Redoctober

welcome @Stratman you are certainly in the right place. It is interesting to read that you have designed your house along similar lines to one you have previously lived in. This is exactly what we did. We found that our exisiting house layout worked well for us and would do so in future years, so opted for a similar layout with additional bits. You may wish to read thriough my blog which charts our progress back in the day. Be mindful though some of the "figures" are no doubt well past their "best befre date" as we completed our project back in 2018. That said, the process remains pretty much the same I would argue. Anyway, good luck and keep us all posted.

I don't think there was any meaning in his suggestion, other than simply trying to offer me a way, that would re-assure me that the mositure in the slab had been dealt with. I did employ this method and it seemed to provide me with that re-assurance I needed prior to tiling etc. 👍

When we had ours put down, the UFH guy suggested a way of seeing whether or not the moisture had gone. He said tape down a large square bit of plastic sheeting to see if any "mositure" apperared on the bottom of it overnight. He also recommended using a particular progrmme on the UFH system which ran the heating for a period of time - warming the slab up nice and slowly - reaching a peak of around 40C - before coming back down.

Needed for sign off ! How close to the threshold were you? I have known people who have "been allowed to leave a gap" somewhere in order to raise the figure in their favour. But that said, your feeling has hit this debate square on the head. It does carry weight though, as you have lived without such a thing for a good few years and one could argue, your lifestyle hasn't been affected by it not being in your life. No one can really argue against the benefits of such a system, it boils down to whether or not the individual considers it a worthy investment, on balance.

@bmj1 for our Indian sandstone slabs outside, I have used "easy joint" - comes in many colour ways. It has done a very good job since it has been down, so worth the investment I feel.

Likewise, I'm in full agreement. In fact we have them in our house - Kitchen / hallway etc. and they look a treat with the finished grout. Not sure how you will "grout" them in outdoors though. Have you considered what product you will be using for that purpose?

Hi @Mike DC This is very close to us - we actually pass it on a regular basis into "town" and we have been enjoying its development / progress for many a month now. The roofer needs to mentioned in despatches because the slates are just wonderful. - The work going on inside looks equally impressive. Was the rendered extension a cause of concern for the planners? I though they may have insisted on stone to tie it all in?

Hi @Tarrel and welcome - Sounds an interesting project and it seems you are well equiped to make a good go of it. Photos would be nice and should you have any specific questions, just ask away. Enjoy the ride.

hi @brenthope welcome to the forum. What is a small home developer and as for what direction would you like to be pointed in, can I suggest you give us a clue as to where you want to go!?

@Post and beam We too have a cold roof and had a very similar issue just before Christmas - I purchased this item and touch wood it has solved our problems - It is very pliable and what I did was I rolled it up and "wedged" it between the sarking board and insulation within our loft space. It still allows for ventilation but stops any unwanted guests entering. https://renew-store.co.uk/products/200mm-bird-mesh-kit-1-roll-x-30m-black?variant=47686595019091&country=GB&currency=GBP&utm_medium=product_sync&utm_source=google&utm_content=sag_organic&utm_campaign=sag_organic&srsltid=AfmBOoppwgXeEqjbpFoBT4kdziLXJWRo-lYXpB7x7j4Ahyq3uY_BNi2BsaY

Very interesting - didn't know that - every day's a school day👍

No creaking whatsoever coming from the upstairs floor - all nice and solid - Pity I can't say the same about our staircase though. There is an annoying creak on step number 4 - oh well, all part of the fabric of the house🤣

This is exactly what drove us to do what we did and also, it is our experience having lived with it for the past 5 years or so. I'm so pleased I went the " extra mile " on this part of our build and put in UFH upstairs. Yes, as always, there are alternative options, but for the reasons stated above by @Dunc I'm more than happy. Not only that, it allowed us the freedom to place furniture etc where we wanted, without having to navigate radiators or panel heaters etc.

This is exactly what we found when researching our build. We looked very closely at Border Oak but just couldn't make the remaining wall space work for us with a "frame" that was within our budget. So, like a few others here, we have incorparted "oak" in to our TF house with a stone external wall - Even to the point of introducing two 4 metre oak beams into the main rooms downstairs. Not structural, just aesthetic.

Blimey, are you suggesting that you are willing to put up with the smell to save on the energy costs? The reason we don't have ours emptied every year is because of the work done by the pump. How much does it cost you to empty annually? A bit of research may reveal that you don't need it emptied every year. Perhaps you could look at getting a more effeicent pump! If you are seeking some sort of validation of your proposal, then I'm not sure you are going to get it from here.