saveasteading

Very. Basements are fighting against water ingress and ground stresses, and they need excavation and support. Undercrofts on a slope don't, but they are a fair bit dearer than building on the ground ( except those thick slabs with 4 layers of reinforcement we see sometimes). I did a sports hall on a steep slope once. Our method was as above, as compared to the clients 'suggestion' from a respected SE. Saved £50k, maybe much more, plus it was buildable despite mud everywhere. And the same another couple of times when it was my design from the outset. What you have to live with though is sturdy cross walls supporting the beams. You can use concrete planks instead but it isn't necessary for light loads. Insulation can go on top of the structural floor, then screed on that.

Once you have a structural principle you can plan this. If it remains an unheated space then you need to insulate the suspended floor. My go-to for such a site is sleeper walls at about 4.5m centres, with beam and block over the whole floor. Advantages, other than cost, are that it is semi-skilled and man-handleable whatever the weather and access constraints.

Yes. Don't call it a basement but an "undercroft". This is a perfectly normal thing to do on a hillside. Some become basements, some are storage accessed from outside, and others remain as voids. You will have to debate insulation, or lack of it, with the bco.

...say suppliers who are expensive or slow. Many of my projects as a design and build contractor were negotiated when the client realised their best quote was still way over budget. "Somone says to speak to you". Response: Of course it will be good. It will also be as quick, probably quicker, and much cheaper than those people. Of course huge acceleration can increase cost. The client can decide. It is all relative.

Oops. I have big fingers and the phone rang. But that is no excuse. "Geometry has to be considered" would have been a better phrase. Vondidwred, an obscure term used in vonstruvtion for vombining practicality with svienve.

I think it is supposed to go for specialist treatment. For obvious reasons the blue liquid kills bugs, and will at the sewage works too.

Well done. The airbrick and ground level will sort all that and perhaps even dry the other area up , if you have airflow. How many airbricks have you found? I would plan on a spliced joist resting in the wall. Tanalised timber and an extra coat of rot preventer on nes and old timbers. and maybe bitumen on it too. Where you can't see a dpc there may be a slate layer just behind the pointing.

Absolutely has to be by an SE. Rules of thumb have their place at feasibility stage, but this has to be calculated to suit the individual building. Then the geometry have to be vondidwred eg the beam fits and is below the walls. Then the walls supporting the beam need strengthening, maybe even extra foundations.

Not in a garage. But you have a radiator in the garage? Not really a garage perhaps?

I think there is a common misconception. The bco is not working for the applicant , but for society, to ensure some minimum standards. If the designs are formal and appear to be skilled and considerate, and the works process appears to be competent, then they will be more relaxed. Meanwhile there are people knocking out walls and building extensions with whatever materials seemed cheapest....and that needs policing. Work that into an hourly rate? They have high overheads because of training, travel , PI Insurance etc. I cant believe that our fee for a plans check is only £800. It must take more than a day. then site visits £900. I'm expecting about 10 visits over a year. I am not tempted to start a bco business. As I have said before....I only consider the LA for small and standard work... new small house, new extension. Anything else is probably too technical. Also I have found they are inclined to instruct overdesign as in, 'take another 150mm out of the trench', or 'make the drains steeper'. It reduces their thought and risk, at our expense.

Perhaps , some rainy day, you electric boffins could explain why these exist as various options, and how they are selected? Or point to a simple explanation somewhere? 'Overload' I think I understand! Residual ??? why is there current left over? Ever since some of these modern boxes ( I don't want to get too technical) were installed in my old house, we have had issues. No doubt there are many old and duff and incompetently made circuits that the old fuse boxes coped with better than the new units. We have only used 'proper electricians' so what we have rewired is probably ok, but there are still some old circuits, probably taken as spurs from the handiest/easiest point.

Ouch. and even then it wont it won't be reliable? We have a quote of about £3k but crossing a B road which they are just going to close for the day, as they do. Rainwater harvester with 10m3 capacity so that not a drop is lost? depends on roof area of course. No, a borehole seems the way ahead.

This is on marketplace today £4 Fisher Price is a respected brand isn't it?

An option then might be an old fashioned 'tank in the attic',, or a large plastic tank in an outbuilding, inline with a pump.

Underpinning is very expensive. Dig 1m of pit, tunnel under footing, bring in or mix 0.5m3 of concrete and fill. Wedge up tight to footing. Repeat.... Could be £500/m so not to be taken lightly.

Seem? The regulations apply. Some are relaxed. But it is insulation not structure. A survey for planning only confirms that the building is fit for conversion. There is every likelihood that some structure needs strengthening. Speak to the SE who did the survey. They may give you some free first impressions. You need serious advice. Practical from a builder experienced in this, but also technical from an SE and that has a fee..one for an overview and then for the detail. Does the building look sound? What part of the country?

Two different subjects and two ticks. But I agree it is nature generally, not GCNs which may not even like your pond. there is to much fuss about GCNs. they aren't an issue but make lots of money for the consultants who make a big story out of it. Nothing happens other than the newts and you all being happy.

Excellent. But note that green roofs don't allow much water to the pond in summer, when you need it, but lots in winter when you don't. With a spillway/overflow to the ditch that will work nicely. A secondary outlet pond and spillway will keep the main creatures safe from being washed away. I built a big pond, primarily to take all the rainwater from a 500m2 roof. No overflow. No Green roof. All the pipes to it are French drains. (Rainwater harvester en-route too but that is out of commission. It is full in winter and completely dry in summer. I got free expert advice on flora and fauna, which was to do nothing and nature will sort it. Will creatures die? Perhaps, but it is nature. There were common newts within months. dragonflies the lot. Mallows are the dominant plant. This is for a commercial building. For my own house I would have a boggy section, lilies and selected plants.

Agreed. I bought a tonne of stone to infill a 15 year old grid. the stones are way too big. notionally 20mm but that is the size that a square stone could drop though, butt it could be 30mm long. They are far too big. I went back to the BM and they don't do smaller. I have temporarily given up. Hang on. a quick google and here it is. https://www.stonewarehouse.co.uk/gravel-chippings/garden-gravel/white-limestone-gravel-10mm/?id=1661&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjw_Na1BhAlEiwAM-dm7IuOwtED5Gw9xermk3kLvDFCvsLYGcdXo9s1Kb8xSnZUL0m91wBwNxoCVNQQAvD_BwE Expensive but the solution. £120 for 800 kg. so that is about £500/m3. how much do you need? To be stingy and if it is not taking much traffic, you could half fill with the cheaper stone and then spread this on top. I wouldn't do that commercially as the labour will increase, but might with diy and for my own drive.

The bottom 2 blocks in standard concrete wouldn't lose any significantly more heat. Or you can put 25mm of insulation down the inner face if desired. I am guessing that you can expect £5 a year maximum energy saving, at a cost of a few hundred.??? Personally I would do it all in standard block, for durability, a better fixing of the timber and longevity. Painting in bitumen* is cheap and easy. Only 100mm is visible and nobody is looking. It won't go green with algae either and can be retouched in 10 years if you think it needs it. I've done this probably 200 times, and in brick about 10. The black block looks the better after a few years. * one coat. another over the mortar joints, then a second full coat.

@ProDave stop press. It isn't broken. I plugged it in again, just in case.... nothing was forthcoming from the outlet. But I saw disturbance elsewhere. the pump is working but a hose has popped off underwater. sorry to waste anyone's time. but I fear the subject of the circuit may recur?

The tripping issue has not recurred, neither on the suspect circuit nor direct from another circuit in the house. It is the pump that has stopped working. The pump has a 3 pin plug, fitted by me. I suspected the fuse or that my wiring isn't right, so I tidied it all up and it still didn't work. I know...it's only wiring a plug. But the wires are soft and tiny and a right fiddle.

Concrete blocks shrink for about a month after they are made, as the chemical reactions conclude. Bricks expand for about a month as they cool then absorb dampness. If you were to leave them both before building then perhaps you don't need any or many joints at all. But nobody would ever specify that.

I would like to hear experience on this too. I have one of these but always thought it is only any good for plaster and jointing compound. Doesn't the bucket start to spin instead of the mix? I too am looking for a second hand mixer, but they never seem to be less than 2/3 of the new price. OR as you say, a right state ('somebody says it was working when they put it away') . £300 gets a new one that will mix a barrowload, which seems the right size. set a mix up then toddle off with the barrowful. . a decent stand is essential too. Any advice on size and make welcomed.

Yes. If it is to be a wild or semi wild pond then they will look favourably. If it can take rainwater from the house then so much the better. GCNs will find it as will other newts and frogs. 500m is nothing as they roam on land a lot of the year. They will eat the frogspawn and little fish but I think leave big fish alone...which will eat frogspawn and GCN eggs. It is nature, so let them work it out.