Nickfromwales

Kindness is always taken as weakness. Sad, but true. Be on top, or underneath, but decide now which one of those two options sits least well, and dig down deep.

First thing out of the box is the trusty laser. Saved my arse soooooooooo many times. Hopefully the return coving will be perfectly acceptable, and you'll need to fast-forward to a year from now when you (actually) no longer even look at it. Too many people get utterly lost in these micro-details, and then come 12 months later, life has returned to normal, and these things are of zero consequence anymore.

You shouldn't be mixing water based and oil based products. Have you sought professional advice before proceeding?

Sorry to be a stick in the mud, but your electrician will not thank you for doing this, and it may deter some. You will need to size the appliances, so for my current client I have pulled 1x 10mm T&E for the hob, 1x 6mm T&E for the large double oven, 1x 4mm T&E for the smaller oven, 1x 2,5mm T&E for the fixed microwave (you cannot plug a fixed microwave into a socket, it must have its own cable and its own RCBO), 2x 2.5mm T&E for kitchen ring, and have sized the CU according to the total number of circuits required for the whole house. PLEASE get input from your chosen electrician, as you're just flying blind and will likely just waste time and money vs saving it. They should be happy to let you do some of the 'donkey work' especially if they are busy, but THEY must tell you what to run as you are quite a far way off with what you're typing out here....sorry again.

I can't see any reason it would be a problem on the back, but the front is usually taped (with foil tape) across boards and timbers to create the vapour barrier; this negates installing a dedicated VB. Working in a lath and plaster filled house currently (for my sins methinks) and I wholeheartedly agree.

Time to drop anchor and grind them to a halt. Sounds like they need a bit of bringing down to earth, along with the boisterous builder. If this is how they begin, christ knows how difficult / arrogant they'll be as they get comfortable.

Cant you get the 50mm in there? Recess it where necessary etc.

You will be putting the DPM in underneath the insulation, so anything above that won’t be in direct contact with damp / moist ground, so just go with 200mm insulation. You should be using PIR vs EPS at <250mm btw, as EPS is a poorer performing product. You’d be fine with 50mm EPS at the bottom and 150mm PIR, if on a shoestring.

Option 2 will work, just add a sharp sand blinding layer over the compacted hardcore and use that to level the ground, plus also protect the DPM.

Oh, absolutely. Yup, 6 months means <12.

4mm2 earth cable was retired a good few years ago, so I fear you’re quite unprepared for this. Please consult a sparky, as the fuse-board aka CU (consumer unit) is very likely in need of an upgrade to make this safe for your little bundle of joy

It’s so much easier to knock a door, with a bottle of wine in hand, and ask how the best way forwards can be achieved. Builder needs a lesson in how to act professionally and courteously, so sounds like he’s used to being somewhat of a bully, sadly. I’d just go and knock their door, and have a normal, regular conversation with them, which will give you an opportunity to explain your prior objections, and the way the builder has spoken to you, I think you must accept the inevitable, and not lose any more sleep. Go talk to them

Shame they couldn’t use a spirit level when setting the ceiling out….

There’s so much velocity with rain / storm water, these things just tend to flush themselves out. Last one had private BCO and warranty by the same company, and they didn’t want / ask for rodding on rainwater. If you choose wisely, the rainwater gulleys can come with a blank access plug, so it maintains a trap but gives rodding access to the pipework. Decent jetters can get around pretty much anything tbh.

Pretty much, unless it’s a cathedral. Temporary tiled displays can go onto decoupling membranes that are floating over the substrate, some I have done exactly like this over floating floors in apartment blocks where the floors are mechanically disconnected by design, for acoustic control. Sounds doomed to fail, but worked perfectly well tbh.

Work out the sizes you need, go to a merchant, and cut up an 8x4 in their yard.

Filler panel to match the wardrobe doors, scribed in to the coving. I never have the coving finish to the panel as it’s a pig to install ‘in reverse’ plus then it can be installed /removed easily.

My PH certified designer is Ok with 1000mm separation, so ergo, I am also good with that; or anything more as a bonus. I feel your pain. Currently on site retrofitting a whole of house MVHR system into a converted 3 storey, brick built Victorian semi….. Done more carpentry and joinery than MVHR work here tbh!! 🥵

£2k for peace of mind and absolute insurance against failure for 200m2 of floor, is not really a “big” cost, considering the project as a whole? Think of the cost and inconvenience of this having been omitted, but necessary, and you're down to a part of 1%, not even a whole. 49%, eg at ‘50% doubt’ I’d be decoupling.

Rockwool fill, 40mm PIR, foil tape, then PB. You’ll need to manage the holes for lighting, or use a surface mount / pendant.

1300mm is plenty, you’d be ok at 1000mm tbh; if you're happy to receive ‘real world’ advice In-wall is fine, done this plenty of times, just a bit less ‘aesthetically pleasing’ to some. How so tricky? Have you not got posi joists?

The thinner the screed, the more likelihood of fractures (slight cracks) which over time could translate to visible failures of the tiles or grout. If it’s 40mm of fibre impregnated, cementitious liquid screed then you’re at the 49% club, if its 40mm of dry screed you’re in the 80-90% club; dry screed does not like going down as thin as 40mm, but you mention ‘poured’ so I’m assuming liquid screed? Then, if it’s gypsum vs cementitious, at 40mm this would have a reasonably high risk of cracks vs fractures imo, so I’d decouple as I can’t take any risks with clients projects. I’m also considering the repeated thinning out where the (?)16mm UFH pipes lay, reducing thickness to 24mm, linear to the whole length of each pipe run. That’s a significant, further compromise when looking at this holistically. If it’s fibrous, cementitious screed, then I think you’ll get away with having just a good quality flexible tile adhesive, with a min 6mm bed, laid over an appropriate primer (with the tiles being laid onto the primer when it’s wet). BAL do a tile adhesive that has (x)mm of decoupling qualities, like an ‘ultra-flexible’ adhesive. I always Ultra (Insta) products, never had an issue. Are you actually using ceramic tiles? These are quite feeble compared to porcelain, so with ceramic and the very thin screed I’d be saying 100% you should decouple. Points B,C,D, and E are all moot.

The only concern is 40mm of screed is as thin as it gets. That is the only reason I would suggest decoupling here.

And they deliver. Been using the one down the road for 20+ years, always great price / value, and stuff is usually in stock.

Is it cool in summer?