ToughButterCup

Be grateful its just old, soft (now gone hard) and smelly. One house I lived in had that plus rats' presents and many skeletons. Its really dangerous stuff to walk around in (on) - it's the dust....

On the way to that ideal, if the meeting is in person, be seen to take notes about the inspector's requests. In our case, inspectors have, between site meeting and their own and office, tended to forget what they've asked for. Notably, the only female inspector to visit remembered what she had said and followed up each point at every meeting or phone call or WhasUp video call. Now, at each meeting or interaction, I send a very brief email summarising the meeting and ask for confirmation of the main points. Jus' sayin' .....

First things first. Has your neighbour offered the land to you for sale?

And we are glad you are with us. From your first post, I'm guessing you keep your cards close to your chest. We are a nosey bunch. Come on, show us whatcha got (as it were.... )

Standard... 2 foot 6 square by 50mm deep ish...

You Bad Man ....?, an' you a member of Tinternet Police.....

Time was when I could lift as well as move paving slabs with a bit of muscle, a maccho attitude and a sore back. Yoof, wasted on the young innit? But time also flies. And I'm not even going to pretend I can do that now. And @epsilonGreedy-like, this is DIY MAX. So a two man slablifter is off the menu. One of these bad-boys is what I want, what I really really want . But notice the cheeky little pop-up at the top of the webpage... Bastard. Lifting tongs won't cut it too small, suction cups: two-man. Whats needed here is a combination of @Onoff's creativity and attention to detail, @Construction Channel's what-could-go-wrong attitude and @pocster's fookitImdoingitanywayism and @Temp's extensive knowledge of Internet content to come up with a simple design which allows me - on my own - to SAFELY pick up a proper big-boy paving slab move it across the site lay it in almost the right spot supply the correct dose of Parcetamol after a session of slab laying. What could go wrong, Ed. ?

Not a tree to plant-and-forget is it. Before you know it, the world has gone darker than normal, the view has disappeared, the wind never blows and they are full of roosting avians. A mate of mine (tree surgeon) taugtht me how to tame them: wait until they are at least 20 feet tall, cut the tops out of them and put scaffolding planks across the tops of the pollarded trunks. Let the sides grow. From there you have a safe working platform to trim them - its impossible to see the planks unless you force your way into the canopy. But I'll wager that those places provide a decent infrastructure to put such waste to good use....

Shhhh, FerGodsSake dont tell the Corn .... donwannaupset'im more than healreadyis

Dave! You! ? Bad Man. (Thank God)

That's them told then. Well @gdal, as soon as the wind's right (at a guess, anything from NE to ENE) and @SteamyTea has his smalls on the line - Burn Baby Burn

Take a short cut to sanity. Burn it. Yes, yes, I know. I started with all those stars in my eyes about how we were going to be ECOMAX. And five years in, hibernaculars built, Swallows catered for, Bluetits cosy, Starlings swearing loudly from under the facia board, pond fostering midges the size of Lancaster Bombers - I'm *king fed up with eco-sheet. Its gone on for too long: there's too much still to do, too much to finish, and too much eco-handwringing. And I'm TooFuckingTired. When all I'm doing is mowing the grass on a Saturday morning, I'll worry about garden waste. I'll have some spare brain capacity then. But during a self-build, just bloody burn it.

The information is not available for a reason.....

Yep, thats what it costs. GetcherWalletOutYouTightWalkOnGlazingExpert.

Good luck. The NSBRC visits I did were the most useful visits of many done in prepartion for our build. Photograph everything and organise them so you can make quick reference to them later - It was blue wasn't it? No it was red ...... you know all that sort of thing. Ian

Thats a very important factor that I noticed way too late - way too late. Our site 'came alive' when a few lads ( well mostly lads, one .... ummmm) were all working together - it was fun. Come to think of it, I find it much easier to work (usually at weekends) with people who drop in to lend a hand. means I work a 7 day week, but what the Hell. Laughter punctures the tiredness doesn't it.

No need. Its part of the BuildHub service. Its 'good' (?) for the rest of us to know that we aren't the only ones to suffer as you do / have / are. Posts like yours reassure the rest of us that we aren't alone. So, thank you. People in our sector who are good at their job are not necessarily blessed with a bit of (or any) Emotional Intelligence. Add that to too much work chasing to few trades folk at the moment and your experience will be all too common. There's no point in blaming one side or the other. This board has ample evidence of customers and trades or other professionals talking past one another, not listening, not listening ' between the lines ' or worse. People are different, and so perspectives are different. You might like to have a quick read of this : a crass summary is understand the other persons needs first and then your own. Its not to everyone's taste but .... It helped (s) me - but I still fall off the 'good temepered even-handed wagon' occasionally - code for have a good rant. More detailed read here.

Yes. I asked and was told there is no need to seal it. Our house has wooden cladding. Before that was put on, some areas had no clearance at all between the MOT1 and the DPC. So, a bit of damp came in - and promptly left when the sun came out. When I eventually reduced the MOT1 to the correct level and put the cladding on, it's drizabone. After 4 years, I still need to sort out the back step: there's gravel to just above the DPC - a bit of damp comes in now and then when there's driving rain from the South west , nowt to worry about. Disappears straight away - sun cooks it.

Rare that. Rare. ?

Hmmm, depressing reading. Depressing - to answer your question - because poor communication is common and not confined to architecture. What format was the brief, oral or written? If the former, well, no wonder. If the latter, politely ask why the brief hasn't been followed. This might be a little late, but here's a checklist that we worked on a little while ago. Just might help you through a stressful process.

I don't know the answer to your question ( I'm an interested amateur - not an expert) . But I do know that if your design passes Planning - and its Conditions and Building Control, you can do pretty much what you want. PS, @pocster has some lovely glazing for sale cheap as chips - DM him with an offer ?

Join the I'm-Annoyed-With-Myself-Club. You're the 55 millionth member, this year. Have this badge: wear it with pride. ?

Thanks for the nudge. The hole in the wall is ready and waiting..... bit of a cold bridge but , what the Hell.

I'm as much a caveman as the next BuildHubber. No aerial. Just CAT6 from the switch and WiFi. Probably overkill if all you do is listen to the Archers innit...

No - in relation to sound from the cistern. Because the cistern is built in behind a tiled wall, it's silent. Even Geberit haven't come up with an answer to other Bathroom sound sources. Yet. I'm told they're working on it. Give the Swiss a couple of years, they'll have those sorted.