Redbeard

No, but possibly see link below for some general views on Chines slate quality. I have never used any Chinese slates.

I had to look up 'polycrub' but it seems to me that you have what you have - a glazed space with no shading (?). It will get hugely hot if not shaded, and I am somewhat (very?) sceptical re what 'IR blocking film' will achieve. Shading inside is arguably too late. Can you throw sheets over the top? For what? What are you trying to use it for? The worst situations I have seen are where organisations have a conservatory built without quite knowing *why* they are having it built. They then try to use it as a meeting room or whatever and it is too bright, too hot, too... etc... A polytunnel seems even worse.

If you have the clearance I would use the grey plastic pipe-sleeving, but *not* the 'economy' (approx 10mm wall thickness) stuff. Bldg Regs-compliant stuff has 19-25mm wall thickness, so on a 15mm pipe that's up to 65mm dia. Many pipe runs leave nothing like that much clearance, which is why the hessian wrap you show gets used. Definitely use the plastic stuff if you can.

Yes, I know I should not have lost it, and I know I can buy a replacement, but asking on the off-chance that someone has burnt out their saw and has a guide to sell! Thanks.

Yep!

Not sure I can tell from as much as I can see, but bear in mind that not all stone-built houses were built for 'show'. Some were made of poor-quality stone and always rendered (though probably originally with lime).I have seen a couple of badly-eroded houses which were 'de-rendered' and beautifully lime-pointed only to start deteriorating after a few frost/thaw/frost cycles. I only wonder just because this looks *very* random (as if 'not for show'?). Could be entirely wrong. What about nearby houses of similar style?

?@ShedaSteelThing'?

(permanently-running + humidistat-controlled over-ride) dMEV?

Cladding/EWI?

Yes, lower R per cm. Some suggest that phenolic may shrink more than other plastics though I have found nothing to corroborate this. Don't know about the cost but I would expect phenolic to be pricey. I have used graphite EPS, wood-fibre and Rockwool (the latter only as a 200mm high fire-break above 1st floor ceiling level).

Yes, the point I was making is that if fire is a particular concern you may wish to use a completely non-flammable insulant such as Rockwool.

I don't think I have ever seen PIR used as EWI in the mainstream EWI industry. (On Grand Designs behind cladding, yes, but not in the mainstream). Phenolic (marginally better for insulation value than PIR but more expensive), graphite EPS, Rockwool (is fire a concern?), wood-fibre? What will your finish be? Render? I would model it/get it modelled (preferably in WUFI, but any condensation risk assessment software (some on here use Ubakus) is better than none. You are looking for potential for collection of moisture within the wall thickness without an obvious exit route.

I don't know anything about the performance of Westmorland slates but I have a 130-year-old welsh slate roof and have just roofed my extension in 120-year old Welsh. Are your slates all shot? If not, what percentage do you reckon are dead? Add about 10-20% to that estimate and that may be the percentage of better reclaimed slates you need. Have you looked at local reclaim yards?

Can you post 2 pics? If it has you standing beside each of 2 elevations with a yard- (metre?-) stick all the better.🙂

Including base-coat, or is base-coat and mesh already on?

Well... Answering part of this: 'Breathability' as defined by energy geeks is water vapour permeability - the beneficial passage of water vapour. As defined by non-energy non-geeks it could just men effective ventilation. I would say please, please do not alter the 'breathability' of the stone wall by clarting it up with non-breathable 'waterproof' gunge. As regards the gap (how big?) between insulation and wall, if you fully ventilate that gap (which is going to mean at least 4 225 x 150 vents at diagonally-opposite corners) you should significantly reduce the risk of interstitial condensation - condensation occurring on the 'old' inner face of the stone wall between it and the insulation.

Yes, I get that with those special (?) tiles, but those the OP shows look like bog-standard overlapping 'Victorian' (well, mine are) tiles. Not sure how you could 'secret fix' them? But in answer to the OP's original Q, " Can anyone confirm if a traditional slate roof repair can have dry hips and ridges?" I am pretty sure I have seen older roofs 're-ridged' with those such as @Nick Laslett shows. @Nick Laslett, I take it there is a 'placcy cap' goes over the joint...??

I know we know this, but Roofing Superstore says: "A dry ridge system simply involves fixing ridge and hip tiles to a roof without sand or cement mortar, but instead with screws and clamps, which fix each ridge tile to the roof, with waterproof unions beneath the screws to divert water away from the join." I could be wrong but the ridge and hip tiles in your pics *seem* to show 'bog-standard' tiles (which would, 'in the old days', have been bedded in, and pointed with, mortar) fixed 'dry'. Therefore (a) it looks odd (to me) and (b) it makes me question what is holding them on. It may be that there is some clever bracketry underneath, in which case fine (-ish), but personally I feel those tiles do not look right without pointing. (I do appreciate, BTW, that the 'adhesive qualities' of mortar mean that an awful lot of 'wet fixed' ridge and hip tiles are actually just 'sat on top' a relatively short while after installation. 'Professional'? Open to debate. 'Good'? To me, no. It is not in line with my aesthetic leanings, but then I love MZs! Happy to be disagreed with!

Have you tried Allan Bros? https://www.allanbrothers.co.uk/alu-clad-casements/ No idea what their current prices are. A client has used (and been very happy with) several of their 2G timber windows but not the alu-clad (imported?) ones.

No and no. They will not tell you how to build it or what it should be built with; indeed if you go for a 'Full Plans application (what it says on the tin - you submit full plans of what you propose to do) then *you* will be telling them. If you go for a 'Building Notice' you don't have to submit prior plans, but you could get so far and the BCO disagree with what you propose. With Full Plans all they need to do is confirm that you are building in accordance with the plans they approved. Bldg Notice is often used for relatively uncomplicated work where differences of opinion are unlikely but can be used for bigger work particularly where there is a known and good relationship between the BCO and builder. (The Bldg Notice Pro Forma basically says: "Dear BC, I propose to do the works briefly described below, starting not less than 2 days from the submission of this Notice, and I enclose your fee".) All inspections should be covered in the fee (or that was the case when I last applied in 2022).

I used to do tape and joint when I did (Victorian) attic rip-outs and re-insulate as I could never be sure of rate of progress and therefore often missed the chance to book a plasterer. After a learning period I rarely sanded; just feathered in with the trowel. There's no doubt that some joints may 'show' a bit, but generally clients were very happy with the results. If you can get a plasterer out, however, they will skim faster than I could T & J, so horses for courses.

The 'custom frame' is not a problem per se. However the instructions say it should be fully bedded in sand/cement. It should. I cannot, you cannot and he cannot guarantee that it will not crack if you have not followed the instructions for fitting provided by the manufacturer. I *think* there will be too much movement in squirty foam. I have never tried to make it load-bearing, but if you have doubts get or make a wooden box, squirt foam into the bottom then stand on it. If it gives at all it could give when you stand on the shower tray. Trying to measure by eye the gap on the LHS looks about 200mm. Are they equal? Is the bottom of the tray completely flat? If it sits fully on the bearers it *may* be OK, depending how thick it is and how much it will flex in that ?200mm? width, but if it isn't, as others have said, you would have no claim against the manuf'r as you have not followed their instructions. I would guess you could cut the end piece out carefully between each batten.

Can you no longer just do an area-weighted U value calc? You certainly could before the 2022 re-vamp of Bldg Regs, and I have not heard it's changed (equally I have not heard it hasn't, but a web-hit from 2023 refers to such a calc). The principle is that if your conservatory has >25% of the wall area glazed you have to reduce the other fabric U values to keep the area-weighted U value to what it would be if there was no more than 25% glazing.

OK - you may have to watch a James Bond film! The T-shaped thing that Roulette croupiers use to move the chips around the table (hence my invention of the verb 'to croup') can be replicated to push semi-dry sand/cement mix round instead of Roulette chips. It avoids your installer having to grow longer arms. I think @Pocster's reference to peace of mind to be gained from filling under the tray refers to the possibility of the tray cracking if it is simply 'hung' (as your pic shows) and not supported.

Timber need not be high maintenance. Factory-finished timber units can last well over 10 years without needing a re-paint. Mine have.