ToughButterCup

Have you got time to take and post us a picture? It would help us help you.....

Welcome. Affordable - what does that mean? I can't, you maybe can. What is certain, though, is that land in your immediate area will cost more as a proportion of your total build price. A quick glance at SPONS will show you also that build costs around your area are more expensive than those inside the M25. You need @nod on the job. He's brilliant at nosing out sites and buying them at the right price. @Ferdinand's yer man for setting you straight in relation to planning once you've found somewhere. Many here have found the search for a sensibly priced and convenient site needs a good dose of persistence. Plenty of time to absorb the collective wisdom on BuildHub then......

Did the previous owner also have some cores taken? In which case you might have access to an analysis of those cores perhaps? As @Declan52 says, beware of the boulder. It happened to us on the last pile. Took hours to sort out.

Should be obvious to a man of your existence innit..... 'S the trainers innit. Wet trainers, wet wall obvs.

Good. The threat - as described - is very likely to be criminal behaviour. Log it, tell the police straight away. At this remove, its hard to say what should happen next. My gut feel is that you should not pay any more money. If they pursue you for any more money (and I bet its a big if ) then follow the guidance above. Is the small amount of money witheld worth getting a criminal conviction for?

Pay nothing now. Do not allow yourself to be bullied. Pay what you think it's worth and no more. First, establish the value of work done to date. To do that; Get a quote from a local firm to reinstate the job to a proper standard. Deduct that amount from your bill, and offer to pay that. But only offer to pay it. When thats happened, get back to us.

Reading your post @Nick1c , I found myself nodding in agreement at every point. Especially the one where a failure to do due diligience was at the root of a problem. Coincidentally, we also suffered from two charlatans , at least one of whom I know for sure is still operating in plain sight. The fault was principally mine, I didn't do the due diligence. In one case, a bit of digging would have uncovered CCJs and more than a few unhappy customers. Thats the trouble when your basic instinct is to trust people until you find evidence to the contrary. And as for How right you are. It took me so long to learn that lesson. Thats why being in on the local ' network ' is so important. Just one tradesman introduced me to several other trades, all of whom are doing exactly what they say they will, when they they say they will. A stark, healing contrast to recent encounters with charlatans.

On his own. I was Tea-Boy-Extraordinary. I unlocked the HERAS gates every day. Ooooh, and one famous time I remember, I turned the hose on for him - just the once I think. @Triassic, he is local to you...... Want his number?

Curved edge roof-slates are very common in some German towns. Why? Rain. The water follows the curved edge. And some say it looks nice. But I think it can be taken too far, such as here. Yours @Bozza looks fabulous, subtle, clean, functional.

Dave, my magician wall-straightener charges £200 a day. Arrives before 8, leaves around 6. 30 minutes for lunch.

That's interesting. For us the process was fine. Line by line attention to detail is needed. I remember cold fear. That I'd get the dimensions wrong, that a window would be dropped, that one wouldn't fit, that the slider just wouldn't slide. The windows are our highest single item cost. (Hmmmm, let's see about that... what might she manage to do with a German kitchen, eh? ) I must have treble checked the as built dimensions of the window openings three times. For the 4m slider, there was about 5mm clearance top and bottom, less either side. BTW, I'm still finding good uses for the high quality packing timber, and almost every Torx screw used to hold the windows in transit. Not that I'm mean or anything

Explain it to me would ya?

Patches, it's the way it is. Step back 100 meters, and you can't see it. Zoom in, and you do. Enjoy it. Especially if it's the only problem you have.

25 by 50, doubled in one or two places.... The blue ones, not the knotty sort.

Sensible woman. @mjward, what Gary ( @nod) is too modest to mention is that he is a very experienced, professional builder. So what if his spell check has a sense of humour? I keep hoping he might find a plot near us so I can go round and pick his brains. Mind you he gets up at 5. Even at Christmas ?

Left? Or right?

From the title I thought you meant your hip...... You've sent me scurrying to find out what my pump rating is.

So..... Chippy hasn't turned up, trod on the toothpaste, cat sick over the carpet, hip on fire, well alight in fact. But have found a magician plasterer. He does what he says he will do. Straightens wonky walls. Turns up early, leaves late. Sticks to his price. No, you can't have his number. No, just NO ok ?

Excellent post F. Excellent.

Next person who askS me that is going to be handed a paint brush and a pot of paint. Every bloke that comes on site wants to use the Geberit Aqua Flush. Wimmin don't want to. Appen's cus there's no door on't bog?

Just bumped into this thread. Head Down Arse Up, Go. Between 2nd and 3rd fit. And very very tired. Add a delicious does of hip pain. Got the picture?

Here is the legal framework you should follow. Honoured many times in the breech. Especially in West Lancashire

Forgot to mention that our window has a large set (4m high) of external louvres for precisely the reason you give. Together they make a very pleasant combination in terms of light, shade and " air ". Wot that Kevin off Ch 4 calls a Breeze Corridor

How much? Here's what my roughly equivalent (bit bigger , but not much) window cost - triple glazed. Every single person who has seen it plays with it - weighs a ton, move it with one finger. In the context of comparing quotations, I found it really difficult to compare like with like. For me, detail contained within the the quote matters. Some producers were - to our mind - light on detail, and so were filtered out quickly.

You are most welcome. My dad was a sapper (WO1, 1950s) , so I'm almost duty bound to ask you , when are you going to be installing the Bailey Bridge?