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As I recall on a new housing estate not every house needs to have an open vented stack to dissipate sewer gas. I've seen guidance that says only thing one in four must have one. I think most houses have one to prevent water being dragged out of traps as others have said. But even this isn't always a problem. It's common to find downstairs WC just go straight into the floor with no stack. @Robin Banks Do you have a mini stack like the diagram posted above? If so is the top capped off?

Tool station have a range of boots. £35.

When we purchased a house in Belgium we discovered it had a solid first floor. No creaking when someone walks about. No problem with tiles in any room you like. Cool floors in summer. Liked it so much we built a beam and block first floor when we came back to the UK. In the end its a personal preference thing. Just as some people prefer brick and block walls while others are happy with stud walls. The self build show in Brussels (called "Batibouw) had several companies promoting different ways to build solid floors.

If I understand correctly your image shows the old corner of the house. Typically that end of the beam is carrying a lot of weight and is bearing onto quite a small footprint. Sometimes a pier or post is required in addition to a pad stone. It should be possible but certainly discuss with your SE. It might depend on the condition of the existing wall/bricks. The SE may also be concerned about racking or "disproportionate collapse" issues.

I've seen similar systems used by self builders in Belgium and thought they were interesting. Was it as easy to move the beams as it appears? I've seen photos showing a man lifting one end by hand but a lot of Belgian building sites seem to have mini cranes. How did it work out for you?

Looks a bit like tannin staining? I wonder if there is a timber "rafter" fixed to the wall? If there was an issue with the flashing between canopy and wall that allow water in contact with that rafter perhaps tannin or mould is being washed out onto the wall.

Don't think so. We have arched windows that use steel lintels several courses high covered with brick slips. They were cut from ordinary bricks used to make the rest of the house. Aside: I notice the top of the window isn't horizontal (not parallel to the mortar line) so a lot of very thin wedge shape bricks are required. Bet they were fun to cut ?

The screen shot above appears to say the thermal conductivity is 0.5 W/mk. If I remember correctly then to convert that to an approx u-value you divide by the thickness in metres. So if its 250mm thick the u-value is 0.5/0.25 = 2. So unless I've made a mistake, which is quite possible, you definitely need insulation on the floors.

What's the u value for the ground floor? If the blocks are 0.16 and you have concrete beams bridging the blocks that layer will average worse than 0.16.

That's the sort of tower we used. They seem fine for indoors but outside I prefer the Boss type with bigger tubes.

I have some of those Draper Trestles for wood working. They are quite strong but personally I wouldn't use trestles and planks. Depending on the height I'd either go for something like an indoor grade tower or "scaffolding ladder platform" perhaps this sort of thing.. https://www.midlandladders.com/folding-work-platforms/ladder-scaffold-system

Yes. Typically it would be on the top of a short stub stack. At about chest height.

Is that existing stack open vented?

Typically you are allowed to use AAV on all stacks except the one furthest from the main sewer. Sometimes this rule gets bent a bit so there are houses where the one open vented stack isn't the one furthest from the sewer. So perhaps the AAV are just well hidden? Also worth looking to see if its in the loft? It must be above the height of the washbasin.

I think the cant rails mentioned earlier are worth considering. Few years ago timber merchant near me (Huntingdon) said they could get timber pressure treated for you after cutting but I don't know what the costs are like.

Think they have 10 years to enforce a breach of a planning condition.

Seems a shame to cut off the nicely pressure treated edge.

Hard to know what the BCO would accept as a minimum for a full plans application. Normally there is enough detail to show how walls are constructed. Cross sections through key areas such as where the new wall will meet the window and the new door. Won't need details of the electrics where the door is going.

1m adjacent to a highway unless you get PP. 2m elsewhere.

Presumably anyone cutting a hedge on behalf of the PC or authorized by the PC should be covered by the PC's Public Liability Insurance policy? And suitably qualified to prune trees? Be careful if you raise this issue as they may decide to stop you cutting it as well for same reason.

Perhaps put out on the grape vine you are considering replacing it with a fence because a prowler was seen leaving through a gap and crossing the road.

They aren't 1m out...they are on the wrong planet.

If you need Building Control Approval there are two methods to get it... 1) Full Plans Application: You or someone like an Architectural Technician or Plan Drawer makes drawings and you submit them with an application and fee. Then wait for the plans to be approved before starting work. 2) Building Notice: You notify the BCO that you are starting work and pay a fee. Then you just start work. In both cases you should ask the BCO at what stage(s) does he want to make inspections and call him to request an inspection when you reach that stage. There is also a final inspection after which if all is well you get a certificate you can give to a future buyer or lender etc. The difference is risk. If you go option 2 the BCO might turn up for the first inspection and spot something wrong. You might have to make major changes or demolish work done and start over. That said most builders are familiar with the regs and would probably do this on a Building Notice. If you were going to DIY the work you might consider a Full Plans Application. I would recommend getting an electrician who can certify his own work to Part P of the building regs to do any wiring. He should provide paperwork for the Building Control Officer.

Even if you can't avoid the CIL using the self build exemption it should only be payable on any increase in floor area. If the converted dwelling has a floor area over 100sqm (very likely) the CIL is payable on any increase in floor area over that which currently exists. Eg on a garage or extension. I'm not sure how they count an extra floor. Eg If you add a floor in a tall barn does that double the floor area for the purposes of the CIL calculation? Edit: It seems it does according to.. https://clarenasharchitecture.co.uk/community-infrastructure-levy-means-self-builders-barn-conversions/

I asked my MP to find out if the exemption for self builders was intended to include conversions. I'm afraid the answer i got was vague. However see this case that almost went to court. If the council refuses an application for an exemption I would send them info on this case and ask them to reconsider.