K78

Even done properly most of the big mortgage companies won’t like it. Silly but that that is the uk for you.

As my wall leans back and has no dpc im guessing it’s too late to even consider now?

BCO made it clear from day one he would prefer them to be separate. My initial se design was a one piece slab and wall. I figured why build the wall twice.

Thanks. It is really appreciated. Layout works really well.

I agree. Ive been tempted by a few eBay bargains in the past but decided to wait. Tech moves so fast and I feared regretting the purchase.

Normally a few bargains on eBay.

Thanks for the very detailed reply @Ferdinand. It is appreciated. The two gardens that the bedrooms open onto are small and private. There is a retaining wall at the front of my plot so they’re not really linked. The main garden is on the upper level. I agree about downstairs being dark. I was intending to use floor lighting, but it is a concern. The wall upstairs was removed straight away. It is totally open other than the cloakroom. I was struggling with the layout downstairs and used the attached floor plan as a guide. I needed to take a break from this as it got to the point where I was getting stressed and agitated with it. I’ll be sitting down tonight and taking your points on board.

‘This is what I meant re makro, Argos, Amazon etc. Cheap Chinese tat with fake Eu marks have flooded the market. When I checked out telesteps (Swedish company), there were numerous collapses and a few broken backs. Ive been told the main reason tradespeople hate them, is that they fail to operate unless clean. Dirt, paint, plaster etc clog them up. I think i will will give them a miss.

Personally yes. My parking spaces will be US size.

Thought buying one of these would be straightforward, but not so. The cheaper per ones from amazon, Makro and Argos aren’t safe at all. It is amazing they get away with selling them. I looked at telesteps. Not cheap but still unsafe. Are these just a bad idea? Any recommendations? Thanks

If you can hire one for £50 a day, why on earth pay £10,800 for one?

I agree. Hardly the scaffolding companies fault if a building collapses.

Will be interesting to see where we are with home battery technology in 5 years or so. Entry point is still way to high for me.

Ferdinand mentioned the same. I increased the size and sent it across to the architect I used initially to see what he thinks.

May work out cheaper at 2m height? Was more expensive for my wall before I factored in SE cost.

I was shocked at the width of a non incline gravity retaining wall. I would have preferred sheet piles or soil nailing but not at the quoted prices. Block was a lot more expensive too and still needed a wide foundation. With sheet piling I would have gained a metre, but it would have been a very expensive 14m2. It wasn’t economically viable for me. I really thought the retaining wall would blow my budget and I would have to sell. Thank god for concrete Lego.

Incline gravity walls are commonly used for river bank reinforcement/erosion protection. I used the incline foundation to reduce the footprint.

I looked at boltdown concrete panels similar to those. I had a quote and was going to use them. Couldn’t find a SE who would do the design. The concrete company recommended one based in Chester. He wanted £5k for a design.

It was designed by the block supplier. Incline, gravity retaining wall.

I had quotes up to £70k for my wall (4m x 14m) I done it for a fraction of that with concrete Lego. It doesn’t need a crane. Farmer and digger worked out fine. No need for se either. I wasted time and money on silly over engineered designs.

Wall is finished. It’s 4m high and 14m wide. I wasted a small fortune with idiot engineers and their cheap liability insurance. If I can avoid using a SE ever again I will. Kingpost was a good example. 13m columns 2m apart and £5k for the design.

2m wide retaining wall. It was a shear drop in the plans. Was not financially feasible and the neighbour I bought it off was a pain in the backside. Started crying as soon as I stated excavation. I don’t know what he was expecting.

It definitely makes sense to flip the layout downstairs ? This is the original plan. I think it’s best I sleep on it, and start again with downstairs tomorrow. I’ve let it give me a headache today.

I’m stumbling along with live home 3D. I hope beds, doors etc are to scale. I’ll take @ProDaves advice and rotate the doors 45 degrees. The large windows in the lounge face SE.

The reduction was from top to bottom in the pic. Footprint is now 12.5m x 6m. Storage is under stairs and the stairs lead up to the living area. The room to the top right is a 4th bedroom/office. I agree about the bathroom being tight. Originally I had a dressing room and larger en-suite off the master bedroom, and the family bathroom was bigger than it is now. 1.6m reduction makes a huge difference. This gives a bit more space in the bathroom.