saveasteading

If was in charge: 0% on all insulation, diy or installed, starting tomorrow.* All waste timber goes into a government supplied skip and goes for chipping. A charge only for being underweight (poor loading), otherwise free. Zero vat on all rebuild to discourage demo and starting again (mainly a London problem?). No building on agricultural land suitable for crops. Every new building must have a proportional area of solar on the roof, and be facing the right way. This can be included in EPC/SBEM. but not traded off. All new developments get a proportion of units air tested at random by a well-paid and officious government inspector, not the units chosen by the developer and their own preferred tester. I thought I had more....they will come to me. This would be a good time for 90% of the populace to accept these. *This seems so obvious that there must be some reason why the establishment don't want it.

No. Your new contract with him is £1,500 and the main contract is irrelevant. You must write to him, recorded delivery, well worth the small extra cost, to say that the sum paid is in full and final settlement of the sum which was agreed before the works. It is fair to pay the full sum you are happy with. That would make any claim very difficult for him.

If you keep it tidy there is minim al chance of any damp, and what there might be would be in insignificant. If nervous about it you could circle each fixing with a sealer, then the sole plate would squidge it tight, and complete the seal.

30 slugs and snails on or around my courgettes last night. 3 on the courgette, most happy with the old daffodil leaves. 3 or 4 or 5 big snails appeared to be in a slimy entanglement, so good timing moving them on. They have gone to visit the shrubbery. I had cut back the daffodils thinking they were a likely lurking place, and so it seems to have been. Hoping for just a few tonight. Very soon 🤞 the plants will be tougher and higher and so safe.

Immaculate logic. The Mediterranean way, applicable for only a few days per year here. Closing blinds and curtains (shutters better) towards the sun to be added to this list. If thermal mass was a real thing, you could imagine them giving off their heat during this process, ready to absorb more heat the next day.

As I expected. so you have three slabs now with no continuity of the reinforcement. In theory the slab can swivel at these points. In practice it shouldn't matter, as it is for a shed and reinforcement may not be necessary.

I came across a tip that a rhubarb stalk removes the black stain. Acid on a handy fibrous stalk. It did work perhaps 50% but did not get out the deeper stains.

Charcoal left in the ash is good for the ground so don't overdo it.

Same concrete as the slab. A screed is the easy and cheap option for them, especially if using your bag of sand. Screed would not be concrete, and I assume you wanted a concrete slab, not a screed one. They can go to Wickes and get 2 or 3 bags of ballast and a bag of cement. NOT diluted with your sand. Was there reinforcement in the concrete?

Ok good. I don't think you need permission, and the authorities would rather you didn't ask.

Good point. Many small builders have insurance found in the small ads in The Sun. The cheapest cover that can provide a piece of paper. You need to see the actual cover details, not just a front certificate. The exclusion clauses can be shocking. eg No works below ground level. No works above 3m. The policy holder only. No hired in machinery. Working under the supervision of the client's project manager. etc. You cant insist on seeing this as it is the neighbour's project, but you can perhaps help them along. That is what many people believe, and don't think they need permission in any way.

It will rot eventually, even treated, starting at the ends and rotting inwards. Before the rot, there will be damp ingress. It is not concrete so they have not completed the job. It was a silly (or inexpert) idea to cast them in, so let them learn to be less silly and more expert by removing them and infilling with concrete. It will be difficult to get the timbers out and the concrete will be damaged locally, but they can repair it. Complete the job before payment!

That pile of sticks on the left looks very attractive for invertebrates. My beans and courgettes are still attracting night time nibbling. 1 slug found under an adjacent pot today. growth = munched area so far. Perhaps a torch-lit inspection is required.

Excellent. Yes that will look good from widows above. The gravel is not 'a requirement' by any rules I know but is a good solution to potential issues that are not always dealt with. If plants die or trees sprout*/ birds die on the roof, have you got safe access? *Very likely with woods around). I would have thought that water from the green roof could be cleaner than direct runoff from the main roof and gutters. If you looked in a gutter you wouldn't drink the water, but the green roof is filtering any 'deposits'. Only guessing though.

You know that is the right solution really.

Are you sure that is all? Floor, and insulation likely to be 300 thick, and foundations 900mm/1m deep. Your neighbour has to organise all permissions. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/preventing-and-resolving-disputes-in-relation-to-party-walls/the-party-wall-etc-act-1996-explanatory-booklet I found it amusing that this is published by the dept currently called 'Department for Levelling Up'. Not 'digging down and undermining my house'.

BUT do not start the building works, even if certain of approval. In England there is nothing to stop you building without permission, except that you may be made to take it down again. And building reg's can be retrospective, albeit it could be awkward and require opening up. In Scotland there is a very big fine for starting works without a warrant (3 x the fee plus being made to stop), there is no such thing as a Building Notice, and conditional approval (details to follow) seems unusual. We had 50 queries (25 first time round , then change of inspector and another 25) and all had to be answered in full and put on the drawings.

You'd better put some green stuff on it then. I am not against green roofs, but they cannot usually be justified on 'carbon' alone as they require the extra material in the roof, and sometimes walls and foundations too. plus the membranes. For attracting insects and birds ok, and better to look at than a felt roof. What I don't approve of is an automatic tick for being 'green' if it hasn't been thought through. Importing ready grown sedums in plastic trays and plonking them on a roof doesn't do much for the environment in my opinion. But I could be wrong. For an admittedly large building, I calculated the pros and cons of a green roof pre-planning. It added a lot to the structure and founds. On carbon it would never have paid back the input. Also it would have prevented light rain from reaching the rainwater harvester. That pic above is clever, in avoiding growth at the edges. Do keep us informed though. the choices, the logic and the practice.

It can be done. There are downlighters that grip to the sides of the hole rather than over the top. Cutting the lath requires patience and strengh and a good cap to keep filth off your hair, and a very sharp core drill. Even then it will snatch and twist your wrist.

Certainly not, you are taking best advice and doing a thorough job. Ahh I see.. yes put it everywhere you can. If it isn't protecting flammable materials it is keeping the chimney cosy and aiding extraction.

After checking the weight and the strength of the roof, and also putting down a specific root-proof membrane on the roof. Or don't. A suitable surface of earth will add about 40kg/m2 to the roof weight, and then it gets wet. Few roofs are designed for this weight.

Right. No bean has ever untied a RT + 2 HH. The beans will wrap around the strings when higher, but often need some help when tiny, using little sticks, especially branchy ones.

Assuming the electric company will connect to your temporary board, it has to be perfect or they won't. Then there is possibly the spare length of cable for when you transfer to permanent position. It is all rather technical, especially the earthing (to me a non-electrician). Much as I like to cut out the middle man I think leave this to the expert. Earthing used to mean banging a spike into the ground, but now they may take readings.

I have 2 beans that are 100mm high and have planted them in the ground.....3 snails and 4 slugs were lurking but have gone away. Also a clump of sweet peas to attract insects. The adjacent courgette is growing leaves slightly faster than they are being eaten. I only have 2 more beans growing, very slowly. Most have rotted in the pots, either through being old stock or too much water. So I have also planted some more beans direct in the ground. If they grow that will look like clever succession planting for a longer season. Headline news. The shallots are bolting, which isn't perfect, as that is the biggest they will grow.

If it says non-combustible then it is.... and it does. You should wrap / squeeze it in tight and make sure there are no gaps. For fun, try setting light to a small offcut. It should neither burn nor melt. Once the stove is working throw another small offcut onto the fully heated fire....and it will likely melt and revert to sand, but not burn, but that is a higher temperature than in the flue.