saveasteading

This is outdoors?! Don't use osb.

Someone was asking about the use of these holey bricks. For them and for general interest I show 2 photos of new houses in southern Spain. Before and after the external finishes. As always, the brickwork is really scabby. I think that is because they know it can be hidden, and semiskilled workers can do it. The upper blockwork shows that the skills exist. Then the renderers come along and get it straightened out in 2 or 3 passes, and then a stunningly flat final coat, or tiles. These are concrete framed structures, infilled with cavity wall ( a recent development). There appears to be 25mm of eps on the exposed concrete faces, and maybe in the cavity.

It will be easy to redrill the drainage holes. That is the biggest and very urgent issue. Are there drawings or any photos during construction?

It looks great. Love the Archi-speak throughout. The materiality and form were grounded in the historical context of the site and its agricultural surroundings. I accept that. It looks like a refurbished farm steading. * low-level winter sun is captured and falls onto a thermally massive ground floor slab. The sunlight comes in through the windows, then deflects downwards onto a bare concrete floor? Is a massive slab a good thing? More pics would be good. One from me below. We used screwed roof panels. Our vision was that the honesty of utilising visible screw fixings suitably reflects and honours the ancient methods of agricultural architecture tradition and heritage of this rural location...... and because it is 1/3 the cost of secret fix, spares can be fitted if needed, and it is easier to flash and seal. And any decent builder can fix it. Apologies @Bramco and your Architect. It looks great....but what a lot of words.

Yes it can, but not significantly. My business rented the programme for a year and we played with it a lot. It had lots of flaws, which i hope have been sorted. And nonsense such as assuming that heat pumps were used for cooling regardless of the setup, and a bad thing altogether. But you need something so it needs to be this.

Education of the masses. An indication of the extra running cost compared to a standard (B?). Sue any corrupt or incompetent epc assessors.

I don't mean to imply 'all' , and a good 7 hours is better than a bad 8. But I've been doing this a long time (in SE) and a lot of trades and professions take it easy esp now the Eastern Europeans have gone. The greatest contrast in efficiency and value is between Scottish and SE English lawyers.

You don't seem to like LPAs. They are necessary but under-resourced. The big developers play games too, issuing huge applications without warning and multiple applications for the same site. That would work, and easily.. Easy. No signnoff, no sale. All houses inspected. Random ones air tested (not developer's choice). They could do it right first time if they needed to.

Insurers are money-making gamblers, but with their own rules. They are not remotely expert in anything they cover. As @JohnMo says, there are loads of ticks which will fail your attemppt online. Then you have to speak to an agent who doesn't know a lot either and works to a tick list albeit longer. One I contacted wanted full working drawings and a main contractor. Another said too big. Another that it can't be done that economically., metal cladding....etc Most of them are brokers, not insurers. I got offers from 2 brokers eventually, both with the same insurer, both silly money.

The decision could be wrong whichever is chosen. These tubular things aren't strong. Don't worry about that. The earth moves a lot all the time. Edges break off things. Enjoy the pergola.

OK. So if you stamp on the floor now, you will hear it below. With another 5cm of screed it won't reduce much. But the density will stop nearly all background noise in both directions. The ceiling will help a lot. If it is , for example, living room below and bedroom above it is probably OK. For total silence you add soft stuff either above or below. Eg in schools it depends what classes are there. Woodwork next to maths is a bad idea but it can be done.

What is on top of the slabs? What stage are you at? Acceptable noise levels depend on room purposes. What is above and below?

With chemical anchors and concrete bases, the weakness / fail point becomes the tubing of the pergola. That's why I would use the nails or tent pegs, and let it move a little.

Labour rates dahn saff are very high. A skilled sole operator will be looking at £300 a day and 8 effective hours is pushing it. @ProDave 's 150 hours x £40 = £6k. And prob quote higher than that. A business will be 40% more, so £8.4k or more. Plus vat.

It's like all the suspended ceilings in every modern office. Nobody would consider timber. Quicker, cheaper, adjustable. You also have a nice void for cables. But the hangers should be simply dropped between the slabs before concrete or screed goes over it.

@Alan AmbroseDon't do that. Instead see all the information in document H of the building regulations. Free to download .

I have been told by someone fairly expert that there are concerns re how much chemical and epoxy are used in converting bamboo, so isn't as sustainable as might be. Then there is child labour.

Not a lot. Well, it would if you put in a huge drainage field like in the building regs. But 10m of French drain and maybe a rubble soakaway beyond. Done. As opposed to whatever connection is required. BTW, do you have an aquifer which this rain would help replenish? We would need a mole. Ethically probably not. Financially definitely not. They don't care or don't understand. But where would they have learnt from?

It isn't though. I took 600m2 of roof water to a rainwater harvester, and 40 car parking spaces to the ground. That much water is not going into the drains. It is no better than when the rain fell on the land, but not much worse. It is negligibly adding to flooding or causing spillage out of sewage works. If everyone did this, the formula would have to change but maybe not that much, and our water would be more in control.

I was genuinely thinking that is what they do, and it is their chosen method. So how do they quantify the sewage?

I agree. One of the harvesters I put in was turned off by the tenant. I am now having trouble getting someone to replace the pump, as the manufacturer seems to have dropped out of the market.....because it is a small market. Why am I interested still? Because there must be a way forward. But it probably needs joined up thinking, without it being frustrated by the big house-builders. Hence my 'best advice' must be to use water butts and /or a tank for the garden and, if space allows, lose the rest honestly in the ground. When your 1.3m is falling, just think how clean the ground and the air are, unlike the big smoke with pollution and shortage of water.

I should warn you that many academics only want to hear you agreeing with them. For example , they believe Breeam to be a sensible guide to sustainability. You might want to establish what your examiner expects / wants you to say. Or give two conflicting points of view.

the waste quantity will be measured as your water purchase quantity. That is all water. Rainwater won't be used in the kitchen or basins/bath/shower. Are you sure about 1.3m annually. I saw the weather forecast last night and it looked like 100mm was on its way. Use the met office figures not the tourist board. Joking...don't tell us more or we will work out your location.

Not cynical: Pragmatic Cautious realist Knowledge can be such a burden, can't it fellow hubbers? I'm sure when we say 'dont' or ' be careful' it is usually good advice.

Science, fun, peace of mind. I agree though. Leave it and don't worry. Concrete will fill that half mm.