Hannah82w

We've built a timber frame on block work foundation walls with block and beam floor. All our internal walls are either built on lower block work walls (it is single storey and some of the internal walls are load bearing/supporting) or directly onto the block and beam floor as we don't intend to change the layout. The section and foundation plan drawings show an insulation upstand around the external walls but do you normally also run this around the internal walls of each room as well? Or should we because of the internal walls being directly on block work or B&B floor? Does the upstand also double up as the expansion joint for the screed, or is that something else entirely?! Thanks!

Yes, I'm pretty sure it does.

To update, our BC inspector has just made a visit to site (planned but unplanned!) and didn't think we need to worry about anything under the cill as the timber cladding will come right up under it. We might still add an extra bit of membrane to cover the batten just for good measure.

Our architect has also just suggested using DPC as an alternative lead, which would certainly be easier for us to do ourselves. Does anyone have any images of fitting dpc like this?

We have built a timber frame house and mostly cladding it vertically in British larch. The window frames and cills will be aluminium, and the glazers have suggested we need to add lead flashing under the cills, which isn't detailed in our drawings etc. Our architect has said this isn't strictly necessary, but might help keep driven rain out. We live in the south, so not in extreme weather conditions. We're wondering if lead is actually necessary (what is it protecting that isn't already protected by breather membrane e.g. the timber frame, ply etc), where would it actually be fitted (over the batten under the cill but under the cladding? I don't want to see it! Does it need to wrap around the corner of the frame?), can we fit it ourselves using either rolls of lead flashing or preformed trays? Would an alternative be to add another layer of breather membrane that wraps the window frame fully and down over the bottom batten to keep rain out of the timber? We're in the middle of cladding so don't want to hold up progress but may need to get this in under the cladding. Photos attached of one of the window openings (the bottom batten will be chamfered to send water away from the frame) and the cladding style for info.

Thank you, and good luck with your build. Sounds similar, especially the bramble clearing! Luckily we already had water and electricity on site from the farm days, which has helped us live on site and get going with the build, but both supplies are having to be replaced as they're either too old or in the wrong place! Enjoy!

Oh wow, your project does sound very similar! Yes, originally the only planning policy we could apply under was to convert the buildings so that's what we started with. The builders had to remove the asbestos roofs, after which we were going to agree on what would be required re dpc, potential additional foundations (no drawings to show what had gone in when the barns were built). But the corner ties of one building had completely gone, and the other two had cracks as well as being only 3 sided, plus not knowing what was underneath. Our intention was genuinely to convert, despite probably having some challenges to deal with, but there was a storm making the walls dangerous, a miscommunication with BC leading to some walls being knocked down for safety with the intention of rebuilding like for like, and then our planning officer happened to pass the site and called it in as a deviation from our permission. So we have ended up with a rebuild, which will ultimately be good in terms of the structure, but it want what we had intended to do or originally had permission for. Good luck with your build, look forward to hearing more about it!

Hello! We are incredibly lucky to be building on the former site of my in-law's pig farm. The buildings had been redundant since the end of the 90's and because they are located in a conservation area outside of the village settlement boundary, our only option for planning was to apply for conversion. We gained this for three buildings to create two homes (one for my brother-in-law, BIL), including an ancillary building on our half of the site which will include a large garage, workshop and additional domestic room with en-suite (noted as a playroom on the plans!). We gained planning permission first time and made a start on site early in 2019, then ran into some problems and, long story short, had to reapply for planning to rebuild like for like. This didn't go down well and we were refused on the grounds of the location not being sustainable for new development, along with the recently discovered issue of nitrate causing issues in the Solent. Another long story, not helped by delays due to the pandemic, but we regained permission for our now new builds through a planning appeal and found our own solution to mitigate for our nitrate production created by two new homes. My husband and I have been clearing and preparing the site for many years, with our two young children in tow (now 5 and 8, but the youngest was 10 days old when we first met the architect on site) and living in a static caravan on site for a year now. My BIL lives with their parents, 2 mins walk down the lane, and (shall we say) is less engaged with the project... After being let down, we decided to take on the groundworks ourselves with a good friend who has experienced his own build and hard landscaping projects for work, and is very skilful on the digger. We worked part time on it over about 6 months, and although still finishing off a few tiddly bits, the carpenters were able to make a start on the first frame at the end of February. Because of the previous conversion history of the project, and the various professionals already involved, we decided to pursue a stick build timber frame (rather than bring in a specific TF company) which has worked really well for us, and there is nothing complicated about the shape and form of the buildings. I am project managing, estimating and ordering materials etc, as well as being very hands on alongside my husband. We are currently working on the timber cladding, having had most of the brickwork plinth around the building completed, the zinc roof will be installed in May and doors and windows to follow, so nearly watertight. The second house has come on nicely but progress will slow down on this as we will focus our attention solely on our half of the site (lets see how BIL gets on when he has to do something for himself!), with the garage to also bring on. Building control have insisted on sprinklers due to the width of our lane (and wouldn't accept that we can get delivery lorries up here and grain trucks when it was a working farm), and I'm sure there will be a few more curve balls, but given what we have already gone through I'm sure we'll find a way round any issues! When researching things, the threads from this forum have already been incredibly helpful, so thank you!