saveasteading

When we used a timber frame company for the first time, we could see things were hand to mouth. Felt like our deposit was buying another client's timber. Ended up agreeing the next cheque was on delivery. That was 15 years ago...what is wrong with this section of the industry that they need so much upfront, and can't use secure accounts/ have insurances? The construction industry does not otherwise work like this.

On a positive note. If you have the funds and time, then you have the huge advantage of being able to stop and think, ornto sack a contractor or cancel an order while you shop around again. The basic shape is good. Rectangular is good. Pointers to reduce cost and maintenance: No gutters or rwp shown. Please keep them external. Valley gutter...design the building around this...substantial with spare outlets and overflow, and assume you will have to clear it twice a year. (I'm really saying can you design it out?) Eaves detail needed. Thats a lot of wood, shown newly cut or treated. Allow for treatment if you want that colour, not grey. Dont assume sips. Shop around.

Big finders, smoll screan. I hearbuy alogopise for this anf past and fewchur occcurunces.

Developers pay to get topsoil taken away. Transport and disposal. Most is dumped on farms. They then buy in screened topsoil at the end of the job. There is no value in yours. In fact there is a risk as it could contain chemicals or banned plants. You might know that it doesn't, but nobody else does. Dumping knotweed can incur a jail sentence. It is certainly full of weed seeds, if not roots. 2 sensible options. Keep it on site for raising flower beds. Pile it high for 6 months and the weeds will rot away. Let that farmer have it, on the basis that he presumably has procedures.

It is not "fun". It is a huge commitment with all your eggs in the basket. If you are comfortably off, with time on your hands then that reduces the economic risk. If you manage it yourself you might make some money. If you diy a lot then that saves more as you are effectively earning a tax free wage....if you are good at it and fast. Do not underestimate the risk. The unkwown unknowns apply even to experts. We mostly do this for quality and personalisation (is that a proper word?) rather than gain. But from your report we can see that you are a risk taker, and have skilfully/ determinedly overcome obstacles. Is this the time to bank on the success, or to hope that you master construction management equally well?

Snips it is then.

Can a normal chop saw be adapted with a metal blade, and bundling the channel with a square of wood, and cutting through the lot?

Sitting on EPS! Rather thick, presumably for a good reason.

I would prefer them to rest on the sill, if possible. That could be with a rubber or brush strip to avoid chafing. This will provide a better seal, and is likely to cause the joints to close, thus strengthening it against wind. Also, some blknds have small holes at the joints, for dappled light, and onlh close up when fully lowered. I suspect some of this is not a matter of choice...what do the instructions say?

I wouldn't count on the software ever being accurate. As i have said here before, i have met some of the people who built and support it, and wasn't impressed. They have been told since the scheme started that it had these massive logic flaws, as well as glitches. For a better rating, solar panels may take some time to fit after completion, but it doesn't delay the signing off.

Should be fine then. The timber spreads the load, then so does the screed. The deeper it is, the further it spreads it out. Same principle as walking on any soft surface with flat feet as opposed to heel first...spreads the load.

While clamping the metal very tightly. A pro metal worker (or tiler for trims) uses RH, LH and straight snips. It is still a skill with the right kit.

What they say. It is also possible that the architects have varying knowledge or skills in cost levels. You could ask for references for similar projects they have gone. Virtual reality, as they are calling it, does not necessarily cost much more. If they design from the outset using a 3D suite, then any view is available, and then gets used for detailed construction drawings. But a few sketches for planning (with another go at detail later will) cost much less than detailed 3D design from the outset..but not that much difference.

What is intended above the pir?

The floor loading is mostly concentated point loads, from furniture. A chair placed on pir, when sat on, would go stright through. But put it on a plywood base, say, or paving slab, and the load is spread over a bigger area that the pir can support. In real life we have a screed over the pir. In very approximate terms, the load from the chair leg is spread at 45°. Depending on the screed thickness, the load is now spread over about 10 x the area, and pir can handle that. Might look at a worked example later. As above, there is a limit, and a bath or bookcase at an outside wall might be worth checking out. In commercial situations pir would fail, so other solutions are necessary.

As a business we hardly ever had a client who cared. So we just had to pass regs. We knew the decent figure we would get ( about 3), and used standard details so always to that standard. Saved the cost of an air test (many hundreds, even thousands, for a big building) and the time in stopping the trades, and still passed every time with the default leakage. That required detailed understanding of the building. Lots of our buildings are out there with C certificates that are really performing as B+.

It takes hours to input properly, so costs a lot. Thereafter, any tweaks and corrections are easy though. If ever buyers start to care about epc , then proper assessments might become more valuable.

Yes. Some fabric fails in light (obv not fit for purpose), and creates a dreadful, unclearable mess of plastic in the ground. Any fabric that is uv stable will say so on the wrapping and the manufacturer's website. You would expect any known brand or stocked by BM to be OK, but ask. The unwoven ones are generally better at weed resistance as the roots of seedlings can't wriggle down between the weaves. On the mess. The similar looking fabric used for big bags of aggregate tend to fall apart too, so check them occasionally.

I now always continue flooring under units. Getting an appliance in or out is very tricky with a step, and there is increased risk of the worktop being low. Also, a dishwasher' feet might not slide on a plain concrete surface. The material could be changed to save cost. Another option might be to surface only where an appliance will go. What if I replace or reform the kitchen and expose some floor? Only you can answer the chances of that.

It's all currently mixed in the mulch pile. Presumably any nodes not destroyed will try to grow then fail in the pile.

@SteamyTea @OnOff and others: Will we be having a 'How does your garden grow' feature again?

Does that become thousands of potential growing nodes? I have them in the pile of mulch, hoping they will die off there, but fear they are lying in wait for when I put them on the flower beds. Yesterday I found lots of bramble 'trunks' among the shrubs I thought I had cleared of them. They made the mistake of turning green while shooting up. It is a constant war.

AXT 2000-HP. It won't take sticks more than about 30mm, but those get lopped into kindling so it suits me. The big thing it does is, being a worm drive, it drags the stick through...you can walk away, and it takes the twig and leaf stuff with it. It just gets dragged in. That saves ages. With too much wet stuff it can stall, so I keep some dry sticks aside which will always engage and take the bits with it.

Reflective window foil placed by experts. Otherwise you will get ugly bubbles in it. You can choose the tint, or no colour for uv only.

I will look in the shed to see if it still has any markings. Looks similar to this. I suspect the innards have not changed