related issues - assume UFH, not direct to fan coils.

If you are getting the bifocal version they are glass / glass. Also watch as I found the datasheet and actual panel size where different, datasheet saying they were bigger (long side) than actually size.

I used tile trim from my local tile shop. Cut back the bit that would normally go behind the tile leaving about 5/6mm to stick it to the wall/door frame/top step of stairs (as in picture)

Yeah, but like with just about everything we see on here at BH, we have a magnifying glass on the poor experiences of self-builders which shows it's incredibly difficult to find good professionals in just about every area of domestic building in the UK. E.g. I paid 3 sets of professionals and all three made fundamental mistakes and it was a humble bricklayer who knew how to use a tape measure and square properly in the end. And then the glulam manufacturer sent out a surveyor to confirm measurements before commencing production. All good then. Yes, totally. I got laughed at when I was seen with my own home made water level fixed to a datum point on my steel frame with more than 25m long tubing, going round the house to check my levels on the rebuilt brick walls, wall plate and glulam ring beam. Why not use a lazer level they said and I showed them than it some critical areas there was no line of sight and a water level was more accurate because of it. In the end, I think I had a deviation on one corner to corner level of 3mm thanks to this. It was brilliant also for measuring trench depths and topographical measurements as you don't have the issues with sight of lazer in sunshine, even when you use a green lazer and sensor. I still have it coiled away for the landscaping to come.

Can you go back to them and ask to do 2 layers of FR PB + skim instead? You can even offer to use 2x 15mm to really give the BCO’s goolies a good rub.

BCO have asked for it, including the basement the house will end up being four storey by the end of the project.

I’d buy glass / glass vs glass / foil, as these have much better longevity.

Who has asked for this? Usually the standard plasterboard with a skim plaster coat attains 30 mins, without needing to then dress the steels behind it. Have you been asked for 60 min as your multiple stories? Can be easily achieved with 12.5mm FR plasterboard, possibly 2 layers if BCO requests it, and just accept a slightly lower ceiling. Much easier and quicker (and better).

I'm in the process of encasing structural steels within my basement with fire board. How do I continue the fire protection where the steel has a timber bolted into it? Hopefully the picture below helps to illustrate what I'm asking. I'm thinking infill those sections between the joists with pink board and then more pink board to the end of the joists hanging below the steel. Thoughts?

I'm looking at two different panels - both 500w and both about £80/panel with free delivery. Is there likely to me any real difference between them? (One is the LONGi Hi-MO X6 and isn't in stock, the other is a DMEGC and is in stock)

Good professional measurers can, and do. Some people charge money and think they can do it. Once they've been charged consequential costs a few times, they'll stop offering it. Hence back to my mantra.. after they've gone, check the fundamentals with tapes and a level, however primitive and mainly stand back and consider if it looks right.

That's best. Even if all used, the driver will swill out thd drum and drop it on your land. It won't go very hard. If you have surplus you can either spread it thinly as a running surface or kill the strength by reraking frequently and pouring water into it.

If your builder hasn't used woodfibre before (and it's great that he is open to trying) make sure he has the correct tools for cutting the boards as they are much denser than the materials he will be used to. Assuming a preference for power tools: For flexible woodfibre batts - a jig-saw or sabre-saw with fibre insulation blades (you can also use an insulation hand saw but this tends to rip the back of the insulation batt) For dense boards - a table saw or circular saw with a large blade and 'bastard teeth' (few teeth with large gaps between) and the best extraction they can get as woodfibre is very good at gumming up the works, in particular the safety guards. (You can get circular saw blades specifically for woodfibre, but these tend to be only available in Europe and for eyewatering prices) At home I have an ancient (1970's) open frame circular saw (no safety of any kind!) that works brilliantly, but only has a 50mm cut, so for deeper boards I have to turn them over and cut twice...

Just to pull up @Redbeard slightly, although I agree with his preference for woodfibre (I work for a woodfibre manufacturer so that's a given 🙂), this is a situation where a membrane may still be required. The best advice here is for you to have your external walls assessed via hygrothermal software - such as WUFI - which will take all of the site variables into account. Internal wall insulation is more complicated than external insulation due to the way it moves the dew point within the construction. Standard U-value calculations (Glaser) will not correctly account for the sorption properties of wood fibres nor their ability to pass on liquid water through capillary action. WUFI purely considers moisture issues and how the various elements of the building fabric will deal with the volumes based on site-specific conditions. More specifically, where you have an external finish that restricts 'breathability' you need to be really careful to reduce the amount of internal moisture that can get behind the insulation layer. Woodfibre will handle this better than Unnatural insulations, but it needs careful assessment. With woodfibre, it may be more appropriate to incorporate a framed system (with flexible insulation batts between) as this allows the addition of a moisture-vapour variable (VVCL) membrane such as STEICOmulti renova or SIGA Majrex® or PRO CLIMA intello plus . These membranes will limit the amount of water vapour that enters the fabric, but allow breathability back to the inside during warmer periods. Correct installation of the membrane and connections to all surrounding elements is the critical factor to get right with this approach, but it is less risky than it would be with unnatural insulations such as PIR. Woodfibre, actively transports moisture due to the sorbative fibres (I've seen studies that have shown the addition of woodfibre drawing moisture out of wet structures) whereas somthing like the Kingspan boards would trap it behind the insulation. It is nearly imposible to assure that any VCL (or taped PIR boards) are 100% perfect. That is without building trades or future homeowners unknowingly driving screws or causing other penetrations through the membranes after completion.. It is important to note that we do not generally recommend achieving high U-values with IWI due to the condensation risk to the structure. There is, generally, a sweet spot between 40-100mm of woodfibre that balances the energy savings, cost, and condensation risk. Part L of the Building Regulations for England offers flexibility when retrofitting existing walls, roofs and floors; an improved U-value of 0.30 W/(m2·K) is the target but a ‘threshold’ level of up to 0.70 W/(m2·K) is sufficient, as long as the approach can achieve a payback not exceeding 15 years and is ‘technically and functionally feasible’. It is worth discussing with your local authority / BCO; for an older building, most BCOs are now sympathetic to the argument that breathability is more important than the insulation value. Back to Earth offers WUFI, and I think Mike Wye & EWI pro / EWI store do too if you ask.

We used charred wood cladding and can’t use abrasive cleaners without exposing the wood underneath, which then removes the weather protective properties. The very heavy charred wood is soft and flakes really easily. I’ve seen very light charred wood decks on websites which look ok for low traffic areas that get sunshine - so they don’t get mossy. If you’ve got some left try a light power wash to see what happens. It does have a residue even once brushed - so how do you stop mucky footprints? I think it might be one of those things that looks great but ends up being hard work to maintain it. Be interested to know how you get on…

Thanks for this. We also have heatmiser stats and I guessed that I needed to get them to 'ask' the ASHP to do something. Thanks as well for the heads up on checking the other settings.

For any structural steel paints, I've used Promain to spec and provide a suitable buildup - the latest for me was a 6m long x 2.4m wide steel bridge where we used a 2 pack paint on top of a zinc base. https://www.promain.co.uk/

Bit late to this but I think I'd have preferred to seat the rafter on the 30-35mm you already have and supplement that with some substantial metal connectors. That would keep the plane of the roof flat. A company like Simpsons can probably suggest a connector (I joist rafters can be attached without any birds mouth after all) Won't raising the rafters at one end like this give you trouble later as there'll be a bit of a bow on your roof battens - hopefully not enough to stop individual slates sitting flat. With what you have, I'd still want a better mechanical connection between rafter and wall plate and would nail not screw (unless they're structural timberlok or something) for more shear strength. You need to be a bit careful you're not fixing your rafters mostly to the thin timber and leaving your wall straps holding down the wall plate below it, but not so much holding down the roof itself.