crispy_wafer

Leaving this here if anyone is looking to save a few £'s at BPC

Any tried and tested recommendations for multitool blades for wizzing through nails? Loads on Amazon, which makes the choice too difficult... Dewalt fitment,

Think I'm going to lift and put some sand down, I've got a pile of soft sand leftover so that'll do, and as it was only a couple of boards I put down it's no biggie. It's all benefit of experience, which I don't have so not going to take the chance.

I've grouted the blocks to the beams, maybe I was a bit stingy over the top of the blocks in some places...

Managed to sort out the DPM, now I'm back with another Q I've trial fitted a couple of the PIR boards on the block and beam floor, I've noticed a little rocking up and down when walking over them, the beams are slightly higher than the blocks and where the board finishes mid span, there is no support. Is there a tried and tested method of resolving this as I expect this will cause an issue later on with the screed if not dealt with? It's 150mm PIR so not exactly flexible. I'd though about a sand/cement layer, maybe thin slithers of insulation board, or timber as a packer under the edge...

Well, applying heat works a treat, a quick blow over with my gas torch and it's stickier than a sticky thing and the dpm has bonded nicely. This heavy dpm is under the insulation, but was planning something over the top of the insulation too, i was told something about screed eating the insulation and stopping the insulation from floating when the screed is poured.

Thankyou. That toolstation tape is the stuff I had, it wouldnt even stick to my fingers, maybe I had a bad batch, or it was too cold or combination... I'll experiment with a heat gun on it and see if it improves matters.

Need some advice on tape, as the tape we have wont hold, A quick play in the build tonight and it just peels straight off when overlapping the dpm to dpc.

Question on how we join the DPC to DPM. And is it important if DPM goes over or under the DPC? Build up is Block and beam floor, block work inner walls with DPC sticking out about 12 inches in places. My floor insulation has arrived and is in a nice big pile, so In order to reduce said pile I was thinking I could get the floor swept, DPM down and start laying out the insulation, or more likely I could task Mrs Wafer with the job whilst I play with stud walls. I've got a couple of rolls of heavy DPM, loads of double sided butyl tape and plenty of tape for the joins ready to go, but as usual when it comes to the finer points questions start getting asked. So over or under, is the question?

I would have thought if it's flat board type then yes it could be used elsewhere, I'd have thought the Dimensions and facing play more of a part are where it can and cant be used, and whether it performs to manufacturers claims. What areas of your barn conversion will need insulating?

haha yes that's what we are paying, all the yards round me are at that price, if not more, in the end though that's all I needed so that's what I paid. It's bracing for the inside of the cathedral ceiling, otherwise I'd have swerved it. Thanks for the advice though ? He who has little knowledge spend lot of time fixing to make things work!

Attached is what I've just paid from my local timber yard, most of it turned up as C24, However it's got to point now where I've just spent a load on timber and mvhr ducting, should keep me busy for a couple of months before I need to spend again! (I only get a 10-14 hrs a week on the build, Christmas/new years week is going to be an absolute godsend for me). I just need a clear plan so I can crack on and chip away. It's come to something when my light reading is the LABC warranty handbook and scouring buildhub for pictures of how it's done. It's all about the finer points.

Thanks Faz, 4*2 is what I'm going with,. I'm sure I could work with the metal partitions after a bit of a play, but just feel more comfortable with timber.

Quick question, I've got a few stud walls to constuct. Most of them run perpendicular from a block wall. Should the end studs be fixed to the masonry, or is good practice to have them sit off the block work by a few mm?

As others have said, it'd be nice if the boards were butted together, but it's not an insurmountable problem. Get a foam gun, get some foam and some manky clobber on, and fill the gaps up yourself - good excuse to get hands on and do a bit. Start at one end of the space and work your way down to the other end. Might take you an hour or so, but it'll be worth it. Trim off the next day or in a few hours then tape it over, It'll then be ready for your foil, and next layer of board. May as well make a decent job of it, even if its going to be hidden behind tape, foil, board etc.

Next question regards the installation/overlaying of the final layer of insulation and plasterboard. There's going to be no purpose built service void, as I'll use the roof space and angled voids for services. I've got 60mm PIR + PB to go up. What fixings would/could I use to fix the though the insulation to the timbers, then the plasterboard through the insulation to the timbers? Or is there a better way?

I think the first thing on there that leaps out, would be the Kingspan cavity wall insulation, Being honest with you, that unless your laying the blocks and fitting it yourself dont bother you'll be disappointed with the builders/labourers attempt at it. It's expensive stuff and to see it installed incorrectly will make your head wobble. It's an extension so should be fairly simple to keep on top of the workmanship, but still... Full fill Beads, or batts at 140mm shouldnt be too bad. What's the rest of building like? If you can, get a bit more insulation in the floor. How are you intending to heat the space?

Probably done myself no good whatsoever and have got myself a little confused reading various threads about roof buildups, condensation, vcl's. As was built by the contractor my roof buildup is as follows Dormer roof Slates batten cromar vent 3 membrane 225mm deep rafters. Now I've started filling the rafters from the wallplate all the way to ridge with PIR leaving as recommended a ventilation gap. On the underside where the PIR is flush with the rafters I've foam filled where necessary and taped over joints, and taped over the rafters to the next board. Where the insulation meets at the ridge, I've joined the best I can, foamed and taped over. I'm due to add a layer of insulation, and plasterboard to the underside of the rafters. The inner layer of insulation I was going to fit from wall plate level to ridge level again. Plasterboard will be following the room outline. I'll be attempting to fit an avcl at the wallplate junctions and where the first and last truss meet the blockwork in an attempt at mitigating draughts, and leakage. Is it worth installing the vcl all over the insulation. Are there any other obvious problems with my approach? Thanks in advance.

I'd snap their hands off and have it away

I'd second having a look at Origin.

Cheers, Would the screed be laid upto dpc/door opening level then, or a little below? This could be a depth of 70mm or so if I go with 150mm insulation. Planning on liquid screen, I guess there's a point at which screed can be too thick?

Bit of a dilemma regarding the depths of insulation and screed depths for my ground floor, I'm looking to start purchasing insulation in dribs and drabs whilst some funds allow. Floor build up is Block and Beam, the door openings and DPC are set on 1 concrete block above this, so approx 225mm I think. Originally I'd thought/planned on 150mm PIR, then screed. What sort of screed depth? 60mm? Many thanks

For ducting we used rigid 110mm underground drainage pipe as the duct, 28mm (i think) armorflex insulation around 25mm mpde pipe. No bends as it was a straight run, I've got an existing water supply though to the bungalow on site which is going to be demolished, so will be teeing off that when the time comes. I'm just gonna do what most do round this way, and just crack on with, the water supplier will be non the wiser.

My noob question of the day to those with more experience than I. Thinking about the plumbing and concealing of the pipes. Planning on having plaster over the block work rather than boarding. Most of my plumbing will be vertical up to the floor void, horizontal to where it needs to go and then dropped to location. How best to conceal the pipework on the drops? What's the go to method? I'm assuming chase the wall a bit and recess, clip and plaster? I'd like to avoid boxing wherever possible...

Unburnt fuel in the morning, I'd open the bottom vent a touch more. Like said above, with Solid fuel air from the bottom will help with combustion. With our Dunsley we tend to turn the vent down to 3 or 4... But each stove is different and have their own characteristics in terms of burn rate. What are you burning? Is it solid like anthracite or an ovoid type. We always had an issue with solid anth, it burns when fresh but requires fully open vents later on and even then it leaves lots of clinkers behind, I had to burn it with a log or two to get the most out of it. Also check around you may have pipe stats somewhere that control the CH pump operation, I'm no heating engineer, but i'd expect you'd have one to set the pump going when water reaches the desired temp, and one which shuts the pump off when the water temp drops below a certain temp.