Alexphd1

@Triassic do you have any photos of your home made props might be handy on next build.

Hi and welcome. Their are a few of us on here from the shire which has been handy (for me anyway) for info/contacts. As mentioned above mvhr is worth reconsidering, but bpc are pretty expensive but do provide a good service and guidance for self builder.

We are coming in at well under £1k with all costs Inc land purchase grid connection in NE Scotland but where very lucky with land purchase (bankruptcy auction with no local advertising just a billboard on ground). We have done 95% of work ourselves over 3 years to a high spec. If we went down a main contractor route and bought everything from local build/plumb merchant I think we would be around £2k job finished. Also lucky to split a lot of costs with other build next door.

Yeah it all depends on the cost of the mcs option. I have never seen a 7 and 8 port manifold needed for 140m2 floor area?

That's a beast!

@Cpd 55mm on sds plus, or sds max (common size on max)? Think our biggest is 28mm on plus then 48mm on max. John, I have never seen a wet rig set up for a sds hammer function but plenty on core drill although we only have a dry core set up but that is useless for aberdeen granite.

If the flue is installed running downwards to the outside that is a pretty bad error by the installer, you may possibly get enough play on flue depending on size of hole cored without any major upheaval of lowering boiler etc to reposition flue. But this could be something simple as a seal being nipped or not sitting corectly in the flue but whatever it needs a gas safe guy out.

I remember something about the worcester cdi's didnt like preheated water but this was years ago. A esbe 1 inch solar diverter is approx £120, £500 installed seams a bit high.

What ever happens the flue will need to dismantled and checked by a qualified person. My first port of call would be the guy who fitted it in the 1st place. In the mean time install one of those carbon monoxide alarms close to it.

Unfortunately we where a lot longer than a day, more like a week! Possibly the learning curve had something to with this and we had 4-5 passes to make up depth. This photo may give you a better idea of the extra rafter between the hanging post and ceiling.

We actually hung a extra rafter between the hanging post and ceiling and the target was stop the insulation somewhere in the 2nd rafter so no/very little cutting back was required where the plaster board fixes to. Downside 9f this we lost a bit more headroom. The main rafter from the wall to the ridge beam was 100% covered. I will add more photos tomorrow to make clear. Unfortunately we had a fair bit of splatter.

Sorry forgot to report back. 500m2 sprayed at 400mm. No big issues. Very little to cut back. Icynene is just another brand (who only sell opencell insulation), lapolla their big UK rival have both closed and open cell but both only sell to approved installers. We came across 2 or 3 suppliers in the UK who where happy to sell us but ended up buying from Ireland.

Jon, yes just the membrane under the flashing kit for the panel. Google gse in roof and have a look at images, the membrane stays dry and out of UV. As for the cost saving on roof covering, I don't fully agree with this (unless very expensive roof ie Welsh slate) as the flashings are pretty expensive on there own but it does make a very nice job!

Is it a difficult installation? Is it in roof or on roof. Approx £1.40 (+vat) per watt installed seams a bit high with no FIT. Why not spec and buy the kit yourself, find a decent sparkie to do the electrical side and a roofer for the roof work. Probably comfortablely half that quote.

I remember a bit on a nudara icf installation video of them doing big cuts for uneven surface.

Yeah John creates more problems than solves!

Big concrete pours are scary, our highest was approx 4.5m (inc gables) and i don't think i would do it again. It gets difficult around windows on the floor below. A lot of bracing is needed! even working the poker is bigger job! TBH First 24 hours after pour for us was very unproductive..... i was just walking around in a daze with a big smile! I think you can starting building the next icf course pretty quick after the pour but I would hold of a while before pouring the concrete, that's where the weight is! A stupid idea if you where doing two floors per pours i would consider not cutting out windows and doors and cut them out after concrete has cured (be careful this idea prob creates more problems than it helps!)???

John, that was the main reason I stopped looking at steel tied ICF.

I am always very wary of the term "future proof" I prefer to make upgrading in the future more easy with running in trunking conduit etc but your build being a flat roof bungalow makes this a bit more difficult. I recently visited a selfbuild property being fitted out with KNX and was initially very impressed but the more I thought about it the more I came to the conclusion it was creating expensive solutions for problems that don't really exist. Can you do any DIY, you could always run in some CAT/cctv cable yourself to use at a later date.

Don't forget fleebay for (new) tools.

I have some 8 core alarm and the door bell cable (used for garage door opener) running alongside 240v mains cable. Is there anything to minimize interference between the cables? I read somewhere use cat 5e this helps or if can keep 75mm clearance will be ok.

Ah blue-ray that's a blast from the past ?

Yeah used them and done training with them aswell. Decent company.

What you are planning to run no need for 3 phase but for the small extra I would put it in.

Regarding digging your own trench, ask them for a price to dig the trench then think of it the other way.....how much you are saving for a couple of days work. Probably a few £k! They only use conduit for coming into the house so a few meters max.