saveasteading

That has always intrigued me. How can it have no factor of safety as an agricultural building , but suddenly be ok for domestic use. I asked a respected BCO and he said that this is not overlooked, hence most such need additional foundations. Perhaps yours has additional support.

Whatever the 'out' level is controls the level of the standing 'liquid'. Also we want the 'in' pipe to decant all its contents and not have anything left in it. So out should be 100mm or more lower than in. Whenever some liquid enters the tank, the same amount must leave, preferably cleaner, hence it needs some barrier to the stuff going straight through.

The chimney breast will contain another chimney from downstairs. Upstairs fireplaces in Victorian house were often very small, for a tiny coal grate. I would expect that all you can cut out is any bricks that narrow the opening but you can get your hand behind. Even then , this is dabbling with a standard construction so the condition of the building is important. At least you have the chimney. Many houses have them cut out to increase the room space, and very often without proper support in the loft. You will have responsibilities and conditions attached to your ownership/lease which must also be followed. SE required, and the answer may be no, you cannot do it. Alternatively apply for building regs and they may say yes or no from their experience, or require an SE. A picture would help.

If that was the only worry we would all be much happier.

I haven't re-read the regulations. However it is important to note that the great big document is of guidelines and suggested solutions. Only the little green section is 'the regulations'. Your challenge then is to propose a solution that deals with the supposed issue. As all sites are different the risks and solutions are also different. The reason for the distance is to allow the water to disappear and not to upset the foundations. The facts that the soakaway was a surprise, and that yours is far away will help the discussion too. Therefore a barrier between the two might work, or the foundations just a little deeper. If it has building regs approval, I assume this was before discovery of the existing soakaway. There is no guarantee of this being approved, and we would need to know much more before giving you more certainty.

Ok as a main contractor that was scrupulously fair... I didn't like extras. They are disruptive to the flow of the main works, and may distract key workers away from the key work. Some workers charge/earn a lot more than others and need to be charged for accordingly. The level of on-cost that a contractor needs to cover management, overhead, risk and some profit is high. It is usually concealed in an overall price but becomes apparent in small extra. If extras make the job longer then the costs of management and site equipment go up too. Extras have to be assessed and quoted for, and then are sometimes declined, in which case the contractor has expended costs for n reward. Meanwhile, some contractors don't work that way and make their profits from extras, and I cant advise which applies here. The best solution if anything seems high is to ask why, and if there are any more economical options.* Getting another contractor in simultaneously can either work or be awful. The new one does not report to the old one, so it can be very messy when their works interfere with each other. And whose job is health and safety? Best of all, don't ask for extras. * a very good client once asked during a progress meeting, for an additional door between rooms . I always liked to immediately give a cost guide to expedite a decision, so said it would be about £300 (years ago). Client knew that doors could be obtained for £30....but not the other elements or work involved. Perhaps you are in this situation and the costs are actually reasonable. QS would act as a intermediary. But perhaps you would be paying them to agree that the costs were fair.

Agreed re more info needed. The 'rules' are not hard and fast, but you need a very good solution to overcome them.

Trying to see the best in this, given that you have got on well until now. Many projects cause damage to the access, by carelessness, uncaring or unthinking delivery drivers and contractors, and plain wear and tear. Perhaps the neighbour, being in the industry has seen this and fears the worst. Can I suggest that you tell the neighbour that you understand their concern, will be very careful, and return the access to the current condition if anything untoward happens? Then take photographs of the current conditions...loads of them. Especially look for cracks, chips, subsidence, wear and tear for your comfort, and general views for the neighbour's. They can do the same. Plan now where you plan to offload and store materials and whether they will be in the way. Will there be a skip, and where? Will the neighbour be short of parking space while this happens. Also have site rules about working hours, no radios etc. If all that fails, then you can't have been more reasonable, which counts in your favour if there is any formal dispute. At that stage perhaps you write to them to confirm how reasonable you have been but you are carrying on as you are entitled to.

Does anyone disagree, that we shouldn't feel cold in a public or office building in summer, due to the aircon being set to shiver levels? Is that corporate showing off?

I wonder how much humidity affects the acceptable temperature.

I am impressed by the Spanish rules for public buildings, recently also a French rule. No aircon unless temp above 26C. No heating above 18C. These are the temps published in the supermarket anyway. This was introduced during the last recession, along with reduced speed limits. The speeds have reverted but the temperature rule has been accepted. If you were imposing such a rule to save national / world energy, what temperatures would you suggest?

I had no slugs or snails on the veg area. That may be because they have all been cleared, out they prefer the grass to the bare earth, or because of the 3 garlic plants I have placed around the beds. The smell of the garlic is supposed to mask the succulent bean-sprout smell. There are never any varmints in the onion or garlic bed. I have some old garlic from last year which failed quality control ('you can keep them: too small') , so may try your suggestion. Keep us informed.

In case this helps in any way: I have what is called 'country drainage'. Just a single brick chamber but with in and out pipes turned to mid depth to avoid floaters escaping. It takes rainwater too, which is a bad thing, but mostly doesn't matter. This goes 20m to soakaway in a nearby field which isn't ours. It had been used by the previous owner for at least 30 years and for all we know was never cleaned. For many years we left it untouched with a 6" crust on top and 6" sludge on the bottom. It shouldn't have worked, then one rainy day it didn't, and mucky water came out of the outlet manhole. My rods and a karcher drain clearer didn't help, as the outlet pipe was solid. I had it pumped out and also got the pump about 5m along the outlet when the driver wasn't paying attention (not meant to do that). Since then (5 years?) all is good. Therefore I think the remaining gunk in the pipe, and also the soakaway, must have continued to digest their contents once the overloading was prevented, clearing the way for the drain to run. Moral: I don't think an annual pump-out is necessary, and have no plans to do it for a while. BTW when the chamber was empty I got in and shovelled out what was left.. No comment about most of what shouldn't have been in there. But there was also a great lump of hip tiling, all cemented together, and some wood attached. Some cowboy in the past had decided not to trouble himself with disposal, and had chucked it in the chamber.

Had another look at it and it does seem identical. If in Wickes I will have a prod. Each fixing plate has 3 screw points, is very sturdy, and pulls comfortingly tight.

Interested in what people think, but I reckon 26C is not too hot indoors, and aircon is un-necessary. If that feels hot then our bodies don't take long to adapt. eg Mediterranean residents wear anoraks and jeans until the temperature is 20plus. Northern types think 18 is hot, and might have to take a jumper off.

Concrete paving slabs are cheaper for practice, but also concrete blocks if you have spare.

As someone else mentioned, this is not the sort of thing the planners look into normally. If the rule is imposed by the sewage company then that is who should control it. I don't recall any time when a sewer company did not take it seriously, so would expect them to be hard on this. Bullying often works doesn't it. Sorry to hear of that. You either accept it or stand up to it, and I cannot advise what is better for your circumstances.

ah, the stories I heard this week about why the level was out, the concrete had cracked and there was an over-order of 3m3! The last one being so ridiculous I may recount it. The people are so pleasant and apparently caring that I think it is genuine ignorance. But it is their self-certainty that worries me.....is this the norm in housing trades? Moral....they think they know more than they do....check it out.

I'm pleased for you...really. returning home after a week at the project , mine are alive and....well that is good enough for me. The bean seeds I planted in the ground 2 weeks ago may soon pass the ones from 2 months ago. The extreme heat stunted all desired growth, but the brambles are looking strong. 9 big fat snails more interested in grass clippings than beans in my torchlight inspection. No slugs...it is too dry.

Not even that. I was once explaining to a farmer how there is no factor of safety for farm sheds, as there is low risk to people. Also that I was surprised that there weren't lots of collapses in heavy snow or wind. He told me that there were many instances of collapse, covered in Farmers publications. If you were to combine all the factors of safety it would be about 50%, to keep us safe. Deflection wont even have been considered. So as Dudda, having had our overview, you should get this checked out. PS...I have seen enough farm foundations to suspect that yours will be shallow and on the rough side.

My house in the SE does not get hot in the summer. This is due to the design, where concrete tiles catch the direct sunlight, and a lot dissipates as convection. then there is an attic, which gets stupidly hot. then 200 of fibreglass. followed by high ceilings and it is much warmer high up. Opening of doors at opposite sides can help, or hinder so need thought and control. Leaving the doors open into the evening cools the fabric down ready for the next day. Shutting curtains to keep the sun out helps a lot. Logically all the light, and energy is entering the room. Presumably some reflects back out and the warm air locally doesn't spread round the room....not sure how it works but it does. So just do all that to your existing house and it is solved. If my problem was an office in the loft then I would be stuck, and no amount of cooling would work. How many days is this a problem? Temporary transfer of the office? Totally blank the windows. Purge the air overnight.

There are 'hard and fast' rules about mains sewers because of the seriousness of any problem, and access for maintenance. It sounds as is yours is a private stub only affecting your 3 houses. Does it belong to the 3 owners or the sewage company? What would be the issue if there was a problem under the conservatory? If it could affect your drains working then you should speak to the BCO and the neighbour. Otherwise perhaps it isn't your problem but theirs? As to the 3m rule, it is variable. I once built a warehouse/retail unit over a very big sewer, with the approval of the drainage company (and the owner of course). The owner had to agree in writing that he would allow access through his building (including excavation) if ever required. It saved a stack of money in diverting the sewer. We designed the building with a very wide portal space so that it would not be affected if this was to happen, and so that our excavations were well clear. Your situation is lower scale of course. If the conservatory has new footings then they might add load and damage the drain. But it would need lots more info to understand fully.

Slate is something we have. It is in 3 different thicknesses, but 8mm is the thinnest. Therefore we can pack it in where the gap is widest, but not the rest Thanks for pointing out that not all packers are the same. The joiner made timber packers by cutting slices off the end of a 5 x 2, so it will be loaded parallel to the grain.

I was taught by a mining surveyor too. I thought I was good until the new regime was taught. I wont bore with the details but the inaccuracies inside even the best machines was one of the principles. And how to set up a theodolite on a hillside, with no plumb. Road not pointing at the bridge could have been costly, but in a dream I learnt to go and check the day before's work. It is all far too precise for housing, which is perhaps why I am so shocked at the errors that are clearly standard, and overcome at the next stage. I think our project's recent 8mm level error was probably in setting up the masonry at the corner.. Using the up-a-bit/ down-a -bit method rather than reading a staff or a line.

I didn't like any I saw (appearance/material/ sturdiness) until I found some abroad, with an 'own-brand' name. Roca were good too but more expensive, and so similar I wonder if they were the same. I tried one and then got loads as they are so good. I came across a Wickes advert and they look the same to me, so worth a look., especially at £19, and 10% off if you can get a trade account. I also bought stainless steel screws, as I have known some supplied fixings to rust, which is not good behind the tiles. Then silicone inside the plugs, and behind the capping....good so far., and very sturdy. Croydex Grab Bar with Anti-Slip Grip - 300mm