Gus Potter

Good observations from the sole, much appreciated by me. It does look like the basic Client requirements / needs have not been met..a garage, annex.. that is stuff you thrash out at the first client meeting.

Daiking. All the best with the digging. Remember that sometimes the journey can just as important as the getting there.

Hello Modernista. Sounds very interesting. Yes you will have a lot to do to upgrade insulation if that is what you intend. Also, you may have a bit of cold formed steel supporting the roof for example, maybe a steel frame in there. Plenty to explore and get your head around. Look forward to seeing some photos in a couple of months.

Sounds like this a communication issue. Seems like you get on well on a personal level. A sit down meeting could sort this out quickly.

Hello Daiking. Is the deck more than 600mm off the ground level, if so then it becomes a structural deck (in Scotland). If so we need to have a look at the lateral stability and so on. You may or may not need a hand rail, you do if more than 600mm off FGL in Scotland. You may want one anyway even if less than 600mm off FGL. Surprisingly you can end up with quite a lot of load on a deck, party time and folk sometimes put planters etc on them too. For your main beams, say the rim beams around the perimeter you may want to go for double 170 / 195 x 45 timbers. This gives you a stiff edge for attaching handrails to say. Also, if you make the rim beams a little deeper you can hide the hangers if you can see under the deck. The deeper edge beam can also form a bit of a drip and this can be helpful. If you can it's good to draw up a detail showing how the edge beams etc rest / attach to the posts. A good way of doing this is to have the heavy beams resting directly in bearing on the posts, maybe take a check out of them. This way you have a direct bearing contact rather than relying on the shear capacity of any bolts / screws. If the deck is only say 200mm off the ground then you could just support thing on small concrete pads and a few blocks?

Are you having a full finish.. by that I mean are they doing a full timber finish or are they just fitting a window into a hole in a kit and leaving it at that? Also, what kind of doors? Are they bifold or sliding / plastic or aluminium? How big are the doors? Some big sliding door glass can take four folk to fit as the glass is heavy and expensive.

Much depends on your circumstances and what you have cover wise to fabricate the panels on site for example. I have a job that comprises a 210m sq bungalow to go up this summer just south of Glasgow, warrant all approved etc. The client has a shed next to the new house. The contactor is going to stick build the panels in the shed. I did a set of panel drawings / nailing schedule for the contractor to follow. The economics seem to stack up for the client. The timber frame is 145 x 45 C24 for the external panels. 95 x 45 C24 for the internal panels, some of which are racking (shear) walls so they are sheeted on one side for building stability. The roof is formed in prefabricated timber trusses with some cut roof infill. The ceiling heights are 2.9m and the house is in a windy spot hence the use of the 145 deep C24 timber for the whole structural frame. This C24 throughout is partly to avoid anyone mixing up timber grades accidentally. In Scotland we have been building TF for a good while.. both stick and prefabricated. In recent decades this has become more mainstream in the southern part of the UK. There are many advantages to stick building so don't rule this out as an option to look at. Here are just a few examples: 1/ You can buy the timber on account at a merchants, no kit deposit to fork out for up front or worries about the TF fabricator going bust. 2/ You can just build the panels you really need for structural stability, stand them up and get the roof on. 3/ It's easier to change your mind as you go.. maybe move a non load bearing wall.. it's your frame! 4/ You can shop about for all the insulation, metal fixings and so on. 5/ If the brickie has not got the found true / square then you can often adjust the panels as you make them on site.. that can be a real bonus as it can take a lot of the heat out of a potential nasty argument over who is to blame. 6/ You can be more sure of the quality and accuracy of the nailing and so on as you can examine the panels before the vapour membrane say is stapled on. 7/ If using say local trades folk it gives them a good run of work, in some ways they can come and go in terms of flexibility, wet days make panels, dry days put them up, that can lead to a saving.

Hello Moggaman. I take it that by HC you mean a hollowcore slab? You may be familiar with the design of these but if not.. and for all. Small occasional service penetrations (say less than 50mm dia) will normally be ok so long as you keep away from any additional rebar, main slab tendons. Once you go beyond this small opening size you need to look really carefully at what you are doing as you may start to get close to the steel and significantly compromise the shear / bending capacity of the slab. It needs careful thought and detailing. Also, once you start to take chunks out of these slabs you need to check the lifting points are still ok. They are not forgiving if they fall during lifting! It's worth doing some background reading on this, get familiar with the terms and talk to the manufactuer at an early stage.

Can you post some photos?..maybe a few floor plans? It will give folk an idea of what you have to work with.

Hi Mortar, No 47mm is better for the ledger. If you have the wrap over type hanger then you want to make sure that you still get the edge distance on the nails on the top wrap over. Also, if you are using a ledger arrangenment then you want to make the ledger as torsionally stiff as you can (twisting) as this helps spread localised load over more fixings. However, there is no free lunch as the thicker you make the ledger the more torsion you get as the end of the truss is sitting further from the wall. If I was doing this analysis I would look at a 47mm thick ledger to start with. For practical design I would always look at what I'm trying to connect to, age of building, type of masonry, then do a fag packet calculation on the truss reactions, then look at what could work technically (especially the masonry fixings), then look at what is practical and economic for a local contractor / DIY self builder to execute. Much can depend on how straight and plumb the existing walls are for example.

I'm puting wet UF in our bathroom refurb. As.. I does get cold up here, I don't want a shock in the morning..ideally the bathroom should just be as warm as the bed you just got out of. I can leave a towel on the floor and it will dry.. if it's too hot I can open the window. I think it dries out the shower tray too so it gets less mouldy so don't need to clean it "that way", also it's really good to step into a warm shower tray, I have delicate feet. Practically UF in the bathroom avoids condensation, keeps the water vapour as a gas and you can vent this via a fan or window.. for me it keeps my talc dry which I like to keep on the bottom shelf of my "vanity unit" near the floor. Lastly if you feel that your heating bills are a bit high then you can just turn that UF circiut off.

As an after thought. If you look carefully at the stated Cullen hanger capacity it's base on a timber grade of TR26 / C27. Now if you want to go the route of the ledger then the TR26 is the same grade of timber that most truss fabricators use. So when you order your trusses get the fabricator to put some loose TR26 timbers at the length you need on the wagon or go and pick them up early. Now you have got all your ducks in a row. All the materials / timber grades are now compatible with the stated connection capacities.

Hi MortarThePoint. Admire your tenacity. Yes the Cullen KH38 has a characteristic capacity of 12.48 kN, SWL is a bit less..for all make sure you don't get your safety factors mixed up. Also note that the capacity is based on the hanger wrapping over the ledger. Now cutting to the chase. Mortar.. ask the truss designer if they can recommend a fixing for the ledger, the ledger depth etc. I think you may find they run a mile. Now, a resin fixing into a standard brick / 7.0 N block has a SWL tension / shear capacity of about 0.8 -1.0 kN with a fair wind. An expanding anchor.. well most are rated based on being installed in concrete for structural applications. To even get this you need to get really lucky in that your ledger has to hit the sweet spot on the coursing (fixings need to be near the centre of the bricks, blocks) and also you need to make sure that the fixings are not to close to the edge of the timber. You have more chance on winning the lottery! Also take say the Hilti fixing data, many of the declared fixing strengths are based on a EU masonry unit size, not what we have in the UK. If you can have a look again at the loads you need to support. Then look at the interface that transfers the load to the wall. That is often the key weak spot. Once you have investigate this then it may be worth having a look again at the simple stupid horn concept.

I think there may a be a good bit missing from this detail. How are the sloping rafters supported, how do you stop moisture passing through the warm roof ceiling and into the sloping part? I think this needs much more thought. I have a similar detail on my own house and it took a lot of thought to get it to work. It's also quite labour intensive to construct. I have ended up with a warm flat roof. The sloping roof is full filled, insulated plasterboard to under side with supplementary vapour barrier. They key for me was to adopt a two pronged approach to the sloping roof. On the sloping roof I used timber sarking with a breathable membrane, counter battens, battens and concrete tiles. The soffit is vented and at the top the roof membrane overhangs the sloping roof with a concealed vent to allow the sloping roof to vent, like a mono pitch roof abutment vent. Basically I decoupled the two types of construction so that the warm roof membrane sheds the water onto a sloping abutment roof. If you look at some of the Marley details they will help, just pretend (it is Easter after all) that the abutment wall is your flat roof. Hope this helps.

A few points worth a look. @MortarThePoint For a short cut you can ask the truss fabricator for the reactions at each end of the truss. Or you can go back and check your calcs. If you want you can show them all but it looks like you may not have included a roof access / snow load / wind load in your provisional calculations. Often once the truss manufacturer knows they are getting the order they wil give you the support reactions. Make sure you know if these are factored or unfactored reactions (with or without safety factors) as this is important when selecting a hanger / choosing the right fixing if using a ledger. Often you find with something like this is all is going great until you try and select a hanger / ledger fixing. Many fixings are rated on being installed in uncracked concrete. Blocks are different and aerated concrete blocks are worse. You find that you can't get the shear / tensile capacity of the fixings to support the loads. Also tie straps are meant to be built into the blockwork as it is going up, their rating is based on this. Face fixing straps requires a good look, not least as they bend, rawl plugs don't have the tie capacity that a built in strap has. In summary, ask what kind of blocks do you have and how can you fix, tie to them. You may find that the truss with the horn removes a lot of issues. If you are in any doubt them please consult and SE.

Volcane ...500 litres is a fair weight if not going on the ground floor or over a load bearing wall. Worth a quick thought if applicable to your plans. Yes, if on say a first floor you can double up joists and so on but you still often need to get the pipework in. PeterW's point also allows you to spread the loads out a bit.

Thanks Oz07. This can work out as a simple solution. If you are doing it DIY then it can work well. You can chain drill the pockets with an SDS drill, take your time, avoid dropping a lot of fragments down the cavity (if you have a cavity wall) while getting the pockets pretty level. Also, with a horn like this you get a little more play in the trusses. Say the wall you are joining onto is not straight then you can move the trusses a little horizontally so the rafters of the trusses plane nicely. Often you get the horn a little longer then trim on site to suit. With the hanger option you often find that the nails for the hangers (or hangers themselves) clash with the truss nail plates and intuitively we know that if you have too many nails in a bit of timber this is not a good thing.

Hello ashthekid. You'll get lots of adivise and pointers here. Look at the simple stuff first. Start at the top.. the roof and check gutters, down pipes and all the obvious stuff. If could well be that by opening up you have let the air into the wall, spring is on us and the wall is warming up, hence the fauna. The pointing looks like it requires some attention so that the wall can dry out properly. Just as an aside it looks like the wall on the outside maybe has had a flush of nutriants. Could be you have a lot of birds on the roof and if the gutters have been blocked you have washed fertiliser down the walls. This is a bit of an odd question but are you near a bonded warehouse, bakery as these can be associated with a black fungus.

Hi MortarThePoint. The ledger option can work well but as Peter points out you get this twisting effect. Often you get stuck with ledgers as you stuggle to get the fixing capacity. Many fixings are rated on, not least, being fixed away from the mortar bed etc. If you have perforated bricks say the capacity of the fixings really drops off. Expanding type anchors don't work well in perforated brick and there is little test data available. I have attached a very quick sketch showing another way of doing this where you extend the bottom chord and pocket the wall. You can add glued hardwood packers to level up. Here you get a good solid bearing on the masonry and by using the dwangs / noggings you can add extra horizontal tying of the trusses into the existing wall. You may need to beef up the bottom chord a little as it is acting in shear rather than bearing.

Hi dpmiller I'm doing a DIY extension in between the day job. Have done a bit of plastering years ago but I have lots of corners and want to get some detail. I want to have a play with some shaddow gaps. Also, I have a nice set of Aluminium windows and doors, don't want them scratched so want to do it myself, although it will take me longer. I have got some 2.0mm stop beads for the window ingoes. I think I'll set them back about 3.0 - 4.0mm from the window frame then mastic to try an avoid that hard to paint / wall paper bit between the window frame and the plaster / ames taping that tends to shrink away over time. I'm not sure how this will all pan out but I want to experiment. Once you get into this type of work then you can't really go on a sq metre price. I'm aiming to start the plastering next week so will try and post some photos etc. and a time / material log on a DIY basis for comparison.

Yes, dp's point is worth exploring. Have a look at your floor levels. Also, lift the carpets etc and look at the old floor boards if still there. If it was a coal store, now removed, you may be able to see how the floor has been patched up where the old coal cellar walls have been removed, all these clues a can help.

Well done Conor. Yes get the hand rail on and don't over load them. Let us know how "bouncy" they are once you have used them for a bit. Once you get the hang of it you can do some cracking stairs going the over cladding route.

If you are self building and have a temp cabin / static caravan then yes you don't want it to blow over in the wind if you are in a windy spot. Depends on how long you need the cabin for. Say a year to two.. two winters. Here you can build some planters, fill them with soil and take ratchet straps over the roof. Pad the straps so you don't damage the roof thus can sell temp home on to another self builder with little if any loss if you look after it. You can build the planters on a pallet with a spreader board under, round which you put the strap. The strap does not rot as often they are nylon, and, as it is Easter at the moment you can decorate said strap with bunting or whatever takes your fancy. The great thing here is that you can start to play with your plants, get them started, grow raddishes, herbs etc for fun, it can take the sting out of some builder problems, small daft things like this can motivate you to carry on. Some times when all is looking glum then you feel that you are making a start on the garden and eating you own food! Great for kids too! As a rough guide if you live in a windy spot then you could get some 100 -150 kg of uplift per square metre of cabin roof area. Thus if you take a 3.0m wide cabin then you'll get about 0.5 x 3.0m x 150kg = 225 kg max per side per metre run. A planter ( 1.0 x 1.0 x 0.5 deep) weighs about 600 - 800 kg so if you site them at about 2.5 - 3.0m then you are on the ball park to holding everything down. You can calculate the uplift wind forces on a temporary structure but there is a fair bit in it if you don't want an overly conservative design. Oh, and back to the fun bit. It can lift the spirits to have planters etc and play about when you are stressed / knackered. With a leep of faith you can "almost" think.. like this is a camping / cheep holiday home in reverse. Enjoy the "glamping" as this can be part of the selfbuild experience that you will always remember. Lastly in terms of the cabin settlng this is often less of an issue. A bit of hard core, a few slabs, monitor from time to time and jack / pack the legs if need be. Basically if the doors and windows start to jamb or you can see it running off on a spirit level then and re level. It's the wind uplift that is the dangerous bit! All the best.

I'll touch on the soft skills. Most of us are not daft, yes we have our daft moments from time to time, posting on BH is probably one of mine. A while ago there was a sales theory called the FUD factor. You can read about this on the web (for some on BH.. to take you back..Motorolla / Six Sigma etc..) but it goes; fear, uncertainty and doubt. You puntloos may be at the uncertainty stage? I would start to talk to builders, they will be keen as you now have your permissions. They will take your job as a live job that is worth them putting a bit of effort into getting. Don't forget that this is a people business, builders are people too. Some are great, the best will guide you, deliver what you want, look after you..you can become long term friends! Trust your gut feeling. Open up and start talking to builders, tell them what your are worried about..discuss the technical aspects with them. The builders you want will answer a lot of these questions. You will need to put a bit of work into finding them as they will be very busy. These builders are not cheep but you get what you pay for.with. A good team can work together to get the job done.. you.. the builder and designer! Have a look at this people side of things and it can take a lot of worry out a job.

Much depends on what you are after. Do you just want some paperwork to get you over the line for lending. Or do you want someone (Architect say) that will keep a real eye on the build quality (rather than the absolute basic race to the bottom, minimal visits etc, all caveated), help you out a bit if you have an arguement over the builders bill or nip to site if the builder gets stuck and needs some reassurance? Yes, builders are human too, sometimes they just need a hand / maybe talk about something they have not done before with the designer. Remember that builders need to learn / gain experience as they progress in life, just like the rest of us. You can for example discuss with your Architect what it may cost to keep a "watching brief" over the job. This is a half way house between full contract administration and site supervision (with the associated cost) and you just being left to get on with it on your own. This can work but needs to be set up the right way. Essentially for you if all goes ok on site you can save a bit, if not then you have backup. However, to make this work requires a bespoke agreement. It can pay dividends but you need to do a bit of work and be able to take a holistic view. I would look at this in the round. Set this up right and you will save much more than the differance between the warranty and PCC cost. Also, set it up right and you probably won't need to make a claim, thus the level of PI cover is much muted and you can enjoy your house without getting into a barny. If you have a complex house in terms of engineering then also look at what cover the SE has. An SE may carry some £1.0 - 2.0m PI cover even for domestic work.