AppleDown

It's not cheap - the best product and buildup for the floor from Topcret is about £160m2 including install.

We visited a friend who microcement last year and we fell in love with it - so much so that we want a good 65m2 of it downstairs on the build. We've gone to a few different providers and each one uses a slightly different buildup. The two we've had the best experience with so far - and the ones with a more 'technical' approach - have been Forcrete and Topcret. There were a couple of local installers who quoted, but they simply just use a primer and then a couple of layers of product and a sealer. The two mentioned have a much more substantial process of building up the layers, adding strength etc. Yes it's all theory at the moment until we get it down - but from the time it takes to actually apply, the number of layers and the specific build up, I'm happy spending the extra £s on it vs tiles. We have also done our own 'scientific' stain testing with a few sample sheets on cement board. Went wild with the usual coffee, raspberries, spirulina and ketchup - baked in the sun and didn't leave a mark.

It’s about 160sqm - I’ll drop you a PM with the ones that have been best for us so far.

We’re in the exact same situation as you. Tree roots and clay. We could potentially have a raft, but we’d need to dig down a fair bit to the ‘good’ gravelly clay, but it’s a hassle with muck away and MOT type 3. I’ve probably got quotes from 8 pile providers and the range of costs has been staggering. From £28k for the piles and ring beam, all the way up to £65k. I’m leaning towards piles, ring beam and insulated beam and block. But I’ve got a guy who does piles and a tied in raft popping over tomorrow for a chat. We’ll see what he says. Bit more expensive but I like the simplicity and shallow dig. All the ones I’ve progressed with have SEs in house, so they include the cost. They’ll give you a rough idea on what’s needed based on a soil report and indicative plans. You’ll need loadings for a final design and price though.

That doesn't sound right at all - why is it double for them to install? Install with my alu-clad windows are about £7k (without the airtightness gubbins as I'll do that myself). Total price around £40k for supply and install.

I emailed them twice about our project. Never heard anything back. So 🤷

Lovely - thanks for the info. This might need a whole other thread, but how did you go about setting up drains for the showers/wet room?

I think that's my preference. My next questions is: would the structural concrete topping be OK to lay the actual floor on then? Do I still need some leveling screed on top? It'll be C30 with some fibres in. Buildup of the floor as provided by Litecast is below (it's a timber frame, so ignore the wall detail). That's 255mm from bottom beam edge, so adding another 50mm of PIR total will be 355mm (without any further leveling screed).

Hello everyone! Due to ground make up, soil investigations, tree roots and cost, we've decided on an insulated block and beam foundation sitting on a concrete ring beam with piles. Litecast (specifically the GT variant) seems to be the best bang for buck, achieving 0.15 W/m²K. The EPS needs a structural concrete topping of 75mm. My question is should we look to run the wet UFH through this, or add another screed topping and have the pipes in that instead? We'll need some self leveling screed anyway to ensure a flat surface, but is there much difference in placing them in that first level?

I've used Planner5D for our build. Really easy to use - you have to pay the monthly subscription to resize everything, but once you're done just cancel and it's a one-off.

You're coming across a little arrogant here. Take a moment and think about what @Marvin is saying. A house with total area (ground and first floor) of 100m2 will have half the roof size of a bungalow with total area of 100m2. And from a materials POV - our 210m2 total area house is coming in at just over £220k for materials. Are you including kitchen, units, solar etc in yours?

Martin at Whiterok was very good for us. Based in Basingstoke. Didn’t cost the earth, listened to feedback and wasn’t pushy with anything. We provided a mood board, a list of ‘must haves’ and they gave their two cents. One area they weren’t brilliant at was ‘fabric’ but I’d done my research and knew what I wanted.

Do the joists need to be mechanically attached to the ledger as well? Looks like the top piece is just resting on it and the bottom piece has been cut short?

Have a watch of this guy's channel - knows his stuff:

I can't give any specific recommendations for what to do here, but I'd be incredibly p*ssed with your installer. I've spoken to three different providers/installers for our build, and each one has stated they'd like to get a request in first before they go any further. Maybe there's something they can do for you on the final invoice.

Excellent result! We're hoping to minimise the 'months' of work by getting Aerobarrier in after the roof is on and windows have been installed. Fingers crossed it works!

Hybrid roof buildup hasn't had the best rep on here, but to my understanding if you do it properly and get a professional to look at the condensation risk it could be a way forward. So less PIR on the 'external' portion, and then add back in between the joists.

Did you seal it with anything?

Get a quote from BPC Ventilation. Middle of the road, but they’ll design for you.

I had the exact same reaction. They seem to be advertised as a 'premium' product too. No idea why.

Who have you gone with? Buildstore (or Buildloan) did a pretty comprehensive breakdown included in their fee - not as good as the Proquant one, but basically both came out nearly exactly the same. My own project sheet is slightly less as we'll be doing initial dig, cladding, some roofing, decorating etc. But everything matched up to what I had originally thought and what had been discussed on the mortgage amount.

My GreenRaft quote was est. of £30-35k for 181m2 at 0.12W/m2K. AFT are £8,900 for just the kit, with minimum 0.1W/m2K.

If you have more than one loo downstairs - maybe a cloakroom and a bathroom - only one needs to open outwards. Plus there are minium distances needed between toilet and walls/doors for wheelchair users.

Hey everyone. Looking to get your opinion on the following quotes for site insurance and warranty. This is from Buildstore: Site Insurance 18 months cover £1777.85 Structural Warranty £1558.29 Warranty Inspection Fees £1722.00 Do they seem about right for a 1.5 storey, 3-bed, 200m2 in SE, with no weird or wonderful conditions? Will try and get some further quotes but the process is incredibly time consuming filling out endless questionnaires. Thanks! Edit to add: reinstatement cost of £400k

We had a really good quote from Brill Sawmills - Simon from Frame Technologies recommended them. Alu-clad timber triple glazed - 15 windows, one set of 4.8 metre wide sliding doors, one set of french doors, and two entrance doors (glazed). Total including installation was under £40k. Average u-value for all of the units is just under 0.8.