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No issues with the slab being exposed. I see it a lot here on small developments (probably building the slab so the development is "started" to lock in the PP then leave building the actual house until some time later) Another point though, as you are having one contractor do the slab and another build and erect the frame. Get the frame contractor to come and measure the site, check it for level and squareness, then build the frame to the actual on site measurements, NOT the measurements on a drawing.

I am an architect and certified passivhaus designer working in the south West. I obtained planning permission (a minor miracle after huge amounts of work) last year to knock down my house in Wiltshire and replace it with an eco house. A passivhaus would be the aim but as the site is in AONB and Green Belt on a steep west facing slope with amazing views it has a few fundamental issues that will make this challenging, but seeing how close we can get will be the aim. I am trying to find time now outside office hours to work up the details and put it in PHPP and I will endeavour to post my progress for anyone who is interested. The first issues will be how to deal with too much glazing facing the fantastic views, what to build it out of to keep walls as thin as possible (building volume is critical in Green Belt) with a partner who wants it "solid" and my own frivolous desire to have concrete floors throughout! Oh and stopping it falling down the slippery slope....

That's it, good find.

If you use Ardex A35 instead of cement you can lay ceramic tiles in 4 hours, FACT. Just used it and it's outstanding. Only ballache is £35+vat per 25kg bag and you need a pan mixer to mix it. Do not try and use a turn and fall ( regular ) cement mixer. Can you wait ? If so, just pour a nice wet concrete and tamp it with a timber T bar and leave it 5-10mm shy of where you want it. Finish with leveller or plenty of tile adhesive. FWIW, tiling with a green slab can be done in less than a week if you put down a Ditra mat decoupling membrane ?

Use self compacting Conc not much skill required you will save on labour

Another one here. We have wet towel rads in the 3 upstairs bathrooms and together with the electric UFH mats under the tiles, they keep the bedrooms at a comfortable temperature. I used cheap mats from eBay (there's a thread somewhere). Our UFH came on today for the first time since Feb and that was because the front door was open while the electrician was doing some work.

Why not run a pipe up to the attic space above ( iirc your only part-vaulted ? ) and put the EV up there? You need to allow your plumber to answer the final fitting questions TBH, ( G3 regs will apply even though your not getting a BR certificate if you want a warranty ) but iirc D1 can have a bend horizontally before dropping to the tundish as long as you can get 2-300mm of vertical D1 pipework before the tundish ( to take the swirl out of the flowing water ) as otherwise it goes everywhere except into the ( open sided ) tundish. You then also ( iirc ) need a minimum of 400mm vertical dropping D2 leaving the tundish before the next horizontal / invert. The control group does indeed need to be within 500mm of the UVC.

It's not the one with the black sides, but here is a stainless steel Lamona trim http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Integrated-Microwave-Frame-Kit-Lamona-/142519546723 As an aside to @ProDave's question, Siemens now do full size ovens with a built in microwave, we have gone for two of these rather than a full size oven and smaller microwave. They aren't cheap though! Luckily our kitchen supplier had some of last year's model at a much lower price. http://www.cameokitchens.co.uk/product.php/21774/siemens_hm678g4s6b

Hi Very few risks, in fact concrete gets better over time ! You would need to ensure any below ground cavity is covered to stop any water ingress but other than that there is no issue. May make sense to leave a couple of places you can sweep out any standing water from the slab by leaving out a block or two.

I will say that few contractors seem know much about external insulation but they do know how to build watertight structures appropriate to the conditions, insulation is not that hard to DIY. Rather than go to a specialist basement firm, get your architect and / or SE to do the design and then talk to ground-workers and/or concrete structure contractors. I simply laid a slab of EPS 200 blocks (as speccd by SE) covered in membrane which they built off and then applied EPS70 blocks to the sides once the concrete was cast. This created a 'wrapper' around the basement, mimicking the MBC insulated slab design, and the insulated timber frame structure sat on top. An alternative is to use ICF but you will still need to insulate under your slab first.

I shall try the deadpan Jack Dee delivery from now on.

Good luck Lizzy! I have some plasters turning up tomorrow for quotes, so your story has made me extra vigilant! No consolation I am sure, but we are about 2yrs behind on this build. Every delay is a kick in the nuts, but I think when you reach the plastering stage, it's at this point that you will regret letting your standards go in years to come. Stand your ground with these cowboys. It'll only encourage them to carry on with their crap workmanship on other builds also. Good luck!

Others might know better but i would have thought 100mm of dry screed should be fine. the only issue is it takes a long time to cure properly ( i have heard 2mm/day somewhere but i am happy to be corrected on that) What are you planning to put on top of it? if you are going for lino/karndine/vinyl i would say concrete it as a beginner you should be able to get a relatively decent finish easier and you will have to put some kind of self leveller on it anyway, if you are going for anything with an underlay i would say have a go at screeding, its not as easy as it looks to get it like a bowling green but it is much more controllable and a lot less messy. one of the hardest parts of screeding is getting the consistency of it right in the first place, after that you can mess about with it for pretty much as long as you like.

This. Available in white and over paintable. http://www.rust.co.uk/em-121-epoxy-rust-proofing-chassis-paint/c28117/ Given its buried in render it wont last forever, but a lot longer than anything else i could think of.

students and lost pencils, my answer is usually, 'keep it behind your ear, or as you have sufficient space, keep it between your ears'

@Chalks Welcome to the forum, sorry to hear your news but if it was my post showing up in a google search that allowed you to find this forum (and the fantastic resources and support that are available here) then at least something positive has come out of this. Its a a shame your intoto branch has completely closed its doors, very different to what I am seeing with my branch. I was told the Exeter and Bristol franchises were the 2 most successful, so I guess it depends on how the individual businesses were performing with regard to how capable they are of riding this turbulent time out. Its probably not right that I give too many more details regarding my specific situation and store given that this post is clearly being located from outside of the forum now. Having said that I will say close up my initial story by saying that Exeter have been fantastic, have sourced me an alternative kitchen I am happy with which will be delivered in a couple of weeks, along with some significant good will gestures which we really do appreciate. Not meaning to rub salt to Chalks situation, just finishing what I started with the post. More than happy for this post to become about everyone helping Chalks or anyone else struggling with the ALNO situation now.

I'm a mere DIY'er but ffs have some pride! If in doubt put more in. Tbh I think I went 200mm ctrs then took on board @Nickfromwales comments and have been doubling up:

If you can get the paint off it then give it a coat of Jenolite to convert the rust. Decent metal primer over the top and a coat of masonry paint should be ok. Don’t use Hammerite as nothing sticks to it so you’ll end up with a stripe on each piece that will make it look worse. This normally happens where external scuffing has occurred so just make sure the render and corner bead aren’t damaged.