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Well it’s been an exhausting and rewarding three weeks. The plastering work started on the 25th February and finished today the 18th March. Keeping ahead of Shaun our plasterer has been a real challenge and has meant we have not had a day off. Our internal doors arrived from Germany intact which was a welcome diversion, we've stored them safely in the garage until we get the painting done. The heat and humidity that goes with plastering has been interesting to say the least in a relatively air tight house. We don’t have our MVHR balanced yet but it’s been a real life saver being able to increase the fan speed and get a surprisingly comfortable working environment. Getting the MVHR up and running early in the build is not something we had planned, but in practice needs to be done as soon as you start making the structure air tight. The filters will be trashed but it’s a small price to pay for comfort. One things for sure getting plaster board up focuses the mind on the details of first fix work right. We had left plenty of wire at the sockets we thought but some were a close call after cables were fixed into place so they didn’t interfere with boarding. The water pipes were more troublesome. Our build uses wall plates (timber bolted to the ICF concrete) that support the joists. The wall plate is 50mm thick and ends just 30mm before the ceiling, so pipes have be bent round a tight curve, too tight. We ended up notching the bottom of the wall plates and even then some were a really tight fit. One other problem we had to overcome was a curved wall. The curve is a “design feature” and like a lot of things looks great on paper but rather more troublesome to turn into reality. The curve has an outside diameter of 1800mm. We took a look at the options and decided against using doubled up 6mm sheets of mdf as the long term stability invariably results in cracking. After a bit of internet research we found a plasterboard product “V-Cut” that looked an ideal solution. The boards are standard plasterboard cut every 10mm with a fine kerf saw. The result is very flexible in one plane, they were rolled into 400mm tubes. When it came to using them however the very fragile nature of the sheets became very apparent. Plaster board is very friable at the best of times, cut into 10mm strips makes it nigh on unusable. For example the plasterboard screw driver would simply pass straight through it. We ended up using the solvent free version of pink grip to hold it in place. The curve is in our hall so it’s exposed to potential knocks and needed additional protection. After discussing it with Shuan we decided to apply rendering mesh with a base coat plaster and then apply a skim over that to complete it. The end result looks and feels durable. It would have been a far better product if the boards were laminated with an additional layer of mesh and paper before they get cut, as it is I would not recommend V-Cut in it’s present form. On the positive side it’s been immensely rewarding seeing the house turn from a building site into something that looks like living space. It’s quite curious how your perception of the space changes, it looked smaller and the ceilings lower before boarding, then got bigger again once plastered. At times it’s been reminiscent of the track laying sequence in “the wrong trousers”, needless to say we’re going to take a couple of days off to recover. Next on the list of things to do is mist coat the plaster to seal it before applying a spray of latex mat white.

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OK, I'm getting fed up now. Any more and I'll lock this thread OK?

Thought I would finished the tread off with a conclusion. Ended up buying EVOLUTION FURY5-S 255mm Multipurpose Table Saw. Thought were I could buy a mitre saw for the price which could be OK at one thing but I suspect I would never be happy with it. A saw table always for more things even if I won't be totally happy with most of those but this is about the best I'll get under £500 I recon. And I got it for £140 with is about as much as I can afford. As long as I'm careful with it, it should be ok for a few years.

We’ve got a concrete basement too - we couldn’t go up so we had to go down!

Been out for supplies today. Might be the only way to get fresh food come August ?. Will keep the kids busy next week.

This after 9-10 days, with labels. This years spicy salad leaves, and old seeds for pea shoots, Curley parsley, little gem lettuce and spring onions. the parsley and lettuce have started, pea shoots and spring greens not yet. Spicy salad will be eatable next week. D,

thanks @PeterStarck for confirming that I did understand what was written! I've come to the conclusion that the company I spoke to that won't use Posi-joists as they've had bad experiences with deflection on them maybe didn't install them at the correct centres or didn't add strongbacks. either way, I'm convinced I'm happy to go with Posi-joists.

I have only had 2 of these done - one cost £2000 and the other £720. They model the impact of the scheme on the windows of the adjacent properties. I think they may be even cheaper now. Often not needed if it complies with the 45 and 25 degree rules.

It depends whether you have a 3D CAD model they can use; as above, if one is available, it's actually a pretty quick and simple process, these days - certainly no more than a £few hundred. If you have to do the background work to support it, it'd be a bit more - a high 3-figure or very low 4-figure sum.

Be careful of this one... it's why I'd been careful to qualify my comments above by saying that you need full end bearing, The stud cluster specified by the Engineer is what's necessary to transmit the load from the RSJ to the foundations. The bottom flange of the RSJ has to cover the entire stud cluster (and if it doesn't, it's normal for the SE to specify a steel 'spreader plate' that sits under the flange of the RSJ, on top of the stud cluster to its full width), in order to do so. You can fit extra studs to 'bracket' the RSJ, if you like, but obviously they won't be actually carrying any of its load, so you'll still need the full complement of studs as specified by the SE for that stud cluster, as well. Obviously, this arrangement locates the end of the beam side to side, but does nothing to restrain it longitudinally... but as above, it shouldn't need to.

As yet another (retired builder) who has encountered planning officers who don’t appear to have a clue, after 4 planning applications and an appeal to the Secretary of State (which we won hands down) we got what the vast majority who live near us wanted and what we wanted. The Secretary of State even told the LPA they were not abiding by their own policies. I did employ a planning consultant for the fourth planning application and frankly I could have done better myself. I did the appeal myself (smug emoji). Our builder informed us if we lived a couple of miles south, we would have come under a different authority and got planning first time round. I have also been dealing with different LPA,s in different areas and found NO consistency whatsoever.

I don't think this follows. For simple applications, it's unlikely you need an expert. If you want to do something out of the ordinary, or in special area (AONB or conservation area), or involving a listed house, why is a system broken just because it involves some complexity? Lots of people don't have the time, intelligence, confidence (etc) to get involved in all of this, so they hire specialists to do it for them, as is the case across many other aspects of life. I think @AnonymousBosch's comment about plumbers is spot on: the existence of plumbers doesn't imply that "plumbing", per se, is broken. I've said this before Jeremy: be careful judging the rest of the world against your own capabilities. You may have the time, intelligence and self-confidence to get planning on a difficult site, design your own house, install your own plumbing, and so on, but most people simply aren't in a position to do that.

Broken? When a system demands some sentences be parsed to a degree that would delight a grammarian, it isn't necessarily broken. It's testament to a system invented by humans. Planning's like plumbing: you can attempt it yourself, but if you don't know how to cut a bit of soil pipe without it slipping around like an oiled up pig, I can either persist, or get a plumber. Or watch YT until I'm square eyed. And then get it slightly less than wrong. And try again. If I can't read fast enough, or persist long enough (like my neighbour), and so don't know about the requirement for consistency, then I don't get planning permission. Is that broken? Or just as complex as plumbing? I recon the two are about the same.

Just signing in to say hello to build hub. We have the plot, going back to planning. Single storey house can't wait to get going.

That's helpful, thanks @joth. I had assumed all my PD rights were removed but now I see that is probably not the case. Thank you!

Sorry I can't directly answer that but I definitely have read on here that there's different categories of permitted development, and even if your PP has a clause to remove PD for extending/improving the dwelling this doesn't remove the other classes of PD. I can neither find that thread nor remember the name of the author, but IIRC it was one of those helpful professional architect types that often help out on this board ? Just to clarify: I have no idea if ASHP falls into which class of PD. That's the crux of the question AIUI

Do not let the runs "sag" or condensation may fill and block them. Keep them supported and level.

No it's an R Whites product ?

I live in a deprived area, I never mix with the neighbours, they tend to be morons that think the local tin mine is going to reopen. But i do have 3 supermarkets, a Poundland, B&Q and a Halfords all within easy walking distance. And McDonalds, KFC, Subway and Costa. So apart from culture, I have what I need, almost. Now if I lived in St. Ives, I could get the culture, and they have a gun shop in the high street.