Nick

While I consider the quality of new-builds generally to be crap (people in the construction industry relish telling you that they'd never buy a new build themselves), I can only assume that the general public must be by-and-large content with them and that the disaster scenarios are comparatively rare. If they weren't, the properties wouldn't sell so well. One of the reasons there is incredible pressure to finish builds on time at the expense of quality control, is that the properties are often 90% sold before the building is complete. By the time you are at the snagging stage, the developer has lawsuits on their hand from people who have been waiting to move into their new home or let them out to tenants for months (the build will always be late to some degree). This is why developers take the commercial decision to let people move into buildings that are half-finished and sort out the snagging later. Much harder to prove poor build quality than breach of contract. If the buyer is an investor waiting to let the flat out to a paying tenant, they won't care about a few issues anyway. Let the tenant go through the hassle and disruption - they hardy every have the time or money to sue... and so it goes on.

+1 This is how I've always understood it to work. It is the responsibility of the specialist contractor (subbie) to ensure their works comply to building regs. Even to the point where the approved construction drawings show something that contravenes the regs, as an "expert" in your field, it is your responsibility to spot it and make sure it is changed. Have had plenty of scenarios like that and the blame is always put back onto the sub-contractor for causing a delay, even if it is to draw attention to an error that could have life-endangering consequences. In many cases, the main contractor will just pressure them carry on as-is and say they will rectify it later. One of the MANY ways in which dangerous and shoddy details end up getting built.

If you want the truth, find out from the company the actual brand / system the windows are. Never heard of "Seiger" before. Sounds like a classic marketing BS name to make a standard product appear German/Scandinavian.

True. For direct impact noise, the only thing that will really help is proper decoupling. Hanging the plasterboard ceiling on resilient bars will help to some extent but is a PITA to do. Even then, it's not exactly night & day difference (the one time I've done it).

Extra plasterboard on the ceiling below is the cheapest way of improving acoustic performance of the floor detail. Mineral wool under decking next-best. I've tried premium underlays / thin resilient-layer types of products between floor finishes before and they make very little difference for the cost.

In reality you are paying for insurance. The standard stuff will be painted to 60-80 microns anyway as it's very hard to control powder coating thicknesses and not worth taking the time to paint some lengths thicker, some thinner, e.t.c. In my experience the extra money is just to cover the supplier's cost to come out and replace/repair any damaged coatings if they happen to peel over time. Also bear in mind that you will need to have cleaned the frames regularly (depending on what the maintenance guide says) to make any claim under warranty. Which Items are 1, 2, 3, 4 & 5?

No, just that particular system (the same one the first company quoted you for). It has max 30mm Cavity - 30mm is just about enough to make a double glazed unit in those thicknesses let alone triple. I asked about new build as there is a requirement for Security in Part Q of the building regs which those doors won't meet. Building inspectors don't tend to enforce this in my experience and I've only rarely seen people get into trouble, but there is a danger they'll just not accept the doors and make you replace them.

The second quote you got is about right. First one is just typical retail tactics - Double the price and then keep offering discounts until you get a bite. That door system also can't take triple glazing so it's a pretty bold offer. Can I ask if this is for a new build?

100mm probably not enough to be honest. Tended to be grotty 300-400mm above the sink. I'm planning on putting glass splashbacks on absolutely everything when it comes to my build - can't tile to save my life.

I've had this in a previous building and the painted wall always ended up looking grotty. If not tiles, then maybe a glass splashback?

Perhaps I'm missing something, but why can't the installers replacing the windows just chop the plaster back? Unless you've already told them otherwise, I'd consider this a standard part of their job.

Done a small run of what I recall being 16mm SWA, 3-Core. 100m should only be around 100KG and comes off the coil easy enough.

First and foremost, I'd say the time to get a QS involved is now. They are basically cost engineers and the earlier you get their input on a project, the more potential there is for them to pay for their fees by saving you money. They should be experienced with builds in your area and have some background knowledge on what options come out cheapest. There is a lot of overlap between project managing and quantity surveying on smaller jobs - finding an experienced person that can do both would be a good option. If you have no real preference on build method and no serious time constraints then brick & block is always the safe option. More quotes to choose from, less bespoke details that need calculations, e.t.c.

+1 Designing a simple goalpost to replace that upright should really be within the skill-set of any structural engineer no matter what they specialise in. If you're still at the early stages, consider finding another SE who is more inclined to get involved and find solutions. In my experience, some structural engineers just want you to give them everything on a plate so they can do a calculation and hand it back to you. I've seen clients bitten by this before where engineers have checked only the exact thing they are told without even looking at the use-case, and passed solutions that later turn out to be unsuitable.

Thanks, Haven't had much experience of conversions sadly as in my area they are pretty rare overall As far as I know, with conversions / material change of use you'll need to comply with Part L1B of the building regs which only explicitly states specifies a maximum glazed area (25% of floor area) for extensions. I can only guess that with a complete conversion, once you get near that same 25% glazing ratio, you'll be asked to provide whole-building u-value & heat loss calculations rather than just prove the simple minimum u-value of 1.6W/m2K for glazed elements. As your chap suggests - that will probably mean going to much more efficient glazing to compensate. If you get to that stage and need to beef up the spec of your windows to raise the whole-building performance, feel free to post up some drawings and I'll have a look. Careful specification of frames and glazing and playing around with sizes can get you quite far.

Congratulations. Lovely build and interior fit-out. I quite like the character of the brick facade whereas I'd say the aluminium-clad / glazed section (nicely built though it is) looks more or less the same as is designed for every contemporary high-end extension/annex/winter garden I see down here in the South East.

Afternoon All, I joined a couple of years ago and benefited from some great advice and discussions on here, but after a while researching the type of build my partner and I have our hearts set on (modern barn-style new-build or Class Q conversion) we decided we'd be better off saving a while longer and reducing the amount we would need to borrow before going any further. I've popped in for the odd read but have mostly had to force myself to stay away from self-build scheming in the meantime after realising I was spending all my free time looking at suppliers, build methods, technologies e.t.c. that would probably have doubled in price or disappeared completely by the time we were actually ready to start. Fortunately we're a bit better placed now and I'm getting my head back into things with an aim to secure either a plot or a barn to convert by the end of this year. Just wanted to say hello and glad the forum's still going strong. I still work as chief technical at a decent-sized company in the glazing industry so without wanting to stick my nose in, if anyone would like input on any window/door/glass related issues, I'll be happy to assist if i can.

+1 for MK Logic It's a good middle ground between the no-name white sockets and the more expensive metallic stuff. I never use the latter as you always find that a few years down the line when you want to add another socket or change a light switch you can never find the same finish. Also highly recommend TLC Direct as a supplier. Used to live near them and they are real old-school knowledgeable about the products they sell.

Yep, would never pay for an installed product 100% up front. Even 2.5% seems like too little as if they make any sizable mistake the cost for them of sending more installers back, ordering new material, e.t.c. could easily exceed that, at which point they may just decide to take the hit as they'll have made most of their profit and won't want the aggro. Final 10-20% on completion / handover is reasonable to request. Asking for actual retention over a 6 or 12 months defects period is unlikely to go down well for non-building trades but no harm in asking. The best type of recommendation you can get is for a company who made a mistake and resolved it professionally and quickly. Mistakes are common, proper customer service isn't.

On second read, ive just spotted the word composite used. I take it these are ACMs with two very thin sheets of ali bonded to a cheaper core. Would make more sense. Weight wont be an issue if this is the case. Still... a pricey solution for a fascia.

Cheers. Will all depend on the discount i guess. The list prices seem high-ish. Surprised to see they are 4mm aluminium. I normally see 2mm max used for soffits/copings/flashings on commercial sites. Im assuming this is how they get away with not needing a backer board. Downside - this would make them heavy to work with. Forgive my ignorance but is there anything special about these fascia systems other than what's shown in the cross section & description? Are there any specific regs or requirements to comply with here? If not, i'd imagine you could make a saving by using a backer board and having your own much thinner PPC aluminium pieces made up.

Any idea how much roughly per linear metre these cost? They seem like fairly basic aluminium sections that a fabricator with a brake press could run up easily enough. The vented soffit would be difficult but for unvented, it just looks like sheet aluminium that gets made to measure for roofing & cladding all the time.

Compriband made by Tremco is the industry standard. It is normally specced based on the size of gap to be filled rather than the thickness in its pre-expanded state so assuming your window openings were surveyed correctly, it should have the right weathertightness. They warranty it for 15 years if the installation is registered and installed to their guidelines but who knows what that will mean in practice if your window leaks in 14 years' time. Life expectancy is 25 years on their literature assuming it is this brand that you have. Personally, i like to see a tight 5-6mm expansion gap around a window and a silicone seal regardless of whether there is compriband, EPDM, e.t.c. behind it that should be doing the job of weatherproofing. Reality is that installations are never 100% by-the-book and the more secondary protection you can give to your primary seal, the longer the whole thing will last. I suspect the expanding tape only method is these companies' way of minimising installation time and labour costs.

As we're not yet sure what type of joists we'll have, our current plan is for insulated ufh overlay boards to take the pipework on the first floor and then 20mm screedboard above it to diffuse the heat and give something to tile / board onto. Seems like a neat finish with not that much extra build up. Cost according to my spreadsheet for the overlay board, pipework and screedboard is around £32.50 m2, with a small fixed cost for the extra manifold and connectors. As much as I'm tempted to save money by leaving it out of the budget, I cant help feel it's a relative bargain to put it in at this stage. Can't justify UFH in the loft room - as Bitpipe says, they dont tend to get much use.

I'm also trying to solve this same dilemma. Part of it depends on what is driving your underfloor heating on the ground floor. If you are running a heat pump then it seems a shame after the big up-front cost of installing it, to then use a less efficient system upstairs. If you're not having UFH upstairs, the insulation between floors may be working against you by preventing heat transfer to the upper floors.