saveasteading

Window blinds? External is best.

You should see my patio here. I may post a photo. Not by me but groundworkers we used once only. Water runs through it, then it moves, and rocks and more water gets in. But speaking as an expert crazy paver ( why I don't know) total mortar bed is the way. I've even done some as steps into the sea that survived a storm with a name. Did it for a builder friend and even he was impressed.

Agreed. Mortar better for the bed, or a sand cement mix, and an edging.

I have learnt that slabs need to be bedded solid, and that the dot and dab method (which prevails) will fail. Being one who looks in excavations and watches roadworks when on holiday... I have noticed that Spanish paving is laid on a thin layer of sharp sand to get the levels dead on, but beneath that is reinforced concrete. Even in domestic situations. It doesn't budge of course. That may be excessive, but I would suggest running a vibrating plate over the exposed sub base, adding at least 50mm more and compacting it, then laying the slabs on a 100% bed of mortar, as if tiling.

I don't think so...it is a single entity of a company and they can offer to sell these blocks, gravel, construction services, whatever.

I bear good news. Hornbeam are low water demand trees. At 7m you only need 1.1m depth of foundations. Your SE should have known this. Or perhaps they based the design on simplicity rather than materials required. Foundations can be stepped. Now is the time to brief your new SE with whether you prefer the screw method or conventional. Guessing £2k to £3k difference but I have not analysed it. More difference if you can use foundations at 1.1 ish for a lot of it.

Just a thought. Would it be effective for those involved to set up a Whatsapp group. I think it remains totally private so any tactics etc and discussions of names and incidents would not be visible to the other side.

I would do some simple strength tests while there. These are acknowledged by NHBC and come from technical papers. How far can you push a steel rod into the ground? How far can you hammer a non-pointed 2 x 2 into the ground. If of any interest I can find the details. We did this on our project and proved that the ground was hard, not medium as the SE had allowed, saving lots of concrete.

Can you show us that statement please? I'm hoping for your sake that this is a misunderstanding. It is unfortunately common for a ground report to summarise the worst part. They aren't designers. Then the SE works to that. I made my living partly from finding such overdesigns. These shrubs are zero risk. How far away is the hornbeam? It says on a drawing "clear trees", so that seems to be wrong.

If you look at nearby applications (on-line) you should find what they did, and yours is very likely to be similar. It bothers me that a cosultant is asked what is required, and to quote for any study they themselves decide. I once had a £2,000 report for looking in the trenches we had dug. Standard introduction, what we might find, we looked in the hole, we found nothing. Summary: we looked in a hole and found nothing. Stretched over 8 pages, then back and front covers and a binder. 1 page was enough. Since then i was much firmer and argued against excessive cost. Also required them to look in our trenches pre concrete, not in special ones. I guess i have had this 10 times. It really depends what they are looking for. Usually just field margins for the record. Once roman detritus...which they don't keep, once any sign of a Roman road (no). All sensible apart from the cost level. Once though looking for footings for a Victorian brickworks, which i challenged the need for and they reluctantly withdrew the requirement. So back to sentence 1. And report back and perhaps we can help more.

OK. Understood. So often in the bh questions the whole scenario isn't clear, and perhaps we imagine what the real problem is. Keep us posted on the proposals please, and I will turn "follow" on again.

Another thought. Is the pool heater an ashp? If not why not? If so, again divide by about 4 for the power input, and heat on off-peak.

On Christmas day when all the cookers might be on briefly, you surely won't have the pool heating. I am assuming the ashp rating is output, so the input is about 2. BTW I hope you have a pool cover. I think they repay themselves in a season indoors, and a few months outdoors. Cold swimming is healthier anyway.

These piles would be encased in concrete at the top, then very tight within the clay beneath. Rust needs oxygen, so these should last a very long time.

Sorry. I have re-read and it seemed to me to be entirely on topic. I wll duck out of this discussion.

Interesting. Please keep us informed how this proceeds. In summary, the screw system will cost a fair bit more but reduce hassle? Please remember that, from your SE information, the foundations will not be 2.5m deep everywhere, some being distant from the trees. It reduces to 1.3m, and you will still be digging at least 0.5 out to concrete around the screws. It's up to you of course. Make sure you get a fixed price for the screws and the SE knows your plans....I am guessing that SE will add reinforcement to the concrete, and the groundworker will have to hand dig around the screws....but I look forward to hearing more. One more concern. How long have the trees that were in the way, been gone? It takes a year or so for the ground to adapt to the reduced water demand.

Ask how they design. Some, mostly younger go straight into 3d. The better the design suite the more it can handle every detail as a complete model ( ie not pictures but working drawings). Revit , for example, is superb.

Timber frame

I think your contract is with M&S. This is more "money" than building. Have you tried MoneySavingExpert ? Etc.

It involves a site visit and a formal proposal to the building inspector. This could be by an SE or any other professional who can demonstrate sufficient knowledge. A builder may suffice. Whether building notice suffices is probably irrelevant, as it is a 2 day job to fit the bracket and the bco will want to see proposals before allowing it to proceed. I did the proposal myself (got the letters) , and fitted the gallows bracket, then got a bricky (of sorts) in to make good. But our chimney breast was already illegally removed so the works was less. The bco only looked at it as finished, and didn't get more than his head though the loft hatch. Some people say don't use gallows bracket, but it seems ok to me for most circumstances. Your bco has probably seen this work a dozen times. Do they speak to you in your area? Personally, I don't approve of chimneys being removed as they provide a lot of strength and help the building to breathe. But that is up to you.

And did you go through them or direct to the underwriter?

Was the insurance direct with the company, or through a broker?

Many contractors decline insurance work, because payments can be very slow. Therefore those who accept it quite reasonably charge more for the delays and risk and hassles. Insurers know this. Also this is the sort of work that can have nasty surprises for the contractor. Again they will add for the risk. Insurers know this too. 3 x their offer is probably about right. But we don't know the extent of works of course! The insurer is probably chancing their arm on a cash offer, and it won't take much to convince them it is unacceptable. Some insurers spend more money on resisting claims than in pay-outs. But they don't want to have a formal complaint to resist. I would write again and say that you have taken advice etc....you don't have to say where. Give them a deadline as their delay is forcing you to live in...'insert own term.' Ask them what is the next step in a complaint process if they don't agree. (Perhaps accept a cash offer of 3 x the current one, and then contractors can get paid direct by you.) perhaps even offer a lump sum settlement of 4 x theirs, and negotiate down to 3.

I suspect they allowed tolerance twice by mistake. The installer measured the openings, and took 15mm off all round. Then the manufacturer did the same. I don't know what industry standards there are, but I would think at least they pay for the extra cost in finishing this.

Would have cost what? And prob wouldn't address these issues which became apparent. A day's pay to sort it will be best value, and probably always was the best way. JM83 You are not losing out.