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Unfortunately a high price doesn't guarantee high quality.

I find “door stepping” works well, find out where he lives and call round for a chat and a coffee! I’ve found it works wonders.

By the time you have mucked about you will have to dig the concrete up anyway so I would take the lot up and start again. Sounds like the clown circus who put the rubber down didn’t do it properly and you need to get it up and get it done right. Unless there is a desperate need, I wouldn’t be putting another layer of concrete in as this could end up coming up in future .... You need to design in some sort of drainage mechanism too - either that or ditch the pavers and go for waterproof concrete to the last 1” and then use resin bound gravel as the top surface and create a multi layer surface that has waterproofing built in every layer by design.

Look out for the bait trail!

Yes, I fitted extracts above the shower in one bathroom and above the bath in the other, and they do most of the work in keeping the bathrooms well-ventilated, but the low flow rate extraction from the WC pan is enough to stop any odours from escaping from there. The key to making it work well is to make sure the seat is lowered immediately after use.

I'll say out loud I think it insane to have an inaccessible waterproof membrane under concrete. Under removeable pavers fair enough.

If you look at the car park waterproofing link it looks like some of their systems use resin bonded decorative stone as the top coat. Maybe you could finish the parking area with something nice looking, rather than black rubber.

Don't tempt me they look lovely, but trying to save money?

EPDM has a pretty good reputation for long term reliability, and when encased in concrete I'm certain it would outlive you. The only slight risk is that the EPDM could get damaged when laying the concrete, but I think you'll find that all the EPDM underneath your layer of concrete is fine, and that the problems are all associated with the detailing at the upstands and edges.

I’ve just read the whole thread and realise what a big problem you’ve got! You’re right, the whole lots got to come out and be re-done. As Jeremy says you need a good craftsman with an eye for detail. Have you talked to the EDOM manufacturer, maybe they have a technical expert who could advise on what needs to be done and who would be best to do it.

I think you're in for a lot of work in ripping the existing concrete and pavers off, and, as the problem seems to be entirely a result of bloody awful workmanship by the "roofers" that laid the membrane I can't see any reason why you can't just lay a new layer of EPDM over the roof (after getting back to the existing EPDM), with proper detailing around the upstands and edges. This roof can be made to work OK, it just needs good workmanship. The chances are that the existing EPDM can just be trimmed back around the upstands and a new layer laid directly on top of it, I think. Heck of a lot of work, but with luck the concrete should come away from the EPDM without too much hassle. As I suggested earlier, cutting the concrete with a diamond disc cutter to just below the depth of the rebar may allow it to be lifted away in chunks. It'd need a proper disc cutter, with a depth stop, but you can hire one of those, like this: https://www.hss.com/hire/p/floor-track-saw-petrol-350mm

Looking at the photos of gaps in the EPDM joints, plus the running water tracking across the ceiling from the upstands, I don't think there's any real doubt as to where the leaks are.

I modified the cisterns in our bathrooms so that the air space above them connects to the MVHR extract. The effect of this is to draw air directly from the toilet bowl to the extract, via the overflow pipe in the cistern. It works very well at removing odours at the source, rather than having them escape into the room. All I did was connect some waste pipe to the side of the cistern and then plumb this into the MVHR extract ducting:

Yes it works.....tested with overnight young male guests and a hot curry. No worries at all with extracting and no return....

I believe that MVHR is very effective at this. I've put my faith in it to the extent that my downstairs loo has a non-opening window. This is because I know that one of my friends/family will open this window if they've had a bit of a struggle in there and then won't remember to close it or tell anyone it's open and completely mess up the MVHR flow. I'll set the MVHR so that it can have a boost for 10 mins after any smelly events.

I did think of that idea but it would be difficult to cut out the hole for the waste.

Easy to tamp concrete to falls and have it stay there and not slip. See p15 of my mega thread.

Sorry, I'm late to this particular party. Do you have a leak? If so, have you considered using an electronic leak detector? I've used them in the past and they do work! http://www.singleply.co.uk/electronic-leak-detection-for-roofs-advice-for-architects/

Just to re-state the point I made earlier: you can easily get a false positive reading from a Tramex meter, especially as they are calibrated for concrete and not calcium sulphate. It's worth getting a hygrometer or calcium carbide test done to double-check that the Tramex readings are correct. Using the Tramex the floor might be bone dry and your meter is telling you it's wet.

Many anhydrite screed manufacturers provide information. We have used a Gypsol screed and their post instalation guide can be found at: http://gypsol.co.uk/media/1497/6-gypsol-post-installation.pdf As soon as the screed was hard enough to walk on I found that much of the laitance could be removed with a stiff brush but I still plan to remove the remainder by sanding before laying tiles. According to the manufacturer's documentation it is fine to force dry with UFH after 7 days. Our installer insists that it is better to do this.

If your unit is purple what about a funky metallic top...either metal or glass.

@Jude1234 What method are you using to test the relative humidity levels in the screed? Edit - the reason for asking is that some of the commonly used test methods can be unreliable, particularly when the screed is calcium sulphate. If your builder has been testing using a Tramex CME meter (see photo) they can sometimes give false high readings. It would be worth checking using a different method. It doesnt sound like you have the time to get a hygrometer test done as they take 72 hours but you could get a calcium carbide test done quickly if you can find someone to do it for you.

Multipanel do a really nice U Trim in different finishes that would work to cap any edge and seal it to make it water tight. Where you cut through for the waste, it needs to be well covered in silicone ..! I do prefer that Corian on the link though ...

I would get a big industrial dehumidifier in there ASAP. They will take a lot of moisture out very quickly.

@Jude1234 In order to get your screed dry you need a differential between the relative humidity of the screed and the relative humidity of the air in the house. For example, if the air in the room is warm with high humidity because all the windows are shut while the UFH is on then the screed is not going to dry out. Have you tried running dehumidifiers at the same time as the UFH?

I don't think it's a good idea to use a liquid dpm on top of a still-damp Calcium Suphate screed like yours. It would be okay with a sand cement screed or concrete but calcium suphate screeds have a high gypsum content. If you use a liquid dpm before the screed has dried out properly it will trap any residual moisture and there is the potential for the gypsum to swell up and become soft leading to your floor finish debonding. http://www.contractflooringjournal.co.uk/blog/anhydrite-screeds-handle-with-care/ Edit: I've read that some manufaturers of liquid DPM claim they have products suitable for use with calcium sulphate screeds but it's not something I have any personal experience with. EG: http://www.uzin.co.uk/products/calcium-sulphate-screeds-need-uzin/

You could puts straight male 15mm x 1/2" chrome 'copper to irons' in the rad, then short pieces of chrome pipe, then straight rad valves, then more chrome pipe and then into chrome comp 90's. That way you'll be able to put the valves 'mid-way' thus satisfying OCD 18 turns should suffice. Crossed with the other replies.

Could you multipanel over a strong carcass and maybe use chrome quadrant edging?

If you end up with normal worktop I would suggest looking at the kind of wood type finish used by @zoothorn in his kitchen recently. Think it was cheap etc. Do you have any Multipanel offcuts? They would do it, depending on finished edges required etc. Ferdinand

Limestone/Travertine for under £100? http://www.naturalstoneandtimber.co.uk/internal/vanity-tops-natural-stone-timber-ltd I'd want to go select in person.

we had a Corian worktop in the bathroom of our last motorhome, it got stained but we polished the stain out. i certainly like the idea of corian, though not the price, for kitchen worktop, no joints/dirt traps.

Yes, it is way, way, overpriced for what it is, but it definitely does stain, really badly when it's not cleaned as soon as something like tea or coffee gets spilled on it. As a part of my last job, we upgraded all the work surfaces in a 900 person new office/lab building from laminate to Corian. To say we were disappointed with it in the refreshment areas is an understatement. It was fine in the toilets, but within a few months the Corian in the refreshment areas was badly stained from tea and coffee spills that hadn't been cleaned up quickly. Unlike stone, Corian can be cut with a router or circular saw pretty easily, due to its relatively high (around 35%) plastic resin content. The mineral powder filling is also pretty soft.

I’d hardly say corian was one step up from laminate, it prices in line with quartz, it’s non porous so shouldn’t stain

Couple of things, that b and q window will be utter crap,go and have a look. As for standard sizeing i completly get where get where you are coming from, backwards Britain strikes again our last house we built in Australia, I went to see a window company and was handed a brochure, many styles to choose from size wise hundreds to choose from as long as you stuck to the set metric sizes. Width. 300 600 900 1200 1500 1800 2100 height. 300 600 900 1200 can you see where this is going, brilliantly simple, the brochure had all the rough openings in it to show your frame builder and when your house is finished you go and buy blinds, well bugger me, they are available to fit the same metric sizes so you go and buy off the peg blinds no dork coming around to measure up for your bespoke £10,000 blinds as i said backwards Britain something so obvious, pay you deposit and 3 weeks later your windows arrive

Is it worth looking around for Corian offcuts? Corian can be cut with a router or circular saw without any real problems, and is one step up from laminate, I think. Not sure I'd use it in a kitchen, as experience with it in an office kitchen environment was that it stains badly, but it should be fine in a cloakroom (does anyone still wear cloaks, I wonder, let alone leave them in a cloakroom?).

Welcome to THE self build forum.

Cast concrete? YouTube "concrete vanity top"

Welcome to BuildHub.

Welcome to the crazy world of self build. Exciting, challenging, sometimes terrifying, and a journey not many choose to take. You are among like minded folk here though. Read lots of threads, ask lots of questions; you are fortunate to have found this forum right at the start. Remember, there are no dumb questions here.

Enjoy that while you can. Harness it. Store it. Bottle it. You'll need to drink from that bottle later. One sip at a time. In the meantime, welcome.

Hi and welcome to the forum. You are in good company here.

Ok .... wall ties at 4/m2 would take up 0.0036% of a wall, so using something 100 times more conductive would mean that in a wall with a total u Value of 0.1 W/mK, the use of stainless vs basalt would take about 800-1000 years to repay the difference in cost... There are bigger problems than what a wall tie is made of - air permeability being the major one that is easy to design out and has significant benefit overall.

Still working on it. I initially thought we could just K-rend rite over dpm course but render guy said no. We are now considering using something like this bay window connectors http://spectrumarchitectural.com/aluminium-window-cills-and-pressings/ Kicking out 60mm at dpm course for a 40-50mm sandstone (denfind stone)facing stone plus 10mm adhesive to match other parts of house. Next house probably raft upstands 200mm thick with 250mm thick external eps icf so 50mm overhang for stone work. Just a idea but will investigate further...... best laid plan?

Looking at the BBA certificate, Durisol is only classed as moisture resistant when an approved external waterproofing coating is applied. EPS based ICF systems won't have this limitation, as EPS is approved for use when buried underground (our foundation rests on 300mm of EPS). I'd be wary of trying to use any product outside its BBA certificate limitations, because of possible problems down the line, getting building control to sign off on something that's outwith the BBA (or equivalent) approval parameters and because of possible insurance implications. As an example, our house frame was built under the Irish approval system, which is recognised as being equivalent to BBA, but I still had to provide building control with evidence to show this.

You've got 2 main issues that need resolving: ensuring the screed is dry enough (it needs to get down to 75% RH) ensuring the screed is properly prepared ready for the final floor finishes. (If you are planning to stick anything down onto the screed like the bamboo the screed will need the surface laitance removing)

sand cement screeds and concrete slabs are much more forgiving than anhydrite type screeds and typically need less work to remove laitance prior to tiling. You still need to remove any laitance however there will be a lot less of it compared to anhydrite screeds. The reason for this is that anhydrite screeds contain far more water which is why the laitance is more prevalent. The main issue with power floated slabs is that the power floating process seals the surface of the concrete making the drying process much longer. In fact I would say that 12 months drying time would not be unusual for a power floated slab. The good news is that there are plenty of liquid dpm products that can be applied to the top of the slab to get around this problem however they are not cheap.