Timedout

We did this back in 2012. Our house had timber frame with brick outer skin. The recess left by the frame designer did not work out correctly and we had to improvise on site. Our joiner was a very resourceful chap and got it sorted. Our cavity closers were the mineral wool firestop type. The VFE projected slightly into the brick but being mounted to the frame and roof had to have movement allowance. We used Compriband expanding foam tape for various junctions but the final seal was usually low modulus silicone. The Compriband was certainly under the VFE. The VFE windows (we only used two) did have a flashing kit and if I recall there were lots of bits left over. We would have followed the Velux hieroglyphs very carefully. They often take a lot of thinking about. My memory is unlikely to fully accurate and I don’t have access to any of my photos at the moment or indeed the next three months or more. I do recall going over the house about a year after finishing and re-sealing where some silicone has torn due to the differential movement. Thereafter it seemed fine. However, we sold the house in 2015 and moved hundreds of miles away. What I do know is that we never had any issues with water ingress at all anywhere in the house. So, whatever we did with the VFE and top hung roof windows attached to them worked as it ought to. Compriband is great stuff but tricky to use. I don’t think there is really a suitable alternative though. Regular squirty foam definitely not. Flexifoam possibly but I do not know if it really has the range of movement the application demands.

Who bought the new tiles? Did the roofer supply them or did the client source them? If the client bought them and said, “fit these tiles” then the client is responsible. If the roofer supplied the tiles then the roofer is responsible. The client can’t expect the roofer to do the impossible or price for the variation of trying make mismatched tiles fit together. it would have been reason to expect a skilled roofer to point out that this was not going to work before the job was done.

Your brickie is correct. DPC should be bedded on mortar and have mortar over it too. This is disregarded by some but is technically correct.

Went through this a long time ago. BC wanted it to stick out so the masons complied. The SE who was providing certification said stuff off I want it flush. I trimmed it flush when we finished, inc skinned knuckles, and it looked poor. Not a squeak out of BC. Thereafter, DPC flush like a pencil line in the mortar.

Try using CIRIA R156.

Altro Whiterock or a similar. Sheeting is about 3mm thick. With the right kit it can be bent to form around corners. It is glued on. https://www.altro.co.uk/Altro-Whiterock-White a bit institutional but easy to clean.

The guy in Paignton is still there I think. Sells mismeasures and redundant stocks.

It’s been a long time since but I bought specials from Cradely Special Bricks. I think the price was a bit fierce but I don’t recall there being a single bad or damaged brick in the whole batch. They were in Cradely Heath and they dealt direct to the public.

I didn’t mention supervision. That comes during the construction phase.

And what level of responsibility are your expecting this person to adopt? You want this person to come to site, measure, draw, design, specify works and prepare documents for building control and tendering plus accept design responsibilities. Presumably someone with a cognate degree, membership of a professional body and professional indemnity insurance.

I’m sure it will be well known but this chap has a handy commentary on planning matters. http://planninglawblog.blogspot.com/

i must be wrong then. Sorry, ignore what I said.

All the information a domestic client needs to be know about CDM is freely available of the HSE website. Your main/principal contractor will adopt control of the site and provide all the necessary H&S plan, risk assessments and method statements. Should also have the required first wider and bring associated reporting documents for accident, RIDDOR etc. This assumes the contractor is a competent contractor under the definition. It’s the client responsibility to appoint a competent contractor. The simplest way to ensure if to use the pre-approved ones listed on ConstructionLine, CHAS etc. Look for their logos on the contractor websites and then check they really are holding valid accreditation. Some folk are careless with facts. You are still responsible overall and effectIvely the deemed employer of all those on site so be vigilant and insured.

In 2012 we built a two storey house of 86sqm footprint. The outer skin of brick, inner timber frame. We had two good bricklayers and one hyperactive labourer. The brick skin took three weeks despite delays due to window headers arriving late and two day delay due to ready mix mortar not arriving. It was a very small site so we bought in ready mix with 48hr retarder. We did not work weekends but were blessed with excellent weather throughout. Another issue was the high proportion of chipped bricks. They were Hanson bricks and the damage was in the packs. Big arguments led to us being given two extra packs. However, the guys on site had lots of sorting and carting of duff bricks and we had them cluttering the site for months. The merchant then had a hissy fit when I gave most of the damaged ones away because I was sick of moving them around. Hanson is not a fair company.

Always go for a man and a machine. The experienced operator will have three time the efficient use of time and can scrape level. The small local chaps are usually really cheap. You can’t get the VAT back on hired equipment but services are zero rated on new build. Just make sure the invoice says ground works services rather than plant hire.

Get a ground investigation and soils analysis. The aim is to determine the beneficial support inherent in the soils. There is strong possibility that the ground is sufficiently resilient for you to batter back (creating a steep slope rather than a vertical face) and use one of the interlocking precast concrete block systems. It will be way cheaper than a concrete wall. I saw one recently that I am fairly sure was Betoconcept that has planting pockets too. .

I won’t use or specify aerated blocks. They are often abused by trades who think they are just concrete. They are not and nor are they homogenous. They don’t fulfil their compressive strength once cut and are tested and perform structurally only when oriented correctly. That does not include laid on their sides. I could bore you with a story of a technical inspection I did on a fire station a couple of years back but it’s too long. In summary, everyone from designer to tradesman got it wrong and the aerated block wall was going into failure and the roof was losing its support. I have built a few structures using lightweight blocks, Thomas Armstrong Insulite. Available in 3.5 and 7N. Lambda about 0.44 so way better than dense blocks, only a tad more expensive than dense and cheaper than aerated. Cut easily, take a good fixing. Trades seem to like them. Why bother with aerated when these things exist. It‘s an up-north outfit but I am sure there will be manufacturers in other areas.

Just registered. We are experienced self builders two new builds, three barn conversions and numerous refurbs over about 40 years. We can all learn from listening to others though so I promise to say little and read a lot. Our interest is energy efficiency as opposed to status. Both our new builds were SAP A. Modest designs, nothing grand (pretentious). Being of northern heritage we are relative peasants. Not interested in the hair-shirt green warrior stuff though, nor brag tags like passivhaus. Just see building regs as a bare minimum.

Just registered. We are experienced self builders two new builds, three barn conversions and numerous refurbs over about 40 years. We can all learn from listening to others though so I promise to say little and read a lot. Our interest is energy efficiency as opposed to status. Both our new builds were SAP A. Modest designs, nothing grand (pretentious). Being of northern heritage we are relative peasants. Not interested in the hair-shirt green warrior stuff though, nor brag tags like passivhaus. Just see building regs as a bare minimum.