Mr Punter

Double v triple glazing will make no difference to air tightness. Just how well sealed they are. You could still get brilliant airtightness with single glazing. Cold and condensation would be an issue though!

A course of Marmox Thermoblock or Foamglas Perinsul blocks under the sole plate should largely eliminate the cold bridge.

You may be best getting someone local. Are you an agency?

Yes, I have had 3 of these. The first was 16 years ago for a single house and was done by the local archaeological group in return for a £100 donation. They now insist on so-called professionals to undertake the work. The latest was for a terrace of 7 houses and cost £800 for the WSI and £3000 for the watching brief and report. What a waste of money, but no choice. You can also get extras on your bill from the groundworkers if they hold things up.

But the holes only have about 10mm of material under to stop it levering off the wall. Send a photo when it is fitted.

The mounting holes on the sink are much too low down. It does not look like it will work wall mounted. Maybe it is for a pedestal or countertop.

Skimming would save a load of hassle.

If this is a property you are thinking of buying you can normally obtain insurance at very competitive cost. Covenants not to build are very common but once the developer has finished and the company dissolved they are of little consequence.

Because the condition did not further specify that the property must maintain the rate of consumption indefinitely there is nothing to prevent a future owner from putting in whatever appliances they like.

I am doing a 150mm cavity with beads on a project. The brickwork is getting a coat of StormDry. I will watch the bead installer to make sure they have got to all the voids. I may suggest to them that we will use a thermal image camera on completion.

I found the manual fairly straightforward but lowered the normal airflow percentage to 20%. Is yours at 30%? Have you tried holding down the boost button for 5 secs to put it into purge mode 100%? Do it a second time to switch back to normal.

I have also known black pipe used for pumped drainage. You did well not to damage it. If it is in the road I would definitely want some reinforcement above. Try to get the utility firm to do it to their spec and cost.

I did a development and the ground was clay. Did a French drain to an old well and pumped to a ditch at the top of the drive.

With the pound being so strong against the dollar why don't you just buy it you tight git? With duty, VAT and shipping you will still see change from £10k. You really can't put a price on a longhorn motif lampshade!

If the raised patio causes any overlooking or loss of enjoyment to your outside amenity area, report it to the council. They often have target response times for planning enforcement and tend to be keen to meet them.

Often the floor calcs will include the allowable line loads for parallel and transverse to the joists. Meant for partitions but I guess would work for bookcases.

I have an extractor with an external motor. Grease filter only. It is really nice and quiet and no cooking smells.

I have been messed about by bricklayers who have not returned after summer as they were too busy. Got a new one starting Monday who is 30% cheaper!

The SE is normally responsible for the design, not the construction. I will sometimes call them back if there is something unanticipated on site, but very rarely.

Can you have this work carried out under your buildings insurance? Subsidence can be expensive to remedy so if you make a claim, make sure the works are comprehensive and covered by long term guarantee.

A couple of coats of latex paint on the normal will go a long way. The main issues with moisture in a loft is via warm air air passing through the loft hatch, light fittings, cable pipe and vent holes and then condensing on the cooler structure where if not well ventilated can lead to rot.

This is just lengths of rebar probably 800mm-1000mm to tie the sheets of mesh together where they butt up, so each end of mesh has a 400mm-500 lap and they will be every 200mm along the mesh. I am not sure that steel fibres will work for you. They are not a direct replacement for steel mesh but if the SE considers it acceptable then fine.

If you are concerned about mesh buildup, instead of lapping you could butt the sheets and join them with H10 splice bars. Because the slab is fairly small you could then use the smaller merchant sheets of mesh, which are much easier to handle. Ask the SE to confirm if this is acceptable and the lap required. If the SE is doing the structural design for the whole house it may be better to just stick with them. You could request that they omit a layer or downgrade to, say 252 mesh but I doubt it will make a huge difference in cost and they may not agree to do it.

Yes. The compriband will fill the gap between the ply and the blockwork. If you set it back 10mm it will make a neat shadow gap. Can be vacuumed but it does not get dusty.

My idea is to use 25mm or 30mm ply. Build the openings allowing a 10mm-15mm gap to the sides and top of the ply lining. Install the lining after brickwork, carefully and solidly packing nom 15mm. Fill the gap with Compriband after decorating, set back 10mm. What lintels do you propose? Is suggest 100mm x 215mm fair faced. You really need to avoid little cuts and coursing blocks.