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Thanks! Measured and they're 85/80mm supported so will have to see what the TF guy says about it!

Thanks very much for the advice, I'll get back onsite taking more photos and speak to the timber frame engineer. Much appreciated.

Thanks, George. The engineer is not coming to look at it, he's instructing from afar as he's the timber framer engineer. I'm suspecting it truly need him onsite to get a proper inspection done. We actually believe the house is 80mm bigger than it should be front to back, and this accounts for the 40mm discrepancy at either end of the steels. It's a bigger problem - but the steels' bearing is one aspect I need to add to my arsenal of info!

Hello! Our timber frame is going up and is at roof stage. There are 2x steels in the ceiling of the first floor, these both rest on external 140mm walls for support. Those steels are bases for steel triangles which are in the attic/roof space. The 2 main horizontal steels, on the timber framer plans, their ends rest fully on the walls so 140mm end of a steel is on the wall. This is at either end, and the rimboard on the plans is removed in those areas. However, in reality, on site the ends of those steels only rest on the walls at approx 95-100mm and look short. The rimboard is still in place there. The site manager says 100mm is the minimum they must rest on the support wall, so it's fine. Can anyone direct me to the actual building regs which state this? I've searched online and cannot find anything to support the 100mm. (No pun intended!) Thanks in advance.

I hope you don't mind me picking this up again and asking. Our architect is confused by lightwells in GRP. He thinks we don't need them and a simple wall in ICF or brick can be built to do the same job, with a concrete base with a drain in it. This feels clunky to me, and I don't have faith it's suitable for the clay soils but he is insistent it works. I don't think he's ever worked on a lightwell. He also thinks the top should be left open and I totally feel this is wrong on many levels. Is this architect entirely wrong or am I missing something here? I think the GRP is the right solution.

Fantastic, thank you so much. I've watched their installation video and it looks straightforward but not easy. You've put my mind at ease to some extent. I'll wait to hear from MEA then and hopefully they will be able to sell them direct still. We will have ACO drains set underneath the lightwells as the soil is clay and drainage poor. Thanks again for all the info!

Hello - can anyone advise on how they purchased their MEA light wells for a basement? I have an email in to the German contact for MEA but in the meantime would like to gather information. I can't find a UK supplier, head office said they don't sell them in the UK. We will be installing 2 of their 1500x600 wells. I'd appreciate any info or advice on installation on an ICF wall, or any alternatives anyone has found (I haven't found any other this large), or really anything you think I should know! Thank you in advance.

Thanks immensely. This is really helpful!

The basement is ICF, and a timber frame for the main house above ground. Do you have a website for your ICF specialists? Thank you!

Thanks so much for the advice. Yes, I come from Canada where basements are the norm so it's still surprising to me that it's difficult to get a suitable plan in place. Yes, it's all clay soils so surface pooling is a problem. I'll explore through everything suggested here and hopefully we'll get to a sensible solution. Thanks again.

I don't have the info yet on how much it will produce, but it's apparently the system we should go with on the ICF and it does have a double sump pump for the waterproofing runoff. Water table 'at rest' on the investigation was at 6m and the basement is 3m, but it can be a wet site - other builds have had trouble with water on their plots after heavy rains. We're basically going with the waterproofing as designed by the architect.

The basement is ICF and the concrete within is not waterproof, we have asked why, and it's not usual for it be waterproof apparently. That sounds ridiculous writing it out. But the membrane/sump arrangement, we've been told, is the way to go.

Hi - the ground investigation showed groundwater strike at 7.5m and then 'at rest' 6m. The basement is 3m deep. Basement is ICF. We've been told the best waterproofing is waterproof membrane draining to a sump pump. It's a very wet site at times - neighbours have had trouble with heavy rains pooling around the base of their houses as water runs off the hill behind the builds. The concrete within the ICF is not waterproof. So is your basement simply waterproof concrete and no other system in place? Thanks for your help!

We have a basement planned in our build, and it has a toilet/shower room. It also has the drainage system of floor gullies for the waterproofing runoff water. As far as we are concerned, the waterproofing runoff should be directed to the sump pump (double system) which will remove that ground water. The foul water from the toilet/shower room should be directed to a mini sewage pumping station. That was our plan, as people with no actual knowledge of drainage but with a firm grasp on Google. Anyway - both the architect and the structural engineer feel both systems can drain into one pump, which would be the sewage pump. Everything we've researched says this is not best practice. They disagree. I want two separate systems, they say it's not required. Also, they say the sewage pump must be outside the house and so we need a deep manhole covered shaft for the pump to sit at the bottom below basement floor level, in the driveway area, and this must be accessible for someone to access the pump at the bottom. This is quite a shaft they are suggesting! It just feels wrong, and a couple of pump providers I've asked have said it can definitely go inside the plant room in the basement with a sealed fit lid to prevent any possible smell. So I think we should have a sump pump placed in a well in the plant room, with a fitted cover. Also in the plant room a second well for the sewage pump with a fitted cover. Anyone have a thought on this?

Yes, that could work fine. I’m building a Canadian style home so using him works for us if he could be here & work on it. I’ll look into it further.

Hi - I have the documents from Trespa regarding fire safety, are you saying this is not enough? Sorry, I don’t know enough about this apparently. Mortgage is happy with it. Is fiber cement cladding not OK? Is cedral different? I’ve seen builds use Trespa & it’s at the building center in Swindon so just not sure why it’s a problem?

Hi Ralph - we saw it in Swindon at the build center there and really like it. I did get a Cedral quote which was about £2,000 less than my Trespa so I may well be looking at the wrong suppliers then!

So a good friend in Canada is a fantastic carpenter and I would like him to work on our self build here in the UK. Does anyone have any clue if I would be able to hire him? I feel like it would be a tsunami of red tape and expense. There's a lot of work in our build for him, he has his own construction company in Canada, so I can't just have him over to visit and do a bit of work. He wants to bring tools etc so I want this above board! We trust him and his work hence the wanting to hire him. Any ideas?

We're going to use Trespa Pura but haven't started yet. Got a quote for £17,000 for 250sqm. That is supply only. It's a little pricier I guess then, but it's the only one that comes in the colours we want.

Oh that looks like a much better idea. So a recess in the concrete floor, as we will be doing for the double sump then. Do you know, does this mini pump sometimes have a backup or if it stops working I guess you just switch it off and fix? Thanks so much.

Hi All Working on finalising the plans for our ICF basement. Today looking at the drainage and plumbing down there. Anyone have an alternative to a macerating toilet? I understand we need this to pump the sewage up to reach the foul drains. Searching for other ideas since Saniflo etc get such bad, bad reviews. My parents had one in France though and no problems at all with it, we just called it the Tiger Toilet due to the noise, but no blockages or problems over 20 years. Thanks in advance...