DarrenA

I've possibly got this wrong but I've had to build the half landings independently of the stairs so that the windows can be fitted. And the landing height is partly dictated by steels already in place and so can't be adjusted the 50mm required to even up the 2 flights. I'm going to to make some temporary stairs anyway so will test the different riser heights but I'm feeling more assured it will be fine. Thanks for the suggestions.

Thinking about it, the bottom flight could be 10 steps with 250mm going and 153mm riser. That would be better right?

Our self build staircase goes up 9 steps to a half landing and then a further 7 steps to the first floor (then 8 steps and 8 steps to the second floor). Due to minor changes and mistakes, the half landing position doesn't exactly match the architect plans. As things stand the first flight of 9 stairs will have a going of 250mm with 170mm risers. The following 3 flights will all be 250mm going but only 160mm risers. I'm pretty certain this is all OK with building regs but was wondering if this change of riser will be noticeable or a problem. The half landings are 2m x 1m with a 180 degree turn to the next flight of stairs so quite a large space for your body to reset and lose the rhythm of the previous flight of stairs. Would appreciate any thoughts or comments thanks.

We put a lot of thought into the best way of getting light mortar. In the end though, we followed advice from this site and sourced the lightest local sand we could find and mixed with regular cement and lime. It's hard to tell in these wet conditions but it dries to a very acceptable colour. https://forum.buildhub.org.uk/topic/11082-white-mortar-any-ideas-please/

This was supplied by the joist manufacturer as part of the first floor joists package. We didn't choose it but were aware we'd need something to survive the weather so were happy to go with it. We had a nightmare unloading though (no hiab on their lorry) so have specified joists only for the remaining 2 storeys and are sourcing the boards from the builders merchant instead. They don't stock Egger so we're switching to the Caberdek equivalent. Interestingly the joist manufacturer think Egger are far superior to Caber. But we don't have a choice. The only obvious difference is that the Egger product doesn't need tape sealing so is quicker to install.

It's 120mm insulation. I'm doing the falls using firring on top of the joists (cross firrings to create diagonal falls. Then 22mm ply on top. The roofers take it from there although we are supplying the insulation. Overall there are walls and parapets all round, 11 internal corners, 1 external corner, 5 drainage outlets and one soil vent detail. It's a reputable company and I agree seems like a reasonable quote. 3534 WD07G External Services and internal Penetrations, Roof Plan.pdf

This follows on from my previous update https://forum.buildhub.org.uk/topic/12101-graven-hill-build-2-month-update I've reset the clock on this. Our actual time line is that we exchanged on the plot in May, the foundations were finished in August and we completed and got access to the plot at the beginning of September. However our bricklayer was on another job so we just set up the site and made a garden for 6 weeks. Our bricklayer started mid September and has been on site for 7 weeks. It's going very well and we are shocked at the speed of progress. The bricklayer works alone although we have done a lot of labouring for him. The ground floor is complete, we did the joists and floors and the second storey is half done. The most stressful day was when we had to hire a crane. The hire company had a 3 hour option (£700+vat) and it was a worrying time getting everything done. This was for putting up the steels for the balcony and others bits at first floor level. In fact, we finished comfortably in time so also used the crane to lift the 8m joists into place and spent the final 20 minutes drinking tea. The weather has been awkward and I strongly recommend building your brick and block house at a different time of year. At the moment even though it's just about light at 7.30am, it's normally too cold to mix the mortar. So the actual bricklaying window is only around 6 hours a day. Also our white bricks are marking really easily so we only lay bricks in the dry. The blocks aren't so bad and although it's been cold and dark, we've been lucky with the rain. So overall, we've only lost 2 days so far due to weather and never run out of things to do. We've had 2 lifts of scaffolding with 3 to go. My £70 silverline hoist is doing very well so far lifting lintels and mortar. Our scaffold height is now at the limits of the hiab cranes on delivery trucks so after the next lift we will have a new problem getting the bricks and blocks where we need them. Next steps are thinking about what flat roofing system to use and preparing for the second crane hire to bring in the rest of the steels. So far so good, we've enjoyed every second. I've attached some progress pictures and also a picture of our neighbours all at different states of completion. It should be a very interesting street when we're all finished.

Bit late to this thread but we need to put our flat roof on in the next few weeks and still haven't decided on a system. Our architect specified single ply which I took to mean EPDM. But we've just had a quote from a roofing company recommending Protan. Never heard of it before but it looks to be a tried and tested system. Single ply but pvc based rather than rubber based (my interpretation from the website, I'm happy to be corrected). The quote was just over £8k for 95m2 of roof. Most of that is roof terrace or balcony that needs to withstand foot traffic. It's also in 4 sections so not the most straightforward job. I looked at the rough price of raw materials for a DIY EPDM roof and that is around £2.5k. Quite a big difference but I'm minded to go with the pros on this one. Any thoughts or experience of Protan? Protan website

Those flames! ? That would definitely freak out the site health and safety guy ?

I intend to post periodically here and will do my best. My wife puts something up most days if you are interested in more frequent updates. Christine's Blog

I'm pretty sold (well unsold) by Alex's comment so am off charred wood and back on the painted/artificial wood route now. Just to be clear, the huge price difference at yours was purely down to whether it was fire proofed or not? I like the look of yours and suspect we'll not need the additional fire proofing as there are no timber frame buildings nearby.

Thank you, that's very useful. Sounds like another no go.

It certainly sounds better in Japanese ?. No I'm not looking for the fireproofing properties. I'm looking for a dark black solution that doesn't fade or need maintaining.

It looks great, I assume it is holding up well? My main criteria is something that looks sharp and keeps its looks maintenance free.

Anyone have any thoughts or opinions on burnt wooden cladding. It came up on a design TV program repeat I was watching yesterday and I'm wondering if it might be more unusual and longer lasting that black painted wood or the engineered painted wood like thermopine. I'm thinking about buying it preburnt from somewhere like carbonbydesign.co.uk rather than DIY charring.