ProDave

I haven't worked out the square metre cost yet. That's something i will do when the shell is finished which it's not yet. Yes fitting the wood fibre board is most definitely a DIY job, I have done it all myself. You just need a saw, and a cordless drill to drive in a lot of very long screws. I did get someone to do the render as in the past I have proved that is not a skill that I have. It's a lime based render system not cement based. I started a thread about my construction method. As far as I know I am the only on on here at the moment building this way.

I am building my house to keep me warm and cosy. I am not expecting a car to hit it, so that is not high on my design parameters. I chose the wood fibre external cladding and render, as that gives me extra insulation and helps with the air tightness. I dislike a blockwork and render wall as it adds virtually nothing to the insulation of the building and does nothing to improver the air tightness. A by product of the wood fibre and render system is there is no cavity, so no need to pepper the outside wall in weep vents. Instead I get a crisp clean un interupted render all over.

Hi and welcome to the fourm. I hope you have better luck selling tham me, 18 months, 4 viewings, no offers. I am building with a timber frame, cladd in 100mm thick wood fibre board for extra insulation and then render onto that. An architect will recommend the "normal" way of doing things, few seem to have the vision to do things better. There are a couple on here building with ICF so if that is your chosen route they can give you plenty of advice.

Just finished the cladding and render of the back of the house. More on my blog at http://www.willowburn.net look for the entry "and yet more cladding and render" That's the whole of the house insulated, clad and rendered. Next is the garage, which has the complication of not having a door and a window yet, something I am trying to source without breaking my tiny budget.

I had a spell a few years back wiring pre fabricated units for a local low energy house builder who builds houses in modules in the factory. It got to much work for me and I didn't want a full time employee job, so they took on their own full time electrician in the end. It was while working with them that I learend a lot about low enery houses. Perhaps you should start a separate thread to discuss the structural issues (as this thread is about passive slabs) that keeps the forum a bit more ordered and easy to follow.

I'm interested to hear more about your build. Have you looked at my blog and my thread ? I have a 195mm frame, 100mm pavatex wood fibre on the outside then render. I didn't know about Gutex until you mentioned it, the only other make I knew was Steico. Yopur slightly thinner frame but thicker wood fibre boards should achieve much the same. I also used the same make up for the roof. I was originally going to have a similar blown in insulation to fill the frame, until I found that Earthwool frametherm 35 gave the same insulation for about half the price, and was a DIY job to install. And I'm an electrician as well but self employed.

I ruled out a passive slab for my build becasue of the slope. Mine is more of a slope than yours with my back door floor level a metre above the grouund level. but I think your slope is doable, but I woudl be wary of having a finished floor level lower than the ground. I see you are using wood fibre, is that the same system as me, wood fibre on the outside and then rendered?

Only if it's road legal, which a tracked digger won't be. A JCB might be road legal. Mine came with nothing.

I don't think the green is mould, isn't that moss growing? Something must be very damp for some reason?

I do have a spare WC so that will get plumbed in, inside the house soon.

Yes it's been a long time coming, but finally I can use the toilet in the static caravan. That's because today was the day I finally connected the last bit of drain piope to connect the house and caravan to the treatment plant. More on the blog at www.willowburn.net look for the entry "last bit of drainage"

I think the point here is that if I went to a builders merchant and asked for a quote for Frametherm, and they instead gave me a quote for Actis, which is a totally different product, then I would not be happy. I think it would be okay for them to quote for an alternative earthwool type product if they clarified the quote with "this is a similar product but cheaper" but something totally different I would find outragous. If you wonder why some of us are a bit suspicious of some of these multi foil types of insulation, it's because some of them have a track record of over rating their performance. Search other forums and you will find others saying the same. None of us have an axe to grind, we all try and give good and honest advice, snd sometimes that advice may not be what you want to hear.

In that case you will have to cut out the sole plate, and your screed will be thinner through the doorway.

I need a drawing, I'm not understanding it. All I can see is your two 38mm timbers will be "within" the 100mm celotex layer? So I must be missing something?

It's only legally binding when you have "concluded the missives" which means the offer contract is acceptable to both parties. That can still be a while. In the case of buying my plot my offer was conditional on getting planning permission, so we had an 8 week wait for that befoer it became a binding contract. the Scottish system is not perfect, but it's far better than the English system.

Two comments: In the first two pictures, it looks as though one section of wall is thicker than the rest. Is that an illusion or is it thicker for a reason? Looking at your roof details, it appears the eaves vernt strips went on berfore the "kick up" strip of OSB. Surely this will ventilate the inside of the roof space (cold roof) but you are having attic trusses so it must be a warm roof, in which case I would expect the eaves vent strips to be on top of the kick up strip to ventilate the gap between the sarking board and the tiles (as on my own roof)

What's wrong with cutting the pipe about 50mm above ground and a standard double socket straight coupler, or in the case of the toilet a branch fitting? That fitting you show has a completelty different seal arangement, a bit more like that of a pan connector.

Parked in a garden near here is a dumper, with a back hoe digger on the back. At first I thought what a brilliant bit of lateral thinking, until I realised where the back hoe was mounted, it was impossible to self load it. Good idea, bad implementation.

At least you have people looking at your house. In 18 months on the market we have had a total of 4 viewings. I have already resolved that this will be the very last house I ever sell. When eventually we are in the new one, I never want to go through this demoralising experience ever again. The frustration that our life plans are almost in tatters because of something I have no control over. The worst part is not knowing it it ever will sell or for how much, we just do not know.

Yes I wanted to buy a dumper but never found one close enough for sale. I was offered the loan of one, but when I went to see if the offer was still available I found it had broken it's gearbox. Lucky escape there as if it had broken the box while on loan I am sure I would have had to foot the bill. I found you can move stuff around surprisingly well by putting a pile in front of the digger and pushing it with the dozer blade.

I usually look at a bonfire and think "most of that could have been cut up and burned usefully on my stove" Trust me the stuff I burn on a bonfire is no good for the stove

And the newts.

Speak for yourself. Having funds to do it is another pre requisite.

Exactly. I am using compriband to seal the outer edge of the frame to my wood fibre cladding, applied as I fit the cladding. And like Jeremy, the small gap between the frame and the window is filled with foam.

I have a little 6" wide "ladies" spade that's handy for clearing it out. (SWMBO bought it originally for gardening)