flanagaj

when connecting an internal sink waste to soil pipe, do you have to have a bottle gulley outside or can it simply connect to a sweeping 90 degree bend out through the building and then connect to the main soil pipe with Y joint? I am anticipating someone telling me that even though it's only a sink that feeds that section, it still needs to be rodable. As we have an ACO drain running around the perimeter, the bottle gulley won't work as it will be pushed further out from the house.

If you are paying trades on day rate, should they be expected to bring their own equipment? Eg, should a groundworker bring their own laser level and if so, should you expect to be charged hire or should this be in their day rate. I've got a good laser level and all my own equipment, but I really don't want other people using it.

If a gas travelled along a pipe which then branched and one branch went off at a steeper gradient compared to the main run, I suspect it will take the pass of least resistance. The branched run can have an AAV, but not a SVP as I don't want anything through the roof. I assume the svp is to allow air in so as to not create a pressure differential as the water moves down the pipe, but also for gasses to escape. The ensuite is on the first floor

Below is the currently designed drainage run for our house. I am contemplating moving the IC circled in red, simply because the invert level is 860mm below the FFL and these will be a PITA with regards to the footings. I am wondering whether I can instead take the soil pipe out the East side of the house at a level that works and then simply run with a 45 degree branch down into either a Y on the main branch (if allowed with regs) or run into another IC further along the branch to the east side. Yes, it will mean that there is a short section which will exceed the 1/40 slope. That section will be used for discharging a utility room and ensuite bathroom. The only possibly complexity is around the fact that we are on a treatment plant and I have a feeling that gasses from the tank could in theory travel up the pipe and then up the first branch. We are planning an SVP at the head of the stack, but I am not sure this would help if we had a branch.

I need two 250mm * 100mm * 2400mm oak sleepers, but am struggling to source them. I didn't know whether anyone may know of a saw mill in the above areas that could cut them for me.

A ground bearing slab means the inner leaf is built directly off the foundations.

It's fine. I've got back to the TA regarding the blocks and he is liaising with the company who did the SAP calcs to find out whether a medium density block will result in the target 0.18 value.

I am interested in this. If you are having a ground bearing slab, is it worth running a single course of insulated block either below DPC or above DPC. What benefits does this provide?

Thanks @Iceverge! That is perfect and you have listed suitable materials that come in cheaper than my estimators quote too 🙂 If we had a bigger budget then I'd look to improve the U value further, but if I don't keep costs down, we'll have to sell when we have finished the build.

The cladding is something we don't want to change.

I have put the numbers into the knauf calc and I end up at 0.19. The other issue is that I am using timber clad and not render.

Is there any reason not to use 7.3N blocks for the outer leaf? We are having vertical wood cladding on the upper floor and brick below. I have plugged some options into the calculator. If I use a medium dense or dense block for the outer leaf, I have too use a celcon or thermalite for the inner leaf. Is that typically the norm?

Can anyone provide guidance on achieving a U value of 0.18 W/mK with a 7.3N block outer leaf and 150mm cavity and 32 Dritherm cavity batts. Do I have no choice but to use expensive aircrete blocks? I am now wondering whether a 90mm T&G PIR cavity would enable me to use cheaper blocks and therefore come in at a cheaper £/M2 for the masonry walls. Any builders on here able to provide some options for achieving the required 0.18 U value and how costs compare for different options?

They seem to vary widely. https://materialsmarket.com/building-materials/bricks-blocks/engineering-bricks

So I'm going to purchase some engineering bricks for below ground and for a couple of courses that will be behind the wood cladding. What I'm struggling to understand is why you'd pay £1.50 for some class A glazed, when a 22N concrete brick is £0.50?

So I receive the below from Norrsken as I am trying to understand the required build up for the sliding doors. Front edge to back edge dimensions of the cill is 204mm. This will therefore mean, that the back edge of the door will sit directly over the 150mm cavity. I am not sure whether the detailing below is for the European market, but the outer leaf is clearly not brick as it is > 1/2 the width of 204mm. Does anyone have a cross section detail. I am keen to understand how the insulation / screed and inner leaf brick / block course is adapted to get a 'level' threshold.

I wrongly assumed that regs drawings and construction drawings are the same thing. This is because my brother in law used the same chap for his drawings. Just for my own understanding, how do construction details differ from building reg drawings? when I gave our drawings to an SE, he just did calcs for the steels. He didn’t make any mention of what concrete blocks …

But isn't that what the technical architect is supposed to do? Building control have signed off the drawings, but still so many questions. Now I'm beginning to understand why the original architects wanted 10k and this guy only charged 2k

Our vague regs drawings just state the walls will achieve a U value of 0.18W/m2k and consist of high strength 7 concrete blocks. I went back to the TA, who wasn't much help and he said "when you know what blocks you you are using, I'll run it back through the SAP calcs". I can't be bothered with the faff and want to know if 7N blocks can be used across the whole build. Thermalites are expensive and will they really reduce the U values, or would another layer of insulation in the loft offset their better thermal performance. I need to get materials ordered as footings are scheduled to be pulled in 3 weeks time.

I also like the idea of a large tank as if the soakaway ever failed, I could simply fit a submersible pump into the tank and sneakily pump it out onto the road, which then flows down to a very large pond which always has loads of capacity. Hoping it would never be required, but it's a useful backup.

I still need to size it, but thinking 5000 litres.

I dont' think the TA even though about that 😞 A sump before the tank makes a lot of sense.

We have a level threshold around the whole house and therefore we need to install ACO drainage. As space is tight down the back of the property, I was wondering whether the downpipes from the guttering can feed into the ACO drain, instead of having to have a separate pipe system for the guttering downpipe. The tech architect who did our drawings has drawn an ACO on one drawing, but then seems to have drawn standard underground 110mm pipe for the guttering.

So that is quite straightforward should I need / decide to go down that path?

Ok, I think I was over complicating matters, by thinking I could run the UFH above dew point and run the fan coils at a much colder temperature to really make the bedrooms cool, but I suspect that running it at 16-17 degs is perfectly fine and will create a nice cold room for hot summer weather.