saveasteading

Nb the second in command is often surpringly lacking in the skills. I hope not of course , good luck. You are doing the right thing in keeping close attention. Others here might know what to watch for.

That age of house was damp by default, with fires and draughts keeping it in some order. I've seen several cases where people have poured a new-fangled concrete floor, making it much worse long term. I don't download on here. But can imagine? Do you break out the floor and start again? A big job and never quite right. I think maybe dpm over the concrete then a new floor on top, screed or floating.

Local knowledge is essential Avoid digging the road. Who owns the land off the road.? Probably Lord something, but the estate factor may be approachable. A local groundworker may know the dodges, as well as being able to lay it. It is just a cable. They have to do the 2 ends. You do 70m in one length at the right depth etc. Read the small print again. An approved contractor must do it, or is preferred?

Normally a good check of 'is it rectangular' but if it is not, then I think you need a spirit level to get minimum w and minimum h. A cowboy window man told me he allowed 10mm on ground floor and 20mm first floor because nobody would notice. That's a lot of mastic or whatever he used.

I think this is genuine. People volunteering for GD are not going to be average. Their self confidence tends to be high, and they are out to save cost, indeed being watched doing it. Their training comes during overcoming such errors, which can be expensive. I think the usual error is as above. Rectangular windows not fitting trapezoidal openings. What tolerances are you intending? BTW. My main learning error was that a frame screw sticking out will break the glass.

They only get really dirty when muck is sent into them, eg brushing a yard or a gutter. I don't think I ever had to clean one out. Except for a slighyly different case. I have a recessed gully for a downpipe, with a grille over it. It fillls with leaves regularly but is very easy to clear. Grilles over gullies stop the crud going into the pipe in the first place.

Silt trap. They are available as preformed gullies, like the ones in roads. From jdp pipes or similar. Or build a manhole and add a bulkhead across the middle with an overflow at the top. Silt will settle on the entry side, and you must clear it occasionally. Or a manhole with a sump.( three is depth below the outlet pipe.) Will you lose height? With some yes.

The first few mm (hook end) can be a bit approimate but the tests will spread that over a few m. With fibre tape, it's almost impossible to tension exactly right. I did a school exercise on accuracy and approximation once, on a tennis court. The 4 long tapes I had gathered were very different. I had already binned some that were 100mm out in 30m. I still like tapes though.

Why will there be any silt? From gutters of a yard? I'll reply on this . Its easy. Yes. The Engineer will give you the pipe depth, based on fall rate and distance. Say it is 10m and the slope is 1:50. The pipe will have dropped 200mm but from what starting level I can't say. About 500mm is likely., so the crates will be in a 1.7m deep hole. Scary. Maybe ask if you can use a different shape.

1. It isn't artificial grass. It is a green plastic carpet. 2. Make sure it is porous. 3. Make sure it is uv resistant. 4. Touch them and choose by price and feel. £35/m2? 5. It will be hard and bruising for any tumbles. 6. You'll gather I'm not a fan, but it's up to you.

General builders generally don't know much theory. They are simply thinking it is bigger than others they have done. The pipe outfall needs to be at the top of the crates, otherwise your drains sit full of water and don't work properly. Why do you need a silt trap?

We do. There are plenty more approximations and they add up. I'd also doubt that the £15 one (or any of them) is that good outside of a testing lab.

@Porschewhen ready, tell us more please. Not too much personal/ location detail though, as it may be best for you to be under the radar.

Not really. Listen to the accents on any highland news story...mostly English. Ditto an Inverness cafe or pub. Not saying that is wrong, just rhe reality of living costs and expectations. Just don't expect Gaelic and tweed spinning being the norm.

Welcome to bh.

Non Squareness of the openings I believe is a common error with diy. Ie measuring the widest bit. I can only recall only one error by a professional out of hundreds of units. He immediately promised to get a replacement in a few days, but I changed the drawing and everyone was happy. Contrast with ordering our own windows. Got 2 wrong. Our cost. Moral. It is someone's risk. You can't have the best of both worlds.

Compulsory purchase of the land they claim wasn't commercially viable ( where they built the easy bit). So can't be worth much in CP. I'm thinking of brownfield sites where they build on the easy yard areas, and leave the old railway sheds / factory units / tip areas. Cleverer designers and contractors than the house builders could do lots of flats and community buildings at decent cost levels.

OK. Just checking that a matching fireplace hadn't been removed already: that might be precarious.

7 likes suggests a lot of us agree and have seen such sites. I wonder if the government knows though? Who would tell them? Maybe we 7 +1 should write to our mp. If anyone does, please circulate and it can be a template.

If anyone is interested...I built a metal shed where the police were guaranteed to arrive in 4 minutes with guns. The security was such that the intruders would plead to be arrested. Smoke, noise, strobes. The shed itself would have taken an hour to get into with skills and heavy equipment even if cameras were disabled.... and then the kit would kick in. I think prisons rely on multiple layers in walls rather than being solid. Lots of mess.

First try the obvious. Where will the rainwater pipe be? Dig down to that level for access. Then hand dig your 300 x 300 x 300 test pit. Fill it and let it soak away or not, before the formal test. If you want, try another hole or 2, in possible locations. Near a hedge or trees might have help from gaps left by roots. Record your tests as the bco may just accept this. Be safe. 1m deep holes can collapse and kill.

I'd get a stove installer in now for a chat. New rules require an air intake pipe from outside to a nozzle on the stove, and you will need a route for that. Do you know if there is a fireplace on the other side of that wall? Assuming it is a party wall.

I've dealt with a few of these. There was always some insulation and an inner liner and they were surprised and ill-equipped and gave up. What they expected to run off with through a small hole with lethal edges, is a mystery. I'd best not say what would have been more effective. Most robberies I knew of involved driving a stolen pickup at the door, hence rising bollards are used sometimes. For interest, and stole what? Very few buildings have a single metal skin.

But thieves go through windows and doors.

The ground report mentuons fractured stone. That usually precludes diverting water into ita borehole or pit, because it creates a swallow hole in time. Just construct a swale and or pond.