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What sort of sleepers have you been comparing prices with? I wouldn't use anything other than reclaimed hardwood sleepers for a retaining wall.

OT : Saw a white Tesla today and thought the reg was something like TE55 1AA but it doesnt show up on the MOT data base.

We have the following first floor.. Carpet UFH in screed 80mm Insulation 150mm beams (100mm blocks and 50mm void) Battens fixed to beams using supplied hangers Plasterboard In large living room two steels were used to reduce to span of the concrete beams. These were deeper than 150mm so the top is in the insulation. Main issue we had was the BCO wanting us to use fire rated downlights which in the days of halogen bulbs only just fitted into the void. Were happy with this but you can hear loud TV in living room below.

I've heard of people using decorative stones on the exposed faces of the gabion and something cheaper in the middle.

I don't think all of their stats have the proximity sensor... http://faq.heatmisershop.co.uk/2958602/Does-the-neoAir-v2-have-a-proximity-sensor But you need to check if that model is a suitable replacement as they make so many different versions.

Is that based on the depth of the manhole at the south west corner? One problem is that a stack should have a large radius bend at the bottom. If the pipe is only at 25mm below ground then virtually all of that bend would be above ground. I suppose if its only serving a kitchen a normal radius bend might be allowed. Will have to see what your BCO says.

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2021/apr/25/homeowners-face-long-delays-for-kitchen-and-bathroom-fitters Homeowners face long delays for kitchen and bathroom fitters Brexit worker shortfall is being exacerbated by high demand for room revamps during Covid lockdowns Homeowners are waiting months longer than usual for bathrooms and kitchens to be installed as an industry-wide labour shortage that has been exacerbated by Brexit collides with the home improvement binge triggered by Covid-19 lockdowns. The pandemic has resulted in a huge increase in spending on homes and gardens as money traditionally spent on nights out and foreign holidays is ploughed into room revamps. However, fitters are struggling to meet the demand, and lead times for new kitchen, bathroom or wardrobes have spiralled from a pre-Covid norm of four to eight weeks to 12–18 weeks. Continues..

The CIL exemption for self builders must act as a disincentive for councils to allocate land for self build. How about the government pay councils the CIL they would otherwise get?

That may or may not work. When you flush the rnsuite WC it might syphon water from the ensure basin or other traps. The cure might be to add an AAV to/near the affected trap. AAV must be higher than the kitchen waste. If it helps .. I don't think a stack for water only has to be 110mm. I think 82mm is the minimum? If I've understood the layout... Can you install an external stack just around the corner on the east face? Then run a drain from that along the south wall picking up the ensuite as you go past.

Planks should normally be stored on strips of clean dry wood used as spacers. Be careful not to stack it too high or the weight can leave marks/indentations from the strips on the wood. Make sure no iron (tools or nails) gets left on the oak as it can react with tannin in the oak and stain badly. I left a chisel on a green oak beam over lunch once and it left a mark. I wouldn't put cement on it. If you want to weight it down I'd put a scrap plank on top and put blocks on that. As its for second fix I'd store it all in the house so it acclimatises. Unfortunately all wood can move, particularly if humidity changes.

You dont normally need planning permission for a fence between houses unless permitted development rights were removed when the house was granted permission. In some cases permitted development rights are removed on whole areas. Normally the height is measured from the highest ground immediately adjacent to the fence/building. So in short you should be ok.

Its possible you do need planning permission but the planners feel it would probably be granted if you applied. In such circumstances some councils will insist on an application to get the fee. Others will ignore the breech unless they get complaints and at that point they feel obliged to ask for a planning application just so they can tell the person complaining its all been done by the book. Best let sleeping dogs lie and hope your neighbour does likewise.

+1 Some councils have a very strict interpretation of this. It generally accepted that this covers a van used as living accommodation for site workers. However if other people live in the van some councils insist planning permission is required. For example children cannot work on building sites so cannot be site workers. Likewise a spouse that does no work on the house wouldn't be considered a site worker. So if anyone asks you all work on the site at least evenings and weekends.

I recommend getting your own survey and report done by RICS. https://hmlandregistry.blog.gov.uk/2018/02/27/drawing-the-line-on-boundaries/

If you are minded to physically stop them.. I recommend a friendly call to the local police the day before. Tell them you are worried the neighbours are going to try and move a property boundary without a court order. Say you know its a civil matter but you are concerned they may cause a breech of the peace. Say you are just letting them know in case you have to call them tomorrow. Try and sound as reasonable and calm as possible. Then call them the moment the neighbours start banging in posts. PS If you allow them to take possession it will be down to you to take court action rather than them.

I would ask the planners if they would accept phasing as an amendment to the existing PP. Some councils favour self builds, others not so it's hard to know how co-operative they may be, especially as they will be loosing money.

It's normally called a hopper. All that would/should be tidied up/replaced. As @PeterW said .. lift a few manhole covers and run taps to see where water from upstairs goes. I m thinking it's probably 2-3 days work and a few £hundred in pipe, bends and branches. However it really depends where the nearest manhole is. eg how far they have to dig and what in. What they have to replace afterwards.

+1 Think I would go whole hog and create a "landing" outside the door thats square - so roughly same width as the door. I assume the door opens inwards? If not then you need even bigger.

I believe what @ProDave means is removing the gully where the pipe enters the patio and replacing with a bend (Its ok for a rainwater or grey water pipe to go into a gully but soil pipes shouldn't be open at ground level). Also replacing the hopper/bucket with a branch or two, one of which would be for the new WC, the other for the existing bath/basin. The downstairs WC need not be touched. If I was doing it I would probably just replace the whole pipe with matching ffittings. Possibly in regular black plastic or the stuff that replicates cast iron pipe? https://www.screwfix.com/p/floplast-cast-iron-effect-sp192ci-92-5-branch-black-110mm/23548?tc=IB6&ds_kid=92700055281954505&ds_rl=1249404&gclid=CjwKCAjwmv-DBhAMEiwA7xYrdxNEIQ6Z709Ebv7L7YfpbHbGsQeh0aJ6xZXquXBwSMwSPhnTCFMu1RoCiAgQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds The hardest part is probably drilling a 110mm hole in the stone for the WC pipe.

Its unlikely you have one. It's like a regular stack but shorter. Instead of going out through the roof to an open vent a stub stack is usually only a few feet high and has an Air Admittance Valve on it. If you have one its probably hidden in boxing in the corner of the down stairs WC. If you had a stub stack already its probably not a hard job to extend it upwards to the new bathroom above. They look something like this.. Its more likely you have a direct connection of some sort like this... The ease with which you can add a stack for upstairs depends on what that existing downstairs room and WC connection is like and what changes can be made in that room. In the example below the WC has been moved sideways (or rather replaced with a different one off to one side) and the pipe extended upstairs. In practice the new pipe would be hidden behind boxing or a false wall so the WC might also be slightly further forward. If that's not possible the cistern could concealed or recessed into the boxing/false wall. This is what my downstairs WC looks like. The stack is hidden on the left as you look at it... The point really is it might not be necessary to put a new hole in the floor. It depends. If you cant do something like above then an outside stack would be the next thing to look at rather than digging up concrete(?) floors. Perhaps they didn't want to have to dig up your patio?. Does the downstairs WC connect into an inspection chamber outside? Perhaps post a bunch of photos and we can suggest other ways forward. PS I'm away travelling tomorrow so may not reply for a day or two.

You aren't normally allowed to put rainwater into the foul sewer. You would probably need to dig up the concret yard and install a proper soakaway. Soakaway must be 2.5m from boundaries and 3m (i think) from the house.

Is there a stub stack in the downstairs WC or just a pipe coming out of the floor into the WC? If its the latter this could be quite a lot of work. Might be easier to run a new stack up the outside of the house.

Perhaos try posting a description of the job on my builder.com. example.. https://www.mybuilder.com/job/view/651662

Is he saying your encasement is inadequate or just that you need to substitute plasterboard for fire board in the existing proposal?

Is the new bathroom above the downstairs WC? Any where close? Its certainly more of a job for a small builder or general worker. What part of the country are you?