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The best person to speak with is @fatgus, he was looking at them recently. I’ll drop you a message.

I mentioned the war(m batteries) but I think I got away with it! (& yes, if you get the reference then you are indeed, as I am, a wrinkly lol)

Maybe reach out to @craig as he’s the resident ‘lord of fenestration’

Seems to me the very first thing is to accurately asses the level of corrosion in the steels. Ultrasonically maybe? All that seems to have happened is a visual assesment that saw lots of corrosion. Which really doesnt tell you much.

I'm assuming that as it's construction, the hose pipe ban that's in place does not apply. I like the idea and it saves covering the concrete with polythene sheeting.

Hi everyone, I’m currently looking at windows for a self-build project and have been considering Westcoast Windows aluminium-clad windows. I’d be really interested to hear from anyone who has used them, or has any experience with their products or installation. I’d particularly appreciate any feedback on: Overall quality and build Thermal performance Quality of the finish Reliability and after-sales service Installation experience How they have performed after a few years of use Any advice, good or bad, would be greatly appreciated before I make a decision. Thanks in advance!

I'd like to say yes..............but............

+1, I've just eaten.............. lol

Depends what fill you use. I thought I'd seen people talk about fill that was a mix of concrete and other lightweight products, so the overall weight might be relatively limited. Especially if you are replacing the steels with a solid floor.

Sorry to hear about this predicament. Filling is a nice easy idea. Make a hole and back in concrete trucks and pour until you see it coming out the top. £10k of concrete and call it a day........ However 160 odd tonnes of extra mass over the basement floor might have unforseen consequences. Also pouring that much concrete might be ok in small bites in one go and I'd be worried about the walls of the basement buckling out. Then comes drainage pipes etc. Gut feeling is to do as little large scale disturbance as possible and retain access to the basement for future maintenance and inspection. I don't love the idea of not addressing the existing steels as they sound beyond salvaging, but we can't tell from this distance. Also it would be good to know if the existing floor is carrying loads that it shouldn't. I have a suspicion that if the external area around the apartment was backfilled the floor may be resisting the pressure of the ground pressing in from outside. Could you perhaps make a semi accurate cross sectional drawing and maybe some pics. A good SE, a diligent local builder and a few £1000 in men and materials might be enough to solve this yet.

I love the sunny weather, but sometimes it really is hard work being out there from 8am to 6pm. Today’s task was supposed to have been finishing the Radon membrane on the garage, laying the XPS 300 insulation and then finishing the remaining slab prep in the house. As always, I over estimate one’s ability. Thankfully, I have a good boss who is ok with me taking days off at very short notice. So I have to get this finished tomorrow. Install vcl on top of insulation, lay mesh and then finish final slab prep in the house.

>>> I have this vision of walking through the house in a state of blissful house completion euphoria Are you naked at this point? 😄 On second thoughts, don’t answer that.

This may be nonsense advice for your situation, but we chose to run a garden lawn sprinkler, actually two, on a hose timer - coming on for say 5 mins every hour. We actually did this for a couple of weeks as we were away and the weather was properly hot. Zero cracking. As others have said, a little cracking isn’t a big deal anyway. The contractor asked whether we wanted relief cuts / control joints, but we chose our sprinkler method and plan to use it again.

Thanks. Hopefully, the 1% won't cause me to fail building inspector visit on Friday. Keen to understand the 1% for next time 😂. Block & Beam next time.

Yes. LABC manual stated that it needed to be encased with concrete.

Building control were fine with me using grano dust as the top layer. So they should be. Sand is often used far too thick to overcome poor levelling of the sub-base. Then it picks up footprints and other shapes which the concrete has to drag along if it shrinks while curing. This is textbook stuff apart from a couple of things which reduce your mark to 99%. Well done. 🏆

I think some presenters have something to sell, but they can't fill 10 minutes with the facts so exaggerate. The less they understand it the more they exagerate. It's as if those prescious but flighty heat particles were rushing through a piece of timber as if it was a big hole in the wall.

Yes it might be moderately simple but this is SE work. If we are to help further we need photos.

I don't see how that could be the case - the house insurance is a tick box you fill in online and select a date you want coverage from, it's also entirely optional. The bc cert + council tax occupation date are far more relevant. Plus, if you're suggesting that they want to check the insurance doc because you couldn't have coverage if still doing building work, then I feel that HMRC would be delighted about this - it means they can keep the VAT you pay on any ongoing works.

Yes, but is there not a possibility, albeit small, that if the rust is not seriously serious, the work - in the form of 'under-pinning' via piers - could be done from below if the external access can be re-instated? OP and 'Leaseholders' Collective' - do you have any more info?

Oh yes, sorry, never meant to suggest otherwise! 'We *got rid* of the thermal bridges' in project presentations is simply a pet hate of mine, as of course they didn't!

It looks nice and tidy. Did you concrete over a pipe there?

Whatever we build, it is a thermal bridge to greater or lesser degree. BH can sort this And carpentry skills will be of huge benefit to the final product even though the SAP doesn't acknowledge build quality.

I like the word 'just' there. Would it also creep into every corner under the floor and expand to put an upward pressure onto the floor, as in underpinning? But its certainly going to be easier than barrowing in the first 80% So that is a decent shout for the bulk fill.