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Don't suppose you've drawn a schematic that we can have a nosy at? Everyone loves a good drawing to plagarise??

some work in progress photos. Haven’t got any of it as it currently is. Will get some tomorrow.

@Ferdinand The phase change freezer was essentially the answer to "How do I eat steak followed by ice cream in the middle of the Atlantic, while transiting in a 34" wooden yacht?". My father on law was a very clever chap who had the knack of seeing the very simple and obvious solution to a problem that everyone else had missed. When I tell you how it worked, it will be so simple and obvious that it won't seem impressive. It would be fair to say a sizable number of his ideas have been incorporated into my house design. It's a real shame he never got to see the house other than in drawings. The problem with sailing is getting power for use in "hotel services" as the RN call it. It was even worse in the early 90s when solar panels were expensive and pretty awful things. So you're limited to power sources like running an engine, towing an altenator etc to charge batteries (again, in the early 90s these weren't anything like we have now), so efficiency is key for long range sailing. He built a massively insulated top opening box with the best volume to surface area he could fit in the space, and pieced together a reverse carnot cycle freezer using parts such as an airconditioning compressor - because taking mechanical power from the engine was more efficient than driving an inverter. To minimise engine run time, he used a pair of aluminium plates with a "bag" filled with strong brine. The freezer oviously froze this in the cooling cycle, taking the box temperature to -20c or so, and it acted as a cold store for many days at a time provided the box wasn't opened much (and there's plenty of spare PCM sloshing around should the bag leak...). Thus engine runtime was minimised and used relatively efficiently (5 to 10 minutes every 3 days), there was no battery load imposed and he and the crew (a younger SWMBO) ate well. Simple solutions tend to work well.

Morning, Based on the East London/Essex border. We had planning agreed 2 years ago to knock down our existing detached property and rebuild a new house with a basement. With all the inevitable delays and second guessing everything, plus the ongoing pandemic fiasco, I can see, if I'm not careful the next year flying by and missing getting it started in the 3 year planning window. So I'm going to take a deep breath and make a start asap. Although the actual construction side seem to be nearly there - We have the Architect plans and SE calculations, a sort of acceptable pre-cast basement quote and watertight superstructure quote. (Although I've forgotten most of it, I was on the tools myself many moons ago, so I'm going to dust off the Black and Decker workmate and try and do as much as I can internally). Some advice on what order everything happens before the works starts. Regarding Party wall agreements, insurance, warranties/NHBC, building control etc. Would be much appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Hi I was just using design software to refine our house plans to submit an amendment to our application and thought itshare that before we appointed an architect I was drawing our house plans on graph paper and using tracing paper for floors (this was very painful when making changes!) until I came across software which is aimed at self-builder's. As a complete novice and without training (which is always available) with a bit of trial and error the software enabled me to upload a photograph of my plans and transfer them to scale, add floors, rooms and manipulate the plans to include windows (colours, types, etc) doors, room heights, wall and floor / carpet colour (with actual paint manufacturer / carpet codes), add kitchen cupboards, wardrobes, sofas, dining tables, bathroom suits actually available in the market etc. They will even add items specified not in their available catalogue under each type required to create a house visual so you can update your design in that level of detail. For a £5 a month no contract fee I found NuVuw to be invaluable. I think they have a free trial on at the moment: https://www.nuvuw.com It even has a project management tools built in which I plan to use for our next phase.

No issue with HRC and manifolds - just return the hot return back to the top of the UVC as per the return port.

I asked this question long ago as I was confused, mine are going in this week, 3 manifolds in total cold hot hot return. The hot return is for the hots that have a distance to travel the kitchen and one bathroom are right next to the plant room so just a normal hot feed to them.

Just called it a day I think. The citric acid loosened a load more up. Like I'd just started again! Had a proper flood along the way. Was topping up with the PFM lid unscrewed. Got distracted...went past MAX...wet vac time! If I dump the waste into a washing up bowl now I can see to the bottom. Ditto in the ScaleBreaker tank. The water has though a greenish tinge as I've noticed happens when I'm using citric acid to derust. Difficult to photograph. Half wondering whether to test the water acidity with some hot tub / aquarium test strips? So...I guess now I disconnect the PFM and put the magnaclean back in. Then drain down via the rads and boiler drain and get on replacing that rad. Think this might go into tomorrow! ?

We had an independent quote but it still wasn’t bringing it down to a sensible amount as it involved road closures etc

If you have a service void you can use plasterboard screws that can hold a fair amount of weight. These are good. https://www.screwfix.com/p/gripit-plasterboard-fixing-25-x-205mm-25-pack/630hp

Get an independent quote. you only have to pay the DNO to make the point of connection, other approved contractors will quote have a search for contestable works

That looks amazing! I will check it out - thanks

for me the ICF quotes were stupid money (had 2 from Nudura installers) for the basement. I'll be getting quotes from ground workers doing in-situ RC to compare and if those come in at the same price as the ICF then I'll be knocking the basement on the head as we wouldn't be able to afford it. I'm hoping the in-situ will be cheaper as I'd really love the basement! only time will tell....

I have done a basement in ICF. We used Polarwall. You need to make sure your warranty company is OK with it. You must use type C internal drained cavity membrane and pump, as it is not possible to guarantee that the concrete is contiguous in the forms. The reinforcing and concrete thicknesses is the same as if you did normal shuttered RC walls. We used Easi Joist floor above and this was treated as "partially propped" for the structural calcs. We did timber frame above. The basement was the same footprint as the floors above plus a light well.

Who's clever f***ing idea was it to fill from the boiler drain off? Hilarious when the hose comes apart at 8bar... indoors... ? I am now wet, cold with obviously no heating or means of having a shower. System is drained down. F*** IT, going to fill the tank of this PFM and switch it on.

@pocster All I can add is that we used this BAL flexible adhesive for all our porcelain ground floor tiles back in 2015. We didn't use a decoupling mat and tiled onto concrete with expansion joints at doorways.

welcome. I was where you were about 10 months ago. we had a quote from Scandia as well as many other TF companies and Scandia without a doubt were the most expensive company ever! even for just the TF they were nearly double anyone else. I know they're local but do look further afield (although there are also TF companies local that aren't as expensive) as well. if you want a package company to get you to watertight then possibly consider MBC. many on here have used them and we have good friends that have used them who are also in West Sussex. They did the foundations, TF and windows/doors and I can guarantee you it's a lot less than Scandia will charge you. We've gone for Flight Timber based in Essex as they were local-ish to West Sussex and we were impressed with the quality of work when we visited another site they were building. it was a good price as well! the only reasons we didn't go for MBC is that we're having a basement and so they wouldn't do the foundations and also, as we needed to cut costs by adding the insulation ourselves, their TF without insulation was substantially more than Flight Timber. here's my blog post detailing our decisions on TF and other things. I wish you the best of luck and get lots of TF quotes!

As above, commencing work on the foundations would be enough to warrant a start on site. You wouldn’t have to excavate for all but may be a portion of, say 25%. Once excavated, request a BR inspection and then job done. Btw, make sure you formally discharge any pre-commencement Planning conditions before you start digging.

You need to be careful here . We are detached , but digging out a big hole puts the fear of God into your neighbors- no matter how near/far they are to your build . Although I arranged for the dig I still had to take out special I.e expensive insurance ,against any issues as its dug i.e neighbors house collapsing - because that’s likely to happen right ?

this just seems wrong to me! the SE needs to calculate the load on the walls of the basement etc to make sure it can take the load of the house and hold back the earth around it. so it really should be the structural engineer who designs the basement. I understand getting a waterproofing expert as per BS 8102:2009 involved to design the waterproofing but it really should be the SE who designs the basement. when I sent my plans to SEs for quotes the basement was on it and I made sure that the basement design was included in their remit of work and costs. I'm really surprised by the response of yours. but that's just my opinion and hopefully someone who knows what they're talking about will be along soon.

With diffuser

I thought it was only fair that I reported back on my shed office. I bought a cheap potting shed. Went mad with the wood treatment to give it the best chance of repelling water, lined it with 40mm PIR, boarded it with 6mm ply. Power is currently by extension lead as I am just waiting for the electrician to connect the consumer unit. Cost about £900-£1000 in total. It’s south facing and so warms up quickly in the sun on these cooler mornings (it’s been frosty outside). If it’s a bit nippy I turn the oil radiator on for 10mins and it says warm for the rest of the day. So from my perspective it’s worked out really well, great place to work and have video conferences without being disturbed. Thanks for the advice ?

They sent a quote for just shy of £25k which totally was going to blow our budget out the water. They needed to bring a new underground line 300m from the transformer at the bottom of the road. In desperation I decided to make a complete and utter pita of myself and kept escalating a complaint ( based on the fact that they stated on their website that they were committed to keeping their system up to scratch to enable new properties to get an affordable connection). I ended up in touch with their top man who agreed to look into what could be done. I was just on the verge of breakdown when I mentioned to him about the pole in our plot and they discovered they had no wayleave for it being there, I had already mentioned this to several of the minions without success but on speaking to him about it and him having no knowledge that I had already pointed this out further back the line, he quickly decided that rather than them having to reroute their whole network on that line they would be far better to give us what we were wanting at a fraction of the cost. Within a fortnight of speaking to him the new quote came in for £4.5k and we signed a way leave for the pole (and they paid us for having it there!) . The work was done exactly as they had first quoted for with the power being brought on a new line from 300m away.

When looking at the costs and payback, something to remember is that you won't need any extractor fans to bathrooms, kitchens etc. This could run to a decent percentage of the MVHR cost. The cost of these can add up, but also I find them annoyingly noisy and the MVHR much quieter. There is also the fresh air benefit and the lack of dust which is a surprisingly nice benefit. I recently took a reading on my Dantherm MVHR and it seems that it runs to less than £20 per year, per unit. I run them on speed 1 for most of the time and find that entirely adequate, indeed running them on higher speeds in winter increases heating costs as it brings more cold air into the house. I change the filters once a year. The filters cost more than a year's electricity.

One thing to stress at your next meeting is your proposed ASHP is a low power inverter driven heat pump with SOFT START. It is only the older "direct on line" start heat pumps that have a very high start current that can cause the lights to dim when they start up. Or (cough) tell them you have decided to fit a gas boiler instead?

@Onoff nice barn door.. so many screws.. so yes this sort of thing, but good thing is i only have to match the decently diy'd standard of the other two nearby, and copy them, and get same t&g boards, even the same cheapo latches to match still fs in Charlie's.

Don't be surprised when you hang the door if it's flush one side where the hinges are and not the other where the latch is, either out at the top or bottom. A laser is tbh better imo to plumb frames in than a spirit level. Cross that bridge if and when we come to it! When you pin your shuts on: -Shut your door. -Do the head shut first then the sides. -Cut all to length. -Slip 1mm packs between door and shut, allows for paint thickness -Pin shuts using (supplied?) panel pins but don't knock them fully home until satisfied as to how the door closes -Punch them just below the surface, fill and paint

Couple of pics of the underlying detail where the LED strip is: 2 strips of ply to give depth: Then a capping piece. Sort of forms a shelf the LED channel sits on. Tbh it's sat up there "loose" 'ish: Back to back trim on the capping piece: When you're lying in the bath you can't see the strip, you just get a "glow" washing the mosaics.

sure it will attached example. Banks use it, they can provide a detailed stage pay report if needed. You can then use it to agree stage pays, foundations, slab, 1st lift etc. As peter says you will need to tweek it to suit but the hard work is done. gantt351812.pdf qs.pdf

no drama. You need a pumped chamber, big barrel with a pump in it that works of a float (not floaters). They are not that expensive, oversize it. https://www.plasticdrainage.co.uk/underground-drainage/septic-tanks-and-sewage-treatment-plants/pump-chambers

I was going to put the front of the TARDIS on my lads bedroom wall when he was little that led into the much bigger eaves space... Should have, would have, coul... ?

You're going for the most expensive method to be honest. I don't know anyone with a leaky basement and I've met quite a few fellow basement builders since doing ours. Cast in situ concrete or IFC should be much cheaper, the latter has the advantage that you can DIY some of the construction (block placement) if you're able. Any basement can be waterproof if properly constructed. Lots of discussions this week on BH about that. External membrane is probably the most risky as it can be mis applied or get damaged on backfill. Warrantied waterproof concrete is good (we used that, Sika, 20 year insurance backed warranty) and an internal membrane with sump and pump is also well established. All depends on your ground conditions and location of water table. I visited Tony's basement and it's great, however he is an experienced builder and I was not as brave as him Not anymore - our house is twin walled timber frame, passive construction on a basement and we got warranty, mortgage and annual buildings insurance with no issues. Note that any build method can get you to the necessary insulation and airtightness standard but some will require more attention to detail than others. This is the time to explore options and be creative - the savings can be considerable. if you have a structural design for your basement (i.e. rebar and wall spec) and a ground survey, take it to local groundworkers and get a quote. They will likely sub out the concrete works to specialists but take care of all the excavation, cart away and re-instatement (this will be the same for any basement construction method). Get a few quotes from SIPs and timber frame vendors - they can usually do a good job from your planning drawings. Big advantage of this method is that it goes up very quickly and you can pre-order windows etc as all dimensions are fixed. Talk to ICF contractors too. We started on 1st Aug 2015, demo and site cleared in 2 weeks and basement works completed mid October. Frame erection started Nov 13th and scaff came down first week of Jan. We had a completed exterior - slated roof, rendered walls, windows installed, all fascia, soffit & rainwater goods done. Looked complete from the street. Internals took another 6+ months and we moved in end of August 2016.

Welcome - very nice build you've proposed. We built a passive house in 2016 (timber frame) over a full footprint basement after demolishing the existing so can share some steps we went through. I'm assuming you've done the necessary ground investigation to get the SE design of your basement complete? That will also help inform your waterproofing requirements etc. Precast panels for basement can be an expensive way to go - what will the rest of the house be constructed from? Is there a specific reason you are going for that system or is it just a working quote for budgeting? We cast in situ which was cheaper but does take more time on site and needs a bit more access for concrete pumps etc. Others here have used ICF, which can then be used for the whole house build) and others use hollow blocks with concrete infill. Next steps (in no particular order) are to get a building control company involved, private can be more responsive than LA, they work to the same rules at the end of the day. Our BC recommended that we do some notifiable work pre-demolition (was related to relocating some fouls to support caravan and future dwelling) and that started the clock and locked in the PP. LA will likely need a slew of planning conditions satisfied before construction can commence, one of which is usually a demolition plan & access/traffic plan. You then need to deal with the demolition, requires notification to LA and you'll need to address asbestos etc. Pre-demo -services will need to be terminated (gas) and re-routed (water, electric, telco) before you can demolish. You'll need to use the DNO and Open Reach to do the latter two steps, you'll need power, water and welfare (porta loo, tea hut) on site for workers during the build plus some secure storage for materials. You'll also need adequate site safety (fencing etc), signs etc. You may need to improve site access and get hard standing down before serious work starts (demo, excavation etc..) Site insurance needs to precede all of this and you also need a H&S plan. Build warranty is more debatable - they are expensive and historically hard to claim against but are required if you plan to raise a mortgage or sell within 10 years. Bit of a random list but hopefully it all helps!

It does not matter if you are within 6 metres UNLESS your foundation / walls cut through the imaginary 45 degree line. Unlikely unless you are piling or within 3 metres of their building. Party Wall matters can be expensive and time consuming, so if you do not have to do it, don't.

I would recommend engaging a qualified electrical engineer/electrician that can review this installation with all the actual detailed data. Given the range of cable sizes and potential costs, it is worth spending a little money to reach the optimum size, underwritten by a qualified electrical engineer/electrician. As usual, everybody is trying to help and giving an honest opinion but none of these opinions may be relied on because they do not have the actual data to work with.

They do all sorts of edge trims and drip profiles to finish this off at verges and eaves. You don't need loads of rubber overhang. I hope he is not claiming that it is finished.

Sure. Here is a worked example using the tile we plan to use on all our ground floor. 1) Find, or be recommended an expensive product. Example: https://domusgroup.com/products/limestone. (around £98+VAT/m2) 2) Find a photo of the product and copy it's URL. Example: https://domusgroup.com/system/inspirations/images/b56/cc9/8f-/large/Limestone_DCLM_01_Honed_(2).jpg?1533201970 3) Go to Google Image Search https://www.google.com/imghp, click on the camera and past in the URL from step 2. 4) Skip over the Domus and pinterest search results and you'll discover the manufactuer is Cotto D'Este. https://www.cottodeste.com/collection/limestone (If you don't get any results, try again with other images) 5) Now seach for "Cotto D'Este Limestone" suppliers. 6) If you want to find an italian supplier, change you region settings in google search to give you results from italy (chrome will automatically translate anything, so no need to worry about language) 7) You now have lots of leads - https://tile.expert/en-gb/tile/cotto-deste/limestone - https://www.tilelook.com/en-GB/users/cotto-d-este/tiles/limestone-lime-stone-clay-30x60-honed - https://www.italian-bathrooms.co.uk/ - https://brandedtiles.co.uk/brands/cotto-deste/ - https://shop.orsolini.it/prodotti/pavimento-rivestimento-in-gres-porcellanato-effetto-pietra-limestone-clay_372693 - I even found it at 18 EUR, but i think they might be seconds and not have all finnishes. (https://www.edilsiani.com/negozio/pavimenti-e-rivestimenti/rivestimenti/limestone-clay-cotto-d-este-blazed/) 8 ) Find cheapest and negociate based on quantity. I'm on step 7, but a fair price seems to be £45+VAT. ?. Of course the same method applies for other suppliers/brands.. Be interested to know if anyone has used https://tile.expert/en-gb/ ?

Yeah if you have a leaky pipe just screw one of these in, twist and call the fire brigade.

I do have 5L here of Kemiphos Super Blue de-scaler and cleaner that work let me have. Contains 48% phosphoric acid. A bit strong maybe...

That will be hilarious ..!! Washing machine will foam everywhere ... 1kg of citric in 3 litres of hot water will so something ...

Checkatrade. Doh!! He talked a good story. I've paid him now. I'm not thrilled about the job he did as he seems to have left us with some issues e.g. he has stuck some of the rubber roof to the fascia boards instead of the roof, so now if we want to change fascia boards we have to cut the rubber and if we need to lift roof tiles then we need to cut rubber patches he has stuck to them. Lead would have been easier as we could have removed it when necessary and put it back on again. He also whacked a screw through one of the fascia boards into a window frame as he didn't want to take the time to attach it to the wall properly and loads of silicone pumped into a gap between fascia board and roof to cover up bare timber. I didn't want to ask him to fix as I had no confidence in him anymore. I guess I could of got another rubber roofer out to look at it but I am sick and tired of trades people rushing jobs and bodging them. This guy had decided he could replace two rubber roofs in one day. In the end it took 2.5 days. He was being paid £2880 for this job. I may still report him to trading standards as he markets himself as a ltd company but has no listing at Companies House.

I did it and I’m a fool ??

yeah I know. was just being facetious. sorry. it is definitely a possible consideration once I've weighed everything up.

errr....didn't you just say.... ?

What about that forest they've just felled near you? You'd have to season it mind.

Do it yourself ! Man up ?????

I always slam every door out of bone idleness, I rather like it.!

Here's me testing the rain sensor. Fortunately for my arm, it is very slow moving https://photos.app.goo.gl/aoMvLzQYa9YeGb4e6 (I'm stood on a three storey scaffold to get this high in the vaulted ceiling)

He now says he has finished. You can see the fascia boards he was put on top of the rubber overhang and the white upvc boards.