ToughButterCup

Cos I do. ? Cheaper than plastering.... £300 for 60 sq m The internal walls upstairs will be PB. We're only going to line some walls with ply ; needs to look sexy like all the ply - lined walls we have seen this summer - and the offices where D works. Looks a treat - but I suspect it can be over-done.

Lining a wall with plywood isn't as easy as it looks, I'm sure. But then nothing else in house building is either. We are considering lining some walls with ply. The substrate for the ply will be battens fixed on concrete - perfectly rigid, therefore. Question is, how thick should the ply be? Thanks, Ian

Welcome. Determination, grit, bloody-mindedness. It took us 30+ years to convert our orchard into a building site. 30 years to have enough equity to support the necessary finance. It's been a long haul.

I know less than nowt. But can offer this

Be sure to tell the postie which one is for letters and which for parcels , eh? ?

Depends on your perspective. And budget. An electric shower is cheaper and simpler overall. And as for @Nickfromwales with customary understatement, referred to electric showers as ' ... spawn of the Devil ...'

Being dry while you switch on and set the temperature....

'Fit a digital electric shower my boy, and the world will be yours...' Has He got a point?

Excuse the naive question: doesn't that just treat the symptom?

Ahh, you've never used one underground then.... hmmmm

Never used waterproofer in mortar before. There are several on the market - Which to snog ? Which to marry ? Which to avoid ? Let's hope this thread doesn't get too long, eh? Know whar' ah mean ? ?

First hit on Google.

No. Our build is on a Newt - Commute - Route midway between between two ponds, 200 meters apart: in an ecological sense you could accurately describe the two ponds as local Newt Nightclubs. When it's warm and wet outside, and the lights turned down low, they do what comes naturally: searching for a bit of action. Often that means traipsing through our kitchen gurning on about ' the lack of talent round here ' . Sid, the tomcat sits and growls. I pick them up and take them to where all the action is : the hibernacular. Our Mitigation Strategy required us to have a refuge for them: we created three. (Meant less clearing up) They're beautiful, and we treasure them.

Welcome. There's yer problem ... '... on my own ...' That statement implies the need for team work, and all that goes with it. Teams are wonderful things when they have bedded in, when colleagues come to know and trust one-another. And they only ever do so in a deep and meaningful way when the members have shared a bit of hardship : been tested in some way. Had corners knocked off , snarled at one another a bit and made up (or not as the case may be). Thats the thing you need to work on - whether with an architect or not - getting someone to design with you. The chemistry's the thing. Compromise, provoke, enable, share. Be clear.

Just bloody do it.

There are at least a couple dead on the road outside our house every warmish, wet morning.

Need shares in Sikaflex then....

I brief everyone that comes on site (admittedly not that many people now) : only takes a few sentences. Very simple; Live services First aid resources : kits and eyewash station Ask if any H+S resources needed - if so give them what they need Point out that Durisol dust is vicious , and the importance of eye protection Tell them about the location of the local hospitals Site specific hazards - nettles at the moment Ask to check their vans / cars before leaving - the sodding cat is likely to be in the warmest bit of their van (dashboard) point out the location of the loo and kitchen and show them where to make their own tea and coffee. I do this for everyone arriving on site : one delivery driver listened carefully and at the end of the briefing told me that it was over a year since he had been briefed on H+S at any site.

Not so much nightmares as losing sleep: it's now normal to lose sleep - getting a bit p'd off with it too. ?

... without ruining the waterproof seal below the tiles? Look at this: At the moment I plan to suspend the screen from the ceiling - and until I bothered to think about it, intended to fix it to the floor. But then I looked at the issue in detail, I realised that in fixing it to the floor, I would puncture the waterproof seal. Someone has solved this problem before - many by what I now see as dubious means - make slots in the tiles; screw to the floor, and so on. Do I need to re-think the position of the shower ( and therefore shower screen) ?

M2, page 75, here covers it. In brief : exceptionally, yes, you may 'evolve' the scheme, but

Keep your options as open as possible for as long as possible. Model each on a spreadsheet. Life will get in the way and help make the decisions for you. Make yourself as comfortable as you can skiing in front of an avalanche. Avoid alcohol. ?

Thats the point of PHPP. Or @JSHarris spreadsheet. Links available with a bit of googling. Ian

Consider getting the suggested Phase 1 Study done: a study which looks at existing data and makes a judgement on the extent to which a detailed study needs to be done. That means (among other things) a look at historical maps of the area : hopefully not of any real relevance to your case. In ours, the local area had some 'quarrying' for clay (at the end of the century before last) and that was felt to be sufficiently relevant to require further investigation. ( See @Bitpipe's post above). A hard look at the site, even a moderately expensive one, is a very useful risk reduction exercise. And when you're about to spend a good chunk of money anyway, it rankles a bit more than normal. The data thrown up by our survey was useful (required documentation, even) on several occasions. At the time of the survey, we had no idea how crucial the documentation would become. Before you do any of the above, it might be wise to get definitive answers to the following questions; Has work started at the site? Yes or No. If yes, then why has the Condition not been met? What constitutes 'start of works' locally? If work has not started, how long has (Outline?) PP been in force. What that really means is, how close to the three year commencement threshold (for starting work) is the plot. The closer to the 3 year time limit, the more bargaining power you have. What proportion of your budget is the site investigation? Is £3000 worth worrying about? Or will that cost ruin other plans? Good luck Ian

Is that good or bad? Is it too obvious / naive / stupid to suggest you do the same?