saveasteading

It is simple really, and related to clear span and load. Planks span a long way but are heavy to lift, a pain at any changes in dimension, and have a significant camber. Commercial use usually. Specialist installation. Beam and block can span further than timber and are more solid, and lend themselves to middling spans, light commercial. If a house is designed to suit, then can compete with timber. Builders can install. Timber is for domestic spans, much easier to adapt to changes in shape, and can be cut/joined/nailed as required. Plus extra bits are available at any time.

I read you description before looking at the picture ProDave has copied. Doesn't look anything like as bad as i was expecting. Can you attach a few pics of the main concerns. Low resolution, not too many at this stage.

Yes damaged lots. They are seldom where shown. The good news is that it isn't fibre. All I have learnt is that the drawings are seldom accurate, the work is likely to not be to standard spec, but is likely to have followed the easiest route. Therefore it may be near the surface, not protected, and not marked by tape etc. They absolutely will charge for damage.

That makes a lot of sense, esp if it spreads the water further and helps the garden to grow. However the operation of the digester needs some balance of water for best results. The manufacturer can advise. I remember needing to increase digester size for a school' use because, excluding detail, the balance of contents differed from a domestic situation.

Nordan ordered this week. 12 weeks.

Ask the bco. As they haven't rejected the application outright, you know permission is coming. If you explain what you want to do and why, they 90% will allow it, if I understand your circumstances. Make it easy for them with a sketch and plan.

Sounds right to me. No point in breaking out solid rock to put back looser rock. You are right to ask the question. Keep doing so. Pictures too.

Why do you want to fill it?

Everybody above is correct. £250/ day not per hour , easy error to correct. Concrete at £200 / m3 is high. Stone by the lorry, and find what options available...type 1 spec'd as standard but ask for crushed concrete and other options. BUT first. Not knowing the circumstances of course, but my gut reaction on that slope is for beam and block, not raft. As well as saving materials it makes it all easy for traditional trades. Also removes retaining walls or banks that are not in your budget. Spend some of the saving on a good local SE. Question all suggestions politely and stress value. If you pay an SE for 10 hours work then they cannot test alternatives. The extra £1,000 can be repaid many times over IF you choose the right SE.

And that won't be outside the property.

OK. But if the sewer blocks, it is their building at risk. When you say 'agreed' is that not by the water company?

agreed. otherwise it can get very complicated. This will get your place back to a fit state, and no complications of proving where the money is allocated, or getting conflicting advice and slowing the works. Id think the insurance company would prefer it for the same reason, as there is scope for moving costs from one bill to the other. As a contractor, insurance work is not great. There are delays in decisions and usually in payment, too many parties to please, and a lot of risk of unknowns. so they will all sensibly add money for these. Plus it is London. Medway towns and their equivalent in all directions, emit hundreds of white vans into London every day, entailing at least 2 hours on the road which you have to pay for.

No problem with falling through the floor. That slab will have insulation on top of it which is very much weaker. But the foundations are very likely to be very small and shallow. Usually they need enlarging or underpinning, which can be a huge expense (If a barn moves and settles into the ground it is still good enough for hay or animals, If a house moves then the tiles crack, the drains stop working and the roof leaks and lots of other things.) Maybe you have additional columns or supporting walls that you have not mentioned. That can be a good solution. Ask your SE asap, to explain how this building is being upgraded to the necessary standards.

It depends. If the sunken area is clearly caused by the weight of vehicles (half a ton on each wheel just on 3 or 4 blocks), then relaying that area would suffice. (A) But if the rest might be loaded at some stage then it will probably settle too.(B) Sometimes lo-tech is best. Set aside the sunken blocks, lay up to bed level using sharp sand with a bit of cement. and compact it. Hire a vibrating plate for that, aiming for 30% or more discount on the list price. OR buy a tamping bar for £30, and get some free exercise. The thump from the bar gives you the confidence that the ground now carries a significant load. Any softer areas will be identified. Perhaps do the last 10mm in sharp sand loose, and keep it 2mm high, then the blocks can bed in. This may undulate a bit or move again, but should be very minor. You will need to grind off the nibs on the last blocks to go in. B. Lift all the blocks, compact the sub-base with your thumper, and it will very likely go down noticeably as you do. Where it has already sunk it may stay firm as the vehicle has done the work already. Check the level and bring it up to level with either sub-base (if thick) or sharp sand with some cement if thin, and compact it. Then, as you have a whole area, you can lay the blocks on the recommended depth of sharp sand, then vibrate the lot. Whether 20mm or more, the main thing is to allow for 10% settlement, and have the same thickness all over. https://www.wickes.co.uk/Wickes-Steel-Professional-Contractors-Rammer---1-245m/p/186866

Beware though of anything that might be considered part of the new construction as the penalty for starting without a warrant is severe. Therefore i would contact the BCO and say what you would like to commence. Then there won't be any issues, and your courtesy is likely to be noted. Avoids any surprise visits too, as they will be aware of why, for example, a digger might be working. For example, if I was a bco I would consider the construction of any drainage or treatment to be under the warranty: best clarify.

Well they would. Try your electric company direct and you will know for sure.

https://highwater.co.uk/contact Nairn and Stirling. They will readily tell you if your situation is not ideal, rather than just take the money.

Yes I understand. But if there is a fire they visit and look for the cause of the spread, then don't pay. If you never have a fire there is no problem. My moneysaving suggestion is to point out the low risks, as you have, and whether the door is necessary/ a help / or a danger.

Much as the comments above. Whacker over the surface is a waste of time. Road planings are absolutely fine instead of sub-base, unless it is very fine stuff from footpath toppings. In fact it binds better than pure stone. The possible downside would be that rain doesn't get through and away, but probably not the problem. Road planings would not compact well though without care and attention due to the sticky surfaces, but would later under wheel loading.. The usual issue is lack of compaction. Digger drivers generally assume that driving over it with their tracks will compact it , but it won't. Neither will a whacker plate do much other than the very surface. Also most groundworkers put down too much thickness and the bottom remains uncompacted. More explanation upon request. 2 options. a proper job requires you to relay the sub-base in thin layers. 50mm suggested if a whacker plate, (rather than a vibrating plate which wont do much). Then the sand bedding and blocks, using vibrating plate.* OR at your own risk. remove the area of sunken blocks and relay sharp sand to the required higher level, perhaps with a bit of cement in it. There is a strong chance of more settlement esp as it is tricky to predict how much the new sand will compact. But this would be f few mm. Also be aware that blocks never go back in the same are and you will have to grind some edges off the last line to go back in. Perhaps 20 years ago, the standard design for driveways was blocks on sub-base. But then they changed it to having a layer of concrete or tarmac beneath, as problems like yours were becoming common. * £299 from Aldi plus compulsory delivery charge, and the same machine is at toolsation for £600+. nice profits there But aldi wot deliver to Inverness, even though they have a store there.

Because Always assume an insurance company will try to find a reason not to pay up. If you don't do what the BCO requires then it is minor only in extent of works, not in risk of fire damage. My point really is that you could fit sprinklers, fit alarms, do a special door, and whatever else was suggested, all of them, and all the bco wants is the door. OR suggest the interlinked alarms ( which are now standard in Scotland) and ask if the door is still needed. I say this with some growling from the distant past when one fire officer insisted on some special measures in a particular situation, then another took over and required something completely different and discounted what his colleague had wanted. ie get the simplest/bes solution agreed by the person who matters, ie the bco. But take it out again at your own risk.

And may block up and need redrilling. If the supply is clean then it requires very little treatment. Ours emerges from a hillside with forest and moorland above. Even the theoretical dead sheep on the hill problem would be filtered out before the spring.

Is it worth asking the bco whether, if you fit the fire door you can ommit other precautions? I wonder what the insurance position would be if you remove a specifically required door.

It has lost the protection that the concrete gives to the reinforecement, so wll rust and fail over a year or 2. Cement paste or external filler in the cracks may give it some more life....but if the same has occurred underground then it is doomed.

We are having that, kitchen, stair, living room with no doors. Scottish rules, so interlinked fire alarms, and fire escape skylights. No sprinklers. Ceilings fire proof. If i didn't agree this was sensible then we wouldn't have proposed it. Early warning is fundamental. Too many designers can be a problem. Even 2 different fire officers or bcos will disagree and you end up with everything conceivable. If there was to be a fire in the kitchen, better hear and smell it and evacuate than it build up behind the closed fire door....in my opinion.

I don't imagine the planner is looking for work. If you can show that the replacement is no bigger then that should be ok. Especially (though unlikely perhaps) if the old building was never completely removed, it is more like repair than replacement. It may be more about the use than the building itself, so get rid of the mattresses and personal effects of your tenants or slaves, and park some barrows and tools. Seriously, if it is an office or some such, or has plumbing, they might not be happy.