Sourcing reasonably priced materials and membrance

[JS7319]

I've priced my garage conversion to be around £3k if I was to buy the materials of local chain store merchant - I'm wondering whether anyone can advise suitable merchants who are competitive on price within the West Midlands area.

Secondly, I'm trying to find a membrane that affixes to the studwork to the interior of the brick wall but don't know enough about the specs to decide on one - can anyone suggest a few with links?

Thanks

 

[mikeey84]

Get your materials list together in a format thatbis logical and easy to understand, and email it out to a few merchants.

There are 2 schools of thought, get them all from 1 place, which may cost more, but is easier, simpler, and likely to get you good customer service if you are spending a wedge, or shop around, buy everything from different places, whichever is cheaper. This can take an age of browsing, and comparing different specifications, but can lead to some significant cash savings (but takes a lot longer and is much more hassle)

 

[JS7319]

I have my list in a spreadsheet with links to the merchants websites, prices per unit and how many I need.

I'm going to do something in the middle, have 3 or 4 suppliers where the goods are cheapest and not research too deeply, especially if the supplier doesn't have the goods on their website with prices. I've short listed a few for the timber and will be going with the cheapest out the two.

I also didn't realise the regularised timber is smaller than the actual size!

Can anyone advise on the membrane I should be using for the studwork that is pressed against the side of the brick wall?

 

[Notch7]

Can anyone advise on the membrane I should be using for the studwork that is pressed against the side of the brick wall?

we need to know the overall construction to advise, however in general on the side nearest the room, it would be normal to use a vapour barrier layer.

when buying timber you will find that the merchants may have a few packs of the timber section you want, so they may have 4.8m lengths and 3.6m lengths -you may need to shop around if your most convenient length is 4.2m

 

[JS7319]

There's a more detailed construction plan here.

I have the vapour barrier figured out - it'll be taping up the joins in the foil faced insulation. It's the barrier that is stapled to the timber that is put against the brick wall.

I have seen this used on some projects, but I don't know what they're for, and whether it needs to be air permeable or vapour permeable, there's many types and they're remarkably expensive:

https://www.insulationsuperstore.co.uk/browse/ceiling-roofing/breather-membranes.html