saveasteading

I am very serious about rainwater use and and drainage, yet would hesitate to specify a RWH on my own property, let alone someone else's. Done it, would do it again ...but If you are off mains then of course this changes everything. If on mains water...use it throughout. RWH is done for plaudits more than for saving money and measurably helping the environment. Payback in money or carbon can be proven either way....but hassle is not measured, and neither is the nice feeling for doing 'a good thing'. I am more inclined to put in lots of barrels for garden and car-wash use, and a pond to create wildlife, stop rain-water going to the sewage system or add to floods. I can see the attraction of a RWH, and I was very pleased with ours...until the pump broke down, and then again. Also it was an office so toilet use was high and potable use low. Potable water cost £30 per annum, and also caused much reduced sewage rates. I hadn't thought that through when answering earlier. For a house I would say that it would be money and carbon negative...ie not helping the world. But something to tell the friends, and a private store of water in times of drought. If awards are going...then this is something that panels understand (worked for me) whereas barrels and soakaways and ponds leave them unimpressed. Do ask your plumber the extra cost for the parallel system to flush toilets. I am not against RWH...just experienced and interested. I am assuming that your interest is environmental rather than on cost. What are you doing environmentally re drainage? No/ minimal rain to the sewage system or streams should be your target.

If it is to sit on the metal jack legs alone, then they put a very concentrated load down. They will indent , or even break into, the surface you describe. But spread by blocks or timber baulks it should be fine. Bigger 'caravans' have bigger jack legs. presumably more of them too. Tell us more and we can answer better.

I've put in 2 in business premises. Both had pump failures. That aside the payback was 7 years based on water savings. Except that there are electric running costs, unmeasured, and the duplicate plumbing cost was never split out. Drains longer too? So 10 years, and I think that is exceptional. The roof was 700m2 and all fed to the 10m3 tank. How are you going to fill with 7.5m3 of rain? I don't know your project but say 150m2 of roof all going to the tank. It will fill with 50mm of rain, so no problem on the west coast, but not so good on east. BTW both tanks now redundant as owners/ tenants won't fix the pumps

That is £167. Must be very good indeed. I guess for a big space or multi-person toilet you might need it.

and a larger duct all the way?

There is a recognised construction of osb over the trusses, then vapour barrier, then battens then the metal. That is from Cladco, ready coloured 'slate grey', but there are many suppliers. Then yes, screwed to the battens. It will all be discussed on BH already, I'd think.

I built a whole kit kitchen since Christmas. Small but still took 3 hours. It's very good, apart from needing lots of screws from my tin...and the instructions make ikea look good. d.

Many are. We have used it on our replacement section, and very pleased with how it looks. Some architects will prefer zinc or secret fix aluminum, but it isn't their money. Some prefer the corrugated look, but that seems unnecessarily rustic in most cases.

Big, special rads for the lower temperature water. ProDave and others have discussed whether you just allow downstairs air to rise and heat the upper rooms.

That looks great so I'm looking at specifying them...we need 8! It seems that the £62 model (at TLC) doesn't have a timer, so add £28. =£90 so that is quite expensive compared with £30 basic one at SF. 8 x £60 extra, = £480 ! ouch. I wonder what the heat loss payback is.

It would depend on more specific details. If you build the new to very high spec, and can close doors from old to new, then it might be worth heating as if it was a new house. so ashp and ufh an option. Or leave the existing system alone and install all new including boiler. That way it will be a small unit, lower cost, and minimal disruption. Also no quirks in the joined up system you would otherwise have And if the old system has problems, the house is still up and running. I understand it can be more efficient to use 2 small boilers than one, except in the coldest of conditions.....but may be wrong.

How many hours? if you don't mind?

Coated steel is a much cheaper roof than most others. Sandstone is good news too, as it can be made into a thin skin to fix as if brickwork. Quite a skill though. Unless planning to do it yourself, it would be worth taliking now to a local mason before committing to a design. They can advise on availability, cost and any pitfalls to avoid. You are in the fortunate position of controlling the design before the planning app.

im in central Scotland, rural area, the house is quite visible from the main road which was an issue in the previous application which was 2 storey and all white render, with lowering ridge height in this design and some stone cladding i was hoping to reduce the visual impact. Bad luck not getting to use the ubiquitous white. But this gives you more scope for individuality. i just googled barn conversions central Scotland.. plenty ideas there.

Rectangles are the simplest and cheapest buildings. Sloped roofs are also easy and cheaper. Metal roof. Walls in whatever is the local style. Stone could be tricky....what is your local stone? Start with that and add features such as picture windows (like cart doors) to your own liking. Then sell your design to them referring to all the barnlike features. I suggest a drive looking at old barns and new, rural buildings, and get ideas in the local style.

Or good swiss or good french. I would only buy branded screws from a specialist supplier. Make sure they are "heavy" spec for going into a beam rather than a purlin. Tell them the timber width and web thickness. (TBC btw what german manufacturer are you suggesting?) Nearly all good screws go in first time. With cheap ones the first is often only effectively a drill bit and discarded, so you need twice as many. The advantage of screws is speed and you can fix more if you feel inclined, and less precision required.

Good point. Counterbatten underneath? Will still be easier I'd guess. Getting crazier here.......plywood on the bottom, which may even work better, and your floor boards provide even more stiffening, then batten underneath at plasterboard centres, thus creating a service void. Or your way and drill holes.

Anything about my suggestion that doesn't resolve your issues at lower cost and inconvenience?

Quite right. I don't mean a site agent. I mean somebody has to integrate design and suppliers. That is the client if not clarified elsewhere. I can see why a frame supplier excludes that interface, as it can be badly designed or constructed. I can also see why some will overcome some difficulties at their own expense, just to avoid aborted visits. * But their quote will allow for that. I think there is a common assumption among self-builders that contractors are avoiding responsibility, when in fact, the client or their agents are not dealing with all issues, mostly through inexperience. Splitting a project into phases to avoid a main contractor and their management should save a lot of money, but there are risks. Talking about exclusions and the reasons for them is essential. *I have been there, putting steel up on inferior foundations. Main contractor had no quality control or wish to cooperate. So to find a solution or send workers and cranes home? With a ready solution i would sort it at our cost. For major issues, like foundation bolts pulling out...no. The end client never knew anything about it.

You can fix a plywood layer on top of the joists and massively improve the strength with minimal disruption. It needs proper approval and spec by SE.

So give him a 💙

Back to cdm and welfare. I have had perhaps 6 visits or phone calls from hse over many years. By chance I was on site during 3 of them. The officers do ask who is site manager and ask to look at the documents. If there aren't good responses to these, then expect a going over. But mostly they are pleased to see a well managed site and discuss any potential concerns. If there is an accident then things are rather different (I am told). Blame will be attached to contractor, subcontractor or client, or consultants, or all. It was clear always that they would rather see a safe project than a load of cut and paste documents.

That is project management. This happens even in the biggest projects, with consultants all over them. Use a main contractor or manage these issues relentlessly. Of course 'amateur' developers don't know what to look out for. To be positive, if the contractors had each allowed for this responsibility it would be charged for, possibly twice.

Isn't too difficult apart from learning a few essentials. Some may be learnt the hard way. I started by changing cracked glazing (not the glazing company's fault) and then tried small windows. Doors are tricky. Risky though. Break the glass or drop the whole thing and it is your responsibility. And getting just one more coloured flashing is expensive. The on-cost for the complete package can be very high. But this includes damage and mistakes...many a unit has been taken away or skipped at glazier's expense, and resupplied in a hurry...which they can do if they make their own.. For example of the risk...we have measured an asymmetric ali window back to front...so the colour faces in and the plain white faces out....a very expensive error, but well within the saving for diy. I am suggesting that the future garage has the same feature window, that way round.

Yes. And heating with bottled gas is a problem too, because water is created as a byproduct. I have often found that nothing much seems to be happening, for a week or more. Then suddenly the slab is dry. Presumably this is due to water being drawn to the surface until it isn't.