PeterW

I’m lost ... got a picture ..??! Soffit vents need to be 10-15mm at most, and that’s continuous for the roof usually.

I have a Fischer one that is great although it needs proper cleaning and control is very fine but temperature dependent..!

Felt needs to go ....

Yes unless you do what we did and go with board between the battens. You’re talking about a cold bridge 50mm square at best that is made up of 200mm of timber - it’s got about the same loss overall as one of your windows so don’t panic ..! Much easier to get a flat finish too. This then has 100mm foil tape over it to form the VCL.

How big is the gap...?? And how many airbricks are there..? Not condoning this behaviour at all, but I'm with your mason and tbh as soon as its signed off I would be stuffing all but 2 of the airbricks with expanding foam, and the others would get stainless steel wool in them to keep the wasps out !

Do you use the "proper" gun with that @Nickfromwales or just a standard foam gun...?

+1 to that. Squirt the inside with a bit of water at each end to make it go off quicker and then fill the last 6" of each side. Let it go off for a few hours then go back and fill the centre section up through all the holes. Strangely satisfying, but don't stand under it once you've done it as you will get it in your hair... ask me how I know !

Standard 10mm floor trowel - double sided ones have 10 and 6 usually. Screwfix do Rubi ones on next day delivery for cheaper than the Forge Steel cr&p...

Shame you can’t get them in Part E / Fire Spec as they would be great if you could.

We’ve priced it up and for speed it’s as cheap if not cheaper than D&D as it works out about £1 per panel fitted. It can also be skimmed an hour later - that’s a big difference and it feels much more solid. That said, only got about 80sqm that is on block, the rest is on battens anyway.

DryFix is the foam bonding that can replace D&D - it still needs a skim coat and it’s not just for TE boards. We’ve done a couple of small rooms with it and I’m impressed as the boards feel very solid.

Alternative is use foam to glue the boards on if the walls are pretty level - DryFix is the trade named one but there are others

Follow the council process... Will be on the website but basically you have to apply to be a self builder before ANY commencement of activity and then wait for them to acknowledge it. Once done, you have to then provide evidence of completion within 6 months of getting the completion certificate from Building Control.

Most of the truss manufacturers can do this for you and specify - and supply - the correct steelwork and calculations to keep the BCO happy. I use DWB in Hull as they supply my BM but that’s down to choice and location. If you are midlands based then Wyckham Blackwell are also very good as they do glulam beams which may work better for you than steel if you want them on show.

You need a fibre cavity sock to close that off - they are a standard product which you can just leave a few small “gaps” in to vent but that is all you want. And well done on the windows ..!

Yep - we used green VCL for £13 a roll from Screwfix ..! Also used Gerband adhesive tape along with the 88/12 split that was fantastic around windows.

Could have done with a roll last week ..! How much ..? And I use the Gerband stuff from Passive House Systems And been really impressed with it as bought the 88/12 and the 50mm stuff too

I wondered that but if the joists are all the same depth then it would mean the middle joists were lower ... But it’s still not right !!!

Right... Here is where a lot of your issues are : The red circle shows two things. Firstly that the hanger is not connected at the base or the face so its free to twist when any load is put on the bottom. The blue circle shows that the hanger and the posijoist are incorrectly fitted. The hanger should either fit the full face of the trimmer, or have a tab under the trimmer and "legs" wrapped over the top. It also looks like the hanger is missing a few nails. Any weight on that joist is going to twist the trimmer out of line and allow it to bounce. Looking at it in detail you could potentially get a block down the side of FT02 and FG01 from your layout that would brace the trimmer against the wall and stop it twisting although that wouldn't sort that trimmer issue. I would be asking the builder what was supplied - and also checking if that came from the manufacturer as B01 definitely looks wrong !

@lizzie did these come with your vents as thats a really neat idea !

You shouldn’t need to get out ....

Can you not get a cherry picker..? I can hire for £115 a day and it’s a 12m height and 6m reach so quicker and simpler than scaffold.

You need to know what they are being designed for - from your picture you want flush roof lights that are set into a solid concrete surface. The kerbs for this are very different to the kerbs for those set onto a timber roof with a membrane and potentially something like a green roof around them. Detail is the key here as done wrong, they will leak !!! Can you post a section of the buildup of the roof around the roof light from the architects spec and at least with that you have a chance to get some informed decisions.

Melton are good although not sure they sell direct anymore which is a shame as going through any of the B###d####e or other brokers is a mare ...!!! Edited to add Looks like not only do they do an advance product direct they have extended the range now ..! Some nice products in there ..! https://www.themelton.co.uk/our_mortgages/self-build-renovation-mortgages/

Wetting dry sand and cement won’t work to set it - it will need more moisture than you can provide that way and it will move everywhere. What is the purpose of this area..?? Walk on..? Drive on..? This dictates the build up not what the architect thinks may work ..! You need a min of 100mm for BRegs for insulation on this so the over and under may work but those concrete curbs will be a massive cold bridge. What has the architect provided so far ..??