Thorfun

today I learnt a very important lesson that I hope will assist others reading this in the future. this is important so please pay attention...... ....KEEP ON TOP OF YOUR WASTE MANAGEMENT!!! I decided that I thought it would be easier to get to the stage when we were out of the ground and then I would spend the time getting rid of the waste rather than getting a skip on-site early and clearing up as the build went along. that was a BIG mistake! just spent the whole day going through mounds of waste sorting it all out ready for skips to be delivered next week. 😥 moving forward I will ensure there is a skip on site at all times so the trades can put their waste straight in to it rather than just piling it up for me to sort out later.

my understanding was that the benefits of an air permeable roof membrane like the Tyvek Supro is that it allows you to remove the need for the air gap between the insulation and the roof battens as long as you have counter battens in place. that way you can fully fill your rafters with insulation.

shame no one told me that. I'm sure I'll figure something out!

I agree with @Declan52, it really just sounds like a sales pitch. but I am a cynical b*****d.

I hadn't even got that far in my thinking yet! the basement will be the last thing that gets done as the above ground takes priority but I will need to build a false ceiling to conceal the MVHR, plumbing, electrics etc. maybe I should start thinking about it as if I need clips like that there's no way I can install them after I screed on top of the block and beam. thanks for the prompt.

here's our block and beam finished. but I've been in the basement taking down some of the scaffolding deck that was for fall arrest and noticed that there are a few block that are cracked down the middle! so they'll have to come out and be replaced as well. nothing is ever simple.

I feel your pain. our brickie couldn't work yesterday as his car had broken down and today he turned up but the groundworker didn't have anyone to labour for him and with his dodgy knee he couldn't do it on his own so he left saying he'll be back tomorrow. I've got the scaffolders coming Monday to start that and the timber frame the following week so I really need to get this done! good luck and I know how hard it is to swallow those delays and the only consolation I can give is that those 2-3 weeks will whizz by and before you know it it'll all be done and the delay forgotten about.

hi all, just to resurrect this thread briefly as our coursing blockwork is starting tomorrow. The groundworker is now proposing that we run the membrane as follows: so with the VCL membrane going outside the block and then in on the underside of the coursing brick and then up to join the timber frame walls internally (previously I had the membrane on the inside of the block running between the hollow core/block and beam and the block). anyone with a better knowledge of physics able to tell me if this new solution is an issue? I can't think of it being one but thought I'd check on here first

congratulations! we're just going through this at the moment and hoping that they'll be finished tomorrow. I completely understand how great it feels! 😃

counter battens aren't required *if* you have a gap between the membrane and the insulation. it doesn't have to be 50mm with Roofshield though, just enough so that any water than runs down the membrane isn't in contact with the insulation (I think Proctor say 15mm but believe my BCO said 25mm iirc). I believe this is obviously only an issue if you're insulating between the rafters. if you're insulating at joist level then no counter-battening is required I guess https://www.proctorgroup.com/products/roofshield this page has detailing for different roof types for the product.

It's not a great deal of time if doing continuous strimming. The last time I did a lot of strimming I think the 4.0AH battery I have probably lasted 15 or 20 minutes or so (sorry I wasn't checking the watch so those figures could be out!). I then switched to the 2.5AH battery I have and that ran out when the 4.0AH battery was about 75% charged. so, in theory, if you had a couple of the 5.0AH batteries I see no reason why it wouldn't last long enough to fully charge the other one. this whole thing is caveated by the fact that I have the multi-tool and a dedicated strimmer/brush cutter might be more efficient. check out the Ego line of tools. I've been very impressed and also have their chainsaw which made pretty light work of the trees in our back garden that came down to make way for the build. https://egopowerplus.co.uk/about-ego I'm sure the Makita ones also do the job and if you're already part of the Makita power tool eco-system then you'll already have the batteries but as I'm an Erbauer user I had the freedom to choose a different manufacturer for my garden tools. hope that helps

ps. I now have an Ego battery power tool all-in-one jobby that I use for multiple tasks now. it's very good indeed but for a large job you will need multiple batteries so one can charge while you're using the other. (or just take a beer break while your battery charges)

I bought an Einhell strimmer. probably not the best but it did the job. I didn't want to spend a lot of money on something that wouldn't be used much once the growth was under control! if it's for a one off job to clear a large area could you potentially hire one for the job? not sure on hire prices though so it might be best to just purchase one.

don't know the answer but that sure looks like some nice neat plumbing on that manifold. 🙂

we also looked at these when looking at Internorm windows but in the end decided not to go that route for some of the reasons @ProDave has mentioned but also when doing the maths it was cheaper to get external blinds integrated into the building which we thought was a better solution.