skeg0

So does that mean you can continue to have work done (which you can include in your vat reclaim) after the point of building control sign off up to 6 months? This is a really useful thread - sorry for hijacking! And thanks!

Does that mean what I have above is ballast? Cheers!

Please excuse the noob question! Concreting and wall building is the next skill to learn in our house build process… I have half a bag of this (see attached image - paver for reference) left over from a house build. I am needing to build a small retaining wall to bring up ground levels by a small amount and wanted to know whether the bag of what is in the picture is of ‘mixed aggregate’? And therefore suitable for mixing with cement to create my wall footing. I will need a depth of 300mm, width 450mm length 6m. If it is suitable, then I shall use it but assume it won’t be enough for the above trench so will need to order some more. I think a 6:1 ratio is standard practice for this of aggregate to c20 cement? Thanks so much for your help!

Our contractors have left this outside door way to our garden store unfinished. I will be getting a concrete block for the bottom part but not sure about how best to finish the walls. Its outside so will be exposed to the elements. it’s a timber frame build with brick surround so the inner wall in the picture is mostly wood. Any advice most appreciated!

Unfortunately I don't think it is the case for us. We have been told specifically by the BCO that it needs to be hard standing and from what I gather reading other posts on this forum, they seem to be more strict up in Scotland than they are down south - if indeed you are based in Preston. So as much as I would like to stick with the type 1 we have throughout the drive, I don't think they will let us . So the next best thing is temporary paving.

Hi! We are very close to being signed off on our new build. One of the remaining items is having an accessible pathway from the street pavement to our current mono block paving which will need to be around 7m in length. Ultimately we will be mono blocking the whole thing, but this will take quite a bit more expense and time as there are drains/inspection chambers that need to be dealt with. The BCO has told me that all he needs is an accessible pathway from the road. So my plan would be to put in a 'temporary' paved path with 45x45mm slabs laid on top of sand (with approx 150mm type 1 below), but I am not sure whether this would be acceptable? Many thanks! We are located in Stirling, Scotland

Hi! Just wondering what the best approach would be to prevent our guttering downpipes overshooting their hoppers. Don't want to introduce anything that the BCO may complain about. Is it ok to drop straight in without a curve? Thanks!

Hi! Yes I am sure it's registered with the PAF. It appears as per the link posted above (https://www.royalmail.com/find-a-postcode) by @garrymartin. The registration process was carried out by the local council who informed the PO

We have had our new build property registered with Royal Mail now for about 2/3 months. Still our address isn't appearing in various online address tools not to mention DPD and Sainsbury's not being able to deliver to us as clearly whatever tools they are using haven't updated yet! Just wondering if anyone else has had this issue and whether or not they were able to do anything about it? I dont really want to change our address to our neighbours only to then change it again further down the line to what it should be. I can see it in Google Maps for example, but other map providers don't have it. It has even preventing us in getting some services installed. Thanks! Edit: We are located in Scotland

Hi! I am needing to tile right up to our kitchen door with 600x600 porcelain tiles - the tiles will need to span UFH concrete screed, expansion/insulation gap and then onto wood surrounding the door frame (house is of timber frame construction) as you can see in the picture. I’d obviously like to be able to have a single tile span all of the materials right up to the door, but assuming this is not possible due to differing expansion/contraction properties of both the UFH screed and wood etc. So my question is what should I be doing here? I’ve been using flexible tile adhesive under the kitchen floor tiles on top of the screed - would it be flexible enough to handle different materials for example? Or should I cut tiles to match the wooden area, and screed area and have plastic expansion gap in between? - Not too keen on that one as it won’t look the best but don’t want to be having to re-tile any time soon! Any advice most appreciated!

That wound be a resounding no then! Messages received - thanks for the input!

Im about to lay 24x11.5cm floor tiles onto a self levelling Ufh screed - so pretty level. I don’t like using tile levelling systems as I find them very fiddly and manage fine without them usually (mostly on larger wall and floor tiles so far which are easier to see any levelling issues with). However I don’t think it will be as easy to maintain a level floor with these size of tile and a tile levelling system seems overkill as they are so small. My question is - seeing as my screed will be as close to level as I can get, can I not use tile spacers as my levelling method by placing (for example) 4 under each tile and into the adhesive? I’m thinking a 3mm high tile spacer pushed into adhesive that has been spread with a 6mm ridged trowel for example should ensure enough tile contact - then I just need to push until the tile comes into contact with the spacers. Is there any reason at all not to do this? Would save me so much time but can’t find any examples of others doing it. i will probably be using flexible adhesive if this makes a difference.

ok cool well good luck with it! Fingers crossed.

@Hastings Did you have any issues with building control eventually on this? We are in a similar position. Our building control officers told us on site we should have a shower tray with minimal height of 15mm but I can't see anything in the documentation that supports this. We have bought a high shower tray which is about 30cm high specifically as it fits our needs now. I really dont want to have to buy and install a low profile tray in order to go and rip it our later.. seems rather ridiculous tbh. We will have a bathroom on another level though which suggests we may not need to worry about it based on the text you posted above. But yeah, was curious as to how you got on, we are Scotland based too. Cheers!

Yeah I know I go to them directly, but it's mainly about finding someone who will be able to do the digging (electricity is furthest so aiming for that for now) at a reasonable price. SSE have even told me themselves they are expensive. So if I can find someone who will dig and then maybe sort me out with at least one of the connections then that will help the old bank balance

Hi! I am having real difficulty in finding local tradesman to provide utility connections for our new build project in Dunblane. We are after Electricity, Water foul and water supply and potentially telecoms. We are right beside the (quiet, normal, residential, 2-way) road where all the connections lie - electricity on the far side and water on the side closest to us. And a temporary supply to help with the build will require roughly 6m distance at the most from electricity at the far side of the road to within our plot. I have a quotation from Crown Energy for ~£11k for all connections which seems massively expensive - but Crown inform me they subcontract everything so I'm not entirely sure why I need them. I am therefore trying to find a local (ish) contractor who might be able to do this for me (the disputables) but I am having trouble sourcing one. Can anyone provide any recommendations? Thanks so much in advance!

Hi @Gow I just wondered whether you went ahead with the roller shutters in your project and whether you could give any notes on your experience with Avos Dim? If that is indeed who you went with. We are also looking to install roller shutters in our self build project (also in Scotland) - and are influenced by shutters in Germany where we spend a lot of time. I get the impression that UK providers may not be as cheap as European, so keen to learn of any experience you have. As part of our building warrant application, we have been asked to provide information on what happens in the event of an emergency and the shutters are down. With manual this wouldn't be an issue, but electric, with a power cut, raises some concerns with building standards it seems - did you have anything similar? Cheers!