ToughButterCup

They really do take folk for idiots don't they? And its so easy to Google (other search engines are just as good , if not better) the subject and read the critiques.

Yes, I am sure: from experience (with Durisol) , I know it can be done in one of four ways Grind the concrete Shim the blocks Trim the blocks Lay a 'correction' mortar bed during the build of the blocks A combination of all three (should have said five above ?) I gulped when I saw your numbers: my sincere commiserations 's not funny. Can I ask before I make any further suggestions, which ICF are you using?

Well, there's the odd draft. Exactly the same issue as you Pete. I bought a 6 month policy. Head down, arse up, go.

I have heard an ICF rep claim to have poured two storeys per pour. Hmmm, but there's no reason that the four storey shouldn't be poured in four pours - just possibly 3. How well are you prepared? 5 experienced crew? And a pump operator who knows his stuff ... Knowing what I now know, I'd shoot for getting it done in Durisol in a week. But I'd be all over every joint , every detail, every window, every door head and be a right royal pain in the arse for the crew. But most of all I'd insist on a super tidy site with all trip hazards minimised

Depends on your appetite for risk. Sit tight and plan to the 'n' th degree Go for first fix and 'believe' Keep fit, keep positive, keep fizzing. ? Ian

I seem to remember that J rigged up his own test before the official one didn't he? Is that a possibility for you?

It was stored in a hole for just under a year now, the hole you see (albeit not very clearly). That hole filled with water, and because the tank was canted over at an angle, the outflow pipe was - for a while - below water level. So it filled up - and presumably also emptied until the water table was lower than the outflow invert.

Thank God for small diggers is all I can say. If only I'd managed to do what I said i'd do - when I said I'd do it. But then I have got form on that - nowhere near as bad as Clive ( @Onoff ) This was the intention . And this was (until yesterday the outcome. The delay wasn't all my fault Yer Honour. Bright eyed, bushy tailed, chuggle down the garden this morning, digger all revved up to yank the tank vertical. Nay borra, Jimmie. easy. Done this before. Hook up, sling up, go. Hold on, why isn't the bleedin tank moving ? On lifting, the cab rocks a bit more than normal. Finger-tips begin to smoke. Nother little nudge, nothing. Oh fer *+&% 's sake boys and girls. Whass-that-about? Click! Take the tank lid off. Oh dear, never mind what shame. Pillock, should have thought of that before. During the winter months it's filled with water. The dry spell lowered the surrounding water table. And so now it's semi-filled with water. Pump arriving this afternoon. Had a five tonne digger, I'd have ripped the strong-points out of the tank. Thank god for small diggers.

Here's chapter and verse. Read paragraph 3 I think it may just be that nobody has an incentive to point out that Councils are outsourcing their responsibility to others.

How often that happens ... ?

Not one would be displayed locally if that process were adopted here.

Yes.

Done

We're not that far up that particular creek... yet

A curb mix.... I live and learn every day .... Exactamento. Why dry? Laziness, and curiosity, and cos J's lot did it with a dry mix ; but now I know its a curb-mix, and isn't completely dry. Fascinating stuff concrete. There ya go, simple, practicable easy.

Nothing. There is a 'puddle' of water at the bottom, about 2 meters down. I asked about how dry is dry because at the moment, my sharp sand is very dry indeed. It's 'crusted' - I need to break it up before i can shovel it. Whereas the same pile of sand was easy to use a month ago.....

That just about nails it. Evidence-free supposition , written by an author who should know better given her previous career.

Building on the comments from this thread, the good weather forecast, and the current low level of the water table , we're planning to 'sink' our poo tank this coming weekend. Using dry mix concrete. (Thanks J for the advice, we'll do exactly what you did) In recent weeks I've been reading a lot about concrete - and more specifically dry mix concrete. @Bitpipe talks about using up spare cement and and sand: this search provided some very interesting reading. It seems a very versatile mixture, which until recently, i would not have given it any thought. The search above points to all sorts of uses. But without water - how does it go off? Does it just take the water out of the atmosphere? And so that means you can't guarantee when and how fast it sets? Is there a rule of thumb about when to use dry mix instead of wet mix?

Of far more concern is the removal of the urinal for your garden gnomes. I thought that was a very socially aware touch in your build Gary. Very accessibility agenda. Full Marks, fella. I mean what are the poor gnomes going to do now?

Olly, I had forgotten the layers of trauma associated with this roof. Entirely due to carelessness on the part of the architect's specification sheet . Or rather the person who drafted it. A dweeb in the office - a dweeb with no eye, or care for detail , and wielding that most dangerous computer tool (cut and paste) didn't bother to change Min to MAX. That was the cause of confusion in the thread referred to above. Kingspan deliberately give you more than you need. Hence the need for just a little bit of saw work. Nothing to worry about. I dealt with a super guy at Kingspan. His name is Chris Perfect. I kid you not. Their back office staff were excellent too. Yep, its expensive, but ......

https://www.robinsonquarry.co.uk/tonnage-calculator.php?product=150-200mm Gabion Stone

Which is why I have to do both roles: PM and low-level skill stuff. But most of all I have to teach myself and learn fast - really fast . Thats the real delight in self building : the discomfort involved in (all) learning.

Our boards were designed by Kingspan, arrived neatly packaged. We had to 'build' the roof on the floor first. Once done it was easy to lay: took a morning.

? Got some, thanks: needed it for the house connection

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