Bitpipe

It took me all of 20 mins to foam the joints, had too much plant installed at that stage to get the PB skimmed.

No, I think it was just to ensure the PB was sealed between boards and at wall / ceiling joints - if there was a fire any gaps would compromise fire and smoke containment. A can of pink LE foam (rated for fire) applied with a gun, not straw, into all the gaps satisfied him. Once it goes off you can cut excess back with a knife.

Our plant room was in basement so 3 walls are concrete and one is stud wall with door. Stud wall and ceiling boarded (standard white, 30 min) but not skimmed - BC would have preferred that but accepted pink LE foam in all the PB joints and around any penetrations. Door is FD30 with intumescent strip.

£10 will give you 4m2 @ 10mm so you can prorate the coverage accordingly. https://www.screwfix.com/p/no-nonsense-cement-based-levelling-compound-20kg/543KR?tc=WA4&ds_kid=92700058024393090&ds_rl=1249407&ds_rl=1241687&ds_rl=1245250&ds_rl=1245250&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIlurq0_ju8QIVC7DtCh3klgMWEAQYASABEgJ74fD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds You just need a tub and paddle mixer.

+1 on compound, also known as latex. Quite cheap and easy to apply as it is self levelling. Remove any high spots and aim for 3mm coverage. We did this on our basement floor before laying karndean and it worked a treat.

His way would work and I have seen it done but it will cost you a lot more £££ and you still need to stop people or animals falling in so would need a grille or parapet wall. Also, how deep would it be? How would it attach to the basement wall itself? How would it be waterproofed? I really don't understand how anyone could be confused by the MEA system though. We left a simple aperture in the basement wall to fit the MEA light well internal dimension and then just ordered a window to match, works perfectly well and as it sits in the 1m backfill zone, is surrounded by clean stone so not exposed to the surrounding soil. Took me, a complete amateur, a day to install each one Still looks great 5 years on and very easy to keep clean. The internal surface is curved and polished to efficiently reflect light into the room and does so very well. Oh, and you are the client so just tell him what you need.

The US, bastion of capitalism that it is, has Fannie May and Freddie Mac who are Federally backed mortgage lenders. https://www.investopedia.com/articles/economics/08/fannie-mae-freddie-mac-credit-crisis.asp

If you scale it from real life you should be ok staying within the max height requirements.

@pocster - that will be your new project then. Bit of walk over glazing in a tactical spot too... The govt have mooted a 'bonfire of red tape' wrt planning but it's gone down like cold sick in the home counties and likely contributed to their by election loss recently so that will get parked I expect. Funnily enough, in our town a local developer is behind 90% of developments and seems to sail through planning every time. Not only are salaries low but the whole LA ecosystem is underfunded by central government and they are loath to increase council tax as it's electoral suicide when the local elections roll by. Where you see a lifetime project of immense personal importance, I expect they see another application trying it on and I suspect some derive pleasure from squashing them.

Our planning (back in 2014/5) met the timelines but when it came to getting the conditions approved we hit a wall and hit the 12 week limit. I did complain and not only were the associated fees refunded but also the submission was approved - I doubt it was even looked at in detail. In my case it ran alongside a funding challenge with the mortgage company so did not slow us down that much but was still painful.

Hit it with a hammer. May not get rid of the sticky marks but you may feel better. Then you can claim on the insurance for accidental damage.

Not sure it gets any simpler TBH, I've had the same pain with a few trades who were very iffy about it - especially those on the fixed VAT scheme. Only ever resolved by speaking to whoever does their books. You could print it out and highlight the relevant bits (where it says 'windows' for example). I think the bits on 'input tax' refer to his recovering any VAT he pays for the materials that are zero rated to you.

I don't think it is a BC matter if it impacts highway safety per @saveasteading's comment. Also, reading your condition again, the LPA need to sign off your proposed design before you implement it, however it should not delay other works to your build. So BC may have an opinion but you still need to submit a design to your planners for approval.

Someone will do his books or accounting - they need to read this and tell him it's ok. https://www.gov.uk/guidance/buildings-and-construction-vat-notice-708

Well done! Good advice above. Pre-commencement conditions are usually clearly flagged as such with language like 'before any construction commences..' etc. You also get ones like 'before the dwelling is occupied' etc.

I don't believe that there is a pure capitalist or communist society anywhere in the world. Plenty claim (or claimed) to be one or the other but most are shades of grey. Most of the pontification is for public consumption while the reality goes on in the background. Animal Farm addressed this perfectly.

And in return they need an accurate idea of what you're building to give you a quote. Even with approved drawings, my TF quotes were very variable and it took some time to baseline them as each had bespoke inclusions / exclusions. My opinion is that unless you are very constrained on costs, it's best to get the supplier to erect (and some go as far as doing the foundation slab, pumping insulation, ensuring airtightness, felting the roof, all internal floor decks & walls, temp stairs etc) as a) it will be much quicker than using a separate team unfamiliar with the system or DIY b) supply and fit is zero rated whereas just supply will have VAT applied that you will need to claim back, but only when the project is complete so may impact cashflow c) they will have more liability for the finished article vs having an argument over who screwed up them or your installers I'd say the same for most of a build especially windows & doors. Remember also that the structure, whether timber, ICF or blocks only represents a slice of your build cost, maybe 20-25%. Everything else will be the same irrespective of the structure.

I have a business broadband deal with Vodafone and it's £17.50 / month, discounted to £15 as the speeds are lower than advertised (25Mb/s is the best we ever get, usually in the 15Mb range). I think that's what it's worth really. Includes a home PSTN line that I never use. On same bill as a SIM only mobile contract so not sure if there's an additional discount - also about £40 total. BT wanted almost £60 for just the broadband and fixed line. All of the services that run on OR copper/fibre (i.e. VDSL2 aka 'super fast broadband') will give you the same speeds, some of the routers are better than others - the VF one is a bit clunky and the BT one was nicer but not worth the premium!

We used Gaulhofer - had never heard of them until talking to other forum members here but they are also excellent 3G passive standard windows.

My teenage son is like this - from a very young age he's been able to do quick mental maths and sailed through his GCSE work - rarely would write anything down (much to teacher's frustration) but he has struggled with other subjects that require sustained concentration and we now know he has ADHD for which he is taking meds. While just starting A Levels, he's no clear idea of where to go after that, what to study or what careers to pursue so really interesting to see some of the ideas here. @saveasteading I agree that numeracy is a national issue (I am a senior school governor and track this very closely at our school) but not one you can neatly lay at the feet of teachers, they put incredible effort into just getting kids to the minimum standard and, like english, it is a barrier to progression unless achieved. Sadly maths, science and engineering are still seen as 'nerdy / geeky / not cool' and many parents themselves are not particularly numerate so struggle to help with learning at home. Girls tend to outperform boys at junior school and then tail off in senior school. It really, really irritates me when celebrities proudly giggle that 'they're no good with maths' but I doubt they'd be so pleased to say that they couldn't read or write.

You'll find it's not the mortgage company who care but the buildings insurers who can be more picky. Can depends what's on the outside of the timber frame, I've always got insurance for my render over timber frame but some of the mass insurers don't cover it. ICF is just concrete so should be no issues there.

A standard block is 100mm so maybe use a course of those and then some timber on top to pack out?

You can lease a brand new, top spec RR for a few hundred quid a month, means nothing. The guy who did our landscaping is an interesting 'case study. Not much education, left school to work for his dad who is a landscaper. Got fed up working with dad so went to work at a few local firms to hone his trade and then set out himself, specialising in block paving. After 3-4 years has moved into leasing small site diggers with the landscaping work on the side. Works every hour, all weather. Extremely honest and sensible with his money but not afraid to stand up to clients or other trades who muck him about. Built up an excellent word of mouth reputation and always has enough bookings to last him a year. To survive in his game you need to be extremely streetwise, hardworking and take no nonsense as otherwise you'll be devoured by clients and suppliers alike. He has seen plenty of mates envy his success and try to replicate it without the same work ethic or skill (kit is always available form other bankrupt trades or available on cheap finance, especially vans etc). They never last.

I would suggest that he / you would be better off saving that £400, sounds a bit like money for old rope to be honest. He'll probably learn as much watching some youtube videos, browsing this site or reading the home builder's bible. There is good advice above. Few self builders ever break even, never mind make a profit as the houses we build are either above developer spec or we buy sites that developers would not touch as there is not enough profit - e.g. an old property to demolish for the land. We also make tons of mistakes and learn as we go, which is why many here have done it more than once Even builders make relatively thin margins and frequently go bust - can take one bad client or deal to get wiped out. Developers mainly make money by gaining PP for land and throwing up units as cheaply as possible.

Lucky you - it's slowly rolling out in our town and I can see the contractors working on it but no idea when it would come down our street - OR engineer who came to repair cable said could be next year, could be 5