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None. Wow. So we'd have no recourse if they built something that started leaking straight away? We'll have cowls on the pots. We've given them a full list of criteria (based on comms from this thread) which includes the trays, weeps, flashing, etc. I appreciate this is a subjective question but the verbal quote we've received is £4,200 - is that high for a rebuild of a chimney?

What is the typical guarantee length?

Good idea - we've given him full instructions of what we want as part of the rebuild and we've requested that this is all itemised to avoid any issues down the line if they build something else or try to cut corners.

We've in the process of appointing a specialist builder to rebuild our chimney - it's the only way forward after having had a good look at it. On that note, we're waiting for the final quotation from the builder - what kind of guarantee should we request from them? What is standard in the Uk for such matters? And should I be requesting anything else in writing that I have not yet thought of? Thanks in advance.

Yeah, that’s not going to happen. ? My skills need a lot more development to even consider this.

You made your own. Respect! ✊

OnOff, how did you “break” the pallets without ruining the long lengths of wood. Some pallets have 3-4 nails per section and it’s impossible to separate the wood without cracking and splintering the wood.

The shelves is a great tip. Thank you ProDave.

Thanks for that. Bridging across the top makes sense. I was also thinking of running a supper on the back and making U shapes.

Best wishes to everyone for the decade ahead. My project for the week ahead is to build a wood drying area in our garage for logs and kindling. My plan is to use pallets for the ground area and partitioning walls. See pics. I don’t want to drill into our stone wall - any advice on how I can robustly construct this so that everything is super sturdy?

Friends of ours, that lives nearby, had a rather unfortunate Christmas Eve. They woke up to flooding in their house which, as it turns out, was perpetrated by rats and/or mice in the ceiling that ate through their plastic water pipes. this was very disconcerting to hear because we regularly hear vermin in our loft space and in the ceiling cavity between the first floor and ground floor. While it will be easy to put some rat poison in the loft space under the roof the space between the ground floor/first floor ceiling is very very small and we have no access to it. Does anyone have any suggestions how we can deal with this potential problem without punching more holes in our ceiling?

I couldn’t agree more with this statement. So true.

Thanks guys. Valuable advice and insights. Getting multiple people in to quote is a practice we try to implement, but it’s often difficult to get specialist guys in as we are a bit rural and they’re booked up for weeks (if not months) in advance. So we’re often forced into decisions and prices, especially on jobs that require urgent attention. VAT is also annoying and is driving up the project because all his prices are VAT excluded.

Very interesting. I’ll enquire why our solicitors never requested paperwork/permissions for the conservatory.

We’ve only been back and living in the UK full time for two years now, and dealing with builders, contractors and tradesmen for a year. Most of our work has been project based, where we get upfront quotes to do the work: materials, time, etc. To this point, we have not negotiated because we were still learning what people charge for different services. Is it acceptable in the UK to negotiate project fees (within reason of course) or will builders and tradesmen take offense?

Thanks Peter. Have seen the WT Knowles link to my wife. You’re right, they really are ornate.

Don’t think we do, but I’ll google to see if there any around us. Thanks for the suggestion.

We have, but it’s very interesting. Joth, who warned you the house was in violation. In our case, should the building survey have picked this up and warned us?

This is what we’ve got now. They don’t match.

We’re struggling to find chimney pots as replacements for our chimney rebuild. We’ve searched online and we’re not finding what we’re looking for. It’s a red brick farm house, so we’re thinking of pots that are terra-cotta - the ceramic pots clash a bit. Any online store that you can recommend would be helpful. Never envisaged buying a chimney pot in the uk would be this tricky.

Our conservatory is freezing at this time of year. It has massive double glazed windows, two poorly executed roof windows and from a rough investigation, no insulation in the roof/ceiling. The roof window is not double glazed - just a thick pane. How can we better insulate this space? At the moment this room is freezing and we would like to get it a tad warmer as the cold can get into the main house via the two doors. Please excuse the big box in the photo. Didn’t feel like lugging it around.

Yikes. Crazy. Loads of expensive processes and systems, and no real recourse avenues. It’s madness. In our case, the vendors were fully aware of what they were doing because they were seasoned house flippers having done it for three decades. So I suspect they knew exactly what they could “push through” with a bit of strategic misrepresentation. It’s useful knowing how to fiddle the system.

We have two rads in there, and there are two doors that lead into it from the main house. Nothing has been broken through so not part of the living space.

It’s a horror story isn’t it? Glad you agree, The roof surface is called Plastisol - it’s a sheer metal that can be used for roofs. Would you recommend replacing the lead with something else? Not sure lead flashing was the right option here.

The previous owners built a conservatory with two roof windows. The sealing is a complete dog’s dinner. They’ve used flashing and with all the rain we’re worried about water ingress leading to leaks. We are wondering how to best seal these windows once the lead has been removed. It’s likely to be a spring/summer job but would like to plan for it now. suggestions and advice, as always, is welcome.