flanagaj

I can vouch, that even living on site. Trying to project manage a build whilst holding down a full time job is very difficult. We are struggling to find trades and I suspect this is down to trades getting nervous when they see the project is being managed by me. As a result I have spoke with my employer and am fortunate that once the masonry work is completed up to plate, I am going to a 3 day week. I hate using trades as it is, as my experience is that a great many are xxxx and as it's not their property, they are not fussed about doing a great job, lke you would. If you really want a good start, I would advise that you get your plans quantity surveyed. I used estimators as they also provided a schedule of works. Although you will struggle to probably achieve the build in the same timescales as they indicate, it certainly helps you to understand estimated timescales for each stage and which trades will overlap. For example, the brickie will not be pleased if he gets to first floor and you haven't got anyone to get the floor joists in and the Cabodek flooring down. Same goes for having the materials for each stage ready too. Good luck and nobody said building a house was easy (unless you have deep pockets and just write the cheques and occasionally pop a hard hat on)

In that case, it will look utter xxxx

Given I have been probably wasting far too much time and energy worrying about getting the detailing right in relation to our required 'Basic' Radon protection, I am now wondering whether I should scrap the proposed purchasing of Visqueen pre formed corners and instead just adopt the good old tape approach. I am not sure whether many people use the pre formed corners and given that the garage door opening pair and garage side door pair are ~ £240, I am struggling to justify the expense. If I can adopt an approach of cutting DPM pieces and overlapping and jointing with tape, does anyone know of a resource that shows how you can form internal and external corners.

Sorry, but what are kerb units?

We are having a Radon membrane (but I suspect the same applies for a simple DPM) and am just about to put my order in for pre formed Visqueen units. As the floor slab protrudes across the 350mm wide inner leaf/cavity and outer leaf, I am confused as how you stop the slab getting damp from rain water falling on the outer part of the slab which sits outside the garage door, which then creeps internally inside the garage. Below is an image of the pre formed corners, but even if you did not have pre formed corners and cut and taped the DPM around the opening, you still have the issue of the slab running continuously through the opening and outside. Do you simple cast the slab in two sections and have a dpm upstand on the inside and have rebar mesh poking through to the 350mm wide opening section?

I am not worrying about this now. I did further reading and it appears that your architect can only sign as Principal Designer if they oversaw the works. As a self builder who is managing all trades, then it becomes your responsibility. I see now, why taking lots of photos and always referencing the LABC manual is crucial. As you become the Principal Designer.

I was looking at the SE calcs for the lintels and they have only done loading calcs for the 4.4m patio doors and that for the double garage. There are obviously loads of other lintels for cavity wall and internal. Is this common practice or have they done half a job?

Considering the TA we used didn't visit site and won't come to site, that's going to be an interesting conversation.

If you have a physical copy of the LABC regs that you refer to for required works, then surely that must satisfy part of the requirement. Still, good to know that I can sign it myself. What is the actual point of the signed document though?

Can anyone provide some guidance here as I read a post on FB about someone unable to get a completion certificate as their architect was unwilling to sign off as principal designer (no idea what that means). In a nutshell, we did the following. 1) Architect A did planning drawings and secured us planning. 2) Technical Architect B did building reg drawings and submitted them to planning. 3) LABC signed off the drawings and gave us an inspection schedule. 4) Warranty provider has also given us their inspection schedule. I thought that so long as we satisfy 3&4 then we'll get a completion certificate and everything is fine. But I think that maybe I've missed something crucial?

Sorry to hear that. Thanks for sharing your experience though.

I have lots to learn and need to understand that things are not always perfect and accept improvisation will be required.

I am obviously overly complicating these things. It's not my intention, to but I spent nearly 2k on Visqueen membrane, pre formed corners and top hats as I thought it needs to be done with precision. I get the impression that it's a case of just do a Heath Robinson job on it. The PIR tip is useful and I naively thought it needed to be flat and smooth. Having been a furniture maker in a previous life, this hackery is not something I am used to.

That does seem like the logical approach. Do you know whether the SCC can be easily worked so it provides a suitable surface for Radon membrane / insulation. My concern is that the concrete slab is laid and the surface resembles the Alps and then needs remedial works to get it flat enough for PIR / Radon. My plan is to put the the Radon membrane on top of the slab and a sacrificial DPM below the slab. The utilities are quite high and if Radon membrane goes below the slab, it's going to be a hatchet job sealing around the pipes, due to the fact that at that level I am either on the start of the curve of the rest bend, or sat directly on the rest bend collar. Going above the slab puts me on the vertical and will mean I can use the top hats for sealing.

The reason for attempting it myself is mainly due to an inability to find anyone who can do the job OR who I trust to do a good job. Having already had a poor experience of trades, my confidence is at rock bottom.