Thorfun

but even if my structural reinforced insulated slab is already wrapped in DPM below ground? seems superfluous to then DPM on top of that already wrapped in DPM slab. 😕

coz the SE said so!? 😉

morning all. I'm pretty sure I know the answer to this one but I'm just after confirmation before I do something stupid. our ground floor rooms not above our basement have this makeup below ground. so the entire insulated slab is wrapped in a layer of DPM. Do I still need to put a DPM below the internal insulation that I'm putting down before the liquid screed. (obviously, I know about the layer of DPM above the insulation before the screed). from my search I've seen other posts where a layer of DPM is done under the insulation but that's because it's direct on the ground so not sure that is relevant in my situation.

thanks all. guess we'd better get shopping for basins first then! will ask more questions once we have those and 'temporary' fitted.

afternoon all. I'm resurrecting this thread as, sadly, I'm still not finished with my first fix plumbing. I still need to do the basin/sink/bath/shower waste. focusing first on basin and sink waste...... is there a standard height above FFL that I should run the waste pipes to? or does it completely depend on the basin? I would've thought there was a standard basin height and so that would lead to a standard waste level. Also, is there a strict requirement for maximum falls as there is with foul waste? if so, what is it? I presume I can do vertical drops and then the required fall into a boss on the 110mm waste pipes? I was going to just use 40mm solvent weld pipe for all basins and sinks. is that ok and the correct thing to do? I seem to recall @Nickfromwales saying something about 32mm pipes furring up over time.

got some and is certainly sticky! great colour as well.

the above 2 statements really, to me, defeat the main benefit of self-building and that is building something bespoke that you want and not just something that looks the same as someone else or something similar to 'improve pp chances'. you run the risk of building a house that someone else wants rather than what you want. seriously reconsider this. also sounds like the architects are being a bit lazy. could do with chatting some architects who are passionate about designing a house for you! just a word of warning here....we bought our plot because the previous owners bought it with a bridging loan and then couldn't sell their primary residence and it got to the point where they just had to sell one of them. put both their primary residence and this place up for sale and whichever sold first they'd keep the other and either stay where they were or build their dream home. they ended up losing loads of money because of the bridging loan and not being able to sell their primary residence. just beware, i'm sure we're all aware of how long selling a house can take and how fraught with danger and stress it is without having high interest bridging loan payments to pay or the risk of losing it all to a bridging loan company.

+1

yes (in my opinion)

Get a condensation analysis done by the manufacturer of the insulation. They can also advise on the location of the VCL.

it's a liquid screed. already done the prep work for one load. i promise you the chance of getting the liquid screed under the DPM will be minimal but i'll be foaming all gaps between EPS sheets (if there are any) and taping them for good measure. the benefit of self-building is you can belt and braces everything! takes ******* ages though. just ask @pocster.

i'm all for a sticky about due diligence but it still might not help some people. i did due diligence on our TF company (Flight Timber). i checked the accounts, filings at Companies House, spoke to previous customers, site visited a build in progress, did web searches. all looked good and they built me a good timber frame. a year later they were out of business and some on here got stung by that. so part of due diligence is looking for reviews and if some saw my reviews of how happy i was with the house then, it could be a major part of the decision to go with them only to lose money. so you could do all the due diligence in the world but still get stung. although i guess you reduce the risk of that happening.

unless he treats it as a loss leader to get the experience and references on his CV?

nope. afaik, ridge height is from ground level. so the height of the ridge above ground level.

Well will you look at that. It is a thing! https://www.sheetplastics.co.uk/jaffa-tape-50mm-x-25m

Would foaming any gaps be good enough? And do you mean gaffa tape? Or is Jaffa tape a thing? (Checking Google now!)

Surely the neighbours building in their garden has set a precedent? Should be a massive argument for approval right there.

Only if you buy yourself. Anything your builder buys will be zero rated for you. If your builder charges you VAT you can’t reclaim it!

And I’d like to do the right thing again this time! Just need to know what’s the best tape to use for EPS! 😂

belt and braces? but also, how do you know things wouldn't have gone wrong if you didn't tape the joints? unless you do one floor with taping and another without you'd never know.

that's a good question! I was told to tape the PIR so just figured I'd tape the EPS as well. I like to give the impression of doing things properly.

in the basement when I put down PIR for under the screed I taped it with silver tape before putting the DPM down. now on the ground floor I'm using EPS for under the screed, 2 x layers of 50mm EPS100. what is a good tape for EPS?

I bought all our electrical cable as I was going to do first fix. in the end I ran out of time and needed to ask my electrician to do the work. I offered him an uplift on his normal daily rate to cover the 'loss' of profit on material buying. just thought it was the right thing to do especially as he was doing me a favour by doing the first fix when at the outset we agreed I would do it with his consultancy if required. there are some good clients out there Nick! don't tar us all with the same jaded brush. 😉

Didn’t even know one-way valves were needed! Something else to add to my list to research. thanks for the heads-up and sorry to hear about your predicament.

welcome! have you considered a contemporary flat-ish type roof? means you don't get the reduced head height in the eaves maybe? spend the time going through magazines/websites/pintrest etc and find houses you like the look of before you visit the architects. you might be surprised by what you like! then check the portfolio of the architects to see if they've done anything similar. there are a few threads on here about making a list of requirements for an architect. If you've no time to do any work yourselves then a turnkey build will cost you around £2500 - £3000 /m2. so with your budget you can work backwards from that and get the size of house you can afford. sadly in the SE we get stung stupidly on costs so everything is much more expensive to build. good luck! exciting times and we look forward to hearing about your progress.