Lincolnshire Ian

The 2x2 is OK around the openings, but we also need cavity barriers at roof height to mitigate the potential for the cavity to act like a chimney.

Hi all Our next BC inspection is when our timber frame has been erected and the cavity barriers have been installed. I had assumed that the cavity barriers would be installed as the block work went up, but apparently this isn't what the BC inspector is looking for. We have a window of opportunity between the timber frame erectors leaving and the brickie arriving to get the cavity barriers installed, but this is four weeks before the brickie arrives. I am assuming that the cavity barriers are waterproof, but will they be OK left for 4 weeks before being boxed in with the block work. Thanks everyone

Nope. We are buying a timber-framed building, and the company has a number of exclusions in their service, which includes the design the outer skin of the property. We were expecting a more joined-up service due to the nature of the focus upon self-builders, but alas, that hasn't been the case. I suppose if we had read all the small print and asked more questions, it could have been clear.

Hi We are building a new timber-framed house house. The house will have a block skin which will be rendered. There are lots of blocks we could choose, but which one is best to take render and minimise block work preparation before rendering starts? Many thanks

That's a brilliant reminder - our timber frame company offered us the same option, but we didn't accept it (maybe should have!).

This house building lark is tricky!! Our roofer doesn't do fascias, soffits, bargeboards and guttering - apparently that is a chippy's job! Its too late to change roofer - they are like hens teeth around here. Do we install the fascia, soffits, bargeboards and guttering before or after tiling the roof. Thanks everyone

Hi all We are going to have stone cills installed in our timber-framed house. My concern is that whenever I see a house with traditional buff coloured window cills they are various shades of brown, grey and black depending upon how long the algae and mould has been attacking it. I think I have two options: Coat the cills with something to prevent the buildup of crud - but I don't know what! Use a dark charcoal/granite colour which won't show the algae and mould, but then I have the problem of finding a mortar to match the dark cills. Does anyone have any ideas regarding how I can approach this? Thanks

We haven't started cladding yet, but I like this idea. Thanks

Hi all We are pondering how to get the best finish for our windows at the intersection of the window frame and the cladded wall. The timber frame house is erected "wind and watertight" with the windows and doors installed by the timber framed erectors. The windows will sit within the frame, then we have a 50mm void with cladding on top. We will have approximately 50mm of space between the window frame and the cladding that needs filling, and this seems impractical to cut such a small piece of cladding then use the required fixing strips etc. Has anyone found an elegant way to sort this out, or am I destined to spend hours cutting up cladding. The image shows my predicament. Thanks

Thanks, I will try these people in Derby.

Hi Are there any cast stone window cill suppliers who will quote based upon uploaded plans?

Hi We are trying to work out whether we should do something about the intersection of the cladding below with the chamfered brick. The drawing isn't clear, but we intend to have a 10mm ventilation gap between the end of the cladding and the start of the chamfered brick. We are also planning to install some insect mesh. Should we have some sort of cill underneath the cladding? Even though the cladding overlaps the chamfered brick by around 15mm there is still the potential for water either running down the cladding, or during driving rain to enter the cavity. For content, the build-up on the TF house is Protect TF200 Thermo Insulating Timber Frame Breather Membrane over OSB board. Should we be concerned about this, or is this just how cladding works on timber-framed houses? Thanks

Hi We have a groundbeam and are just about to start the block work for the beam and block floor. We will have a long, thin cavity which needs telescopic ventilation immediately in front of the front door (roughly the same width as the the porch). With hindsight the design of the groundbeam probably wasn't perfect, but we are where we are. The BC inspector has specifically said that we need ventilation in the front porch. Is there a way to install a telescopic vent behind a door threshold drain and still maintain an airflow. Thanks

This is the post, next to the front door. The house will be 70% white render with 30% composite cladding.

Hi When our timber frame is erected we will have an ugly galvanised post holding up the corner of the porch. We are planning to match the house brick plinth height on the post, but how can we clad the post to make it look a bit more elegant. For context the house will be white rendered with composite cladding. Thanks

The access road is under power lines. The crane can't operate within 3 metres of the power lines, which is pushing the crane way down the site - we have a long, thin plot.

The crane will get bogged down before it reaches the designated area. It's for the vehicle as well as the stabilisers.

Hi all Our groundworker has quoted for a 200mm thick crane pad. The crane contractor wants 350mm thick crane pad. The ground is heavy clay. We need a 40T crane. Due to the shape of the plot, overhead lines etc we need to put the crane in an area which will ultimately be garden, not driveway etc and would like to mimimise the depth of the dig to keep hardcore and muck away to a minimum. What thickness of crane pad has anyone used before? Thanks everyone

We are building a house where the finished floor level will be 450mm above ground level. We plan to use several courses of engineering bricks, with standard facing bricks above. Am I correct in assuming that we only need engineering bricks to get out of the ground? Once we are above ground level, can we use standard facing bricks? I have noticed that many newly built houses have engineering bricks up to the finished floor level. However, since our house is relatively high off the ground, we would like to start facing bricks below the finished floor level - does this sound okay?

Hi We need telescopic vents for our block and beam floor. I am assuming that I don't need any additional support for the outer skin bricks, but it seems logical that I will need lintels of some description for the inner block work which is supporting the block and beam floor + the timber frame. Do I need lintels, and if I do what type? Many thanks

We are going through the process now. We had several quotes, but expected to pay a little more because we wanted a single company to do everything up to finished floor level + the timber frame wall plate. For 38 piles to 12m, ground beam, brick and block work to FFL block and beam floor, wall plate, sub-floor structural engineer, all drains and trenches for electric, scaffolding pad and crane mat £73k. This is for a floor area of 160sqm.

Hi everyone We have a site without electricity that's 20 minutes from home and we would like to put up a CCTV camera which is powered by solar/battery with a mobile network card (we have 4G/5G coverage). I have seen systems advertised but it sounds like it could be a bit flaky. Does anyone have any suggestions or recommendations? Thanks

Hi all We have a trade account for building materials from builders merchants which seem to be giving us keen prices. Has anyone had any success with electrical and plumbing wholesalers to get decent discounts. Suggestions welcome. Thanks

Hi everyone We are just starting groundworks and this will include laying drains to the private drainage plant. In the same trench, above the waste water, I want to bury an armoured electrical cable to power the aerator and the pump. As we are at the start of our project we haven't engaged a sparky yet. Can anyone suggest what type of cable I should get? I have taken some pictures of the set up. Thanks

We are building a TF house which will be wind and watertight post erection (piling starts in 48 hours). We will tile the roof, build the outer skin, install underfloor heating and then money will start getting tight. We are in the fortunate position of being able to live in our current house while the new house is being built, but fitting the house out is going to be challenging without either taking out a bridging loan or moving into the house before it is finished. I favour moving in before the house is finished. Despite the obvious downside of living in a dusty building site what are the less obvious things I may have overlooked. Will I get problems with my site insurance? Could it make claiming the VAT back difficult etc,etc Many thanks