PeterW

I have a very good friend Alan who is the principle in a reasonably sized practice and he once did some pro bono work for me and a charity. We could pass their benefit in kind into the cost model for gaining funding and one of my colleagues on the committee expressed a stunned look of disbelief when they learnt that we had clocked up £28,000 worth of time and services ... they were close on to suggesting my friend was swinging the lead a little, and even said “but they only produced a few pictures.....!” I happen to know that the £28k was the cost of the time, not including any profits and included additional third parties such as engineers and surveyors, all of which donated their time for free. The result was a stunning building but I still have a wry smile when the colleague said he had his extension plans drawn for £250 and the new building wasn’t 100 times bigger ....! When we were looking at plots I did ask about whether Alan was interested and he said “you couldn’t afford us.....!” He wasn’t being arrogant, he was being truthful ..! The adage of you get what you pay for is true, and echoing what @jack has said, yes you do get the odd tosser but that goes for clients too .....

You have to compact the blinding, it will most likely compact more than the MoT1 due to it acting as a fluid under pressure. The blinding locks together the top surface of the MoT to create the solid surface you put the insulation on.

@Barney12 they are pretty good but like most handleless designs they are square edged so where the finger grip meets the edge of the door there will always be a seam. It’s the trimming and finishing of these that causes the problem unless they are a fully sprayed door where there is a proper coating on all surfaces.

Yep got that ....! We are on next doors connection still .....!

I agree ..! Falling is highly probably and most likely lethal ... intrigued by his “design” for his insulated brackets too ... basically it was an L bracket with a fillet, difference was his load was back off the wall so he could get insulation in. Seemed to have a passion for Kooltherm too - bet I know where his budget went ..! I would have gone for a piled foundation too on that for the basement using an auger rig and pouring alternate piles - quick and cheap and he had the access as he was only going down 4m.

Good luck getting house insurance with that.... Most insist on BS standard 5 lever locks or euro locks to the same standard. I doubt that any insurer would accept an electronic strike plate.

Unless that's the argument ..!! No access as no real space ! No rail or banister !

But you can play guess the budget overrun at every turn..... and how did the front door and stairs pass building regs ...??

He may be paying his guys on a weekly basis so that’s not unreasonable. Plant hire is also an unusual one - some of the bigger hire companies will not give small businesses account terms so they end up paying up front, usually with a ridiculous deposit too..... I now use a local independent who’s just as good on price and better on service ..!

Keep copies of those emails ..!! You can pass them to the warranty company in the event of any issue. The normal terms of business are 48 hours notice for an inspection - if he’s added one that wasn’t in there too it’s questionable as to who will pay for it.

@Incipiens Mox they can avoid charging VAT but still incur it so have to do all the paperwork to claim it back. It’s also slightly more onerous for them as they also need to be ready to provide the detail to HMRC when requested that the jobs they have undertaken are VAT exempt.

I pay bank transfer for all my trades at their day rate. I don’t do any deductions as I am not getting into CSCS or any of the tax issues. If I transfer £500 to someone’s bank account details that they give me, how am I to know if that is their business account or thier offshore account ..?? It’s up to them to pay the tax otherwise you become the employer and that’s a whole world of different issues ..! I very occasionally pay cash - usually to one off jobs and it’s never more than £2-300

Frametherm isn’t thay accurate..!! Cut each roll into 3 and be done with it - it will expand to fit the gap

What stage are you at...? if the founds aren't in then ditch the PIR and go 250mm EPS for the floor Flat roof leave as is - take the hit Pitched roof go for 190mm Frametherm and 25mm PIR - and use a breather membrane that doesn't need a ventilated gap...

Spans are based on deflections being limited to 0.003 x span up to a maximum of 14mm. Thats from the BS Regs

You are anyway to a lesser extent when it comes to having any contractor on your premises - it's the householder duty of care and it's why household insurance has a liability element. What you are not responsible for is his own safety whilst undertaking the works - and he should have his own liability insurance to cover you from injury if you fall down an open hole he's left for example. some of this borders on CDM which we have done to death, but I would avoid any builder who wanted me to pay his employees or subs direct, as the contract law around who has liability for anything will get very grey...... Sounds like tax evasion to me...!

Is it supporting anything...? If not, you don't need a steel....

If you’re going to go pressurised then consider a buffer and UVC. Easier than sorting the header tanks etc

In that case use an SSR. It won’t care what you put through the switched side so a 10v BMS logic signal won’t cause any problem.

Depends if you are using Hep2O or copper ..?? if using copper then I’d test dry at 2 bar for 10 mins just to get a view on if it was all ok and then wet test. Don’t tend to dry test Hep2O tbh

In series an SSR pulls a tiny amount of power - it wouldn’t affect whatever is in the load circuit of the switched live.

Self Build Zone have been very good - go direct to Sennocke though and not via a broker as they are much easier to deal with ..!

Just put an SSR in the circuit in series with the switch. Most only have a single switched pair so are N/O.

Welcome..! Two comments on your plans ... 1. You have 10/14 bed spaces upstairs and only one WC.... And no ensuite ..? 2. Make sure your architect draws a fully detailed plan of how he expects that internal valley to work ! Lovely detail but they have to be designed in - for example your 3D has no down pipe on the front so either you need internal down pipes (cost and complexity) or external ones added as an afterthought which look naff. Quick estimate and I'm pretty sure you will need either a single 110mm down pipe or a pair of 65mm to meet building regs. Good luck and and let's see the questions fly...!

Howdens sale currently .... my price for a kitchen went from £3700 to £2600 overnight .... hmm ...