saveasteading

Seems these shower units cost about £500, then add for plumbing in and building into the floor (and insulating!). SAY £800? Prob not enough but helps the sums. One manufacturer claims £20 saving per user per year. 4 users means 10 year payback. So worth considering. Would need to see proof though, as cynical me thinks perhaps it is an easy way to buy sap points on a project that would better be redesigned.

Yes, but these are not about to be knocked down. And they are very big, terraced buildings, so the external walls are a small proportion. But pink paint doesn't help, so perhaps I sm missing your point.

Two different things. If you know this area of Edinburgh, these are classic Georgian buildings, relying on symmetry. She has had her moment of fame and can now repaint appropriately, as she could have done when first instructed. Then can add draightstrip etc. Prob has an inner lobby anyway. Actually, 600 masonry then lath and plaster won't be that bad for heat loss.

Interesting. More detail please or direct me to the info.

You have a local councillor so speak to them. They will likely talk to highways and planning. The council may then be interested in having the fence removed. At worst you may find that the council or other party claims it is theirs snd you can't use it, but that sounds better than the current grab. Any idea why the neighbour thinks it is theirs? Are there any manholes etc on the area?

I'd say forget it. The waste water goes out as fast as you can make it, and it is very complex, and expensive, to try to use it to heat incoming water or air. For example i once saw a shower tray designed to warm the incoming cold water. It was clever, but involved a lot of pipework, a big hole in the floor, and the routing of the cold feed under the tray. Leaving the bathwater to cool into the room is as far as i would go. A fan will bring the excess warm air down to the floor from the ceiling. If switched to blow upwards it also avoids the feeling of draughts. Call it heat recovery and award yourself some sap points.

It was a summary of a Lloyd's bank forecast yesterday, and that it would affect their mortgage risk assessments. So yes, prob a SE issue mostly.

Clay heave of the orangery with shallow founds, attached to an immovable house. Understood. But I am unaware of clay heaving below 4m as it should be constantly damp. Maybe a clay I don't know of. My point is not the differential movement but why 24m piles. I'd like to know if anyone can clarify. Or perhaps the worry was more of the house sliding on the hillside. Is it steep?

I don't agree, having refurbished 2 listed buildings for ourselves. One a mix of 1600s and 1880. The other 1920s as wrongly categorised as by famous architect. It is right that they are protected. Planners were fine about sympathetic changes and additions. In both cases the buildings are admired and part of the 'street scene'. Both were discounted at the price by builders for the commercial reasons above. So the price reflected the work required it was affordable to us, and I have the knowledge. To build and resell quickly would have required much more cost but for own use these things are done in stages. Agreed, the insulation can never be to modern standards. But these are still admired and valued buildings.

I got a stack for tensioning sports netting and it was not expensive. If I could remember where I would tell...interweb , Southampton?

Some thoughts. Ignore repeats, and apologies for missing any vital points....I haven't retead it all. More reasons for rebuilding it flatter. Doors won't open on that slope, especially long, heavy ones. Water will overwhelm the aco unless cleaned often. Little cars with little wheels will really struggle. Chances of hurtling into the house? Railway buffer advised or F1 type tyre barrier. I'd expect the setts to come up cleanly for reuse. The wax will surely rub off with spinning tyres. Would an S / OG shape profile help, so it is flatter top and bottom but the middle bit steeper?

This sort of cabling and accessories are available from stock from boat specialists.

6 person is about £1,700 + vat, from marsh, delivered. Fibreglass and very tidy. Discuss any tech stuff with Marsh but orders are through any bm. 4 person obv should be less. Yes, air bubbles preferred to anything mechanical. There is an extra shallow one but costs more.

Not on clay surely? Perhaps if on silt. 4m would be usual in clay. But yes, changing the foundation type so dramatically is likely to cause trouble.

House prices to fall 8%? The developers will be slowing down until they can ensure their normal 30% profits. That will affect labour and materials, but it normally takes many months for the reality to show in quotes.

Just a bit more to add to Gus' excellent explanation. There is nothing magic about 450mm depth, probably originally foot and a half, but it is a good guide to how deep frost will go in the uk. Frost and freezing causes changes to the ground as explained. If you were in an area that gets especially cold or for long periods then the frost can creep deeper. My own house was built from timber in the 1920s. It has 2 bricks above dpc, then 2 below on 150 concrete. So not remotely 450mm. The house moves up and down seasonally, mostly through clay shrinkage, causing doors to stick. But it is still standing, even the brick chimneys. I have often designed buildings with 450 or 500 deep edge strips where they are not structural. It works nicely with 2 blocks, and keeps the strip and internal slab safe from frost. Hence also 450 or so depth for water pipes.

Or leave the chimney in place and find a use for it. A floral display perhaps, or storage. We only fitted the gallows bracket because the wall was already gone, and the chimney propped on the joists. These houses work using the chimney as a major part of the structure and a ventilator. Doing a proper job will be disruptive and expensive. Who knows what the next wave of buyers will think. Perhaps they will value the chimney or fear that it has been removed.

With no offending trees you don't need to go deep, so piling should be unecessary (it is expensive). It might be worth incorporating the existing piles but it will depend on type of pile, the beam of slab design, and positioning. Good fun for your SE.

I analysed the quants /estimate commissioned by one of our tradesmen , who readily offered that it 'looked a bit high'. Though skilfully enough prepared, there was doubling up and lots of waste allowance. That waste could have been real with a cavalier joiner. You could also argue that there are always omissions and unknowns, so it works out. In real life we worked out a price thst worked for us and him. One element of the work is costing a third of the original estimate.....which happens to equal my own forecast. Tip...it is easy to get bogged down in detail. Stand back and have your own stab at the total cost of any element. How long will it take? Rule of thumb is 40/40/20 % for labour, plant and materials. Then add oncosts and profits esp if using a bigger company.

If the tree was there when the house was built then it needed footings of over 2m, or piles.

I don't agree. Get it right as it is your house. Then the bco will agree anyway. Oaks at 35m have no effect. Hawthorns have very little effect.

TS discount is stated as 5%. Even then, there always seem to be conditions when I have asked. Maybe they have local promotions. For me they are handy for availability but many prices are high/ opportunist. Ditto / more so at SF

This seems over complex. 4 layers of vapour barrier of different types whereas one out and one in should do. Plywood on the frame will make it very much stronger, laterally and vertically, so that is a great idea. I'm not a fan of foil insulation if there are other options. 6" between the studs as shown is a good start. Then some non- conducting liner over the studs. What external facing have you in mind?

You might find there is less waste that way too. Too easy to pick up a nice new coil every time. Then there Is the other sort of 'wastage'. I only supplied cable once as it was obvious a lot was stolen: not nec by the electrician.

You are allowed to trade off insulation in the floor against the walls and roof. Not the best idea if you have UFH*, but worth thinking about if the depth us critical. * esp when the floor has cold air under it.