ToughButterCup

Is it just because we are self building that in Lancaster town we noticed ; = Some wooden guttering and and right next to the Funeral Directors - this huge chunk of lead waiting to drop onto the footpath below. Deliberately placed there? Debbie and I must have walked under it many times. Do we look more critically at houses as self-builders? I think maybe we do.

My reading glasses are now permanently welded to my head or face: bit like a teenager's mobile. Makes showering interesting sometimes. No, folks, I'm talking stronger, much stronger. I already use a small magnifier with a fluorescent light round it : but the lenses distorts. I suppose I just need a bigger more expensive one.....?

Getting older is great fun : bits fall off , or out, or stop, or falter, or hurt all the time. All that's fine by me - lots to be grateful for. The thing that's getting to me though is the change in my eyes. Close work especially. By turns I seem to need a telescope or microscope. Close work work is especially problematic. What do you use to help you with close work?

This is what happened to us (1 of 7 in the series: the others are hyperlinked at the beginning of the story )

But dustbin lids all get nicked in Cumbria.... melted down same day....

Yep, it's all true folks .............. about folk from Cumbria. Phhhhhhh.

.... the amount of concrete that attaches itself to my watch every time I .....

Send her round. She's got the job. She knows where we live. Free cakes and coffee. Ian

@vivienz, I'm talking to my roofer - who's about to fit my Velux - right now. PM me.... Ian

The power of BH write large before you very eyes..... You've caught this just in time.

£6000, for all services (no VAT) and £1600 (currently £2100) for BR submission Engaged a couple of years ago, still answering the phone promptly and discussing stuff (briefly) : concept, detail, BR and liaison with contractor(s). Would have liked more detail; when I pointed that out he (correctly in our case , maybe not in others) that - within reason - most contractors do what they want to do anyway. One or two disasters on the way : promptly attended (wall collapse and pile mis-placed ). He listens - finds it hard to give bad news when to do so would have been more appropriate. One of the main reasons we appointed him is this

This might help. Hope so.....

And, @Russell griffiths, what evidence have they given for suspecting methane? They cannot reasonably expect you to do something about a gas which occurs almost everywhere naturally. I would want to know which thresholds they were applying in your case and the evidence base that they were using to justify their request to you. Or are they just asking you to check for methane levels?

? We're all friggin mad mate, mad. How many people do you hear gushing about wanting to self build when they hear you are self building? And then how many actually do so? That's right: none. They are the sensible ones.

Remember I have 8 fingers, of which 5 and a half work as advertised.....

Hi, I wonder whether you could consider chunking your post into smaller bits. It's easier for us to reply. As written, it's a fairly daunting list..... I am completely new to roofing , I found the NHBC guidance to be a big help. It's also available as a pdf

Thanks Jo. I'll need a real hammer then not a nail machinegun

Thats interesting @PeterW and @RichS. Thanks.

I need joist hangers for two types of job: one to support a flat roof, the other to support a floor. Looking at the range joist hangers makes me feel like I'm in a toy shop. I like them all, but haven't got a Scooby about which to choose. Here's an image search for what's available. Presumably I would not choose a hanger with a top flange for the POSIs which are under the first floor (because it would make the flooring less even). Bearing in mind the horror stories related elsewhere on BH, which should I avoid (cheap?). Or is it a matter of - they are all OK, it's just how you use them that counts?

Thanks to you all I'm feeling almost confident about fitting these POSIs. Thanks very much everyone. By the way: I often cite the facts, or techniques or options contained in posts made on BH . Most often I get " T'aint dun like vat rewn 'ere " Tickety Boo, I say.

There is no question that's too basic to ask on BH is there? Thanks @Ian (Good screen name that, good name). The price difference is £3 per POSI. No brainer, then. Untreated. ?

Minera have just quoted for our POSIs. I'm wondering why there is an option for untreated metal web joists. Why would anyone want their floor structure to be more likely to rot? I have got soooo much to learn.

Oh, dear. I know, I started it. Sorry. This thread's going down the pan.

Connect and forget until the sh** hits the fan. Which it probably won't. Hopefully. Maybe. ?

Strongbacks: my design doesn't require them, and battening and counter battening hasn't been mentioned up to now. Is this (are they) something I can choose to add? - I'm thinking of my BR submission here.