Chanmenie

Totally agree with John, there are too many terminals

You are correct below DPC recommended is 1:3 thats what I used and you’d struggle to scrape it with a chisel, even when wet. being that strong it also looks dark grey even though the sand was very light in colour, but I did use Mannok Cement which is quite dark, but even with normal Portland I’d expect it to look more grey in colour than in your pictures

Even 1:6 mortar should not crumble, so it might be even weaker or there’s another issue causing the crumbling

That’s a lot of money, £120 an hour daylight robbery I’m not paying anywhere near that for my install. I considered doing my own install, but as I’m only paying £1800 for having a Veismann Vitocal 151 installed why would I. I suggest you get some more quotes

Crikey, I’ve had my hot knife glowing red hot but the EPS did not catch light. I do find it really easy to use and it makes very little mess as the cut bits come out in large pieces. Not looking forward to rasping the outside ready for render, that’ll be messy and the neighbours won’t be happy 😃

I bought the big sled as well, I used it for letting in 4 x 2 timbers and cutting out socket boxes https://hilltop-products.co.uk/kd-7x-kd-dc100-sled-and-12-blade-kit.html

I fitted grommets in the boxes and used 25mm oval conduit, as per the electrician’s instructions

Yeah the hilltop one is expensive but it’s very good I’ll sell it on when I’ve finished with it

Chase out with an electric foam cutter https://hilltop-products.co.uk/tools-cutters-machinery/hot-knife-rope-cutters/hand-held-hot-knife-rope-cutters/hand-held-kd-7x-premium-hot-knife-foam-cutter-groover-kit-with-case-accessories-230v.html

Yeah I’d only use them for what they are designed for. Certainly not in ICF walls

I used 35mm metal back boxes, my internal layer of EPS is only 55mm ( Beco Wallform ) so I screwed the back boxes to the concrete

Couple of trolly jacks, just don't damage the car then there’s sod all they can do

I used Pro Clima, much better value for money compared to Illbruck, I was advised to use 20mm tape even though my windows are 100mm deep. it’s fine to use narrower tape then use airtight foam on the inside. https://www.ecologicalbuildingsystems.com/product/contega-fiden-exo I attached the tape to the window, then fitted it, as I have Alu Clad the tape goes 10mm back from the face so would be a bugger to fit after putting the windows frames in

Just drag it out of the way.

@Duncan62 here’s some blurb on the stuff I had http://www.easternconcrete.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/GDA-443_EcFlow-Nov2017.pdf