saveasteading

Thanks. the optional extras are essential, esp the stability bars. I have something like but lower, that and it wobbles more than I am comfortable with. make sure you tie it to something solid if going high, and prob needs sleepers under the feet. for the right circumstances that can work, and then is good value. For working at height or on dodgy ground, there are some nice hook bolts where you fix the base to the wall (masonry or metal versions) , then screw in the hook. The advantage is that you can unscrew the ugly loop and the fixing remains.

This website will link you into the nearest council that will take your bag of tiles. https://www.gov.uk/asbestos-in-home or just search in your local council website. They will tell you to wear gloves and a mask, keep stuff a bit damp, Put the tiles gently into a sturdy bag (most polyethene bags will tear with tiles so maybe a box first. Then tie the bag up and put it in another bag. Phone to tell the council you are bringing it, and hand it over formally. there will be a form to fill in, and they will welcome your test statement. They should not charge, because they really do not want to encourage fly-tipping of this stuff. now get on with it and report back when successfully handed over.

worry not. the HSE say this 71 In certain types of ACM, the asbestos fibres will usually be firmly linked in a matrix and will not be released easily. This includes: ■ asbestos cement, (unless it is substantially fragmented, crushed, or otherwise significantly damaged); ■ textured decorative coatings; ■ paints with asbestos, any article of bitumen, plastic, resin or rubber which contains asbestos where its thermal or acoustic properties are incidental to its main purpose, such as vinyl floor tiles, electric cables and roofing felt. it is not licensable. you have spoken to experts who have told you not to worry. https://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/guidance/a23.pdf I assure you that most 'specialists' will not go to quite these lengths unless in an occupied building.

Decided that if we dithered we will have spent £200 on hire in the next 2 weeks. In reality, one subby requires a tower and the other gave £100 off for free supply. Work that over a year or two and it is a no brainer. So will have a shiny new tower, until used. In case of any use to you. About 4 base suppliers in UK (I mean excluding sellers-on). Some quote basic tower which I guess might be ok for a few purposes. But add adjustment, wheels, platforms and delivery and they come out within 10%. One, to their credit , charge more for a smallish, narrow tower because they include stabilisers automatically, than for the wider version. That is always for the professional level tower. There are 'trade' and 'diy' versions but they seem skinny, and involve bolts. I have a tiny diy one and forever needs tightening...and wobbles. The likelihood is that they will be readily re-sellable at conclusion, for 50%? if in a fit state. I tried a second-hand supplier. No response. oh, and free delivery does not include Highlands...there is a supplement of £69. I persuaded another supplier to not add a supplement , but I guess that is effectively a discount. Thanks for the advice, and do pass on any bargains you see, including another tower.

Got me thinking. I was surprised recently to rediscover the differences in rainfall around the UK. I am used to SE England projects. In calculating for the Highlands it is staggering difference between west and east. Also, I had not realised that the intensity varies dramatically and that is what affects capacities and causes flooding. I realised I was overdesigning the drainage system for the East Highlands and wondered why...so looked up some key figures. Rainfall in Inverness is low, totalling 723 mm in a typical year. Precipitation is distributed evenly, falling over about 143 days per year. Rainfall in Fort William is high, totalling 1504 mm in a typical year. Precipitation tends to fall more in the winter, falling over about 181 days per year. London averages approximately 106 rainy days each year and receives a total of 583.6 mm of precipitation annually. Royal Tunbridge Wells. The rainfall here is around 737 mm | over about 99 days Newquay Cornwall The average amount of annual precipitation is: 1021.0 mm in 260 rainfall days. Apologies for not reformatting these in the same order. This tends to explain why Tunbridge Wells suffers from flooding recently, ditto London. Intense rain. The moral: do not be stingy with gutter, drain or soakaway sizes, especially in the areas with high intensity.

1. Absolutely not. It could already be full when the next rainstorm comes. 2. as Oz07 3b, yes if for garden only, and even with membrane around it you will get silting so need access to clear it. But as above (BitPipe) , what if weedkiller or oil or detergent from the drive gets into the tank and hence to the garden....so best not. Use soakaway. Proper garden barrels are not too expensive, esp if you keep your eyes out for seasonal bargains. eg the identical barrels are half the price at Wickes as from a garden centre I saw selling them. You sometimes find food product barrels available, in blue or green, and make your own lid and connections. If you have space and distance from house and boundaries, you can use a french drain to the soakaway and add that to the soakage area, so the pit size is reduced. It is better fro the ground too as it disperses the water. aco to the perimeter of the house....that could help dewater the ground as you suggest. It will only catch what runs there though, so needs a runoff from the house wall. Ensure that it does not do the opposite by strict control of levels. at connections.

The Engineer may not even charge you if you have done the prep and it is clearly a good proposal. If he specified Catnic, tell him it is not available, but you have come up with...this.

I don't have difficulty with this method of procurement. The client can do as they like, and presumably gets a fixed price and it is the contractor who takes the financial risk. It looks like a £3M+ job though, and client not short of money if happy to pay for these very complex features, so very nice to get the job. I see that polystyrene houses is what you do. If your supplier can't answer the question that concerns you I would be very wary. I looked into the polystyrene option very seriously, as there was no shortage of suppliers chasing us, and costed several jobs in detail against other methods, but it never proved the winner for me, even on small blocks. However that was for office blocks, schools and industry, so it is very different indeed from one-off housing. Steel is nearly always the right answer for big buildings like this, and all your targets can easily be achieved or exceeded. The trouble with competing construction methods is that usually tenders are between contractors offering the same methods, as instructed by the architect. Then if you suggest there is another way, they tend to get defensive rather than think of the client's budget. Presumably flood plain issues has caused the planning delay. Another plus for steel is simple columns and beams form your under-croft, and can be galvanised and painted ready for the big flood. I will be interested to hear of progress if you will allow us.

Have had asbestos tiles in demo/refurbs. They have never bent like that photo. Always came off clean or snapped. So first check them out. If asbestos reinforced then I think they are low risk, and I don't think need any special training, but you do not want dust. Plenty of people have been unaffected but plenty have suffered. There will be a leaflet online from HSE saying something like: wet the area, wear disposable gloves and mask. then do the double bagging thing. If you are not a business, then you can take them to the municipal tip and hand it over for safe disposal (all contaminated stuff seems to go to Peterborough)

yes, asbestos tiles usually hard and snap, and probably would not have come off so nicely. get a test though.

Thanks. I see what you mean about asking people who look beyond the obvious. I was a d and b contractor, all in-house, so there is a synergy. Your role is relevant, because if you are the designer and want to be the builder, then I will pull out of the conversation, on a conflict of interests basis, as my family's business does just that, pure d and b, all in-house. I suggest forget the polystyrene, which is great for amateurs but is not really commercial imho. Good luck with it.

In my experience, planners and highways depts. are inconsistent on this, when there is an existing driveway. Have seen them allow an existing entrance despite change of use and a horrendous lack of visibility. So you could try it, and see what comes of it. But do please satisfy yourself that the entrance is reasonably safe for users and other drivers. The only real way to do that is to drive out of it yourself, and consider what might change if hedges grow,

You should tell the SE what you propose. The BCO will likely want the SE say-so, and there may be something else significant that only he would know about. If obv. OK then he may simply email back that your proposal is acceptable. Catnic is owned by Tata, so getting steel should not be difficult for them. Covid or Brexit more likely, so your idea is sensible.

This was what I did for 35 years and the family business continues without me. Therefore i will only give a few points, and you must do as you wish. ie this is some of what we would tell you for nothing if discussing a design and build contract. Taking a project from 5 years ago as an example. This was a 4 storey nursing home, so quite like yours in size and scale. It had to have brick facing. I analysed about 6 different ways of building it. polystyrene timber lightweight steel structural steel masonry. mixture of the above We ended up with timber frame, with light steel a close second, the differentiator being the multitude of small, standard rooms. BUT for an office you should have, in my opinion, great open spaces, so I would propose structural steel as the likely favourite. You can still infill with pod offices if you like, and change them in the future to suit fashions. I have never met a 'sustainability consultant', unless you mean a Breeam consultant. I sat and passed the exam simply to satisfy clients and planners that I knew of what I spoke, but didn't agree with most of what they proposed. In fact we have always renegotiated Breeam planning conditions, by pointing out and deleting the crazy bits. You clearly have architects and other consultants, but are asking this Buildhub community for help...can I ask why? I don't think many here are likely to advise on how to pour a wall, if your consultants cant help. Perhaps that will become clear of you tell us your role for 'your client'.

Refurb or demolish and rebuild? A commercial builder will demolish and start again. It removes risk, allows the work to proceed without special details, and gets the job done much more quickly, and time is money in both overhead and cashflow. In business I have done both. It can be difficult to persuade the client that his building is worth less than nothing, and should come down. 'I will give you 2 quotes' resolves everything. On the other hand, if a building can be adapted it is 'a good thing', and can save a lot of money. A private diy builder may have more time and flexibility, to make use of what is there. It really depends on the building and your own circumstances. Hence we (extended family) are on our 7th repair and modernise project, and have never done new. There will be unexpected issues in a refurb for which you must allow costs. 5%-10% minimum even after expertly identifying problems. There will seldom be surprise good news.

Thanks everyone. there appear to be 3 suppliers readily on the internet, and the prices come up much the same after adding the essential extras, like transport, and legs, and platform. so £900 to £1100 then add vat. We may phone round the hire companies and see if they have any for disposal....the sort you would be annoyed to get delivered for a hire...painty, tired. The need now is for a tower on wheels to scoot around inside for local repairs and wood treatment. I see a diy tower for £300 ish, but I think that will not be very durable, or secure at height. Also I see a second-hand company in Kent, but most of the reviews don't encourage confidence. I suppose you are protected if using a credit card. Their towers come from somewhere, which brings me back to phoning around. Interestingly, there were loads of decent trailers on facebook marketplace. Already proven itself as a good buy for the project.

Any tips on finding pre-used scaffold towers? Inverness area. I see plenty on facebook in the SE of England, gernerally 1/3 of the new price. Nothing Inverness/ Moray.

A year, and no big cracks? Professional.

Good plan, and can poss use up leftover bits. Just a blob of cheap glue to the rafter, as it becomes redundant after ins is fitted? Watched the gapotape video, but will need some convincing that this is worth while.

No need for a latex screed in my opinion. Floorers like it because they make quite easy extra money for it while also taking away some risk (there are some horrible efforts at flooring out there). I have had lots of cases of floorers tutting about levels and moisture content and it has always been false: whether scam or ignorance who can say? How long has your concrete been down? Try putting a glass bowl upside down on it on a warm day, and if it doesn't steam up you are fine.

that is hard and looks flat enough.

Why don't the 3 of you in Devon/Cornwall help each other? Can't really recommend pumping over conveyor from the photo as it doesn't look as big as you say, and can't see whether the height up is a problem. Plus hire a couple of labourers from an agency. Hire a poker and whatever you need for the finishing.

as I am not rushing..... The air gap is to let the roof breathe, esp if there is a timber sarking, and esp if that is a large board rather than narrow boards. I haven't done it, but plan on trying just nailing at 50mm for the boards to push against , to save £hundreds on 50 x 25 batten. (£1.50 x 2, per m, per rafter). If anyone has tried and it is a bad idea, please tell.

If the only issue is a few screed marks, then they rub off easily. can use tools or just rub with a brick. I have known a floating engineered floor to make a slapping sound where there is a tiny hollow, but it then relaxed to shape. Wood bends, even laminated wood. How thick is the glue? Have you tried a straight edge? Latency is another matter. Basically dust or a weak surface caused by too much water or too much trowelling, as that will be a weker bond than glue to wood. If it is ultra soft the it should be rubbed back to a clean hard surface. If reasonably good, it might be worth a coat of PVA. perhaps a thin coat then a thicker one. If hard, leave it. Try scratching with finger nail then screwdriver.

There are standard aluminium sections that create the final slope up to the threshold, and you can use slabs/tiles up to that point. i don't think this needs much thinking ahead really. construct your floor, then locally make the necessary ramp. ditto outside. In the worst scenario if standard sections don't quite work you can get a local ramp made precisely out of chequer plate. 2 pics below