saveasteading

Yes. small but it all adds up.

You haven't finished the sentence....in the afternoon you went and did what?

That only works as a heat reflector if it is onto an air space eg void. Years ago they said it was otherwise but the claim seems to be dropped now. The same applies to a membrane.

That's a good way of delaying the job or passing reposnsibility, if you want to. I think that is extreme. On the other hand, if that works you know it's very ok.

No problem. If doing it yourself then bear in mind the issue of not adding water to the design mix: as well as extra drying time it will crack more. If using a builder they like to add water for their own ease. If getting it delivered, the driver insists on a signature for extra water (because they know the problems arising) . Tell him he is not to add water. If mixing on site, be strict on the mix recipe. you should put polyethene or hessian over it after a few hours, when safe to do so without marking. That keeps it damp and it will be the stronger for it, barely crack visibly, and, counterintuitively dry more quickly after the covering is off. The screed will then hydrate, taking most water into the chemistry and it will dry in 2 weeks or so IF you keep the rain off it. Don't be tempted to heat it. Tell us how it goes please? My experience is mostly with concrete floors of 150mm, or more, desperately needing them dry enough for covering. 1 day per mm = 5 months . Suffice to say it never took more than 2. BUT we followed all the above rules about water and curing.

Tell them your proposal first. Steel protection isn't generally their expertise, and they like to see a detail straight from the brochure.

Good plan! saves measuring repeatedly.

I wasn't aware of this make. Is it readily available and good value? There are other makes available as standard so ask around. Yes this principle is a solution and easy.

Same with timbers. Unless you need lots of dwangs/ noggins. And they will moan about it taking their time to sort it. I once had a job with heritage bricks that were uneven. The brickie simply discarded the bent ones to ground. Our ( not for long) site manager who valued tidyness above the things he didn't understand, had them collected and skipped. Emptying and harvesting the skip stopped this soon enough. So discuss it first. Btw I've said before: in an industry group we calculated that each average skip cost £2,500 when including stuff that shouldn't be in it. I heard myself called 'the skip inspector' , but it worked. Number of waste skips on a £1M job? 4. Perhaps add a metal or timber/paper skip as required.

If i had a lot of depth to fill, i would likely use eps on the bottom rather than subbase or pir. There are diminishing returns with thickness so eps might be optimal there.

The omly way to be sure is by testing the moisture level. It varies dramatically acc to product, water content temperature and humidity. If the location is dry and warm then it is much faster than 1mm/day. Especially for a dry mix or any without excess water (most then goes into the chemical structure)

The figures are in the suppliers' literature. You need about double the pir thickness. So fill the space then put another layer over the top. If using pir, ask your builders merchants for pir that isn't kingspan or celotex or St Gobain. As you don't want to use suppliers who were responsible for Grenfell. There are plenty.

Another thought. Wastage can be devisive. The amount of half blocks and wasted cement tends to rise when the builder isn't paying.

Imagine your contractor adds 20% for overhead and profit. They don't collect any of that until their vat return. Not a comfortable way to run a business. Timing can help to reduce the 3 month wait. Or the client buys materials and reclaims at the end of the job. Offering to pay the bills very promptly can overcome this, as does having no retention. But for this you need utter confidence in the builder. As perspective....I did a £3M project where the VAT liability was not clear and HM customs wouldn't even make a ruling prestart. Scary. But the same applies at whatever cost to some extent.

Insulation. The easy bit is below. Most heat goes off the top in simple heat transfer but also in evaporation . Is small enough that you can lay a bubble wrap on the surface and a tarpaulin over the top. You could add extra layers. It keeps the dirt out too and birds/insects/children. You could also build a timber surround and fill it. That could link with access/jumping platform/seating. £10 per week might be about right with all that. Less in summer.

You called? PIR is twice as effective as eps. In floors it is easy to lay as sheets so I don't have any criticism But it is horrid to cut and fix between joists, making it hard work and less effective. In steel buildings the PIR is extruded into a sandwich between 2 sheets of profiled steel, forming a single item, and no gaps, and there is no better way for big steel roofs and walls. It burns. But not a lot in properly designed and constructed. buildings. EPS is much more flammable and also melts readily. PU also burns. It is cheaper in cladding than pir but is for agriculture not industry.....animals and crops are not valued as much as people. It would be OK under a slab but I dong think is available. Why don't people like PIR? It was badly used on Grenfell. In everyday use though it's as I've said. For your floor slab I can't see a reason for 300 eps rather than 150 pir. But I now try to avoid the brands Celotex and Kingspan for moral reasons. Others are available. I've seen sheds after fires. Eps was awful, and spread the fire fast and widely. Fibreglass doesn't burn, and turns to sand, harmlessly in extreme heat. Some mineral wool has more resistance. Pir in a composite steel casing pretty doesn't burn because no air reaches it. But it has been known to fall off walls during fire and fire fighters stay clear.

There are a lot who are bullies and try it on. Keep it civil and on the record as this becomes important if it does get legal.

Have a look tomorrow and report what the problem is, with photos. then the BH superbrain can help......i've been where you are and others will have too. there are solutions..

I'm sympathetic to these installers. Presumably they haven't come across this process. It worries people that having heard of it, that they might lose out. As a contractor you pay vat on materials, plant and subcontractors. You reclaim it only quarterly. In vatable work the client is covering this cashflow. But in non vatable work it can hit cashflow hard, and is a free loan to the government. The contractor has to cover it somehow. Is a vat registered business obliged to take the work? I dont think so. More discussion may resolve this but I suggest don't be angry or critical.

Big. Mine was enough with a normal ladder, but the fold down one takes more space, and some stuff is now stuck up there forever. Just 100mm too small and it becomes awkward.

What would be the problem if the wall just continued to fall over? It is their wall?

I didn't know that energy source could be harnessed.

Because the walls are linear. Then the width of the footing will turn it into /m2. Safety factors...different factors are applied to dead/live/wind in a realistic way. As the chance of everything being at maximum*, plus 1m of snow on the roof plus a hurricane at the same time is low. * the building weight is known. Then you allow for a reasonable amount of furnishing and people. Not grand pianos everywhere and dancing. These figures are standard and published, but are changed by purpose if it is e.g. a fitness room. There are other safety factors built into the structure itself, for inferior materials or workmanship. The other thing the SE looks at is proximity of trees and the effect on the ground.

Do you have this beam already with the plate welded to the bottom? Unlikely, as we don't know how wide it is. A cross section would explain all. If your Engineer is a sole practitioner, message them....it is part of the job, and character building. If they are in a bigger practice, get someone else to answer. In my mind this will be a 10mm plate the width of the beam, 102mm, plus cavity, unknown, and outer skin, presumably 100mm, then less 25mm, as the steel is not to be exposed. Buy we should not be guessing. It should also specify the weld and not leave that to the fabricator. Then there are the plates..welded outside of the beam for some reason. I see you have to galvanise it after fabrication. Sorry, only the designer knows what is intended.

The same guy explained that they did a real fire in a test room with 2 x 2 stud and plasterboard screwed in, with no jointing. the stud charred where exposed but no worse. but as this was not the purpose of the test it was not published. With metal stud I wouldn't be so confident. So our ovens get repeatedly soft, but aren't structural so its ok?