ToughButterCup

Welcome. We like photographs ... The more specific the question, the better we can help. Ian

Welcome. Welcome also to the first rule of self-building: be persistent. There's a simple strategy that'll help you: ask the manufacturers to recommend an architect, and work outwards from there. Look the architect up in the professional register. Do some networking. Ask local architects .... Good luck. Ian

I have about four years experience of one particular ICF : Durisol. There are many other brands of ICF, each with its own strengths and weaknesses. My ' journey ' (?) with Durisol has not been easy - sometimes terrifying (have a read of this) , at others a dream to build with on my own. Its easy to use, but it needs as much care and attention to detail as any other system. Part of the trouble with Durisol is that its marketed as an easy-to-use system. The 'thing' that goes with it in some peoples minds is speed of build. In my case, that was seen -by one or two people- as an excuse not to bother , and excuse not to sweat the detail. Fatal. Stitching the two quotations (above) from your post together - the experience of your mates, and their attitudes to ICF will be a key thing to think about. Almost every trades person setting foot on our site has no - zip, nada, nie, kein, rein -experience with ICF let alone Durisol. And that matters. Some look at it and run (there's loads of work about - "Why should I bother?") , others suck their teeth harder and longer than normal. You'll already have a good deal of sympathy - they're your mates. But, take the plasterers for example: does he have experience of a very highly absorbent / porous substrate? Is he prepared to give it a go? Here's way too much detail about my experience with Durisol. Yes, I would use it again. Yes I would drive a hard bargain by investigating other ICFs. No, I wouldn't self build again. Too damn old.

First of all, welcome. The answer in brief is leg work. You cannot read enough. You cannot network enough. You cannot ask too few questions. You already have two of the most valuable possessions: A trade. And all trades people have connections. A partner. Without one, its all so much harder. Connections mean answers. A partner means - at the very least ; oiled wheels, a sympathetic ear, another perspective. Vital. Good luck Ian

Tell the right hand to work with the left hand - at the same time.

A month. Ah ha! The colour of the floor (away from the plastic) changes from off-white-ish in the morning to a biscuit / whiteish during the day. Other areas of the floor, not so well ventilated (corners, nooks and crannies) are visibly darker, but they too change colour a little during the working day. Very much more slowly, those out-of-the-direct-breeze areas are changing colours. Hence the need to keep the doors and windows open. Thanks @Ian

Our liquid floor screed is drying off: all windows and doors open all day - this weather is helping a lot I'm sure. Someone on BH suggested we put a sheet of plastic on the floor to see if there was any evaporation: a quick , dirty check. So I have done. When I remove the plastic sheet, the area covered by it is significantly lighter in colour than the area which has not been covered. Why would that be so? Instinct says the opposite might be the case (because there will have been less transpiration / evaporation). Anyone know why , first thing in the morning the screed is a lighter colour under the sheet than everywhere else?

2 fully opening (currently suicide) doors: which will soon be Juliettes .

My wooden staging is already spoken for, and thats before I have finished with it. The family have descended like locusts and ' need ' the staging for their gardens. Its the popularity of raised vegetable beds.... Our kids have been abusing the word need since they realised that - used with care and a bit of guile - it works wonders sometimes.

If it isn't , we're stuffed. Work at it until you can insert ' we ' above. I hate islands. She loves them. We put some boxes on the floor to represent all the elements of the kitchen. made a mock island too. Over a couple of weeks, I came to like the idea. She, the opposite. And that in an area almost exactly the same as yours with a huge window - same as yours and what I take as a mezzanine, same as yours. Now, no island, just simplicity instead. We ....

Thanks so much for the link. The video contained on the site was really useful. '... Dont forget to over-drill by 10mm to allow for dust...' And there wuz I, diligently using a bottle brush and vacuum (just like @Onoff told me). Strikes me that on occasion overdrilling could mean going right through.... Teehee ?

Up to now, I have needed to fix large bits of wood into concrete. And I'm (well, was) happy with that until I found myself reaching for a 10mm SDS bit and Thunderbolts to attach something quite small to the wall. . I'll soon be hanging a range of things into the concrete walls, from electrical back boxes, to shelving to the MHVR box. I'm trying to use just one product - in the same way that Thunderbolts have served me very well for the last year or so. Which single range of fixings would you use to fix stuff into concrete?

Morning! Forgive the noseyness, Deutscher / in ?

Pete, you have guts. Real guts. Internorm entrance doors ......... phhhhhhhh.

You paid more for that than I paid for [...]

We can all play that game.

7 man days, £8000. However, there have been about 4 man days follow-up: no questions. Which reminds me @craig, my hinges .... raising the back door and few mm.... ? ?

Yeah, the build's killing me mate.

Do so by all means. But first arm yourself with the resources contained in this post. Now (not back then) I agree entirely with Ed I have noticed that people who own houses often think the have some sort of say over the land they can see. They don't. But, like the objector in our application when, at the Parish meeting, I suggested that our application could not be considered on the basis of what our house might be used for A Councillor gave herself of these immortal words, " Aaah'll speek me mind and there's nowt ye can do abart it mert....: it's gunna be a retarment 'ome , tha's innit ter mek munney" SWMBO got her stiletto into my foot before I could open my mouth (again) . Lucky that. Bless 'er.

46 sq meters and a roof of 10 sq meters. Wanna laugh? - I put them up on my own with the following results......

Welcome. Sounds like you'll have forgotten more than i'll ever know

£1800. Three different specs. and this is what you can do to correct builders' errors ( that is building by eye, rather than with a line and level ) Steve at Cheshire Roof Trusses helped me through that particular trauma. Be sure to specify exactly how the joist is attached to the wall plate, and measure the width at each and every joist station along the wall. Ian

A whiteboard screwed to the wall outside my workshop.

Why should you know? I still (four years later) can't believe I didn't [...] don't [...] haven't [...] should have [...]. There's one tiny (at this stage) crumb of comfort - you get better at solving problems the more you have and face successfully. The bummer is you only need to solve that particular one once: as you'll know soon as one things ticked off, there 7 million others (oh and that other one) to solve. Notice I say ' face' (not solve or resolve or sort out) Its the process of facing problems and - in some cases deciding to give it to someone else thats important. Not dealing with a problem (not simple procrastination) really gets everyone down. And the one thing you will always have is a BH ear or 20 to talk to. That has always worked for me.

I'd be very hesitant to offer advice - I have no experience with that brand. But of one thing you can be sure - someone has faced the problem before. What does the manufacturer or local rep say?