ToughButterCup

Whatcha gonna buy then? I bought a DeWalt second-fit nailer. Only because the Bosch one was so universally badly reviewed, and subsequently withdrawn from sale.

Have I got this right? You are thinking of either selling plots of land to finance your own self-build Or building some houses to finance your own build Tell us about the research you have already done. No point in us suggesting ideas you have already had is there?

OK then boys... (sorry @lizzie, @Hecateh, @Moira Niedzwiecka and every other woman in the world )..... How do you level a pump? Eh? Tell me that, now

Who is ' ...we...' in this case. TBH I am more guilty than most of the opposite

There ya go! If anyone wants to know why I keep coming back to BH, here's the answer. Thanks Nick Ian

I'd heard of the back off a 1/4 turn , but not WD40 on the isolators valves. I've just renewed the valves because the previous lot were seized solid - because I didn't know about using WD40 on them.... Hmmm. Ya dunno whatcha dunno do ya?

Here's what needs replacement. Just checking that there isn't some hidden gottcha about them.... Thanks Ian

I am pretty sure that all the main suppliers offer a table which matches their products to 'demand' . I understand that intermittent use is challenging for off mains systems. That leads me to guess that something which injects a small air 'trickle' through the liquor might well be useful. Paul Usher from Klargester has been a tremendous help to us: he was honest enough to (after two site meetings) suggest we didn't need one of his products. He also has (had?) a blog about off mains drainage. Top bloke. Ian

The cheque is in the post, @Declan52 Yer a star, man!

Just worked it out for myself. Beam on the floor on two wooden bearers Two slings in the correct (balanced) position connect pulleys (chain brake and lock) Bring in scaffold tower: bottom transom missing raise beam one transom at a time remove transoms as you go up and then replace transoms underneath the as you go up brace assembly carefully during lift twist assembly until beam is lined up place beam You got me fizzing now @Alexphd1 If you wonder why I keep coming back to BH, this thread will do... just saved me £500 (per beam) i.e £1000. (minus the nett cost of some bits of kwikstage)

6.4 meters....

@Declan52's idea... prop the standards with scaffold boards under the 'stars'

The faster I can sell it the better.

Right, that does it. On order first thing tomorrow. Jacking up beams = go on, tell me more..... How did you rises that beam? You've got me hooked now, really hooked Short trannies? Is there such a thing? Where? How? Who?

Ok, well what started as a sort of Tiggerish comment has turned into slightly more than that. Looks like a plan is coming together.

OK, I'm running a book. 100:1 you finish after @Onoff

We have bought some kwikstage. Love it. A bit of me fantasies about using heavy castors on the bottom of a standard lift , knocking up some outriggers from normal scaffold and bingo. ..... Mobile work platform. @Construction Channel will be asked to put a lawn mower engine on it, so SWMBO can move it with one hand, and @Onoff can put me some half decent flood lights on so I can work all night, @nod can pop me a temporary roof on, so I can work in the rain. Oh, how long does it take an @Onoff to install floodlights? Hmmm. Runner? Fantasy?

Yes @jamiehamy, I have been flattened by those katabatic winds on Mull, Loch Eriboll and Loch Fyne; nearly pitched off the aft deck of a 70 foot Mc Gruer ketch. No safety line, no life jacket. Ah the 70s, they were great. I still feel sick every time an easterly is forecast. Every time the shell of the house just shrugs it off. Concrete, good stuff.:

No need to disagree @jamiehamy : yours is a sensible, measured approach. And, despite what Durisol claim @Luckylad (here's their claim they call bracing 'propping') you should take @jamiehamy's advice very seriously. Dursiol visited us post collapse, and in the absence of the builder (who refused to attend the meeting) suggested that the builder had 'gone too far'. Close questioning from my wife (citing the website reference to propping) elicited a patronising response from the Managing Director. He simply walked away and did not reply. It's a question of balance. A Dursiol-experienced project manager would be able to judge whether or not propping is necessary. I am told that many Durisol builds do not use props. I have no independent evidence for that claim. Given the company's pitch to self-builders relies heavily on that claim; the company should consider presenting clear evidence to support it. We made that point forcefully (and believe me it was forceful) at the time. I would use Durisol again, and I would try to save the expense of unnecessary propping. Until the company provides clearly evidenced reasoning why and why not self-builders should prop / shutter then it's a question of judgement. PS, there's a Durisol build this week in Lancaster: I'll do some polite research and get back to you (all)

No, @jamiehamy, it isn't : heres why.... The wall was 'empty' (awaiting pour) at the time of the gale . Apart from the already-poured sections, all the rest of the build was empty at the same time. Only the east wall, the one that faced the gale, fell down. All the other walls, similarly empty and awaiting concrete were unaffected by the same gale. In the ensuing hoo-ha, there were those that said 'Told ya, it needs bracing!' , and those (us) who said if the contractor had not just up-sticks and left without notice for three weeks and poured when he said he would if there had not been an exceptionally turbulent easterly Gale in early July then the whole lot could have stood quietly awaiting concrete and we would have been fine. The criminally idiotic behaviour only occurred during the first re-build. Yes, the east wall has been re-built twice. Once by the oaf and his mates who, after the gale, were too lazy to take every block down and rebuild it carefully, and then again by Durisol. The only reason we put up shuttering on the East wall, was just in case the oaf had similarly abused blocks off camera and we hadn't seen him.

@lizzie, I am writing this from my flea-pit : I can see our build from here. And I worry - mostly needlessly - sometimes not. How close you are to the build makes no difference. You never stop worrying. Here, you are in good company The worry level is close to that felt when in order to get to sleep you need to hear the ever-so-soft click of the front door when the current teenager returns at an amusingly early hour.

There is no need for wall bracing with Durisol. I say 'no' need: it's wise to have some at certain points. All the bits of bracing we did have been reused, so the nett marginal cost is 0. We are going to Timber clad. In the interest of full disclosure, we had a criminally negligent labourer who damaged wall blocks beyond repair. The evidence of his criminality only became evident during the pour. But the monetary cost of making good his (videoed) self-indulgence was significant, luckily offset by our refusal to pay the original company's final bill. However, the real cost of his behaviour is now most evident in delayed scheduling: for example windows needing to be placed in store. If those costs become significant, we will have to re-assess other cost headings. And consider litigation. None of the above should be seen as a criticism of the Durisol build system. In fact, if anything, it points to it's flexibility. We are not in the slightest worried about a collapse or or the effect of trees falling on the house shell. We'll cured concrete that's full of rebar stands up well to a bit of weather and rotten timber pruned by the odd gale. Other houses in the process of being built locally have suffered significant wind damage

American oak. Hmm. Lovely, but expensive and hard work. @Onoff 's idea is good but -sounds like- not your thing. There are some really nice plywoods around ? As @lizzie (well it was @Hecateh ....) says Pintrest is your friend. New toys: Q: How many do you need ? A: (n+1)

Well, since you ask, here goes, Here's what I have already written....Using the site search feature you come up with this list That'll make for some quiet fire-side reading If you don't want the detail; The good: it's relatively cheap, but not the cheapest. It lends itself to self-build. Properly organised (I haven't been) it's quick. Once cured, the shell is very strong indeed. The roof has still to be fitted; wind and weather are irrelevant. It's easy to adapt it - to tweak it to the shape you need. The Bad: in the sector, as yet there is limited experience of the system. Need more blocks? Go to Wales and get them. You can't pop down the BM to get some more. DURISOL dust is 'king horrible. Get just one rouge labourer (who mistreats the blocks) and he can cost you many thousands of pounds. Luckily I used a time-lapse camera and have evidence of what amounts to gross misconduct on the part of one man. The original build company has not been paid for it's poor workmanship, and Durisol sorted the mess out for £1500 less than the original builder charged. The system is fine. In the hands of a company (if that's the route for your build) that knows what to do, has a good deal of experience using it, then you will have a fast, strong build. If you want to DIY, that's fine too. Almost all the significant problems I have had (see list above) have been of my own making; unjustifiable confidence in local un-skilled labour failure to identify shortcomings and then to demand proper standards of building failure to project manage well: The support I have had from Durisol has been faultless. They were on site instantly when we add big problems. They were flexible about price when we needed another £1500 worth of blocks (see Nightmare in the list above) If there were to be a next house (there won't be), I would use Durisol again. But I would do it all myself. Every last block. It's about attention to detail. And I now know exactly which details to look for.

Yes, @bissoejosh, Ferdi has loads of useful posts. He's a good guy to follow. (Nice dry sense of humour and a bit waspish sometimes too) Ian