saveasteading

How deep is that soft ground? A while ago you were discussing breaking granite out for trenches: is this handier than you had expected?

Hi. And we are another 40???? miles south. Good luck. Allow plenty of time. Our building warrant 'should' have been through 6 weeks ago but goes back week by week. Ask away on specifics. What has surprised me... Timber is not cheaper even though there are forests and timber mills all around. Websites of companies are poor, and response is slow. We are not greeted with any enthusiasm by potential suppliers...'tell us what you want and we will price it' Prices are not fixed for long because of all the Brexit/energy/Putin stuff. 'Free next day delivery anywhere in the UK' means sometime next week and an extra £60. Skilled labour rates are high. Positives How relaxed and friendly people are. The properly fresh air. Quarry stone is very high quality and better value. Work ethic is good, as is pride in the job......mostly. Not as wet a climate as is generally thought. My mantra for economy in the process is not just getting discounts, but avoiding over-design and any waste. And it is worth getting a good relationship with a handy builders' merchant who delivers without any questions on order size/access etc.

They keep the cats off your beans if applied appropriately. Try some beans straight in the ground and some on the windowsill, either in compost (no peat) or just on wet kitchen paper. If you can get them started quickly then you get a longer cropping period...but sometimes they rot indoors rather than germinate. Then report back please, as the nation is watching.

Keep an eye on them and if they get no worse it should be ok. If that wall was going to crack then these would be the expected locations. Most/ all walls crack but it is hardily noticeable. The white render emphasises it. How wide are they? (pound coin is the definitive indicator) However, assuming the walls are masonry, I would expect the cracks to follow the shapes of bricks/blocks/stones. What do you know about the construction, and if these are old or getting bigger?

Isn't distemper made of lime? I wouldn't fancy brushing brick acid overhead, but it might speed things up on the wall......NB I don't know and maybe this would be a bad thing. Only after scraping as a first process.

Welcome. Lots of info on here already, from a lot of knowledgeable, but still learning, enthusiasts.

All the above +1. So called permeable paving is concrete with gaps. So these gaps need to be kept clean. Then the water needs a thick bed of single sized stone to hold it until it goes away.....somewhere...or not. Much simpler to slope it off to the side into a soakaway. Re the cost, a professional could easily rise to that with nice thick subbase and kerb etc. Not that i know if it really did, or was just highly priced. If it included a dropped kerb and they are la approved then it is a decent price.

For a few mm just silicone. A named one as it needs to be stand a lot of weather and uv, and you dont want to be doing that again.

The instructions for our Geberit were in 'no words' international code, so it was quite hard work to follow. It was actually easy enough once understood, because, as Nick says, there weren't as many variables as expected. I expect numbers 2 to 5 become very straight forward. The frame has not budged. Unfortunately the same was not the case for the pan, where a very long key tightens a very flimsy looking plastic lock nut onto the hanging bolts. We perhaps got scared of overtightening and cracking it, and it slowly loosened. Next time was ultra tight and has been fine since. It is one of those undignified plumbing jobs lying on your back, holding up a heavy object while doing intricate assembly.

If there is a gap, then insects will enter and live in the eaves. Bees and wasps mine into PIR. Whether that is good or bad is another discussion.

Forgot to mention that tlc sell some with optional lenses to change the angle of light spread. Useful with low or high ceilings, to get an even spread.

They are available with a tilting feature. Have had them from TLC (which were used on a sloping soffit) and from SF simply to be adaptable in a kitchen. Whether the tilt is enough for your circumstances you would have to check. As above...some units are very shallow and others remarkably deep. Catalogues' spec's should say.

Have used it for exactly this reason, in school corridors etc, and it certainly works. Of course boarding used behind wc fittings etc. But normal use doesn't need it, or benefit. In fact the board can stress the all a bit and bend studs, especially metal ones.

From experience, please be sure you understand the principle of how laser (or other )levelling works before going this direction. It isn't a concept that everyone easily grasps. As you putting this in to tie in with an existing upper floor, there may be a better solution.

Not necessarily. Precast stairs have to be craned in (or forklift) so needs access. (roof off). Also' like any product, they can have errors of dimensions or brackets but are not easy to adapt. And, unless things have changed, they come in standard sizes so you may end up with a slope on the treads. This is from experience of a flight not filling the space available, requiring a pause, conversations and site works, and a return of the crane. But strong and silent once in place. OR cast on site, so effectively a temporary timber stair as a shutter. Double the cost of oak, treble the cost of pine.

I therefore withdraw my last comment. Checking the instructions sounds like the crucial thing. flammable materials to be kept apart by xxxmm. Looking into this for myself I find that steel tube comes in an amazing variety of sizes...perhaps a local stockholder has a small piece for your link. Ahh but if it is all out of sight, what is wrong with the aluminium slinky pipe.

Has this subject come up because you feel you need to appease the planners, or because you really want it yourself? I can't recall any planning permission being approved/rejected solely because of 'eco-design'. It is always more eco-friendly not to build at all. It could feasibly swing a marginal decision I suppose, but at great expense, and limiting the design options. You are also right that straw/ hemp/ lime are things that appeal, because they sound natural, and hence could appeal to non-experts such as councillors and planners (who are not technical people). Hence if you want to go with straw, the pitch is easy. If you don't want to go with straw then you sell whatever you do choose on its merits. That takes knowledge, research and presentation skill , but it is interesting, satisfying, and helps you tweak your project even more to practical and realistic carbon reduction. 'Use less stuff' is my mantra, but not much understood by the professions. Also build in that an efficiently built building that is in use and has adapted to changing lifestyles after 100 years is a success, and more sustainable than one made of trendy materials that lasts 50 years.

No, especially as it will be very warm. Every year I bring the boxes of decorations down from the attic and the duct tape has come loose. attic temperatures +30 to -5? Even if it worked, it won't look good to anybody peeking behind. But what about plastic connected to the metal of the stove? Bringing in cold air obviously, but are there any instructions about the proximity of plastic? Intuitively I don't think plastic within 200mm is safe. The kits include aluminium flexy tube but it is ugly. I am really surprised that the stove suppliers don't offer a steel tube for the transition. A piece of metal tube 80mm, and that connector from Conor would be ideal. In the short term, won't the air flow freely from the pipe to the back of the stove?

Can be very different to here. The challenge with the British climate is dampness. All year, never drying out dampness, never hot nor cold enough to kill the bugs off, so that rots and moulds can thrive. That would be my worry re straw. And do any farmers use straw buildings to protect even their tractors? I don't say don't, and I realise I seem very negative, but I would want evidence of a long-term success in UK climate. Watch out for the Ayrshire cows eating your house. As ProDave says, the planners don't care: it is not in their remit. As I say, there are other ways to do sustainable construction, without gimmicks. Cement is bad, yes I know, but use lime in ground improvement and masonry. Use reclaimed materials. Most of all, use a good designer, yourself included, who does not give you cautious designs using more material than is necessary. Basically use less stuff, by efficient design. Timber building with timber cladding and timber fibre insulation? Fleece insulation if you can afford it. On lime improved ground, with locally reclaimed aggregates, and lime instead of concrete where you can? All drainage to soakaway. ASHP and solar. And keep us informed please.

Neither do I. I don't rate it actually and I study every method with an open mind. It is a very big deal to build a house, and the risks are huge when you depart from the norms. For one thing there is unlikely to be a builder locally who has done this. And for a second thing, the interfaces seem to be clunky. However, if you have seen successful finished houses (perhaps 10 years on for the effect of weather and creatures) then I will bow to your greater knowledge. Are there any 50 years old to completely dispel my doubts?

I recommend chatting to one or more local Structural/Civil Engineers. They will probably get your site up on the pc while you talk. Being on their patch, they will 95% know what they are going to find even before digging any holes, and how that affects construction, drainage etc. They are also more likely to request a couple of simple holes rather than expensive boreholes (subject to what they expect of course), than someone less expert or less local. You will also get to meet at least one of them while the hole is dug , get some free advice on the site, and see if you like their attitude. Get a quote from them first of course, after discussing what they will want to do.

On which: Sometimes the cheapest silicones will do the job, and you would wonder why the big names are so expensive. But sometimes it can be poor. I wouldn't even assume that one 'own brand' or budget purchase was the same as the next as the retailers probably shop around to the cheapest manufacturer, then use the same name. eg Stickslike say £8 Gripfill at say £3 No nonsense £2 The latter is possibly better for a skirting to plaster because it is thin and runny, and sits tight. (Gripfill a bit lumpy.) But useless for timber to masonry...because it is thin and runny. Silicone the same, as the cheaper stuff will sometimes fil a gap, but often need a second application.

They are both said not to shrink, which matters in this scenario. Assuming that one tube will suffice, this probably isn't the time to try the budget options.

Energy in equals energy out. So what is the difference? I shall try. In no particular order. I don't think they are (can be) more or less efficient, but behave differently. With pug the material absorbs heat before heating the room, so there is more energy stored in the room. When the door or window opens, the warm air escapes from both scenarios, but the warmed floor remains. When the heat source is off, the pug continues to warm feet and lower body, and the room. The pug allows the system to run at lower input temperatures/ offpeak for longer, perhaps with the feed at the lowest and most efficient, temperature. I look forward to any conflicting or additional thoughts.

What a fun discussion. I should clarify that I am in favour of interesting places and spaces. How dull it would be if all buildings were entirely designed as weatherproof with no other function. My point though is that no building should leak or rot. If an Architect does not have the skills to ensure this then it should still be their responsibility to engage someone who does. And they should take responsibility for failure, as the Engineers and contractors more often do. I am well aware that some architecture graduates have not been exposed to practical design and are even told that it is not their responsibility. (Ditto costs). Other uni's encourage mixing with engineers and are expected to at least consider practicality. On holiday I go to see Engineering marvels and Architectural triumphs. Most of them are very attractive and also very old. Some are more modern, and many of these have had issues. Somewhere I have a newspaper cutting from an architectural journalist bemoaning the demolition of a modern church in Glasgow. It always leaked, then it rotted, and it was not much used. Just before some lobby had it listed as a very special building, the Church authority demolished it. Well done them say I for the final solution, but not for accepting a failed building in the first place. But to the journalist, the building (and similarly a seminary not so far away) the building was a triumph, and somebody should keep and maintain it. I really can't see how they can suggest that, but perhaps someone can explain that mindset. Maxdavie, I think we are all with you on your project. Innovation is great, and so are proven techniques. I'm happy to keep looking at it with you, and I feel we have just begun.