Roundtuit

Looks like you haven't made it easy for yourself 🙂 Traditionalists would have made a square opening I think. How about squaring off the height with some sort of lintel at around the same level as the soffit. That will give you a bit of space to play with. I'd run the tracks down the back of the door piers to maintain opening width and avoid damage.

I don't thknk there's any way you can 'guess' that. You need to get up there to measure and check that there's some decent timber to put new glass in to. Looking at the pics, I suspect you'll be lucky to get away without replacing some woodwork.

Welcome aboard. Ask away and chip-in where you can. Every day's a school day!

Ask away! There's usually someone here who's done it, made a b@lls of it and then found the right way!

Top photo looks similar to Vandersanden Old Farmhouse.

Where's the moisture coming from to cause the rust? Damp walls? Condensation?

Tanaka. I've abused one for 5 years (with v heavy use in Yr 1) never been serviced and guaranteed to start on the third pull every time. 2 year warranty for commercial use and 5 years for domestic; I think that says something about build quality.

Our rainwater runs to a dyke. There didn't seem to be any advantage in putting it into a lined pond as its not going to soak away effectively, and I didn't want an unlined soakaway that dries out in summer. Also, I built it several years after moving in, so conflict with newts and house construction. April 2021 June 2023

Yes. I planned a wildlife pond (no fish) to increase biodiversity, to try and soften the blow of developing what was an overgrown 'natural' plot. I don't remember it attracting comments either way at the planning stage tbh, but I like it. We have a healthy newt population but not seen GCN yet. I think all self builders should build a GCN pond/bat box/dormouse hostel if they have the space, then maybe we can get the effing things off the protected list!

A few thoughts here:

Russwood do a factory treated fire retardant/ Sioo-X combination that might be worth a look, and maybe something like their Scotlarch or Thermopine?

I know what you mean. It's not big things, but it's about treating other people's stuff with a bit of respect. As galling as it was, I came to the conclusion that I should expect everything on site to be considered as 'theirs to use' by trades. My wheelbarrow went off to another job and never came back. Plumbers left used teabags every where and burnt rubbish on site. Brickies even cut my broom handle down to use as a pointing tool ffs...

Agreed. I had a £1800 Transit Connect for the duration of the build, used daily too and from work and picking up stuff from merchants. Stick some roof bars on and you've got most eventualities covered. Just get aggregates delivered; if you've got an account with a merchant delivery is likely f.o.c.

Our planning permission stipulated finished floor level as 300mm above the road level. As above; get the house built first, then landscape as necessary. Build up any driveways with stone not topsoil, and consider banking-up ground around the house rather than trying to raise the whole site.

Turn your tarmac rake over and use the back maybe?

Wow; that's a self-build story! If I'm reading correctly, you've paid the extra cost, it's in a livable condition and you're considering how to get some cash back after being screwed-over? Sorry, cant help with specifics, but first thought would be that getting money back once paid - i.e effectively having agreed it's due - is going to be a challenge, and second thought is that it's a job for legal professionals. Many of us have ended up spending more than we'd planned one way or another, but I hope you've got the home you wanted. Only you can judge, but I'd be weighing up the potential gain, and cost of gaining it, against the benefits of writing it off to experience, drawing a line under it and moving on.

A couple of suggestions; - whack some lengths of thick re-bar in and wire the pergola to that. - plant the clematis in the ground; it will hold the pergola in position once it's established.

Perhaps they were originally planning to keep the property - annexe or holiday let maybe, so a separate water supply wasn't required. Not deliberately dodgy, but agreed, it needs sorting now. Water Authority asset maps can be a bit sketchy I believe. As you're already invested in this, perhaps start a conversation with your water supplier to try an get an indication of the implications and cost for a new supply.

I cant claim any expertise, but it doesn't look particularly dodgy to me. Plot addresses are frequently 'land adjacent to ...' or similar. Speak to Approved Inspectors Ltd and ask for a copy of the initial notice referred to in para 2, so as you can see the 'official' scope of works. If electrics/glazing was part of the notice, then I expect certificates were provided to the inspector prior to his sign off.

+1 for steel tarmac rake; they're built to last. Shovel the type 1 as much as possible or you end up raking the big stuff out and leaving the fines that bind it behind.

Had decided to go with 140mm blocks as 150's seem particularly difficult get hold of, but locally they're all measuring up at 130-135mm... Is there such a thing as a 'true' 140mm block?

Our local Buildbase (now Huws Gray) can only get me a full load they reckon, so it might have to be 140mm with 10mm of frame overhang into the cavity.

I'm finally getting around to building a garage and am planning to use a 150mm oak frame. Ideally, this would sit on a coarse of 150mm wide 7n concrete blocks as they won't be seen but am struggling to find any locally (only need about 65), and Google isn't much help. Can anyone suggest a source, or sensible alternative pls?

Have a look at other houses in the street to see if they've suffered any settlement perhaps. Historic settlement would have happened in the first few years I imagine. Is the water ingress linked maybe? Leaking gutters or downpipes affecting the foundations? That would explain more recent movement. Definitely a professional opinion required.

I lost a wheelbarrow too. Didn't realise it was a 'thing' until now. Keep an eye on Facebook market place for cheap 'disposable' wheelbarrows and use them to destruction; even when they're proper knackered you can often still salvage a spare wheel. Alternatively, save yourself the hassle and get whatever your local BM sells the most of, x2 (one barrow is never enough 😉)