saveasteading

It has cracked some time ago, then been painted over. And stayed that way? If the key only fits in one place then that is not an overall crack of that width. Plus if the materials change in each leaf the weakest will crack with any shrinkage or movement. Helical bars would only move the stresses elsewhere. The outside leaf may have stronger bricks than mortar, so have moved gently.

BBC News - Tiny data centre used to heat public swimming pool - BBC News https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-64939558?app-referrer=webview Not such a new idea then. This is from 2 years ago. I researched seriously, a few years ago, into capturing waste heat from chill-stores, as we were building a few. Standing close, it is amazing how much energy is being pumped away. None of the installing companies knew / were interested at all.

the electricity that's generating that heat is paid for by somebody else". ie not the homeowner. it seems from the flag that the King is visiting.

What a good idea. And build new data centres beside wind farms. Data centre in the shed reduces energy bills to £40 BBC News - 'I heat my Essex home with a data centre in the shed' - BBC News https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c0rpy7envr5o

Agreed. And better yet, and easier diy, batten and board. @kyran what does the other side look like? BTW how wide is the crack at the widest point, excluding flaked away bits. What is the widest coin that would push in? I suspect none, so no worries.

I'd need to see it in life, but that looks more like a rough extension or rebuild, due to seeing the change in materials, and that cracks go through bricks not mortar. My worry would be that in any future sale, a surveyor would flag it up.

I hadn't noticed!

I'm late to this. I wouldn't do it but would fix the sole plate to the concrete. I agree that the loading capacity looks OK but it's an experiment. Buildings move. I've seen pir shrink, whatever the spec says. Levelling the sole plate on concrete is going to be (can be) a precise job whereas pir can't be adusted, other than with screed. But your detail requires a precise slab anyway... beyond normal construction standards. The heat loss through the normal sole plate detail is tiny, especially as distance increases from the outdoor perimeter (earth is a half decent insulator). Sometimes normal is best.

Mats look good for upstairs, pinned onto board decking and providing sound insulation. But at £10/m2 it's pointless on the ground floor .. except for discipline on the layout. I've forgotten who posted the other day, the very rough layout. I'm not rating ufh upstairs for cooling. I notice some suppliers are hyping it while others encourage caution. Hot air rises, so chilling the floor by 2° isn't going to help much.

So you must assume this will happen but have plan B ready. Have you this agreement in writing? If not then email a friendly thank you confirming the date and asking him to make sure the area is completely cleared and safe/clean/ made good as appropriate. If he doesn't perform, then you have to give him say 5 days say notice after which you will.... let's wait and see.

That looks familiar. We kept as much as we reasonably could, otherwise it's just another newbuild. Did retaining anything said money? If it is hands on then yes as you can pause and adapt. If using mostly outside designers and main contractors then no...

Agreed. I was fortunate to get a long discussion with a senior fire officer. There had been arson, burning lots of very flammable stuff stacked against the warehouse we had newly handed over. I was there to see the damage. The building was intact, it being metal cladding. The paint was gone as were the plastic screw heads. Otherwise intact. The officer explained that they had rules about working too close to materials that could hurt them. Thus in this case they were very nervous about composite cladding falling off the wall. He couldn't explain why it might fall but they knew it happened. So they had stood well back, and this had slowed their work. Ours was built on site with metal panels outside and in, and a fibreglass infill.. which we later saw had turned to sand. He said he wasn't permitted to praise or condemn any product. He said our product was brilliant but he could not say that officially. This makes sense esp after we see how Grenfell had false fire tests from a cladding manufacturer. Could a ceiling of eps behind plaster- board or plaster fall down through melting? I think not, but who is qualified to say?

The LPA loves to hear nice things about newts. Other than that they are seldom skilled enough to know good from great, from greenwash. Unfortunately they are confronted with loads of the latter. Do it anyway.

What does that mean? There are definitions for flatness and super-flatness. Flat can include being on a slope in one direction. It is usually measured, if at all, by placing a 3m straight edge on the floor in all directions, and measuring gaps. Up to a 3mm gap at any point is 'flat'. Or do a survey on a grid. The spec is whatever you want it to be. For better than that , a super-flat floor, the top needs grinding off. So I can't advise, and I suspect the manufacturers are quiet on it too. But thick glue will be the answer.

Today's word. I must not use BH too late!

It looks as if the walls have varying constructions.

I'm not sure this has been gomoletelh answered. As always, read thd regulations to grasp the full requirement of thd green bit.. ie the regulation itself. For each area there are.ninum requirements but they can be averaged. Eg on the steading we have a small area of wall in the original exposed stone. It has some insulating property being 600 thick, but of course it is poor. Extra elsewhere satisfies the regulation, and the bco agreed that the heritage was worth showing.

If a material cannot burn then it is not combustible ... discuss. Actually I did, with bco. I prevailed tho they found some excuse that meant they had not formally lost the argument. An otherwise combustible material, eg timber cannot burn without oxygen, so protect it. But eps might still melt.

I suggest knocking up a timber frame. Bigger isn't much more cost. Make it comtainer/ welfare unit size and nobody will question it.

Osma is always expensive, even discounted. Of course it is high quality and gets specified on big jobs. But for 1/3 the price everything on the cheaper stuff still works OK. The only advantage of the big names that I have perceived in real life is the ease of joining. Down a wet trench on a frosty day that £10 may be worth it, but not normally. And are the pipes equally strong? That doesn't matter if properly surrounded.

should be 1 day per mm up to 50mm and 2 days per mm over, That's often said* but is nonsense. The majority of the free water in the pour combines chemically with the mix, and what is left is a low number. Typically I used to work with 175mm of concrete and it would be dry enough in 30 days. That's unless you let it get wet again. But if you have a closed box and airflow it will dry. Of course the top surface dries most easily with air above it. It also wets most readily. But the concrete of screed below it immediately sheds moisture up unto the drier part. * mostly it's been a genuine belief but I think it originates from contractors and manufacturers getting their excuses in early.

The great ones welcome the feedback and respect the complementary skills and knowledge of other professionals.

Otoh.. not bluffing. Perhaps not a capital A one, but what used to be called a draughts person..... they have all disappeared through title inflation, but I worked with some who were very expert on detail within their niche, and proudly so.

That is wise IFFFFF the contractor is knowledgeable. Lots are not, and get by because they are prepared to work at height. Your detail looks fine as long as any joints in the lead are sealed... once water finds a way in, more follows. Seriously I think there must be capillary forces.

Driven rain from the right is likely to breach that ridge. Increase the slope and also totally seal the peak with either an upstand/parapet, or a continuous, impenetrable roof surface.