LA3222

The stell mesh has to be fully o erlapped by adjacent sheets at the corners, when laying the mesh is it better to do all the corners and then work in or start at one corner and work outwards from there? May be a daft question but the sheets are 70kgs for the A393, I would hate to start, realise I should have started differently and redo it all. Or is it a case of it doesn't matter so long as the correct overlaps are adhered to? Thanks

Ha @Russell griffiths I appreciate the bite ? They are under the EPS to support a high point load. I then have to insert 2 layers of 3 x foam perinsul blocks to support said point loads in lieu of the EPS. It seems a straightforward thing to do, just firming up in my mind what the most efficient order to do it all would be I.e. cast the pad then lay the agg or lay the ahh then dig out/cast the pad. As they say, picture paints a thousand words:

No takers? Well unless someone says otherwise I think that the easy option is to get the stone in and level and then dig out where the pad foot needs to go. I will then shutter the pad foot for the concrete, once it has gone off remove the shuttering and tidy up/level the stone into any gaps around the padfoot. I assume two days will be enough time to leave the shuttering in position - I dare say 24hrs will suffice?

@Mr Punter I spotted deck chairs last night when I was trawling sites for steel prices. I did think get rebar stands for the lower bar and then chop deck chairs up to support the upper bar at the correct height. I need to cost it all up at some point and see what the numbers say!

Not sure i would agree with this, I have skimmed each new comment on here and I see this as a white noise thread. It is the age old argument which periodically pops up on this forum about thermal mass and never seems to reach a conclusion. I would say a much more useful discussion would be around decrement delay as that seems to be a far more critical performance attribute to consider when building as opposed to whether thermal mass has relevance. I daresay that the lay persons eyes reading this thread will soon glaze over - but that's just my opinion so feel free to continue this battle!!

Yarp, there are a few L & Z bars to order too. Seems there ain't a lot to be saved here vs the effort to bend it myself so will order per formed. Just been googling suppliers - I need to send the bar schedule off and see what comes back. If anyone has any good recommendations it would be much appreciated.

Interesting responses @Russell griffiths and @PeterW, I thought there would be a bespoke item for such a situation so figured I'd ask rather than trawl looking for the unknown! It appears that I need to McGyver the s**t out of it. Not an issue, both suggestions are good and give me something to ponder. Thanks

I intend to have a blockwork outer skin to my TF, this will sit on a ringbeam formed by the EPS. The specified steelwork for this ringbeam is 2xH12 steel bars, one at the top and one at the bottom. I know there are a few members on here who have had a similar detail to implement. My question is how do you support the H12 bar at the top? The bottom seems easy enough - standard rebar stand but I'm stumped about holding the other in place. Is there a specific type of rebar stand for this situation? Thanks

This thread turned heavy pretty quick ? Thermal mass just seems to be one of those never ending arguments. The only one that concerns me is cost comparisons between the build methods. It was mentioned earlier that BB is cheaper than TF - but I've read loads of other articles which generally conclude there is very little to separate them? I think I'd have preferred BB, but to get the desired U Value would have resulted in wall thicknesses that would have given a medieval fortress a run for its money!!!

I believe it is the actual ground bearing capacity of the sand/stone that is required. You have the point loads imposed on the sand/stone - the load that the sand/stone can actually bear will then determine the size of the padstone required?

Thanks @jack & @JSHarris - looks like I have an answer. Now need to add tarp to my list as per @MikeSharp01 comment regarding UV exposure.

I have a couple of pad feet which will sit in the hardcore layer under my insulated slab, I'm just trying to work out when to do them. Would it be best to shutter them from the off and build up the hard-core/sand layers around them or get the hard-core base laid and then dig out the area for the padstones? I understand that pathways for foul runs are dug out after so wondered if to do the padstones then too?

Thanks @MikeSharp01, the pics help a lot - I've a good idea of what to expect now ?

Cheers @MikeSharp01 that gives me a steer, I expect it will be a full artic then. I assume it was all shrink wrapped onto pallets? How heavy would you estimate a pallet at? Too heavy to man handle so requiring forks?

Bit of an unusual topic but I'm trying to get a fall for the scale of the EPS Delivery for my slab. I intend to order from Kore and my slab is approx 180m2. How big a delivery am I looking at? I have visions of a fully loaded attic in my minds eye - I can find space on site but no way an artic is getting down my lane. Am I going to have to handball a shed load of polystyrene jigsaw pieces 100m down my lane? Does a gone have any pics of what came for their slab so I can anticipate the scale of my task? TIA

I went running past that house a few weeks ago whilst I was staying in Portpatrick with work. The house looked nice from the outside, a bit too close to the sheer cliffs for my liking! Don't think much of Portpatrick though - seems to be one of those places that is slowly dying. A local was telling me she had never seen it so quiet - lovely area though.

Ok, I figured it would be something like that - wasn't sure if it's something I should fire to the architect to review (which I did, no response?!) but the SE said not a lot of point sending that as it doesn't have dimensions yet and to wait which prompted me to think 'well, what's the point of having the proof one then!'

Now, stupid question time! I have been issued a proof drawing for some design work I'm having done - what is the purpose of issuing me with a proof drawing? It doesn't have all the info unlocked till I pony up the cash so why give me it? Am I supposed to do something with it like check it (even though key info missing), get the architect to look at it? ?‍♂️

Not sure if normal but I'm sure there is some mechanism by which you reach an agreement that PP is achieved before completing if the land doesn't already have it. You'd be mad to gamble by paying the value of plot + pp if you don't yet know if pp can be achieved. Why should the seller benefit from the associated uplift in land value at potentially your expense should it all go wrong!

@MikeSharp01, @willbish, @Conor, @Russell griffiths, thanks for the feedback - you've all confirmed in my mind that there is no reason not to tackle this myself. I have Tanners doing the structural design and intend to purchase from Kore. Getting the corners and slab penetration professionally set out seems the sensible choice. I think I will get some help in to shift the aggregate about and for the concrete pour. The slab pour is the only step I'm not keen to tackle - the pour should be easy enough, it's the finish that needs to be bang on so I will probably look to get someone who knows their onions in!!

The more I ponder it, the more I am inclined to do my foundations myself - minus the concrete pour. It seems to me to be no harder than following a set of IKEA flat pack instructions - am I missing something fundamental? I have the impression that a few forum members have managed to do it themselves so I can too - at least that's where I'm heading unless someone pulls me back from the precipice with words of wisdom? Sooo....what I'm getting at, is can the foundations be a DIY task? TIA

I have a lot more pressing issues than Brexit to waste my time thinking on but I do find it hard to see why having a Brexit thread is such an issue? I'm not a MOD so there may be a bigger picture I am missing but there are lots of (subjectively) 'pointless' threads buried in this forum....why the (percieved by myself) rush to close Brexit related threads? ?‍♂️

I had a quote and just used it as a tool for me to refine in order to improve accuracy. I found value in that it could be exported to an excel document with all the entries there ready for me to arm and prices where necessary to what I felt it should be. I could then insert additional lines where items were overlooked. It's cheap and cheerful and useful as a starting point - not the finished article but a good base to work from if you are willing to put the time/effort in to go through it line by line. If not, then a QS is more suitable but then that comes with a cost!

What is the issue with having a brexit thread? I'm not fussed either way but in a forum where there is pretty much a thread for everything why so hot on shutting down Brexit discussions??‍♂️

As an aside, I have even gone so far as to include fuel costs which have arisen due to visiting the plot early on in the build. £140 return each time, clearly a fair chunk of cash cumulatively speaking so it needs to be included.