saveasteading

Very interesting. Absolutely, prepare a sketch, make it look technical, and propose it. Does the pipe come to you curved? What lengths? I'd cut it into 1m or so and band it into bundles of 4 (square) or 5 ((round, and better?). Perhaps have 10mm holes drilled in every pipe??? Then wrap in non-woven geomembrane and band that too. These then get laid along the trench or piled in a hole in a gravel surround. Name it the Shetland Sustainable Soakaway.

A roof has a purpose. To keep the weather out, esp water. If it doesn't then the fault is with the designer, or contractor, unless someone else has messed with it. Why would 2 different ' experts' disagree on this issue? Perhaps claims experts rather than roofing experts? Otoh if one of my metal roofs had a leak, I would personally find the problem and usually it was just a screw and I'd sort it...... ie one of the workers bodged it and another one might not resolve it properly. i.e. it's specialist. If the whole roof is built wrong then that's another matter. Excuse me not having read up on the original discussion.

great idea. if you were to band them together and wrap in membrane then it would be a recognisable 'thing'. I would propose it to the bco first, but seriously expect approval or else ask why not, and argue as long as it took. Reasons not to? Strength. Crates can carry loads. does yours need to? Fills with muck? so wrap it in membrane, as you would a crate anyway. Not perforated so acts as long pipes....so cut them or perforate them. Advantages, other than cost, reusing waste product. Linear if you so choose. If you have the choice, then a long trench arrangement will often work better than the design implies. By exposing more ground surface to the water there is more soakage. plus there is much more chance of exposing a more permeable bit of ground, perhaps broken up by roots. I've considered doing this, and if old pipes are not available then using cheap perforated land drain pipe, banded together. What else might be cheap as void fillers for those of us without salmon frames nearby? (What are those pipes anyway and why are they available?) errmmm. Traffic cones. Plastic drums after the liquid is used....make holes in them. Vegetable crates Ideas please.

So it is a shared treatment plant? You share the use and running cost? Do you share the installation cost too?

You were discussing your project with a friend. They mentioned that your SE or their draughtsman has mistakenly shown an industrial floor joint, and assuming shuttered pours*, instead of a simple domestic crack inducer. Could they alter it please? That could be the reality anyway. * it assumes you pour the right hand side against a shutter, with the bars sticking out. Then the rest with the bar in a sleeve to let it slide. Just wrong, and old -fashioned even for industrial loading.

The above drawing is for heavy industrial slabs. Even then, they don't expand, ever. You just need crack control. Ensure the concrete isn't too wet, keep it under polythene for a week, and let millions of tiny cracks appear. It won't move again. It might benefit from crack inducing joints but that depends on your slab design.

Well done and enjoy being Principal Contractor. We are here for you.

A fibre cable is very thin and not strong. So don't put it anywhere likely to be damaged. From the box intp the house the cable is even skinnier. Mine is overhead from a roadside pole to the house, then pinned along the wall.

Tradespersons round TW are busy and picky just now. I think first try your local community Facebook page.

Yes they usually have lots of knots, because they only span 600mm. the price relates to that. ask your local timber merchant for better, quality. Tanalised is standard in 47 x 47 structural timber but it costs more. I think moisture is critical to corrosion, so internally should be no problem. Given what it say here, there should be fixings with extra galvanising for exposed conditions.

OK. So the existing roof downpipe is cut off by the new extension? All the water streams across at one point, oversailing the new gutter, hence the regs telling you to spread the flow. Another way is to add an extra dp to the existing. The weak point in the flow of a gutter is the outlet. So you could add another or fit a hopper.

Is the question 1. Can my ditch take this extra water? 2. Can the extension gutters and pipes take the water? 3. Is it ok to drop this water from existing roof onto the new roof? Why do you think "no"? 4. Other.

Nobody here doubts that it makes heat. It is the cost of installation and running costs that are of interest and the general view is that this is like Warmup electric matting. ie expensive to run and not for justifiable space heating. Got any costs you can publish?

And then where?

Green raft insulation. Is that Greenguard? I wasn't aware of this bug just looked it up. Makes sense to have extra strong insulation when under such heavy load as must be being designed for. 180mm of this appears to cost £48/m2. I wonder if your SE has made the slab thick just to match the beam, and to spread the beam load wider over the insulation. My stingy take on this is to have no insulation under this industrial floor and add extra elsewhere. Ground isn't a bad insulater anyway. I'd love to see the calc's for this slab as there is something I'm not grasping. OR the SE isn't great on value.... most aren't... only me and @Gus Potter.

This design is so over the top. OK the 100mm of concrete isn't suitable as your slab but it is presumably intact and strong. 25mm to 100mm blinding is remarkable. Is it to provide a level surface or hide a grotty surface? But 75mm variance? If anything it's a weakness and will have footprints in it. 250mm reinforced slab on all that? It's not going anywhere. How about zero to 25mm blinding, and 200mm slab? The joint looks industrial too and could be simplified. If this is a steelworks or military tank factory rather than a house then ignore my comments. I apologise for being whimsical, but I've built heavy duty factories and lorry garages with 30t hoists , slightly lighter than this design.

Re taking references. Obv the builder only gives the happy customers so it can be a waste of time. This builder could be a decent chap who means no ill, but is not competent I've met many with no idea how a structure works. So in your case he has joined the bits up, and made it fit. If he is insisting on putting it right, then you would need a formal proposal and schedule from a professional expert engaged by him, and very soon.

A recognised professional is what you need now. They don't need to look at the contract or money, just inspect the roof and write to say that the work is inept as witness ....etc. and the building will be unsafe. The work must be remedied by a competent party and they do not believe the current builder is competent. Along those lines. Unfortunately I think this may be quite expensive because the consultant us buying into your problem: the builder may sue or lawyers contact them. UNLESS the building inspector does it for you. Do you have contact?

Cages in first? There is surely a proven alternative I'd hope. Or... stick some vertical bars in your pour as anchors and cut them off later.

I'd thought of IBC's but don't want to risk it strength or durability-wise. I did link 3 above ground once. A proper underground water tank will cost twice as much and be much more reliable. Then make it bigger to get all the rain. PS. In the costing, allow for extra underground pipe and depth if applicable, compared to nearby soakaways.

If i understand this design, the slab has 2 layers of mesh, but at the lines shown the slab has additional reinforcing bars (in plane) to render the slab into beams. It seems cautious but isn't hugely expensive. What do you think you might screw to the floor? All I can think of in a house is a kitchen island. Perhaps a stair? Or a particularly heavy column. Anyway the pipes can be laid through the beams before concreting, as it is simply a cage, and can be as high or low as you wish. So lower the pipes lically or divert them around any fixings area.

Correct. Sewage assumed to be the same m3 as mains water bought. I don't know if that applies everywhere.

It's great to avoid unnecessary nastiness, and try to resolve amicably. BUT you say above... "But he constantly keeps shifting blame to me, saying he can put it right, guilt me etc. " So, hard as it may seem, you need to be unapologetic. Just don't say these things. If in doubt, leave it out. Stick to facts so that it is not personal. eg don't say you have built it wrongly and it is awful....instead, say there are serious issues.... that sort of thing. FYI i have shown your photos to the non-technical family members who are around. (They have some feel for construction through exposure to it in family life and business) They spotted some of the issues, notably the screw fixings and the cut beam. So there is no excuse for your builder having left it like that.

I have seen IR used very successfully in factories, above work stations , heating static worker. Also in garden centres over the tills. The power is quite high but justifiable rather than any other means. I've got a couple of black heaters on an outside wall for heating us on the patio when an evening meal turns a bit chilly for the coffee and another wine. It seemed a great idea at the time, and I was experimenting for professional purposes. But the power use is high, and we would better put on a jumper and hat. And I've got a cheap heater that works with a visibly hot element and light that also emits IR. Described as Halogen AND IR. I use that as it is directional, when watching rugby but banished to a cold room. That, with blanket, works and is a decent compromise for 2 hours. Heating the walls and ceiling is a waste of heat. I can't see the advantage of that at all. I expect the heat loss outwards is also significant.

I'd be reluctant to touch it. You can never quite get the support back under the bricks, and they might move during the works. The eps might be a brilliant idea: I thinking. where is your finished floor level?