saveasteading

Never again for us. It goes black if it gets very wet or with aluminium pots on it, despite umpteen coats of oil. We had to scrape 2mm off and reseal, and now it is happening again.

My hunch is no. Especially if you expose the materials to the air of that room, before laying. I'd be more concerned with expansion but the same applies. Is the product laminated? So like plywood?

I'd look at piling rather than ground screws. I may be out of date but last time I looked into screws, the reps were greatly overstating their abilities. My favourite is ground improvement, using gravel piles. It is the least intrusive. It has a high setup cost though so may not be economic.

The SE is correct that you must use the mature tree height. The foundations are then calculated according to distance, so the nearest part gets deeper footings and the farthest gets less. The guidelines are clear as long as you are certain of the ground structure. I wouldn't consider screw piles. I see them as for temporary structures. An option is pads and beams and a suspended floor. As suggested above, ask for a quote for the design of a more sophisticated (cheaper) solution. Sometimes you need a second opinion on clever options ie getting the SE boss to look at it. But sometimes you just have to accept that 2m+ deep footings are the optimum.

I'm not so sure. Not so sure @Gus Potter is being reassuring either. Bamboo is a low density wood (grass) and there is a lot of resin in the product. It could move a lot. I'd certainly use a cork fillet. I think I would also put a bit of latex down to cover the pipes. At the expense of restricting heat flow, should the floor have an underlay? I have not done homework on what I've said, so you should.

Is this a really primitive old tank? Even so, the 'burps' from it should expel through a vent where it doesn't cause bother, and the outfall be kept underground. I expect something is wrong, eg the waste isn't fully treated and should go on to a big herringbone drainage system. The jcb driver who lifted in our tank said he'd never seen a herringbone system like ours, and most just put in a rubble soakaway or chuck it in a ditch. Then the bco doesn't question it.

There is and the first job is to read it. The local plan. Keep within the parameters and most problems go away. Planning officers work to the policy in front of them and personal opinions don't normally affect the outcome. Any objections are also liable to the published plan. Then present your proposal neatly and making it easy to deal with. I like to think of the first sight of our proposals eliciting a smile from the planner....' this is going to be an easy one'. Tidy, well presented and compliant. Vary from that and it may cause delay.

How about a date on your calendar to check it annually (and maybe clean off moss and leaves, but forget the rest of the year?

Not really. It's right to question stuff, and it's good to get it either sorted or discounted. That was worth sorting.

similar logic to that of mid timber. the top and bottom flanges are doing the work in tension and compression, and should not normally be cut, but the web is mostly just holding the flanges apart and together.

All the above are correct. The mid height of a timber has very little effect on strength. Hole sizes are covered in the building regs, so it is official.

I've only fitted rolls of this sort of stuff and it was glued down. I reckon the interlocking tiles need gluing too, to avoid trips. What do the manufacturers say?

Each January, I pack away the decorations, tape the tops shut and store in the attic. Each December I find all tapes are unstuck. It must be the February chill or the summer heat. I regard tapes as temporary fixings.

There must be thousands of these every year, used once, thrown in the van, then replaced next time.

Agreed. And the tubes are more flexible. But you'll be using it only twice.

No, I was hasty. Got a 4 way in our house, but I just hadn't thought it through. I have no idea how that can work, but as long as I believe in it, it will be ok.

I saw this in action yesterday. A petrol station had tubes supporting the gantry, and the rainwater pipes disappeared inside them. I hope they were plastic all the way to the drainage system or the steel will rust. btw the pipes were made of spiralled steel plate, like a toilet roll inner is made, but 500dia, painted red and rather splendid.

I only ever specify local stock bricks. That way we can get more if necessary. It also permits repair and modification in the long term with minimal colour change. Mass production bricks are usually of regular dimensions and shapes. Much as it is nice to use rustic bricks they can be awful to lay.

I can't think I have ever come across this. I didnt know if existed. Sounds complicated or it will short. Perhaps it had always been simplified to 2 lights with 2 way switching.

Presumably 110mm? That is standard. The kit costs about £50 plus plugs and it's easy.

I was an Estimator, doing nothing else, for about 7 years. It's not easy. Getting the price 'about right' is all very well. We'd expect a priced bill of quantities to be +/- 2% between tenderers. Win or lose a job after a month if hard graft and research. Who does the design znd b o q? With drawings but no b of q, then becomes 5% With a Client brief but to be designed, that becomes 20% ( even 50%) because design skills come into play. I'm saying, your idea is OK for a rough idea of cost but not for real business. But maybe I'm wrong. Good luck.

I don't know what that means. Is it explainable another way please?

Impressive yes. Add 2 columns and bring them forward and save £80k. It would also be more 'honest' as they say. Harnessing the forces of nature instead of challenging them. On the other hand it's handy for storing left over timber, and for wildlife. I know I'm a bit boring on the subject but, where does the rain go?

One sheet, however thick, has a flexibility at the junctions. Thus 2 staggered sheets of 9mm provide a more complete and even and stiff surface than 1 of 18mm.

The bulbs that do this with me are very old indeed and I think primitive. At the time i was testing led on myself rather than on clients. When they fail, the replacements aren't doing this