saveasteading

I have heard it said that some authorities require constructive work to be done. This avoids any thoughts that a hole might have been dug for another reason. It used to be that setting out the building , with posts prominently painted red and white, was enough. Now I recommend digging the trench in the right place and putting some concrete in. But that involves design and building inspector, so perhaps find an easier start. From recent experience, i have seen certificates from LAs confirming that a project has commenced, with forming an access track, or visibility splay being the works involved.

I have looked for national figures and found this in Construction News. 22 JAN 2021 The number of European Union-born workers in the UK construction industry dropped by more than a quarter in 12 months. In the third quarter of 2020, there were 127,000 EU-born workers in the industry, down from 176,000 recorded in the same period in 2019. 49,000 gone out of, from what I can see, about a million total site workers in construction. I think the total number then and now are a lot lower than is generally thought, but these figures will not include any 'invisibles'. Almost a year from then, on and I cant see any more recent info. Ours left, that was a subcontracting business with about 12 to 20 highly skilled workers. well paid and paying tax here. Not Polish. The owner said it wasn't worth the hassle and bureaucracy when there was work elsewhere esp in Germany.. There are skilled companies and individuals in this field in the UK but few, and far between Quality and work ethic is what will most be missed. I have tried very hard to encourage youngsters into the industry, by helping at school careers days, but most kids with any interest in construction wanted to be architects and seemed to be studying photography and, strangely, philosophy.

Thanks. and that is £2,000? I was expecting bats, newts and dormice for that. A rebate would be appropriate. Were they recommended by your architect or by the planners?

As long as they repair your pipe properly, and it would be appropriate for them to get the building inspector to check it, then all should be ok. 1. I have seen clay pipes linked by a different size of plastic pipe, with no collars and only using silicone mastic. 2. it seems they are still trying to worry you, or they are ignorant of how drains work. Your pipe should stil be fin with more appliances. Your pipe will again have a nice clean run, and it has worked well in the past. It is always, and correctly, assumed in the regulations that you won't all flush at the same time, to deliberately overload the system. 3. the flow tables in the building regulations are a little conservative. There are much more complex means of calculating flow, and it seems likely, based on reality, that your pipes would pass. I suggest you photograph the pipe now and after repair, and insist that an expert inspects it.

official UK statistics also show that around 150,000 Polish citizens have left the UK since the Brexit referendum. Not all in construction of course.

Well, all of ours went. Our first eye-opener was employing 3 Polish metal workers to erect steel buildings, because we couldn't get quality in the SE. They worked hard, came for the next instructions, and turned their hands to anything. That was until one of the locals was heard telling the that they didn't have to work so hard, in fact they would become very unpopular unless they slowed down a lot. Then used steel gangs from Iceland/ Germany and Hungary. they were not cheap (perhaps dearer at tender) , but they turned up and worked. All gone. Thee is plenty work elsewhere and no brexit employment issues. Maybe that is just a SE issue. what is the working day in other areas? 8.00 to 8.20 turn up, tea and the sun 10.00 to 10.30 breakfast 1.00 to 1.30 lunch 4.00 home Fridays home earlier of course. Good job they are on a price, but it could be much lower. or Hungarians: 7.30 start 10 to 10.20 breakfast, possibly staggered to make best use of machines 100 to 1.30 lunch 6.00 home, perhaps later in summer. weekends working too if allowed by planners. Winter less of course.

Not just Part M but A to Z. Seriously, you have to read through all of it, as it is not the BCO job to design it, or this forum to do other than help with problems. It will come in handy throughout the project too. I find that printing the important pages, and marking up in highlighter saves a lot of re-searching, especially when clauses seem to conflict. GYM. I know about gyms. On concrete ground floor, no problems. On concrete upper floors, some issues On joisted upper floor....challenging. If it is just for you then make sure it works for you, then call it something else on the drawing. ie design as a lightweight gym but don't flag it. Then if it is noisy downstairs it is just your family that is bothered. Also the BCO won't demand design for dynamic loading. Even kit that appears to be static (rowing machine/cross-trainer sets up a harmonic motion in joists that is very perturbing. On top of that is the noise which thumps through the building. The very worst effect is from synchronised movement by multiple persons. No the worst is dropping a heavy weight. You will need to ensure hat the gym floor is very strong, very stiff, and has acoustic insulation. If you tell a kit house company, then they may well not want to do such a non-standard thing. If you don't tell them you will get problems.

It is in your neighbour's interests as well as yours to get this sorted now. As above, it is easiest to deal with before buried, and the building inspector is unlikely to be made aware of the issue. If it is the LA inspector, I would speak to them first, just say you are concerned and ask if they considering your position. otherwise, yes the water company. On fitness for purpose. If it has worked for decades then it is fit for purpose. Being on a very flat gradient seems to be ok for you now, but if they meddle with it it might cause back-ups in your perfectly good pipe. eg. you flush and it goes away. you flush same time as them and it all swirls and slows, and solids sit down and stay put. problem. It amazes me how little is understood by builders, about water. The less they know, the more they seem confident of their expertise. I think it is part of the 'too much of experts' mentality. Don't know enough to know how little they know. Or he was bluffing/bullying. The contrary by Einstein is “The more I learn, the more I realize how much I don't know.” Most of us on this forum are with Herr Einstein. Where is nextdoor's groundworker?

There is certainly a great shortage of skilled persons in the building trade. A lot have gone back to their own countries, and many of these were the highest skilled or hardest working. Very few youngsters being trained. It may simply have to be that many of us cancel our projects as being completely un-affordable. Presumably this will partly self-correct but may take years. Otherwise, as above, project manage it yourself, with a number of trades instead of a general builder, a lot of diy and all the tidying up, and give it a few years. It is not easy and a huge risk if you are not experienced. A tip from the industry. My business was very specialist construction, (I mean in limiting the scope and maximising knowledge, not in being high-tech.) we would often be half the price of other perfectly decent businesses who were not being greedy. so I analysed it. Simplistically it was. 10% in design control, ie efficient to build 10% in cost control 10% in fees, hardly any outside design 10% in close and integrated management, so no wastage, and with problems resolved, rather than by buying a solution. (and don't spend the contingency) 10% by using small contractors without much overhead, and no chain of contractors each taking percentages. Then doing your own PM you save our 20%. too I'm not saying you can half these prices, as the materials have a cost, but it is feasible. But if you have a day job it is not so easy. Your cost looks horrendously high, but we don't know the detail. Some retrofit can be very expensive eg UFH. perhaps prune some of that out.

Estimator's hat on. It is a pain breaking down your own detailed costings to fit a simplified spreadsheet like this. Different contractors will put sums into different boxes when summarising. 10 to 15% overhead and profit is generally not enough, but nobody wants to see more, so some will be 'lost' in the other figures: either spread through or plonked into a big and early item, or classed as prelims. The provisional sums vary a lot too, so are clearly the contractors' tricky items, and may balance out some other items when allocated. tbc and % without sums make this pretty useless too. heating 11k or 42k. not the same job. windows 21k or 41k not the same spec. As Mr Punter suggests...simplify it if you have to start soon, and leave the innards. Don't rule out any of these contractors yet. The cheapest may very well be very efficient, while the others use subbies a lot. The dearest may be the only properly quoted price. Very good luck,

Interesting. I have never come across this before on what seems a simple application for replacement. If you done mind, I'm interested in whether the area is ecologically sensitive, and what was discovered. I have been annoyed in the past at some planners' keenness to engage all sorts of consultants, who presumably have 'sold' their own importance to the planners. Archaeologists for one. Fortunately I have usually had this postponed to be a condition, or simply done away with. Then they write themselves in to do even more surveys at your expense. It is fair that our history and ecology are not wiped away, but these could be conditional. At this sort of cost level it was almost worth getting outline permission first. I hope it was a very thorough and worthwhile report.

Isn't your architect an expert on what will achieve planning permission? I suggest politely ask him to get it sorted, without further cost. Unless what is designed is exactly what you asked for. Good you have a list to resolve. 1. easy, and saves you money 2. easy enough and save you money 3. ask for their criteria...this may well be a percentage of the land. 4. so ask why. Also I'm surprised you did an ecology survey at great expense before checking out if you could be allowed to build. This could have been a condition for later. Did they come up with anything you didn't know? Why not demolish and rebuild? seems you are constraining the options. Also there is the VAT. Have you checked that you are entitled to the VAT back on labour and materials? 20% is a lot of discount.

I am a year late entering this discussion, but the heading got my attention. I have not read the discussion, other than a swift skim. There is an interesting and helpful document showing examples of different stages of dereliction in the countryside, and the possibilities of rebuilding, even with photos as examples. I think it was Aberdeen County Council. I have it saved somewhere but where? If I come across it I will share.

Yes, acknowledged, so you did, and your picture highlighted it very well. I expanded somewhat, in different terms, and had not read every word,

Re the padstone and bearing. There is no bonding over the lintel, and then the padstone is supported on a skinny stack of cut blocks. The load will not spread properly through the wall, but tend to go straight down, and the skinny column fail in buckling. I wouldn't lose sleep over it either, as it isn't going to fall down tomorrow, but it will crack soon, and then crumble and maybe fall down. Rebuilding must include proper bonding above and into the rest of the wall.

Best draw a cross-section and the gaps become more visible, and also more readily resolved. Whether you close off with tape or something bigger, it is often worth stuffing the junction area with compressed fibreglass. This insulates and reduces draughts. Could you draw up what you have described above? i a too buy doing my own details to do yours, but checking is easy. Basically protect the steels (primary and secondary) from the outside weather.

Have you ruled out a gravity drain? 500mm fall over 50m gives 1:100 which just works. Putting in a pressure pipe will be cheaper then a gravity drain, and overcome obstacles and topography, but the pump and any storage capacity (in case of brakdown) can be costly and needs maintenance.

Thanks. There is now no doubt. Delete catch pit idea. A very messy idea. If these levels are negative (there is a - which might be a spacer or a minus,) then there is a drop of 0.5m. If positive then there is a rise of 0.5m. I don't think it matters how much it snakes up and down unless the pipe runs empty for any reason. (which it might if running downhill to the outlet.). Pump spec. therefore to be suitable for the horizontal length and 0.5m rise (or is is fall?) . If it 'just' manages then the pump will be straing and the liwuid willd ribble out. I dont know how much you dare go over. I have found local specialist pump sellers to be very helpful: I guess this an important part of their role, and there is usually one for every area.

The point about the pressure of water is correct. an uncontrolled release into any chamber will splatter everywhere and possibly erode the chamber. 2. is easier and cheaper, as long as the pump is ok with that length. The extra length will reduce the flow somewhat which may be a good thing. how about a) a catch pit, instead of IC, so that the bottom is permanently full of water and the pipe outlet is pointed into it and is slowed by the standing water. or b) pointing the outlet pipe along the gravity pipe. c) a pump that has enough oomph but not too much.

You are right of course. The high quality buildings are sealed at all joints and have a solution at the eaves etc to ensure reasonable airtightness. Lesser buildings used to leak at all joints, then sometimes added a dpm in the roof. Columns outside buildings, fancy steel entrances linked to the structure, parapets etc are challenges. In a huge shed, any such problems are less important overall. I don't know the full circumstances for the OP here. It appears that there will be heat loss, and it is a matter of reducing it.

Agreed. Also with many other of the comments above. Ignore the existing footprint, and start new. Save the vat and much cost through simplification. Your design is similar to the examples but they have an elegance/simplicity that yours doesn't. Overhanging eaves, or at least boxy features seem to be a theme, and will make yours less monolithic, and more practical as I don't know how you get the white wall all the way to the roof. Then when presenting next time you can make it easy for the planner by pointing out the 'themes' that are consistent with local precedent. Even add the pictures above. There you are then: a pointer by the planner and all of us as to what will be accepted, no neighbour opposition, save the VAT on labour and materials (£60,000???). Save more by simplifying.(£20,000). Also be aware that the planner might not have looked at other issues yet. Make sure you have sustainability covered...if well designed and integrated (not stuck on later) it saves money, in capital and running. Good luck.

IanR what did you do to overcome the 'certainty' of condensation? I was only addressing the comment about condensation under roof insulation. It may be a 'certainty' in theory but seems very unlikely to me and never happened in reality on my projects. Lucky 400 times perhaps? It happens, of course on non, or poorly, insulated roofs with humid interiors. How many metal roofs on retail parks and supermarkets have condensation? It would run down to the next purlin, then to mid span and drip noticeably I think. As you say, the junction of freezing cold columns to warm rafters would be big heat loss and a problem. Encase and insulate the columns?

(other than self-build projects). more research needed. Experts help please! esp re Scotland for me.

Don't be rude about the planner....especially as this blog is googleable, and it will hardly help if this is seen. In defence of planners, they get attacked by all sides. Therefore they will stick to the rules. It is for you to find out what they are looking for (on behalf of their community) and make it fit. What you submit has to look right in the context, but neither will they be keen on pastiche, so the glassy modern look is fine in principle. Got any pictures of the area/ nearby houses, esp modern ones? Conceal the location from us by all means. The 'busyness' is fine in a way, and preferable to a great mass of building. Often called 'articulation' and desired by planners. There is just too much articulation perhaps, unless it is meant to look a like a modern terrace. On a positive, if they are only commenting on the appearance , then you will get this through at some stage. I suggest, speak or email very politely in reply, saying that you note their advice, will revise the design, allow an extension of time for the process, and would welcome a short discussion of what troubles them and what they are looking for. They have targets to achieve so cannot sit on this: they have to make a decision one way or the other unless you put it on hold, which I would advise. OR blast on regardless, as councillors may like it, or appeal process officers may like it. No, as above, talk to them.

I think both. There should not be condensation under the composite cladding, so MVHR should be irrelevant. I should add that I have found reps, even at exhibitions, to be rather ignorant of their own products, as well as their aspect of building. I expect this is because there are very different skills in selling and technical understanding, and they may not have been briefed on what doesn't suit in selling. Easy though if your product is wonderful. How so? The cladding sits on a steel purlin but then there is the layer of foam. The only link to the outside is the screw that comes from outside and into the purlin. On some cladding systems even that is partly concealed on the outside. Some very approx sums: About 3 screws per m2, and they are say 8mm diameter on the outside 50mm2 per 1000x 1000mm: ). 0.005% But heat on the inside is contacting the screw not the head, so even less. Composite is good. You can also use built up systems, where any thickness of fibre insulation can be added. This may be the only option if the roof is thick (and heavy) and there is no crane access. PIR is more idiot proof but more difficult at details. PIR is almost impossible to change if damaged by , say, a falling branch. On cladding: I recommend only buying top quality products. This may be an unfamiliar name but big on the continent, or a big name. The cladding you see in agricultural adverts is usually much lower quality, in thickness, galvanising and colour coating (product and thickness). Only PIR or rockwool type filling is suitable, and cheaper products may have a more flammable material. Also there is 'non prime' cladding': 'seconds'..don't go there for a house. For plain metal sheeting, some suppliers offer the best down to the worst.....depends what the client wants. More than you wanted to know at this stage perhaps, but important if looking at prices.