Mr Punter

If you are using a Paslode and the fixings are visible, buy and fit a "No Mar" tip so the timber does not get the little indents.

DWG TrueView

The weight of the window will often be held by chocks or packers so the effective bearing is hugely reduced. Your slider is less than 100kg per linear metre. A single skin single storey blockwork wall is about 500kg per linear metre. All looks fine.

Don't butt them, offset one bay by using a block widthways in the first row of one half, so the beams are staggered on the sleeper wall. You may end up with a few odd bits where you can't use full infill blocks but you can fill this with concrete.

The beams don't normally span from outside wall to outside wall, so you may be able to lap them on the sleeper walls. If you have rigid insulation going down past the beams it would be better to keep the cavity open and trim them back if needed.

How will the water get under the floor in the first place?

A steel fabricator would be able to produce what you need by welding support pieces onto the web / flanges of the beam. They need to be able to support the timbers and stop them twisting. They may also need to prevent them moving in or out, so a through fixing may be needed. You will need to find a solution that satisfies your aesthetic aspirations as well as one that is structurally acceptable. You will need a section drawing showing the timber joist, roof deck, wall and steel. Building control may ask for SE calcs.

You could have a worktop with a waterfall front edge.

Pump it back up to 6 bar in the morning, then check again in the evening. If it still falls, check your test equipment is not leaking.

Looking at the pic they could have been 600 ctrs? Was a while ago now. It looks like 1 for every 2 plastic ICF ties. Not for roof plate as we only did ICF for the basement and went timber frame above.

What is this used for? A long time ago it was 2.5 for power and 1.0 for lights. Now it seems to be 1.5 for lights.

Using Polarwall I replaced the inside XPS with 10 x 2 timber with coach screws at 400 ctrs facing the core. Screwed them in about 40mm deep with an impact driver so there was 60mm cast in the concrete core. We later used face fix joist hangers. I think we went with 10mm coach screws. https://www.screwfix.com/p/turbocoach-coach-screws-yellow-zinc-plated-10-x-100mm-50-pack/89717

Half a cubic metre is the max amount of concrete to mix by hand and even a quarter is hard work. With a mixer I would not do more than 2 cubic metres even with a labourer unless readymix was not practical. Concrete is over 2 tonnes per cube, so about 90 small bags of ballast and 18 cement.

I would like a bidet. I know they are not popular but it allows a good wash of the nether regions without needing to strip off and shower, and I am not sure I am ready for @JSHarris's shataff.

I understand that these deactivate after 10 years whether they are OK or not. I am not sure what parts become defective and why they cannot be replaced. There seems very little research into the 10 year lifespan and it seems that most smoke alarms fail because of dead batteries or disconnected power. I think the 10 year thing is environmentally irresponsible and a bit of an industry con. I have 11 smoke alarms and if I went with the Google Nest I would need to pay at least £105 per year to the robbing bastards.

I have Aico alarms - one in every habitable room and every hallway - over 4 storeys we have 11 plus an external sounder on the roof terrace. We have the switch that allow you to detect, test and silence.

We used this a while ago for a basement and we set up the mesh and rebar then built the Polarwall around it.

If you buy white sand, white cement and lime and mix the mortar on site so no storage issues. I think you should be able to produce an acceptable colour without any grey and if you shop around the cost should not kill you. I think it is important as it is so focal. Beware idiot labourer using it for blockwork! Are you doing anything fancy with the brickwork - like stack bond or flush or raked horizontal joints? Spend a bit of time and make up a panel or two. What bricks have you gone for?

We have done a driveway where the ground was fairly solid chalk and it was messy in the wet. We covered it with a bit of type1 to keep the site clean.

I have hired an automatic tying machine in the past. Quick to use but it eats through expensive wire.

Do a full plans submission. You would otherwise be at risk of the building inspector coming up with something unexpected late on when it will mean undoing a lot of work. I am getting an extension signed off for a friend where the builder went AWOL and the friend was left with no completion certificate. Luckily they had a full plans submission so when I met the building inspector and he made some extra requests and I was able to query them as they were not picked up on the plan check so we did not have to do them.

Greetings @DarrenA. @Visti is our man in Gravenhill. He was last spotted looking for a temporary staircase so I guess he has the structure up and roof on. Is that white brickwork with white mortar? I like the look. The design has some very expensive elements, but it does show. Can you go with a 150mm cavity? If so, you could use a full fill product like CavityTherm, with much cheaper wall ties. Using separate lintels for each leaf will cut down bridging and make the insulation boards fit more easily. I would need over double your budget to produce your house.

If you are on shrinkable clay, removal of trees that would have an impact on foundations is often something to do before you even apply for planning. Even small young trees are calculated at full maturity. Most of the warranty providers do a foundation depth calculator. Because your BCO has seen the trees before removal he may want deeper foundations and some Clayshield heave prevention on the inside face.

The main areas that need extract ventilation are kitchens, bathrooms and utilities. Although leaving a window open slightly is better than nothing, mechanical extract is far more effective at removing the moist air. The heat recovery bit is a nice-to-have but not essential IMO.

They are not as good to fix into or to plaster. I like to use 7 newton medium density aggregate blocks throughout, rendered and set. No confusion over different block types and fairly economical.