markc

I like your ingenuity … we need more people with a can-do attitude.

@saveasteading good point, I didn’t consider the potential floor defection … I’m used to commercial construction. upper channel sounds good or even shanked screws in clearance holes in the top plate.

No specific way better than the other here, screeders would prefer you to stick it on top leaving them with a big open area to go at, you could also put in on top of celotex and use the screed to hold it in place or you could go down to slab but it’s always nicer to know the insulation is unbroken. If you go onto insulation then use double sole plate so the top of it sits proud of screed to fix bottom of PB and Skirts to.and the added piece of mind of better load distribution.

One on top of another with staggered joints, but on a 100mm slab there really is no need. hanging cabinets on one side your most important loads are rotational wanting to pull the top of the wall over so make sure the header is screwed through into the joists above.

A stud wall does not impose much load, if you want to be doubly sure then double the sole plate, this will distribute the load across the length of the wall. no slab work required … unless it’s about an inch thick which I hope not.

Gabion not gaboon. Stupid auto correct ?

The waste on construction sites really irritates me, some of it is natural wastage, some laziness, some unfortunate and the rest is just incompetence. you will always get off cuts etc, that’s understandable, skipping pallets of bricks and blocks because the bands have broken making them difficult to move by fork truck in laziness .. it’s not my job! concrete and mortar etc not being used because the brickies or ground workers didn’t turn up (offered more money down the road). and then the gross over ordering or incorrect ordering - I was on a site in London and watched 3 full artic loads of bricks unloaded straight into skips because they were the wrong shade. rant over! Yes you can use recycled or left over materials as long as they are not structural or you can prove their origins/grade etc. Construction companies rarely allow someone to take excess material because their QA and waste management will determine how waste is disposed of.

Gabions are fantastic and dangerous at the same time. You are correct in that they need large angular fill in order to interlock and become stable. Using very small free moving material behind the face can cause catastrophic landslide situations if and when the gaboon fails. The gaboon itself should be considered a building guide as opposed to a structural component. Do you have any possibility of demolition brick / concrete infill? I have seen some fantastic retaining/feature gaboon walls done with concrete.

BC drawings are rarely accurate and are intended to give an idea of dimensions, materials and construction methods. an accurate building survey is rarely worth the cost leaving most dimensions to be confirmed on site … heights, levels and length of beams etc. Once the existing building/founds etc. Are opened up.

Nothing to worry about

The blocks should have been laid with a drainage slope, and the puddle implies they were not bedded down well and have now sunk. drilling a hole and filling with gravel would probably work but you have had this done professionally and it should be right.

@maznaz I reckon you have little to no chance of the culprit making the remedial works. in your own interest I would bite the billet and get on with it. While the path is up put some drainage in if possible and take water away from the walls

Wall remains wet, this just gets the water back out of the house and gives you a dry inner wall finish

No personal experience but logically the price should be the same. additional works and complications bringing the roof/eaves line down, yes there may be a small saving on material amounts but nothing significant. full 2 story would be cheaper due to simplicity of design and manufacture/build

Ground level raised above DPC will definitely encourage damp. Getting some underfloor ventilation going will certainly help and go a long way to getting rid of the musty smell but you really need to look at lowering the external floor level,

You really need a concrete floor to bolt a lathe down … unless it’s a very big old one. milling machine will sit fairly well on any floor. might as well dig out, insulate and pour a decent slab … old damp cellar floors are murder on your feet.

I blame bad weather on wind turbines, I’ve noticed the turbines are never turning on nice still days so they must be causing the wind. …. Can I have some funding to study this please.

What? Climate change could be Mother Nature! Wash your mouth out with soap boy. How dare you question “the science” of sponging money and funding

No universal “table” or formula due to too many variables. type of timber, thickness, loads to be carried (tension, twisting, rotational, shear etc). location of fixings within the piece, close to edge, end grain etc. asyou say, always better To go from thin to thick and around 3/4 of way through the thick bit. You can always then complicate (or use what you have in your hand) by skew screwing at an angle to prevent going straight through and into your hand

Yes, but the 6inch ones are overall length so only clamp around 3in between the jaws

No problems using same trench,

I have around 30 clamps from 6in to 48 inch and havent used one for spreading yet.

Cheap one does not have swivel jaws and they are very small and weak, £12 ones are much better. Larger one is a completely different animal. I quite like the £12 ones when kitchen fitting etc.

Looking at the top pic I would say the L/H side is vegetation damage, yes the couloir has been washed out by water running down the face but that’s understandable. the soil against the wall in bottom pic will be keeping the walls wet.

Can it be easily transported? If not then it’s not a mobile home.