Makeitstop

With reference to the above. What do people make of this..... Two images here, one showing layout for new small kitchen extension, with span for new opening across rear external wall denoted by red dotted line. The other image shows one of the pages of beam calcs done for for one of the beams for that span. Opinions? Span.pdf beam B.pdf

I did think that there may need to be some kind of goal post setup, but no, it appears not. There is no mention of padstones either, which I thought the engineer would usually ensure is specified. Maybe I'm wrong on that. The internal skin of the existing house is some kind of aerated block. It's certainly not med density type blocks from how they feel when drilling into them. I'll speak to architect early next week, but thought I'd ask opinions here for what I should be able to expect of an engineer.

Thanks for the reply Peter. From what I see on steel dimensions, they are 2 beams at UKB 203.2 x 133.2 x 25

Hi BH people. Can anyone offer some advice on what I should expect from a structural engineer (architect appointed) with respect to calcs for steels on a single story kitchen extension? The steels are for the removal of a significant part of the existing rear external wall where there are currently French doors, in order to open up the space into the new structure. The steels are noted as being 4.6 metres long. There is no mention of how these are to be installed or fitted. There is no goal post arrangement for vertical support or any mention of padstones. The existing building and new structure is on piling and ringbeam type foundations. What exactly is the expected "norm" for an engineer to produce for such a job?

If you can tolerate it, I'd pay it, as was suggested above. Savings can be made elsewhere. As a comparison, I'm trying to organise an extension, but have to have piled foundations. On a structure of approx 6.5 x 3.5 metres, it's looking like £8400 just for six piles, with the ringbeam extra, so your raft doesn't seem quite so bad from where I'm sat.

I do agree on the architect / SE problem though. Whether the foundations were up to the job prior to work getting underway was surely something they should have addressed.

You sound like a fair and pragmatic man Adsibob, and you deserve credit for being tolerant in compromising on a solution to the error you mentioned. However, I'd bet that you feel the builder has spent his chances now and that any further significant errors or non compliance with requests will be the end of him. It certainly would with me. Let's all hope it gets resolved and that you can move on to a good result without any major stress.

Have to admit, I'm with Adsibob and would be mightily pissed at a builder that went ahead with something critical, after being told to wait until something was checked out. The bottom line here is that the person paying is the boss, and if they're requesting the builder hold off on a particular piece of work, the minimum they deserve is to be informed of the fact the builder isnt intending to listen.

I requested quotes from numerous installers for zinc on a possible extension job. Now, while the job itself is small, I was simply astonished at the prices quoted for zinc. Having said that, the most expensive quote I received was actually from one installer that seemed to totally overlook my request for either a vm or rheinzinc product, and quoted a price for plx. I was neither impressed by the price offered or the lack of attention to my "actual" enquiry. I've become jaded on even considering metal now and am likely to bin the idea of it. This is a shame, as from speaking to people within the industry (especially suppliers) the material costs are reasonable. It's only when you begin to speak to installers that the clarity and transparency of costing appears to vanish. It all gets a bit frustrating

I'm also interested to hear opinions on this.

Apologies for dragging this one up again, but has anyone bought bricks via Ebay? Good or bad choice?

Have to admit, I've found the whole business of dealing with metals for cladding or roofing a bit cloak and dagger and difficult. I know that on the material side, that plx works out at approx half the cost of zinc, so on a larger project, it adds up. Zincs range from maybe £5/£6 a kilo, with a typical roll being 100kg. 30 sq metres would require a bit over 2.25 rolls approx for standing seam work.

Anyone had odex piling done? Would be interested to hear when it was done if anyone has experience of it, and to what depth / cost it came out at. Thanks folks.

I'd agree with Peter. I'd also spray with glyphosphate, which you can spray using a cheapo pump type bottle sprayer. You will need patience once that's done, as it is likely to take several weeks to really get into the offending weeds. Once they start to look ropey and wilted, you're going the right way. When weeds are knocked back, it may be wise to cover the ground in light restricting polythene or tarps. When you are ready to sow seed (late March earliest I'd say) rake the soil over to keep it loose or even rotovate if its compacted and then rake to level. Sow your seed and make sure to keep the ground damp. If it dries out for a few days, it takes longer to get going or may not germinate at all. Keep it wet. Grass germinates best with warmth and moisture, that's it. If it's too early and it get exposed to frost, its not so clever and isnt likely to do well Over 7 - 10 days with right conditions, itll begin to sprout.

For what it'll cost you to get the gear, coupled with risks of going at it yourself, I would get a guy to do it. Cant be more than two hours work max, so may not be too costly. You could always speak to one of the fitters at your local place and see if they'd sort it one evening / weekend.

The thing is, that it's not likely to cost that much to get a pro to sort it. Doing it yourself means you need the minimal tools to do it.

Surface mount is easy enough and you can go at it like Russell said above. Messy, but cheap. Undermount.... leave it to those with the gear and experience.

Is the sink a surface mounted one? If it's an undermount, get a pro to do it

Unless you have good practical experience using power tools and your hands, I'd contact a granite / stone worker. Those guys dealing with stone worktops can sort this easily, so its better to pay to do it once and get it right.

Yes Russell, I recall you mentioning your "scientific testing" of materials. Ha. In fairness, i reckon you'll get a good idea of what's durable or not going at it like that. Your roof looked great, although I've not looked at samples of steel products. For my job, it's a small area, so material costs aren't the major issue, its installation cost.

I appreciate that coastal areas have, or can have, dramatic effect on metal roofing / cladding but there are options surely and there isnt necessarily a need to choose "a" particular metal. From everything I've read, a number of metals can be chosen without major problems. That considered, I'm of the opinion that people would choose based on what finish they'd like and budget before feeling they had to choose on the metal first, ahead of the aesthetic value and budget.

Why?

Who did you use for that Mortarthepoint?

I'm afraid I didn't enquire on prices, as I simply wanted to look at materials on the basis of what I preferred. I cant imagine it can be more expensive than zinc, but who knows. The plan looks excellent by the way. Very imposing.

I thoughtn on pic 2 that the paler grey was zinc but the darker element a type of composite. May be wrong though. Both interesting buildings, but dont know about the mass of timber screening on pic 2