Thorfun

nice one. I did speak to our BCO about it today and she said you can do it but it's 'best' to vent at the head. and she said that again to reiterate it when I made the point about venting at the STP again. so I have taken the hint and will just vent out of the roof but we've agreed that I can use one of these slate vents (https://www.slate.uk.com/product/nature-vent/) which is a lot less obvious on the roof than a pipe or mushroom. I'll just have to make sure the penetration is well taped and sealed.

he did mention something about writing a book and retiring. then he realised that he'd be bored sat at home all day so, thankfully for me, is carrying on doing my roof

my roofer has started today and we're having natural slates fitted so I thought I'd pop out and ask him for you. ? he said the same as @markc in that they shouldn't bend the slate but it should be snug. he also mentioned that the slates shouldn't butt up to each other and there should be a slight gap between them to allow for lateral movement of the roof. thought I'd pass on that little gem in case it's needed.

this is an interesting subject for me as I've started thinking about it. didn't I read somewhere on this forum that you can have the open vent on the sewage treatment plant and have all AAVs in the house? Our BCO is visiting site on Monday so I'll chat with her about it anyway but I'm sure I read someone on here had that.

I agree with the comments above and suggest speaking to a different SE. we had a 3.5m-ish dig for our basement and it's scary how deep that is! my mind couldn't comprehend it until I was actually there to witness it. I definitely wouldn't be wanting narrow 3m deep trenches if there was another solution. and there is always another solution!

so the BM will take the frame batts back but the Metac will cost me an extra £600 when compared to using the frame batts and is on a long lead time (probably not available this side of Christmas) so I think I know what my decision is going to be! it's just so hard to quiet the voice at the back of my head that tells me I'm doing it wrong. ?‍♂️

exactly what I said to them but they had slopey shoulders and carried on with the 'not recommended' line of answer. yep. again that's what I said! ahhh...someone who is just as cynical as me. ?

thanks Dave. I remember reading your blog and posts about it which is why I'm sure it won't be an issue but when the company says things like "As the Isover Timber Frame Batt 32 is designed for timber framed walls, we do not have any test data to support this within the pitched roof application. Thermally, it would be acceptable but you will need to ensure that there is no risk or slumping and it stays in position once installed." that makes me think that there's no BBA certification for between rafters and I will need to check with BCO if it's acceptable.

I was speaking to Isover technical department today to get a condensation analysis on my roof make up and when I said I was using 140mm and 50mm ISOVER Timber frame batt 32 to give me 190mm of insulation between the rafters they said that between the rafters they recommend Isover Metac (https://insulation-uk.com/products/isover-metac) as it was designed to go between the rafters and the frame batt may not be self-supporting. this surprised me and I've already bought the frame batt 32 so to change to Metac now would be a costly mistake. I believe that there are many on here that have used the timber frame batt 32 (and 35) between their rafters although it does seem like many use Knauff products. Anyone ever had issues with using timber frame batts between the rafters? I am putting 100mm PIR below the rafters so would think that would hold the glass mineral wool in place and would presume that the timber frame batts do not slump otherwise they'd not work in walls. do I just crack on or speak to the BM about returning the frame batts and going with the Metac?

or go to a different company where 3g will make a difference?

Can you get water cooling for your gaming rig? Might reduce the generated heat (and noise) and also allow you to overclock more ?

I've looked in to and thought about burning the battens but I think it'll take a lot longer than paint. our local BM has suggested this Superdec paint from Sadolin (https://www.sadolin.co.uk/products/sadolin-superdec-satin-opaque-wood-protection/). We've used it on a previous house for exposed timber but I wonder if it's overkill for battens (it is rather expensive!) or if there's a less expensive product that we could use

and if I did that I'd have no wife either. errr.....hang on a minute. ?

If only!

not something I've looked in to and just don't have the budget for it at the moment! I'm hoping that our 10kWp array will produce enough electricity on the good (and maybe some not so good) days that we can drastically reduce our reliance on the grid and simply pay the higher cost of buying from the grid if and when we require it.

not installed as the superstructure is still going up. but it's almost all paid for. we've decided to get a single phase inverter rather than 3-phase inverter even though we will have a 3-phase electricity supply. the house is only going to be run off a single phase and this way ALL of the generated electricity can be used to run the house and charge the battery and then excess can be exported. the research I did revealed that net metering and 3-phase smart meters are hard to come by at the moment and I just didn't fancy the extra complexity of exporting 2 phases and then importing on the single phase especially when our application to the DNO for a 10kW export was accepted. so, long story short, only 1 battery required on a single phase inverter for us. I think this is one competition you will win.

sounds like you're throwing down the gauntlet! must.......resist.......

clean the gun? just leave the can attached and you never need to clean it. ?

that is an interesting idea and could be fun. although, with the cost of timber at the moment I'd be worried I'd over do it and would have to throw lengths away. we're not talking massive shadow gaps so hopefully UV damage will be minimal

We're planning on Shou Sugi Ban timber cladding (https://shousugiban.co.uk/range/charred-larch-cladding/) on the majority of the outside of our house with a shadow gap. We already have a black breathable membrane so we will need to paint the timber battens black to ensure they don't show through the shadow gap. I was just wondering if anyone had any experience as whether it's best to use an exterior paint or a wood preserver type product? and if any particular product is better than any other? and any other recommendations?

Our window company said to slate the roof first to ensure it’s fully loaded before installing windows. So that’s what we’re doing. Roofer starts in 2 weeks!

just to avoid confusion that photo was sent by the M&E company and is not my roof, but I hope my roofer can do as nice a job! I have full faith in him as he comes highly recommended and I've seen his work so it should look great.

Might be cheaper to source the insulation yourself so the TF company aren’t adding a profit margin.

friends had an MBC house and ordered their Rationel windows through MBC so it was all coordinated by MBC. is that not an option? Also, you can always just board over (or cheaper these days maybe use DPM?) the window openings while you wait for the windows/doors to be delivered. we ordered our windows off the TF drawings and I think it is very common as the TF is normally very precise. plus 3 - 6 months wait is a killer if waiting until the TF is up! oh, and in our on-going experience the TF will be delayed. in fact, everything is always delayed we're finding.

I'm shopping for insulation at the moment and I have found the Knauff stuff hard to come by so I've gone for Isover 32 batts. it's all the same thing, glass mineral wool so one manufacturer should be the same as another. I had quotes for Isover and Superglass and the Isover was just a little bit cheaper. Rockwool don't seem to do a 0.32W/mK insulation so we didn't look at them for the external walls but will check them out for the internal walls for sound attenuation.