Crofter

My walls comprise 145mm studs with OSB outside, and I will be fully filling this with mineral or glass wool, with an unbroken PIR layer inside of that. I assume that I need to use cavity wall batts as ordinary rolled insulation would slump too much. However everything I have found online is only 455mm wide- my studs are at 600mm centres so the gap is 555mm.

Seeing as nobody else has chipped in on this one... I am taking a bit of a stab in the dark but my preference would be clay, as I would expect less thermal expansion/contraction, no UV issues, etc.

For best thermal performance it should be in the middle of the insulating layer. 'Normally' it seems every joiner I meet wants to put it sticking 50mm out in front of the insulation! They all think I'm crazy for wanting to install it in line with the insulation.

My roof design is exactly as PeterW shows (although with metal sheeting rather than tiles). You could use foil-faced PIR and tape it to create the VCL, but I'm just going to use plastic.

What brand were they? I was just going by what Screwfix had. It's not really an exposed location, just an issue of cosmetic appearance really. The Torx heads will look quite neat I think.

Thanks, that basically tallies with what I've read elsewhere. NorDan suggest only filling about 50mm of the frame depth and then leaving a gap, with a bead of mastic in front of it which should be open to drain at the bottom. This will all then be hidden behind the reveal. I've gone for Torx-head yellow zinc fixings as the stainless ones had some iffy reviews with several mentions of them bending or sheering. Aim to start installing on Monday..

Yes that does make a lot of sense, thanks. I don't think I have to worry about headers as the windows are almost right up tot he eaves, which have a decent overhang.

Yes have digested that one already! Also found a useful guide from NorDan. Just trying to nail (screw?) down the last few details.

Anyone? Another question- the through-frame fixings, I am thinking of using stainless for this as they will be visible whenever the window is open, and I could see some moisture being trapped inside the window mechanism between the seals.

After a couple of weeks away from the build, I'm going to install my windows next week. I *think* I know what I'm doing, but thought it would be worth asking those with a bit more knowledge than myself to confirm... Wall buildup is (from inside out) 12.5mm plasterboard, 25mm battened service void, plastic vcb, 50mm PIR, 145mm studs fully filled with rock wool, 11mm OSB, breather membrane, 25mm counter batten (vertical), 50x50 batten (horizontal), then final element is vertical larch cladding laid board on board- thickness tbd. As built, I have only got the studs/osb and breather in place just now. The breather is trimmed and lapped into the openings. The windows are 3G alu-clad with a frame depth of about 95mm. My plan is to install the windows so that they are flush with the outer face of the OSB. I have left a 15mm gap all round and will screw through the frames, with treated softwood packers to make up the gap. Where sashes are fixed I will use angle brackets. Low expansion foam to fill the gaps. On the outside, the reveal (ingo?) will be made from the same wood as the cladding, with a bead of sealant at the join. On the inside, the vcb will be fixed to the window frame using airtightness tape. My only real concerns are 1- should I use plastic rather than softwood for the packers? 2- any reason to use e.g. torx screws rather than ordinary pozi ones? 3- forming the weather seal. Should I close up the 15mm gap all around with sealant, then the timber reveal pieces butt up to that? Is there a risk of trapping moisture and if so what sort of sealant could I use? 4- forming the airtightness seal on the inside. Would it be best to tape a strip of VCB material around the frame edge before installation, or is it OK to just tape the vcb onto the window later in the build? 5- do I need to think about the 25+50mm cavity between the timber cladding and the OSB, and some way of closing it, other than what would be needed to support the reveals anyway? Hope all of that makes sense. I have tried googling all of this but 99% of info seems to be about houses with masonry outer skins.

Both stoves I have installed have just fed into the clay liner and I never had any problems. However in both houses the chimney was central to the ridge line and so only a very short section was exposed above the roof, which helps keep things warm. My inlaws had their stove installed likewise, but their chimney is offset from the ridge and so becomes exposed to the cold more. They (after several years) ended up with condensation problems which resulted in leaks. Ended up getting a flexi liner plus vermiculite installed, top down.

Downed tools a little over a week ago and got my boat back in commission- she had languished on the mooring all winter growing a good crop of barnacles and weed. Had a fantastic sail up the Minch to Stornoway, were followed by a pilot whale at one point, so close you could almost have touched it. Masses of sea birds as well, as our passage took us through the Shiants which are a huge breeding ground for puffins etc. It was our 4mo son's first trip and he seemed to enjoy it, slept like the proverbial baby afterwards anyway. Spent several days in Stornoway catching up with old friends, then SWMBO+baby bailed out by ferry leaving me to spend two days slogging to windward to get the boat home again. It's been great to not think about the build for a while, although not quite as relaxing as I had hoped!

Another factor could be if you have anything that will need unloading from a lorry- e.g. a treatment plant. Very handy to have a digger on site for that, and obviously the bigger the better when it comes to that sort of work.

I've got a fairly cheap and basic one, was about £100, does the job. I gave up getting SWMBO to hold the staff, and took to sticking a pinchbar in the ground and strapping the staff to it with a bungee. Easier methods may be available!

Really depends on what you need to do. A big machine has greater reach and breakout force, and works faster. A smaller machine will be neater on smaller jobs, and still manage to do most normal jobs around a site, just take a wee bit longer.

Welcome to buildhub. Strictly speaking, you don't need an architect at all. In fact if you are happy with the house design (I'm assuming you have full planning, not merely outline?) and just need someone to help submit the building warrant, you have a few choices- architectural technician, engineer, or a package builder. Or you can do it yourself but it is quite involved.

If you compress it to a third of its thickness, won't that greatly reduce its effectiveness as an insulator?

Funnily enough I've just a salesman from Caley Timber (nr Inverness) visit the site, he says they can easily beat Planwell on price. So we shall see about that. I'm dithering a bit about what profile to use: corrugated might well be more fitting for a little house, as the normal (mostly flat, widely spaced ridges) box profile is rather shed-like. The other option is the 'modified sine wave' (for want of a better term) profile which comprises symmetrical flats and ridges.

Just to update- I did the obvious thing and just bought a bigger strimmer. 53cc Kawasaki commercial job, off a bloke who cuts grass for the council and gets to take that year's machine home with him every season. Nice to know where our council tax goes!

Erm, I suppose it doesn't really, but I seem to remember it wanted to fold one way more readily than the other.

Actually just remembered- I squeezed/dribbled PVA out directly onto the back of the creased tape, then placed it onto the joint. Had a sudden flashback of PVA dribbling down my arms and off my elbows. Maybe brushing it onto the wall would be better! But definitely squeegee the tape down flat.

I will probably be told that this is all wrong, but in the past I've used creased paper tape, and used a sponge (just stole one from under the sink) to apply watery PVA to the joint area, then laid the tape, then used the spong to squeegee it down and remove all bubbles, as well as wiping away excess PVA. Then the filler goes on top once it is dry. I'm sure somebody will be along in a minute who doesn't just make these things up as they go along

I think it helps prevent problems with differential expansion/shrinkage/sagging etc of the filler and plasterboard.

Look very smart! The only time I ever built a pair of doors they warped like b*ggery and only closed properly if you bolted them top and bottom. It put me off doing it again!

Lot to be said for building a blockwork tank! Except I suppose it might be hard to get approval for it?