Dave Jones

could you post a photo of the brickwork. Did you use a tiler or a brickkie ?

looks to me that ICF is just over double the cost of traditional build which is a shame. A little cheaper for rendered/clad but those options are a poor downgrade from facebrick both for value/appearance and ongoing maintenance. I'd still like to try it out at some point, maybe a garage or garden room. Timber prices are also still far too high to use SIP panels as well which is really annoying as a more carbon neutral build is always good to aim for. So back to brick and block for the foreseeable future where costs are the overriding factor.

the mega rush to weathertight is pointless unless you planning a 3 month build. Same as a timber frame waste of ££££££

recticel with 150mm cav is 0.13U which looks very good.

How did you face the blocks externally ?

find another architect.

what is the cost of aerogel and where buy it out of interest ?

how much more expensive than traditional brick/block is ICF ? 2, 3 4 x more ? A site has come up locally which we may buy to help kids build a starter home. Render isn't an option due to planning so will have to be brick/slip external skin but all other options are on the table. Rules out timber frame as too expensive, if ICF comes in cheaper than brick and block would take a look. I guess the immediate savings are insulation, lintels and time ?

drop some steel in the trench where the stump was to give it a bit of help.

with the government pushing hard to decarbonise house building, sorting the concrete would be a massive step. https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/green-tech/a40785162/microalgae-carbon-neutral-cement/

unimaginative design for such a nice plot.

photos please.

dont rule out small format blocks as well, some of the new marshalls range look really smart.

yes, shoddy practice fixing them outside the thermal insulation. Now they have to do it properly there isn't any brick left to drill into by butchering the frame. Max 30mm.

yep

heat pump £4k, say £4k for rads. City Plumbing Plumber is 250/300 a day so would need to be onsite for months or else they are royally ripping you off.

standard £2k per plot charge from BT to provide full fibre was told when we ordered it.

nearly, you want the window 30mm onto the outer brick/block, just enough to weather seal it with the majority of the frame sitting in the insulation envelope.

They haven't followed the drawing end of conversation. What happens if/when planning enforcement come a knockin ? When it comes time to sell and you are asked to legally state you have complied with the planning permission etc ? Depends if the footings they poured are wide enough to rebuild on. Much drama if they are not. If they cant follow a plan I'd wager they will probably walk away at that point. Take a tape measure and go measure the 2 diagonals to make sure what they have done is square.

porcelain doesnt need the same frequency of cleaning as stone, algae, dirt etc. It's also a more uniform product so can be made perfectly flat.

you may want to add stools at either end to take the brickwork and an upstand to take a stub cill, like this

https://subframes.co.uk/cavity-closers/kingspan/

dont butcher the frames use straps, can plug and screw then.

we call that a cranked roof. Very common in plymouth! It's allways the first area black mould comes a visiting. 25/50mm celotex on the crank ill help a lot, its tricky sliding it behind the tiles but worth the effort.

depending on if you want to bother about cold bridging, a better way is to insulate then conc over