bassanclan

I would say it doesn't include the land and associated buying costs, but does include everything else. Grey areas are when buying serviced plots and those with planning permission already in place. The problem comes when you have to spend excessively on one area early on e.g to get services on site, to get planning, to get out the ground etc. Then the temptation is always to ignore those costs and carry on building a £2000 per sqm house even if it's already resulting in a house that's too expensive for the area.

No that is expected with oak and part of its natural charm

You need to ideally decide on what your final finish coat is going to be and use the correct primer accordingly. E.g. if you are using an oil based undercoat them gloss, ideally you would start with an oil based primer. And you can use a white primer for white/light final coats and a grey for darker finishes

I think number 1 job is to get that bubble wrap out of there and see exactly where the draughts are getting in

£2.30 per block from Spons is surely the price of the wall as built i.e. including cost of the block, mortar, ties etc?

You need an impact driver. Once you have one you'll wonder how you managed without it

I've got those bit holders and they are a bit poor. Pulling the collar back can be a pain and sometimes you need to twist and pull back at the same time

I have some Telesteps and they are very useful. I choose to use them in preference to any of the other ladders I have around that size. I don't feel they are unsafe or lacking rigidity.

Needs to be flat at the bottom. The building inspector won't sign it off otherwise

Have you got a picture or street view of the other houses on the street with the 2 storey protrusion?

As it's a victorian terrace it is going to be a double skin solid wall. Are you putting a new lintel on the inside and the outside at the same time? You'll need some scrap slate or steel shims to pack up the lintel. 2 strongboys will be sufficient, that opening only looks about 1m wide.

Wickes are too expensive for what they are. If you really like them though ask your fitter to get it from Benchmarx (the trade kitchen arm of Travis Perkins that own wickes)

There are supply only companies for R9 windows. They ae pretty easy to install.

I've got the R9 windows. They are excellent and you can't tell they are upvc until close up

Might raft foundations work - depending on the depth of the sewer?

Another cause of the problem might be that they have used the wrong flashing - not a flashing designed for slates

I had a £10 off £100 code for toolstation through the post. It was a pretty generic looking code. Will search it out later.

Sorry I think I'm a bit slow. Have you got a link?

Interesting. My private inspector randomly contacted me last week wanting to inspect. I explained I wasn't ready for the next stage and was very confrontational "are you saying I can't come and inspect? Is there a reason you won't let me inspect the progress?" And very insistent that he should be able to come and look. We were able to agree that he wasn't just going to come round and either sign it off or wash his hands of the job, but maybe there's an insurance situation if the property hasn't been inspected within a certain time period.

You might find that borrowing on the existing house is far cheaper than a self build mortgage

I guess you mean deep trench fill concrete strip foundations. If the build is brick/block then there's no reason not to pour the concrete to say 100mm below the top of the trench

Minimum of 50mm from the bottom (to prevent someone putting a screw into it from the celing below)

The problem is the manufacturer also states a minimum amount of air clearance/circulation so any warranty would be invalidated.

I would recommend Johnsons self cleaning masonary paint. It's expensive, but a lot cheaper than the labour of repainting. I don't think much to Sandtex. It used to be good, but I think they have changed the mix over the past couple of years.

I'd be interested if anyone has worked out the cost of becoming an MCS registered plumber. It must be either very expensive to O the course or very restricted in the number of people allowed to be registered juding by the high fees charged for MCS registered work.