ToughButterCup

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

In the case of ours, Durisol, yes. But there are many other systems; each one needs to be carefully examined. What makes you interested in ICF?

Slab. We got the rig round two 90 degree bends. Heart in mouth true enough, but we also got it over a weak bridge

Thats a shame because the job was done in one day.... 64 4 meter 'piles'

Do you include the idea of ground improvement (that uses a steel tube to insert the stone)? if so, yes. But you might not mean that, so I'll hang back until you reply. Ian

What a useful, thoughtful thing to have done. Thanks very much indeed. Ian

I'm almost sure the issue will be linked to profit margin. Struggle is the name of the game, ably combated by it's counterpart, persistence. And the more you combat it , the better you get at being persistent. Drop in here for a bit of encouragement whenever you like, please! Welcome Ian

Send her round @lizzie, we're in such a mess that a careless cleaner is just as welcome as a good one.

Ah yes @joe90, I remember you really love gritty, grotty grout don't you? Surprised you aren't covering everything with bathboard.

Bathrooms?

Time for a bit of giggle-water then I see. You must have a grin the size of Cheshire today. What's next: pop down to the BM and get some gelignite?

Mmmm. Mine were paid direct. Gaulhofer didn't offer credit card payment. (They may do now, though) Thing is with Austrian 'correctness', while a pain at some levels, its kind of reassuring. And to all the accountants and members here who've been burned screaming in the background 'You idiot' , I say. Yes. I was.

Yes, I do @Declan52. Double hand-rail in place and the cick-board is going on tomorrow or saturday . As a secondary issue, I'd like to be seen to be making an effort. Looking professional, even when I know full well I'm no expert is part of the game. I suspect the green fine mesh netting will catch just about everything. Looking as if I'm making it up as I go along is perhaps a first-class invitation for an Inspector to pay a visit.

Yes. Simple rule of thumb. If you had done the grunt-work, and somebody else tweaked it a bit, and then used it, how would you feel?

I have seen two types of safety netting for scaffold walkways Plastic rigid netting - fairly wide open mesh Knitted green scaffold netting - the sort of weave that you might see used elsewhere as a fisherman's keep net. I am not talking about pure fall protection netting. I need to install one or the other, and perhaps both. In my wanderings round West Lancashire now, I almost always stop and examine scaffolding wherever it is visible from the roadside. (I'm calling it CPD). I used to do the same before I bought a digger: stop and look at it closely. Mostly I see the wide-aperture plastic semi-rigid, board-like netting zip-tied to the ledgers. The sort that could, just about, stop my hammer from falling if it comes out of its scabbard. I'd prefer to buy the green knitted type netting because it 'feels' safer. Far less likely to allow small bits and bobs to fall off the scaffold. Thoughts?

Well, boys I have built one roof, so I know I can do it. I must admit, the roots of my teeth are cold at the thought of the next couple of weeks.

My God @Hecateh. Just checking you have looked into the work that might reasonably be contested?

Quick update; The SE (Tanners) have agreed, subject a small bit of bracing (two ledgers 255 by 44 at first floor level on one part of the North wall) The architect has agreed, that it would be a good idea Durisol (the build method) themselves agree that there's no problem in putting the roof on first and are coming round to see us next week. Looks like the roof's going on first then. Now: next problem - seat the Glulam ridge beam in the Durisol.