saveasteading

Balconies are nice to have if: The view is good (or in a city, acceptable). It provides the only opportunity for a few plants. Or for Storing bicycles in undersized flats. Hanging out the washing.

Science is research and experiment and theory. Not agreeing is part of the testing process. Once something is accepted fact it isn't science any more. 'Scientists not agreeing' is a common excuse for ignoring advice. Selective use of science is not science.

Perhaps not. Some would pay no attention to dimensions, shapes and spans.

There is usually a relatively small bracket to the wall, taking a lot of vertical, load, trying to twist the bracket off the wall. I've only fitted them once, on a steel building. As you say, planning ahead is important. We put vertical steels behind each bracket. In timber frame it would be similar.

The small digger has a pincer grabber attachment for lifting the big stones. Without that it wouldn't be possible.

Not buttons. That would be wierd.. all those bits of wire....

Having a large pile of harvested granite, the team were inspired to use it for some serious landscaping. I'm impressed enough to show it here. Not bad for amateurs.

Why not decide what floor you want, then look up the manufacturers blurb re ufh. Then we can work on a solution.

I always thought electricians were surprisingly untidy, for people doing precise work. Then I discovered CK automatic wire strippers. When all these buttons fall from ceiling height into someone else's mess, then who is going to sweep it up?

Team, let's get this right. One brise soleil. Two brises soleils.

Ahhh. 2 different things, sorry. I meant the principle of keeping water in rather than out. A swimming pool is tiled of vinyl lined. Bentonite is a very heavy mineral, mixed as a dust in water to fill trenches in very heavy Civil Engineering, but I came across it in membrane form. No issues with the basement after 8 years.

I guess so. Ask away.

We've just fitted carpet on ufh.* Special underlay has a large proportion of gaps. Then the carpet must also be open textured. For laminate I don't know how this can be achieved. I would worry about timber laminate over ufh. *Scottish rules sensibly require a bedroom on the ground floor. The rest is tiled.

Yes that works too. Depends on the structure to some extent. Have you otherwise left a gap?

The thermal bridge can be broken but it is complex and costly. Brises soleils are also expensive and need serious fixing to the walls as they are sails. They must be modelled to suit the actual sun direction....many are fixed without thought ...or useful effect. Balconies are also tricky to drain without risk of wetting the house. 4 leg retrofit with a small gap to the house is my choice.

Yes. It can sometimes be worth finding what they would rather not have to do. Builders work basically. So holes in joists, ducts, patching up after. For example, we were doing a daughter's grott kitchen up. Electrician quoted £1500 and refused to chase the walls or work in the ceiling. So I chased the walls and fed wires through the joists, cut holes for downlighters and got a different electrician to join up and connect( £300) It took me several days. On new build there is much less advantage, but you could ask.

Yes but... As a designer and contractor we never used drawings provided by the client. By this stage their previous consultants were probably not involved. There was too much risk of errors which would become our problem. However, if we provided our cad drawings to our SE ( I sublet most of it for client comfort) then they would use it happily. Likewise suppliers with design input were happy to use them. So yes, ask for them, but they may decline because of potential liability for dimensional errors. This happened before cad. One Architect colleague would draw precisely but then trace as if freehand. Another Architect drew in pencil, and studiously removed all dimensions before handing over as "client's requirements".

It varies. On our project the original owner did this and got an official certificate to confirm the project was commenced as far as planning was concerned. In the past i used to put up site level control posts, paint them red and white and send photos to the planner. They dont accept that any longer. I had a project (English) that was coming close to the 3 years but client still wanted to delay. I discussed with the bco what he regarded as sufficient to constitute commencement. He suggested drains or a foundation, but that required detailed design, which we would have to do and present and get checked..that is the downside of the trench, if you don't have the building designed above it. So we agreed that stripping the site and hardcoring would do for the work. But we also submitted a section of drain design so had something technical to approve. That way we had correspondence and a site apptoval visit....but had to pay half his fee. That to show that sometimes a lot is required. If your bco ssys doing a footing is enough then go for it. I wouldn't dig a useless trench nearby. It isn't part of the work and an astute bco would know. So if, and only if, you know the position , depth and width of a footing, then i think i would concrete it. Just a 3m section or so perhaps. 3m x 0.6 x 0.6 = 1m3 of concrete approx. The builder can mix that on site, so no access issues.

If the tree and soil combinatiin present a grpund heave issue, then the ground will need at least a year to recover, or you could design deeper foundations as if he trees were there. How naughty is it? I haven't hesitated to remove poor quality trees, having taken pictures first. Once even got an arboriculturalist (phew) to condemn them. If they are large attractive trees then i would think twice, or more. Not just naughty but might sway opinion against the application.

Plenty, but do what suits you. Laying blovks is less work than mixing concrete. 150mm or 125mm into the concrete is enough for the rods. Ballast is also fine. It is a designed mix so that the small stones fit between the big ones, then the sand between them. Then the cement is simply an adhesive rather than a filler. If you bought concrete it wouldn't be much different, except the price. 0.5m3 at £120 but then add 5m3 empty at about £40. £260 ish. Ballast.

Don't forget clips to hold them together. And bases. Neither will be common second hand as they get lost and broken.

For lowest cost, wait for a very dry summer so you can dig a big hole. Then build it. Otherwise you are looking at coffer dams: sheet piling that will allow you to dig. Then build a waterproof floor and walls: an inside out swimming pool. So you line the underside and outside. The concrete has to not crack much. Last one I did we used a bentonite membrane. It self heals if it is punctured or torn. Then either cover, or install a sump and pump. So your £15,000 car hoist will need a £75,000 hole in the ground. Even in central London that might not be worth doing.

A self-builder wants to fill an infinite hole with spheres to maximise the void space for drainage. All the same size. Should they use spheres the size of peas, golf balls or cricket balls? If you know, perhaps smugly don't answer yet.

It should all be no fines. I did buy a bag recently that was a bit mucky (some sand ) and would have rejected it if it had mattered.

The new ones all seem to come from the English Midlands. You are south of the despicable surcharge line at Drumochter. I hate to think of the origins and conditions of the used ones you are quoting. Prob not stolen as such, just bought cheap. Or backhanders to site managers.