Onoff

You need to talk to your particular LA / look on their website. It does vary in how they do things. If your FiL is not a member of a competent persons scheme you will still likely end up paying the full fee. Even if he is qualified and competent as in has the necessary training, qualifications and experience he needs to be in one of the schemes to make it plain sailing. In my case they would accept my electrical qualifications, even then my Part P qualification, my schedules of tests etc. Still wanted to send out someone they sub electrical inspections out to. The fee would have been the same as if I'd had none of the above. They did not, at the time have their own in house electrically qualified building inspectors. Thus they subbed to the council's favoured leccy contractor and gave them a building inspector's badge for the day. I have a long email from them on it somewhere from the then head of building control who I knew from a previous life. My LA's fee page, see D19: https://www.sevenoaks.gov.uk/info/20069135/building_control/439/building_control_fees/4

Good idea that Aerogel 👍

BiL just had a fake 5Ah one go bang in the, again fake Makita charger. He was out and had left it charging on the carpeted stairs landing. Came in to the smell of burnt plastic etc. It had spewed out solder and molten plastic over the carpet but luckily hadn't caught fire. Just had the modern, presumably fireproof carpet fitted.

+1. Go battery and save the petrol for cars.

Mine: https://www.howetools.co.uk/makita-dur368az-twin-18v-brush-cutter

Makita 36V here. Well pleased.

"Roller wave" possible. Caused when it's floated.

Looks in better nick than either of mine!

BS, the neighbour just happened to be filming, yeah right.

The plus points stack up for good old black bitumen paint. Cheap, it'll fill pin holes and round the roofing screws. Easily to reapply too. On rusty steel it also has a protective effect as the oil seeps out. Probably the best chance of sticking if there's remnants of paint on there. You can get a white bitumen. A flexible acrylic like Acrypol, Chromapol, Evercryl etc is sort of made for the job but expensive. Easy to reapply but I'd worry about rust carrying on under the paint. Whatever I'd jet wash first. If you can, get the worst rust off and paint with a phosphoric acid solution before painting. It'll turn the rust to a stable black/grey. As in iron oxide to iron phosphate like Jenolite rust converter.

A strip of Aerogel insulation perhaps?

You're too kind. Up close you could hang your coat on the walls. Boy did I learn a lot doing it though.

I cast my floor to falls in the wet room corner and it's stayed perfect. Took some working out along with the Geberit wall drain. I'd do it again in a heartbeat but next time use a tile levelling system.

If you do floor first then the wall tiles come down onto them. A much better detail in terms of waterproofing and no horrible grout line at the edge where the floor and wall meet.

I did floor first then protected the floor with Correx. I then used a homemade tile levelling system to place the second tile up. For the bottom tile I turned it over, placed it on 1mm packers and marked the cut line with the laser. When you turn it back it's bang on: (I should add I can't tile to save my life! Up until then the wall boarding was all perfectly square 😂).

That's b***ocks. Floor first, right up to the wall. Then bring the wall tiles down onto them with a 1mm gap. Seal with CT1, wipe flush. When set put a silicone bead on which you can periodically replace. A Welsh wizard once told me that.

https://www.saxtonblades.co.uk/

It's reassuringly expensive too. First coat covers bare wood. Give it 3 like it says on the tin and it just lasts.

Black, satin, Bedec barn paint, to do the rest of that wood 👌

Yep, top bolt will fail first I'll bet. Ask the next chubster family that rocks up to try a "good" bench with the offer of free doughnuts. Maybe set up a wildlife camera to look at the bolts...

Edge distance issue that imo.

You could go smashed hardcore, then a bag of Type 1 or 2, a weed fabric to retain the soil then the soil.

If intent on filling it then there's very likely to be an offer of free hardcore local to you. Are all those slabs around it being scrapped? If so, smash or drill drainage holes in the bottom then heave any unwanted slabs, bricks, tiles etc in. Smash with a club hammer.

You could think about a big, rainwater storage tank in that ready dug hole. That's what I'd be doing. Cover in a concrete slab or planks. Astro turf.

In all seriousness I do feel your pain.