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Welcome - Sequence and interfaces between the trades becomes everything in this sort of project - being clear of everybody's scope and knitting the scopes together is vital. Covering up is not difficult if needed but probably the knock through can be done once the extension is actually part built and perhaps largely watertight. Have you a drawing that might help us understand what you are doing? Otherwise a typical sequence might be (Not exhaustive): Get design including specifications for materials / finishes etc. Get planning permission. Get building control on board. Ground works - including any soil pipes, electric / gas / comms ducts etc. (Usually the ground worker) Foundation formation - fitting any insulation, laying DPM and pouring the concrete of a particular specification to a tolerance in the ground works. (Usually the ground worker) Walls including damp proof coursing, insulation, window apertures and airtightness. (of whatever construction - sounds like timber frame in your case). (Chippy) Roof timbers, sheathing - wooden surface, Vapour Control Layer if required, air tightness and link work to existing roof. (Chippy) {Rainwater goods probably needed here as well to take water from roof} Cut into existing roof and cover up. (General builder type work but chippy might to it) Roof covering including VCL if not in chippy scope, EG membrain, and refitting / making good any tiles from sloping roof to meet new flat portion. (Roofer - they usually want a flat, boarded / sheathed, surface to work from and connect roof to rainwater goods) Brick infills, required damp proof courses, associated insulation and structural connections(Bricklayer) Cut through existing building including fitting structural steel if needed. EG Lintel / RSJ (General builder) Fit windows and maintain / continue airtightness (Window company or general builder) Complete outer surfaces EG render or whatever. (General builder or specialist depending on finishes} Internal fit out EG second fix etc, without damage to airtightness. (General builder / Electrician / Plumber) Plastering / Drylinning (Plasterer / dry liner) Kitchen fit (Kitchen fitter) Decorating (Decorator, significant other - if persuadable or yourself!) Kitchen warming party. Each one will need a clear scope and check that there are no gaps and minimal overlaps (no point in paying twice) between the scopes. Hope this helps.

make your life easier and just put a paving slab over it

Telford do a slimline 200 litre one if its a standard direct you are after..? https://www.cylinders2go.co.uk/shop/stainless-steel-unvented-cylinders/telford-tempest-200-litre-slimline-direct-unvented-cylinder/

linings, a thinner version of standards to which a door is hung. normally linings in stud work (modern) and more likely to move. full door stops go from door, when closed, to facings on other side of wall, far nicer looking. planted stop normally approx. 30-40mm in width. margin or list, the distance the facing/architrave is kept back from the edge of the standards/lining

Hi all, I've been scouring these forums for a few months but thought I'd introduce myself and give an overview of what I'm thinking instead of a million posts in a thousand threads before we are further down the line, apologies if I'm not up to scratch fully on forum etiquette. As part of a community self build I'm building an approx 98m2 2-storey 3 bed house with the intention of my girlfriend and I doing a lot of the work but bringing in contractors and family favours (former bricklayer dad and site manager uncles) when needed. This will be the first step on the property ladder and budget comes into play there, a budget £1100 per square meter is our basis and efficiency and eco friendly as feasible the goal. There is a set plot, not met the architect yet and the imagined build plan is as follows, any advice, hints or links welcomed Groundworks/foundations - heaps of insulation, possibly done with a contractor? Timber Frame - house size is fixed so a kit unlikely, simple rectangle shape Layout - upside down house with open plan kitchen/lounge upstairs Blockwork - a job my dad and I can do but aggregate? aircrete? hempcrete? breezeblocks? no idea yet Insulated Render exterior Vaulted roof - we'd like a small mezzanine over 1 end of the lounge, may restrict insulation options and trusses, a contractor and crane may be required? Tiled floor downstairs, wooden upstairs? ufh for both? powered by air source heap pump Thanks in advance for responses from now and over the next few years

As long as their is room for the plumbing. Ours is in the airing cupboard, built around it once the tank was in. We have 250L. SWMBO has showered until it went cold, then complained the tank was not big enough. Don't under estimate how long a woman can spend in a shower.

For your pride and joy, the finish is the last thing you'll be looking at for life, so I'd agree, TnF'd just doesn't cut it. I don't care how good a blob of filler is sanded, it's still proud of the board. Skim for me every single time.

I don't mean to be a fly in the ointment but I fear you will be disappointed. Skimming is the only acceptable finish IMHO. ?

Fackin TINY. ?

The only thing your guy will benefit from is you cleaning out his buckets which will save you his labourering / costs . Stand down on everything else .

Ours was the same. Point blank refused to accept that a 5kW ASHP would be sufficient. He wanted to install a 14kW unit! From memory, his concern was that the house temperature would drop during the couple of hours that the ASHP would be in DHW mode each morning, and that the ASHP would struggle to catch up with that loss as the day went on.

Hang on chief.....we ARE talking about you using a PLASTERER, to lay gypsum skim coat over the whole of the walls yea? If so, that nifty tape will be going back for refund and you'll be fitting these beads.

I squeezed this Pex-Al-Pex one back "round" with an appropriate sized armoured cleat. Tested fine thereafter. @Nickfromwales allayed my fears a bit saying he'd seen wheelbarrows upended on them without detriment:

Hi Sarah and welcome to the forum - You are in the right place so no worries on that front. I'm sure others with more experience than I in this field will pop along in due course but in the meantime, have a read of the attached link - it might assist. https://www.homebuilding.co.uk/extension-planner/ PW.

We have done a lot of jobs where they have oiled oak doors in painted linings. staining softwood to try and match is probably a bad idea.

Tricky, horribly tricky. Strikes me that plenty of others must have solved this issue: we didn't invent it. Let's get our heads down and worry this one to the bitter end.

@Triassic and @divorcingjack, finally we come, hopefully, to answering the question @divorcingjack asked in the first place. And I think the answer lies in determining your status as far as CDM 2105 is concerned. I say that because have read and re-read this thread so many times I dreamt about it last night. If you are a Domestic Client, I think it would be hard for anyone to show that you are a competent person to 'appoint' (not sure if that term is right) anyone as PD. Nowhere is a Domestic Client directed to appoint a PD. I think everyone is suffering from a serious - if unintended - case of poorly drafted guidance at a series of levels.

This post is summary of the Principal Designer thread. The purpose of this summary is to assist members and guests decide for themselves how CDM2015 impacts their build project. The summary is offered as is and should not be interpreted as authoritative advice. As is normal in asynchronous online discussion, the thread sometimes changes its focus a little. Where those changes occur, the content has not been summarised. Discussion of this issue is particularly relevant to us because we are a self-build forum, whose members are assumed not to be professional builders, or -in relation to building- have any technical understanding or capability beyond simple DIY . To be clear, the following assumptions are made; · A client is a Domestic Client. The distinction is central to all that follows · The Domestic Client can choose to apply for VAT relief in due course, whereas a Client cannot · The Domestic Client is not engaged, or about to be engaged, in a business related to the build (because they will then be a Client, not a Domestic Client) The thread started with a question about the role of Principal Designer. The examination of that question inevitably lead to discussion about how the role related to other key aspects of the legislation. There was some reference to the history of Health and Safety legislation, but it was pointed out that over time, the general emphasis had not changed. If you qualify for Domestic Client status, then a contractor working for you carries the main responsibility for Health and Safety. It was in the detailed examination of the term ‘responsibility’ that a good deal of discussion arose. Several members agreed that the legislation was poorly drafted for our sector of the market. And in the context of a self-build forum, where many of us will be doing things for the build on our own (DIY) as well as employing contractors, it is easy to see a rich source of confusion. For example, self-builders might be tempted to become involved in the build in a way which implies technical competence and so enhanced H+S responsibility. A strong warning was given to self-builders to avoid becoming involved in technical aspects of the build to the extent that they might be considered ‘ a responsible person’. And that includes the self-builder being trained in a relevant build subject to the extent that he or she might be assumed by the courts to have more responsibility than a Domestic Client would be expected to have. Perhaps the simplest articulation of how CDM responsibilities can be operationalised was in this post (@jamiehamy) ‘… We have only used contractors for the steel frame, lifting in floor beams, ground works/drainage and electrics - and each time I've made it clear that the contractor is responsible for operating safely and I do not dictate how they complete the activities. I don't supervise on site and most certainly do not manage their work or how they work - they have a deliverable and it is their responsibility to complete that. Where required, I offer safety equipment, ask what they need me to provide to work safely and healthily, I find out if they are dependent on me for anything and let them get on with it. Maybe I should do more in writing but I choose reputable contractors and all work is fully invoiced…’ In terms of prosecution for H+S breaches, providing the Domestic Client has fulfilled their duties (not covered in detail in this summary) prosecution is highly unlikely. Domestic Clients should make sure the site is safe and secure, tidy and clear of obvious hazards. There was some discussion based on the meaning of a series of CDM-specific terms; Project Manager, PD, PC, Client, Domestic Client, Business or Business Activity, Contractor, design, designer as well as others. Please refer to the full discussion for a more detailed discussion. But it was convincingly argued (with supporting evidence, and some unevidenced dissention) that a Domestic Client cannot be either a Principal Contractor or Principal Designer. Additionally, there was some discussion of official legal documents related to CDM2015. In summary: be sure to understand the meaning of the term Domestic Client, and to maintain that status throughout the build. Any competent person with whom you have a contract to complete work on your site should be capable of working safely. Offer support to fulfill H+S requirements, but never offer advice or direct work or manage the process. If, after reading this summary you feel you need to, take care to seek advice from more than one reliable, authoritative source. Paying for advice does not guarantee its accuracy or authority. Source url forum.buildhub.org.uk/ipb/topic/2376-principal-designer-role/ Bibliography. HSE (2015), Managing health and safety in construction. Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015, HSE Books downloaded 04/05/2017 http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/priced/l153.pdf See especially Appendix 6. HSE (2015), How CDM 2015 applies to Domestic Clients Appendix 6, Figure 1, in Managing health and safety in construction. Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015. Download the flow chart (from our server) here HandSforDomesticClients.pdf HSE Construction Discussion Forum (accessed 04/05/2017)

Given PH levels of airtightness and insulation, I think it's reasonable to assume that there'll be a short heating period during winter, and an occasional use for cooling during summer (depending on solar gain - we got through last year reasonably comfortably without cooling our house). Between those, there'll be weeks, or more likely months, where the slab doesn't need to be heated or cooled. I'd therefore consider whether to make the system switchable between a summer mode and a winter mode. Given you only need to switch it twice a year, a manual switch would be fine. It might be as a simple as routing a call for <action> to either heating or cooling, depending on the switch setting. To be honest, you might not even need this given the way this sort of house reacts to changes in temperature over the year. Set up properly, I can't see a situation where you'd be calling for (floor) heat and then wanting cooling within hours or even days of that.

Discussion on which gas boiler here. ASHP or oil here. You may well have read them but they are still relevant. As you imply, with five showers there are likely to be occasions when there will be a need for three or more concurrent showers, which means even the largest combi boiler won't be enough. If you are considering the boiler option, I would recommend Vaillant's Choose a Boiler page - the guidelines that they give actually apply to all Boiler and cylinder manufacturers.

Another productive day

You can do it like this but I have found that one central fixing is just not enough,and allows cupping of the lining. I would much rather have two fixings and more filing.

Are we talking about a timber frame house or brick built. If timberframe go and buy that second fix nailer today you will not regret it. I think you are talking about three different jobs here. Door lining. Architrave. skirting. Doorlining. Screws and filler architrave. Second fix nailgun. Skirting. Second fix nail gun. I cant imagine screwing the skirting and filling all those holes.

And here's me thinking the Essex Flange was the Baboons of Basildon.

I think I would want to know more about the type, age and condition of the cable. Worst case scenario is the cable fails after the extension is built, and you have to somehow get a replacement in. It might well be worth getting a quote from the DNO to at least replace the cable with new, and route the new cable in a duct so in future a replacement could be pulled through, or even better re route it around where the extension is going.

What your saying seems to contradict itself. Laying tiles with an adhesive gives you between 4 and 8mm of bed to play with. I can tile over unfinished, unlevelled bare concrete and get it perfectly flat, it just uses more adhesive and puts the rate up, but if the job needs doing properly you state this before proceeding ( as you'd need to go and buy more adhesive too before starting ). Following the floor is one thing, but kickers every other tile??? NOPE. Sorry to disagree but would you get any work if you stated to your customer "I'm happy to lay on that for £20 a square metre but it'll look like I did it when I was pissed. That be ok?" You'd be out of the door with my foot up your arse if you said that to me. . There is no defence for this guy, his work is just bad. I bet he couldn't tile a pool table, so no sale, sorry. Time to stop making excuses for him and to get the worst of it taken up and redone or bin the lot. The PM needs to step up and take the blame for not stopping him half way through, and contribute towards the renewals as it was their recommendation and even Stevie Wonder could have seen where this was going.

Absolute nonsense. A tiler is bloody well 1000% responsible for levelling and laying a flat floor, REGARDLESS of the state of the slab. If the slab was that far out, which I doubt it was, then the tiler should have ascertained that BEFORE OPENING A BAG OF ADHESIVE !!! At that point they should have advised that the slab needs feathering with latex and should have done so prior to laying Ill bet my left nut that this guy has laid the tiles worse than the slab was in the first place. The skirting / up stands should have all the vertical grout lines lined up with the grout lines in the floor, unless it's a different tile. This was over my mates brand new liquid screeded floor in his Persimmon home, and in the kitchen I had to use about 9 bags of self leveller . Have a butchers at that lot. 600mm x 600mm rectified edge porcelain, a rough as toast screed, and you could play snooker on it after I left. There is no excuse.