ToughButterCup

Sleepy-eyed, I read Wench vs piles Wench every time......

I could do better myself, Lizzie. Says it all......

'... sounds more like...' and that's the thing we can't be sure. There's a lot of hubris in the ICF world, add to that poor practice - which in the case of ICF - you can sometimes get away with.

Hmmmmm. Not sure about that. On my build, if I knew that there was to be a longish gap, I always built a lot of rebar into the original pour to key the next layer in. Durisol do not make any statement about long gaps between pours. I wholeheartedly agree with @jamiehamy's comments throughout this topic. I have seen two separate whole walls (one internal, the other external) rocking to and fro (not on my build but at a pour to which I was invited) because an inexperienced pump-man had not fitted (or been directed to fit) a 100mm restrictor in the final section of the 'snorkel' . The sheer volume of concrete falling (in that case just under 4 meters ) made the wall rock a good 100mm left and right of the center line. I did not stay to examine how much the variance there was in the final line of the wall. The person supervising the pour was very experienced indeed. The owner was not present at the pour. I pooped myself. There was no burst. I went home sweating : two years later, although healing, the memory of our bursts is still very raw.

Hoots mon! Dont do it: there's only wailing and gnashing of teeth in self-building. ? But hard as it is, it's equally rewarding, and the welcome here as warm as the job is difficult.

How to put this? Ermmmmm, mind if I hold on too? It's really difficult to get some trades to come and work, unless you're in their networks.... so here are we with exactly the same problem. Slightly different starting point but essentially the same problem. I've forgotten how many times I have looked at Clive's thread ( @Onoff ) about his ablutions. Let's try and get ours done before he finishes his, eh?

The relevant information. For us the sources of that information were[ the architect, the ground condition report a few photos a quick annotated sketch the technical details of the build method The initial design needed input from the architect, the ICF producer and the ground condition report. During the build a few hiccups occured so he needed a sensibly produced relevant brief. We learned that SEs that specialise don't over-design, and so save you money. In one sentence in a letter one SE saved us £16000: in another instance later in the build he over-specified , and so would have cost us several thousand pounds: the eventual solution (supplied by a specialist ICFSE ) cost a few hundred. There's a moral there.... find a specialist. Good luck Ian

Cheeky boy.... ?

Thats all that needs to be said. Put the guy with the GPS / Total Station in touch with the architect. Thats that job ticked off. Loads more for you to be getting on with....

So, keeping your nerve worked, then. Good. You'll need that level-headedness many times over the time of your build. Enjoy the anticipation, and relax a bit before diving in. Good luck.

Well Russ, funny you should ask. I'm dabbling with the idea of doing some (repeat some) of my own plastering. Softly softly catchee monkey.... ?

B+Q had none in stock, Wickes had a big notice on the plastering section : 10 bags only Chatting to the manager, it became clear that demand was at an all time high. Is plaster in short supply where you are?

In this case, I was lucky enough to have a grinder with an auto - stop function. And stupid enough to work when really tired.

At this stage of your build, is £200 - £300 going to make a difference? I get the DIY fun stuff. But the fact that you're posting here hints at slightly unnecessary risk

I sympathise. Greatly. I ended up paying a man with a Totalstation a few hundred quid. And checked his work 'by steam'. Found one error of exactly 1 meter. More by luck than anything else.

Include in that process a clear, practical, policy on how to deal with bursts. As an undergraduate, I was lucky enough to have been taught by a lecturer who taught and whose research field was Accident Theory. In brief: accidents are normal, so prepare for them. By the end of the pouring phase, I had developed a really quick and efficient burst-mend process: a type of accident kit if you will. Bits of wood and sheeting of the right size, screws which had an unfailing grip in the Durisol , wood ready cut to size for the most common burst (one block). Shovels ready, two wheel barrows, and a pre-dug pit for the waste concrete, hose ready to sluice the fine bits out of the house. Didn't stop the sickening big-girls-blouse sensations as the pour progressed. It got to the stage where I'd almost have been glad of a burst because I'd have had something to do. We had 7 in all.

Yes, and no. No for those trade names. Yes for Durisol. £300 worth of 3 by 3s, a 100 meters of threaded bar and loads of nuts and washers. More detail needed?

Take us through the building - related problems one by one. Start with any single problem. For example, the building problem that worries you most. If you think that it will help you, take a photo, upload it to the site and add it to your post.

Before I forget, here's a checklist for you. Its a high-stakes meeting, never hurts to have a list

Oh dear oh dear, oh dear. Direct quote from SAP 2012 version 9.92 (October 2013) Page 7 Tin hats folks, tin hats.

Hmmm, where to go from here .... ? Who designed the plans?

On BH, as soon as you say the magic word ' architect ' some of us (the nicer bunch ?) see your bank balance taking fire from a machine-gun. Others disagree. I wouldn't want your thread to be diverted into a common cul de sac. If you want an architect, get one. You might like to investigate what an Architectural Technician can do for you as well. Architects design - thats all (can you hear the howl from most architect's offices ?) . Doesn't matter all that much what the build system is. Yes, it would be just tickety boo if you got lucky and found an architect with both a sense of humility and humour who knew her way round an ICF block. Thing is, if she did, what would that change about the design? A little bit here and there maybe , but it wouldn't change the look, feel, essence, dare I say the soul of the place. At your stage of the planning phase I didn't know that architects rely heavily on Structural Engineers. They're the ones that do the hard sums - they are the ones who say whether its safe to (say) build a roof quite like the one you have always dreamed about, or how much rebar (reinforcement bars) the ICF needs. Hence the common sneer - architects are merely educated artists. Unjustified in my opinion. Here's the thing: our SE had no idea how much (in our case ; little) rebar our ICF (Dursiol) needs. However a specialist Dursiol SE did know. Result ; saved several thousand pounds. The original SE was brilliant at designing the foundations for our place - the Durisol SE had no idea how to design foundations. You know the design you want. Sure you need an architect? If bits of the design are ' interesting ' you'll need an SE. You may well find a hesitancy on the part of architects to merely rubber stamp your design. Here's a link to the official list of architects in the Abingdon area. Here's a checklist about briefing an architect Good luck! Ian

Thats the point of the EPC setting on the SDS drill (70% power and auto - stop , sometimes called an overload clutch)

Your poor lawn and box hedge. You must be devastated. ? Bet you didn't get much sleep last night.... good luck Ian