George

Sometimes see this when clay tiles are relaced with concrete tiles. That, combined with the knot leading to a split. I'd hold off until you get a quote for repair, but once done the roof should be good for a long time.

Any way of checking humidity levels? Possibly some weather conditions causing condensation and local humidity spiking?

Yeah if mine was anywhere else in the house it'd have been binned. As it is it's out in an isolated shower room so has been allowed to stay. When I get a thermal camera I'll post an investigation to any heat recovery.

It'd be better if the MVHR system responded to sensors like CO2 and humidity and was otherwise powered down. In my rennovation with more smaller rooms, I think the trickle MVHR does play an important role in pushing air out into the more ventilated communal areas, which may be less of an issue than with a complete new build design. When asked I do recommend people look at single room MVHR systems rather than trying to force a whole house system in (as I did). I managed it but it was literally and figeratively painful.

Yeah but fixing to aircrete is like trying to fix into a loaf of bread.

It's probably more to do with the fixings rather than the weight. Lining the wall and using aircrete fixings should be fine.

The pier will need to be built up from a foundation. If I were the SE I'd check that the pier is sufficient alone without any lateral restraint (without knowing the loads and geometry no way I can know but it could be feasible). The studwall is tied in for robustness of both the wall and the pier. If I were relying on the studwall for restraint then I'd be insisting it is tied down to a foundation as well. Most likely I'd just make the pier bigger. So I suspect your SE is happy the pier doesn't need restraint. Just ask - I don't mind answering a few straightforward questions ( although having to explain every aspect of a design does become a time sink and often the answer is 'yes this is materially overdesigned but a few extra blocks is cheaper than a defective structure....it works and builders don't mess it up'!)

Is the roof going to be open or covered? This is bread and butter stuff for an engineer. The main issue you'll have isn't the beam, which is trivial to calculate, but how to achieve lateral stability. If you need a completely open vista then steel moment frame is pretty much the only viable option. Oak timber would not work at that span - it would need to be trussed to work and knee braces would be unlikely to provide adequate lateral stability.

Unless you live in a very exposed location with driving rain, then masonry sealant shouldn't be necessary. A house with a decent roof, guttering, drainage and correct external ground levels will keep the walls dry .if there are defects with these then masonry sealant is just treating the symptom rather than the cause.

I've just installed a lo-carbon tempra in a standalone shower room / attached boot room. Rest of the house has mvhr. It's a bit noisy (advertised as virtually silent - although I am out in the countryside so there's very little ambient noise) compared to the whole house system. There was also a squeak but managed to fix that by wiggling the fan. But seems to work well and there isn't a huge choice when it comes to proper single room heat exchangers instead of the intermittent ones.

Would you be able to have 25mm internally insulated plasterboard on the underside reveal? This would mitigate much of the small thermal bridge and unless it's a passive house I wouldn't be overly concerned. Even triple glazed windows are a pretty big thermal loss! If you having 100mm cavities you will likely need internal insulation anyway to meet the newer regulations. Edit - noticed the image shows 145mm cavities. Can you get a outer leaf catnic CCS channel channel lintel to work? No need for brick slips then.

This is one of those 'if money was no object' type problems. Most people would accept a slightly lower frame or a slightly narrower doorway. If you do want to modify the connection (either by welding, countersinking bolts) then you should go back to the engineer who designed the steelwork (or the connection) and see what they can advise.

I didn't mean just a hole. It'd be connected to a drain which leads downhill hopefully!

Yeah I'd look at coring a drain through the wall to drain the void and getting a French drain around the house. The water won't harm the building but you don't want it there.

Yes my answer don't sister if not needed because it is a lot of extra material and work.

Think I'd just concrete the inside. Otherwise dealing with the gaps/joints will be a never-ending frustration. mixing concrete = easy laying concrete = easy leveling concrete = tricky Plenty of YouTube help or an experienced friend is well worth the beer cost.

If the joist arrangement haven't changed due to the removal of the chimney, and you are happy with the bounce/feel of the floor, then you may as well just infill the hole.

That is too steep for made ground. I'd be looking at sheet piling to form a safe working area. Now... If they need to sheet pile to enable a retaining wall then they may be better off installing permanent sheet piling as the retaining structure and face with brickwork. You can only tell the contractor your best advice - ultimately temporary works is their responsibility but you don't want to show something that is potentially dangerous without making everyone very aware of the risks. This is not an uncommon issue for house builders to try and squeeze in as many houses as possible and so end up with ridiculous retaining walls!

Does anyone know whether I need planning permission (or any other permissions) to dig a quarter acre size pond? Current land use is agricultural permanent pasture. There is an adjacent brook which is not an EA main river. Ground is clay and water table quite close to the surface.

Hmmmm.... I am very skeptical of shrinkage or thermal cracking being the cause. Cracks in masonry can only occur under tension (or tension caused by shear). That must mean there is some movement orthogonal to the line of the crack. The mechanism of shrinkage does not cause horizontal cracks on short returns. Similarly, thermal movement cracking would be at the interface of a long panel and a short panel, not wholly within a short panel. Were they a Chartered Engineer? However, overall I don't think it is anything to be much concerned with. Likely minor settlement of the three story building immediately adjacent pulling the bottom half of the shorter wall with it. Repair and keep an eye on it.

You cannot give made ground any reliable mechanical properties so proceed with extreme caution. I did not think MSE would be feasible without location specific ground information?

Another vote for an air to air heat pump. You can get fully internal units as well but they'll be a bit less efficient. Bbonus of air conditioning in summer as well.

When they say 'dried out' they don't mean literally dry. The water uptake from the tree roots will have reduced the moisture % in the clay soils causing volume change. The soil report doesn't appear to test for plasticity but they are clays and silty clays. Given the area of the country, medium to high plasticity is likely (medium to high volume change). However... from the photos of those cracks, I think underpinning / soil injection will not be high on the list of options. My plan would be - repair drains! Washed out soil will need to be backfilled - trial pits to inspect foundations around the building - to determine the various depths and width of the different parts. Say, one on each elevation - at the join of old & new - monitoring of the cracks externally & internally using crack monitor gauges - hack plaster off and have a look at the internal cracks properly - consider movement joints if there is a step in the building superstructure and or foundation You may still get fine cracking for the lifetime of the building but if I could do all the above for £10k, bank the £20k and just reapply caulk and paint every 5 years I'd be happy.

Just normal screw in wall ties are another option. Bit more work to drill and fix. Definitely need ties though!

Lets see these cracks. Cracks on old buildings is not unusual - it could well take a decade to settle down completely but crack stitching + underpinning might just mean more cracking. I try and reserve underpinning for actual subsidence (loss of soil support due to washout etc) or undermining/basement work. Tackling ground movement with underpinning is a sledgehammer to crack a nut. I'd certainly undertake the following prior to doing anything drastic: - trial pits to determine actual foundation arrangement - a programme of crack monitoring for at least 6 months, ideally 12, to determine whether it is seasonal movement or not - ground investigation to get accurate information on soil type, plasticity and water level Underpinning is a substantial upheaval to a building, let alone cost, and a few thousand on investigation work is well worth it. Slightly surprised the structural engineers didn't suggest this. Edit - good suggestion regarding wall ties. This would normally effect the outer leaf but it would not be unknown for inner leaf corrosion to be noticed first, especially if the outer leaf had been repointed in (relatively) recent history.