ruggers

Masonry build here. So to be clear, you're going from under the beams, then turn up vertically to protect the ends of the beams, then coming back in over the top of the first block thats laid onto the beam and block floor? Which on my sketch would be from A to C? 100 under the beam, 150 beam, 225 block, 100 back into the coursing, Total, 600 minimum. Where as I was wanting to wrap from A to B because my wall ties and insulation will start At B, so 400 wide roll.

Thanks, it was to check how the beam ends are protected from moisture ingress from the cavity. Some add plastic caps, or bitumen paint the ends, or dpc wrap as described, others just leave them exposed. The bottom of my insulation starts level with the top of the beams and a thermal block will be used for the first inner course to minimise thermal bridging. The original builder wanted to have a dpc wrap from A to B, said they always do it that way. I'm aware of the make up layers for the dpm and ufh, but not which way they under or or over lap the dpc skirt. The newspaper builder will know this, but for my understanding, I'd assume the dpc hangs vertically down the wall into the room, and the dpm comes across the floor then laps up the wall, over lapping the dpc and tape sealed between the two?

Thanks for sharing John

I'm due to install my beam and block floor and my plans are generic rubbish, I'd like to know where the dpc should be placed. Ive attached a sketch of my build up.(insulation not added to sketch). A: this Will require dpc under the beam ends. Some builders place a wider dpc under the beams, like a 400mm wide and wrap the end of the beams exposed to the cavity, then bringing it back over the top of the infill blocks at B. Is this ok, or does it cause a slip plane since A & C are required. 😄 this will be the dpc skirt 300mm?

If I install a heat pump I'd have to instal a heat pump cylinder with a large coil. Some of the 250L ones I've seen are around 41Kw coil, but the heat pumps don't produce anywhere near that output even in summer which is confusing. I've noticed the 300L heat pump cylinders have only 230L of usable hot water. 250L is 200 or 210L usable. I looked at heat pump cylinders even if I was to install a boiler, so that it's one less thing to think about if a heat pump is later installed but then thought, it's probably better to just size one to the boiler now, because in 15 years time you'd probably want a newer cylinder that matches the heat pump technology at that time. If the boiler PDHW output is 17.9Kw having a larger coil doesn't bring many benefits on reheat times. What output is your heat pump in PDHW and its min modulation? Did you install it yourself?

I don't quite understand this quoted suggestion? it will be PDHW so how would this help with a boiler?

I've looked into this a lot over the last two years, it's just narrowing it down so it's suited to either system. Change of circumstances means my budget is tight and heat pump quotes were coming in very expensive even with the £7500 grant it's more expensive than gas. Theres just no local installer within a 1.5 hr drive for heat pumps or Viessmann. Everything will be designed for DT5 at max MWT 37.5c either way so it's heat pump ready. . The only suitable boiler to stand a chance on a 5 to 5.65Kw heat loss is the Viessmann 200W 11 Kw system boiler which has the 1.9Kw min modulation and 30 degrees minimum flow temperature, 17.9Kw DHW, this is what I've based things on but don't want the short cycling issue, so might need to look at a buffer or 1st floor UFH. I just need it finalised so I can budget. My house will have a high level of airtightness and MVHR, but the insulation will be fixed at whats been planned and I don't think it will be exceptional and require no need to heat the upstairs like some builds. Some heat engineers like open loop, others have told me it's better to have two mixed circuits than open loop because often the radiators upstairs will require less flow temperature than the ground floor, Vaillant renewables suggested this too. I wondered what the benefits of an ASHP would be over the V200 since it would cost me more to install, the heat geek calculations suggest the same running costs, and then the annual services cost 3x as much. It's just that gas will be easier to get services and repairs done. My preference was to be able to control each floor independently but within 2 or 3 degrees of each other so that I can run the ground floor UFH later in the evening without heating upstairs when kids are in bed with a set back temperature. All rooms will be sized for 21C so that the upstairs bedrooms/WFH office are warm during the day If I was to go ASHP, it will be a Viessmann 150A 6Kw, or a Vaillant Arotherm plus 5Kw.

Interesting John. From memory, you have a large house low heat loss but was it one floor and no radiators, all UFH? I had to pause my build after starting and a year on looking to restart and finding it hard to get advice for gas because everyone takes offence if not installing a heat pump if a new build not knowing that theres almost zero installers anywhere near me. With having radiators upstairs they'll heat differently for me so the load phasing you mention could leave me cold upstairs although i did want two mixed circuit heating zones running two curves over just one open loop preferably.

Did you ever get a buffer fitted or fix your cycling issue? How do you get a 26° flow temperature when the lowest boiler fliw is 30°?

I'll PM you the plans over then it makes more sense. The porch to house UPVC lockable door i wanted to be at least the same width 838mm as the internal doors so it's easy for moving furniture about. 1023 is the dimension I required because once you've deducted 140mm for each side of the frame, plus around 25mm for the door when it's open at 90 degrees, this brings you down to the similar sized opening of 850 ish.

I just noticed this post after I'd replied. The rests all out the ground by 3 courses so I'll check if the 6750 is exactly that, I'm just figuring out how to sort the 2900 to 2025 while i wait for a different builder, lucky i had a sanity check at this stage. For 3 course of block 1.9m long it could easily be took apart and changed. (No trench blocks, or infill) *edit - I think i understand why you've suggested 6740, thinking the right hand side to deduct the end perp for an external corner, but its an internal corner so another bricks there.

@Canski thanks for the advice. There was a few things changed which i didnt like and when questioned it caused an argument, the porch sside was 1800 but they changed it to 1900, part of house was 12,600 but changed to 12,700 with no explanation. Just to clarify, what size is classed as half a brick is it 107 or 102? The header you mentioned is the brick end at 102.5? What width should a doorway to outside be for wheelchair access to match 838 internal doors. Frames are usually 70mm each side.

I've read your comments, looked at the plans today with fresh eyes and found a way to simplify it or correct it if it can be classed as wrong. See attached sketch to get the idea. (Red pen is correction which works better) As mentioned, I designed the outside walls corner to corner to match brick sizes by full/half bricks and kept all of the openings between reveals to the same spacing. The person who done the regs plans changed some things that weren't required & said it's not worth changing back. The porch width should be 2925mm not 2900, this would allow the centred 1st floor window above it, to then sit symmetrical with the correct brick bond to each side of the window if the window width is reduced from 1200mm to 1125. It leaves 900mm for full and half cuts, rather than 850mm which would end up messy. @Dave Jones Yes I sometimes overthink things, but I believe this to be something important that should have been correct on the plans.

This is what I originally done but the sizes were changed on the porch and 1st floor window width which I only thought more about when looking to order sills. Good tips. I was unsure how opening sizes are covered that don't work out well to brick bond spacing. I don't image everyones windows and door opening are designed to whole brick sizes unless this is a rule architects do work to? Block work and render is much less important. I spoke to the supplier today who said if ordered in two sections which large ones come in anyways, they can just be cut down as the bars are set back from the ends however much i ask for when they cast them. Yeah so with slip sills, you have two choices, you can either install them to the width of the window brick opening only, or you can order them longer, say 50mm each side, and do an L shaped cut out (horn). I wasn't sure if the latter is beneficial to direct rain water run off, without leaving dirty streak marks down the face of the wall each side of the sill like you sometimes see. Slip sills have the benefit of being fit once the brickwork is completed, where as stooled sills need the correct sizes and built in as you go along and are already wider than the opening for run off. I'm not sure if slip sills are ever used with face bricks but they do seem less hassle.

I put this in the OP, 215 long x 102.5 wide x 65mm high.

Theres a lot of mention that your doing this to the outside but your OP states battens to the inside with PIR between. I considered adding insulated plasterboard instead of regular board to the inside of my self build walls which were the same construction as yours plus a 50mm cavity air gap and these are 0.17W/m2K. The whole property heat loss for 200m2 was only going to improve by 0.3W/m2K when I tried it on my heat loss survey which didn't seem enough for a 2 grand+ outlay on the boards. I was also unsure whether it was worth adding 37.5mm insulated plasterboards because it affects the thermal mass of the building. Some say more insulation trumps thermal mass, but others say having thermal mass is good with weather compensated controls in an unstable weather area so I'm likely to leave the insulation & not to risk it. You need to think how you will heat your home, will it be on all the time weather comp, or will you have on off controls and the house be fluctuate from really cold to full temperature and how fast you want it to respond. Masonry build will take a lot longer to warm from the heating being off than timber frame or if you always keep a minimum set back temperature of no less than 3 degrees of your desired temperature.

I'm not a brickie so need some advice on the following. I've been looking to order some concrete or cast stone window sills for a self build with face brick exterior and come up against an issue due to it requiring exact sizes, +205mm if your selecting stooled sills. Theres a 3 week lead time plus delivery charge so I need to pre order them just before the build starts. All of the external walls are designed to metric sizes for full & half bricks using 215x102.5x65 bricks. I'd like to know whats the minimum sized brick cut you can have at the reveals if it doesn't match brick bond, or how else you go about it? For example, other windows are all metric distances apart from each other or from the corners. I have some openings 1800mm wide which are likely to be 1810mm when it comes to building to include the perps. Some of these can be tweaked a little to suit the bricks, but I have one 1st floor window that needs to be centred above an entrance below, and the size of the opening at 1200mm wide doesn't work for full/half brick cuts unless I start to reduce the window size by 100mm in width. It would be much nicer to get to this point, then measure and decide on site but as mentioned, these need to be ordered together or its expensive delivery. I was looking at stooled sills, but considering slip sills if it makes it easier so that I can measure up and install after the openings are built. I then have the option to have them between the reveals only, or order them a bit longer and manually cut out the horns to let them go past the reveals 50mm each side.

@nod @Jeremy22 Are these your own houses with the slate overhanging the upvc verge, dry? Any issues, wind catching under them and loosening them compared to wet verge?

@joe90 Sounds a good shout that with the metal trim. Just slid between the battens and undercloak then tacked to the ends of the rafters.

I'm familiar with slating and done a bit myself but I'm not familiar with tiles. Even though I won't be installing the slate or tiles, I want to understand the options so that I can find an installer who will do it that way. I liked the idea of slates with no undercloak and the facia up to the underside because it effectively zero maintenance. Having to get repointing done, even in 20 years, is the expense of 3 gable scaffolds up to 9m high or paying someone however much that costs for the time if it can be done from a ladder. The only difference I can think of with the facia to slate, no mortar option, is the slate 40mm over hang gets caught by the wind and could eventually come loose? What do you mean by undercloak being bedded? Mine will be on a gable ladder which provides a 200mm soffit. If I'm correct, a 150mm wide undercloak would normally installed on top of the gable ladder and barge board, held tight under the tile batten and secured by clout nail into the rafter, and then 40-50mm of the undercloak projects past the bargeboard with the slate? The battens and breather membrane need to be set back enough so they don't wick moisture from the verge mortar. Then once the roof is completed all of the verge is pointed up in one run? The clay tiles I looked at (Sandtoft rivius), as you mention, theydo say they need to be clipped on every row at the verges. Are these clips visible from the outer edge, and can't be hidden if using a pointed wet tile verge to avoid using dry the systems? The tiles would have to be black so the verge caps would have to match. If using slate, It will be purple/black Welsh with anthracite UPVC. I was just told by a joiner when we done my current house facias and roof, that it's bad practise to have the weight of slates on the facia and makes it really hard to replace the facia again because your trying to lift 5m of eaves slates when nailing to the rafter ends. Where as if it's supported by other means on the rafters, like a tilt fillet, it's better. Ultimately I'll have to comply with building regs and require eaves ventilation anyways.

Is it good or bad practice to install UPVC gable end barge boards up flush with the top of the batten so it meets the underside of the slate, rather than have a cement board cloaking and mortar pointing? One roofer says the mortar method is best to add weight to the ends and helps when it's windy. I'd rather avoid mortar if possible, it's more future maintenance and cost with it being a 9m high ridge. I'll have a 200mm soffit and verge overhang all around and 40-50mm slate over hang. I planned to fit slates but have been looking to reduce costs so considering some rivias clay tiles for my self-build roof. I much prefer the look of slate because I don't like the look of individual dry verge caps and have been told the 3m long strips can warp. Both usually fade too. I want it to be as low maintenance as possible so I'm not having to pay for upkeep of mortar verges or replacing caps. Does anyone have any advice on dry verges that are good quality if I go with tiles? Is it ok to have UPVC to the slate underside and should it be CT1 sealed where the two meet? How can I avoid having the weight of slate or tiles on the facia boards, are tilt fillets still used or is there something better thats nailed to the rafters and offers better air circulation?

Two questions here. I'm building a masonry build cavity wall, face brick exterior detached house, and I was going to be D&B boards to the external walls. Because I'm looking for a good level of airtightness, I was going to parge coat the internal block work by means of a wet slurry mix or getting a plasterer in to parge it. . I'll be using masonry hangers so I'll want to cover the joist area myself before they're installed. Instead of dot and dab, I've been considering pricing it up for wet plaster to save the hassle of having to parge it, then hoping the installer does a good perimeter seal around each board. 1. If I wet plaster all of the external walls, how do we skim the internal reveals and catnic where I'd have cavity closers, or my own PIR insulation that plaster won' stick to. Do we have to board this area? 2.How are cables and 15mm pipes hidden in wet plaster. I'll need to drop some pipes down to the kitchen.

I need a disclaimer because I've had to post this lots of times, but I can't have blown bead with facebrick in a higher wind driven area on the West coast, no one uses it and the local BC won't like change. The plans have been approved a long time ago now. Going to use T&G boards.

My cavity wall construction is 100 Face brick - 150 partial fill cavity with 100mm PIR - 100 inner block. I was looking at cast stone slip cills for the front of my build that provide a 50mm front over hang, but I want to sit the back of the 65/70mm deep window frame so that it's 25mm into the cavity to reduce thermal bridging and to give a deeper reveal on the outside of around 60mm. I'm not sure if I need a 150mm cill or a 175mm. The passive cill image attached has a 200 cavity and full fill blown bead, but it shows the cill set back into the cavity and the frame set back on top of that leaving a 100mm external reveal. Did you run DPC under the concrete cill only, or differently?

What option did you go for? Did you use a cavity closer under the ply internal cill and if you did, did the outer part of the closer, sandwich between the underside of the window frame and on top of your concrete outer cill?