Mr Punter

Strange because I recall that you can tile on it.

Does this continue up to the first floor? If so you may need to remove the first floor section or provide support for it.

Sometimes pir has a fibre reinforcement.

I have seen these where they just say that no other sites are under the ownership of the applicant and so were not considered. You probably have to do this as part of a flood risk assessment, where you submit plans and EA flood map information. There are lots of firms who will do the report. Get lots of quotes!

Well this guy did a fantastic job and reckoned it was his first go at tiling!

Hi @annec and welcome. Just to recap: The house is 140 years old. You bought the house 8 years ago and 2 years later paint began to bubble and fail in several areas of the house. The roof was mostly replaced 8 years ago but you have had further roof repairs. At some stage after the problem emerged you had CWI installed and the outside rendered. A couple of observations from the photos: The plaster does not look original. Nobody replasters for fun so it may well have been to cover existing damage. Your second roof photo shows very little overhang on the tiles - either at the verge or the eaves. This makes it much easier for wind driven rain to find its way in to the top of the wall and down the cavity, where it is now less able to freely evaporate. It may not feel damp indoors as it is nice and warm and will evaporate away.

No. That is not what it is designed for. It is manly used as insulation and they do a stronger version (Perinsul) to be used in a single course to prevent thermal bridging between wall and floor. Marmox also do a similar product (Thermoblock) to Perinsul but a fair bit cheaper.

My son mentioned it. He is an electrical engineer designing building services. Maybe it is a best practice thing for H & S? I have often seen people accessing the fuse board on small sites.

I understood that a 3ph supply and board is not considered appropriate for a temporary builders supply.

I would be very pleased if architects would start showing 400mm thick external wall on their planning drawings. Far easier to then adapt for brick / block, timber frame or ICF.

It would be nice to see some temporary guarding around the stair opening.

Great progress and a really nice tidy site.

If you have a scaffold tower it would be much better than a ladder. Are you just putting back the bits that came off, or renewing the whole thing?

Yes, the builders who you had originally are definitely your best bet even if you have to wait a bit or pay a bit more.

Don't tell @tonyshouse! If you plaster instead you will have a nice airtight layer. With dabs you often find that cold outside air can find it's way in and move around freely behind the plasterboard.

Velfac and IdealCombi are very similar and part of the same group. They have ali external sash and timber internal frame. I have used both and they are OK. I prefer the IC as they have an insulated bit near the glass, so less chance that the timber will suffer with condensation. Rationel are also worth trying. Same group but installers rate them slightly better. Sliding doors IC are OK if the sliders are smaller. Rationel do lift and slide which is loads better. The IC fitting was fairly crap. We did Velfac ourselves.

Photo is the cavity facing side of inner leaf.

MVHR is just to do with providing ventilation without heat losses. It is not suitable for heat distribution.

No. It is the inner leaf. The rain will not jump the cavity.

Much easier to get mortar on the beds than the perps. They have done a fairly crappy job. It won't fall down but I would not be thrilled to pay for this.

If it is sound I would leave it on and go over it. Sometimes with old walls if you hack of the plaster you find big chunks of wall want to fall out.

I think they may be OK for smaller areas but not so much for whole house, so that could work for your kitchen. I know of the mist systems going into kitchens in student housing.

The sprinkler heads are very reliable. They don't cause more damage to your property than a fire or a visit from the fire brigade with hoses on full pelt. If a fire breaks out, only one sprinkler head would normally actuate. You may find that an existing water supply will suffice. Failing that, you could get a dedicated sprinkler supply connected. Once you have the system connected, it is up to you whether you have it checked and cough up £250 a year. Nobody will be around to arrest you if you don't.

It looks like render and set.

Why not just get sprinklers?