Roundtuit

Triclopyr (SBK Brushwood Killer) is your friend for bramble control. Need to crack on if you're spraying though; we're running out of growing season at an alarming rate!

We're triple glazed everywhere... apart from 4 Velux in our bedroom. They're not large windows, so couldn't justify the additional cost for the benefit, but did go for the thicker 'comfort' glazing. Never notice any difference tbh.

Plus site clearance costs, professional fees etc before you can even start to re-build. I'd be looking for cover for the best part of £500K I think, depending on where you are in the country.

Sorry, another lighter grey here I'm afraid but Slate Grey (RAL 7015). Who knew there where so many shades of ... oh, well, never mind... I think it goes pretty well with siberian larch, if you're letting it silver naturally. I believe that all of the aluminium trims pop off, so if you did want to change the colour in 5 or 10 years time, it would be a ball-ache, but doable.

I went to our local B&Q the other day. It's in a bit of a rough area. The guy on the door asked me if I wanted decking. Luckily I got the first punch in.... I'll get my coat...

As @arg says. There should be no issue, as long as the tank has an immersion heater. My ASHP (Hitachi Yutaki, but not really relevant) has a legionella control function that switches on the immersion for a set period on a regular basis to raise the water temperature. To do that, the immersion needs to be wired to the heat pump, whereas to use a solar diverter, the immersion needs to be wired into the diverter. We've used an Apollo Gem diverter, as is was the only one I could find at the time with a decent programmable legionella control function. There's been debate on here before about whether legionella control is actually necessary, but that's another story. Best play it safe and keep the plumbers happy methinks!

Compriband?

That was my initial thought, but if you're extracting from there, the heat will be sucked straight out unless you run it constantly. Perhaps just try with the mvhr for a start, that should be plenty good enough for 'airing'.

Good call. Our last place had a shared access driveway (although we owned it), and whenever I was due a delivery that would block access, I let the neighbours know so they could move their cars out on to the road first if they wanted. My neighbour, on the other hand, had a load of logs dumped on the drive just before I needed to get my car out to go to an important meeting. Ar$ehole. Anyway; manage your deliveries as you'd like your neighbours to if the boot was on the other foot, and don't let them stop you doing what you need to do!

Can't see it being a problem. Make sure the block and beam is properly grouted though, or the gaps will fill up with crap in no time.

Have you identified a suitable replacement, or a joiner to make them? If you don't want to go the pre-app advice route (which I would still advise), then you probably need to provide all the details on materials, glazing bar profiles, glazing, weather strips, finish etc, along with an assessment of the current state or repair of the existing.

I planted some bare root blackthorn as part of a mix for gapping up an existing hedge in spring this year. The hot dry spell has taken its toll on the blackthorn, but everything else is mostly OK (hawthorn, wild cherry, Hazel, field maple). Not sure if the blackthorn is more susceptible to drought, or I just got dodgy batch of plants. On the opposite side of the plot I cut back some overgrown straggly blackthorn pretty hard, but it seems to be responding well. It should provide a secure hedge with plenty of interest, but it's evil stuff to work with.

Have a chat with your council's Conservation Officer. Some are really practical, realistic and helpful, while others are jobsworth ar$eholes; either way, your application will end up on their desk, so engage early using all the charm you can muster! Good luck! (Ps. We replaced some double-hung Georgian box sash windows that were beyond economic repair in a G II listed house without any objections).

Don't know about cleaning them, but just before they become a gate pillar, is there any chance some of them may have been collected because they show signs of having been worked (knapped), as in, Neolithic hand-tool style? Be a shame to accidentally loose them if they might have some historical value...

I'd guess an old lath and plaster ceiling, that's been boarded/battened over when it started to fail. It looks like there has been some damp issues; if that's been sorted, you could probably cosmetically improve it with a few screws, some filler and a coat or two of paint. If it's not a listed building, I'd be tempted to take it down and replace with plasterboard. If you can get up above it to have a look, you'll get a better idea.

Even dry rot needs damp conditions to exist, so if your roof space is dry, you shouldn't have a problem. As above, if you really want to treat it with something, use one of the rot/infestation treatment fluids (Screwfix sell some, but its widely available). While you're at it, you could always put it in a sprayer and do your roof timbers too...

Despite a generally pessimistic outlook, I tend to give people the benefit of the doubt, first time round at least. Here's my take: his card is marked, and he knows it. If the quality of his work is OK (and it sounds like he's put in the effort to do it properly), clear the air, smooth things over, pay the money, and hope that you'll get a bit back during the rest of the job. It won't even be a blip on the radar by the time you've finished. Any sniff of taking the pi$$ in future however, and its probably time to part company...

Sounds like she just doesn't like the idea of it, hence a text rather than a grown-up conversation. If you're building up to the boundary though, just be aware of potential issues with eaves/guttering overhangs.

Thanks for the clarification, that makes more sense. If there's no chance of getting the builder back so sort out their bodge job, I'd consider dropping the pipe (and ground level) back down to a level that suits you and keeps the air brick clear, and put in a small pump chamber in the corner to get the waste back up to meet next doors new pipework.

Hi. A few observations; If I'm understanding correctly, the direction of flow of appears to be from your property to next door, so presumably it's you and upstairs who'll have problems if the pipe is any deeper? Any idea what the arrangement was before the new work? Underground pipe (brown) is not UV-stable, so will need to be covered with something to prevent degradation over time. The 'gully' doesn't look like a proper gulley; it's not trapped, so there's nothing to stop smells right outside your window. Is it also taking rainwater from that downpipe? Assuming the arrangement has to stay pretty much as is height-wise, I think I'd move it back tight to the wall, put a proper trap in, and box it in with small brick wall capped with slabs.

A couple of spaces...3 days... a few quid admin... £350?

A strip of flashband, applied with a bit of heat for good measure (paint stripper hot air gun)? Won't be pretty, and won't come off again without a fight, but should stop any water ingress. Your silicon idea is probably as good as anything, and should be relatively easy to take out when it comes to the professional fix.

Yes. I wouldn't be tying up capital if budget was tight, and if I had a fighting chance of building a garage towards the end of the job.

It's not going to be easy - achieving something great never is - but it doesn't sound crazy. Think of your budget over a longer timescale if it helps; you don't need enough cash to finish it, just enough to be able to live in it! Take it steady, keep the cash flow under control (it makes sleeping at night much easier...) and complete sections as you can afford to at your own pace. I'd hire a container and leave the garage until later in the project to give yourself a bit more cash to play with perhaps, and leave the landscaping for now as @PeterWsuggested

Me too. It seems like some of the big archeology business have the market stitched up in some areas. I used an independent guy in Peterborough, so would probably cover your area. Just let me know if you want contact details. Looks like a great project!