epsilonGreedy

I think the problem is what is the default pressure test method by the installer. I discussed the freezing risk with one screed/ufh installer and his reply was "well we could pressure test with air instead of water or maybe put in an antifreeze for the winter". I did not follow up and ask what the antifreeze might do to the pipes.

I imagine the window manufacturer offers these to persuade builders to commit to an order before the walls are up. In my case window measuring was as-built once we got to roof height which I guess is the slow and steady approach.

They are called profiles. I made some door and window profiles for my brickie using my rudimentary carpentry skills. I think they speed up the brick laying rate and keep things square. Not sure about the support function, in fact getting them out without excessive force is a problem. The profiles are removed before the lintel is laid across the top.

Has everyone forgotten the first episode of most recent Grand Designs series. No windows and water left in the UFH pipes, resulted in destruction of the screed as the pipes froze.

Lucky you. In my part of the world there is a blanket ban on new builds discharging surface water in to the sewer.

Ok thanks for the warning, closer to the time I will start another thread on the peculiarities of lining out with these hybrid PIR/Plaster boards. Over on YouTube Charlie DIYte makes it look easy and praises pir back plasterboard describing how it has transformed his renovation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UYTbMi2Jgfk

One experienced build hubber posted last year that his next project won't be TF because of the problem of noise propagation through the internal structure of the house. If I were to self build again the noise concern would be a top item holding me back from choosing TF compared to my present masonry build.

Not price. If you are politically neutral on the whole global warming debate, the prime motivation for choosing TF as a beginner self builder is "reduction of project risk". One manufacture/install contract delivers something that looks like a house in 6 weeks.

Are these boards PIR backed plasterboard? i ask because in another BuildHub thread someone said they are a pain to fit.

A cornish tin mine?

I would not want to live in the most highly performant of Passiv homes because I feel the temperature stability achieved by these examples is not good for human health. I think a bedroom should shed a few degrees over the course of the night and 21 degrees is too warm downstairs before 2pm or 6pm. In evolutionary terms we are still neolithic hunters adapted for diurnal temperature fluctuations, hence Passiv homes confuse our biology. In other aspects of modern life people are discovering the benefits of recreating neolithic privations e.g. the 5:2 diet starvation which mimics those occasions when the hunting party failed to spear the wooly mammoth and the tribe went hungry that night. Other new age diets recreate seasonal surpluses and deficits in food groups. My hunch is that within 20 years similar lifestyle concepts will have worked their way into passiv home control systems and people on buildhub will be raving about the health benefits of selecting cave mode or hawaiian reed hut mode.

Not sure, I saw a similar question posted on the Tesla car forum.

@Gem77 How far has your build progressed in terms of actual tangible results? Is the roof on?

My carpenter failed to show at the weekend to prep the wall plate timber for the brickie to bed down. To help get things moving I plan to cut the timber lengths to match the dimensions of the inner block wall (plus 100mm for each half lap). Now I am considering the finer points of the job. I understand the preferred minimum run of a timber section should be 3m or failing that a section should support a minimum of three truss ends. (My wall plate was delivered in 4.8m lengths.) What about an abutment where the wallplate meets a chimney or a single story wallplate butts up to a two story wall. Should I allow for a 5mm expansion gap? In the case of outside hip corners, is a standard half lap joint still recommended? I ask because I saw a video where a 45 degree chunk was lopped off the corner of the wall plate to accommodate the fall of the hip timber.

It would be wise to be alert to the possibility that the main builder and grp roofer are engaged in some good cop/bad cop routine, with the intent to steer you towards a fix that is the cheapest for them. I suspect there is a longer chain of events that have led up to this problem. The limited height differential between the tiled pitched roof and flat roof means there is no much scope to accommodate an error. The builder and roofer know about roof gradients so why didn't they do the obvious? Perhaps an unsupervised brickie took a short cut and finished the internal wall with a course of full height blocks when the drawing showed two courses of regular height bricks. So now deprived of 75mm to accommodate a gradient the carpenter creating the roof structure discovered he could not create a gradient without clashing with the main roof. @canalsiderenovationThe roof is not going to fail calamitously during a single winter so have you considered pausing, getting your sanity back, taking a few months to digest various expert opinion and solutions, then implementing the favoured solution with a surgical roof replacement early next summer.

Do you mean flowcoat? There is a difference: https://forums.ybw.com/index.php?threads/the-difference-between-gelcoat-and-flowcoat.458139/

I agree with the sentiment but want to point out that some yachts are manufactured using a composite of grp sheathing over ply sheet. RM Yachts in france has applied this technique though it remains a niche option because most people spending £100k+ on a yacht share your concern that grp + wood sheet + water is not a happy combination. http://www.rm-yachts.com/en/the-concept

I think @canalsiderenovation should go back to the architect or person who produced the technical drawings, explain the lack of fall problem and then ask the architect what was the original designed height differential between the main tiled/pitched section and wall plate of the flat roof extension. My theory is that the GRP roofer is not the total incompetent as concluded so far and in fact he realized the main builder had bought the main walls up a few cm too high. Given the slim margin between gutter height of the main building and the finished level of the flat GRP roof, if the main builder errored how could gradient be created. Before proceeding with the supplementary pitched roof idea I would want an independent design from the architect showing details of the internal gully where the grp roof meets the tiled roof.

If the ground floor ceiling is not fitted you should be able to pin down the source of the creeks. In addition to prior advice I would investigate the joist ends and see if one joist is floating and not taking any weight. Retrofitting a few thin shims could sort this. In my previous house a copper water pipe was the source of creeks because this had been jammed against a joist. I would not contemplate putting the ceiling up with unresolved floor creaks.

I would have bluffed it and started a thread titled "Survey for Death Watch Beetle proves negative".

Now that summer has ended my plan is to put down the roof underlay asap once the trusses are up. This means I have to plan for a period of exposure before the roof is slated. Having trawled the forum for discussions on breathable roof underlay here is my short list. Tyvek® Supro/Supro Plus https://www.dupont.co.uk/products/tyvek-supro.html Weight=145g, Strength=245&300, Exposure=4 months Price £135 (ex VAT & 50m x 1.5m) Protect VP400 PLUSLR http://www.protectmembranes.com/uploads/ddd45e1cb3584a908c2ffb62079b4bb1.pdf Weight=197 or (170?)g, Strength=305&325, Exposure=? Price £86 (ex VAT & 50m x 1.5m) Cromar Vent3 Pro https://www.cromarbuildingproducts.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Vent3-Pro-Breathable-Membrane.pdf Weight=166g, Strength=270&300, Exposure=3 months Price £86 (ex VAT & 50m x 1.5m) Should I add another product to my shortlist? @PeterWrecommended an underlay in a recent thread but I cannot find that.

8k for scaffolding on a fast paced project seems high. Bathroom budget looks low. I did not see a figure for a kitchen. Nothing for landscaping? As minimum you will need a mobility ramp and to cost in a drive in order to compare with other SQM figures.

@PeterWI am just catching up on old threads of mine. I recall reading your reply and wondering how I could end up with the wrong pitch as this is preset in the trusses. Is there another pitch, might you be referring to ending up with a roof that has a very thin row of tiles or likewise strange tile widths bordering a valley.

Thanks. I was concerned I might have to buy a roll width that was a nice round multiple of the batten centre distance.

@nod what type of ridge tiles can I see in that photo? Everyone I speak to locally suggests I use angled slate ridge tiles with the pronounce lip but I do not like the aesthetic result from a distance.