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I'm not sure they actually need a certificate. Thought it was only needed when building for charities or nursing homes. There are example certificates in section 18.. https://www.gov.uk/guidance/buildings-and-construction-vat-notice-708#the-certificates If your builder insisted on a certificate then basically it's just a letter addressed to the stating that you certify their work is being carried out on a dwelling that qualifies for reduced rating for VAT (5%) under paragraph 8 of VAT Notice 708, having been unoccupied for the x years before renovation work started. It needs to include your contact details, the site details and an planning reference number plus a copy of any planning grant. If you have evidence its been empty for the required period perhaps add a copy of that as well.

If you can, consider two lots of studs one for each side of plasterboard with insulation loose fitted between. Sometimes floors done this way. Not really to scale..

https://engx.theiet.org/f/wiring-and-regulations/28736/dealing-with-a-dno-as-a-self-builder Dealing with a DNO as a Self Builder

Unfortunately the Party Wall Act doesnt apply to fences, only walls. Confusingly it calls them Party Fence Walls.

It looks like Last Mile Electricity are an IDNO which means they are the DNO for a number of new housing developments. Unfortunately you may not have any choice but to deal with them. Surprisingly for a DNO they have a lot of contact info on their web site... https://lastmile-uk.com/contact/ Although that doesn't help much if they don't respond.

We have a lot of external oak. If you want to retain the honey colour (rather than letting it go black then silver) I would avoid oil finish. We originally used Dainish Oil but that needs redoing every 6 months and some areas will go black anyway. We switched to Osmo UV Protection Oil and that's a lot better. Some areas last 4 years but others need redoing every 2 years. Osmo UV Protection Oil on new oak is also a bit too white so you may need a stain coat first. On our oak front door (below) we used Sadolin Classic to colour then two/three thin coats of Sadolin Extra Satin Clear. I've just recoated it for the second time after 15 years so it seems to last upto 7 years between coats. You have to apply thin coats brushed out well or it looks a but muddy. Think the initial colour coat was a mix of natural and light oak. Experiment.

Go around every rad yourself. Have a good feel all around the pipes and valves checking for any dampness. It's easy for small leaks at rads to run down the pipe and dissappear.

Just to check.. There is "Last Mile Asset Management " who are a nationwide connection company and "Last Mile Electricity" who are an IDNO in one area of the country. Are you in the area covered by the latter or are you dealing with the former?

We have 110mm pipe coming up through the floor under the sink. Think a rubber adaptor seals the 40mm sink and dishwasher waste pipe to the 110mm. Never had a problem.

Great site for all things paving and drainage. https://www.pavingexpert.com/blocks04 "Unacceptable construction"... See the accompanying text if you want to argue with a contractor.

Ah I didn't spot this was a garden wall. Is it a retaining wall?

I would expect it to have appeared earlier if normal efflorescence. I think there is a chance something may have changed 2 -4 years ago. Check for blocked or overflowing gutters? Any pipes in the area? New paving? Anything that could make the wall a bit wetter than it was before.

The planners will normally grant permission for a temporary static van if you apply with or after planning permission for a house. If you apply before they may worry you are trying to set up a caravan/traveller site. My understanding is that you don't actually need planning permission if everyone living in the van is a site worker. So if you and your partner are both going to be physically working on the house then you might not need planning permission. However you may yave to prove that so it might avoid hassle from the planners if you do apply with the application for your house. Children cannot be site workers. There may also be HSE issues if children can play in the site.

It doesn't bother me but some worry about what's in insulation as well.

I think some people worry about the chemicals used.

This is very common situation. A neighbour complains and the planners feel obliged to check all the paperwork is in order. They call it regularising the paperwork. If you took the original down in 2007 and built the new one in 2017 they will probably argue the new one isn't a replacement and that you needed to meet Permitted Development rules or make planning application in 2017. How tall is it? Its possible it may not meet Permitted Development rules so a planning application might have been needed. They should be able to tell you this when they visit. If it doesn't meet Permitted Development rules don't panic... If its been finished for more than 4 years I think it's too late for them to take enforcement action. In which case you can Apply for a Certificate of Lawfulnes on the grounds that its too late to initiate enforcement action. Have proof of when it was finished ready for their visit. Don't give them original documents give them copies. Good evidence might included.. Images from Google Street view/Google Earth with dates on. Receipts or invoices from builders. Bank statement showing payment to builder? A letter from a third party confirming you finished it in 2017. Family photos taken back then? Ideally dated on the back. Picture of Granny who died in 2017/18 admiring your handiwork? If you can't prove it was finished more than 4 years ago ask about making a retrospective planning application.

It's interesting that Chinese stock market funds have gone up a bit recently.. Will be interesting to see if this continues, perhaps suggesting a bit of confidence returning? or just a blip?

Have them read this.. https://www.cncbuildingcontrol.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/CNCD-053-Warm-Roofs-Easy-Guide.pdf

How old is the house and when did it appear? In house is 10+ years and and the efflorescence is new then most likely it's due to a more recent change/leak . If the house is newish then could be just a natural/common issue with new bricks.

Is that at the level of the DPC? I'm wondering if rainwater is getting into the wall higher up and running down inside the cavity before emerging through the bricks at the DPC level? If that's possible check to see how the water is getting in higher up and fix that. Then when the wall is drier try brushing off the efflorescence with a stiff broom. Avoid wire brushes as they can scratch up the brick.

What you are entitled to is in the T&C of the contract. Are we talking about drawings done for planning or for Building Control? If you're just talking about planning drawings it wouldn't normally be hard to remake you own CAD model. Annoying but possible.

What I do is go to my boxes of screws to find one that fits the thread in the handle. Measure it with vernier calipers to find the thread diameter. Then put the screw through the hole in oven door to see if enough threads stick out to go into the handle. If not use vernier calipers to measure depth of hole and add enough extra to go into the handle. Then I discover Screwfix doesnt have one that length so I end up buying another assorted box of different length screws from Amazon 😞

Google found.. https://artemrestoration.com Who offer a brick cleaning service but I've never used them. They are London based. Says they also remove paint etc

+1 We actually have two wired networks. One just used by security cams. The other main wired net has three PC, two printers and 4 WiFi AP around the house and garden. Best way to connect them. Hate to think how many WiFi devices we have.

Tried switching to the 5GHz band?