markc

Perimeter/joining timbers is pretty standard (still called a subframe even though it’s not underneath. Tek or other screws through the timber and into the pile cap is a cold bridge top to bottom, so sometimes deep counterbored holes are used but this is just extra work, hence the angle or U saddle brackets to prevent the cold bridge. You don’t put down the whole floor and then crawl under to fix it. fix first frame timber to caps, drop in row of panels and next frame, fix to that row of pile caps and so on. This way you always work on the ground, easy access to pile caps you are fixing, no drilling down or guessing where caps are etc.

I have no idea about Scotland regs but I can’t see any problem storing some timber, insulation and plasterboard around the inside of a shed, and occasionally doing some work in there.

I’m going to be a bit more positive here and say yes it’s going to be more expensive but not necessarily prohibitively so, but with the caveat that site location and ground conditions are the over riding factors. Much easier to basement into a hillside than boxed in on all sides, big hole with battered sides is much easier and cheaper than sheet piling, big Big much away unless you can loose it on site, plus many more factors like drainage, access etc.

Normally I would say the chances of a key being matched to a lock is minuscule but if they were looking in the garden or drive they must have an idea it could be close by so yes change the lock. Is it a Euro barrel (key hole shaped)? If so then very easy to do

Connector screws are made for joist hangers etc. short shank under head designed for shear loads

@idris you have to look at what a SIP is, a block (or several blocks) of polystyrene with a thin ply or OSB glued on either side. The ply or OSB gives very little to screw into. When used as walls they have foot and head timbers for rigidity and you fix through the SIP sheet and into the solid timber. the Sips panel support doesn’t have any fixings, it is just a support to take deflection out of a panel.

On top of the ground screw you attach a L or U shaped bracket/saddle, these allow you to fix horizontally through the sub frame (or into perimeter frame of a smallish sips floor panel.

Good morning and welcome, no such thing as a silly question. Depending on size, a sips structure will generally need a subframe that would be attached to the ground screws, the panels would then go on top of the sub frame.

You are on good terms with your neighbour but don’t want them driving into ‘your’ lay-by? I really can’t see what the problem is here

In that case, remove the rings, dig a big hole and throw the broken rings and any stones, bricks etc in as a soak away

No need to dig up the drive, I’m sure the downpipe used to go into a gulley on the end of the drain, remove the rings as above and get the water going into the drain again,

Grease should not mark varnish, are you sure it’s not coming out of the timber and now trapped under the finish

Do you really need the office and hobby room? 42 sqm isn’t going to allow for much kitchen or a decent sofa etc. can you move something, hobby, office, bedroom into the roof space.

The trusses would be 600mm spacing and trimmers are added around an opening for stairs etc. roof pitch will be determined by the design and max ridge heights etc. a truss supplier will be able to design accordingly.

Nope, at very shallow rafter pitch a birdsmouth would do nothing except weaken the timber.

Hi @Novice Becky for the inside use brick or block piece/s and mortar - like the outside but no need to make it look good, then just finish to required level with plaster

Getting more common. You don’t need a big commercial drive through unit, there are small ones, basically a catch tank to collect the sludge, pressure washer and you do the cleaning manually. I don’t know who hires the small ones but a couple of local sites have dug a big hole, dropped a skip in and have some heavy duty ramps over the top.

If you are talking about the square indentation, it looks like a mark left by a jackleg for a loader crane or tele handler possibly.

Hi and welcome

Take it down and rebuild, yes you could underpin it but the cost and risk (to the people doing the work and surroundings if it fell over) make it not worth the effort.

200mm seems way over the top for a workshop slab, at work our yard and workshop slabs are 150mm with 1 layer of mesh and we often have 20t point loads. Nothing wrong with thicker at strategic locations, like under lifts or presses etc.

Is this a self build home or a design project? When designing a home it’s al about the rooms, spaces, light, livability etc. not the structure detail.

SE first, wind loads, live loads, connections, torsional loads have more effect than the mass of a structure

As above, whatever stud size would be on similar sole plate on top of the steel or other support.

Assuming it is 4.5m long with the room pitch being the 1+ metres then 4x2 is more than sufficient for rafters.