YodhrinForge

M'Lord, I present to the court Exhibit A. First of all, I am unfailingly polite in person. That's why I like pseudononymous internet forums. Secondly, I'm not demanding access to trade shows, or that I be given the same priority as a volume housebuilder, I'm literally just saying if you're bothering to put together a website and you're bothering to claim you sell to the public, there is *no reason* not to put up a per-unit price unless you want to retain the flexibility to fiddle individual people based on your estimation of how clued in they are. If you're still running a business in this day and age on the basis of "okay he wants this much, what can we fleece 'em for" rather than "this is the volume I need to move at these prices, and so each unit must be sold at X - if you make a really big order I might consider a volume discount" then that's a perfect example of the kind of Victorianism I'm talking about. The fact you make so many assumptions - oh he must just be doing some silly wee thing, a bit of wonky sopping-wet CLS from B&Q would do him, what's he moanin' abaht etc - is absolutely typical of the attitude I'm talking about. I'm conducting an eco deep-retrofit of a 19th century stone cottage with a late 20th century masonry extension that will be receiving an additional wooden extension - not using whatever CLS is shunted through DIY stores once the good stuff has been sold through proper BMs, using specialist engineered timber products because long-term dimensional stability is important for maintaining airtightness - and so far as a complete layperson I have discovered exactly two things I'm not comfortable doing DIY - electrics and traditional slate roofing - because frankly it's not exactly rocket surgery, and I have the free time. But that's not what the industry wants. The industry wants you to hire an architect, who instructs their pals who're QEs and SEs, and then call up their buddy who's a builder, who then goes and chats to his pal who runs a BM and gives him a lovely jubbly little deal, and if the plebs try to butt in to any step of that inefficient, incestuous little process we're given as much of a runaround as possible to try and discourage us.

So I've been in my new-old place for a few months now and I've noticed that over the past few weeks there's a really bright mint green colour that seems to be bleeding through the cream wall paint at various spots, and increasingly so(primarily at edges like the wall/skirting line or next to trim and doorframes). Pretty sure it's not mould or anything like that. Redecorating was something I wasn't going to be doing for ages yet, but I am planning to do renovation work that will involve fiddling with one of the greening walls, is it anything to worry about do you think?

Not really how it works in this case, I'll have sufficient access to create a seamless airtight layer even though it's a retrofit. Attic & floor membranes and doors & windows will be taped off against the masonry, then lime parge applied to the masonry will seal the walls over those joints. The handful of tight corners where getting tapes in would be a faff will get a liquid application membrane product applied and that can be taped off to. I shouldn't have any appreciable gaps, and all those products have been through enough testing that I can be assured I'll be long dead before they risk losing any performance.

Oh here's another bugbear - if your timber is 45mmx45mm, then don't bloody well advertise "47mmx50mm joists" and then put "lol jk that's the size before we regularise it" in smallprint at the bottom of the page. I was aware of that pitfall in advance but it still boils ma pish every time I see it, plus even if you're aware of the problem it still makes finding actual 50mm(or whatever size) material a gigantic pain in the bum when the dimensions actually matter. All the joists and rafters in my old house come from a time when the stated dimensions were the *actual* dimensions so trying to find stuff that will match them when I need to deepen, reinforce, or sister one is rage inducing.

Honestly starting to think you're right. I went back and ran the rough calcs for just deepening the joists to 200 or 250mm and using ecologicalbuildingsystem's retro-ecofloor technique and it's coming back somewhere between 0.13 and 0.15 which is in the same range as the thermally broken approach and would be easy as widdlin' up a wall by comparison - grab some joist stock, tack them on underneath with the nailgun on an angle, a few screws up from below, then it's all vanilla. I don't anticipate there being any missed bits, I'll actually have pretty good access to everywhere I'll need to do comprehensive airtightness and I'll be handling that aspect of the project personally to ensure no bodging, but tbh that aeroseal thing looks nas-tee to me. "Non-toxic water based" but requires full-face breather with VOC cartridge during application hmm yuh-huh. Looks to be an aerosolised acrylic caulk, no info on longevity testing, no info on whether it is or how long it stays flexible to deal with wood movement etc, can't see vapour permeabilty numbers in any of the docs on their site. Seems like it would be a useful tool in the context of the volume housebuilding sector to save them time and effort, if they were building near-passive homes(and assuming engineered timber rather than sopping wet CLS that will look like a plate of spaghetti by the time the house dries out), but in a back-to-masonry deep retrofit I don't see the value really.

I have to say that so far in life, I've enountered few experiences more mindlessly, needlessly frustrating than trying to give the building industry my money. It always seems that you need to put on the fez hat and give the special secret handshake to prove you're One Of Us before any sod will even tell you how much something costs. Something as basic as a webstore with a simple per-unit pricetag is apparently beyond ~95% of suppliers, even the ones who ostensibly sell to the public - like, why even bother pretending? Just say "trade only, DIYers bog off", don't waste my time submitting requests to perhaps maybe be considered for the possibility of buying something, only to turn around and refuse to even give a price unless I provide complete structural plans for the project - I want to know the rough price *before* I get to that point or how else am I supposed to sodding well cost the different options against each other. Computer building, car and bike mechanics, even other trade-esque areas like furniture carpentry and small boatbuilding are at least *somewhat* open to laypersons who want to do things themselves and just need access to buy materials - hell I've never had better customer service than from a local-ish sawmill where I get hardwood and the first time I went there I was completely clueless - but heaven bloody forefend I try and find out how much anything that isn't bog-standard DIY store CLS from a construction materials supplier is going to set me back. Everyone in this crappy country seems to want to pretend they live in the Victorian era for some reason.

If the sarking boards are wind-tight, which they are as they're rated for roofing, I don't see how it would make much difference, as it will all be fully outside the thermal and airtight envelope as is the wall the chimney sits in. We're still talking about 3 pretty small vents feeding one small duct, it's not like it's going to generate a howling gale; back of a napkin prelim calcs suggested it would only be a bit more than double the present airflow which is with only two functional vents, and still below what modern regs spec for with air bricks every couple of metres around the house perimeter. I was also under the impression that a closed up chimney has to be ventilated somewhere regardless and since it won't be from the heated interior I don't see how the solum air is going to be colder than air direct from the exterior. It's not either-or man, I'll be investing the time and money on airtightness anyway. All exterior and adjoining walls are being stripped back to bare masonry and will have a lime-based parge/levelling/airtight layer applied before lime adhesive & hammer fixing woodfibre insulation boards. Appropriate tapes, membranes, and where needed liquid-application barriers will tie the lime parge into new passive rated windows & doors and a complete rework of the current room-in-roof attic conversion which will have contiguous insulation and airtightness on the interior of the pitches from apex to eaves(ventilation gaps will be maintained to regs "outside" the insulation), as well as to the ground floor with the airtight layer under the insulation - which in the concept being discussed would be the airtight T&G sarking boards, or in the "normal" method a vapour-open roofing membrane stapled to form "slings" between the joists for the batts. I'm already committed to going whole-hog on this, that's why I'm trying to figure out how to maximise every aspect as much as I can without going *too* mad on costs. Insulation boards over the top of the joists kind of negates the object, which is to place as much of them as possible *inside* the insulation envelope, which should ensure only the very tips embedded in the walls on the coldest days get close to hitting dew point and even then should quickly recover to a temperature that encourages evapouration and allows them to expell any moisture through the vapour-open buildup. All that said, this notion seems much easier to work with than my plan and should work fine with the "membrane sling" airtight concept with only a little bit of faffing. Rough calcs suggest I could hit aroundabout 0.15 with that - could be more, but factoring in the depth of the flange hanging down I think I'd only be able to fit 60mm insulation under the joists with the requirement to maintain a 150mm cavity.

Aye it's this stuff: Seems to be granite from what I've read online? Thinking about it, I could somewhat over-order my concrete ballast and mix that in, end result should be fairly type 1-esque just lacking the few bigger ~40mm chunks.

Just wondering if it's allowed/sensible. I have a garden absolutely rammed with that heinous red gravel that was big in the 80's and early 90's and want to replace it, but paying to have it lifted or just posting on FB inviting randoms to come and shlep about my garden with shovels doesn't hugely appeal, so given I'm going to need a bunch of hardcore for the foundations of my new extension, my planned garden room, and as a subbase for a couple of new concrete floors putting it to productive use and saving myself the costs would gladden my tightfisted little heart. Maybe by mixing some sand into it to make up for the lack of fines?

Almost: 35mm WF(no need for a membrane with the T&G sarking boards), flexi WF, VCL, subfloor(the floorboards evidently went away sometime in the 20th as its particleboard at the moment), LVT or somesuch top layer. Ventilation is definitely a concern as there are presently two vents, one at the narrow front and one diagonally across from it at the wide rear(the best way to envision the property is a wide cottage divided internally into two properties shaped like interlocking Ls - mine is the small front wide back one). I suspect there was a third directly back from the front vent at one point but it was covered by the old kitchen & covered porch extensions, since the porch is getting ripped out and replaced with a new utility room I'll be restoring that one via a duct. Preliminary discussions with architect came up with the notion of using the pipe-converted chimney flue that will be left after I have the gas fire ripped out and carrying the pipe down into the subfloor, changing from cross ventilation to constant draw on all ground vents via stack effect on the chimney pipe(with anti-backdraught cap). That has to be modelled though, to make sure it'll work. I have been thinking over torre's notion a bit more and trying to figure out if I could make the install easier by deepening the joists with 50x50mm rigid wood fibre board "battens" ripped from insulation(ordering a bunch of that anyway for the stone walls) and screwed in diagonally from above, just need to figure out a way to do the membrane underneath - maybe instead of trying to keep it whole and stretch it across crosswise to the joists I could cut it into strips sized to cover the gap between just a few joists and tape them(apply the first one "properly" by nailing off a runner to the wall plate, then secure it to the first joist with tape, then just move across taping each strip off against an extended joist, and then the next strip over that). Lots of expensive tape but easier to manage, and would still break the thermal bridge.

I'm going basically-EnerPHit - "wasting time and money for only microscopic improvements" is essentially the job description lol I appreciate for most people it's not worth the bother, but as I'm DIYing a lot of this project and it's a "generational" retrofit of the building which will almost certainly be my home until I shuffle off, I'd rather do as much as I physically can and get the best possible end result, even if it wouldn't make sense for a commercial project. Adding 35mm sarking to the underside of the floor assembly bumps the u-value from over 0.2 to under 0.18 on the rough calcs which both hits regs(and I'm trying to show willing there whenever I can because there are a few things I want to do that will require the BCO to sign off exceptions, so better to not push my luck) and will actually make a bit of difference in the long run in the context of a highly airtight(MVHR) heatpump-heated home up here in Scotland. If I break any of the tongues eh, I'll just slap some Tescon Vana tape on the join. Lifting the floor unfortunately isn't an option as the doorways are already only just big enough for me to walk through without ducking and I'm avoiding structural work if I possibly can so going around and remaking all the lintels to be a course higher doesn't appeal. @torre I considered something similar to your suggestion about the backer board, but I'm having to be very mindful of maximising the ability of the floor assembly to dry out into the cavity as these old stone cottages only have a small amount of ventilation and being in a conservation area means I can't just go around punching more holes into the wall, so I'd be hesitant to introduce even small elements that aren't as vapour open as possible. That's why the sarking is such an appealing product, being wind-proof and resistant to moisture but still basically transparent to vapour.

Pretty close to deciding I CBA with slabs and UFH and just insulating the existing perfectly good suspended timber floor as flooring has to come up for other work anyway. Easy option would be membrane slung between joists filled with wood fibre, but that leaves the joists as cold bridges, so I'd prefer to use the approach of adding tongue & groove 35mm wood fibre sarking underneath the joists(which doubles as the vapour-open windproof layer) - trouble is my solum cavity isn't gigantic, about 270mm below the joists, and even with a right angle drill attachment etc I can see getting under there with the thermally broken fixings is going to be a pain in the bum. I'll do it if I have to like, but if there were a ready made easier solution I'd be interested to hear about it - some kind of heavy duty plastic L or T bracket that could be hung from the joists maybe? I could screw in diagonally from above but I'm not sure if that's going to be secure enough long-term.

Alas I'd already tried that and my original issue stands - any inclusion of the phrase "party wall" almost exclusively returns results concerned with the Party Wall Act and the fact it doesn't apply here, and even using quotes just sprinkles in a few links mentioning the fact the scottish building regs exist. As far as I can tell from checking them directly, having done so previously, the regs only mention the concept specifically in relation to not undermining the structural integrity of the building, and in terms of requirements for fire resistance. There are mentions of *boundary* walls, but those explicitly refer to walls external to the house constructed along property lines eg garden walls, not part of the structure. I can't find any info on what processes, if any, actually govern situations like "I want to attach something to an external wall that is also a party wall wot do?".

I know the Party Wall Act does not apply in Scotland and that things are done differently here because that's what every single online search result I get tells me immediately before not saying what those differences are or linking to them and immediately going on to discuss the E&W Party Wall Act in detail. Whether my google-fu is weak or search is just enshittified nonsense now I can't wrestle any more than that out of it. Does anyone happen to know what if any legislation *does* apply here? I have a useless little part of my garden that sits between me and my neighbour's extensions that I'd like to make into an enclosed porch with a mini lean-to conservatory, but that will require at minimum a few bits of silicone sealant on their extension wall(based on both deeds and my own comparative measurements their extension wall is built running *on* the property line, not merely facing up against it) and sticking some butyl tape to their guttering, so while I fully intend to take the idea to them for discussion and come to a reasonable accord rather than just spring it on them as a fait accompli, it'd still be useful to know if I have any legal rights or legs to stand on.

I have this odd little space on my property around the back between my neighbour's existing extension(built up to the property line, so is a party wall) and my own house's existing extension. It serves no real purpose, it's north facing and the ground level is shaded by the extensions so nothing useful will grow there, it's inconvenient to use as a bin store, and it features the downstairs bedroom's only window so regs won't permit a "proper" extension there, it's just generally dead space. My only initial idea was to stick a couple of sheffield stands around there in case any visitors come by bike, but sitting in my little back porch the other evening which unfortunately will be getting demolished to make way for a utility room(and moving that isn't an option since it needs to be in that spot for various reasons) I found I actually quite enjoyed having a sheltered wee space to read and listen to the rain hitting the roof looking out to the garden. The space is about 2.5m wide x 3.6m deep and apart from having to faff with the drainage and guttering(which all needs to be addressed as part of the broader renovation work anyway) it *seems* like it would be a fairly simple extra project since it would only need the roof and frontage, but from attempts to research it I'm finding the "conservatory industry" seems pretty thoroughly geared around a few standard designs all of which are intended to project outwards from a wall rather than be fitted between two existing ones, so I take it I'd be looking at a custom design? Does anyone have experience with rough costs for that sort of thing? Would it be easier to go to a specialist company or could I be better off just getting my existing architect and structural engineer to specify it and order individual components myself? Given I'm in the central belt of scotland and it's north facing it'll have to be triple glazing so that narrows my options.