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I'm now at the point of getting the Architect to start on my building warrant drgs and hence have some key decisions to make to freeze everything. We are still between SIPS and TF and this will figure itself out in the next week or two when I talk with my two shortlisted suppliers. I have decided to go with an insulated foundation from KORE after I now have prices and I have a good plan together to achieve this on a semi DIY basis with experienced trades where required (I.e. pouring the concrete). We will have a white render finish externally, likely to be K rend silicone or similar (with Siberian larch on our main kitchen living area) , however I have spent weeks toying back and forth on whether the outer skin will be render on block work or on render board. I am based in West coast of Scotland...so it is pretty wet, it gets windy but we are not very exposed, surrounded by trees mostly but we are in the middle of our big say 1.5 acre plot. I would prefer it do on render board for the following reasons: 1) Simplifies the Insulated foundation with no external ring beam required - cost saving of approximately £2-3k overall. 2) Easy to fit render board and I could DIY the battens if I wanted to, theoretically should be quicker. 3) No wet trade required (which is hit and miss here as I don't have anyone I know specifically) 4) No requirement for lintels etc above windows. 5) From what I can gather - blockwork will end up more expensive.(I haven't gathered all the costs to compare them yet, this is perception so far) However before I take the final step and confirm render board I am trying to identify potential issues that I can foresee and niggles in the back of my head. Some are justified some aren't. Listed below: 1) Render on render boards has a higher tendency to crack - I have seen this mentioned regularly. However I think it's a red herring and linked directly to bad application and workmanship. If you follow the instructions and undertake careful detailing I am sure this cannot be true. I fully intend to find the best tradesmen I can for applying the render. 2) High street Mortgage lenders - less likely to lend against not having a blockwork outer skin? would I be limited and not able to a access the best rates? 3) Buildings insurance - As above, would I see increased premiums? limited options? 4) Blockwork is just more sturdy - This has to be correct, but really is this just in my mind? I am struggling to understand what difference I may actually notice? 5) Decrement delay - The only technical issue I can see might be that I would get a better decrement delay with blockwork, which is helpful for those hot days, especially considering I am aiming for high levels of airtightness. But not wildly a problem I would think..this is Scotland after all. So is there any other reason i shouldn't do it? thanks.

We're about to start battening, renderboarding and rendering our timber frame... the renderer has been pushing the structural engineer on whether or not we're required to incorporate compression joints into our huge swaths of render, and, having been somewhat vague about the issue, the engineer now advised compression/movement joints ought to go in. I've not found much online, but what I've come across is lines that run down or across the render which would tarnish the design of the house. Has anyone had to incorporate these into their build? Would you share pictures? and does anyone know what the guidance is on these? And whether they're necessary?