saveasteading

https://www.nhbc.co.uk/builders/products-and-services/techzone/technical-updates/magnesium-oxide-building-boards

Timber in a wall doesn't burn unless flame reaches it. Therefore if you delete the external cladding, and then skin the timber structure in masonry or cement board (and render) does that not resolve the issue? The absence of a neighbour isn't the issue, as they might want to build close to the boundary in future. The rule can be relaxed if there is little possibility of that happening eg there is a river , pond, road etc.

More information needed. The avoidance of fire spreading from your house to another is the main concern, and the likeliest cause is through a window. Have you any on that wall? Then there is the spread of flame on the outside of your wall....if you have proposed timber cladding can't you just delete it? Plasterboard internally works perfectly well and there is no need to get complicated. Being 1m or less makes it more onerous but it should be easily resolved I feel. Anything that is not sold as vapour-proof will likely be porous and breathable, so I suggest moving away from niche products towards traditional. With 1m gap it is not as if it will be visible and a feature of the building.

That sounds like a small area of internal wall. The internal wall could be (wiIl be) covered in plastic, so an area of bitumen spray sounds ok to me, and much better than nothing. It will depend on what else you are doing to the wall, and where your general barrier will be going, but you can probably work out a lapping detail to keep the joists 'inside'. I have always found that bitumen on block requires at least 2 coats as the first doesn't enter all the dimples. if you can get a brush in all the better, but still at least 2 coats.

The warrant application response says that our building 'goes beyond Minor Works Structures Guidance'. I know that a storey over 200m2 needs special attention for fire. However I can't see any such guidance for structures, which is what he is saying. We are proposing a 95m2 (GEA) area of replacement timber structure, and no rebuild to the remainder which is about another 155m2 GEA. GIA is 270m2 total. It matters as he is rejecting the calculation of the timber structure using the 'Minor Works' design guides, which I have done. I am not registered in Scotland so he is requiring a registered Engineer to be engaged that we don't need , or want to pay for. Also choose any 2 Engineers (or of anything) and get different interpretations. The intention of the 'minor works' process is to reduce unnecessary bureaucracy. Any pointers? Is there such a ruling?

It appears to cost a plumber £100 per annum, and to be an amalgamation of several trade lists.

I think this is a subscription register that plumbers pay to be in. Not statutory. I searched their website for evidence of training and standards but cant see any mention. I can see that some standards are desirable and not all 'plumbers' are really plumbers. I suggest you just write n/a in the box.

Agreed this is nothing to do with the planners or building inspectors,. Entirely the landowner unless they are paying someone else to advise them. For a single domestic supply the diversion will be a yellow plastic pipe in a trench round the building. £1,000 at a guess. Just possible that gas co may be sympathetic and give a discount. But if nobody made enquiries to them this is unlikely.

Some swallows will be disappointed when they return from South Africa in the spring, as their temporary home will be closed up for housing humans. From research there is no point in bird boxes on trees as 1. they won't use them because: 2 squirrels will get in. I can't find any info on alternative locations, but was thinking perhaps a substantial box fixed to the outside of an outbuilding, with a swallow slot and some shelves inside. Comments and suggestions please?

sorry if not clear: I am agreeing with you. The radio units have to be mains connected so there is no saving on that , and they are much more expensive than your £16 so the interlink wiring is not a cost concern.

Great news on simplicity and cost. Yes I am used to central panels, break glass, etc, even in tiny units where the fire would be immediately obvious by sight, smell or sound. Just got some thorough responses for an Ei wireless system. It would need the upgraded units that are connected to the mains, so the price has become average £75 each to buy instead of £35, and needs mains connection. Saves on interlinking wire and would be very easy to adapt if necessary. But if we have £60 change for wiring then that seems to be the way. To complete my report. CO2 detector also about £75 and CO (not linked ) is £16 but is only an alarm, and does not keep a record, as i think is required. I will relax and assume all wired for now. Thanks.

In my experience of education and commercial installations, ie not housing, fire alarm systems are very expensive. Maybe it is much less for domestic and my concerns are unnecessary. I liked the idea of £40 a room, installed and working. Do you have any guidance? As you say, it is like new-build so wire fixing is easy.

Thanks. Had not thought about that. We have a response from our warrant application, and the requirement is for an LD2 system. The one supplier I have asked about wireless has not come back to my query about satisfying the reg's yet. Maybe they can't? Will keep you informed.

Patience please. We are none of us required to help you at all, and yet we are trying. As above, it is the owner's responsibility unless this is formally delegated to a designer or the builder. I have experience of this, when a client told us (as designer and contractor) that there were no services and we stupidly accepted this. Then we found a gas main and had to divert it around the new building at some cost. otherwise gas could leak in to the building and boom!

But won't these prices plummet and/or quality improve as the market gets more competitive? There is a lot of business in this. If diy proves easy then there will likely also be objections/ scare stories from the established market. This for example? No wires and will be as easy to fit as standalone smoke alarm units. £160 the lot , so average £32 each. expandable to 15 units. It would appear that a 'lifetime battery' applies to the life of the battery! Radio-Interlink Sealed Battery 3 Smoke, 1 Heat Alarm and CO Alarm Kit - Firehawk W Series Detector Battery: 10 year sealed lithium battery Wireless Base Battery: 7 year sealed lithium Warranty: 7 year manufacturer's warranty Easy expansion – Interlink up to 15 alarms Suitable for the 2022 Scottish legislation Do smoke alarms need to be hardwired in Scotland? No, there are alternatives to hardwired smoke alarms that comply with the new regulations. To comply with the new Scottish law from February 2022, all smoke alarms in Scotland should be either hardwired to a circuit (mains-powered) with a back-up battery or powered by a lifetime tamper-proof battery.

As we have several months before having to start the fire /gas alarm installation I am keeping my eye on the wireless market. Had a targeted ad on facebook with lots of kits from £150 to £300, which looked very promising. 'No wiring' has to be a big cost and time advantage.

If you are short of space then try all means to get a sewer connection, using storage, flow controller and whatever pumps it needs. Bottom line though is that rain currently falls on this site. If you can make it no worse then you don't need to connect to a sewer. 1. soak way, however bad will probably have some sort of flow. If you can make this into a long french drain, it will have a bigger surface area and might find some fissure where trees are or used to be. 2. A pond or lagoon or swale. as well as having some soakage into the ground you will have evaporation, especially if the site is exposed. 3. Some more storage if possible. In its simplest form this is a barrel with the tap set to dribble out over a couple of days. 4. More storage in open texture stone or crates under the parking area and anywhere else. If all that combines to contain all the water on site then everybody will be happy. BUT proving it could be tricky. I suggest giving it a go and proposing it. If it ever fails and floods onto neighbours or rods you could be in some trouble though.

Without knowing all the details this is tricky to resolve. However I assume that the authorities want to restrict more storm water into the drains, which is normal and understandable. They will normally allow about 5 litres/ second, but perhaps less, hence the suggestion of storage and a hydrobrake. Then do you still have to pump it up to the uphill drains? Perhaps not. Do you have space for a pond?

Just occasionally a good idea may occur during construction, often a suggestion from a contractor. However it may be too late without disrupting other details. Therefore it is very important to do all this discussion before you start, including detailed discussion with all parties. Contractors do not like changes as it disrupts their plans , material ordering and resources, and so it either costs you more, or doesn't make the savings you hoped for. it might also require redesign. At some stage you have to trust designers/contractors and get into detailed discussion. As a contractor I was always wary about giving away commercial ideas, but there comes a time for trust in that direction too....or not.

I have found some objectors to be shocked to find that their names are published and it was clear they would not have said the same thing publicly. Yes tell the council and they will remove them.

The comments about waste are correct. You will have to go round the site and collect the dropped bricks and halfs, as they will not. Some bricks are very consistent while others (the characterful ones) may have 'bananas' Re blocks you can often order precisely but ask the mechamt if you can have any more at the same price. For bricks you can only do this if they set aside a batch, as otherwise they won't match. Then be prepared to collect them yourself to keep the bricky going. Better than a big pile of unused, or expensive hardcore.

When last I used it (reluctantly) it added 30kg/m2 to the roof, but that varies and can be up to 80kg which is a lot (allow for saturated earth). Please let us know how you get on.

First of all don't panic because this looks so difficult. It isn't just you. This is difficult. Even as an experienced designer/manager/contractor I would find this difficult. Here are some thoughts. 1. you give this drawing to several contractors. Also have an extensive list of what products you want and what they are to include/leave out. Also a long list that they are providing fencing, toilets, huts, power and so on. This is a lot of work for any contractor. Some will have staff who price this, but they are not going to give you a free bill of quantities to show to their rivals. Therefore after much detailed work they will give you a brief summary. Meanwhile a hands-on builder calculates what he can, pays a qs to price some of it, and guesses the rest. If any of them have a great idea on better price or quality, how do they trust you not to tell the competition. thus it has to be a bit of a game of creating trust without giving away your own skills for nothing. Remember the contractor knows that they only have a one in 3? or 5? chance of getting the job, and it is onerous to price it for you. Be considerate and it will be noticed. 2. If cost is not a concern you engage a professional and tell them to get on with it. More likely you discuss a target price and they make the enquiry more precise. There will be a charge but they have more experience of assessing different quotes. BUT they may have their own prejudices/ opinions about using big/small contractors or people that will give them less hassle, and there will be a cost. 3. somewhere between, you get a bill of quantities done. All the contractors now have the same information. The risk of any errors is now yours. Even now, you will be amazed at the different quotations. creating a composite spreadsheet sounds like the answer, but it will show big discerpancies in certian items, depenging on the skills involved. then some will have cheaper prices throughout and big add-ons for overheads etc. This is very difficult to assess, but does provide you with some 'bottom line' comparisons, to which you can add guesses as to whatsome have ommitted. Never rule out anyone who is too cheap, as perhaps they are simply very good...or too dear because they may be the only ones to have done it properly. In summary this is difficult. Doing it all yourself is very risky and stressful but you might save some money. More likely you should use a professional to some extent. This is clearly not giving you an answer, because there isn't one.

Agreed. Water level from TS or SF or online. They are (almost) idiot proof, go round corners and through walls and don't cost a fortune to replace when the builder drives over it. Also, if you get one that stands on its own, or you prop it up, it is a one person job....that is invaluable when you want to check something tricky (or sensitive) when the builders have gone home. Or fix to pieces of wood. You can make your own hitec one with a length of clear tubing, clipped to a 2 x 2 on each end, and that also allows you to do it standing up. I have seen far more errors with laser levels than with dumpy levels or the underused water levels. Boning rods (profiles) are good if you have the space, and they are not dug up again. saves a lot of repetition.

If they are local they will know the ground types and not need lab tests. You can dig the holes in advance to save cost.