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Purple Toadflax? My new app “Seek” says so. Is it right?However it doesn’t say whether it’s a weed or not - one person’s weed is another’s wild flower meadow?

We have PM'd our self build (still not quite finished) whilst working full time and with a 12 and 14 year old (at the start). It has been incredibly tough but very rewarding. If it helps, here is what our situation was: We lived on site in a caravan. I imagine it would be trickier to live off site if you are trying to work full time too. You want to see your site most days. Husband worked from home 3 days a week for the whole 2 year period. I worked locally and could nip home if needed to make decisions / look at something / make a cup of tea for someone let onto site in the morning / check in with a sub-contractor - essential if husband was away at work that day. We did (and are still doing) quite a few things ourselves, saving quite alot of cash, getting the quality we wanted. We have been lucky with our trades people - most of them have been fantastic, happy to offer views / help problem solve and the work good quality excellent. We quite like solving problems and were happy to work with problems, solving as we went along. We spent many many hours (often very late at night) going over quotes / specifications from suppliers to agree purchases - things like windows, doors, rooflights, bathroom fittings, kitchen etc but also plastering, electrics etc. Would a PM help with this because honestly this does take up alot of time (but is key to the final finish) We have made mistakes. Would a PM have avoided them? I honestly don't know. Probably some. But unlikely all. We haven't yet finished. A PM would probably not have allowed it to drag on this long. But life (and lockdown) has got in the way so things have slowed up. I hope your build goes well. I would like to do another but I have said, since we started this one, that I would never do one again whilst working full time. So maybe that's the honest answer. The passage of time hasn't yet made me reassess that statement ?

Our roof lights let in loads of light but are letting in loads of heat too, with the sun now high in the sky and outside temperatures in the 30s this week. So we are thinking of applying solar film. I don't think we get any value add in terms of heat in the winter as the sun is too low so not going to lose out on that. Please pass on stories, good and bad, and any recommended suppliers. There are some that just supply and some that also fit? Is it easy to self-fit? (we have easy access to the flat roof) And there is a minefield of different films to choose from......any recommendations of films? Thanks

Update: got turned down for remortgage. Need building control sign off and can’t get that without a wheelchair path to the front door, amongst other things. V annoying.

Do you mean 30mm inside door? So door closes onto the rubber ramp? Or extending the floor out under the door? it’s actually level, mostly, but water will still pool I guess so we’ll need to introduce a small fall. nothing much is coming under the door (got the same seal arrangement as @HerbJ albeit a different manufacturer) but some was coming though the bit around the base of the vertical garage door runners having run down the door and pooled at the bottom. That appears ok now following sealing up the gaps though not had much rain to test it.

We included in our site insurance. Tbh, nothing in our van was worth nicking. We had a separate shed where we locked up power tools (and sometimes we put stuff in the van at night). And we found that we were virtually on site 24/7 anyway with living here. we also stored some furniture and boxes of possessions in a summer house (locked and boarded up). if you have anything really valuable, store off site?

I am digging up this old thread as we have the same issue and could do with some ideas. I was wondering if @jack and @Roger440 had some finished photos, or even some work in progress photos please? We have laid a rubber tiled floor in the garage (it will never be used for cars by us and creating a games room and place to work out has been invaluable recently) and were thinking about getting a weatherstop strip. We were getting some water in but the grey mastic around the edge where the door is fitted seems to have helped. But we haven't laid the driveway yet and have the same issue with the concrete slab sticking out further than the door. We will only have about 10mm to play with for laying a surface on top to cover that concrete lip unless we do something......is that a problem? A thin layer of something? Ground level currently very similar to garage floor level though might have to dig out for driveway base. Thanks

no UFH. But does have intake and extract for MVHR. And boiler. And data racks. And water softener. I have some pipe lagging lying around so at the very least I’m going to use that. Am somewhat surprised our plumber didn’t lag the pipes but not that surprised.

We have a separate plant room, inside the thermal envelope of the house but accessed externally. This weekend has been a good opportunity to do jobs we’ve been putting off like making a stand for our water softener. Whilst in there I noticed that none of the pipe work is lagged. Would you lag the hot water pipes in here? The room is pretty warm due to all the kit in here. Any thoughts please?

not named on this thread I think. I have made every effort not to name them because I wasn’t sure if the source of the leak. But I think named on my other blog post. I wouldn’t want to name them here until they have been given a chance to rectify it. Which it appears they won’t. ☹️ will check all the paperwork tonight.

We have moved to a standard policy. I’ll check terms when I get home. Am on it re getting quotes. no BC sign off yet. I feel strongly that they should deal with it. And I can’t believe they can walk away and do nothing. I am not usually vindictive but am feeling particularly pi**ed off at the moment.

The roof light company came out yesterday and identified the mastic as the point of failure. They stripped out the mastic, replaced it and drilled some weep holes (from which water poured out). i asked them how they would like to proceed with our internal roof void damage. This is their response. I’m glad to hear that issue was identified and solved. Unfortunately warranty doesn't cover any consequential or subsequent loss, cost, injury or damage arising of any nature. I am quite cross. Any advice on what to do next? They didn’t fit their roof light correctly and are now refusing to pay up for damage caused.

Hope you are getting on well with Ecology? Took about 4 weeks to get the surveyor out but he wanted done proper costings and wouldn’t accept our mix of formal quotes and guesstimates (who gets a plastering quote for a new build when they haven’t even knocked down the old house??) so we had to pay a couple of hundred to an estimating firm for an online schedule of costs (no site visit, just off plans). They accepted this and immediately approved the mortgage. Prob was about 8 weeks total but in the end it was us not rushing as more costly with them than our prior mortgage.......

We aren’t expecting a completion certificate for a while (maybe later this year). Two year lock in on expensive self build mortgage has just expired. Our house is liveable (mortgageable) but not yet finished. Things to do include final bit of cladding, all landscaping and driveway plus some other internals. Plus a bl**dy roof light repair and internal making good. Currently Ecology SB mortgage. Does anyone have any experience of remortgaging before a completion certificate is issued? Could do with saving some money......

Depends what you are going to keep in that garage. I would start imagining walking round the whole house and see if it works for you for your everyday life. I spent ages thinking about how I wanted to "flow" around the house, doing the day to day stuff I do, and I am delighted now it is built as it works just as I expected. One observation: The utility looks narrow for a pulley maid. Ours is fairly narrow (1.1m from edge of worktop to wall) and there is only just enough space to lower it and stand alongside to hang the laundry. Works well but I would say our dimension is a minimum. How does yours stack up for width?

I agree with this @ProDaveand of course we haven't quite confirmed the exact issue. I am also not a professional designer of glazing units (though I now know a bit more than I did earlier this week . ) But if you look at the cross section of the design it looks like this is the only reasonable possibility for how the water is getting in. Our theory also depends on the failure of the two bits circled in red. We don't think the water could be going up the inside of the frame (capillary action) as it is quite a way up but that could be the second option but that would require the failure of the silicon bead and whatever is next to the screw in the drawing below. I wasn't on the roof for the install (HWMBO was, but didn't take too many photos). The only photos we have before they lowered the glass in are here too for interest. We wonder whether the water seeps in the outer edge, and then is funnelled round to the lower part of the frame where it deepens until it seeps over / under the blue things (?) and either down the screw thread or over the edge seal (?). I guess we won't know anything for sure until the glass is lifted. But we don't see how just repairing the mastic seal is going to solve the problem as there may well be damage to the insulated upstands and more. About to email the roof light company.....

Second update: water poured all over the roof light this morning. First in the area nearest to the problem on the inside. Nothing dripping through for 5 mins. But then we moved to the higher end of the roof light (it’s on a slope to allow the water to run off). Almost immediately the drips started. And continued for a few minutes after we turned the water off. So we have found the problem. Now to contact the roof light people. we can’t see any solution other than to break the seal, crane out the glass, check the frame and (assuming we are tight) remove it and then check the upstands. Looks like the mastic may have failed at a different point but that the water might have run round within the frame to the low point where it then descended thorough into the roof void. so happy we have found the leak. Now the next bit begins.....

First update: 20 minutes with a hose on the dry roof tonight and the gaping void remains dry. No new drips (and as the insulation is no longer there and drips should be pretty immediate. We are cautiously suggesting that the roof membrane is fine. (Insert cautious smiley face)* second update to follow after tomorrow’s test of water on the roof light *though if I think about remedial work, a failed membrane would be easier to deal with (sad face)

I offered both the roof light company and the roofing company the opportunity to witness the test. Both declined. I hope this doesn’t mean we will end up with a fight on our hands. ?

Can’t wait to get home from work today. The sun is shining. The roof should be dry. There’s a hole somewhere. I’m going to get home and get up on that roof with a hosepipe and find it. If it’s not in the roof surfacing then we’ll let the roof dry and hosepipe the roof light tomorrow. That’s my Friday night. Nothing I’d rather do ?

the air tight membrane will need to be reinstated. MBC advises yesterday that it can be patched with tape and a new bit of membrane. And then new insulation pump led in. So no issues there.

We spray coated (£40 sprayer from Aldi) the fresh plaster with 2 wash coats (cheaper Armstead contract matt white paint mixed with some water, 50/50 ish for the first coat, then about 80/20). Then in the bathrooms we did 2 coats of Dulux Trade Diamond Eggshell Pure Brilliant White. With a roller. Went on great and the finish is nice. Plus it wipes down if needed. And we haven't even put a splashback behind the basin yet as it looks OK with just the paint and the water runs off it. Not sure how long it will last like that but pleased so far. Same paint format for the ceiling too. Dulux Trade Centre had 20% off everything when we bought it all so that was helpful too. We used other Dulux Trade paints for the top 2 coats elsewhere. Trade Diamond Matt and plain Trade Matt. V happy.

Wow - your photo is almost identical to the mess we exposed today, condensation on the lower side of the OSB with soaked insulation. We have exposed even more of the area now. The middle section is the problem area. It has been a long day and we have just finished clearing up the mess (that pumped in insulation takes up alot more volume when it is pulled out!). We have looked back at all the build photos and the construction drawings for the upstands for the roof light. Its a bit of a puzzle but we are hypothesising that the water is leaking in through a mastic seal onto the frame of the rooflight (which sits under the glass). It is then leaking through a screw hole into the upstand (timber) (the frame was fixed into the upstand with vertical screws), travelling down to the bottom of the upstand where it joins the roof joists and then spreading both above and below the vapour membrane (the drips are coming from below the membrane, but the insulation within the membrane is soaked also. Of course there could be a leak in the roof material somewhere but that theory is not so obvious given where the water is being found and the lower roof deck being dry. Tomorrow and Saturday are supposed to be dry (no rain hopefully) so we plan to get some water up there and selectively test the various areas. I have messaged both companies inviting them to be present. I'll video the tests so we have some evidence because fixing this is going to cost someone some money. Thanks for all the advice, and supportive messages today. It is good to know you are all there.....

Thanks for all the comments so far. Here’s an update: MBC (Darren) came onsite as on another local job. (they are brilliant, those guys) And together we took out a load of soggy insulation and put a small hole in the lower roof deck. We still have more to do as haven’t found the edge of the wet insulation yet. Leak appears to be down a bit of OSB nailed onto a roof joist below the upstand of the roof light. OSB roof deck appears dry in that location. roof inspection yields nothing obvious. It’s hammering with rain so can’t test anything. A piece of plastic over what we thought might be the problem has not stopped the drips (every second when it is raining). Inspected roof light mastic seal as advised by them. No issues of note. And roof light overhang appears deep enough to prevent any water ingress. Awaiting roofers on site. Guess that might be tomorrow now. waiting on the insurance front so we can see which party is liable and whose insurance will pay up. luckily we own a scaffold tower (for our hedges, v helpful during the build) so put that back up pronto. @jack your story fills me with trepidation but I expect we’ll be down some similar route on timing. Got to get roofer to admit liability first so need to have a better go at leak location inside first. once it stops raining we can get back on the roof to properly test it. MBC and we agree this has been going on for months - the sodden insulation and lack of evidence of a failure point seems to indicate a tiny hole and slow damage. and to think we were thinking we were almost there ?

Thought I'd add this to the blog but would be very grateful for some advice. Some construction background: MBC timber frame, flat roof, pumped insulation in roof void. Make up of roof is Sarnafil (hot welded) laid on a felt base, on top of 22mm OSB roof (with a slope), on top of 22mm OSB roof deck (flat - slope provided by battens to create the fall), then 400mm pumped insulation between the roof joists, air tight membrane, battens, 12mm plasterboard and skim. Roof lights on the flat roof (including a lovely round one, subject of another blog post). Yesterday we had some drips coming through the finished ceiling, about 700mm from the edge of our circular rooflight. We cut away some plasterboard to see what is going on. Plasterboard soaking wet, batten soaking wet and looks like the insulation is soaking wet. There is some water damage closer to the rooflight too, visible in the photo, but we started our cut at the plasterboard edge which is where the water started seeping through - the low point I guess. Have contacted roofing supplier and rooflight supplier (both of whom fitted their product). What shall I do next? I can't help feeling that without detecting the source of the leak neither supplier is going to help us. Any thoughts? Cut away our ceiling until we find the edge of the problem? (as we get nearer to the rooflight bit of course we are 7m off the floor ☹️)