bissoejosh

Looks great, is that insulation under the brick plinth? EPS Raft of similar?

I like the forgefix torx head available at tool station. The klokow website mentioned is brilliant for Spax, all our cladding screws came from them.

I had been planning to fit ASHP pipe through the walls and have left a section uninsulated temporarily for access. Is this a bad idea? It isn't too late to add through slab (beam and block in our case) ducts if it makes a significant difference.

This is interesting. I've just had my duct delivered and laid but was told that the duct must finish externally and cannot pass through the slab. I questioned this several times to receive the same answer. Perhaps it depends on the inspector in your area. I'm still tempted to try and bring it through the floor and hope the local engineer doesn't mind but it would be a pain if on connection day I had to reroute.

I was hoping to use Cellulose in my I-beam frame but I just couldn't make the numbers work within our budget. Instead I switched to 300mm of Rockwool bought at a decent price in bulk and saved a considerable amount. My recommendation if doing it again would be to look at getting the roof blown in Cellulose and do the walls yourself as a compromise in something like rock wool. Walls are easy, the roof was tedious as is any job working about your head. The Rockwool seems incredibly dense and even with some openings not yet permanently blocked the house feels very soundproof with little temperature change throughout the day.

Received this order earlier this evening. Friendly delivery driver and the boards are all wrapped liked new - I've had much worse quality delivered by my local merchants. 100% recommended.

Thanks @ProDave @PeterW. I'll make sure I mark the spot exactly should any leaks be detected once it's connected.

Laying my water main - 32mm 100m coil. Got within 10m of the end of the trench and yep it kinks good and proper, looks knackered to me. Solutions greatly appreciated as I'm backfilling tomorrow! Is a join below ground a disaster waiting to happen? Many thanks in advance!

I've just had an email from Seconds and Co who are offering cheaper insulation boards for 4 days. I'm about to order a load of 150mm K103 @ £24 per sheet ex vat to put under a screed. Worth a look...

Did you sort this @albert ? Can you give a ballpark price you expected to pay based on your discussions in the summer? I'm curious to know how it compares UK offerings.

I'd save the £12,000 and spend a small amount upgrading (if it's not already in the spec) the internal OSB to an airtight version + some tape. This should make DIY airtightness as straightforward as possible.

I've got 18v Milwaukee stuff and it's been excellent - not just in terms of the tools but also the after service. I had a chuck fail and organised the repair via their online portal (3 year extended warranty).... next day UPS collection, one day repair and next day back to me. No costs incurred and without the tool less than 5 days. That said in the UK it is hard to Ignore Makita for range of tools / value.

What depth screed are you doing?

I think they make great screws. Ive bought thousands for our cladding from this place: https://www.klokow-gmbh.de Recommended by @Onoff and considerably cheaper than anything I could find in the UK - delivery is super fast.

Many thanks for the suggestions

Nice, is that a Cullen design? Pumped insulation?

Google, why didn't I think of that. Only £36.82 a roll delivered, bargain. But more seriously a lot of people used passive house systems so I suspect there is an equivalent supplier out there that people have perhaps used recently?

Has anyone purchased VCL / airtight membranes recently and if so where from? I've been trying for several weeks to order through passive house systems but seem unable to do so as they no longer sell to the public direct. If anyone has any recommendations for alternative suppliers that would be great, even better if they stock Gerband products as I'm a big fan of the 586 tape. Many thanks

I think it depends on the manufacturer guidelines but I've set mine at 900mm for Brett Martin Prostyle 106mm on a 32 degree roof. Incidentally these seem to have a pretty high capacity for a given width and seem really well made.

All looks fantastic, really like the ceiling detail.

I've got 3g Velfac, no issues with the ordering process or with the product. All self measured, and self installed. As mentioned the measuring allowances need careful consideration but once you look at the detail drawings it makes sense. We had a small amount of damage on one door frame during transit / delivery which was repaired without argument.

We also have the Build Zone / BBS combo, no complaints so far - our inspector is great.

Jet the hose - not Jet Hose. As in sprinkle the garden hose with a small amount of pressure, all I said was it was surprising how little pressure was needed. I used a Garden hose to test after witnessing driving rain penetrating the membrane.

It was Cromar vent 3 classic. https://cromarbuildingproducts.com/products/vent3-classic/ I used the Vent 3 pro https://cromarbuildingproducts.com/products/vent3-pro/ on the roof after a recommendation on here and was really impressed with it. Roofs require a W1 class membrane which is basically how much water is allowed through. The TF200 I used was a W2 product which passes building regs on walls but as explained in driving rain water was getting through which I didn't like and which could be replicated with a surprisingly low jet from a hose. I appreciate that once cladding etc is on the walls won't have anywhere like the same exposure as they do during the build but I didn't like seeing droplets form on the inside where I had window openings and wet OSB behind!

Jet the hose at each of them, I did a lot of our walls with TF200 only to realise if the rain was driving it went right through but held water like your test no problem. I contacted the manufacturer who tested a swatch and confirmed it was as it should be and fit for purpose. I disagreed and replaced the lot with a W1 class roofing membrane from Cromar which doesn't let a drop in. Appreciate your membranes are roofing class but might be worth posting for others.