saveasteading

Very retro. roofing felt used to have stone either in it or sprinkled on top for durability and heat reflection. It works, but it also collects dirt and may need cleaning occasionally. I agree re sedum. it only converts CO2 to plant once, after which it lives and dies. also you will be importing it from far away. I don't like that planners place sedum above harvesting and lagoons in the hierarchy of sustainable design. But rhen they dont undestand the impolications, and have fallen for the hype. When explained, I find that they accept changes.

Up to you, but I suggest you get this cleared formally by the building inspector. Even 1mm of settlement (or other movement) and a gap will be created. Seasonal movement and drying of the ground could also make this happen, and it is then not resolvable.

V disappointed at your comment here. You have had good advice from many knowledgeable people here, for what is a relatively simple solution (and which your free advisors all understand). These people may or not be Engineers. An SE would not have made you put in over-specified joists, and you haven't minded paying for that. No more from me on this case.

Will these be driven piles? if so the company has to know the depth so that they buy and bring the right lengths. If bored or vibrated then it is all made on site, but they have to know when to stop. In short you need a survey unless the information is already available. As above. Ask the neighbours. Also phone some piling companies.....they gather a lot of information and can at least have a guess at the solution to get you started. The bore holes are not expensive, and may save you much more in the final account.

Is he waiting for the yak herds to come through?

How many fills of that mixer? I don't suppose it has to be in one pour though as it is dead weight, not structural. What size of digger is that?

A 15dia hole isn't much worse than a knot. keep it central and the forces will swerve around it. As you need more than one hole, keep them well apart. I think the rule of thumb is something like 40 diameters, so 600 I would expect an Engineer could prove it, esp as the joists are overdesigned, one redundant even, but best not go there. wall bridging 2 joists is better. if you have a choice, a hole like this is best as far from central span as you can, ie towards the supports.

With a Highland project and 4 timber mills in the area, I wrongly expected better value. I spoke to one of the operators, and he said that I'd be better buying Russian cls from the merchants than commissioning them for it. Quotes confirmed that. The local timber isn't so strong either as it is too warm and the timber grows fast. Sterlingboard is made 15 miles away, but is going abroad.(China and US they say) For larger timbers perhaps the local places will be better, but it seems we are talking small differences. Own labour and very strict control of design and waste will be essential.

interesting. worth another look perhaps.

I think this is sensible, to prevent people living in a caravan permanently. Buy the site, get planning permission, set up caravan....no more cost, but a permanent caravan would not have been permitted. It seems that any believable or sensible reason is acceptable, but that there is a limit eventually, when they say 'last chance..6 months'. That is news to me...planning requires a start in 3 years and then can take forever. I didn't know there was any building control time limit.

I'm not convinced anything will fall much. The manufacturers will have vastly improved profits and little incentive to invest in increased production....we will buy their chipboard and timber at some time, when we give up on the price returning to normal. Norbord, who make Sterlingboard and Caberfloor have been bought by an even bigger company, West Fraser, and their new owner published this. • Sales increased 61% from the prior quarter to $3.779 billion • Earnings increased to $1,488 million, or 39% of sales, from $665 million in the prior quarter I feel we are in their hands.

Another thing to look at is depth. Some of these tanks are high, others are long. This then requires an excavation to a greater or lesser depth. Safety-wise it is always best to be shallow, and someone is going down that hole to spread the concrete base, whether shore or not. It depends on the ground too as to easy or difficult digging. A deeper one may be fine if there is limited space, or if your drains are already deep by that position (but if so, why?).

Marsh are my favoured suppliers. Small business, really good advice on the phone. Also they deliver themselves (regardless of the merchant you go through) and are as keen as you are that there is access and offloading organised. just an air pipe, like in a fish tank.

Hadn't heard of that one, so not adding it to my list...yet. On the contrary, if winding very slowly clockwise, the thread gets well filled. Perhaps it depends on the material and the amount of stuff between stud and concrete.

From recent experience, a temporary caravan is permitted in Scotland. This is perhaps more relaxed because of the 3 year requirement to complete after warrant. In England I think, put it on the drawings, as mentioned above. A nice , 2 person plus living space (described as 4 berth) can cost £8k to £12k, depending on condition. An 'end of life' or 'tired' static caravan from a holiday park can be very cheap, even down to say £3k, but then allow £1k for transport, and then quite a lot of cleaning/doing up. Afterwards you have to sell again and transport or scrap of course, whereas a tourer is easy to move on.

Agreed re contaminants/chemicals attacking the concrete. In some regions/ situations it is even necessary to put dpm between the ground and footings. With the dpm below, the concrete will forever be dry and inert. Another reason for the dpm being under is so that the concrete pour is clean. Sand and stone should not mix with it and diminish the concrete quality. Also, delivered concrete has a precise mix of ingredients, including water. If poured onto a dry stone or sand surface it will lose water and the mix is changed. And then there is allowing the concrete to slip on the surface while it cures and shrinks, reducing cracking This matters a lot with a commercial building. A lot of it doesn't matter too much with a house, where loads are low, and there is a layer of insulation, then screeds and floor coverings. ie an inferior job gets by , usually. But why not do it as well as possible?

If the made ground settles, then the insulation will go down with it, and you will have a gap between insulation and floor. If this gets any draught at all through it then you will have lost the insulation effect. I am really surprised that this is being allowed by BC but more importantly, you should reconsider the whole thing for your own heat economy and comfort . Perhaps you can tie the ins up to the floor with wires. I'm also a bit confused by the drawing attached by Iceverge. Perhaps this is much simplified by the company producing it, (to sell insulation or pipes?). There is no mention of stone base, on which there would be blinding. then normally dpm on that before concrete/insulation/screed. Getting pipes through the floor at exactly the right position is tricky. what seems very precise at foundation stages can be annoyingly approximate when you find that a vertical pipe is too close to/too far from a wall. There is a lot to be said for keeping boxouts around the penetrating pipes, and adjusting/infilling later.

my own opinion is that 50mm of sand is too much as it is difficult to keep it from kicking up, 40 scalpings and 10 sand good, which may be what you have in mind anyway.

No problem then. The only issue I see is that the very big stones sticking up might rock, so give them a bash before the scalpings

I have been subconsciously thinking about resin anchors. 3 more bits of advice, for big jobs really. 1. Do not use a diamond drill as they make a beautifully smooth surface. You need a rough face to the hole, as created by an impact bit. 2. If outdoors, fitting foundation bolts for example, then the holes may fill with water. That is when a stick and rag can work, when a puffer will not, but this is not mentioned by Hilti et al. Check that a damp surface is ok for that resin. 3. The resin is very temperature sensitive. After mixing it can go hard in minutes in a hot summer's day. This can be very difficult to control as there are seconds to do the whole thing. Also you may end up using a nozzle for every bolt. The reverse is that it may not be set next day in winter, and there are low temperatures when it should not be used at all. The instructions are usually good on this, so do follow them. I think that now makes 12 points of concern/control. That does not mean that I don't like resin anchors: I do, but instruction and supervision is important, as the consequences of any big anchors failing are worrying,

The anthracite coating is incredibly thin, perhaps 80 microns, and should not be reduced. There is no underlayer as with a car, and you are straight to the aluminium. Soapy water and gentle use of a soft cloth is the only option. Otherwise let the weather do the job, with cold rain in the winter, and warmth in the summer it is likely to come off in time. The roof will get dirty too, so it should become invisible. If you only have dirt you are lucky, as gritty feet scuffing can make a right mess of a roof sheet. It still should not have happened as cladders should know to either keep feet clean or use walking boards. If the muck is grit then it may be pushed right through to the metal, and you can ask the roofers what they are going to do. What do you think the marks are made of? Is it soil/ cement dust/ grit? I may have some more suggestions if you know.

That isn't too good. The stone seems lumpy and not especially well graded (finer stuff that fills the gaps all the way through.) Also too rough on the surface, so you should spread fines on it, sand or stone dust. The trouble you then get is that it might be rather thick and will take foot prints. Why does a smooth finish matter? 1. your dpm will puncture when you walk on it or pour the concrete, and might have air pockets left at high stones. 2. all concrete shrinks, and should be allowed to. With this surface it will not move where rough, and cracking is likely. Difficult to tell the scale. What size would you say the biggest stones are, roughly? How big is the floor area? As to strength, I can't imagine you will ever fall through it, but there might be chance of some movement and cracking over many years. as the stone seems to be so variable

We are at a similar stage and I asked the same question, the answer was NO: use a single Heat Pump, and spread the water by a big feed pipe to a second manifold. This just as a starter, and I refer you to the experts who will follow with more detail.

The sketches are a great help. I am thinking that we have different understandings of what a suspended floor is. Your concrete slab appears to be sitting on a bed of polystyrene. Suspended would normally mean spanning freely from one structural support to another, and so is unlikely to be on top of polystyrene, especially an exact contact. If the slab depends on the insulation for support then, I would not be happy with cutting lumps out for the drainage. Your second sketch is more normal and appropriate. I would also question why the builder does not want to put the drains in the ground, which is normal and easy, and proven. What stage is construction at now?

In Scotland it is compulsory to show an area that can be used as a work space, even including sufficient socket positions. This does not have to be a discrete room but can be in a hallway if big enough. Perhaps those who know can say how long this has applied.