ToughButterCup

Whatever was on the floor when I picked them up and gave them to someone who knew what he was doing ?

?

Eeeeeeeewwwww, ?

There's a false ceiling going under these POSIs, so that should be fine. Thanks!

Just starting to put our cable runs in....? 'Nother adventure ahead. 10mm cable is beefy innit? Never seen any til today. Well any'ow, does it need to be clipped to the bottom chord (top of) of each POSI? Thanks.... Ian

- you smash your Piggery door in. Here's how..... First, you dig trench for a land drain next to your house because the original company forgot to put in that bit of land drain. Then you discover why they didn't do that bit of the land drain : it needs to be deep enough to pass under the foundation of a (non structural) wall connecting our house to the Piggery. Being a little more devious than I was at the beginning of the build, I wait til my son comes over on holiday. Fit lad..... From Canada. Backwoodsman, Tree Planter, muscles coming out of his wee-wee. 'Ere, sunshine dig this trench for us would ya? Yeah, I'll tidy up the mess you make with the digger, dad. Hmm, cheeky. Trench dug.... "Where's this trench going dad?" Under the foundation which you've just hit. OK, Snarl, hiss 20 minutes later, There y'are. That was quick Just needs a bit of tinkering with...... He'd smashed his way through under the foundation with an iron bar and his bare hands - hit a pile (column of compacted stone) and right enough was through the other side. Know how to lay a land drain, then? Yo, ahm 'ahn it man (oh the affectations of the Young: he left speaking normal Queens English) From a distance I watched the fabric lining going in, the pebbles, the pipe. All was well. You can back-fill it all now. No sooner said than done. Debbie casts an eye at the work done and casually asks - "Why is a couple of inches of an iron bar poking out of the other side of the wall?" The little sod had buried my iron bar in the trench under the foundation. And left just enough visible to remind me that it was there. Took an hour to dig out. He's back in Canada now.

Worry for myself, no. It's our grandchildren's experience that concerns me. Maybe, just maybe the house standard to which most of us on BH build will be more common when they think about self building?

Am I glad that's a joke ... it is a joke right? No, really - it's a joke innit?

A few threads ago, when I reported moderate stress - and just a bit of depression. On the basis of the feedback, I determined to have a regular day off. Family can only help when they too have days off. Bang goes my day off - and I suspect yours (and many of ours) too. To come back to your main question: how long does it take to sort out the inside? It depends principally, I think on the amount of focused support you can recruit. Neither of us can do it all on our own.

Exactly the same dilemma. Our outside has been weathering for two full years now and only leaks in two - well maybe three - places. Every time I step back from the inside job in hand, I feel almost guilty about the outside jobs I should have been doing . I have no excuse for sleep

That factor - I am assuming I will experience the same enthusiasm peak and wane curve - gives pause for thought. Use it or lose it : but, bike-like, I assume that once taught, I'll not forget. And so I'll always have that ''tool" in my tool bag.

I am trying to decide which of welding course I should take; TIG, MIG or MMA ? Lancaster and Morecambe College offer evening courses starting this September (£625). Can't wait. I'd just like to be able to weld bits back on to my Land Rover, or make fairly simple things like a basic tool to twist thin steel bar. Really simple stuff: nothing like @Onoff-level refined bits of kit . I have a Stick Welder which can be used as a gas welder..... not used it much - kind of busy recently.

Redrafted using almost the same text: The Consumer Code for Home Builders (“the Code”), which came into effect in April 2010, applies to all Home Builders registered with the UK’s main new Home Warranty Bodies. They are NHBC; Premier Guarantee; LABC Warranty and Checkmate . Those companies subscribe to the 19 Requirements and principles that Home Builders must meet in their marketing and selling of Homes and their after-sales customer service. Not Sir Humphrey. More the effect of illiteracy, and simple carelessness.

That trauma is done. Good to see someone else facing the same issue.

@craig, anything you can do to help?

Thanks for the advice given here Surprisingly I have got round to filling them this afternoon. Wonders never cease. The holes in the slab are lined with Polypipe. Am I right in thinking that the Polypipe should be removed before I back-fill them with concrete?

Every Man-Jack-One-Of-Us here started with a dream - some call it an idea, others a thought, others a hope. And the process of turning those notions into to well-formed plans is called compromise. Millions of them. Some small, others painful, many based on howthehelldowedigourselvesoutofthismess. Only you are in contact with your dreams. Many of the compromises you will have to face are hidden at the moment. So steal away Don't stop looking or stealing, eh?

CDM 2015

This will help.

That is exactly what we did. As so often @Russell griffiths is right - so, play it long, and then pop a porker on it.

Yes, but not for ever......

Mine have been 'out' for three years ... no issues. Make sure they are stacked properly (stickered) so they don't start to rot.

The price range was £22000 to £6500 depending on the specification. We had to have piles ; but our SE reminded us that there are piles and piles.... We chose to use stone improvement columns (piles by any other name) they were much cheaper, much quicker than steel sleeved concrete (specified by the ground survey company) and far less hassle. The company that did them was superb. PM me if you want a contact. The bottom line - no hassle or worry and 17k cheaper. And we now have 64 soakaways under the house ?

If it was that easy we'd all be at it. What happens when the ground survey is 'wrong' and you bump into a small incursion of mudstone - as happened on our site? 64 piles cost us £6500. £100 a pile: it ain't wurf it mate it ain't wurf it.

I was introduced to the idea recently. Seems to me to be a useful way of heading off some of the insolence of fortune - and a way preparing for old age. Strikes me that Constructive Pessimism has a role to play in our sector. What do you think?