Mr Punter

Put a tee on the main run, pointing up. Run your pipe to the tee with a 90 bend pointing down and connect the two. Cap off the tee when you disconnect.

And the cons of metal: Sharp edges Cable routes need grommets through studs Not structural - need timber around doors etc. More tricky to fix to More tricky to cut Can rattle Difficult to separate from plasterboard when demolished

Use a chop saw and finish the last bit with a slightly blunt hand saw.

Come on it is quite a good feeling of schadenfreude. I cannot see how this would ever have looked OK. Idiots.

I have brick and block on the ground floor and timber frame 1st, 2nd and 3rd. Same spec of heavy doors throughout. I don't notice better or worse sound transmission. If slamming is an issue you can get some strip that fits to the stops that dampens the final few mm and stops rattles and slams. For room-to-room, look at doubling up plasterboard if you go TF and seal the bottom of the board with mastic before you put skirtings. Strengthwise TF is fine. Make sure the frame designer knows what you are putting and where. A lining of 18mm OSB is usually fine for most loads and really stiffens up the wall.

You need a special PPN nailer for this to work.

I assume you will wait for planning before you commence demolition? Have you had an asbestos survey? It is worth making sure this is very thorough, as if any is present you will want to get it removed all at once, rather than piecemeal.

@recoveringacademic I just want to check that you are aware that the proposal from Cullen only allows an extra 25mm extension to each end of the joist - 50mm total. In your earlier posts on this topic you suggested that the joists were 100mm short.

Have a look at the contestable elements of the £40k quote and see if you can get it done for less. Also have a look at @JSHarris's experience with a borehole water supply - not always at all simple.

Substructure is all the parts of the building below ground. Unless you plan to leave the site as is for several years there will be no issue with freeze / thaw.

Why do you need to pump the water out? What are you backfilling with? If this is all substructure, water will not be an issue.

Did you diy these? Any chance of some photos inc with doors / drawers open & closed?

I think your architect may need to get involved. Probably BC are agitated as you have a strongly ventilated cavity. One simple idea may be to apply a fire resistant breather membrane in place of the standard one. MBC could do this in the factory and I doubt it would be too expensive. I would say no to Promat etc in your situation. I have done several TF projects with cladding - timber, slate, render on carrier board, cement siding etc - and have never been asked to apply fire resistant sheathing. In the event that you did need a FR sheathing, there are some fairly cheap MgO boards around. The only time I have had it specified was for multi storey adjacent to other buildings and it was a during construction precaution (in case of arson etc) applied to the end walls and some of the party walls near the end of the block. Not a building regs issue but a "best practice" H & S.

In the event of no deal I think it is likely that the BoE will not want the economy to tank, so more QE which will help inflate asset prices. Although the £ may fall, unless you hold another currency or gold, it will not make things cheaper in £ terms, in fact you may need more £ to purchase the same item.

Don't rule out a conversion. Round here there are police stations, chapels, public WCs and other underused public buildings which get sold off, some of which may not suit residential but would be ideal offices. Make sure it has parking.

But the proposal from Cullen only adds 25mm

But you would not need to double up the wall plates - just 25mm each side to match the add-a-lump-on-to-the-end-of-each-joist solution.

OK I misunderstood having read that you were doing the BC application bit by bit. It is mainly snow loadings with a roof. For you I would not rule out the 20 mate scenario though.

I think you need to just give this to an engineer as Building Control will want the structure signed off by an engineer in any case. Why not just supply BC with a full set of drawings and spec then you can be sure that as long as you do what is on there it will be 100%.

I think it depends on ICF, pour height, concrete core thickness and reinforcing. Your ICF people / engineer should specify the concrete. Hopefully your pump guy will not spend too much time pissing in your ear and trying to get water added. Let them all know you will be doing slump and cube tests on the concrete.

Ask the designer or call Simpson Strong Tie. Maybe made to order.

I think you could just double up the timber ledger on the wall. Just like when you trim a stair opening.

The proposed solution shows 2 vertical pieces and new 3" block. The photo on @recoveringacademic's original post just has a single upright and I can't see how this will work. Maybe just screw length but a new drawing may be needed.

The old Perko type closers were dangerous door slammers. Normally removed by the first occupant.

Let us know how you get on... I really enjoyed the YouTube stuff with Larry Haun recommended above by @scottishjohn