ToughButterCup

Amazon Prime Drone Delivery soon too............

Ladies and gentlemen, the much coveted prize for Worst Self Build Job during The Build So Far (awarded annually by the renowned Estate Agents Floggit And Run ) this year goes to........ cutting rigid insulation. We are using a Bosch table saw with an attached hoover, proper nosegay, and googles. There's PIR in my nickers, down me bra, between my toes and under my nails. I loathe it. Only another 96 saw cuts to go. 'Kin' Ell Phhhhhhhh.

Keep it down to a dull roar @Yzzy, eh?

Nice warm weekend ahead. Perfect for fitting insulation between rafters. We need to infill with 200mm of Balytherm. Before I do so, anyone got any tips? So far I have been told to cut the sheets with a sharpened trowel or scraper (to avoid dust) be sure to 'tie on' while waltzing around on the rafters put a couple of temporary battens under the rafters and push the insulation down to them from outside (above) foam round the edges of each rafter space, not each sheet (two lots of 100mm) Then there's a BBQ on Monday evening, by when I hope the job will be finished. Everyone welcome. Breaking my new 'never-at-weekends' rule, but his weather is too good to miss. too rare.

You already know he is lazy. Tell him an area about 85% of the real area..... that should smoke him out.

Nu-Lok have already rung me this morning. They get up early in Eire. I should be in a position to compare prices by early next week, I hope. Ian

Nu-Lok: new to me..... I'll dig around. Ian

Sometimes you just have to suck it up. And now is as good a time as any to accept that we aren't going to get a roofer to come and help before Christmas. I have asked til I'm blue in the face: no dice. Debbie's being brave about it, conclusion: I'd better Just Bloody Do It. So, I'll be paying for my own mistakes rather than pay for those of others. Differently put: the Full-On-DIY -experience. I thought I'd teach myself how and in the process, document it. And then read your critiques. And wince I expect. This post builds on the earlier thread about the Piggery, and the roof beam saga : that proved remarkably painless, and quite safe, for two people because we'd thought it through. It only weighed 160 kg : just over 7 meters long. £500 crane fees saved. The very nice man from Haldane Fisher's HIAB played a key role: it's reach was about 2 meters short of what was needed. Some ya win. Where are we now? Here : a set of rafters which are currently subject to close inspection by our swallows, What's the roof build up? Rafters Counter battens Felt Battens Slate There's provision for a few kWh of PV, and a Velux in there somewhere too. I list the better resources I have found below. Most of them contain commercial material, none of which I or BH endorse(s). As usual when faced by this type of problem, I resort to YooChube, hence: How to slate a roof: layout ready for slating, Slating a roof, reference points The accompanying website There are many other sites: This one is Irish, very well edited, deals with the basics - some interesting comments too Setting out: perhaps a bit direct, but detailed images Setting out the lats: brief but to the point Wincing, I add this video because with the sound off and ignoring H+S its illustrates a 'normal' truss roof DIY Doctor often focuses on repair, but this is about tiling and battening as well as felting Construction Channel carries a series of time-lapse based videos about roofing at least four of them are here There's nowt like reading the comments under many of the videos: my God they can be bitchy: I thought it was only lecturers who were bitchy about colleagues' practice. I'll add to the list above time goes by. If you find a good support / teaching / learning resource about roofing and slating, please share it below. Ian

Look at the colours and mood round the building. Take your cue from that. Then look at a colour wheel, play with one online for a bit. Decide on the effect you want: harmony , complementary, monochromatic (the others involve too many colours) . Limit the number of colours to 2 ; three at the most. Or break every rule in the book. If you do that, go way over the top.

Thanks everyone. I had three days off: feeling much better. Resilience levels back to normal now. That'll have been the last time I worked a 21 day stretch. I don't recover quite as quickly as I used to. So; 8 to 5 with lunch and two breaks every weekend off try and visit another build / show / building site occasionally stick to the knitting : but allow myself a fun job now and then take the dogs for a walk more often : get the bike out take more notice of successes Arse scorched by the searing heat of my own worthiness ..... ?

They're builders, not communicators: so the norm is that they do all of the above all the time, and they know they're doing it, they don't care that they do it . I never now believe a trades person until he or she delivers on time on budget. So far just one tradesman (in three years) has done what he said he'd do when he said he'd do it, charged what he said he would charge, supplied an invoice and kept us informed while planning to do the job. The exception that proves the local rule. It never happens in South Wales for example (?)

I was lucky enough to remember @TerryE's advice to have a 'flushing-pit' ready for the wash out: the proceeds of three wash-outs made a nice little flat, hard work area in front of the house. Need a 16 tonner to dig it out , but Hell, that'll be a relief because the house'll be finished by then.....

Anyone have experience of buying Solar Pv in kit form, for in-roof installation?

It would be £50k minus the cost of the slates, or tiles you would have fitted anyway, wouldn't it?

You callin' me a DIY grunt then, eh? Come over 'ere and say that, pal.... (and we'll go for a pint ? )

The organisation is based in Cheshire: footballers' country.

Not if I want to stay married Gary.......?

My personal Internet search engine (Debbie) has for a while been dropping hints (bricks) about this place. Our chippy says we will prolly (?) need to buy more than we need to make the necessary allowances for our kitchen. Anyone used them, or know anything?

A visit to the BM in my building gear - dirty trousers, knee pads, PPE, safety boots - is different to those visits (rare in my case) when I'm wearing normal everyday clothing. The counter staff behave differently: in my work gear they reach for the Delivery Ticket and start writing my account name on the top - normal clothes - "Cash sale?" It's just me innit?

Cat flap....... Out you go

@Ian D, have you thought about ICF? Read my stuff on BH about it (most of tagged as Durisol ) : warts and all. There are several ICF systems, Durisol isn't perfect, but then no system is.

Ah shaaadup you old codger...

"Ah, well maaaaaate, tha' wunts an 'ilti guuun ter fix they bolts ter 't steels lahk " It was another of those 'If I were you, I'd ' conversations. And I'm sick of them. Sick, sick, sick up to here I tell ya. Except today: oh delicious today, today's the day this Teddy Bear had a brief picnic. "Oh really, that's interesting: fancy a trip up the ladder to have a look at these then ?" At first they don't look much, until you drill one in a steel beam in less than 20 seconds with a Bosch impact , and bingo..... Well, give the old codger his due, he wheezed up the steps and inspected the self-drilling facade screws " Would sir care to drill another one in for me? It'll take sir less than 20 seconds ? " Nahhh, yer awreyet : bet that cost a bob-or-two." said Mr By Now Shame Face. " Bob or two yes, erm... Minus the cost of hiring a Hilti and the special bolts they spit..... Didn't tell him that they work better if you spit on the end of the screw. "Mind you don't fall off the ladder, (you miserable git) I muttered under my breath.

Very firmly, tell the architect to get some thinking about stinking done. He (I bet your architect isn't a woman) would not make that mistake about his own house. Lazy sod.

Exercise: too much damage from over-indulgence in exercise - crazy amounts of competitive fell-running between 1970s and the early 2000s saw to it that my knee and hip are now (politely) declaring their intention to quit Alohol: One or two beers in the evening, three evenings a week is all I allow myself usually. Yes I break that rule sometimes, but not drinking is a real focus for me recently.