saveasteading

If a material cannot burn then it is not combustible ... discuss. Actually I did, with bco. I prevailed tho they found some excuse that meant they had not formally lost the argument. An otherwise combustible material, eg timber cannot burn without oxygen, so protect it. But eps might still melt.

I suggest knocking up a timber frame. Bigger isn't much more cost. Make it comtainer/ welfare unit size and nobody will question it.

Osma is always expensive, even discounted. Of course it is high quality and gets specified on big jobs. But for 1/3 the price everything on the cheaper stuff still works OK. The only advantage of the big names that I have perceived in real life is the ease of joining. Down a wet trench on a frosty day that £10 may be worth it, but not normally. And are the pipes equally strong? That doesn't matter if properly surrounded.

should be 1 day per mm up to 50mm and 2 days per mm over, That's often said* but is nonsense. The majority of the free water in the pour combines chemically with the mix, and what is left is a low number. Typically I used to work with 175mm of concrete and it would be dry enough in 30 days. That's unless you let it get wet again. But if you have a closed box and airflow it will dry. Of course the top surface dries most easily with air above it. It also wets most readily. But the concrete of screed below it immediately sheds moisture up unto the drier part. * mostly it's been a genuine belief but I think it originates from contractors and manufacturers getting their excuses in early.

The great ones welcome the feedback and respect the complementary skills and knowledge of other professionals.

Otoh.. not bluffing. Perhaps not a capital A one, but what used to be called a draughts person..... they have all disappeared through title inflation, but I worked with some who were very expert on detail within their niche, and proudly so.

That is wise IFFFFF the contractor is knowledgeable. Lots are not, and get by because they are prepared to work at height. Your detail looks fine as long as any joints in the lead are sealed... once water finds a way in, more follows. Seriously I think there must be capillary forces.

Driven rain from the right is likely to breach that ridge. Increase the slope and also totally seal the peak with either an upstand/parapet, or a continuous, impenetrable roof surface.

Quite big then and similar spec.. 3x 2.8 = 8.4m2 2.5 x 2.7 = 6.8m2 . that's 1.24 or thereabouts £500 so I'm hoping for £625. Let's say £700 because of the width. Hmmmm. I'm not expecting that but I will report back. One supplier from Shropshire quotes delivery included... except Scotland and Cornwall. On principle I may discount them on grounds of not trying very hard.....even though I'm south of them.

Were these foam-filled laths or plain? Coloured? There seems to be a jump in price somewhere beyond 2m width, but £500 has to be good for the standard size. I've filled in their enquiry form for an "instant quote". As often it's not a quote at all, and they will phone. But at least they have an address.

IMO Brutalism is fun to look at but not economic or practical. You, might borrow some aspects though for effect. eg A concrete pier with the formwork marks showing. I don't see the BP as Brutalism, but as a simple structural form. Too much glass for a house. Also far too flat a roof for your location....any location really. Where does the rain go? I'd build it in steel or timber once I knew more about your space intentions, with some slope to a gutter at the back... I know, philistine. But if you want it to last more than 20 years... These famous Architects designed very expensive sculptures, not practical buildings.

They can't open inwards obviously. So they open outwards and take up space... and you can't park a car outside and use the doors. And they are simply in the way. And get caught by the wind. And they need 2 powerful motors if not manual. And they are expensive. That's about all though.

An industrial door manufacturer gently implied that some systems are cheap because they are fabricated on site. I think he was implying that the laths are formed from coil, and it is all a bit lightweight. And that the installers had a franchise but weren't necessarily expert enough. Any thoughts on that? Basically saying the advertisements of doors for £850 were true but there is a reason.

I've done the building over a new swimming pool. Yes, lots of attention to detail is required. It's not all published, so you need to think through a lot of what ifs. Having had that experience I take note of any news articles about pools themselves . Lots of them leak and the their life seems short before they are demolished. Mostly because of unrepairable leaks or rotting structure. This is understandable because any water tank/ basement requires highly skilled design and construction. A big pool will want to break. So @phykell, your pool won't be 25m long but still has to be designed and constructed very well indeed. And then think through the heating, condensation, draughts detailing.

Because it's cheap. It's easy. The planners have an overview policy but trust the water authority to advise, and they accept the 5%. Because there is pressure to maximise units* on a plot, so there is little room left for lagoons, crates or soakaways. * housing needs, local preference for fewer new estates, and the value of a plot depending on maximum coverage. In the latter case, the landowners maximises profit and the rest of us pay for infrastructure in the rates.

Just after the above, I read this about tacit knowledge. Very relevant. What is tacit knowledge It's sponsored (ad at the end) but interesting. https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/tacit-knowledge-further-education-teaching-careers-skills-learning-b2825537.html

Such a good example of incompetence. I get your point. As a newbie you don't contemplate for a moment that supposed experts can be so incompetent. Can't read a drawing. Don't understand what they are doing or why it matters. Don't know how little they know. You don't dare question them or you get abuse, condescension or simply ignored. And now you deal with it how?

Thanks @dpmiller. A nice clear website. But the form is just going to invite a callback from dome random local fitter, I feel. I'll do it later. Can you advise the cost level? How long were they on site?

I think I lost some contracts from being too good at it. ie if I'd added another 10% (enough for a very nice car) I'd have een closer to the next quote got the work and the client would have benefitted too. The difference being it perhaps wasn't for exactly the same thing: it happened to be my niche thing and not the competitors'. But I think Ruskin was largely right. Caveat emptor.

Such useful responses thanks. The @nod one is like I want. I've gone on the Garage Doors Online website. There is an immediate difference between them and most others. Information on the products. They have an address. Their enquiry form is interactive and there was an immediate quote for supply. Unfortunately that quote is nearly double what I've had before. But then they are an intermediary and have a web presence to pay for. @nod are the laths insulated? Was it the model flagged as diy friendly? And i can't resist this, sorry: How durable is it in use? Because " He who's laths last, laughs longest."

Extreme storms seem certain to increase and the drains were never designed* for them. Add extra housing and roads and it becomes a real problem. * quite a job surveying then calculating flow capacity all the way from thousands of sources to outfall. I've argued with planners that allowing 5% flow off a new development is still too much compared to the field that was there before, and the reason that rivers flood....but they don't get it, and the developers are happy-ish. For some reason the water companies don't object either. That may be government pressure as we "need the houses". @FarmerN if you are indeed a farmer, do you know the recommendation that fields be ploughed along the slope, to retain rain? I see many fields where that is not done And rain will rush doen ghe slope. Is it a practicality issue?

Bravo. I'd give more than one heart if I could. .❤️♥️💙 There you are. Unfortunately I haven't yet met a Planner who remotely understood that it all adds up to a flood further down. I suspect their skillset is procedure and doesn't include this sort of thing. It can be, but on an appropriate plot with skilled design it is easy enough. Unfortunately the non-expert designers tend to throw bought 'solutions' at it, at the clients expense of course. On a tiny plot it can be near impossible, so planning permission perhaps was misguided. The cost should come off the plot purchase price, but not enough people will know that, and the agent won't be saying.

@nod where did you get the door? Was it one complete kit, and well thought through? I've had a quote of £1,200 + vat, delivered. It's 3m wide which is more than the standard. As an industrial door, in plain galvanised slats it would be £400 cheaper.

For commercial buildings with square metal downpipes I developed a standard detail. The dp joined into a plastic pipe in which we cut out a mousehole opening, a big mouse. Then that sat just above a grated gully. Thus the leaves that came down were caught and removed by hand. And if they weren't removed, the water still escaped to ground. The plastic shoe can be the difficult thing to find to suit the dp.

We will be installing a roller door to convert the smaller shed to a garage. All the web searches seem to result in spurious generic ads pretending to be local but with no contact addresses. They all seem to rely on me filling out a form and they will then arrange an "engineer" visit. We have no existing garage to inspect. I tried one and got lots of emails about having arranged a visit but nobody came. I suspect these are all agencies selling on the contact. I don't like that. I have contacted a maker who has been great and so could have it made and delivered at a decent price. I am fairly confident we could install it. I met an impressive supply and fix company at an exhibition ( from Sunderland, but said Kent was no problem) but have lost the details. Any experiences or suggestions please? BTW I have had hundreds of industrial loading doors fitted so know the principles. But garage doors seems to be a very different (and a bit shady) market. We can make the frame to suit and I'm thinking 8 x 2 timber will be easiest for a goalpost opening.