epsilonGreedy

How about mixing up half a bucket of the black mush and filling some of the air bubbles while the main casting cement is still a little green?

My local art stone cill fabricator won't ship to a customer for 10 days in order to let the casting strengthen.

I spoke to Mr http://lincsairtesting.co.uk when he tested a new build near me, he seemed like a relaxed young guy about your age ? As @SteamyTeasays maybe they do not have confidence in the sensitivity of their metering though with a large property like yours even a good result must still have some measurable airflow.

Pleased to hear that because I have already dry laid out 70 bricks of the first course to get an idea of the gauge which is what my pro brickie did last year when laying the engineering blues for the footings. I shall inform swmbo that an expert on the internet has decreed this is a job for her.

Due to an ordering mistake many moons ago I have 200 LBC commons (i.e. Flettons, the ones with oversized frogs) spare onsite. Would it be ok to use them for the first two courses laid direct on a block & beam floor in the workshop portion of my garage? The beams of the beam & block floor sit on a dpc so the floor structure should be relatively dry. The garage is single story under a slate roof and the 2 courses of LBCs would support the inner block wall of the workshop. The garage has a 100mm cavity with F2 facing bricks in the outer wall. Just to confirm these two courses provide 150mm of height for 90mm of PIR floor insulation plus 60mm of screed, this means they will be below the floor membrane and FFL DPC. A bit of reading up in the internet indicates these LBCs are F1 grade with a 20N compressive strength. The 10 courses of blocks above are 8Kg fibolites so not much weight resting on these LBC brick courses.

Who run for the hills. the air testers or plasterers?

From my builders merchant today... Worcester Bosch Product: Oil Boilers & Accessories Approx Price Increase: 5.00% Increase Date: 1st June Quantum Product: Cavity Closers Approx Price Increase: 15.00% Increase Date: 1st June Brett Landscaping Product: Concrete Paving Approx Price Increase: 5.00% Increase Date: 1st June Simpson Strong-Tie Product: Metalwork Approx Price Increase: 25.00% Increase Date: 1st June Dart Product: Power Tools Approx Price Increase: 4.00% Increase Date: 1st June Ariel Plastics Product: Ventilation Approx Price Increase: 10.50% Increase Date: 1st June Ballytherm Product: Insulation Approx Price Increase: 8.00% Increase Date: 7th June Kronospan Product: OSB/MDF Approx Price Increase: 28.00% Increase Date: 1st June Kingspan Product: Oil Tanks Approx Price Increase: 8.00% Increase Date: 1st June Arbor Product: C24 Approx Price Increase: 14.00% Increase Date: 1st June Assa Abloy Product: Ironmongery Approx Price Increase: 6.50% Increase Date: 7th June Roca Product: Sanitaryware Approx Price Increase: 5.00% Increase Date: 1st July Flex-R Product: Flat Roofing Approx Price Increase: 19.00% Increase Date: 1st July Timco Product: Fixings Approx Price Increase: 12.00% Increase Date: 1st July Keystone Product: Steel Lintels Approx Price Increase: 16.50% Increase Date: 1st July Rettig Product: Radiators Approx Price Increase: 16.00% Increase Date: 1st July Catnic Product: Steel Lintels Approx Price Increase: 18.00% Increase Date: 1st July Kind Regards Turnbull & Co Limited

Send them a registered letter claiming that their demand is is not lawful because it is impossible to comply with due to an administrative error within the Council that offered minus 18 days to resolve the problem. Then add that while you await delivery of a lawful request from the Council you are investigating how to comply with hoarding regulations but the poor presentation of council policy means you are not sure how to act. You will have to comply eventually but the letter buys you time.

The blocks in question are genuine medium blocks at about 15kg per block and not the 8kg fibolites I have used elsewhere in my build. My question originates from a need to tie (bond) one block wall into another at 90 degrees. One wall is already 9 blocks high and I will tie in every other course hence I will need to cut 4 or 5 of these sockets. I have a mortar gun that I will use to fill around the sides as each block is inserted into the socket. Would a masonry blade fitted to a multi-tool do the job?

The creates in the eBay photo show 45 x 22 so 25% smaller than 50 x 25 for pricing comparison. Are they preholed at the right position for your roof pitch and weather exposure? The true value at the end of the job will be down to how many warped slates are discarded by the roofers.

You could direct your complaint to Buckingham Palace to inform Her Majesty that her Government is not working. An ancient right available to us all I believe. Name the Chief Exec of the City of Edinburgh Council in your complaint and send him a copy of your letter, he won't appreciate incompetents in the planning office ruining his chance of a retirement OBE. Failing that you need publicity to embarrass them into action. How about making a large cardboard model of your parents house, then carry it onto the steps of local council building at 9am and get your mum or dad to set fire to it while broadcasting the event live on YouTube. Imagine the headline "Pensioner's housing dream goes up in smoke while planners 'work' (sic) at home.".

Your budget is tight, you have outline planning permission and you need 4 bedrooms in 200 sqm. If your plot is flat and not oddly shaped you could skip straight to an architectural technician who would create technical drawings ready to hand over to a builder, that is £10k to £20k saved before you start. I know an affable and approachable architectural technician in Grimsby. Where are you building in Lincolnshire roughly? BTW the prevailing forum culture here has a bit of a downer on architects as you might now be realizing.

Can a builders merchant wagon with a crane on the trail access your site? During one regular BM delivery I gave the driver £40 to move 8 packs of facing bricks, this involved him picking them up blind over a hedge from the public road and then driving back onto my site to drop the packs off at a more useful location for the brickies.

I have 8 bags of OPC that might be for sale. I believe the current exchange rate is 1 Bitcoin per 25Kg bag.

The roof pitch looks decent i.e. over 30 degrees. If the shallow valley lead work a consequence of a single valley board bridging over the deeper underlying V where the rafters intersect?

I suspect the finish you achieved it superior to commodity cast cills? One problem with standard cills is that the rough surface accommodates algae growth as the years tick by. You anticipated my follow-up idiot question!

Do you think this might soften the final set hardness of the casting? With the drill set to hammer action?

Is it possible your are mis interpreting fire appliance regulations? Many of the public roads near me are only just 3m wide and even a Sainsbury home delivery food van struggles driving into with many properties. 11m is the length of a mid sized static caravan. My shared private drive was specified in the approved planning permission to be 3m wide. Perhaps you are using access requirement for a commercial stables rather than a private home? The cobbles look good, just need to make sure they offer enough grip for a quick pull away if there is fast moving traffic.

@albion2021I can understand the planners concerns. The wide light gravel drive would suit the Queen at Balmoral or Windsor. The agribusiness entrance is completely unsuitable for a small rural home. The three rail fence is fine for a grand stud ranch in Ohio with 3000 head of beef cattle roaming over 5000 acres. Try and tune into the local planning psyche before your next application.

Ok. My plot came with planning permission and has a rich planning history. The original application was withdrawn on planner advice but all the docs are available under a separate application online. The resubmitted application has a link back to the original. This could be another variation of the path an application can take.

Ok. My plot came with planning permission and has a rich planning history. The original application was withdrawn on planner advice but all the docs are available under a separate application online. The resubmitted application has a link back to the original. This could be another variation of the path an application can take.

I thought the "free go" only applied if the initial application is revised before the decision? This requires the applicant to maintain a dialogue with the planners to comprehend their initial reservations. It seems that @albion2021's principal gripe is about a procedural failure. I feel the planer is making a reasonable point, these grandiose entrances that look like something copied from a Dallas Texas ranch are out of place in rural England.

My electrician said he struggles to get a good earth connection in an area of sandy soil nearby.

Just an in-forum joke @Freddie. Members here represent a broad spectrum of self build projects from hands-off cheque-book builds to personally laying every brick and roof tile at the other extreme. You sound like a hands-on self builder.

Oh dear @ToughButterCupI think you have just lost the forum's diyMax crown. @FreddieI suggest you post your earthing rod resistance question in the electrical forum topic because resident experts are more likely to monitor their specialist subject topic