saveasteading

I think you have a good point. If built as your first picture, then the heat is travelling from the screed horizontally through that thin isolation strip, and into a masonry wall. That block wall presumably sits directly on a footing in the ground. So increase the heat resistance of the strip by thickness and choice of material. Eg 25mm of PIR instead of the thin strip of something as shown. On the other hand, the surface area of screed to wall is minor as compared to the lower face of the screed. And heat loss through to earth is much less than with exposed surfaces.

Too vague a question, apologies. I meant are you against Nutrient Neutrality,, (which I admit never having dealt with or researched) and, if so. why.

And colour , inside and out. It can be a long process from enquiry to order and it's easy for errors to creep in. Also check for the correct VAT % according to the circumstances.

In Engineering terms this isn't as worrying as you might think. Water in the pool weighs 1t/m3. The ground around it is heavier. I would expect the new foundations NOT to be deep so that the pool is unaffected. Are there technical drawings of the pool walls? But construction is the issue, and the need to not damage the pool. So standard or shallow foundations would be the aim.* Keep the extension design simple, such that it can all be carried or barrowed. Excavation may have to be manual. The very biggest concern would be that any future issue with the pool would be blamed on this work. But if the pool is your own, then that isn't a worry to you. An SE will handle this readily, and will also advise on how to build it so the pool is unaffected. Your builder has to be careful. @Gus Potter may agree or disagree. * loads do not disperse at 45° but it's a decent rule of thumb. If you know where the pool footing is, and draw 45° out from there, then do the same for your extension, if neither line cuts through the other structure then it's looking OK in Very, very approximate terms.

A quality window contractor will minimise the gap, and the amount of filler/ foam needed to fill it. Even the best builder will have wobbles and variations in the opening, and that quality window contractor will insist on measuring. They will also use expanding tape to get a good closure that will move with the building , not squirt stuff in after.

That's why I would have ply on both faces, and it can't twist. Ahh. This is news to me... we had best look at the spec and any options. Even if the proposed timber assembly is strong enough, it might distort over time. Perhaps a thin steel plate within the assembly? For tiny issues over the long term, are these doors adjustable?

Your proposal for the equivalent term for England? The regs are much the same but the big difference is needing complete submission and sign-off before commencement. A very good thing in such cases, avoiding false starts What we are missing is any drawings; so it's impossible to advise on fire requirements.

That's my point though. Definitely? It is definitely very easy to use a steel without further thought. I'm looking at it as one of these but with ply screwed to both faces to avoid twisting. These will span up to 8m as house load joists, at 450 deep (I have done that on a commercial project where depth was not an obstacle) . I'm looking at at least that depth but double the flange timber so very strong. Plus the ply can continue past the supports for extra stiffness. AND a sliding or bifold door slides away from the centre where stress is most significant and towards the supports where it is much less. It might save me £500, and then the rest of the world can follow suit. Once upon a time I used to work these out from first principles but it would take me 3 days to get my head round the principles again. I'm not expecting one of the SEs on here to do this sum for nothing... I was seeking, and have received useful experience that nobody's has deflected and got stuck, and that everyone has a steel.. Overdesigned or just right, is another matter. Thanks for listening.

I dont know this product. But it looks to me as something that controls the spread of flame but doesn't render the timber non-flammable. ie flames licking over it won't spread fire along it, but severe heat could. so it depends on many issues and your situation. Are you not required to protect it from the inside as well? ie to stop your fire spreading to neighbours. Don't experiment with fire engineering. in principle though, timber would be good for you as you have the skill, and a little more timber depth increases strength but not labour. Plus it is very adaptable. Steel for anything bigger.

Thanks, I will look into this. So the tops are simply guides and taking wind load, not the weight? I've only seem them top hung, with the advantage of the bottom being less critical of grit etc. Thats where Im coming from . My career is largely based on removing overspec as a designer precaution at client expense. I'm all too well aware. Even an inaccurate level can be used for precision if you know how. Too many builders assume they are accurate and don't really understand. We subsequently realised there is an option 3 which is to use thin steel plate instead of ply. It isn't cheap to buy though and detailing might be messy. Also 4: we have some recovered and some new angle steels which could maybe be screwed to the timber.

Why please?

We will have this opening for a bifold door. Big and heavy, and moving so it must not jam. Looking for any experience of issues from such a door deflecting. Its not the Engineering in question but any idiosyncrasies of such doors. We have two choices. 1. a steel macross the opening. \there is room for 178mm RSJ and then timber around it. It would sit on timber so we would add 2 more uprights at each end. 2. Simply retain the timbers as currently designed and plate both sides with high quality 12mm plywood, and screws every 150mm. The ply could be whole sheets so say effectively 1200mm high, but 600mm will surely suffice.... the outside will be faced in osb anyway. This make it an immensely deep timber beam of the James Jones / Pasquill type. we would probably add suds between the horizontals to ensure a precise level beam before plating. And perhaps noggins/ dwangs at the top of the 600 sheet. the timbers are 6 x 2 tanalised. You may get the idea that I like the latter, because it is a neat composite design, and we dont have any issues how to fix the door. But my only doubt is in the reality in use: do bifolds

A large proportion of councillors haven't even looked at the agenda, never mind considered or consulted. thy look to their leader/ idol and follow their vote. Others see it is a chat forum and waffle away, with no reference to policy. Parkinson's laws has it summarised. Fortunately a strong, and hopefully fair, chairperson and/or planning officer reminds them of the rules, but it is exasperating. I feel the new proposals are intended to be clearer cut and reduce the effect of personal opinion.

I must be woke. And having skimmed the whole consultation ( asking for opinions) document I thought it was clearly written, unpretentious and realistic. I haven't even opened the second document which is perhaps denser. It says otherwise re small communities away from infrastructure, but there will be resistance from other interested parties. See chapter 14.

That's an interesting read. It hadn't crossed my mind that rents might drop so much... so major landlords may resist this. In my experience the big issue is that most new houses are aimed at and occupied by already well-off people, upgrading and commuting. The so-called affordable housing is an imposed add-on and remains expensive. In the North of Scotland ( I know this document is for England) thousands of houses are built commercially and filled with immigrants from the South, and in the nice places. Not for locals and not enough infrastructure of course. I think this is the same in certain English areas. I sense resistance to white settlers and major industry being imposed. There isn't enough water supply or infrastructure, and drainage likewise....and this needs a lot more work by central government. It's a good report but various parties will right now be looking to work it to their advantage.