ToughButterCup

You're describing the norm for this sector. What do your finger-tips tell you about this builder? Spot-on so far, and prepared to keep the job going is what I see at this remove. But you have a valid concern. How complex is the roof : beaver-tail details front and back, complex hips, or a 10 meter straight run - no chimney? If the latter - fine. If it's complex, talk to him about the support he may need .... Asking that may get a reassuring response - he's done several like this before. Here's your real problem Skype? Teams? Google chat? Phonecall? Facebook?

Dunning Kruger Level 1 folks all over the place, here as well as everywhere else. They are normal. They are me - sometimes. We don't have to look too far from our own doorstep to find many others - (the local pub will do ) In relation to what we do - self building - I know I spend my time mostly on the way up to Mount Stupid [ as in : How hard Can It Be? ] and too often sliding down into the valley of despair. [as in : Look at the Mess I made Of This, Help Me Here Please! ] The brilliant thing about BuildHub is that there are so very many generous people here who - seeing members like me flailing around in the Valley of Despair - who are more than prepared to grab me by the scruff of the neck and pull me up the slope of enlightenment. To me, that's the definition of Kindness. We can all see those - others always (?) - at the peak of Mount Stupid ( for example I cannot imagine how @SteamyTea puts up with my stupidity about electrical terminology) . But all too often I lack the kindness - the effort - the time - to help folk make the next step along this particular rollercoaster. Even when I can see the plot of route they need to take. To suceed, all I need to do is nothing. [ As in stuff it, I know the answer , but I'm not going to contribute to the discussion ] So, @MikeSharp01, we are becoming something of a joke eh? [ As in sliding to the Valley Of Despair] Who do we ask to help us on the next step towards Sustainability?

Yes @Temp...good point. I've been encouraging people to read this book for many years.... It's been in print since 1950 ISH. Essential reading for politicians.

... unless you have to ....like water companies or railway companies or energy companies. Sometimes nationalisation works, sometimes it has to be made to work for a bit, others it is indeed best avoided.

Ah, Mike, we're just procrastinating. And the time to procrastinate is now! Don't delay !

Ended up casting a corckscrew tie-down for dogs into an old plastic bucket. The grandchildren need another one for the ' sails ' on their pirate ship..... Easy on the oars there Donal', easy lad.

In a fit of misplaced energy this morning I mixed this much too much mortar I usually have a couple of 'jobs' for extra mortar and concrete. But I'm out of ideas this morning .... Apart from casting me and my boots in a large bucket and jumping in the river Lune ..... anyone got any creative ideas please..... ? !

Yes it is.

Goddit I think - In other words, put the beading on it's own bed of 3:1 innit..... Knocking something through is new to me Gary ( as opposed to knocking things up or off )

The reveals on a couple of my windows are - how to put this - variable. And I'm wanting to render them. On the rest of the house, I need a 10mm stop bead: but that's not big enough for the head of this window..... Have a look at this 10mm beading will be fine for the right hand side. But it wont be for the top (head) Local advice varies from - knock the house down and start again - to - It'll be reet (Oh that Lancastrian catch-all phrase meaning I couldn't give a stuff) What to do here folks please?

Water companies: .... the regulatory framework within which they operate ... their sharholders behaviour. It stinks. And yet I'm not on the barricades shouting myself hoarse like I was as a student. Too comfortable. Even though I am messing another load of rendering up - less so than last week. Its raining Yay!

I think I remember using a pair of long-nose pliers 🤔 but a Toby works. We installed a stop valve immediately after the meter.

Yes. And in answer to your letter, the official would say something like ; applicants are free to challenge appeals decisions in the High Court. And then their Lordships would only look for errors of process - errors of law and missed out material issues, stuff like that.

Thanks both. It's a Marmite house: some love it, others hate it. And I see every damn thing thats wrong with it. And one day - one day - I'll stop working on it. Its kind of you to comment so positively Ian

Read BuildHub. I'm serious: there'll be a few OhFFS moments on your build - and many instances of the same thing be recounted and chewed over on BH. Your time will not be wasted.

Its what we've got. Unevidenced opinion on the part of anyone seriously engaged in any legal or quasi-legal process often puts the readers teeth on edge..... .... Applicants teeth or the Inspectors

Make sense? That depends on your priorities. For us It did (does) because we wanted lots of glass. And we love the noise made by hail and rain. Yes, there's a bit of solar gain, yes it's a bit cooler in winter than optimal. On balance we're very happy with Gaulhofer : this is what it looks like .....

He's up-front about as far as I remember..... Thats one reason we chose him.

Nahhh Dave, thats some wiring .... innit?

Now that I have rendered one whole wall - yes, just the one - , I can call myself an Internationally Renowned Rendering Consultant. If you do nothing else, get that bead sealed before September......

Here's how our architect answers that question ..... https://rocketarchitects.co.uk/pricing

This is what we used and hemp rope, a gin wheel , plus a bit of muscle. And a lot of pre-lift planning. We learned the hard way to keep the rope dry, because the auto-brake doesn't work very well when the rope is wet. I nearly killed Debbie lifting 25kg of concrete up to level 3 of the scaff - let go of the rope expecting the brake to do it's job, it didn't - whoosh, down it went : took about a year to regain the Brownie Points lost .....

And similalrly, the sag shouldn't be so much as to touch the insulation below..... because that means that vapour droplet forming under the membrane could drip onto the insulation and make its way back into the roof. Ask me how I know. 😔

No, there isn't. The availability of money is only one factor in the total cost of any build. But there are 'givens'. The cost of land in your chosen area The cost of money Your nett income(s) Your risk appetite Your life experience Your network of relevant contacts Your determination - resilience Your support networks Your dream Look hard at all of those. Read all the OhShitStories on this site. You WILL have at least two. And then review the above list.

No ........... Yes, an A Frame is likely to be a more stable platform on which to work. But it isn't if , standing on the A frame, you work to the side of the ladder - in other words push across the line of the ladder. Your weight , leaning in line with the ladder, makes the set up much more stable. And thus safer. Try it. Stand on the first step of the ladder, in line with the ladder. And push against the wall. Next make the ladder into a A frame, set it alongside the wall. And push against the wall at the same height as before...