oranjeboom

Good luck Lizzy! I have some plasters turning up tomorrow for quotes, so your story has made me extra vigilant! No consolation I am sure, but we are about 2yrs behind on this build. Every delay is a kick in the nuts, but I think when you reach the plastering stage, it's at this point that you will regret letting your standards go in years to come. Stand your ground with these cowboys. It'll only encourage them to carry on with their crap workmanship on other builds also. Good luck!

Interesting thread as I'm retro-extending a 1950's bungalow build, but have the advantage that it's all been gutted (windows, slab, plumbing and most ceilings). So most escape routes I hope to cover with careful detailing. I think the biggest routes of escape in a renovation job is around windows inserted in cavity walls where bits of plastic will cover up a multitude of sins. Taking out my old uPVC windows certainly showed lots of air routes past the frames or through the bodge cavity filled foam from the 1980s. When it comes to ceilings and cold loft spaces, I have thought about: laying an airtight membrane over the ceiling plasterboard and joists, taping up joins as needed and along the perimeters (wall plates, gable walls) taping up around the joist/wall junction silicone around the area where the joist fits into the wall (or use this stuff: http://www.ecomerchant.co.uk/liquid-blowerproof-brush-paint-on-airtight-sealing-membrane-5kg.html) using air-tight downlighter hoods where required silcone any electrical conduits that serve switches, and sockets in the rooms below silicone any plumbing that punctures the ceilings cover with loft insulation using beading on the roomside wall/ceiling junction (https://www.screwfix.com/p/no-nonsense-plasterers-corner-bead-tape-50mm-x-30m/45720) It's not going to catch all air paths from the rooms downstairs but will help to some extent. My only concern is maybe static caused by the membrane/polysheet covering all the electrical cabling and also trapping moist air from below in the joists etc. Perhaps they latter should not become an area for trapped moisture! So maybe stick polythene sheet under the existing pb ceiling and then add a new pb layer (pb/sheet/ old pb).

That's a meaty looking bit of steel at the bottom. At least you know it's not going to move easily. Next time I'll look at Compacfoam also, since my bracketry came to just under £800 in any case.

Each window frame only has a few brackets (depending on weight/size etc), so no, I did not do any calcs, just figured that I would be needing more than plywood to keep some of my windows in place. All of the metal fixings would also be completely be surround by insulation so minimal bridging in these particular locations. The other advantages with the mechanical fixings is that you can alter the x,y,z positions in case of last minute adjustments with the window frame.

Just beat me to it @JSHarris - and I think it was you who placed some of your outlets/terminals at 1.5m height? Interesting to hear you had slim ducting - rectangular, rather than the 75mm radial stuff? 25mm battening? In my case we will have a built in wardrobe in our vaulted ceiling bedroom, so plan to build one of the ducts with terminal coming out of the wardrobe, so no ducting visible externally.

Yes, something like that should hopefully do the job. Just need to see when @Nickfromwales is going to be down this way!! BCO came round yesterday and TBH was non-committal about the crappy area of concrete "as long as it supports you....dust has a compressive value....". Don't think he understood the issue at hand and the fact that the floor will expand/contract with the UFH. In any case, I managed to scrape away at the crap concrete down to about 20mm and at that point I seem to be down to real concrete again, so hopefully down at this depth it's structural. Spoke to builder yesterday and he's coming to have a look at it all next week and then is scheduled to come back in 2 weeks time with a scrabbler machine to hopefully take down 20mm in those areas that need it. Had another flooring guy out this morning and he was shocked at the slab. Said he needed it sorting before he started...yeah, don't state the obvious pls!! Said he could work with a tolerance of 5mm/2m, so that's gonna keep my builder busy and dusty.

Well I clearly indicated the datum to him on site. Nothing in writing about that, but have it documented that I wanted level, flat finished floor. Not had much success with Small Claims court (have won, but collection of money was never successful due to inability of bailiffs). Hoping I don't have to venture down that road again. Not actually spoken to builder about all of this yet. Wanted to get flooring guy out who has agreed it's not a level floor (I think I knew that!), and the BCO is out today so perhaps a bit of extra clout from his side. Not given up all hope on the builder yet, but I know he had a big other job to do right now, so no doubt there will be delays unless he gets someone else to do it. In the meantime, trying to recreate @Onoff's beach scene:

I guess it depends if you are looking for a long term solution or just short term whilst you are in the building stage. I was recently forced to visit the MIL who has no internet access in south wales and had no choice but buy a dongle thingey in order to get any work done. It worked surprisingly well (the dongle that is, not the visit itself to the MIL....). All providers have 'coverage maps' which of course are just for indicative purposes so take those with a pinch of the saltey stuff. Most dongles are limited to x-months with x-amount of download, so choose carefully. I didn't want to be tied into a contract either where you easily pay over £30/month, but found one that is valid for 12 months with IIRC 12GB downloads. If your sparky has good EE signal then maybe go for a dongle wongle that uses that network. As for a long term solution, maybe connect to some satellite provider in Africa that gets the signal re-routed via a company in Luxembourg... http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-mid-wales-40745533 There are also wireless operators now who have set up there own regional wi-fi networks - there may be one in your area? "fixed wireless bb" I think some call it.

In my case it was concrete, but he did say it would be level...and at the right level. Some of it's not even concrete strength FFS. Had a flooring guy out to quote me for flooring today he gave me details of a builder who he said could rectify, in case bodgit builder does not come back to rectify. Alternatively, I will await for @Nickfromwales to visit @Onoff's chiropracter to come and sort this out for me. Seems to me that there are professional's around after all!

@Nickfromwales You've only got 6 days on that job and then? You're coming to sunny Kent to sort out my mess?? I had my prep done alright - big red datum lines with the words "that is the MAXIMUM concrete level". Hope I've calmed down by the time he comes back. The only reason I got a 'professional' in was to get a level floor. Again, another job that I should have done myself, room by room. Slower, but at least I would have ended up with a better job and in the long run would have ended up being quicker no doubt by the time this is all rectified. @jamiehamy - I don't appear to have a chance but grind down the vast expanse by the 4.5m slider. See earlier post: My FFL will end up above my threshold, so this area and other high spots will have to be ground down. No other way I think. There will be some spots that will need self levelling applied, but the main job is to get areas ground down by up to 20mm.

Is this a private uni rental or onsite de facto uni digs? If the latter, they may have their SOPs etc when it comes to kitchen alterations etc. Not sure if they have regular 'inspections'? But yes, having the m/w on a shelf rather than partly on that draining board would be a whole lot safer, free up space etc. You can also get these mesh shelves - more air circulation: http://www.shop-equip.com/wire-wall-shelf.htm. Probably also worth putting up a notice on the m/w "I need ventilation - Do not place chopping boards etc on top of me".

Okay apart from potentially having to break up/scrape those crap concrete areas, I will also have to get the concrete depth reduced in many places. My laser tells me an average of 20mm needs to be removed in certain areas. How straight forward is that? How long would it take to reduce 1sqm by say 20mm? Something like this do the job? http://www.jewson.co.uk/tool-hire/concrete-cutting-equipment/floor-preparation/products/2045/floor-grinder-110v/ I'd probably need a hand held one for next to walls.

@jamiehamy I was too busy rushing around looking after the UFH pipework inside to notice where they primed the stuff. However, I have no skip and there's nothing left on the front drive, so you may well be right with your thinking. They used at least 1 bag of cement to prime it each time (cleared up the rubbish afterwards). And where I have the issues is indeed in the same rooms that they started the pour on each day.

Yes, all pumped in over 2 days. 150sqm. Affected areas are around 2-3sqm (see pics above) and are only those areas that had DPM directly on top of PIR. The other areas (bare EPS) had capacity to absorb more of the 'wetness'. Moderators @Nickfromwales: It may be worth moving these last few posts from here onwards as they relate less to UFH and more onto my latest headache/fiasco.

This was the first area that was poured. I just think the mix was too wet and seeing that they weren't able to spill the wet over the side of the slab like you would over a conventional slab where you have no walls/doors yet, meant it just sat there, creating an area of pooled water. He may have spec'd a wetter concrete as he knew I wanted this to be my finished layer (bamboo straight on top). Also meant that it was easier to push around. Can't really push a pencil into those areas. With a lot of effort you can push a screwdriver a few mm into it. It's very similar to limestone.

Plywood method is fine, but insulation-wise would be worse over brackets and EWI sitting snugly against the frame. Not seen the Compactfoam option, but that looks like a decent method also. Not sure how supportive that would be with some larger/heavier windows (>400kg) though.

Pours were over 2 days (last week Mon/Tuesday). And graffiti appeared this morning (easily with a bit of slate). Creating @Onoff's beach scene this afternoon.

Thanks @JSHarris , @Nickfromwalesand @Crofter. Probably not what I wanted to hear though. There are two main sections where it's 'gone bad', both of which were supposed to be approx 85mm depth in A142 mesh with UFH tied to that. The slab is not meant to be structural, just a final finished floor. Where this concrete was poured the makeup is: 85mm concrete Elevated mesh with UFH DPM (purely to stop concrete contacting the celotex) Celotex Radon barrier EPS 150mm re-inforced piled slab Just rang the supplier and it was c25 concrete that was poured. No poker was used. Expect it was just due to these areas being too wet and he should have ensured that the mix was drier. Although it was an internal pour, there was planty of ventilation through open doors and gaps around the windows (they're all hung externally of the reveals if you're wondering!). Other areas of the house were all EPS insuation so I did not bother with a barrier on top of the insulation layer. The builder did mention that he noticed the difference with the water coming up more on the areas where I had the DPM on top. And it's these areas that have been affected. I may call the building inspector out also, to hopefully get agreement from him also that this needs to be rectified then. Just wary of this crap concrete being gouged at with the UFH pipework!! I'm hoping it's not crap all the way down to the pipework and that hopefully just the first 20mm or so. Area in lounge: 1.5m x 2.5m: Not too difficult for a bit of graffiti: Bedroom area 2mx2m

My pour? Not exactly that well....

I got him to email me his intent on returning to latex etc. Doesn't guarantee that he will of course. He also gets most of his work from a local conservation architect so the builder wouldn't want any negative feedback going back to architect. Yes, he also mentioned the PVA glue mix @Nickfromwales, so maybe he does know about floors. However, I took the courage and got out the level and laser today. The valleys remind me of South Wales! Main concern is where the 4.5m slider is. I'd clearly marked for him where the max level of concrete should be and it's ended up well above that. My bamboo floor was supposed to end up just under the door threshold (as below), but in most places it'll be just above that if it's not ground down. And valleys where I can get my fingers under the level. Then there's an area of concrete where I can really gouge at it with the end of my measuring tape - will that harden. Hopefully not concrete laitance as that could be disastrous. I guess the concrete is still failrly green (poured a week ago) and patches above, may still harden. Apparently this was C35, but I intend to call the suppliers tomorrow to confirm if that really was the case. And the high spots are probably best to have ground down now before it 'hardens'/cures/sets more and more (excuse the language). I know the process takes years, but the sooner I have him back to sort out his peaks at least (the valleys can wait with latexing a bit later on).

Reading and experiencing my own building nightmares, thought I would dig out this photo that my 'supportive' sister sent me from Malta. Every time she comes to the site during these past 4yrs, it's been like 'spot the difference' since her previous visits. Nightmares into dreams....

Original house contained cheap UPVC windows that were ill fitted and would not match the new windows in the two extensions. So the decision was made to fit new windows throughout with the original plan to go for alu-clad wooden, nut resorted to UPVC due to cost and worries on how some of the alu-clad windows were constructed. Surprising how difficult it was to get quotes that were in an affordable category. Some companies needed numerous follow-up calls which was very frustrating in view of the fact that I would be spending approx £20k on their product. In the end, although I would have preferred to buy local, I ended up sourcing windows from abroad which ended up costing a lot less than anything UK-sourced and also meant they were passivhaus certified! Pity how many sectors in the UK shoot themselves in the foot by atrocious service which is partly down to them not wanting to deal with end clients/self-builders. There was a lot of email ping-pong, but I think that would have been the case with UK windows too, but they were at least keen to do business which didn't seem to be the case with many of the UK ones. The only area I was hesitant about was measuring the window openings which was further complicated by the fact that I was using special EWI brackets which would position the windows outside of the window opening itself. So I had to take into account the bracket measurements in addition to the window openings. I must have measured each opening at least 15 times before submitting my final order. Glad to say everything seems to fit (just 3 doors to fit now). Unloading some of the units was a bit precarious especially the 800kg 4.6x 2.3m slider using a standard forklift and then travelling 200m down the road! I got a local window company to help me fit the windows and of course they had no clue how to fit them with the EWI brackets. It took a while for them to admit that the client knew best in this case as he'd actually read the bloody instructions. Means I'll have to rectify their first window later on. External view: Next stage on the exterior, is to EWI all walls with circa 100mm insulation. Note the brackets above (this is the first window and the bottom bracket aren't fitted correctly, so will need to be fixed before EWI). The brackets will cause minimal thermal bridging at least and certainly be better than having a timber frame constructed all round the window frame. The external aluminium cills (sourced from Germany, cheaper and thicker than UK suppliers) will fix onto that bottom mini (grey) cill at the bottom. EWI will tuck in under frame (well all sides of frame of course): and will marry up with the insulation I plan to add under the internal cill also: My next job is to get started with the internal plastering, so I'm looking at how to detail the internal reveals and cills. My plan is to insulate under the cill also. Cavity wall will most likely be filled with PIR where I can force it down or EPS beads (with a bit of PVA). I'll then fix 60mm PIR board to the now insulated cavity wall using PU adhesive. I'll have to channel out a bit of the PIR to accommodate the window brackets so the board sits flat: I should have enough clearance then to fit a wooden cill on top of the PIR. Not sure how best to affix that to PIR. Maybe the plasterboard reveals will sit on top of the cill and help pin it down. Probably overkill with the EWI, but my intention was to also insulate the reveals (see grey EPS example above) with 20-25mm PIR board and then plasterboard over the top. Just need to leave sufficient space to get at the internal beading in case the glass ever needs replacing (sons and footballs....). The other consideration is to decide where to stick the air tightness tape. Initial thought was to stick that on face of window frame and onto brickwork before I stick down the PIR board. But how well does the stuff stick to clean brickwork? I could add a further layer of tape from window frame and stick to top of PIR board before the final cill goes down. I'll try and post some drawings up here later on. Not great, but some of the intended detail:

£120!! Well I've saved you 1/2 then! Let us know if you find any deals on air tightness tapes. Looking for some myself.

Only had about 7hrs sleep in an 84hr period prior to the slab pour so felt pretty drowsy on the day of the pour. I was still alert enough to spot/rectify certain issues including: - a bit of ufh pipe popping out of the concrete where bit of mesh had lifted. The guy's intention was to just try and cover it up with a few mm of concrete! In then end I placed a bit of quarry tile on top of pipe and then placed a concrete block on top that to push/keep the tile depressed into concrete. I can probably lift the tile later on and 'fill in' with a bit of conceret/latex - builder had been using top of perimeter upstand as datum instead of datum on block wall behind the datum! Potential 20mm difference! Had to scrape quite a bit off and re-level. However, it's all ended up pretty poor and I haven't even needed a level to spot high/low spots - some areas are quite noticeable when just walking across areas. There are a couple of areas that will need to be ground down as they are simply too high. Better that, than have the whole area needing to be latexed later on. Looks like @Barney12 you're not the only one with an uneven slab! Not going to get too stressed about this right now as I need to get on with other items. The positive thing is that the ufh pipes seemed to have survived the pour. Manifold pressure dropped down to 1bar since the pour (but stayed stable during the pour itself at around 3.2bar). One of the hallways: kitchen: Tile with UFH pipe below: Lounge room. Various levels! Plenty of latex needed. Builder must have known on the day that things weren't great as he was already coming back about latexing etc (at his expense). 1) Should I get him back sooner than later to rectify things? His idea was to do any latexing just prior to my bamboo floor going in to stop plasters crud ending up on his 'perfectly latexed floors'. I can understand that to some extent, but at the same time don't want him to be uncontactable in 4-5months time. 2) How easy is it to shave off say 20mm of concrete? 20mm is a guestimate at this stage, hoping it is less. Presume the sooner this is done whilst the concrete is still a bit green, the better. What tools are we looking at? Any other considerations? Thanks, OB

Cheapest I could find (bought in the summer) Radon Gas Barrier Roll 300MU BRE Certified 25m x 4m £62 inc delivery and VAT. lbsbmonline.co.uk Local BMs took the piss.