Thorfun

not exactly foundation related but I've been looking in to this as my water mains will go over a culvert and I cannot get the 750mm min depth. I found this stuff (https://groundbreaker.co.uk/products/shalloduct/) which seems to fit the bill. I have someone from Southern Water Regulations team coming to site today to discuss it all. it might be wise to speak to your local water company regulations team to find out what solution they're happy with.

yeah. this mostly. who knows what the future holds but it might be that people are more likely to buy with triple glazing than double. maybe not though!

that's pretty much exactly what happened with us. like I said, it was our naivety of how these things work that caused the issues and not a fault with the architect. I did apologise to him for my initial comments on his initial sketches. the fault was all with us.

I know it's not the same as we went to our architect with no pre-drawn plans just a portfolio of styles we liked and an outline of our requirements. after the initial sketches of 3 ideas from our brief we were extremely disappointed and wondered if he'd even listened to what we wanted. but after a visit to the office (this was before Covid) he said he'd never get it right the first time and we discussed the bits we liked and the bits we didn't etc and the next iteration was a lot closer to the mark and now we're very happen with everything. for us, having not used an architect before, I think the issue was with us expecting perfection at the first attempt which, thinking about it with hind sight, was never going to happen!

that may be but I'd still like a real world test rather than paper or lab testing! the rooms we're thinking of are pretty big so losing a bit of space with extra battening isn't an issue and I'm sure I'll have plenty of leftover Rockwool so that would be the route we would probably go. from the looks of the finish on the websites I'd have to agree with that. hopefully @joth will know for sure once he's found his samples. ?

thanks all for this thread which I am following with interest. I didn't even know you could get this sort of thing. as we're worried about reverb in our openplan living/diner these look like a potential avenue to reduce that. if/when you all install I would be very interested to hear your thoughts and how it has changed the acoustics of the rooms they're installed in. thanks again.

yeah, it's a valid musing especially when you consider how clued up the general house buyer is on building regs/EPC/SAP etc. but as it will be a highly insulated, airtight house the thought of having to rip it apart years later to then install triple glazing to save some money now fills me with dread! we're following the 'get the fabric right at the start' mantra as it's a lot easier to rip out a kitchen or bathroom down the line. ?

for us the choice to go triple glazing included future proofing as well as all the other reasons given above. as the cost wasn't a huge uplift between double and triple glazing (10% - 15% approx) and as cost differences come down in price it probably won't be long before building regulations specify U-values for windows that can only be achieved with triple glazing. Therefore in order to ensure we comply in later years if we ever came to sell the house it was an easy choice to pay the uplift now rather than having to replace all the windows with triple glazed windows in 15 years or so.

I’m getting the manufacturer to fit for this exact reason. I’ve no doubt I could find someone to do it cheaper but our windows are a high % of our total build costs (approx 120m2 of 3G glass iirc) and I only want a single point of contact for the purchase, delivery, installation and support. I’m happy to pay that premium to reduce the risk on this big ticket item.

one of the main things I've learnt since we embarked on this self-build journey is that things take a lot longer than you think they will

don't worry. I was going for a Powerwall before I even knew who you were. The ability to use the solar generated during the day at night just makes sense to me to reduce my reliance on the grid.

in about 1 yr when my build is well under way and I'm looking at new electricity suppliers I will be tapping you up for your knowledge on the good Tesla tariffs.

this is true but I am offsetting the cost of the extra PV by not having to put slates on that part of the roof!

but your PV is sized for what you use right? so a larger array would generate a larger sum if it wasn't all used

what size is your PV array again?

sorry @PeterStarck. what I meant to say was.... ...I've got one of these (https://www.kelseyplanthire.co.uk/diesel/rollers/120-rollers/) on hire to compact my driveway type 3 sub-base. it is a beast! I forgot to paste the url in the original post. ?‍♂️

I've got one of these on hire to compact my driveway type 3 sub-base. it is a beast!

our groundworkers have recommended using the FIS Maxiprufe Plus external membrane (http://www.fisproducts.co.uk/product/maxiprufe-plus-2/) and waterproof concrete for our waterproofing solution for the basement. I've already said I'm ok with using Type A and Type B waterproofing rather than the previously designed Type B and Type C. They're offering an insurance backed guarantee and have used this system in areas of much higher water table than ours and so I'm confident in it. was just wondering if anyone had used this system before or had any comments on it?

thanks. it does look smart. let me run it by the other half and see what she says and I'll get back to you.

hi all. I'm almost halfway finished the sub-base and I've just had a crazy idea. I was initially going to put a layer of crushed concrete or the like on top of the sub-base as a 'sacrificial' layer to protect the sub-base during the build. but I have loads of old paving slabs lying around from an old patio. could I just lay these on top of the sub-base to protect it or will they move about and be a bit rubbish?

this sounds interesting. any chance of a photo please?

that'd be nice. down here in West Sussex I'm being quoted £270+VAT ? mind you that's for one lorry. I guess if I said I had 50 loads the price might reduce a bit. but I wouldn't have thought it would go down to £200.

I would love to be able to answer your questions but we haven't even broken ground yet! sorry if I gave any other impression. maybe @Mandana can answer them? our decision was made by watching a lot of Building the Dream/Grand Designs and also looking at photos online to compare white and anthracite internal and we decided that we just prefer anthracite. Will happily post pictures (no need for DM) when I have them and I have also started a blog on here where pictures will be going up as the build progresses so I can share our journey with other buildhubbers.

Fair point

that's a fair point. another thought I had was that if we ever came to sell the house it could potentially put buyers off not having heating upstairs. I've never lived in a house with good enough insulation and air tightness to not need heating upstairs and the majority of people wouldn't have either. I only really know it's possible to get a house to that level due to reading on here which the rest of the public just won't do. so, is it worth spending that extra money at build time to not reduce your potential market of sellers if it ever came to selling?