Daniel

Wow that a lot of extremely useful information, very much appreciated, I'm making notes here.. Btw, have anyone heard of PWF-SIP (pressure treated SIP foundation)?

Hi Peter The 7.5m span is a real concern at the moment. I hoped to avoid steel and welding ICF all round seems looks like a considerable option. I though of alternating the concrete core width and using taper forms as a ledge for joists in the case of allaround ICF Speaking about 7.5m span: does anyone have experience with laying joists over such a distance? I've checked I-wooden joists, LVL beams, charts for regular lumber - the depth (height) necessary seems to be around 35cm. Which is not space saving at all. If i got everything correctly. That's for overall load of 200 kg/m2 for both the floor and the roof. So I'm now a bit confused

Hello Ferdinand All planning and neighbours questions are being dealt with by my wife and very fortunately she has quite an extensive experience in both. I think will be able to start building by the end of the summer

Hi Was it a basement conversion project or a new build? Just wondering about 300mm thickness, how many floor upstairs are you basement walls holding? I've found an engineer but haven't given him a specific task yet, until things are more or less settled down in my own head.. He estimated roughly that 250mm would be probably enough, though I really hoped for 200mil And btw why did you choose polarwall? I'd appreciate if you could tell me what was a price per sq.m. according or simply pm their quote so I could compare with other suppliers. And how did you waterproof btw? Thanks

Based on prices on SIPs from this page (http://www.supersips.uk.com/structural-insulated-panels-prices.htm) I think I probably should consider buying instead OSB sheets (around 7 pounds per sq.m.) + separate eps sheets (8-10 pounds per sq. m.). That could make it twice cheaper. And longer.. Which other constructions should I look at? Thanks!

Hello Could you please drop some light on risks of using nudura for basements? The project is going to be more of a diy type and I want to avoid having extra workers involved as much as possible, that's why the idea of the blocks is so appealing.. though the quote on them and accessories seems to be quite not very cheap, I hope to "return" the investments by not paying others (this type of approach suits those who have nothing else to do anyway.. like me at the moment) How to put a man in between the excavation and icf that's what I'm still thinking about. My wife is in charge of talking to neighbours For waterproofing I was going to use waterproof concrete, stick and peel / or spray paint rubbery paint and drainage membrane accompanied with a drainage pipe along the perimeter covered with gravel. I hope this will work

Hello I'm going to build a one storey garden house with basement this summer. I haven't really build a lot before so I would appreciate an advice here. The site is very tight and one of the objectives of the project is to utilise as much space as possible efficiently, so every inch of the wall width counts here. I'm going to build it mostly myself with one assistant builder and have to squeeze the project into a lowest possible budget. The building plan as very simple being effectively just a box of 7.5m x 11.5m with basement and 1st floor both 2.5-2.7m tall. There will be one internal non-bearing wall and a flat roof. 1) Basement walls and ICF ICF blocks seem to be hugely advertised nowadays by I'm not sure is there real value behind it? Self-building seems pretty straight-forward especially after studying manuals. I'm considering the possibility of building either basement walls of ICF and first floor of SIP and frame or building both basement and first floor of ICF. Does anyone here have experience with them? Should I really be using them especially in terms of saving precious centimeters of the wall thickness while achieving sufficient U-value There are quite a few ICF suppliers on the market, which ones are cheaper and still good quality? I've requested a quote from Nudura (and studied their docs quite thoroughly) but expect the quote to be quite high If not ICF that which other options should I consider for basement walls? What would be your opinion on the thickness of these walls. I know people are mostly using 8" and more thick concrete for basements, by do you think it would be technically possible to go with 6" by adding extra rebar? Or even 4". I just must save every extra inch, that's crucial 2) First floor walls, roof and SIP I was thinking maybe I should build everything higher than the basement of SIPs? Including the roof. Am I right that I wouldn't need vertical steel supports for SIPs in such a case? Which other ways for building first floor and roof should I think of? It should be space efficient. Also I'd better save on extra labour in favour of pre-build units like SIP. I'd be glad to provide any additional information needed.. Thanks!