Nickfromwales

I’m expecting that they’d have a LOT of work to do to make a woodcrete subterranean structure watertight tbh. Rainwater was getting to the room interiors on 2 previous projects with woodcrete, at the very bottom of the block and at DPC, where it was literally forming a mini river across the slab. Woodcrete is entirely dependant on the external rain screen being 100% kosher and weathertight before this issue goes away. It can be done, just why would you make such a rod for your own back? EPS here is a no brainer, and sorry @nod, but better and higher performing than blocks (which are also porous?).

Hi. Ecobix (used to be Durisol) are only part filled with insulation, and part filled with concrete, but the woodcrete construction is also quite porous. Tanking for subterranean conditions would need to be meticulous with that type of product imho. Have you considered an EPS block such as Nudura? The XR35 gives a complete 100mm external insulation shield, is near zero water / moisture permeable, and then has a solid concrete core with a second solid layer of 100mm EPS internally. That has a nylon spine set into the block every 405mm for fixing sheet material.

Like fecking clockwork, lol, 🤪 The job's not 100% complete so they CANNOT expect 100% of whatever they think was agreed. #movethegoalpostswhydontyou Scaff = FO, they just became distracted by a pot of gold elsewhere, that's down to their complacency. Holding back an assumed sum for the warranty is the biggest sticking point as who decides what is fair / unfair there? I very much doubt they'd come running back to sort defects when they're already trying to charge you for fecking the tiles up..... Time to get this to bed and move on. Then go on holiday, you need one!

In a nutshell, yes, as you describe. Needs to be treated timber, and you defo do NOT want to be drilling and fixing into the diminished section of the bricks or you'll crack / break them out most prob. You want to be drilling at 90 degrees to the timber and have the holes placed so that the drill is impacting just below each mortar line, eg into the meatiest part of each brick and NOT into the 'tail'. Cut that counter batten off and tape up the holes, then install the wall plate to match the timber atop the bricks, and the rest is history. Roofer should be able to batten and membrane etc from there, after you've changed his nappy...... Can't see any lead or other flashing? What's going to sort the break between the roof and the bricks?

The reduced height one seems to replace the other, as that is marked (superseded)? Clear as mud though, in fairness If it is turned to be flat against the side of the building, eg completely parallel with the wall, then you will eventually get marking appearing on the wall as the flue discharge (plume) is mildly acidic. Exhaust. The condensate expelled from a condensing boiler is acidic, with a pH between 3 and 4. Condensing boilers require a drainpipe for the condensate produced during operation. This consists of a short length of polymer pipe with a vapour trap to prevent exhaust gases from being expelled into the building. I'd angle it 45 degrees off perpendicular, if possible.

I shudder to think back to the days when I just did things without a real consideration for impending death etc. Climbing up the flat roofs one by one on the rear of a 4 storey house set into a steep slope, 20m of 5" kopex flue liner in one hand, whatever I could grab on to in the other, and then balancing on my tip-toes on the very top of the ornate ridge tile, and then uncoiling and sending the new flue liner down the chimney.....only to then look the other side of the building and see one sloping slate roof, realise I'm over 5 storey's high, and staring at a distant pavement with 'crunch' written on it in my blood. My then boss (self-serving tosser) shouting up at me to hurry up, we haven't got all day....from the rear patio. Not sure how I am actually still here tbh, but it's probably largely due to my refusals to ever go on a roof in the rain, unless there was a scaffold.

If they did, I'd be out of a job

Happy days, and good to hear this may just have been a routine maintenance thing, so hopefully the unblocked drain hole will now improve the situation going forward.

My eyes were opened to just how good a job you can do with 'stick' building methods. Currently on a PH where the carpenter just ordered materials to site and plodded on screwing one bit to the next. No access for a crane or anything bigger than a family car (a narrow one at that). You'd struggle to tell it apart from another I-beam or Larson-trussed type residence from a turnkey supplier and erector that craned in the house in prefabricated sections.

Sorry if I wasn’t clear, the threshold stays where it is and you work the solution around it remaining in situ. You open the door 100% to do removals, then use the Marmox blocks and Illbruck 330FM foam to affix back into position. No cement work just cut / stick / wait / do next one. You close the door 10% of the way, install the first block, foam under it and pack it down to cure for 20 mins. Then pack properly and foam the top. Then close the door another 10% and do the same, repeating until you’ve done 100% of the work. Go back then and fit more packers and foam these into place. Some of these may already be screwed into place through the threshold, just remove those for the key fixing points, and add some more for intermediate fixing through as you see fit; just until the threshold isn’t deflecting noticeably under foot. Then seal up for weathertight and job done.✔️

I very much doubt this is a real life / measurable compromise tbh. I'd rather the walls mechanically fixed at junctions vs attempting to delete the equivalent of a squirrel coughing.

Yup. Sorry @mistake_not, I assumed a cold ventilated roof. I will punish myself by forcing beer down my neck this evening until I feel I have suffered sufficiently.

Ok, thanks. Do they stipulate waterproof concrete below DPC like Nudura did with us?

I'd question the quality of the unit, and how robustly the design manages condensation etc.

I have overlooked to say I am sorry to hear about the break-in. The fact that these c***s came back for the car is just incredulous to most, but par for the course for these bottom-feeding fukctards. The fact that our prisons are better than Butlins means that getting caught for these crimes is little to zero deterrent to these folk. This country, its snowflake government, and its judicial system is a complete pantomime.

I used to enjoy every single second of getting refused claims through for clients of old, for plumbing / electrical / structural stuff, where the insurance company had told the long term customers to (expletive deleted) off. You could literally hear their tone change when the customer said that they were giving their permission for me to speak on their behalf. Game, set & match.....wankers the lot of them. For anyone reading here, mentioning "accidental damage" to your insurers is your friend, (BUT.....strictly only when it is an absolutely hands-down case that accidental damage had occurred and nothing whatsoever else is afoot, naturally). We don't want anybody bending the rules peeps, "promise to be good" .

Did you install any below grade?

Something has to get covered in stale, humid, smelly air from bathrooms and kitchens, and that's what you're seeing tbh. I very much doubt there is any cause for concern, and would also ask what was the maintenance schedule that the manufacturer mandated, if any? Not too bad for 10+ years of service tbf.

If Velux mention it they then become liable for the success of the suggested 'remedy', so the silence is deafening I'm afraid. The blame game is something everyone avoids like the plague. This one's down to common sense that's all, so the "approved installers" should have been a bit more attentive here IMHO and should have realised their action had interrupted the natural airflow (a significant thing) and then done something about it. There are fitters, and there are fitters, and, from what I have seen to date, being on a list means you haven't yet done something significantly wrong enough to be struck off it. I'd take these matters into my own hands and oversee this being rectified, and move on to the next problem

Here is the problem. I have heard 'stories' from people who got broken into but the alarm was not activated (daytime, or just you were in a rush etc). Insurance null and void. Zero pay-out whatsoever. Basically, after declaring to your insurers you have a kick-ass alarm with all the bells & whistles, (so give me a discount please, which ain't enough to take the family out for a Nandos), you are then FECKED as without EVIDENCE via the alarm log that the alarm was activated when the break-in occurred, your NOT COVERED! Insurance companies are tossers on a good day, so to hand them the keys to the city and help them get off the hook seems madness. I would much rather have an alarm, undeclared on my insurance so no special terms applied, and then have that monitored or just alert my phone etc. Good news is, that if you are "done over" when you simply overlooked this minor thing, eg to turn the alarm on, if you don't declare the alarm then you're always completely covered.

Oh, and the suggestion by whomever that quick set mortar and the most porous block known in the universe should ever meet, needs the aforementioned padded cell. Just plain fecking ridiculous tbf!!!

Why do you need to pay the architect anything? Also, your structural engineer should have no interest in such a minor and inconsequential detail? I assume you have no desire to DIY this and have been 'hands-off'? This would be a multi-visit, in-situ repair tbh, but the work is very simple to do. It's down to how much sanity you have left of course, and easy for me to preach. 2.5 years for a 6 month program is just about the amount of WTF that would break some people, so good to see you still seem in control and not have not yet confined yourself to a padded cell . Just for safety sake, prob best to remove at least the most easily accessible sharp objects though, eh? lol . If you don't laugh, what other options are left? Nobody's going to be deprived of life if you go with the architects solution, but there is a better way and I thought I'd mention it. If you can find someone to facilitate the works, I, (and the other helpful folks on here), will be more than happy to help as much as is possible.

Any good? https://www.amazon.co.uk/Qrity-Overflow-Extendible-Rectangle-Interface/dp/B09YHKL23P/ref=asc_df_B09YHKL23P?mcid=bb0e755abfd2319696338704936736c6&tag=googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=697226876379&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=5891332645679101210&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=1007460&hvtargid=pla-1661645287823&gad_source=1&th=1

Nice neat work @Post and beam, "never let the b*stards grind you down" lol, it'll be worth it in the end. Airtightness is 'where it's at'

Light fitting (recessed) methinks, due to the cable?