saveasteading

What effect do they have on the results? For interest, not to keep false figures. I'm wondering if the consultant has enough knowledge to have an expected outcome to compare to. ie does that look right?

We have a walk-in shower drain with pipes as high as possible. This exits at a few " above ground level and thereafter is contorted to meet the main 4" pipes. At present I have removed the rodding point so that it waters the tomatoes. The whb is watering a courgette to great effect. The drainage isn't pretty there but I could have tried harder by burying pipes asap rather than leading them above ground.

We have an old, primitive house with no floor insulation. Despite that we installed an electric blanket type under the tiles, with time control. Also an electrically heated heated towel rail, for which we simply push an 'on for 2 hours' button. as required. Theoretically that is inefficient with 1. using straight electricity, 2. heat loss through the floor. But all works well. With cosy feet all feels well with the world, and neither heat source is on for long.

It's a personal preference (and so for my own buildings is easy, but not so much commercially), but I like to limit movement. Movement joints can be much reduced, especially in masonry. Bricks expand after manufacture, as they absorb moisture. Blocks shrink as they cure then dry. Sometimes they were made only days before delivery. Thus a cavity wall is severely stressed and needs joints. Buy them early and store in free air and the situation disappears or at least lessens. With concrete, cracking is reduced through limiting the water content, and stopping evaporation. Judicious use of mesh or fibres helps too. It will shrink and crack but much less than it might. eg I haven't ever had cracks in large areas of floor tiles. OR in some situations you let concrete floors or walls craze, then finishes cover it..

Agreed, avoid macerator. They are last resort, noisy and add lifetime maintenance. Drilling downwards is easy, but horizontally is not. Plus a 100mm perfect hole is not what you need. 150mm with precision is getting specialist and also needs a big access pit. As @Oz07, cut out a generous gap and later infill again. Agricultural concrete may be on the softer side if you are lucky. Or can the pipes emerge above floor level?

It is assumed that residents have diminished hearing, and that hearing general activity is a positive. And staff want to hear any noise, for quick reaction to any issues.

I would hope that the brief includes that the remedial work, design and works, when finished, are not apparent in any way. In any future sale, a surveyor should not see any signs of problems, however well sorted structurally and functionally.

Resilient bars are very effective. You also need some soft insulation ( rockwool), and some density ( 2 layers plasterboard. Sound will still creep in at the edges so sort them too. The standard details in the plasterboard spec sheets are very useful and have been lab tested.....without edge ingress though. Do not, as I once did, assume that nursing home standards are appropriate...they assume hearing loss in residents... you need semi-detached sound blocking.

If you have the luxuries of space and time, then working with an open trench, or part, removes these risks entirely.

I've seen cables sticking in ducts, resisting the winch tension.... scary. Had to dig another draw point. You must not have any wobbles in the duct. None, zero.

Great advice above. There is some territory defence instinct in us all. Try to rise above it. As insurance, and I think some comfort, i would recommend keeping a diary. Just a blank hard-backed book and only use it when there is something to record. Mundane or passionate as appropriate.Eventually this will also become your site diary. Being blank allows you to make no entry or write a paragraph or whatever. A gap in dates in itself shows that nothing was worth recording in your opinion. Such a record can be amazingly powerful in any future formal argument. Allows you to relax and not carry this mental load at all times.

Or that part of France or what the Mayor thinks. I've been involved once and it was surprisingly informal in a good way. Local contacts helped. Discuss with the selling agency...they might have into or contacts. I was going to say that you always have Saniflo as the worst case, but not if M. le Maire ne ce l'aimez pas. Rearrange words as necessary.

Road partial closure, if that applies, is the worst case for cost. Full closure is much cheaper. That sounds like a safe estimate. I too have often had fruitful discussions , usually requiring homework....with which BH can help: as previous messages... tell us more. Best not disclose who the quotation is from. If it is a quotation rather than estimate then they have to be on the safe side, because they get so many requests, but will then usually engage with more info.

What ground do you have? A 2 to 3 tonner can struggle or be totally ineffective with, for examples, heavy clay, chalk, dense gravel.

Agreed and very easy to resolve. I suggest a plastic chamder and cover, so you can easily get an arm in and to the bottom. Also the possible benefit of allowing rodding in both directions. Depending what's in it, this could be in manhole style with a profiled base, or as a catchpit. Apologies that I have not read back. If there is any reason that you cannot have a chamber there, then you could possibly fiddle that through using pairs of 45° bends or less, or adjustable bends. But there must be a constant fall. If you include a rodding unit then it could all be in 6 or more parts. This gives you a bit more wiggle (adjustment) too.

The only problem I can recall in many km of drains is with connectors from one supplier. They were a pain to fit, but they then worked and it saved a lot of money. My default is to use a smaller merchant and likely a brand that is not major, but the quality is good.

The tiles under the units are the easy ones anyway.

My admirable small grounworker contractors over the years are my guide. They tended to have a middle aged tracked kubota or similar. They break down or lose tracks regularly, and often the repair cost is unviable... then they get abandoned until given away. Owning one has the advantage of instant availability, and saving time, hire cost and transport. Owning on one's own plot removes the HSE overview on commercial sites, and transport. BUT. Breakdowns as above. It very often isn't the right machine...too small, needs tracks, not performing. I suggest a long chat with the managers at local hire companies. The smaller ones especially. They might have a machine nearing selling on stage which could sit with you instead of in their yard. Pay by the clock plus a monthly. They maintain. You also agree a discount on other hire equipment but promise (and keep to it) not to hire from elsewhere. OR they sell you it but provide some guarantee, at least on major issues. They might say no but have another suggestion. They will probably like you, the project, the enthusiasm, and the 2 years of hire coming. I'd enjoy sitting with you in that chat. £5k mentioned above, plus maintenance? How far will that go in hire cost?

They meaning Oso ? For clarity.

To be completely fair I should have added that some consultants, real Professionals capital P, relish information and ideas and practical input on construction and cost from clients and contractors. I recall multidisciplinary design-and-build projects where we effectively won a project in that meeting. Architect, Civil Engineer, QS, electrician, plumber and contractor (design managers and construction manager). What a great buzz and commitment from all parties.... Great for Client value too, but the other 3 contractors were wasting their time for the next few weeks to tender. Sorry, wandering off there... Teamwork and enthusiasm, and the ruthlessness to dismiss non team-players is my point. BH offers some of this.

Seriously, that was a very useful discipline in teaching the power of ten and having an understanding of numbers being big or small. Also in significant figures when using one of these new calculator thingies.

My pitch on this. How much Risk and hands-on? If you project manage and don't have a main contractor, and do some of the work, then it is self build. The degree varies from there of course. 100% means no contractor, but help from friends and family. Next level includes labourers or semi skilled workers ... . But it's all your responsibility. From there down to 10%. A nonsense figure of course. Several trades contractors, some diy. We will all have our own views on this according to skills and experience.

Bravo. Good plan. Some 'experts' ( mostly in these recently created specialities) are lacking but must have known how to pass the exam. Others are technically good but don't consider options or cost. I hate it most when they write in a supervisory role for themselves. Mostly I have encountered these at planning stage. Some I submitted very detailed counter-arguments and succeeded. Archaeology; planting; newts; Breeam; come to mind. On one of those I even achieved a certificate without much study. The experts back down if the argument is strong.

It's easy to fit (just some ducting and a rainproof inlet, and works very well and efficiently. Even if it wasn't the rule, I would now choose to do it.

I have found that, by applying 'light oak' stain to softwood cladding, it remains much the same colour, perhaps a bit yellower. It goes on as barely visible so seems expensive at the time but the benefit is over the years as it does not grey. Either apply before fixing or allow shrinkage first, as tongues or edges may show when they grey.