markc

If you are tiling over anyway then sand and cement is fine, the render stuff is likely to be cement and a high silica sand similar to fire cement.

Ahh, looks like I misunderstood, I thought you wanted to put something under a hearth to raise it, hence the almost dry mix. If you are putting it on top then mix more like concrete or stiff mortar and compact it down well. Compact/tamp using a piece of timber or board and a hammer or mallet.

Agree with both of the above, fixing wall units to a continuous ply strip is so easy and curse free. 100x easy and nicer than drilling and plugging etc.

Agree with the above, going over a) reduces depth so increases risk of freezing and b) gives an additional cold spot from the culvert itself. Bit of extra digging and get it under.

Yes, absolutely fine under a concrete, stone or slate etc. hearth. I wouldn’t ‘cast’ the hearth surface using just sand and cement but definitely ok under a solid hearth. If you don’t have a hearth to fit then cast in concrete and top with tiles or similar.

Damp Sharp sand and cement will work well.

You can set gates to auto close after a time, but even with ones you close with a remote etc. the photo cells are a good idea as it is easy to click close and then someone tries to get in before they close or you click to close and then something prevents you clearing the gate area, most closers sense an obstruction but the edge of a gate will make a mess of a car door before it opens again. gate stop posts are often placed just inside the posts but then they are easily hit as you turn in with a car etc. I much prefer a low centre stop (hinged so you can flip it down if very low ar needs to go out or in).

Photo cells on the outside are a good idea to prevent gates closing before you get out of the way. A gate stop in the centre gives the gates something positive to close against and reduces rattling and wind movement. sensing loops are not needed at home, they are to auto open gates when you approach from the inside. Crush sensors are used in public areas but I’ve never had them on my gates. a beacon is an easy fit even afterwards and I always use because it gives a positive signal gate is or should be moving … easier to see as you leave and especially at night.

Strong boys are good for 300kgs ish each, and spacing is usually much less than 1m. From past experience about 500mm apart with a brick story above, but SEcwill have used a load to calc the beam so that’s the load you should use to determine number of supports

I would say £695 is a bargain and not worth messing about.

What damp line? Was this question supposed to follow on from another thread?

They look bespoke/homemade. I reckon closest readily available would be a gate eye.

Looks like asbestos cement so fairly low risk. Only needs taking off and wrapping in polythene or large bags (double wrapped) and taken to local waste site or into a covered skip - your local skip provider should be able to deal with it.

Hello and welcome, hopefully they are not ordinary celcon blocks and actually high strength ones or concrete or similar. you definitely need to support the brickwork with strong boys or a cascade failure is likely. Leave the supports in until the beam is in, grouted and the gap under the bricks packed solid. you can use one pad across both leaves but that’s a big cold bridge, I’m assuming you are having an inner and outer beam? Or just one?

Steampunk garden implement … I like it