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JFDI... unless you put in exact mm measurements on your plans, 30mm on a 1:50 planning application is the thickness of a very fine pencil line.

Just had a look online for you, apparently Ficus are particularly sensitive to the herbicide triclopyr, which is available in several products in the UK. Also any wood boring you do to inject this stuff, make sure it goes in instantly, as ficus heal rapidly, and wear gloves! Its highly irritant latex which comes out in the white sap.

Thanks for the kind words, and sorry for not being around much - I came down with the flu; my fault for ignoring all the nagging to get the jab..........). Getting over it now, and trying to catch up here and with an email backlog, a seemingly massive task! I agree wholeheartedly with your approach. We did much the same in using professionals where it made a great deal of sense to, but questioned the need to use anyone else for just about everything, with my starting position being "could I learn to do this myself, safely?". If the answer to that was "yes", then that's what I did. The hardest part for me was the artistic design stuff, I really am not at all good with that side of stuff at all, give me a technical problem to solve any day!

And the best outcome possible has been found ..... The camera shows a hole with solid sides all the way through. How can that be? Easy To facilitate cutting blocks exactly in half some blocks have a double central wall with a three or four mil gap between them. Normally blocks have a single web joining both sides. Those would be really hard to cut in half. I had accidentally put my drill exactly between the two central webs : and so drilled through fresh air. Photo to follow. I will double check by drilling 20mm either side of the original hole where there should be concrete (and back-fill with foam) Yours faithfully, Relieved of Lancaster

I'm not much further forward than you. Got planning permission beginning of September - builder ready to start as soon as got the go ahead. Architects totally pathetic. Not advising necessary steps, not keeping me informed, not doing as she promised - meant we broke ground in December - and then regretted it as other things that 'due diligence' would have suggested she 'do; tell; inform;' didn't happen so ended up paying out silly monies because time was of the essence, builder was on site and Christmas meant delays of various kinds. Moving forward now, but still getting issues arising that either wouldn't have happened or could have been better planned for. My advice would be to sort out utility plans and quotes, engineering calcs, planning conditions sign off; before setting any dates to start physical work. Oh and I have already 'spent' about 24k of a 20k (20%) contingency Really not trying to 'rain on your parade' --- I and You will still have the privilege of living in our own individual home - but the more time taken getting things right at the start will prevent many headaches. Unfortunately I didn't find this forum early enough. Having said that - one thing this forum is really good at (as well as giving great advice; points to consider;opportunities to laugh at and commiserate with others) is an awareness that s*** happens to the best of us. AND some of it is far worse than financial.

Building a house is easy. It's like riding a bike. Except the bike is on fire and you're on fire and everything is on fire and you're in hell.

it's from then70's, you expected something else

Hi and welcome. Have you had the property long ? Looks like natural sag, so I don't think it's about to cave in any time soon . Ian's gentle encouragement is so we can get some background and additional info. .

6x2 on flat across joists and 2-3 4x2's cut and hammered to vertical. you could start with an acro prop in middle of sag prior to placing vertical members

We'll need a good deal more detail, please. Roof covering Age Roof condition Timber survey Research done before making your first post Indulge us with a little effort, please.

They look ok online. Some good reviews though you can never be sure how genuine online reviews are We started with a figure of 10K But after going round virtually all the Kitchen suppliers we have realised that this amount is insufficient with appliances costing £7500 and granite or corian a further 4. I intend fitting the kitchen myself. But even with cheaper carcasses and doors we are miles out. You've nothing to lose by getting a quote from this company

I am of the JFDI type.

Have a read of the link i posted. If you cut it down, the roots grow even quicker, the stump is the access route for herbicide, so don't cut it straight out, make good use of it! Any form of cutting, and it will simply strengthen whats left. So the last thing to do is cut it down, when it is truly dead.

I’m not sure why all the comments on killing these figs. You want to remove them, not leave them there but dead get them cut down and get the stumps either ground out, or grubbed out with an excavator, then you can treat any new growth that may come back with a herbicide. What is is the point of having a dead tree stood up in the air. And as for drilling holes and filling with diesel, that’s not exactly the most environmentally sound idea, ??

Link for the article regarding Triclopyr: http://homeguides.sfgate.com/chemical-kill-ficus-roots-62378.html

Whatever you do, plan your attack and go in with intent!

The neighbours directly behind us should either know by now as the leaves are pretty unmistakable, not to mention the fruit..... and if they haven't guessed then they are dim t be honest! They don't have a garden, they have a yard full of various 'project' cars that never seem to move and they walk about in string vests and trousers that seem to be always teasing onlookers with white hairy buttocks!! Thanks for all the tips... I will try what I can and kill the beasts, will take some better photos and keep a prognosis report going... lol !!!

Shall I rename the thread "day of the triffids"?

Oh as for your glyphosate worries, as long as it goes in the tree and not on the ground you'll be fine, even if it does go on the ground it will wash away over the months and years ahead.

I'd have thought the neighbour will shit a brick when they know what's growing so say nowt. Just ask permission to 'prune' the 'bushes' . Probably one down from Japanese Knotweed and also a mortgage killer if anyone looks at buying yours or next door. Kill this quickly and quietly. ?

Why should they? Why don't you arrange it? Demand it? Encourage it?

Get some tree stump killer, same as above, drill holes into it, and keep putting it in, eventually it will get the idea and die, but don't expect overnight results. Also if you can peel a bit of the bark away and get some down there too, that will likely speed things up a little. Dig a trench all the way around the tree(s) (if you can, not sure it one side is neighbours), and sever an roots you find, should also give you an idea of where the offshoots may pop up. Then it'll just be a case of digging up the smaller ones as and when they pop up. A digger is likely to be your friend for the trench, there will be a hell of a lot of roots from that set!

If you can cut your way into the trunks drill some holes with the widest wood bit you have and put some diesel into the holes. Keep topping it up and it will poison the tree and make it easier to rip out when the digger arrives.

Persistence. No matter how you feel, no matter what's going on around you. Just Bloody Do It. JBDI

Painful!! 2 months ahead of schedule though, a ‘saving’ of £548 !

What's wrong with one of those cheap cameras that connect direct to your phone/tablet? Could be a handy thing.

@Onoff There are cheaper options which avoid the need for a screen by sending the picture to your smartphone or laptop/tablet eg: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B077ZLCNMK/ref=sspa_dk_detail_0?psc=1&pd_rd_i=B077ZLCNMK&pd_rd_wg=P8Nit&pd_rd_r=9ZYCVCMS81ZE3PMB2PR6&pd_rd_w=2kEdB

For those of you who might be interested in Durisol, here's the detail from outside a block and from inside it..... The blocks look like this : the gap between the two halves is where (the bit that looks like a crevasse) , unwittingly I drilled.... and this is the image created by the inspection camera As you can see, there is no void (other than that created by the drill) in the block. The inspection camera I used creates an image and a video which it saves to it's internal drive (4 Gb): it hooks up to a computer (in this case a Chromebook) and the tool acts just like any other external drive. Very easy to create an evidence base. Now there's money spent on a tool which gave an instant return.

Welcome ...! First comment is why change to a spiral staircase ..?? They are intrusive and impractical and at that size you are talking about a custom design so probably no change from £7-8k min. What ceiling height does the cinema room have ...? Looks to be too low..?

Weather struck & cut -rake out & re-point £45-£60/m2. Those are the rates I see quoted on social media,varying by region. As for £10/brick,if supply & fit,prob about right. Yes,not long to rake joints out with grinder but cleaning all the old mortar out,damping down the dust,laying replacement brick,packing the top joint in,pointing & then brushing-as said,you wouldn’t see much change out of half an hour.

No, I meant photos of the house. Phhhhh.

I'm 99% sure it's these ones but the exact ones we fitted came from a swansea supplier via the electrician. Annoyingly that seller above has a listing with options of cool or warm white. Bugger. Id check first but great if they offer both

Help any...

Most of us might have thought this, and isn't about time that someone invented the Tardis? You have to make decisions based on the best evidence at the time you make them. Others might make a different decision; you might do the same with 20/20 hindsight. We can't go back; only forward.

That's why they will charge a £10 a brick. Hammering out each brick will break at least 3 silverline cold chisels.

Move.

So my suggestion would be, wiggle your mouse a lot, wiggle it in the morning in the evening and wiggle it a bit more on Saturday. Buy your materials weeks before they are needed, make lots of tea tidy up and. Stay out of the builders way. Forget learning a trade learn how to plan manage and deal with lads who may have a different background to yourself. Learn what is actually acceptable, you need to be able to tell the difference between a lad laying blocks in a trench that may look a bit rough to the untrained eye, compared to a diy chancer who has been on a 4 week night course. Do you have any new build near you ? Go and have a look around talk to the owners and ask if they are happy with who they used. If you build to just above building regs you will achieve it for your budget build it live in it, sell it, build another to a better standard you can’t start at the top, take it steady with a realistic outlook and you will do it. No boiling water taps, pop up extractor fans, or wall mounted toilets. There are plenty of people on here having a few dramas, but there are thousands who would give their right arm for the chance to build their own home. Hurry up and get started.

The key issue for self-builders who are not themselves time-served trades people is networks: human networks Of the -roughly- twenty trades people have been round our site, either working or blowing smoke into parts of my anatomy. Of those, 10 or so said they'd love to self build: and maybe two or three really meant it. They were the most engaging people to talk to: I could feel the fizz in their demeanor, the closeness of their questions, the sheer energy bubbling out of them. Everyone of them knew exactly who was going to do what on their build. In academic-speak, they had all socialised with one another often since school: their social technical networks were complete. And so when I struck a slightly discordant note [ say: we aren't having any hot water ducted anywhere in the building - why suffer the standing heat loss?] one or two of them stopped, and looked at me as if i was crazy - a tree hugger, or yogourt knitter. But they understood the explanation of the strategy behind the statement. They weren't used to thinking on any other lines other than those into which they'd been so powerfully socialised for so long. A nerd like me (as is the local view, I'm told) has great difficulty in breaking into those networks. They are very powerful indeed. And I think one of the outcomes of that recognition - for them - is often to attempt to over-charge. (I hear the song in my head "Will you walk away from a fool and his money?") The only way I have found of approaching such powerful people is by persistent politeness, and careful nurture. They are as powerful as the local elites ( see the story of Rollo). In the words of one of my lecturers: beware of those who are low-enough in the pecking order to really matter. Treat them well. That socialising on our part takes massive amounts of time, and if it doesn't, it takes massive amounts of money. You already have the necessary self-build skill. Go talk to people. A Lot.

PMSL, full-on, tea through my nose, dropped the cup, smashed it, still laughing Welcome indeed VoH. Or may I guess, dude? I dare ya! A photo would do us all a power of good. @Onoff will be along shortly with soothing words of procrastination and electro-babble. He specialises in wet fingered dabbling in plastic wires that contain smoke. Ian

I think your summary is a good place to reflect. For example. Assuming you lay these at 30 bricks per hour it will take you 50 hrs to do, saving £12 per hour. Your brickie will do this in 16hrs. Assuming it takes 20hrs to do this, saving £20 per hour. I think the savings can be MUCH larger compared to your builder popping into TP on the way in to the build. Scour internet / eBay etc and ask for discounts, purchase from Europe, so the hourly saving could be £40 upwards. If you are going to prioritise on that basis, it is a no brainer.