Field_of_Dreams

Your correct…the Chinese is 900 cheaper than Spanish at todays price. The point I was making is I would not class Chinese as being cheap as it higher than Spanish was a few years ago…it is just that Spanish is now at a silly price. That makes sense but the supplier I have approached give the same thickness for range for both Spanish and Chinese when comparing. They also meet the same BS standard and are graded S1 W1 T1. This is the one I am looking at https://buyroofslate.co.uk/slate/chinese/polaris-canton-ultra-500x250-chinese-slate/

Chinese slate is more expensive now than Spanish was 2 -3 years ago 🙂 Isn’t slate just dug up and then sliced? Ceramics go through a manufacturing process so maybe not a fair comparison?

Thanks for the feedback. It is making me think though…I work in manufacturing and the same was said 10 years ago about the type of products I developed in Europe but now that view has very much changed and many chinese suppliers produce very good products. I wonder if your roofers comments were justified or just a knee jerk reaction to something different? That said, we are not talking about products but rather geology…and this is what makes it even harder to get my head around that chinese slate might be sub standard.

Hi All, Hoping to get some feedback on Chinese slate from those that have used it. I thought I would be going the route of Spanish slate but after getting various samples and looking at ever increasing costs I have found myself getting very tempted by the Chinese offering. It really comes down to the fact that it is slightly darker (which is what I want without paying silly money) and cheaper than the Spanish offering. It does seem smoother and I can’t decide if I prefer that or not…but I guess that is just personal taste. There would be about a £900 difference for the amount I need, which will go a long way towards the other increasing costs we are facing. Any comments appreciated. Thanks

That is one of my options and I have spoken to them already. New build.

I know it is a long shot but I might be about 16 standard blocks short due to breakages on a delivery I took in December. I know…i was lucky to even get them, but that is another story. I am currently investigating several other options, including supply from Italy, but thought it would not hurt to ask here, just in case. Any help, much appreciated.

No. That is just a small part of it. It is more about the software you select for that part of the task and the methods employed in that software (of which there can be many) to achieve the results you want. Sometimes you can do everything you need in one bit of software. Other times you might use 8 different programs to achieve the desired result.

In my post the word workflow was not specific to PS but the way to achieve the original posters image. For me, workflow means… In regards to creating the image in the original post, I would… 1: Create the house in 3D using Cinema 4D or Vectorworks depending on my exact needs. 2: I would then render it using a render engine of which there are many. 3: I would then take it into PS and apply the necessary layers, blending, fills, overlays, trees etc. 4: I would then finish the overall look in PS. The above process is my workflow for the above example. Parts 1 & 2 are workflows in themselves in that I have several ways to achieve a result and I would pick the workflow best for that task. With any image creation there are usually several ways to achieve the same thing and I pick the one that best suits the entire workflow as something I do early in the workflow may have a big impact further down the line and a quick solution at the start may cause major issues later on in another piece of software so that has to be factored in and why it is important to choose the right workflow for the job.

I don’t use Fusion 360 but do do lots of rendering for a living and use various types of software and workflows. The images you show could have been done in photoshop over the top of a simple clay rendering. I sometimes use this method and it can work very well. You just render out a clay model in the various orthographic views where you have an “infinite” light (sun) to create the shadows…or you fake them in PS. In simplistic terms, you then apply textures and layer up various things and adjust blend modes and opacities. You could look at Unreal Engine as it is free but the learning curve is steep. A better option would be Twin Motion that might be free still…not totally sure. TM will be better for photorealistic renders and you have access to the Quixel Bridge texture library which is fully loaded with materials suitable for architecture. Most people who produce the images you show will be doing it with PS and some 3D software though. Like most things, there are many ways to do what you want, it is about choosing what works best for you and your budget.

It is because the building was meant to be used for something that did not require UFH...its use has now changed to something that would benefit from UFH but this was only decided some time after the slab was poured. These things happen I guess 🙂

Thats what i thought but was told to use it. I did wonder if it could potentially create more problems (not sure what...just guessing) by using it...but it is cheap so wondered if the belt and braces approach would be wise. Screed is for the UFH. Insulhub is who told me to use it but the more I research the more different opinions I get.

Hi All, I am just about to start laying the first course of my Isotex blocks on my insulated raft and have a dilemma about the best way forward in regards to the use of DPC. The slab already has the DPM installed underneath. I knocked up a quick drawing that shows the 2 options I have in my head...maybe both are not ideal but thats is why i'm here 🙂 Option 1 is what went to BC and they seem happy. Option 2 adds in the DPC and is how Isotex said to do it, but I have also seen Isotex installs, albeit abroad, where they dont use a DPC under the first course. Maybe there is a better way or maybe one of the options I have shown is not recommended? Keen to get some input from other who have been there before and have a far better understanding of the whole DPM/DPC thing! Any advice appreciated. DPC-Isotex Options.pdf

I never understood it, but the wall provider (isotex) said it was not needed for single story/my project. The super structure SE did not think it was necessary and neither did the slab SE. I assume the superstructure SE would be the one to add it to the drawing and maybe it is his conversation with the block supplier that led him to not add it in…I don’t know, but will call him and ask. There are bars in the walls but all run horizontal. The amount of mesh is due to ground conditions and trees.

Do you mean in the concrete? I have not looked at this…anything specific I should be aware of?

No schedule on the drawing and I have not sent the drawing to a mesh supplier yet…was trying to figure it out before I did that 🙂 The walls will be ICF but they are not linked to the slab via any steel.

thanks for the info. Do you run a B10 bar alongside each of the bars on the mesh? The ground is medium/high plasticity clay and there are several large mature sycamores within 4M of the building. There was also a eucalyptus on the site that has been removed but also impacted on the design, according the SE.

Thanks for the info! Do you have a picture of this? Not sure what it is and a google search showed too many different things for me to be certain what was correct.

I'm not trying to recalculate what the SE said. I am asking how to best work out how many sheets and what size will fit the spec from the SE.

Does anyone know of a decent UK mesh calculator? My head is about to explode trying to work out how much I need and the most cost-effective way of doing it regarding what size sheets I buy and what gets cut on site. I was hoping it was simple...but for me it is not. It is an insulated raft that is 10500mm x 5550mm (internal size) and will have a slab depth of 250mm. The SE has specified...(dont get me started!) 2 layer A393 TOP with extra layer of A393 on edges at 2M wide plus the required lapping. 50mm concrete cover. (3 mesh layers in total) 1 layer A393 BOTTOM with extra layer of A393 on edges at 2M wide plus the required lapping. 50mm concrete cover. (2 mesh layers in total) I believe the lapping would be 400mm min for A393. Not sure how close to the EPS the mesh has to go either. I know it is meant to be close, but how close? With all the overlap, I am wondering if there will be any space for concrete! I am hoping there is someone out there who has a wonderful calculator...or just likes puzzles 🙂 Any help on this is truly appreciated. Thanks

But isn’t there only so much compacting you can do before it compacts no more?

So now i am actually trying this it seems incredibly difficult to get within 10mm accuracy for the MOT over the 15x9M area i am working on. Does anyone have any tips? i am on the final level so want it to be accurate. So far all the previous levels of MOT have gone down ok and got rollered in. They were fairly level but i saved the very accurate stage for the last one. Type 1 has some big ish stones in it so raking it level before the roller, to 10mm seems too difficult for me. Am i just no good at this or is there some ground works magic that i dont know about? 😁

Thanks for the insight guys. i will aim for the 10mm on the mot and 3mm on the clean stone.

Hi all, just about to lay an MOT sub base that will be 525mm deep and wondered what level accuracy I should realistically be aiming for? it will have a 50mm blinding layer of clean stone on top and then an Isoquick insulated raft on top. me being me expect it to be within 1mm over the 10m x 5m area but i dont know if that is realistic when doing this type of thing. any guidance/reality checks most appreciated. thanks

@Nick Laslett Is your twin wall all running in the same trench at the same depth like it appears in the picture? Im just trying to get my head around the different services and the different depths they are meant to be at but it would be so much easier if they could all be at the same depth and in the same trench. I am specifically talking about Electrics/Water/Fibre. Thanks

Thanks Nick...I learn something new everyday on here 🙂