saveasteading

They will only be cutting out a thin bit at the top, and with a hand held grinder. If the concrete is wetted beforehand the dust will settle adjacent. You appear to be a worrier. These things are minor. The builder seems to be competent. Relax.

Agreed. As a main contractor I've had problems with window installation only a few times. Hundreds done by specialists with no problems (or maybe they had issues but sorted them without me knowing). One by specialist they had mismeasured a door. I changed the design and had the steel erectors enlarge the framing so that it would fit. This is simply a good relationship. Same job, my mistake in not informing them of a client chchange. They altered it without charge (I guess because of the favour, above.) One Job had all sorts of issues.....because we thought our own guys could do it and we would save lots of money. Mistake: its not easy. Morals: perhaps a joiner could fit them relatively efficiently, otherwise specialist fitters only and a god manager for the measuring and ordering. I'm sure they add 20% or more but its worth it. There are lots of risks and the costs of errors and bad workmanship are high. One dodgy installer I met (and didn't use) let out that he always allowed 20mm all round to make sure windows fitted, then loads of mastic.

Would it be possible to tell us what that equates to on £/m2 of window ? It's always interesting and a good starting point in a costing exercise.... and I am out of date in my wbb. (Wee black book).

Yes i do agree, thats what i was saying, maybe worded unclearly.

It's there on the graphs. 100% death rate. That's serious. It's an ad for supplements with hype added to graphs to impress. No, i don't believe that the comments are by the doctors quoted, or scientists. Seriously can i ask why you are hyping this? We are here to help on building but anything to ease your troubles.

That's a big assumption. I think that only applies if it is demobstrably or agriculture. I imagine it is taken seriously if discovered, otherwise farmers would be building speculatively everywhere: farm shed becomes domestic, then office then house and big gains.

Plastic rings are supposedly formers for a concrete surround but that is seldom done on private projects. The seals may have distorted during backfilling. Is it a big job to expose and reset the chamber, and concrete it in? Wrapping it in a bentonite or similar membrane would be belt and braces and worth considering. If the volume leaking in is signigicant then it is, indeed, an issue as the contents will flush through too quickly and mucky stuff go to the soakaway/ drainage field.

Exactly. Graphs without context are not to be trusted. The annotations are clearly not by independent parties. Scientists fo not write like that. i.e. it's added by a vitamin seller or antivaxer. Or one of Putin's troublemakers. Cause or effect? Dead people have low vitamin counts, and very ill people can't convert vitamins. Well people don't need supplements. Could you explain what log-rank test p = 0.076 means? We need context. Thanks for sharing this though to show us how dangerous these antivax people are, and don't distribute it among the general public or you may cause deaths.

The lesson learnt by the company was, I assume, to always get the concrete in quickly, ie pump. Also the recipe for a pump mix is different, so flows better even if barrowed.

Thanks. Very traumatic and expensive. What was the obvious sign that there was a problem with the slab?

Was there a discussion on BH? I'd be interested to see it. A date or other reference?

You can get that ready made in half's. No bottom plate but with heavy fixings it might be OK. I can't cut and paste them for some reason.

Not flat and level enough. It's meant for floor slabs, roads etc. On anything rougher it will wobble about and the blade will jam.

No that looks good. I had in mind it having bars sticking down but bolting down is much easier so I agree with that. I'd just say to make sure that the concrete base goes well under the channel, in case the load all wants to go down the narrow side at the wall. I've a feeling you can buy that ready made. Yes just looked and SF have them but only up to 100 x 100 (sabrefix) . Perhaps search further.

what the builder has told you all makes sense. a shutter would have been tidy but has a thickness so he would have dug out more of your side. then when removed there would have been a gap to fill. Better with the concrete as it is not undermining your property. The issues are small but annoying, other than the cheek of building right on your line, and then just beasting on without discussion. all a normal though. Note the pegs in the trench sides.... that's what I was suggesting in another post recently, as level control. If the poster is seeing this, it is a good example of just how approximate the process is.... this is control yet will be rather approximate. Maybe that is just a guide and he put a level on it.

Even the noise turns back to heat. A tiny amount either way. The only energy lost to a space is light going out through a window. That's radiation including outside of our perception of it. So to answer the question. For 100% efficiency (from socket to room) do not have a heater with light emissions. @DaveR it's good to get a chance to deal with these matters. You are right that a lot of advertising is misleading. Any more queries?

U shaped bracket, with 2 rods projecting down either side of the channel. Concrete base beneath the channel. OR set the bases to miss the channel and the timber construction revised to fit.

Where it is surface only, an inch or so, first a simple tap with a hammer and skinny spillover bits may break off. Next a run down the line with a masonry saw to an inch or so deep then the hammer tap. Anything that goes deeper is better left alone.

I've just realised that you are the correspondent who distrusts science on principle, and purveyors of knowledge and expertise, as you think they always seek personal advantage. You may therefore prefer to disregard my advice , in case I have links to the pipes manufacturers, or the construction industry in general.

Have your neighbours broken them? You should get a formal proposal for the repair and have it supervised by their building inspector. Clay pipes are still available so a like for like replacement is better than repair. Alternatively there are adaptors from clay to plastic, and a plastic pipe could be inserted. That is trespass. The best time to remove it is now, before it reached full strength. Concrete gets hard in a few hours but increases in strength for about a month. Doing it asap will be easier and cause less damage to the foundation. Are you allowing them to work from your side? nothing should cross the boundary line so a wall on that line is likely to have a fascia at the top which will cross it. ie the wall should be set back.

I'm torn between turning off contributors with nonsense, anti-science and anti- fact beliefs, OR keeping myself aware that such people exist and interfere with my world. For those above who don't believe science or authority: On BH most of us giving advice know the science and/or best practice or practicality of the subjects on which we comment, and take the advice of others on other matters. If you don't trust experts then I don't know why you are on here. Don't go ignoring the regulations. Please. Otherwise things will likely go badly for you and others. I will now turn off 'follow'

I am also taken with some recent publicity on Beechgrove Garden and Gardener's World programmes of 'Prairie planting'. big area of daisy-like plants. I've got a few in pots that grow to 3 ft and flower for months...and produce hundreds of seeds. Brilliant colours, but subtlety and texture is also possible. So it is cheap too, and maintenance is easy. The aim is to have swathes of colours and textures that look natural but dramatic too.

I was liucky to be in spain during thd worst of it. If there was an outbreak they forebade travel to and from that community, except essential services. The benefit showed dramatically in the death figure. I try to get into deniers' mindset on this, but can't. The best i can manage is an extreme fear of science... people knowing things that they themselves can't begin to comprehend. I don't understand therefore it is conspiracy?

You could use a thin layer of concrete very locally, using grit or gravel instead of the usual ballast stone, to suit the thinness. Or if you have ballast, pick the big stones out. That will be as strong as the footing.

Meadows are the way ahead. So much more interest, less work and better for nature. Cut just once a year, very low, and all put in the compost heap. Mulching is good for the the lawn but feeds the meadow too much. Or have areas of both. Interesting flowers and grasses can be introduced. Yellow rattle is a must. Our small experimental area is now a favourite spot to sit. Leaving some lawn for kicking a ball about.