ToughButterCup

@AliMcLeod, the issue of IP and our report - that ship sailed long ago. Its the several thousand quid and airy disregard for standards that angers me. Why should one person pay full whack on the say so of some minor eejit in a Planning Department, and others all round not pay anything at all? I mean we are talking of a distance here where its possible to have a shouted conversation with all concerend. The law applies to one of us and none of the others.

I'll keep this short and sweet. Judge for yourself whether my anger is justified. In order to obtain planning permission, we had to have an ecology desk study , a phase one and two ecology survey. That study found that, within National Guidelines, great crested newts were in danger. Finding that out cost a couple of thousand. After planning permission was awarded we needed to implement the Action Plan under the terms set out in our permission. Cost? a further several thousand. I'm so angry, I can't bear to look it up. In the blizzard of local applications for planning permission - and by local I mean 400 meters - the following occurred; Applicant No 1 took our survey (published online - not by us, but the LPA, (Wyre Borough) and used it as their own. No permission was asked. In response to Applicant No 1' Wyre Borough's ecologist suggested that instead of the measures we had to take, No1 merely needed to put up a sign saying the equivalent of Seen a newt? Kiss it and put it in the grass Applicant No 2. No need for a survey Applicant No 2's second application, no need for a survey Applicant No 2's third application, no need for a survey Applicant No 3: - application for permission to build within spitting distance of a pond which I had to have surveyed - so I know for rock bottom certain contains newts (GCNs), was told to put up a sign saying Seen a newt? Kiss it and put it in the grass The system is sick. Ecology has not got its act together. National laws are disregarded. Applicants for Planning permission need to know that before applying for permission - in West Lancashire - Wyre Borough to be specific - you can tip a load of pig manure in a pond and then wait a bit before applying. In addition you can rip your neighbours off by using their survey instead of paying for your own. And finally, Wyre Borough Planning Department does not appear to check any of the advice given by its ecologists. Why would they? Anyone with an ecology degree can set up as an ecologist, and so be recognised as a competent person. Full documentation is available online, and if you wish to PM me, I will gladly supply every reference. I could add the Iinks in this post, but I do not wish to embarrass my neighbours. I do not feel anything like so coy when exposing Wyre Borough to the most severe critique of their practice. How is it that two ecologists can read the same guidelines and come to completely different conclusions? The cost for me several thousand quid. For others, zero. Shame on you Wyre Borough, shame on you.

I suspect not, because simple framing screws (i.e screws not intended for use in concrete) don't have groove in the thread do they? Like this These are the ones for concrete aren't they? (apologies for the blatant copyright rip off) Yet there are plenty of adverts for screws to go into concrete that don't have the grooved thread. These for example are advertised as '... High quality Concrete Anchor External Screws that cuts its own thread directly into pre-drilled 6mm pilot hole, no anchor or plug is needed. Masonry screws are an excellent way to fasten any material to masonry...' I need some hefty Torx concrete screws (M10, 120mm) to fix my wallplate (for the first floor) to the wall. Please would you help Confused of Lancaster?

The bottom of our piles are 4 meters down. Our survey went down a little deeper than that. 20 meters in your case seems sensible.

Welcome. You're welcome to your clay too. I learned to love ours. It took me ages to work out that I needed to work with it rather than fight and so curse it. That's what's good about this forum: it teaches you so much. Ian

Make yourself a scrap book with images of things you like. Online with Pintrest or old fashioned paper, cut and paste. Doing both of those things helped us feel less concerned about whether our opinion was right or wrong. What does 'wrong' mean?

@Pete, don't worry, if they don't give you the VAT back, I'll crash into it in my Landrover...

I'm glad you replied. And glad I asked.... I haven't ever seen (edited to 'noticed') guidance from either source recommending that the vcl be sealed to the waterproof membrane. Another steep learning curve ahead of me then. But I have now. (10 minutes later) Thanks @ADLIan, very much.

The only job for the VCL in a warm flat roof is to prevent water vapour condensing inside the insulation layer isn't it? Maybe it would be better to say .... condensing on any suitable surface above the VCL. Should, therefore, the VCL extend up the sides of the PIR insulation (as well as underneath it) ?

Hmmm. You might like to do some research on this board about Thermal Mass. The idea is much misunderstood. At least read this

How long have you got @scottishjohn ? Could I rephrase your question, please? If you've used Durisol, would you use it again, and if so why, or why not? I cannot any comment about other ICFs. But I am sure that you should investigate them in just as much depth as Durisol. You need to know why are are using your chosen ICF in as much detail as why you aren't using one of the others. I am sure they have their strengths and weaknesses too. Short answer: yes, I would use Durisol again without hesitation. Because I know exactly where many (not all) of the traps are. My risk appetite will be higher than anyone who hasn't used it before. Next thing to say is I'm not that far from you : want to pop down and visit? Here's a fairly long reading list . Start with the worst and work up from there..... Do your own search on this site for Durisol too. PM me for a phone chat if you need. Ian

Oh boy are you right @Barney12. I think its linked to the fear which naturally goes with the personal change process. Better to do what you've always done. Good luck.

Click - God it took me ages to get that. Must be fifty years or more since I was taught that......

On our flat roof, it looks like I need to join two sections of wall plate together. Thanks to everyone on this thread I'll make the join so that at least three joists are resting on the plate (NHBC Standards 2018, 7.2.6 Wall Plates). (Thanks Gary @nod ) The same guidance suggests I should use a coloured timber preservative (7.1.4) And I bet they don't mean the stuff you get from B+Q. An Internet search gets a flurry of probably irrelevant results. Do they mean the blue color stuff you get on roofing battens? Ideas anyone?

But @lizzie, wimmin are always '... freezing... ' ........

This thread -so far- is a good precis of UFH and PH ideas. I wish that a few years ago we'd had a thread that summarised issues so well. I suggest we pin it.

Staying on top of your budget is hard nitty gritty work. Often done when you are tired; and therefore error-prone. Employing a QS is a good starting point - but we found the hard way that its only a starting point. Naively, I assumed that the QS work would be accurate until - by accident - I found a couple of howlers in his work, (a couple of thousand logged instead of a couple of hundred). I suspect that there were a few more that I didn't pick up. A QS' work is merely an indication of cost. Every heading needs to be checked In my direct experience, one QS employed on the contractor's recommendation appeared to have an unhealthily close relationship with our QS. Unknown to me at the time, I later found they were drinking mates. Finding out who knows who, and knowing how they relate to one another is worth the effort. That information depresses the price. Building trades act and relate to one another as does any other elite.

Tricky. In ascending order: point out> show> cajole> tell> instruct> warn> get someone else> sack> Many of us here have had variations of this on-going theme. It's a friggin nightmare; and self-builders are regular targets of what @LA3222 accurately describes as

What a beautiful place to build. Had a short holiday in Drumore recently. Welcome (With a bit of luck I'll be finished when I'm 67 ? )

MVHR.

Oh. Thanks for the heads up. Oh shit, I've just gone back to the plan..... there is a joist right next to the end wall. Sooooo - I do need to fill that gap at the end of the wallplate. ? Polyfilla?

The wall on the right is the one that the joists cross. The plan shows no wallplate across that short wall. There is no floor above. It's a flat roof.

I fitted my own wall plate yesterday - with the help of @DavidFrancis. Whoo hoo! Maybe it's a small thing for you, but to me it's a huge victory (over myself) But (isn't there always one but ) look at this ... the gap.... does it matter? No joist runs over it. Ta....

Do you ever sleep Gary? There's that really stupidly expensive lighting shop on the A6 just North of the Blackpool road ( before you get to the Petrol station). Been in there yet?

How gorgeous.is that.....? Tell us about Lime interests me because it's a bit mysterious, many shy away from it, some have advised me against, others the opposite. Welcome, by the way