marmic

thanks Nick, made a few calls - gone with Simplex Health after a very sensible conversation with lab test for the bugs and diy test for metals / Ph etc

Afternoon all, So finally started searching for home / lab test kits for rainwater harvesting system - as with anything market seems to be swamped. Rather than spending hours trying to work out what works properly and true value for money hoping somebody may have some experience they can share please? Water has 3 stage filter then UV treatment, then for drinking water reverse osmosis. Plan is to check both. Then every ## months - should that be monthly / 6 monthly / yearly? Another question! The filtered / UV treated we've been using for showering / laundry / dishwasher / washing up etc for a while and so far fine No risk no fun as they say in Germany! Hot water cylinder at 55° which I understand nothing can live in! Obviously other contents to check for too. Not drank any yet until 100% certain ok. Here's hoping somebody has already done their homework - if not some long winded reading tomorrow! Fingers crossed..........ma

ps meant to add our bc insisted. (socks etc from memory only for masonry cavities - also for acoustic barrier between dwellings. and needs tray over)

don't forget drainage and ventilation. you don't want water sitting on top of window/door reveals. I'd be inclined to double check regs, particularly if cavity behind cladding open to roof cavity

Or some of these I'm often expected to source (in my day job) when principal contractors think it's ok to hang hundreds, even thouands of kg from clay pots when they are trying save costs not putting in secondary steel !

sorry if i'm repeating anything here (not read through everything) but suggest looking at span tables - extract herewith i've quickly 'googled'. sounds like you may have some sort of clay pot slab - I see lots in commercial buildings.

oops on the politics! apologies all. So being PC following contains no names/council/party/gender/location etc: Agree they are meant to and should follow the tick boxes and policy. Sometimes good / sometimes not (as with some building regs too but that's another debate!). and 110% concur on comment about councillors. I attended a parish council meeting recently and there happened to be a county councillor present to provide an update on a few things. This person is involved in planning and on planning committee and another councillor present suggested this person was a planning expert! (which i know for a fact is clearly not the case as was involved in our advice stage and application early on and didn't have a clue and was quite rude about us - we were copied into an email we shouldn't have been, which was also about somebody else too!). Back to the meeting - I was given permission to speak and addressed councillor directly and politely asked why they didn't follow policy including their own local ones as there's been a number of applications approved that clearly shouldn't have been based on policy - and that's just some I'm aware of. Talk about put on the spot - just got waffle about pressure from central government and balance. When ours went through we had to follow policy - which is fine, and we also provided massive BNG which we wanted to anyway. ok exemptions now and times change but policy still current, but they seem now to be ticking boxes other than policy!

absolutely - life in general 😀

ps - worth having certainty on architects fees too such as % of final build costs etc. We did talk to a couple with a view to easing the pressure but decided the cost (inc early stage risk if planning refused) was simply too high and decided do everything ourselves from planning to completion (although not quite finished yet) - fortunately I have sufficient construction industry knowledge, and where I didn't have answers I made sure to establish the facts. Yes more time but has been worthwhile. I work with architects on a daily basis and have utmost respect for the majority, but not all. As a potential self-build client with financial limits I would also need to ensure they listen and understand brief as some will like spending your money and telling you what to do! And again careful due diligence on who you use. eg. a recent planning application we had to object to by an architect acting as agent for client had errors including deliberate lies, lacked important info, some info 'hidden' and is so far removed from policies it should be refused. Clearly had lots of copy/paste text and design. I'd not have been happy had I been the client, particuarly given the likely fees.. Albeit on the flipside wouldn't surpise me if it gets approved with #### planning departments and current government!

dare I say brown envelopes - forgot to add that to my rant 😁

thanks for comments - I was probably hoping for an easy fix / ideas / something I hadn't thought of! Conclusion: Unless I make this more time consuming and ventilate between purlins there's going to be the invisible damp/rot. Then unless I add vapour barrier too and seal it up just introduces just more cold air into the space! To do it properly then have to work around electrics etc too and move lighting - possibly all for little gain as walls not insulated and just a stable door! Be easier to build an insulated 'shed space' from scratch - which I'm not doing so decision is to flog the leftovers (perfect for garden office!) or give them away if no buyers......

totally agree with other comments and yes does depend how you are going to manage your project. I'd also suggest due diligence on the QS too before committing! And how far will they go - if simply a detailed cost plan but not procurement it gives you a target which is good and can prevent overspend (if figures realistic) but still leaves a lot of work. We didn't have a accurate budget in advance (although my numbers tunred out to be about right) - there were some unknowns and was very difficult obtaining realistic figures for some packages in advance - this is where a decent PQS could help significantly. If you plan to project manage and split packages etc procurement, detailed due diligence, project management is very time consuming and the biggest challenge - in fact way more than I had assumed and I work in the industry, and your budget is double what ours was! And don't forget cdm/insurance etc. So glad we're now almost finished! We couldn't have afforded a principal contractor but would have been nice! (if they had followed spec etc and not cut corners to increase margins!). It's often going to be the case that 'it's only you that cares 110%'. Don't get me wrong there are some great people, companies, and products out there - it's finding them! I'm happy we made the right choices overall, but still had minor issues albeit nothing that couldn't be corrected/overcome. My employed job is on the other side of the fence. I work for [an honest] specialist sub-contractor and UK agent for a handful of manufacturers with the QS/PQS often being 'the customer' - I know for a fact it's not uncommon that if they are obtaining market quotes to give them confidence on some costs they just look at the numbers and don't dig deep to ensure complaince with spec and client getting true value for money. With some packages (not all before somebody shoots me down) it's not unusual for suppliers of various products to white label/rebrand - which can be fine, but be careful. For example in my day job one of our competitors buys from 3 manufacturers for one of their product ranges. All 3 products are rebranded under the same code/name and they claim they are the manufactuer (no transparency even on as builts/O&M) - but these 3 products for example are very very different in terms of quality, how they are built/operate, performance, safety, sustainability inc longevity etc. On paper with limited description they can be described as the same product however - they decide what to supply based on cost agreed/margin, and we know for a fact also regularly provide lower performance than what has been bought (to be more competitive or increase profit). They are very good at this and are selective to avoid being caught out! Sorry going into one now but be careful how you spend. The assumption is so often that everyone is honest and if something is said it must be true. Caveat emptor! ah that feels better 😀🤣

assume not new build zero vat then

Nordan was on our shortlist - very helpful/professional and product looks to be decent. But didn't use in end for 2 reasons - 1. we decided increased risk of splitting supply and install contracts wasn't worth the saving. if you are installing yourself different scenario of course. 2. wouldn't offer increased depth/height of bottom rail/sill we needed due to flat timber frame reveals and being set back. Without raising at base extended sill ends up without adequate fall, if at all. Installer offer to do in ply/similar if we ordered windows undersize but didn't tick the box for me. We used Viking products from Nordica supplied and installed to passivhaus standards including extended sills with upstands to edges and increased sill in factory. Brilliant job / happy with products/people. Air test ended up at 0.45. I don't know other names but always worth checking actual manufacturer/product being proposed as white labelling/rebranding not unusual.

daft mistake! we have a mix of fixed and opening - but every room has an opener. . The MVHR extraction is excellent and it's never damp whatsoever but the occasional stinker might need some extra air. In fact the bathroom window needed a rare open this morning 🤣 not experienced summer yet - in theory we won't overheat, but if we get weeks of hot weather I think night cooling will be necessary. Handing and positions of openers I considered carefully to maximise cross flow

We explored way back all options for water inc wide water well. None were going to work as unfortunately we are on low weald clay. But sounds like you may have right geology. At time I had a very helpful conversation with borehole-driller.co.uk Might be worth a call? were clearly knowledgeable and have geology/water maps etc from memory - seemed to be straight/honest too. (i tried other companies too at time - most of which were unhelpful / disinterested etc - which seems to be the way with many these days!!)

morning all, We have various types and sizes of insulation left over from our passivhus build (cut-offs and a few full sheets where we had to buy packs). Before trying to flog on ebay or give away thinking about insulating between rafters on one of our stables we use as a daytime room for humans, storage, and dog kennels. We had been racking up the electric bill heating with oil filled radiator whilst dogs were in there and we were in caravan (but in house now 😀) - but for convenience we'll still use as kennels occasionally and still for human use during 'horse time'. So would be nice to keep slightly warmer in there! The questions I'm asking myself is whether 1. will just partially insulating actually make any difference? 2. will I create a damp problem? It's a very un-airtight space. And roof is just osb sarking and bitumen corrugated. walls timber stud with shiplap on outside and osb internally - definitely won't be insulating walls - not practical and will create damp! opinions (usually plenty on here!) would be appreciated please..... hagwe

no idea about plant watering but we have sucessfully installed 15000litre underground potable tank with pump controlled by pressure switch/pressure tank. filters before tank. Once in house water goes through 3 stage filter then UV - feeds into hot water tank (set at 55° - which as far as i know will kill anything) /hot taps/shower and cold taps/washing machine/dishwasher/toilet cistern. Water not completely clear with tanins still present but not bad at all. Think this will improve however over time as found about 6 weeks ago groundworker was incapable of following clear instructions regarding tank overflow - I've done a temporary fix - another job on list for summer! Once we have built kitchen we'll have reverse osmosis supply to kitchen sink and bathroom basin. Once all in we'll get RO sample tested (and UV only for interest). I'll be astonished if any issues but better to be safe before drinking. If calcs right reckon a full tank will last at least 50 days without rain. Might add another tank for additional storage and/or a connection (dryer season only) from a second roof not currently utilised, and we do have back up supply if really needed. I found the numerous 'uk rainwater harvesting companies' pretty useless and arrogant - most are just ticking boxes / playing at it imo. and found lots of info on Australian/US sites - they are way ahead - and worked out for myself along with significant assistance from pumpexpress.co.uk who suggested schemes and products - which we bought from them. definitely worth talking to. The potable tank from elsewhere - shop around and be careful.

sorry no but depending on your targets I'd be inclined to carefully check thermal and air tightness tests/data. I'd recommend talking to Nordica, even if they don't do pretty sliders - you'll probably get an honest opinion on them! we had final air test last week. 0.45

afternoon all........ we're currently close to this point too......... any conclusions before we open a can of worms and talk with BC/insurance companies. Difficult to find official answers but from what I've so far found theory is we would need a temporary certificate to satisfy insurers before occupation. At the point we plan to occupy will just be kitchen and bathroom basin outstanding internally (will have sink with hot and cold water in utility room) so can't see that being an issue. We can have temporary cooking facilities easily (transferred from the shed we currently use!). Level access to front door for docM will be the only outstanding item preventing sign off by BCO - can't do this until ground dry late spring/summer. look forward to any further thoughts and opinions please and hopefully where to find official answers.......... worst case scenario we'll just occupy unofficially for now and when bco turns up just tell him (and insurance) we're just getting it ready if the question comes up. many thanks........M

I looked at these but only A2, they also offer A4 with a slighty different [deck version] - but decided the square/robertson drive not for me with more chance of camming out - albeit will probably 'stick on the bit better' and perhaps look a little nicer

This might help if anyone else searching for stainless steel screws for chestnut cladding / decking etc in what I found to be a significant minefield with massive cost and clearly quality differentials! A good few hours down the pan! Eventually found these and placed order today - proof will be in the pudding so no comments on quality etc as yet but feeling quietly confident. So not a recommendation - let's hope it will be................ You can also speak with a normal human who knows what they are talking about! https://www.endurastainless.com/stainless-woodscrews/decking-screws---countersunk-stainless-steel---torx-drive/decking-screw-countersunk-torx-tx-drive-stainless-steel-a4-marine-grade-316 also very interesting: https://www.fastenerusa.com/blog/tell-screw-stainless-steel?srsltid=AfmBOoogzyXC-QceFYTVxyxBdILjVskzH34yHohaOgi9x-y49Rw3NaQG

i will be interested to see replies as we'll be doing something similar soon - eveything into one stack / drain. A tip I've been given is to have a dedicated waste pipe from shower to avoid the trap being 'siphoned out' and a lovely scent entering the bathroom!

On supply and install contracts there's no way I would agree to pay everything up front - has to be something left on table. They do have to balance their risk too of course. As JohnMo said it's a two way street - they want your money probably more than you need their services. But ensure agreed in advance - don't negotiate later. No names but a number of suppliers were crossed off my list just for being unreasonably demanding on payment terms - problem is most people tend to be compliant and do as they are told - and many companies know this. The sooner everyone gets a bit tougher with these types of suppliers the better! One company (not windows and doors) I recall was demanding unreasonable payments and also wanted the most ridiculous contract I've ever seen signed - straight in the bin. Was a throwback to 80's/90's double glazing! Appreciate us self builders have less clout than prinicipal contractors, but the PO in my book has to be the primary contract and usually is. Thankfully we're now at the stage of smaller packages and day rates with local trades we know and trust..............and then it will be lots of DIY weekends for stuff that can take longer................ if you haven't commited already strongly suggest talking to Simon at Nordica. They can supply the same product.