Declan52

You could put insulation against the inside of the rafter and then back fill the rest with motar/concrete and smooth it of level with the top of the rafters.

You can clean it with brick acid but it's nasty stuff. Best bet is let it sit for maybe 18months and let it fully dry out and then see how it looks. Going by the way the staining is I would say the bricks got wet when they where stacked up probably due to not being covered.

Whatabout using something like self leveling compound. Put a bit of lath down each side and leave it about 300mm wide andn pour the mix into the gap. It will cure hard enough to drive over.

It's not hard to do the project manger role but it will take a lot of time and effort lining up all the many many different tasks that need done. As has been documented here many times if you take on this role then ultimately the buck stops with you. Everything will be your responsibility so there is no where to hide if things go bad. Looking at your plans the windows will be your biggest risk. That's a lot of glass so it's how far ahead the lead time is will dictate a lot. Your will need a power bank for your mobile as the main task will be constantly phoning companies and tradesmen to make sure they will be on site when they are meant to be. The architects price of £15k would buy a real nice kitchen, bathroom so that is your motivation. Get a wall chart planner and map out the different stages and always allow a few days grace as with every build shit will and always does happen esp when you don't want it to. It's a massive decision so make sure you and the missus are both fully prepared for what being in charge will bring.

Your problem is bonding it to the surface underneath. It will just be sitting there and will move if you turn the car on it. It doesn't really compact and harden like hot tar either. It will eventually go hard but your talking weeks.

The proper old ones with starting handles that often stick are deadly. By the time you get it started your arm is dead and then you have to pull the handle of before it starts flying round like a propeller. Never stick a shovel in the front of the mixer. Best case it goes round and sweeps you of your feet. Worst case is an arm of if your even that lucky.

Nope that's not gd one bit. The brickie is meant to use his trowel to scoop up the motar that gets squeezed out when you lay the bricks and blocks and use this over and over again. Them cavities are full of motar droppings as well. Then the massive gaps between different layers of insulation are ok if you want cold spots all over your wall. You may get him to remove the rest of the closers and sort that mess out before your Windows go in.

There's Def nothing wrong with your scaffolding skills. You might have missed your calling!!

You will need him to dig down further and explain the ufh costs better. He knows money is tight so just say you are looking to count the penny's. Think you need a to go over everything with the finest tooth comb in the world. 8 doors at £100 and £100( guess) to hang is only £1600. You can get doors in b&q for Less than £30. I know there not great but they open and close and would save you money which you need to put towards other stuff. You have roughly less than 100m of skirting and 80m of architrave and he has this priced up for the rest just over £4k. Price up 100mm prefinished MDF for the whole house. It's between £2-£3 a metre. You can put a few coats of paint on it before it gets put on then only needs 1 when on the wall. I take it the driveway being solid is part of your planning conditions and without it being done you can't get the house passed.

The driveway is obviously the big one. Would a few lorry loads of pea gravel be acceptable. How many doors and the approx length of skirting that needs done. What have you picked, Oak doors and Oak skirting or would using a cheap door which can always be replaced later on and MDF suit. The ufh price looks very very big. Is there a more detailed breakdown of this.

How could he price up your build, give you this total and not include Windows and doors and internal walls. Was there an amendment on the bottom of the quote that says this price doesn't include X,Y,Z??

Just like Dee I gave my number to the beam guys at one of the self build shows in Belfast and he phoned and phoned and emailed no matter how many times they where told I was going else where.

You think they look bad now if you fully paint them up and let them sit once the sun hits them you will regret it. They will look woeful. Let them redo 1 wall/ceiling and if it ain't up to scratch then inform your builder they are gone and for him to get good plasterers in. The working in the dark excuse is horse shit as well. Good plasterers know roughly by the size of the wall/ceiling how long they will have to get the skim on and work with it before it gets to dark to see what your at and won't start a new bit if they don't have time. Also they all have lights just incase.

The cock plumber would easily beat that price.

The kids here used to burn ours every weekend so the boss and to buy a full metal job. If they couldn't burn it they tipped it over which was fragrant to say the least.

Mine is wired into the same circuit as my spotlights on my dropped ceiling so when I turn the light switch on at the wall they come on and off. They are just a cheap set I got from Amazon near 3 1/2 years ago. I would say they are as generic chinese as they get.

Yeah mine comes back on at whatever setting you turn it off.

I would just leave it then and let who ever buys your house worry about it.

Used a standard block on the outside skin then a lightweight on the inside skin. I drenched the lightweight blocks then put on the scratch coat then skimmed and painted it up. In my house 3 1/2 years now and it's hardly any cracks. If there is that much heat escaping then the problems are on the inside skin and poorly installed cavity wall insulation not the outside cracks. The seek camera is a really good tool to have.

I used lightweight blocks on mine and have had no cracks. Have also covered the house using my seek camera and it was fine. Are you sure the heat is escaping because of the blocks and not due to dot and dab thermal tent on the inside.

They should be as quick as using an ordinary spacer. I will be redoing my upstairs shower and will use them so will let you know what they are really like.

You can get them in different widths to suit whatever gap you want. Think they would be of a benefit when you are using big tiles esp floor tiles to stop lipping.

Do the tile leveling systems not take most of the skill out of it now. https://m.ebay.co.uk/itm/Shmox-Tile-Levelling-Spacers-and-clips-for-Levelling-System-1-5mm-Qty-2000-/272566879678

Don't see the point in putting another standpipe in for ground water testing of the previous one found nothing. I am not sure they understood what exactly you where looking for with regards a mission statement. Get in contact with them again and ask if during the excavation of the basement you come across something that you think is contaminated will they test it and how much will it cost and from these findings you can dispose of it either way. Run this by EH guy and see if this scenario suits him.

You mean how many it might be. Depends how much hits the labourers face ,hair and clothes when he is staring into the mixer. How much spills out when the barrow is full to the limit and how much the brickie drops down the cavity.