saveasteading

I stand corrected. Good to know. Well done the marketing team that called it Aquapanel. As they only mention it as a substrate I assume it isn't rated as a fire barrier in itself.

There are wall ties with spacers, so it should push back. But there seems to be a change in block line or thickness, where the insulation starts to bridge the difference. Prob too late to change at your own expense, so ProDave suggestion prevails. But see if you can push the slabs back and fix with the red spacers first.

I know that another Buildhub correspondent was made to add holes at 1m cc all around the base. That was Highland region too. I don't want to. We plan to build an inner wall which provides insulation and damp-proofing. I don't know of another solution, and the existing wall will not be available. Yes : it will be a house and needs serious insulation. U value? And Architects and building inspectors? I'm only contemplating it because I have seen it required elsewhere. I thought it was quite clever, and I do understand damp, and that many people don't.

No, that wouldn't be a problem in the short term. Even longer-term the tank will treat sewage without power, just not so well. The sewage goes through usually 3 tanks. The first one separates floating and sinking stuff, then there is a maze of links between the sections and biology does its stuff. then when you flush 5l down the wc it goes in the mucky end and the same amount of nearly clean comes out of the other end. The bubbles or circulation system moves it around, mixes air into it and gets it going faster. Add Marsh Industries to your list of good manufacturers. Has a little air pump like a fish tank one so very little to go wrong.

Very few buildings are at right angles. It's ok.

Had a steel erector/cladder on site once who had steel bits in his eyes as well as swarf in his hands. He swore that he showed up as carrying metal when going through airports. That was in a different era, when scaffolds and nets were for sissies...."if it was dangerous I would be dead by now".

I would say yes. I wouldn't use aquapanel, especially closest to the flue, because it may have waterproofing resins in it, and is not designed for heat. Likewise sandtex which may have resins/latex/other oils. I made a flue surround in a wardrobe before it heads up through the roof. About 2m from the stove outlet. I built a box using lightweight steel angles and boarded it with plasterboard, then stuffed the void with fire grade rockwool, (about 50mm all round). Completed the boarding and plastered/filler over it. It is barely warm to the touch when in serious blaze mode. No smells, no cracks.

neither do I perhaps. Thanks for testing me on this. If you say it will be dry, why do you want to line it? I don't understand this. Because we have one chance, it is a recommended 'solution' and it seems a better one than making deliberate air holes in the wall. And because it is consistent with that drawing showing dampness to the base only. You also, correctly, mention losing the thermal benefit of the masonry. Your proposed scheme does exactly doesnt it? So you will surely need more insulation thickness that you could otherwise reduce. My proposed construction leaves the masonry intact, does not put holes in it, then has a necessary gap (I don't think anyone doesn't do this). Then an inner wall of 6 x 2 with breather barrier outside and airtight barrier inside, stuffed with insulation. The thermal effect of 600mm wall has been proven to be much more than the design programs acknowledge, hence not making holes in it and creating an air stream out of the gap. The wings of the building are narrow, so keeping wall lining skinny is an aim. My original plan was to use cavity batt hard against the masonry but I think the innovation would trouble building control, and the wall is so rough that it would be all over the place, Once the wall is dry and repointed properly, driving rain isn't likely to penetrate 600m. If conditions are that bad, render it. ? They aren't that bad, and a lot of it is rendered already. We will expose some of the prettiest areas for reasons of style and interest., and cross fingers. Render casts more of the water off immediately, but still gets and stays damp. At some stage we regard the risk as acceptable. As nobody has chipped in to say that they recognise the bitumen liner detail, perhaps it was only used in one area. Perhaps it isn't any longer. I cannot find the original source whch was a very useful blog, but didn't quite go to completion. The perimeter will be 120m so the cost saving without bitumen tanking would be £1,500 plus labour. a useful saving but not the end of the world in this important context, esp if avoiding the hole drilling.

You mean it isn't just me measuring wrong?

This is Engineer territory. Get the feasibility checked now before committing further. If I recall you are putting 2 storeys on instead of one, and the condition of the basement needs checking.

Except the strimmer with a plastic blade......the blades break too easily and the motor burnt out. I bought the new model which seems very much better. All my other Erbauer are great though (once you have the batteries, may as well use for all tools. For things like hedge cutter it is so convenient to just pick up without getting leads out. If I had to pick one brand regardless of cost it would be DeWalt (or Stanley which is same company), (excluding Stihl, Hilti and Fein which are too specialist) For certainty and value, nothing wrong with Wickes except small range, and I would buy more Erbauer (reads as German but made in China)

I didn't realise how good a chopsaw was until recently. Apart from convenience it does a much better job than I ever could do by hand. So recommended for anyone doing a biggish project, I have this one which is cordless so needs one or more batteries, and the bigger the better. it is handy being able to move it with the work and rotate for long timbers, and no cable trailing. No problems with this at all up to 4 x 2, except it won't go back in the box and takes up room. As far as brands go, I now avoid own-brands except Wickes which have always been powerful and reliable. Some of the lesser known names at SF and TS are actually proper companies so are ok.

Really? The dozens I have had to work with only judge valuations by similar buildings in the area. A better than average one may know enough to say that it won't influence the sales value much or at all (unless the views are great) . Either somebody loves the house or doesn't. But if you want it and plan to live in it then you should do it. Round here a balcony is a place to put the bike and hang the washing.

I am catching up on this thread and saw your picture. A very clever solution, on the first assumption that a green roof is wanted For the view from a balcony the green is a justifiable able decision I think. Otherwise I am not a believer. But the idea of a perimeter of stones is excellent. The green stuff really has to stop well short of the edge for various practical reasons (access/maintenance) The membrane has to be special anti-root stuff except it can't stand UV, hence the stones. The stony area will also allow some movement of water as in a french drain. The stones look good too, and are no heavier than the green area. I like it...in your circumstances.

Thanks. I put option 3 in especially for you. I should emphasise that the wall is wet now because bits of roof are missing and there are no doors or windows, no gutters or pipes, and no drainage. There is an open central courtyard which likewise has no drainage....and rain leaks in on both sides. well we have just stripped of the decades of cow 'sludge' and found clean sand, and so that is now 'draining' too. If it wasn't for the ground being porous sand for 15m depth, and on a hill, I think the building would be long gone. (for those interested, we have 17seconds/mm soakage rate.....which couldn't be better.) So an inch of rain is gone in 10 minutes. The first site I have had with no puddles or mud. We will fix the roof and put in doors and windows, gutters pipes and drains to soakaways far away. Walls will be repaired, pointed and rendered. So the water will only be from driving rain, plus of course dampness from the air. Most of the stone is granite which is impermeable, Of course the mortar is lime and can absorb water. The wall will no longer be wet. You will gather that I still see some merit in encasing the wall on the inside only at the very bottom, where any dampness will be at its highest. The front face can vent and so can the remaining 2-3m on the inside. I have seen that this is a recommended detail for steadings in Aberdeenshire, for near identical construction. Does it have any issues?....no idea. Meanwhile another Highland contributor has been made to put lots of vents in through the wall, so all thermal benefit from the masonry (which is significant) is lost in the created draught. Does this detail work? no idea. Yet another blogger has said that their cross walls carry draught from one side of the house to the other, and there is no need for any forced ventilation. They cant all be right, and the solutions are mutually exclusive. Hence my proposed compromise, made safer by the superb ground properties. . There shouldn't be much dampness and it should not condense....the time it takes for any water to permeate through 600mm should be enough for a change in weather and the air to draw it back outside. what does stay in may drift downwards through the core, where we will contain it until it wither dribbles out to ground or evaporates outwards. would 1/2m work better? or 250mm? at some height the risk or benefit of a liner becomes minimal. SimonD Also, is the ventilation between the suspended floor and iwi cavity a continuous gap along the junction, similarly at the ceiling? Yes it will be, all the way to the roof where there are timber sarking boards with gaps. I don't want to put holes in the walls to force this draught as I believe that there will always be some air gaps and movement. Ideally there could be a moisture and temperature sensor in the cavity and vents would open and close as necessary....opening an a nice sunny or breezy day, and shutting when miserable. But that won't happen. I should also emphasise that the area has low rainfall around 700mm pa. I still welcome hunches as well as approved detailing and especially any proven successes or failures. Thanks for the interest....and really am listening.

It shouldn't, as joists are designed for strength and also to a maximum deflection which memory says is 0.03 x span. Although the reality will be of spreading a walking load over more adjacent joists, so yes, you are probably right.

Some of them interlock, some don't. Do you know which model yours is?

a pressure washer will take all that off.

Have I misunderstood? I thought the cement board was all that was exposed after cladding.

The Woodland Trust do a 'Scottish' collection and a 'Wetland' one, which seem good value. We suspect you just have to discuss tree planting with a mobile phone nearby for them to facebook ad you next day. I am pressing for some coppice planting as will be very efficient for firewood cropping, but am not prevailing. We do have some ancient woodland, but nothing new as deer eat all new shoots.

Rationel passed the enquiry to them and I had already emailed them. Nothing. Will try again. What do you think of my £/m2 approximation? btw we have been to Stevenswood in Inverness. 3 makes of upvc and one of aluminium , which is "Real". I hadn't heard of Real before, but the examples on display were very nice, with elegant sections and robust construction and thermal break, and the prices sounded ok. (supply only) I vaguely recall £1,300 for a 2g fully glazed double door.

I think it will melt the eps! I only meant to paint the cement board. I have done this for years on exposed block footings below cladding (so only 2 blocks high and hidden apart from 150mm or so. It is effectively unnoticeable and all water is repelled.

I'm looking at windows at the moment. Timber does need maintenance, hence aliclad, but a local (recommended) supplier makes them with an oven paint finish. aliclad used to be very expensive so I assume has come down if you are all so pleased with it. Rationel told me they had passed it to their supplier but ..silence. Other companies make ali-clad too but don't seem responsive either. I have looked at and admired Rationel for years (and stroked it at exhibitions) but the price was horrendous. As above....weatherproof and coloured ali outside, lovely wood inside. Aluminium has a substantial thermal break, and lots of cells in the cross section...the published u values are good. Have found some high quality nearby at last. My rule of thumb for a quick estimate used to be (custom-made and fitted) upvc £350/m2, aluminium £400/m2 , wood £450/m2, aliclad wood, £600/m2. Any updates on that?

Does silence mean 1. Nobody knows. 2 Boring question. 3. I've told you already, are you not listening? 4. Give it your best shot and report back ? btw, in the doc referred to by Roger440, they show a canal wall as proof that rising damp does not exist. This wall will be built in very high quality engineering bricks with waterproof mortar, so it isn't the best argument. If they were normal bricks they would be wet for a few courses above the water, and probably green with algae. Roger440, any further thoughts on my pragmatic addition of the internal liner to 1m? that is a downpipe btw, not external cladding.

Hadn't thought of that. Get building!