Mr Punter

Uses up some offcuts and some fittings that were rattling round in the van I suppose!

I understand that the Grenfell system was tested with cement board and failed, so was tweaked until it passed. Agreed there is a world of difference between a high rise strongly vented cavity and a low rise semi closed cavity.

No, it isn't. The Inside Housing article was about polystyrene external wall insulation being flammable in high rise flats. It may be that in the future any flavour of flammable wall insulation is unacceptable in any residential building.

It is quite common on developer houses to have partial fill insulated cavity walls with dot and dab plasterboard, where outside air freely circulates around both cavities. I like wet plaster as an airtightness barrier. I have been looking at poly bead fill but I am moving towards premium mineral wool. It has the same R value and none of the fire risk. Flammable insulation may be going rapidly out of fashion, especially in walls. https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/news/widely-used-polystyrene-insulation-system-shown-to-be-similar-to-grenfell-style-cladding-in-australian-fire-test-69005

To update his profile picture. I think we all know it is for a webcam.

I just googled it. It looks a great product.

It looks similar to Marmox. Are you having undertile heating?

There is quite a big gap above the flush pipe of the wall hung WC. Offer the pan up to make sure the gap is covered before you grout the tiles. What is the wire at the end of the bath for?

I think yes, especially as it is large format tiles. It is really easy to keep clean. We used to use it for tiled worktops. Make sure you are happy with the colour.

I would download the plan for the neighbours title if it is registered. Erect a fence around your land if you can afford it. Given the small size of the plot I would doubt you would be able or allowed to build on it.

I think the risk may be where you have some insulation in the frame without a vapour barrier and the dew point moves within the frame and the condensed water cannot escape. Don't ask me a follow up on this as I am struggling now!

I doubt that Celotex will propose any solution with their insulation externally plus rainscreen cladding. Grenfell put a stop to that. There may be an increased chance of interstitial condensation if you us a foil backed board externally, but not enough to lose sleep over. If the cladding is heavy and the insulation is thick, fixings can be an issue. With the insulation internally you only have the plasterboards and the floor can take the weight of these (I prefer on packers in case of leaks).

It looks like the windows were foamed, then mortar over the foam. You could run a bead of silicone down if you can finish it neatly. The low modulus stuff may be good for this. Whare you have to bit of missing mortar, fill with fresh mortar first.

@trialuser the Compriband will normally seal between the window and whatever the reveal will be finished in, so you could run your cedar or tin into the reveal 50mm past the line where the Compriband will be, fill the gap with Compriband externally and foam internally. The Tyvek is the last line of defence and should prevent any water that has got through the cladding to run away.

He is an engineer. I have no idea why he took this on.

He is, I fear, a virgin butcher.

No. There is a first time for everything and this is it!

We amuse ourselves by his inability to pronounce "architect" and have an informal drinking game based around this.

Apparently it arrives without head or skin. He is planning on butchering it at his friends house. All a bit homoerotic. I hope they keep their shirts on.

The batten issue can be even worse if you have external insulation on a timber frame. There is often nothing to fix to in the corners. Counterbatten is the way forward.

My son is getting a deer this week with the intention of butchering it himself and having it for Xmas dinner. Very odd imo. I have been sworn not to call it Bambi in front of his wife & children.

Nobody read the original thread very carefully. You may want to take advice from the carrier board people. The Bluclad BBA certificate says: 13.7 Horizontal movement joints must be provided at every floor to accommodate vertical shrinkage of up to 6 mm in the timber frame and to follow movement joints in the substructure. For steel-frame structures, reference should be made to the Structural Engineer’s details for detection at floor level and movement joints in the substructure. 13.8 Vertical movement joints should be provided at the required intervals. The actual spacing and position of the joints will be determined by the shape of the area to be rendered and should coincide with movement joints in the structure and allow for the same degree of movement.

Hi @JessandMat and welcome. Unless you are reasonably skilled and experienced and willing to do a large amount of the work it is unlikely that you will benefit much financially by building this over and above what you would gain free of hassle by just gaining consent and selling the plot to a self builder or small developer. The new property will need connection to all services and the utilities will provide quotations for these but on the basis that they are nearby you could budget £8,000 for this. You may find the transaction easier if you either purchase the parcel outright from your neighbour or agree to split the sale proceeds in proportions agreed by you both. I would not suggest that you and neighbour try to develop this as a joint venture. You will need your lenders consent before the plot can be sold.

I think it will be hugely expensive and time consuming to do. You will only get 2 slips from a brick. You may need some headers as well if you want the bond to look authentic. I think slips are easier to fix with one of the grid type systems to keep them in line. After you have stuck them on you have the fun of pointing. I would just use them whole on part of the house, use them to build a garage, or sell them to a reclamation yard.

Why on earth is there a step down into the living room? Can it be accessed from the hallway or just via the kitchen? There is a lot of corridor space. The utility room seems to be a feature for some reason. If you lose the utility and move the stairs centrally your upper landing would be more central. I quite like the front, but nothing is saying wow.