Pete

I have used expanding foam tape around all my windows, no expanding foam at all. I have then taped inside and out and got a very good air test result

Obviously read the instructions, green side up, good man!!

Cheers guys

Just trying to finish the wiring and cannot seem to find info on whether I need to have two separate back boxes for ethernet and shotgun cable or can I get a single switch plate to do both? TIA

Yes, on my own. I have a door lifter as well and use that to lift the boards up while I screw them

I have been using my p/b lifter all this week and it is great. Have finished 3 complete rooms in 4 days including the walls. You have to get used to it but it is fairly straight fwd. I would recommend the ext piece as to build a tower and move it around is alot of work. @ProDavementioned not having access to do the screws but you can easily screw the board in place and then finish off when you have lowered the lifter. I bought a hand lifter as well as this makes carrying them easier (80 sheets a distance of 30 metres each way) and also helps position them on the lifter.

Hope you well on the way back to health Terry

It has run out somewhere but as long as it is fixed securely on both sides across the joists and it is LEVEL move on as you will have bigger problems in the future (as we all have ?)

If in doubt use expanding foam Ian!!

All Hail Jeremy!!

If you like me it is remembering it all.

Alot, could be another 500 pages to read again! only joking mate)

You taught him well that is all I can say!

Thought you may have asked @Onoffto rate your tiling!

I have my own Internorm thread so perhaps it could be moved there?

Funny that Lizzie. You know our installation has been a nightmare as well and to add insult to injury we now have a leak in one of our windows which I am sure is water getting behind the aluclad exterior, bypassing all the tapes and then pooling on our timber frame but Mr Hagen is not convinced and cannot come out till May!! We had some water seepage after the storms recently at the bottom of the sliding doors and his comment was that this is acceptable after a storm as long as it does not leave the threshold. I am absolutely gobsmacked by the lack of concern over our window installation. Not finished ranting but realised I am hijacking the thread, sorry.

Welcome. There are a few self builders in the North West, not using ICF but you will need advice on other things self build so keep reading here!!

Told BT I wanted to leave as my broadband deal was to expensive and she reduced it from £60 for broadband, landline and BT sport to £27 for the same bundle.

We have a lift designed into our build but are not installing it when we build. We are using the two rooms, one above each other as you would expect, for storage etc but not putting any pipes/cables through the floor section and have put in some structural timbers to form an opening for the lift to move through. We only want the lift in case we cannot use the stairs when we are older and at the moment if you need a lift installing for disability reasons then you do not pay VAT so we saw no reason to fit it until we need it.

Sorry I do not have a sketch or any form of visuals but we had a Tony tray as such with our timber frame. Our frame was a fully built cassette with insulation and vapour membrane already built in when the frame arrived. When the ground floor panels had been erected the timber frame crew laid an airtightness membrane horizontally along the top of these panels and then folded this onto the floor cassette when this was put on top of the lower panels. The upper panels had a loose/dangly piece of membrane that when the upper panel was put in place the loose membrane was then fixed down and taped onto the lower panels thus ensuring a very complete wrap. We had our air test done in January and we acheived 0.56ACH and that was with a large leak on the Internorm sliding doors.

Looks fab, you must be really proud to see your new house evolve! What stone cladding have you chosen? We are having a wall done in stone but not sure whether to use coursed limestone which is not cheap or use a cladding material. I have the IBS rep coming out today to have a chat and see some samples.

I have a really old set of BT wooden ladders that I dare not throw out as they are are a thing to behold. Rope extending and an auto pawl system but I never use them, prefer my 3 section youngmans

Well I feel like Jeremy and Barney with the SA only mine is windows. So the replacement trim to replace the damaged arrived today. I have sent emails reminding them of the previous fiasco and to ensure it is packaged carefully. So it arrived (can you feel that this is not going to go well) and not only was it damaged but the wrong trim. They sent an anodised one which covers the sill section, which we already have and not the top trim. It measures approx 5.5 metres long by 150mm wide long and it was just bubble wrapped. It was not even strapped to a piece of wood to give it some support. This now means we still cannot finish the render due to this trim needing to be in place and god only knows how long it will be before we try for a third trim. We are now nearly at 18 months for our window install. Avoid Internorm at all costs.

Age before beauty they say! We are not in a position to purchase yet as my window saga continues. By the time we get round to it SA will be old technology. Will keep a close watch on how you get on though!!

So, I have read the thread again and are we any nearer to making a decision? We have @JSHarris giving the actual details/problems he has experienced plus @Barney12. We have @Nickfromwales explaining from a designer's/ installer's point of view but does not really address the issues that Jeremy has mentioned, or if he did it went straight over my head. I really appreciate the effort people are putting into this debate as we are interested in the SA but not until we can be sure we have chosen correctly.