markc

Good morning and welcome. Plenty of reading on here to keep you occupied while you wait.

You could electrify everything but without efficiency you are gaining nothing

Was just about to say acoustic walls do not have noggins connecting studs on both sides. But beaten to it

Hi, if you will be shovelling then I would stay away from Phenolic, a lot of the stuff now sits on the surface of the ply and once chipped it peels away easily. I would go with ply. A skin galvanised steel would work if it was in one piece but joins soon lift and then shovelling is a pain. as it’s an older truck just drop a ply topper on, leave the existing in place to screw to. Loads of screws and you will be sorted

The phenolic ply is good stuff but large sheets are bulk ordered by body builders. no problem with a joint, use an off cut underneath the joint to beef it up. Bitumen paint on any sawn edges to stop water getting in. existing bed looks like plain exterior ply.

Even at auction it is fetching stupid money, the online auctions have made it too easy to sell at over market value. Like EBay, people get into bidding frenzy and pay way over value for a lot of stuff

Cement and copper are not good friends

Unfortunately UK is so much more restrictive than other countries when it comes to planning permission and building homes. Also the amount of land available to build on is small compared to demand. I have been looking for over 2 years now and still not found a suitable plot or old house to knock down and start again. yes I want a larger plot so being a bit more selective but the plots I have seen are stupid prices. Luckily I have access to construction equipment and a lot of years construction experience meaning I can look at more difficult plots so hopefully I will find something soon. don’t give up, there is always a way

A hearth is there to prevent anything falling out of the fire damaging or igniting the floor etc. If you had say polished concrete floor and brick, block or concrete wall without skirtings etc then you have no potential fire risk. vinyl, carpets or wood floors, skirtings etc all need protection from hot embers and other flaming projectiles that come from log burners.

Hi and welcome

You will find that many of those are small strips of land to extend a garden and/or not suitable for a residential building

I would try Octopus, they were brilliant when I wanted the other two meters installed. All they asked is that I would accept a smart meter and they would then install free. (I had offered to pay to have the extra two installed)

Hi and welcome, the above is great advice. self build is rarely a way to get a cheap home, but a much better home for the same money …. With a lot of personal effort and work. Building plots are pretty scares at the moment and £100k+ is cheap unless you are looking at the highlands / top of Scotland.

@Nick Laslett I wouldn’t have any problem putting a timber pack under the sole plate (possible implications if it’s a fire wall). and nothing wrong with slitting and folding the flanges locally for ducts etc.

Nice!

Had a few “arguments” lately regarding this, far too many people have got it into their heads that cramming thick insulation into a small space must be better. Not sure if it’s some guidelines or Youtuber that’s giving out the wrong info.

Very rare for a fabricator to provide drawings. SE specs steel section sizes and usually adds “to site measure” or something similar. Sometimes fabricator is requested to detail base plates to suit site but again they rarely provide drawings. only pre order overlength beams or frames etc which are critical to sequence of works.

Is it a bodge or a difference of opinion on how to do something? Is it a bodge or how they always do it? what defines a bodge?

Not very good? That’s an understatement! Only profession I know where incompetence and failure is grounds for self praise and gloating. I love Boris comment that P&O broke the rules so he (P&O boss) should resign …hmmm 🤔

If possible, try to find a room in another building a similar size and then walk around in it. As all above, the perception of size changes as the build progresses and as said, it’s not linear. Rooms feel small and much larger and smaller again etc until completion.

As you are “tampering” with the support to a wall above then this work will come under PArty Wall, doesn’t have to be anything fancy just satisfy your neighbours that the works will be fully insured, carried out by experienced trades in an efficient and curtious manner

Yes, BOQ needs accurate and detailed drawings to produce anything meaningful. as for the rest you are already on the right lines, this is exactly the sort of info they require.

No, that’s just inaccurate 😉

Basically they are wanting a bill of quantities and specific requirements regarding the project - what you are wanting and expecting them to do. pits ok giving an idea of costs but then some, many clients completely change the scope of works but don’t expect any increase in costs. quantities, finishes, time scale, working hours, facilities provided etc etc.

And how can you get a warranty on something that isn’t built or even substantially complete yet