saveasteading

Can i suggest that it isn't as simple (one way or the other,) as some are suggesting here? The client, as most, is doing this for the first and probably only time, so doesn't necessarily know the pitfalls, or that drawings can be proposed and approved. Asking an amateur client to approve technical drawings can be seen as offloading responsibility, so isn't standard. Mistakes happen. I think i might have measured to block instead of timber too. When projects are subdivided into multiple responsibilities it saves the client a huge amount of money but they take on risk. This is an interface that was liable to go wrong. As I see it: If (and only if) the window company can fit it so that it isn't substandard then there isn't much of a claim. Maximum claim would be the cost of remedial and adaptions not by the window co. Plus you could argue for 0.5m2 ,or whatever, less window area. If you went legal on this, that is all you would get. Similarly verbal agreements, which 'aren't worth the paper they are printed on'. Sorry. Building is very difficult and there are risks.

Not that simple! North West yes, North East no. I noticed that Tunbridge Wells has much the same rain as Nairn (600 miles ish north). 750 to 770mm TW has had very serious flooding in recent years, hence my interest. Nairn and surrounds has more rainy days, but fewer torrential days. Ideal for the barley and the resulting whisky. Back to trees. Your point is good though that the TW trees have more chance of drought, and so cause more problems.

Many people see easements as a chance for big money. A friend found that the cost halved when he mentioned going off grid with water from rain and electricity from the very noisy generator he would need.

Excellent. 1m is required too often when there is no need. What is your soil type? Sounds like sand or gravel. Any trees within 20m?

The new director owns the debt. Notice before action perhaps?

Then demand it. As long as it is in-house and how they design, not subbed out. It is more than cool, as it avoids the common issues of 'pictures' that don't make sense in 3d. I once got a job where the original architect had dummy chimneys but our revit rerun showed them to be in 2 places in space (and time ?) Saves money later when construction details are easily changed and any implications are found and dealt with. The licence costs thousands, so some one man bands stick to the old ways.

I think a lot of their cost comes from multiple visits. Different gangs do cables and jointing. Doing your own trench and ducting might save depending how good you are at it.

Debts are passed to any new owner. The last thing anyone wants is the vat inspector. Even when a business is squeaky clean they take up a lot of time. I had one for 3 days. All he wanted was suppliers invoices and payments. They then go there to see if there is a differeng version of the vat. Apparently vat is seen as an easy aid to cash flow.....just pay somd fof now. IF you are in the right, big if, then PD maybe has the answer. You might politely just tell the other party that you will ask the vat man to check it out.

Now that I know that you mean a packet of bacteria I can answer again. I have put in I think 3 STPs and had no negative feedback from the clients. The manufacturers don't seem to insist on them either. A bag (or bottle) of it won't do any harm, especially at the start , to kick it off, because it won't get properly festering for a week or so. But I don't think you need anything.

No don't touch it. It looks to me like diagonal bracing to stiffen the building. That would imply retrofit because something was moving. Laid flat-ways it can only work in tension which implies the same. And it ends on the line of the big timber beam, so nodes are lining up and that again says it is needed for triangulation. Imagining the photos without it, it all looks very sparse and unstable. So I would not touch it now. A Structural Engineer might say it can go, or that it can be replaced by something tidier. Better that fee than the house failing and insurances void for messing with it. Or continue to duck. In fact. with it being a strange timber, I would be inclined to put a sign on it saying 'this timber is structural , do not cut or remove'.

Once or twice, yes. Yes, as you rightly surmise, it is done on major civil engineering. Dams, bridges etc, where the implications of failure are massive. In large pours, overheating is a problem and there can be cooling pipes embedded, or the aggregate is chilled before mixing. On cold...I was very personally involved in a concrete pour when we had missed the severity of the weather forecast. The Beast from the East battered us as shutters were concreted. I never felt so cold (Kent). Next day the concrete crumbled out of the shutters with ease and became expensive hardcore. On foundations on big sheds the wind uplift can be the critical load, the wind being strong enough to lift multi-ton structures. For LSB we are only looking at small downward forces, but we still wouldn't want the concrete crumbling and having to do it again. 'tomorrow' is almost upon us...hope it goes well. And may i say for the nth time...do not add any water to the readymix...the mix is precise and not to be messed with. Any added water evaporates eventually, leaving millions of holes.

It will work either way round, but inside is tidier and may need less digging. You could leave the top block of the buttresses off, to allow a full bed of soil and plants. Not much load is happening there. 655 is awfully close. Doubling that isn't going to be a risk. When backfilling put gravel against the wall to aid drainage. A bit of plywood held 50mm off the wall, pour 300 deep gravel, backfill with soil to the same depth. repeat. Pull out the ply for reuse.

By muck munchers I am guessing you mean a macerater and pump like Saniflo. If so, then yes, they are fine for feeding to the stp. In fact they have turned the contents to soup and treatment will be all the quicker.

It is certainly worth buying a commercial one, rather than making your own and trying to keep the water out. Usually cheapest by shopping around rather than from the electric company.

Wind chill doesn't count as such. But the concrete will take a long time to "go off" at lowish temperatures like 7°, and wind over the surface will dry it and cool it which is not good. So you must protect it with polythene or hessian to keep the moisture in, once the surface is stiff. (Always, but esp if windy).

Nicd drawings. I'd use number 2 with rods, and space the piers at 1.5m or so. You can't tell how much load might come from next door so better safe. The easy way to do the rods is to do a plain footing, then drill and epoxy into it to suit block positions. One in each pier and another half way. Concrete fill will be a chore but your phasing will reduce this. Lapped coursings would be better. Otherwise use ties. Put drain holes, preferably pipes into the face, at the first horizontal joint. Hollow blocks are really rough, so either drape plants over or render, of both.

You shouldn't need 150 concrete. 100 is plenty. Better spent on more insulation above the concrete, under the screed, where it will havd most effect. Also due to the diminishing effect of insulation lower down, you might use polystyrene at the bottom layer and pir under the screed.

So that is a good thing, that the sign of the issue isn't a wet ceiling. It isn't difficult to do properly, and simple laps are sufficient to make the water run away properly. BUT as we know on BH some simple things are beyond the understanding of some people calling themselves builders. I get your concern though. It can't be good that a roof is leaking all the time, for ever really. I think most drips will be small ones, and dry out in the vented space. problems with tiles and slates are usually visible with occasional inspection. screws on metal roofs can leak, but usually seal themselves just with gunk over time. If there is a big leak, then it may be visible by the time it reaches the ground, and pretty well in line with the problem, which can then be searched for and sorted. Is there any other concern?

It is teamwork, but you are the client. Make sure they realise this. If you don't quite get on at first, then that will likely continue. Don't be embarrassed at speaking to several, at least at first. Construction is confusing. It is one-off manufacture in a field. Then there are aesthetics and technical matters. Conversion is more difficult than nes build, so make sure your advisors are experienced in it

Making the best of what you have: Best take the dpm out and blind (30mm is rather a lot unless the stone is really rough) then dpm down again. OR Omit the sand over the dpm as it will just mix with the concrete and weaken it. But be very careful not to puncture the dpm. Put a concrete surround to the pipes. I think bring it up to concrete level and float it. Later pour the rest of the concrete. This will protect the pipe and also allow the slab to shrink in a controlled way, with nice straight cracks. The pir and carry on. It isn't ideal but will work. By encasing the pipe you are protecting it in a controlled way. Double check that all the falls are OK in the pipes...they can move during the work. After the spirit level, I put a golf ball in each open end as a practical check: don't drop it though or it will always clatter through. This checks the slope but also that there are no obstructions. And catch the ball before it disappears to the main drain!

Yes. Any water getting through the outer covering will reach the vcl and run down to the eaves, where the detailing should allow for it to drip outside, not into the cavity.

Construction. Nearly all big projects* dictate the contract, with more or less detail according to the circumstances. NEC and JCT ranging from Major to 'Minor Works". Also almost any project where a client's agent is engaging a main contractor.

A very good point about onerous terms being counterproductive. The big contractor spends money on lawyers and everyone ends up losing. The small contractor gives way, or folds, or smashes up the work. Best have no arguments. Clear contracts, however informal, help towards that. As does a site diary, as I repeatedly say.

The main purpose of a contract is to deal with any argument. They usually stay in the drawer. Major events are dealt with, such as what happens in a national emergency. Also dealing with any dispute.ie how to resolve it. Thus when lockdown eas imposed, the national contracts would have it covered, fairly to all parties. As to the project itself , it will be referred to by reference to the spec and drawings, so the contract doesn't add a lot. Perhaps the main benefit is providing a check list of payment terms and programme. It gets messy though when there is not a single contractor. If it is of any use , my company always had a JCT contract with our clients. We hardly ever used a nationally recognised contract between ourselves and subcontractors....instead using a purchase order which spelt out terms. A simple exchange of messages is often plenty to set up a supplier, and will suffice legally. If you can't explain it in writing, then you don't really know what the scope of work is, so the writing of it is useful in itself.

I apologise. It seems I have misunderstood what you were saying, both times.