saveasteading

Great advice above. It's a shame for the current owners but it is their problem at the moment. Once you buy it, it is your problem and cost, plus at any future sale the potential buyers will be asking these same questions and wanting a bargain or walking away, or not getting a mortgage. The magic distance for oaks in clay is 28m, so it could be the whole building needs underpinning. Reducing the crowns troubles me as a suggestion. Trees grow again. You need an SE to confirm the above, and then to get a costing. I used to quote for underpinning at many £100 per metre. After you've spent that money and had the disruption you have a house with increased insurance premiums with little choice or competition. OR: I don't know if this is a real and current problem or more a concern. Are there cracks? So: Buy it for a bargain and don't underpin. Live with it. you save the £30k or whatever in case you need it later. A wild thought more for discussion than as advice. Maybe watering the garden will stop the clay shrinking in the summer. Divert all your rainwater that direction, into French drains. There's only so much water the oaks can drink.

Yes. If you throw water on it, some goes in. Then it stops raining and it comes out again. If it kept raining it would go right through.

I mean overhanging eaves and road drainage, or gutters and drainpipes or even both. Rendering is an art form that hides the grotty masonry, but it tends to be porous.

That will not freeze. The ground down there is not affected by cold weather. gravel will keep cold air off the pipe a bit. however, the short section of pipe that is exposed is linked to the rest of the mains which has ambient water in it, occasionally being replaced when you run a tap. There is no harm in protecting it unless it makes maintenance or inspection difficult, hence a lump of eps or a bundle of bubble-wrap is pragmatic.

That Northern coast is very exposed and very wet. It is green with added cows. Also exposed to the Atlantic for wind. No siestas or heading out around midnight around there, Up in the NW is Galicia where Madrid natives head in summer for the cooler weather. Head slightly inland and uphill and it's like the alps. So logically there will be lots of insulation and vapour barrier construction...No. Being nerdy that way I look on sites, in diy stores and online . Insulation is a new fad, and there isn't much choice. These blocks as shown above are regarded as insulating blocks, but obviously have multiple cold bridges, then just get rendered on both sides. I have seen some new houses being built with 50mm eps on the outside, so it is going to catch on eventually. Breathability , if that means that wet walls will dry out is hit and miss. Away from the north, the walls dry out in the heat. In the north They seem to rely on shedding the water. All of what I've said is based on very limited observation, and there may well be large scale construction in the cities with a more modern philosophy.

Ok. It was the term sandwich that i picked up as being a metal/pir sandwich. A screw through a batten and then the vapour barrier on osb etc does not cause a leak.

If you are using a composite pir and metal panel, then yes you screw straight through. Its not like tiles though in that you are not leaving any ventilation gap underneath or the insulation wold become pointless. These panels are also the vapour barrier and you don't need another underneath. Using the correct screw it seals its own drill hole. Which direction are the joists? If up the slope, then you will need counter-battens. BUT these panels span a long way so you don't need many supports or fixings.

It's well worth using the quote feature or flagging like @G and J because that party will see it. I must miss a lot if it hasn't been discussed by the members I follow (for various reasons) Do look into having exceptional insulation or you will lose a large proportion of the heat produced. I've found plumbers to be lax on it.

I've found decorators like Leyland esp for the diluted priming coat. The price can be decent too.. I never got good prices at specialist paint merchants. I guess decorators like the convenience plus, compared to most trades, the material goes a long way. And the delivery can be impressive, saving time.

Welcome @G and J. Most of us stay fairly anonymous on here. I don't want builders or robbers seeing what might be on site and where it is, or perhaps building inspectors reading of our discussions and doubts. So, please can I ask the first awkward question? Why would the ashp be half way down the garden? There is a lot of potential heat loss as the pipes travel from the pump to the innards in the house. There is fancy insulation available but it is crazily expensive. Pumps are not necessarily noisy.

Water doesn't get past the surface on cavity batts. But time is infinite, so it will continue to spread. I've seen this too, but they didn't work and are now ss by ashp. Refurbing an 80m borehole if it ever needs it could be tricky in the cupboard under the stair.

1/3 air if the balls remain spherical and touching infinitesimally. I like and accept your thoughts. I am inclined to believe it works for one or more of these reasons. I thought I had them beaten when 2 part epoxy started to come with the special mixing nozzle. No chance of poor mixing or even forgetting to add part 2. NO. Push the bolt in without turning and it nearly all comes flying out again. I'll be remembering other examples as the day proceeds.

I don't know why I am suspicious of blown eps, but I just haven't ever come across it. Maybe that's a good sign that it isn't known for problems. I think of it as a retrofit in old council flats, perhaps unfairly. What stops dampness from creeping across ball to ball? My cavity insulation of choice is cavity mineral wool batts. There is no chance of water crossing through, and it is idiot proof (No, it is idiot resistant). Also it fills the cavity and prevents brickies from dropping mortar into the cavity or parking drink cans and fag packets therein. The labour element of fitting it is tiny. Insulation level is much the same as eps I think, without checking.

Did you get any visits or other contact? I cannot do that, either in keeping my tongue still, or claiming ignorance. But its an interesting point. Be sure not to drill through the vapour barrier? You have not sealed the laps on the vapour barrier? Don't dig there, as there is a cable?

I think safety is the key here, whoever that might be. I've only had any hassle from HSE when an 'enemy' has tried to land us in it, or a neighbour is scared of non existent asbestos. HSE are probably more inclined to visit if a substantial looking project, seen in passing, is not registered. If they are on their way back from a gruesome accident then beware. They can't visit every job, but will be inclined to go to that one. So I'm saying that it isn't worth fiddling the figures to avoid the easy process of registering. 500 hours is some measure of risk level and complexity. It doesn't matter who is doing it. If your site is in good order then they are friendly and helpful. If the plan is to use cheap quotes without risk assessments and safety kit, then that might be a reason to try to hide the project. But the consequences after an accident would be greater.

The insulation can be anything you like with trad construction. The perimeter needs attention too. Quality slab work is a skill that few groundworkers have. However I would go for a groundbearing slab with minimal mesh, then pir then a pumped screed by a specialist. The base slab can therefore be a bit rough as it's all covered. I'd love to know the cost level for a kore system. I'm thinking 50% more than trad.

That's great that it isn't asbestos. The underside does look new so will be plastic fibres. This can be quite fragile. But I reckon the council would want an independent report to say that it wasn't asbestos, and that will cost more than the quite you have to take it down and away. It remains your responsibility that it is not being fly tipped.

If it is a new access then it must comply with the highway design rules. If it is an existing, but inferior, access then they tend to let it go. If it was angled the other way then it would be reasonably safe turning left but horrible turning right. Yours looks rather scary to me unless potholes are slowing the traffic.

I can't get insurance. The idiot AI chucks out the application because it is less than £2,000/m2 which "all buildings cost as a minimum". So I increase the cost to £2,000/m2. Over a very big area that is silly money, and it gets rejected as being out of their cost range for risk. Someone recommended Self Build Zone. They will only take on projects with full designs (drawings and calculations) and all consultants and contractors already appointed. They really want building regs approval in place too. Ie its not really self build as I understand it. It seems they only cover new-builds with full packages of design and a PM. Perhaps that's what people who go to the grand designs exhibition do, and the self build part is the decoration. We don't have possession and detailed design will roll along ahead of the work There is a big and solid steel frame and floor to work with. This has been done before. Where am I going wrong?

I think this links with a post last week about a kit supplier not being happy with the welfare on site or the quality of the foundations. It's the clients job to coordinate.

Risk assessments are a good idea regardless of simply ticking a box to show you tried. Standard forms help a lot but you could just write it down on blank paper. What am I about to do? What are the risks? Falling, tripping, electrocution and so on. What can I do to reduce them? How will I do this? Each of your contractors should do their own. You do yours. You look at the general site risks that may require measures. Then do it or police it to a reasonable extent. A separate thing is that you probably need to submit a demolition notice to the L.A. 6 weeks before starting.

The one I saw was brand new, but may be gone by when I need it. It had a sharpened bottom edge, which will cut better for a while but quickly wear off. So you're saying pay by the mm. The aggregate will almost certainly be beach gravel, so mostly flint. A hard but brittle material to cut through but the cores look pretty when wettened.

Tried another hire co today. £130 for the Hilti drill on stand for a week, plus a water tank, plus some expansion bolts to lift out the core (clever guy) adding up to £190. It is a stock item but currently out on hire. He also checked I had 110V, so altogether a good service. The core drill however is a 350mm or so, long tube with tungsten carbide heads on it, about 10mm long. £120 to buy or £25/mm used. That's what I had expected, and not the expendable core bit offered by the others. Hire and use 5mm and I'm handing back 5mm unused and paying £125. Use 10mm and it is £250, and I should have bought it. I absolutely don't know how much wear there will be doing 6 or 8 holes of 150mm with mesh, then into probably brick hardcore. Web pages all say 'it depends'. Any knowledge on the likely wear and whether to hire or buy? I suppose I could buy it and offer to sell what's left back. That was not suggested though.

You can't expect a series of specialist contractors to bring their own toilets and offices with them, attend to site access and security and supervise the previous contractor. However: Potton's website says this, and they should have told you with their quote. domestic client’s obligations were transferred to the contractor. Or principal contractor, where more than one contractor is working on a project. If there is not a Principal Contractor , then they are The Contractor. So yes, they should sort it.

I like your chosen name @Cut Once. As you will know from your profession, planning ahead is vital, and lots of people here will help. After a career dominated by steel, I too like wood.