epsilonGreedy

I have the same laser and would not expect it to work at 20m in full daylight. It does work at twilight, I know this because last month I got up at 3am to project a laser line onto some nearby roof tops relative to my wall plate height in order to gauge my final ridge height. In the early morning gloom I could see the red line on other properties up to 25m away.

I have done that a few times when it was too hot to cut a block, the problem is that in the OP's case of a single block wall the brick will either protrude a bit being wider than 100mm or if turned the other way there will be a dip to fill.

An excellent initiative, quick to get under way unike big civil engineering projects, labour and material intensive hence instant economic activity and recurring payback for the nation as a whole. On the downside could this lead to insulation material inflation? I might need to pre purchase this for my own self build. Final devious thought. If I finished my new build with inline wallas heaters couped to the UFH could I get the Government to fund an ASHP?

Medium = something around 14kg per block @100mm thick e.g. Hemelight https://www.tarmac.com/blocks/hemelite/hemelite-standard/ It is just the common sense way to interlock blocks at a corner, you need to have a strong argument for doing anything else. Then having decided on stretcher bond and properly bonded corners the 90/100mm blocks are just a consequence of how the maths works out.

In hindsight I should have built a complete internal chimney breast off a subwall in the fonds. Many new builds in my village have a false brick chimney sitting on a metal gallows bracket welded insitu into the gable cavity wall. Given my hipped roof the solution recommended by multiple experts was a brick plinth at wall plate height with the corbel starting 8 bricks below wall plate. The centre of gravity of the chimney is within the 300mm wide cavity wall so the corbelled plinth will only experience significant strain during high winds.

A double portion of dot and dab cement or something more adhesive. The concept is to stiffen the internal block cavity wall 2m below the corbled chimney support and say 1.5m either side so a total reinforced wall panel 6m2 in total.

Fair point, I should have asked a simpler question. "Which board is the strongest when subjected to a variety of loads e.g. compression, tension and bending?". I suspect it will be the Glasroc or particle cement board. The hardiebacker cement board UI purchased earlier this year in 6mm and 12mm thickness is incredibly strong stuff.

My house is meant to look as though Jane Austen might have visited 220 years ago, a chimney brace could help reinforce that impression.

Thanks I was not aware of such a device, my chimney will be a similar size though having a hipped roof means less support from surrounding roof carpentry in my case. Some chimneys on the older properties in the village could benefit from such a brace. One reason my chimney is 2.5 bricks wide is that when I mentioned to the architectural technician that the local heritage style is 2 bricks wide he quipped "how many of them have a lean?".

The motivation behind my question is this: During various conversations with different trades on site thay have said the final strength of a house is derived from the combination of its parts i.e. first floor joists stiffen the block inner walls and so do the roof trusses, even the dot & dab plasterboard adds rigidity to a wall apparently. I have expended many brain cycles thinking about the support of my false hipped roof chimneys built up from wall plate height. Three experts including my build control inspector have reassured me that a corbeled brick plinth is fine to support the 250mm internal overhang of my 1215mm x 550mm chimneys. Anyhow to tip the balance of structural stability in my favour when an 80 mph gust strikes my false chimney, I have been thinking that a strong plasterboard could add a few extra percent of stiffening to the internal block wall supporting the chimney. Which extra strong plasterboard would most help in this situation? Firmacell: https://www.fermacell.co.uk/en/dry-lining Habito: https://www.british-gypsum.com/products/gyproc-habito?tab0=0 Glasroc: https://www.british-gypsum.com/products/glasroc-f-multiboard?tab0=0 Cement Particle board: https://www.vivalda.co.uk/products/building-boards/cement-particle-boards/#:~:text=Cement bonded particle boards are,ceilings%2C general lining and acoustics. p.s. The false chimney will be built from full sized facing bricks, so it is only false in the sense it does not have a flue and the corbelling starts at nose height in the bedroom below.

My previous thread was just an account of a random council visit to a nearby self build. At the time the tax inspector told me my build had been logged months earlier and the 3 month count down clock would start when a drive-by inspection noted windows had been fitted. She also said if I could demonstrate that I was a bumbling self builder the 3 month period could be extended to 5 months... not her exact words. This latest Council form feels like a policy change, it is a bit like the modern policing tactic of phoning up a criminal suspect and telling them to voluntarily present at a local police station to be arrested. What next, should I expect a letter from the Inland Revenue saying "Dear Sir, an NHS health bot algorithm has predicted your future date of death, please remit £10,000 to HM's Government as an advanced tax payment for future death duties!

In my case building control has been the trigger, my reasoning being that BC registered my plot under a strange hybrid mangled address and this is the address used to post the form to me today.

My house does not yet have a roof yet it appears the local Council is preparing to levie full council soon. At present we pay Band A for the static caravan onsite which is our main residence. In the post today is a form requesting that I provide start and completion dates for 13 major stages in the build of a home. At present I am at stage-3 "Outer Walls Build" but no roof. My question is: does this info request have any statutory basis or is the Council fishing for info on some fabricated interpretation of the law, they have form on this i.e. using terrorism laws to track people cheating over school catchment areas. The letter starts "We have a responsibility to issue a Council Tax Completion Notice when the building can be completed within 3 months". The reverse side of the form warns vaguely I will be in trouble for not complying with the info request on two accounts: One relates to failure to advise of a change of circumstances under 2013 regulation pertaining to Council Tax Reduction Schemes. Fair enough thinks I, when I move from the static caravan to completed house I will inform them. The second states the Council has a statutory duty for tax collection under a 1992 Act. I am tempted to play along at this stage and put "Summer 2022" for the estimated completion question.

My thought as well. Last week my brickie team bedded in the upstairs window lintels and while helping with menial jobs up on the 2nd lift staging I saw the cavity tray being trimmed and said "feel free to trim it back in favour of a larger mortar bond". With only 3 courses exposed above the window and sheltered by the eave overhang, I felt moisture ingress was a minor concern.

My hands-on self build means I have reached peak life-time personal physical fitness this year though mental wellbeing is in doubt. The lockdown has not affected the pace of my slow selfbuild.