scottishjohn

maybe make it an uoside down house to get that extra head space in living areas?

not convinced on need for it in this country with our climate ,which is getting warmer all the time different story in sone european countries with much lower winter temps and long winters frost line in Uk will never get down to where it would be

you could go for vaulted ceiling upstairs though?

of curse they don,t so move it for them and get rid of all your problems

not sure on english regs ,but scotland 140mm is minimum--so sips gives you that in one go

If you cannot get in your site with a concrete truck and pump --then that is out

less joints and asplines means cheaper and if crane is possible then thats why they go for large panels a telehanlder must go under your overhead cable --so you could stil use one to lift heavy things -ask sips panel suppiiers about wieghts of their panels iwould use my swing dumper with my lifting attachment and screw 4x2 to each panel and lift with that with a chain around the scaffolding pole on the dumper If you look through my posting you will see iwas lifting up to 500kgs with that no problem , so a sips panel would be no problem

I would not let your architect decide it all he maybe has never used them the time you will take to make the frames -erect and then pack stick build with insulation cutting and wasting insulation will be a alot , and if not very good fit -you will get air leaks with sips insulation is already doane and air tightness is almost certain then all you need is vapor barrier held to wall with 25mm strips -which will be your service void for plumbing and electrics and then on with plasterboard worst you will have is a box section to get toilet waste down to ground floor in a corner somewhere ,probaly in the downsstairs toilet once slab is done and wall plate fixed down its a very simple job to fit sips on to them- take a look at the process of fitting the joining splines between the panel dead easy once ground floor panels are up fit a floor then next tow of panels --choices are vast -- but if you really want MVHR - then you will need a very thick floor structure to get the plumbing in.Idid not go for that for technical reasons of building inside an old granite house -floor thcikness wasl imted due to postion of upstairs windows --and nayway my wife insisted she wouls still be opening widows --so pointless and alot money saved - If cooling insummer is an issue then get an ASHP that can also cool as well as heat -then wall head plate and trusses -or if you want rooms in roof then you could use sips for the roof as well -they need no extra support,assuming it is not mega wide -so you have attic completed in one go just make sure you use double battons on top and a very good breathable membrane -then on with your roof covering choice internet search will give you all the info you need sit them on the wall fill in between -then next row of panels If you buy blank panels -you can even leave making window holes till they are all up . I wonder why you do not get a price for burying the overhead cable , maybe would work out simpler / cheaper in the long run ? my quote for my elec supply -3phase 100kv from a pole 140yds away was 11k,with me digging the track -so i can,t think it can be that expensive to drop a cable down each pole and run it underground across the entrance ,especailly if you dig the track for them a days digger hire will kill that . must be worth a enquiry If like here, they will supply the piping for the cable -you bury that with a draw cord and its a simple job for them . I,m suprised the cable is causing a problem as the minimum height is usally around 17ft -so most thing will go under that

do you have a plan to show us ? thats was passed for your panning consent? or do you only have outline consent and no actual approved plans

with respect If you need me to answer that question ,then I am not convinced you have the mind set for a self build

they don,t have to be that big look online and you will see you can buy sips panel blanks all sizes like 8x4== two sheets of OSB with polsteyene foam in between --they can be man handled one of many suppliers https://www.sipsdirect.co.uk/product-category/blank-panels/

if minimumwallthickness is paramount ,then surely SIPS is the way ? and dead easy to do and will be quick to assemble and easy to get airtight you will not have much latiitude on insularion thickness as buidling regs will have to be complied with

I suppose first thing to sort out is the overal buget then you can makedecisions on what you can do - and if your T/f is going to be cheaper than block -- once you have a shell watertight it makes diy alot easier i would have liked to od itall myself ,butour agse and size made that impossible so most of my work has been outside altering the scenery,lanscaping and building walls etc do you have planning and a design yet -- that could eat up a lot of time once that is done then you can get quotes for what you don,t want to do and maybe it will all be clearer then

Iwould be happy to be paid anything per hour -with all the time i have put in and damage to the old body if money is an issue and time is secondary then anything you can do yourself will be like getting paid -or not paying out £25 an hour so if you have somewhere to live while you do it crack get stuck in

or maybe use grp shaped flashing?

which is why mine will the cement board type of product

we had tnaking problems with the old washhouse -- now a garge the ground outside was right to top of the walls as can be seen if you lookat my thread original wall was 200years + old and very iffy my builders solution build 4"block wall next to orighinal stick on mebrane isidenew wall ,then gap and block wall again gap filled with concrete time will tell if it was the right way

sytem used in my house has been subfloor with refeforcing mesh - then dpc whcih stands up the walls to finished floor hieght 140mm of celotex boarding next is UFH piping then final 75mm screed to finshed floor height

I,m ging for stick down :VT and my man will not do job unless he uses floor levelling compound after he has sanded the sreed first and same fpr upstairs over the ufh flooring system all makes it an expensive job they won,t even fit click ik type lvt flooring on an area as big as mine they consider it a DIY system i got same advice form major flooring manufacturers they also do not fit the flooring till all other work is done inc skirtings and kitchen bathroon sanitary etc etc

bythe time you have chopped itdown and logged it -- it burns fine -certainly no need to stack and keep for months before it burns very well and cleanly

evryon including architect wanted me to fit wood burning soves in the house do iwant to be cutting trees and loging four years from now bearing inmind i,m 72 with a dodgy left leg and other things and cutting trees on40degree bankings ,then getting dumper to pull them out to flat area NO even though ihave lots of ash trees which you do not need to seaon --cut it and burn it with a couple of weeks that si why the ash is so calld --cos you burn it all you get left is ash

don,t look that bad to me and iwouldn,t do anythig unless to intend to fit a black angled strip with blck sikafllex on inside and give a black surround look

skim coat will be approx 3mm by the time its polished etc and you will find a reasonable plasterer easier than one that will do a good taping job how you going to make corners right wih taping --the croner strips will be about 2.3mm up stand -- als o inthe staes they have 16ft long plaster board --so not many joints to my builder was teling me yesterday it has tkaen 96 bags of plaster so far ,but it is 400sq ms

grp it all with upstands at wall your main problem is the lack of height at the door sill to get a good seal to building how thick are your tiles ? my humugus balcony was done like that with lead flashing coming down over the grp is there neough space to raggle some lead below the window area when tiles are removed ? final thought where are the window bottom channel drains going to cos it will gather up there as it runs down the windows,myabe laeking from there to lower floor god forbid it is from the pipework from your balcony drain you could go old school and once tiles are up use hot tar toseal it then retile sounds like you need to remove plaster board from room below -to watch where it comes in maybe plaster board will be knackwered anyway soon

that will be due the ground you are building on only one layer in mine as tis sitting on live roack and compacted granite