Mulberry View

Ah, so they let you pay with Credit Card OK then? I was planning to ask this tomorrow.

I think that both Norrsken and RK Doors are quite reputable, but the gut-wrenching experience with our Zinc Roof has left us a bit scarred!

Yes, we'll always push for that where possible. But what incentive do companies have to provide top service if they've already been paid in full?

We're dealing with Norrsken and RK Doors at the moment. Both want full payment of the contract balance prior to release of the products for delivery and installation. Is this normal? I feel a little uncomfortable with that. ID System (Sunflex) allow us to retain 10% for payment upon completion. What has been your experience?

Thanks for this. Helpful. So the steel profile is seen from the ground I assume? Don't suppose you took any pics of it in progress?

I'm not experienced at all with this type of roof, so any/all feedback is appreciated. I guess the drip edge could be turned back up on the inside and fixed to the underneath of the 40x70 timber, they're used to that detail with Zinc roofing if I was to get trims done by a Zinc installer. But how to seal it to the Single-Ply on top? Architect seems to show another membrane.

We're in the process of detailing our whole house roof with a Sika single-ply membrane. We'd like a nice kerb-edge trim (ideally Zinc/Alu), but how would this be detailed if fitted after the membrane? Is this a normal thing to do? I've not approached an installer yet, maybe they'll know the answer, but asking you good chaps! If anyone has done similar, pics would be welcome.

Thanks for your detailed reply @Gus Potter. What is it about the detail that makes it harder to secure the door? As a side-note, I've had loads of trouble with Architects and in fact we are now on our third. With our roofing disaster aside, professional services has definitely been by far the biggest stressor in the project so far. This is all about structural support for the door above everything else. The concrete core simply is not wide enough to provide support for the whole depth of the profile, this is how to bring this in line with what ID Systems/Sunflex want. I've got a large projecting Oriel Window and the detailing on that eclipses this by a long way, I'm struggling there too.

The packers digging into the ICF has been my concern, though I'm glad you haven't run into any post-installation problems. My reveal detailing needs to be very precise due to the bespoke Aluminium flashings I'm having made. I can't really stand to add 6mm to the base of every window, unless I had prepared for it in advance by rasping the thresholds down. I'm eager to see what other ICF'ers have done.

It's funny how things that feel like big decisions right now pale into insignificance in the end.

To clarify, the photo is of the first-floor sliding door position. The architectural detail is of the ground floor position, where the core of the concrete is abundantly strong. As you can see from the detail, the majority of the triple-glazed sliding leaf overhangs the concrete and onto what would have been the EPS inner skin of the Nudura (which apparently does not have the compressive strength for the weight it would be subjected to). ID Systems (the Sunflex installer) wants the door to be fully supported and do not consider the EPS to be sufficient. The Architect suggested a 15mm layer of Bosig Phonotherm laid flat over the concrete for the door to bear onto. This would still overlap onto the "insufficient" EPS, but significantly would have required me to take the concrete (C35) down by ANOTHER 15mm (I had already taken it down by about 20mm to allow for a fully flush installation, which took me several days and I was VERY pleased with the finish). The ground floor is Beam & Block and so it is a case of either widening the load-bearing width of the concrete core or transferring the load down to the B&B with a media that has sufficient compressive strength. It could theoretically have been a length of RSA resin bolted to the inside of the concrete core to provide a platform on which the rear portion of the door could sit, but that's not the most thermally efficient solution and I'm not sure it's smart to have a piece of steel in the subfloor like this. This is the ground floor position. The inner Nudura EPS skin is still in place and it is that I, apparently, need to remove and replace in order for ID Systems to be happy to install the door... Obviously we have a layer of PIR to go into the floor yet and that detail essentially replaces an outer band of the PIR with a lump or XPS700 that the door will sit partly on. It's just a little confusing to think of how to implement it! In the first floor position, we did not have the benefit of anything structural beneath the inner Nudura EPS insulation, which goes all the way down to the ground. Steel RSA was proposed here again, but timber was also an option, which was far easier to implement. My SE knows that I prefer overkill and might be pandering to that. This is the first-floor detail, it leads out onto a balcony.

Mine has Permaguard Dimple membrane and a french drain around the perimeter. The door thresholds will have an EPDM layer over them too.

That's a Sunflex SF80 Triple-Glazed Slider. The one on the Ground Floor weighs around 750kg (4.2m long), the First Floor one is probably about 400kg. The SF80 profile is 210mm, the concrete core is 150mm. The supplier would not approve installation where the frame was not fully supported. In all fairness, the timber add-on was pretty easy, it's yet to have a layer of insulation over it that will lap up the back of the frame.

Which Norrsken window profile did you go for?

Yes, I've seen Phonotherm, not sure if it can work for what I need though. I've essentially got to cut the inside 68mm EPS away and replace it with something more load bearing. I thought it would be really easy (shutter and pour a strong concrete mix or something), but SE threw me into a bit of a spin by not being keen on that way. I have the same problem on the first floor, but there I have extended the load-bearing depth with a piece of 8x2 C24 installed onto the concrete core level with the threshold, but I cannot employ this same technique on the ground floor. This is the best I can come up with for the Ground Floor, a 200x200 block of XPS700 installed up against the inside of the concrete core. (I have lowered the concrete now to make the door fully flush, though this isn't shown on this detail). Apparently, it needs to be a deep as it is tall ideally, not sure why, hence the oversize of it. The overhang of the door is actually only about 30mm or so. This still seems tricky to install because the XPS700 and door will have to go in before the rest of the insulation and screed etc which would have pinned it into place. I don't really want to put the DPM and PIR in for the floor until after the doors are fitted, but what to do where it laps under the door threshold?

Yes, my ground floor slider is 4.2m wide, 2.5m high, its about 750kg. I've stripped the top closer away to the concrete, but the profile is deeper than the 150mm core. I've got to extend the load bearing face rearward and I'm planning to use something like GG700 for that, but it'll be a 200x200 section, so pretty hefty.

Norrsken said they wanted Compacfoam CF400 for the above window, but I'm also mindful that they aren't the authority on load bearing capabilities of a system they don't know. I have upgraded the standard door openings to Danopren TR50 (EPS300) in the thresholds and I will probably do the sill of the above window with that because I have it, but it would be nice if I can leave the rest as-is.

I've got a fairly comprehensive detailing approach, we have a bespoke Aluminium reveal trim going in. I'm planning to coat the openings with Wykamol Technoseal Liquid DPM before the windows go in to help the airtight tapes to stick. They'll be sealed with FM330 and ME508 tape (or similar). I just want to be sure of the load bearing ability of the EPS. ChatGPT seems to think it'll be OK, but I don't totally trust that.

Just wrapping up the final stages of preparation for ordering our windows. Those of you that have done an ICF (particularly Nudura) build, did you install your windows directly into the Nudura openings with their EPS closers? I have removed the EPS from the threshold of the openings for our 2 heavy sliding doors, they will be mounted onto the concrete, but how about the rest of the 'normal' windows and doors? This is one of the larger openings, it's about 3.5m wide and the window will weight about 350kg.

We're in the process of building an open Car Port with a cavity wall construction (no insulation), facing bricks inside and out, nothing will be plastered. Is there a way to secure the wall-plates down but either not have the restraint straps visible or that they are slightly more aesthetically pleasing?

I should probably add here that our 38x12 Willerby weighs over 6 tonne. Ours is sited on unmade up land, just soil. It has about 12 or so axle stands, each one on a slab that was just plonked on the ground in all honesty. I occasionally tweak them, but it's never been perfect. There are 4 hefty stands around the axle and lighter ones at the rest of the support points. It's been this way for 3 years. It's not strapped down in any other way. It is pretty rock solid, though 50mph+ gusts can cause it to jolt a little. I've never felt like it's going to go as far as a wobble, let alone fully tip over. We are fairly sheltered though, particularly on the SW side and that's the important one. Our main worry is the surrounding trees! We are surrounded on all sides by 60-70ft trees, something we just did not anticipate.

Flash git!! I don't have that amount of space to play with unfortunately, but I'd love to see your progress pics? I'm hoping to make the Sauna cabin at least 2x2m as I want 2 flat benches at the optimum height (for me and SWMBO). Like you, I have plenty of spare Celotex and so will insulate the floor with 150mm or even 200mm depending on what room I have. From my own knowledge, be careful if using normal PIR inside the Sauna, I understand it can emit Cyanide gas under high temperatures. There are some specialist versions on the market which I'll be looking at. I've done a fair bit of research on the Sauna itself, there's a lot to learn to be honest!

Yes, perhaps. I think I've talked myself out of a changing room and shower. I just need to get my head around being able to get back into the house and to the shower without, you know, sweating everywhere. Would still be good to hear from anyone that has built a home Sauna, I'd love to see some pics.

We're planning on an Electric Heater, but a "proper" one. I'd really rather not have to incorporate a shower etc as we have 3 of them in the house, but it's the practicality of getting from the Sauna to the Shower in the house that I'm worried about.

We have a Car Port in our design that's linked to the house via a covered walkway. The Car Port itself it open. We are really fond of having a Sauna within our scheme, but not enough room in the house and so I decided to increase the length of the Car Port in the hope of incorporating a Sauna within a partitioned structure at the rear of the Car Port. On further thought, I would really like to include a small shower and changing area but space is pretty tight as I don't really want to compromise on the 2m x 2m internal size for the Sauna. Does anyone here have a Sauna? Do you have anything to add in terms of sizing? This is my "fag packet" sketch (not at all to scale, yet!) The external walls of the Car Port are double skin with an uninsulated Cavity. The partition walls are likely to be 100mm facing bricks with a proper sealed door into the Changing Area. The Sauna itself is a separate discussion, but that will be built and insulated according to Sauna best practice. I'm interested in the Changing and Shower Area at the moment, which I want to make comfortable to use (not necessarily luxuriously warm, but usable in Winter) and so I am thinking of applying some insulation to the walls. What thickness of insulation (PIR?) should I consider for this? 50mm? The structure is somewhat shielded from the prevailing wind by the house itself and I can insulate the floor and ceiling.