BotusBuild

As I wrote the last blog entry, Scotland ??????? were beating England ??????? in the Calcutta Cup and we were all wondering when Lockdown 3.0 would end - we're nearly there apparently. We were also sorting out re-mortgaging to a lower fixed interest rate, - DONE, and we are paying about £200 a month less than before!! choosing insulated raft supplier - DONE, we went with Jackodur Atlas system determining steel re-inforcement requirements for the foundations - DONE and for the most part installed ? So, after more enforced delays, it was back onsite in May with the groundworker to get the stone and blinding sand in place ready for the insulated foundation system to be installed. This involved about 80 tonnes of stone and 15 tonnes of sand being delivered - we have about 5 tonnes of each left over, fo which I have no doubt we'll find a use ? (and before anyone asks, yes, it was rolled with an appropriately large machine at the appropriate time). This all added to a sense of well being - we were in the fresh air, doing something beneficial (for us at least) and we were finally coming UP, out of the ground! Break out the party poppers ? Ahhhhh - the insulated raft choice - it started out so simply having read the various comments in the forum, and Kore Systems it was going to be. I did then visit the Swindon self build centre and saw Jackon's stand and what seemed like a good system. Our SE had specified a 250mm thick slab throughout - no thin bits and thick bits - the Jackon Jackodur Atlas system seemed to fit the bill - a few calls, swap some drawings, commitment to delivery timescales, but with the flexibility I needed, a person onsite on day 1 to help. Quite straightforward. I won't go into detail, but let's just says Kore Systems approach was "our way or no way". With a delivery to a local yard by articulated lorry and then our groundworker getting it on his trailer to go the last mile or so, we then proceeded to handball it all off the trailer. From delivery to the yard at 8:30am onto the ground by 1:30pm. The handballing was done by Mrs BB and I in about 4 hours. The insulation comes with a nice waterproof holder for the instructions and the plan to follow - think "a jigsaw puzzle with the special parts all numbered and shown on a drawing". All the other parts are standard, but if you work from pallet 1 through pallet 2 to pallet N, you can't go far wrong. The very nice man from Jackon arrived just after we had stopped for lunch and we began with laying the first two sides and three corners, and then Mrs BB and I carried on the following few days to lay the rest. We did come across one part while the man was onsite which had not been cut properly in the German factory - you should have seen the delight on his face when he realised he was going to be able to send a snottogram ?. It was easily sorted, but if he had not been onsite I can see that it could have caused a big time day - even with being onsite it took about 45 minutes for him to work out what had gone wrong. Day 1: Day 2: Day 3: Day 4. : Next in was the combined Radon barrier/DPM, the first layer of reinforcing mesh, including a double-layer strip (see left hand photo below) around the 3 sides that will be retaining walls. During the laying of the re-inforcing mesh we suffered our first big accident when one of them caught Mrs BB on the shin and we ended up at the local A&E for her to have a few stitches applied - she is still talking to me ? Over the last few weeks we have managed to get the time to put in the second layer of mesh, with the help of a good friend and one of our neighbours-to-be. We're pretty close to pouring concrete, but just have the starter bars for the external walls and one internal wall to put in place, and two sets of bolts that will eventually have two steel columns attached to them. Oh, and well done Italy ??. (he said grudgingly)

Nick, I see no responses on the thread, and I need similar service in SE Cornwall. Did you get anything via private message?

Maybe not what your looking for but we saw this at a trade show (remember them?) We were given a "stand price" of £800/m at the time (2+ yrs ago) www.balustrad.co.uk

No surprise to most of us who have been buying materials recently https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-57247757

Assuming the UFH pipework is going in the screed I cannot see a need for anything other than some form of clip system to hold the UFH pipes to the insulation. Can you provide more information about the "thinboard"?

I often see on this forum the "connect to the gas network" comments. Recently there has been a lot of talk about the ban on gas boilers, including just today this article - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-57149059 I do wonder why people make the "connect to the gas network" for new builds in light of this probable move to no new gas boilers. Just my 2p worth

For reference - at 60C you can receive 3rd degree burns in about 5 secs. That comes down to 10 minutes if the water temperature is at 49C. So a lower water temperature makes for a safer home for vulnerable people (elderly, infirm, children etc..) http://www.antiscald.com/index.php?route=information/information&information_id=15

I'm looking for recommendations of a combined Radon/DPM for use between the insulation and concrete of an insulated foundation slab

Yes, I did think that would be the case. Thanks for clarifying

Thanks @ProDave and @joe90 Updated drawings based on your feedback, LGF first, then UGF:

I'm the other one building near Saltash. The original plans for our planning permission were drawn by ARCO2. I tried to use them, but timing and cost were all wrong for us. Now glad that it was wrong, as I have found the plans and elevations just didn't match up. Anyway, to your search - go grab yourself a large helping of Patience, sprinkle over a little pessimism, but top it off with some enthusiasm and an open mind to what might be possible with sites that you look at. It took us about 2-3 years to find the right thing. Glad we waited - we are building a semi-basemented 2 storey, 3 bed house that we aim to be well insulated, air tight, and hence a low energy home. Good luck with you search

I'd welcome input on the LoopCAD designs I've done. This first one is the Lower Ground - 3 bedrooms (to the left) with a bathroom (blue loop), ensuite bathroom at the top right, hallway/stairs where the yellow loop is, and a large other room with the two loops on the right. Where the manifold is, is the plant room. I've used 200mm ctrs guide for most rooms, 150mm for the two bathrooms. All the loops will be tied to the reinforcing mesh in the insulated foundation slab (U-value - 0.11, 250mm concrete) In the drawing below is the upper floor, which will likely be laid in spreader plates between floor joists, all loops 200mm centres.

Piers, I changed from an Architect, who couldn't start with us for 6 months, to an Architectural Engineer (I suspect same as a techologist/technician). He has been helpful and is certainly more attuned to the "how". One thing to note - I paid to get hold of the editable drawings from the Architect to give to the Engineer. A waste of money in retrospect - the Engineer could probably have re-drawn to his satisfaction and I wouldn't now have drawings with "bits" and dimensions that I need to keep asking about that the Engineer then says are from the Architects drawing ? HTH

... and an intriguing rusty corrugated roof. Is it marked on the title deeds as "here be dragons"? ? Good clearing. I recall we found about 5m "extra" around our plot edges when we cleared the undergrowth (and overgrowth!!)

An alternative might be a nut and washer either side of the plywood to hold the bolt vertical?

The simple question is how to hold the four bolts in place while the concrete is poured? I'm guessing someone has had to deal with something like this before, so be interested in seeing your solutions. Wax paper cones and polystyrene cones are two things I have found in my searches Here is the proposed connection - a steel column that will sit on a 250mm insulated raft that will have two layers of A393 mesh reinforcement. The column is sited flush with an edge of the raft.

On my SE's drawings are a series of dowel bars connecting 3 smaller slabs that are outside the envelope of the house to the main house slab (insulated). Has anyone had to install such dowels in their build? I would appreciate a chat so that I can understand how they work, and hence the best way to install them. (I am building myself and not having contractors wherever possible)

First fit of door? Do it off the hinges Second and subsequent time? slide a dust sheet underneath and just get on with it

My Architectural Engineer and Structural Engineer have both only supplied PDF drawings, and have stated they will not provide editable (.DWG) files that I can use to extract measurements from in order advise suppliers. The former claims it would invalidate his insurance. Should I be relying on the figure in the PDF's? Am I making an unusual request? Has anyone else been able to get such files from their professions? Is my eye for detail not suited to the building trade and should I be relying on measurements taken on the ground (which I can understand when it comes to ordering things that go in holes like windows and doors, but they're not on (or in ) the ground ? )?

Agreed Jack. Just pointing out the wonders of acronyms and the different names we have to put up with deciphering ? (and I thought the IT industry was bad!!)

Ali, The Radon/DPM (Damp Proof Membrane) shown in blue on your diagram is, I believe, the DPC (Damp Proof Course) you referred to in your original post

Looking good Adam. As I will be building a part basement lower ground floor, likely using Nudura, I would love to learn more about the waterproofing system/s that you used.

I sincerely wish you the best of luck. Maybe I have just been unfortunate, but after 2 units and 3 receivers, and having someone else test them as well I cannot bring myself to try and get it resolved.

Finally got so brassed off with Huepar that the whole frigging lot has been returned - absolute waste of my time. The support was absolutely lacking in actually doing anything. Going for something else - GRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!

A problem many of us have from time to time - too close to the action ?