ToughButterCup

Get thee behind me Satan......... Give me fifteen good reasons why.

No @Declan52: I wish Soudal would do, but it won't. I need to anchor a stainless threaded bar in the wal.....

And everyone else is jealous of you being on fire, and watch your every move for signs of your bum being on fire too.

...in more ways than one. Its OK, I'll get my coat.

Yes. I drilled into a Durisol block hoping to fix a stainless threaded bar in the concrete. And found fresh air. The cure is to make a thin mix of cement and PVA and, using a mortar gun, pour it into the 16mm hole I made (for the threaded bar), and wait. I love trowel work, and won't be using the mortar gun unless I have a good reason not to use a trowel. Ian

I need a mortar gun: never used one, I know what they look like, and they are widely available. I bet, though, there are those I should avoid. Recommendations, please. Thanks Ian

First of all, welcome. In relation to every single one of your points, you'll have many happy fire-side hours reading the relevant stuff on this site. It's yet another job in addition to the ones you already have. We'll try and make it easier for you: it's often a good idea to tell us about the work you have done towards answering the questions you pose - it helps us give more focused responses. BTW, what's epsilon got to do with greed? Ian

Spill some paraffin.

Folks... should I leave the green felt in place (see OP above) under the counter battens when I fit them? Or should I take it off first, then fit the counter battens? I intend to fit Cromar Vent3 PRO over the counter battens.

Just down the road from us. I'm dreadfully tempted to abuse my Admin powers and delete this thread - only a matter of time before SWMBO will be 'letting me have her way' purely for reference and research purposes naturally.

Think of this issue as a small hint about your builder....

And in one simple post, you've illustrated the key thing about self-building: the need for persistence. Yes, I for one would like a general indication of how much it has cost you: no need for detail. It will help to counter the oft repeated saw that self-builders are made of money.

Got it. Thanks Ian

No, but yes if necessary. The Devil is in the detail, and at this time of year, speed will be of the essence. Our final roof covering is set to be shakes (not shingles): that is split oak. The shakes are merely decorative, the construction below that is still a bit of mystery to me, but as usual I know all I have to do is plug away at it, and I will get there. I don't think it'll take more than a week to research it thoroughly. Its a warm, vaulted roof with 9 by 2 rafters, so that should be fun

What's Debbie's Day rate @nod ?

Worth reformatting your advice making quick and easy to scan and remember What about the three mm gap (between slates) that this bloke talks about @Declan52? (At 2:47, ostensibly to aid lateral spacing....)

You are bang on with our thinking too: cement filleted verges and wet ridge is what we'd thought. And 250 by 500 is what the man from NW Roofing supplies suggested. The piggery is for storage - at the moment. But I took the precaution of 'connecting' the Piggery to the house by inserting four piles between the two buildings, so that at some stage we might link the house to the piggery without the set up costs of another piling session. The total added cost was £120 -instead of several thousand. I don't fully understand gauging yet: but I will by the end of this weekend. Thats what I love about BH: if you stick at it for long enough there is an answer to every question - you just need to be persistent.

It's all @Construction Channel, @Barney12, @Triassic, @vfrdave ' s faults. I have decided to try and slate the roof of our little piggery. The key factor in my decision is the simplicity of the roof. It's five meters long and dead straight (now) Well, got to save money somehow. And as SWMBO says, it keeps me off the streets. I anticipate going into a lot of detail, so this post will be one of a few: I'll make a little navbar within this and subsequent posts. (There's nothing to link to yet, so the doesn't work). Why do that? Because it will make it easier for potential roofers to follow the threads. This (will be) one of a series [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] The background We have an old piggery which is not subject to Building Regs that has been knocked down (under Permitted Development) and rebuilt (badly: there's a really big curve in the west wall - one of the reasons we sacked the builder). Again at @Construction Channel's encouragement I built the roof like this.... using recycled wood from the shuttering disaster (another reason we sacked the builder) By the way, I colour-coded the recycled wood : red paint means there are or were nails in the wood, green means that the recycled wood is metal-free). Ask me why I do that now The roof now looks like this: I re-used some OSB left over from the shuttering and covered it with normal 'shed' felt. I thought I'd do a quick review of what others have posted about slate roofing (all summarised from BH posts where the term 'slate' is in the title: 'slate' in the title and content brings up too many results) @pudding posted a useful shopping list here for a similar project. As usual, there's good advice on costs and the causes of costs . There's reference to the roofing superstore. @Temp reminds us that battens need to be treated and meet BS5534. @pudding (and I) forgot to think about eaves protectors: but they're fairly cheap. @vfrdave's post here continues the concern about verges, his post raises issues I didn't even know about (unknown unknowns) ; drip profile, drip beads, Kytun dry verge, (and how to trim it, thanks @JSHarris) Nails. @Construction Channel's special subject when he gets on to Master Mind. Answer? Copper. Want the detail: it's here @Barney12 s post is the one that set me thinking about whether I could do it too. Several people suggested he look at YooChube videos: so here's a link to 20 or 30 relevant videos. @RichS advice on the above thread chimes well with what I have heard from several sources: take your time on the first (bottom) course. The issue of plastic slates is discussed here: they're news to me. Maybe I should consider them: shame there's no discussion on price in this thread.Size matters: there's a whole whirlwind of slate-related technobabble (just as bad as JavaScript coders) here, but within the post is this gem about traditional roofing ; and then there's the normal self-build concern 'How much? Ya jokin' mate' @Leaway asks about verge end caps. I don't know what a verge end cap might be: but this kind of explains what one is, and this link explains it properly (google image search) Then there's this quite important post about doing it yourself started by @Tin Soldier. It certainly put lead in my pencil about the whole issue. It's a must-read. Next: weighing the job up.

Like the maps of bygone years, this thread should be tagged Here be dragons Why?Here's the catalogue of woe from BH And in the interest of balance and full disclosure, my company has just arranged to insure my windows while in storage at a site in Birmingham for free.

Now all you need to do is be tough on costs and the causes of costs, then! Excellent.

That was - was - our model. I would be the first to wish you a speedy house sale at a sensible price, where the transaction runs smoothly and the money is in the bank a whole month before you need the proceeds. Have a fall-back plan in place for delay and sudden changes in the housing market. Good luck! Ian

A whisper in my ear about Farrow and Ball paint being better than all the rest.... Is it? It's 'ouch-that-hurt' more expensive than the competition......

Not sure whether to be flattered or worried Nick......

Could I ask whether you have considered mortgaging (or re-mortgaging) your current property? Good luck! Ian

Yes. That suppliers have never heard of one doesn't surprise me at all. Talk to an installer - a person low enough in the food chain to really matter - and the story will likely be different. In our direct experience, there are many suppliers who care nothing about anything other than a sale. Nothing.