ToughButterCup

I have a strong feeling that the dire state of the housing sector plays a strong role in promoting poor work. Haven't we all talked to tradies who sneer at the building standards of the major providers? Who snigger at the Building Control regime. But the market will take care of that issue won't it? Building Control officers in Germany are really powerful. They can ( or could when I was there) recommend that builders (tradespeople) lose their licence to practice. And the trades' association vigorously police their members. A German mate once said to me - Why should I employ a chimney sweep who can't manage a large block of flats? - Cos someone else will do it cheaper...? ( I seem to remember it takes about 5 years to qualify over there) - Das ist Scheiße.... That translates as it sounds

Well how about her managing me then .... we all know @Pocster's a bit , well, you know ...... ??

The Due Diligence Process.

We often have this discussion about skills - it runs something like ' We need more skilled people for for trade xyz' And I always suggest that skills are just the icing on the cake. We need to give tradesfolk parity of esteem with their non-trade colleagues. Until there is a rigorous and universally accepted Apprenticeship Scheme - one that engenders respect in the pub and the building site, then we'll continue to suck our teeth with irritation. The German model isn't perfect. But it's better than ours. And Apprenticeship depends on an excellent education system: one where those not going to University have the opportunity to get highly respected qualifications as trades people. And there's less than no chance of that.

Ughhh, same here. I would say that most of the trades that worked here ignored Debbie. In the worst case, the MD of DURISOL talked at her while walking away - and faced me instead. When blokes treat her like that, I have come to enjoy the anticipation of the way she brings two verbal bricks sharply together on his withers.

In relation to the OP then, are we saying to @Seasider Felt the roof to cure the leaks Design and build an appropriate walkway using GRP Fit the walkway Because if we are, we've hit yer man right in the bank-balance. @Seasider - if you can bear it - ask for a quote ( .... erm 3 quotes ) to design, build and deliver you a @SteamyTea - approved walkway. Thinking of your bank balance, might it be possible to just have the walkway, and leave the rest of the flat roof 'til later?

It doesn't matter what it carries. If you have to wonder whether it's a significant problem, it is. So treat it as such until you have more evidence.

Hmmm, easy.... the discussion goes like this.... Muggins " How many ovens do you need love?" SWMBO "4" Muggins "Wha? 4 ... why ? SWMBO "How many cross-cut saws have you got ... and I think I saw about 6 or 7 drills - some of them huge in that massive cupboard of yours, then there's the table saw - and the 'spare' in the other container . And (warming to her annoyance) how much did that lot cost eh? Tell me that ? LONG PAUSE ................................................. Muggins "Well ducks, ya should have told me that a year ago when I asked you to approve the kitchen plan. ... not enough space now " I have learned the hard - very hard - way that when I play an ace, I should never - ever - ever - grin.

What you need @Ozpos, is a visit from @MikeSharp01 . I had a problem with one of my inlets. He took one look at it, grinned and said "You don't need that one" Top bloke.

Our cooker: 10mm feed intended - until reality struck. Now there's 10mm to a hewooooge socket and a 13 Amp plug to a Bosch (natch) induction fingy.... 10mm - I could hardly cut it with an angle grinder ......

10mm is 'king hard work.......

Plumbing isn't just a trade. Its a language too. Nipples, irons, CT1, tapered threads, 92.5 degree bends, noggins.......... 'King nightmare.

Nail gun ? Screws ?

I was hoping you would join in @SteamyTea. In terms of GRP walkways, what does .... Done properly ... mean in practice ? I ask because I'm not aware of any GRP walkways - or perhaps I just don't notice them when I walk on them ? @LnP was your GRP roof also used as a walkway ?

@Seasider raises an interesting question: How can you make a leaky concreted flat roof waterproof ? Is a triple layer of felt adequate for the job? My feeling is that in this case (because the the roof doubles as a footpath) it isn't - Or if felt is OK for a while - it soon won't be : shoe, stone, heel, puncture, leak, frost, thaw, bigger leak, peed off @Seasider. Somehow, shoes need to be kept off that roof. Marine ply walkway on 4 by 4 bearers?

In our case, I asked the same question. No - was the answer. But since we built on a gentle slope, we just shoved the top layer (made ground) downhill.

With the very best will in the world, @DuncanAndrews, our collective genius and experience can never ever be cited as reasoned evidence to counter a qualified SE's opinion. All we can do is to advise you to do some Due Diligence among qualified and experienced SEs. All SEs aren't the same. Some experienced, some not. Some specialised, others not. Some go by the book, others engage deeply with the topic because of a special interest. Get 10 SEs in room and I bet there will be a wide range of opinion. Our SE ( a foundation raft expert) was asked to specifiy for some ICF rebar for us. Once that spec was submitted to a specialist ICF SE, well, his laughter from the Home Counties could be heard here in Lancashire. And saved us about £3k. Ask two more SEs for a specification - and make sure one of them is experienced in working with Velux products: a truss design firm might be useful. Do Velux have specialist SEs? Time to get on the phone.....

@joe90 forgot to say .... Get a pest Control guy to remove the mice, rats , bats and GCNs. When that's done replace the inevitably rotten(ing) wood , and when you've done that replace the lintel(s) and then the frame. Or - keeping it brief - knock the house down and start again. 😑

One stone (a local flint will do) picked up on a shoe heel and traipsed over some felt ..... even 3 layers hmmmmm......

It is common to get three quotes for any build project - part of the Due Diligence process. If you don't go through that process (need not be as complex as implied in the link given) you increase the risk of coming back to us with a (commonly heard) tale of woe. In short ; ask, talk, look. Lets speculate about the costs involved - this is PURE speculation Ancillary works: 2 days £400 Felt 3 rolls (3* 275) £825 Skip 8 yards £280 Torch-on felt kit £300 2 guys 2 days (4 man days) £800 Equipment hire £100 Incidental costs (fuel , phonecalls , consumables) £100 Profit ( roughly the sum of the above) ~ £ 2000+ That coffee house fag-packet calculation makes the quote above about right. Yes, you'll get it done for less. But consider that he might do a good job - in which case you've started to build trust. And thats valuable. Network hard: has yer man worked in the area long? Who has had work done by that firm before? Go and look (or sneak a look) . Talk to as many as you can about the builder - ask at local estate agents for anyone who knows him . Mind you in Devon the Jungle Telegraph works particularly well if my experience is anything to go by. Other members will have a view about whether 3 layers of felt is enough straight on to concrete where the surface will be walked on every day. My instinct is that it isn't .... We aren't experts. Just nosey, hard-bitten (often nosey) self builders with long memories. There is no substitute for doing your own research: it builds confidence and decreases risk. Photos please. PS, I had no idea how acidic ( alkaline? ) seagull shooshoo is.....

I don't think its possible to generalise. Would that we could. It'd all be a lot easier. There might be a local agenda: one particular Planning Officer might have a bee in the belfry about [...] , the Planning department might be badly organised - high staff turnover, got any precious wildlife locally .? .. Planners are more than up to neighbours being the opposite, Local Councillors sometimes kickstart their broomsticks. All the above is out of your control. But you can control the way you handle the politics and micropolitics. Here, have a read

Can I suggest you ask the provider of the relevant product. Or perhaps, one of their agents?

So, @DaveAF is the arbour still up - gales haven't dropped it for them ..... ? Locally there's a WW2 relic (coast-guard lookout) that looks much the same as the image you posted, is really Jerry-built, walls thinner, (single brick walls) concrete roof thinner and open to the full force of the winds in the bay (Morecambe). Over 70 years old. Both that concrete roof - and the one next to yours - will take some shifting.

A few photos would help us help you ....

Thats an interesting thing to say. Tell us why you think it's broken - as opposed to simply expensive ?