Brickie

Seasonal movement is one thing-what we’re talking about here is settlement cracks in the early life of a new build. Ive not been to Florida but if that’s the local method most used then maybe they’ve a culture of seasoning the timber before it’s used in construction,reducing the potential for shrinkage & settlement.

I’d guess the traditional method of timber Lath & 3 costs lime plaster would significantly reduce cracking,as the lime has a bit of ‘give’ in it & with a 3 coat system each coat takes a bit of any shrinkage/expansion exerted on it before its transfers to the next. Expensive way to do it though,unless you were doing it yourself (Pocster-don’t even go there!)

+1 to the above questioning 215mm blockwork. As said,you’d be far better off with 100mm & either a wider cavity (with more insulation) or standard 100mm cavity with iwi. Either option would give you the deep reveals you’re keen on at a far smaller cost & a warmer house. Personally,I’d go for Iwi in your position. Trusting your average brickwork gang to insulate properly is wishful thinking,and not easily rectified if discovered later on. Ps if I were pricing drawings that showed 215mm blockwork internally I’d be booking a villa in Spain for a month!

My brothers run a small demolition firm & have parquet & roof boards (great for flooring as once de-nailed no nasty surprises when sanding!) on their current job in Hemel. Not out yet I believe but coming next week or so. Admins-as they are a limited company this post may contravene forum rules. If so,please delete.

Yours & any lurking Pirates

Ah,it's a modified version of English bond,with the stretchers staggered to avoid a weakness with sectional joints as you would have with true bond & header course every 3rd. This bond may have a name but it's not one we were taught for Advanced Craft City & Guild's!

Can't quite see from the angle of the photo but from your description sounds like English bond. All long face of block showing one course,all narrow face showing the next? Back to the OP-looks good so far-sectional joints through the wall tell me they know what they're doing (or at very least they know the rules of bonding!)

Shame the engineering bricks are already on site or Id be saying get concrete blocks in,if it absolutely has to be masonry. And as for them speccing Flemish bond.... The strongest bond is header bond ( all bricks paid with header face showing.) Followed by English Bond (alternate courses of headers & stretchers.) Flemish is my favourite aesthetically but it is NOT a bond selected for its strength. If you're now down to a 1 & a half brick wall (as a 3 skin deep wall is referred to-a 9" wall is a one brick wall,4" is half brick etc) then I'm extremely tempted to recommend building two outer skins as a cavity wall with wall ties & back filling the cavity with concrete. The Labour saving on this method would be substantial. Good luck.

I'm guessing it's lime mortar if you can pull it out that easily?

I'd say there's no problem with it,is standard practice to do it that way. Best run it past BC or your architect/engineer first though. Would be a pain to have to alter it after!

Sorry to hear that Dave. Just a thought-do you have any sparky mates your way who do Rail work? I did some a couple of years back when money was dead tight. 2-3 nights a week gave me a boost in income & I was still just about able to carry on with my day job. Exhausting,but if it freed up your days to carry on,albeit a lot more slowly,might be worth doing the PTS course. I'd say from experience,only worth it if you have or can make some contacts in Rail. It's a fair outlay at first (around £400) to do the medical & the course. Good luck.

+1 to Russell-personally I'd run a vertical Dpc at the junction & make it a movement joint.

Can you not insulate around the reveal & fix the frame in line with the cavity? If there's enough play in the size of the frame maybe insulated plasterboard up the reveals too?

So,just to clarify,you're positioning the frames flush with the inner leaf?

Any particular tune?

I have no experience of dealing with it so all I can offer is what I was taught at college-the absolute key to prevention is ventilation. The spores are present in the air,lack of airflow is what allows them to settle & thrive (so we were taught.)

Ties every course at reveals. You can cut a neat slot for it in the insulation board by using your trowel 225mm up & the correct distance in. The insulation should be clipped back against the frame with discs (commonly referred to as 'buttons.)

Great,thanks.

The arch former forms a segment,I suppose? I have an online calculator,just wondered if anyone knew in case I ever need to do it where there's no mobile signal!

Hi all- Does anyone happen to know the formula for calculating the radius of an arch armed with just the span & the rise? I know I learned it at college but damned if I can remember!

https://www.travisperkins.co.uk/Visqueen-Pro-Single-Sided-Jointing-Tape-75mm-x-25m-RS020777/p/171762?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIxsKy7f7l1QIVRrXtCh1aeABOEAQYAiABEgJokfD_BwE You could lay the continuous Dpc tray,cutting either side of your straps as tight as is practicable & cover with this product. If you really wanted to go to town there's a double sided version that you could cover the strap with first,lay the Dpc onto it and then cover with the single sided stuff.

I'd go for concrete myself,especially if cheaper! Point to remember with plinths if there's any masonry carrying on above-the bond needs to be set out for the brickwork when it steps in,which may mean 3/4's at the corners.

Not you as well!! David Icke's really on to something with this Lizard People/Illuminati conspiracy!!

Now you know why I packed in Foremanship... The basic,elementary mistakes brickies make when you're not babysitting them-just shocking. As above-laying hard to the line is a common one,as is offering the level up against the wall with one hand rather than pinching it against the wall below with your foot or knee to get a true reading,not checking for plumb after four courses,not keeping to gauge height blah blah blah. Christ,I'm boring myself now. No wonder I don't get invited out much now...

If planning won't grant you change of use before jumping through the hoops described above then why not look to let it out to a licensee? They would presumably need living quarters & office space so most (if not all) of your property would be giving you an income & if the pub/bar genuinely isn't viable then you've cleared one hurdle whilst still drawing money from it.