marmic

as i said previously: land registry plans don't always reflect accurately whats on the ground/history etc. Our previous house had a fenceline that was angled to the one side - but straight on land registry which would have given us a slightly larger garden - I asked solicitor and he said something along the lines of you've seen on the ground what you are buying, by disputing what the register indicates could open a can of worms, be expensive, and quite possibly not get you anywhere. boundaries can get messy - somebody I know bought a large plot, the vendor split the original title with a large hedgeline between fields being agreed as the boundary (I don't recall if there was a fence inside the hedge) - then proceeded to erect a fence on the side they had just sold (when the purchaser was away!). It went legal and the fence had to be taken down with all costs covered by vendor. They clearly wanted control of hedge as then applied for planning for multiple houses in the field they had retained, which was refused anyway. I've heard the term landcreep used......... correct or not I have no idea

good news it's not a ditch - is there not one on the other side? if there is potentially more good news! - curious as to where the raised bank to hedge is from - or does the ground level just step up where it's previously been levelled out perhaps? if the latter is the case you may need to think carefully about drainage here? regarding boundary and architect's responsibility they will probably throw this back over the net if they were working to details provided by you, or was establishing the boundary part of the brief? Agree talk to neighbour about boundary - but only once you are armed with the closest to facts/history/presumptions you can find. may also be worth looking for boundary markers - guessing extremely unlikely looking at photo but you never know. The land we bought was originally under one title with the vendors splitting it up. Wooden pegs were in the ground marking the split. We have replicated by digging a hole with post hole digger, ramming in deep a steel road pin and filled hole around pin with postmix. Now invisible but know where they are if we ever need. The stock fence we have erected is a fraction inside the legal boundary due to an error by fencing contractor. But in hindsight not a bad thing as to our advanatge should there ever be a future dispute with any new owners of adjacent land should our neightbours sell in the future - highly highly unlikely but it's covered for little effort and cost.

agree to be cautious before building. hopefully you have written evidence of where the boundary actually is? (and land registry plans don't always reflect accurately whats on the ground/history etc). if you don't have 100% evidence of boundary: Looks like a ditch in photo - or could be an optical illusion on photo where hedge banked up? In the event of a dispute the 'hedge and ditch presumption' could put the boundary on your side of ditch - if there is one? But hopfully you'll have something concrete to the contrary - talking of concrete, and if this is a ditch, hopefully your engineer has taken this into account + any water flow / roots. sorry to sound negative but all stuff to throw back at architect if not already covered - if applicable. Watercourses (even 'just ditches' are plotted on some maps) On a positive note however if there is a ditch on the other side (??) you might find the boundary is there. The way the hedge is banked up would indicate there is or was a ditch one side or the other. If blue on marked up image is a ditch the boundary could be the red - or the opposite if ditch is other side.

merci - I may be wrong but i think EWI is commonplace in central europe too probably with not as many issues? new build and refurb? But the climate is drier, hotter, and colder than here in UK..........

ps - if all boxes ticked so far and it's dry ensure installation correct to ensure rain/moisture can't get in behind - particularly at eaves/verge/reveals. also consider detailing at dpc, especially at corners. I don't know but I'd personally dig deeper to establish if thermal bridging at ground floor - wall connection level becomes an issue???? google 'ewi problems' - AI overview interesting I really will now be quiet!!

I'm no expert in EWI and not planning to research as wouldn't use! But IMO: very careful consideration needs to be given to structures on an individual basis. There will I am sure be plenty of companies out there full of BS so probably advisable to ensure very careful due diligence There will I am sure be good ones too - and if eveything taken into account and building suitable it's probably ok? If buildings are built to 'breath' - which many with solid walls are - sealing things up on the outside may not be a great idea. Assume walls should be dry before applying to avoid trapping moisture in - which can then only go one way And if vapour internally needs to be prevented from getting into the structure and staying there causing rot and mould etc stopping it is easer said than done on an existing building Additional ventilation may be required? - passive or mechanical? Localised thermal bridging I'm guessing could also be an issue? (eg window reveals)? Only my opinions/thoughts..................... briefly back to the cavity conversation - I find most people seem to forget and/or don't know the original reason for them, and is also a mystery why many think bricks and stone etc are waterproof! They aren't - which is why wall ties have drips and cavity trays are necessary at abutments etc. Porosity will vary significantly. (obviously render/coatings a different conversation). Somebody I was talking to years ago was told by a so called 'expert cavity insulation installer' they would seal up the holes made in bricks to ensure water didn't get in! There are other issues IMO with pumping insulation into cavities but I'll leave it there as don't have all day! Full fill cavity insulation on new builds is I believe subject to location / exposure (regs) and needs to be very carefully specified and installed to avoid moisture tracking across. But I don't believe anything is stated with regard to the porosity of the outer leaf(?) - problem is who would define?! The difference between a relatively impervious brick or sealed render/coating etc and a handmade stock brick or limestone is huge. I shall now get back into my pram and say no more. 😀

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c3w965gz8zgo

if there's a ditch too, or trace of one, look up 'hedge and ditch presumption' if there are boundary doubts/unknowns/disputes - but doesn't always apply either. Might be helpful?

i've read some mortgage companies are starting to get twitchy about anything thats been filled - no idea if thats true or to what extent however. Personally wouldn't touch anything thats had cavities filled with anything!

solid............ cavity fill also becoming a problem as I predicted years ago!

be very careful you don't cause a damp problem.............

also depends on performance of house - if energy requirements are ridiculously low it's quite possible. time will tell but once we have completed our build (passivhaus) pretty sure the heating will rarely kick in.

if you draw off too much heat from the compost won't you risk the whole system stalling? Good point!

great idea - had I only thought sooner! Whilst building we've been doing this in the shed: https://humanurehandbook.com/ which would provide a constant free heat source and not take years to fill. And quite ok to use in a house too. Not sure what BCO/EA would have to say and how to complete part L docs etc - but could well be on the agenda to heat garden office when I finally get there - no regs!..............got to finish the house first though

hopefully not but be prepared for a possibilty it could be more complicated??? is it definitely a water authority pipeline? no idea if different to england - but if the same: water authority should be able to provide a map of their pipes. If it's private could be time to be nice and/or write a 'name your price' cheque to get a connection (which could even involve a sub meter with rates possibly by your neighbour, albeit not sure on latter) but make sure you spend even more (with solicitor) and get an easement in place (and pay your neighbours fees too) which stays on land registry even when your property sold I know of some pipes you would think are water authority but they are private, sometimes shared - even if before meter. Water companies generally won't or are reluctant to adopt these and as far as I know can't be forced. I knew somebody way back elsewhere in the country who didn't know they were responsible for about 1/2 mile or more of pipe - which leaked badly - they reported it then received a surprise enforcement notice to repair due to wasteage, but really needed replacing at enormous cost added to further as highways also involved. Lost touch so no idea what happened in end worst case scenario off grid RWH time perhaps..................

the problem could also be beyond the surface in cavities? I havent studied too closely but not immediately obvious looking bricks where you have them. If where you have roof abutment and stepped flashings there are cavities and there are trays in place they could be invisibly directing the water internally into that corner. Or spread more evenly if there aren't any............

we used 1200g/300mu polythene dpm over B&B lapped/sealed to preformed dpc and corners which wrap up onto masonry upstands (with marmox) which timber frame sole plates are fixed to and lapped/sealed with dpc coming up from under beams - bit belt and braces. 2 layers insulation staggered/taped with upstands to perimeters/structural walls. 1200g/300mu again over that lapped up walls (more than usual) for screed and air tightness. UFH pipes onto that then 75mm liquid screed. polythene upstand then carefully cut and air taped to smartply airtight walls. worth the effort getting wall to floor interface right with preliminary air test before plasterboarding at ACH50 0.56 But depends on rest of your construction. agree with previous comments you could use 500g polythene under screed but couldnt see the point as little cost difference in grand scheme of things and wouldnt have right for me for the air tightness - would have split everythere! also agree no foil / foil tape in contact with screed

out of curiosity have just glanced back at quotation. Some errors and now recall the inclusions / exclusions / notes regarding install also put me off. As did their 'salesman'. Guessing things may have changed?........ good luck

https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/07818179/filing-history be interesting how the branding develops and who they supply................

is that recent?? viking also supply others so still worth shopping!

You'll need to establish what a P33 actually is. ie the manufacturer / product that has been rebranded - probably. From memory and as far as I know they mainly buy from viking which should therefore be a good product, and can also be procured from elsewhere. They are imo highly unlikley to tell you however and will probably go blue in the face insisting they manufacture. Should be able to work it out from drawings / images. Although i do vaguely recall somebody sayng on this forum they had bought viking, which I somehow doubt, but you never know!?!? I also recall reading a post where they had procured product from 2 manufacturers on a project to satisfy requirements - which is fine of course. Keep digging for the facts! My initial enquiries and due diligence started about a year ago so I could well be out of date......... Rebranding / white labelling is commonplace in all industry, but with big ticket items such as windows and doors I personally like transparency and to know exactly what I am buying. Albeit often it really isn't an issue - goods sold in supermarkets for example! In my employed job a few competitors claim they are manufacturers and buy from different sources different quality products and rebrand under the same name/product code - and supply whatever fits the negotiated price and to retain required margin, sometimes even providing a lower performance system than ordered as visually identical but means more profit and/or being more competitive. No I'm not saying what I do, but it is construction industry.

yes they provided door thresholds (all from factory) but didn't offer extended. I guess every job would be quite different - our doors are set right back. This to ensure a good finish that was also easy. And keeping the level approach straightforward

More ideas / recommendations required on gutters please! Capacity I'm comfortable with - issues are ventilation and water overshooting gutter during heavy rainfall. And keeping it nice visually - single storey and at one elevation eaves are at eye level from adjacent higher ground. Preference is galv finish, but anthracite grey or black will also work. Brackets have to be fascia fixed. Standing seam roof anthracite grey at 10° with matching fascia/barge. Matching spacers for ventilation limited to plastic systems it seems. These are to maintain ventilation behind gutter for airflow into roof cavity (through FV250 vents). Have asked BPD (Glidevale) if we don't use spacers whether they consider ventilation from above/in gutter space acceptable (personally can't see why not). If yes may or may not run it past BCO. If acceptable that problem solved meaning we can use galv steel gutter / similar - but then means further increased gutter size which won't look great on a relatively small building so just moves the problem! (and jumps in cost) Water overshooting gutter is my other issue so need to make sure we have sufficient projection (and no option to raise height of gutter). Obvious solution is larger gutter - but again will be visually dominating / not pretty! There's no calculation available (extract below from article by mgma.co.uk) so have been up on roof with watering can, spirit level, and rule! Osma (wavin) stormline with spacers currently seems the best option - but my 'getting soaking wet' trial tells me heavy downpours might still slightly overshoot. Packing out further with addtional spacer not possible as that then takes rear of gutter beyond where it needs to be for standing seam roof drip detail. This product has a slightly raised front edge - but needs to be higher. Could be the way we have to go, but would rather be 110%. In addition to not wanting a waterfall we are off grid RWH so need to catch every drop! Anyone know please of any other high front gutter system available in UK? Avoiding super expensive bespoke options! Or any recommendations for bespoke at sensible money? Seems to be the obvious answer, but need to find it! (frustratingly plenty on the market in Australia - I guess as metal roof systems been used so much more commonly than here for decades. But no time to import anything and wouldn't be cost effective or sustainable!) Fingers crossed.................... Different types of roof surfaces will create either more or less projection of discharge at the roof edge; for example, water will flow faster down a standing seam metal roof than a stone tiled roof. Currently there is no formula available that can establish the projection of water flow from the edge of different roof pitches, heights and roofing materials to enable the installation of the correct width of gutter.

and you will get the same windows (ie from the same manufacturer) from elsewhere for less!