saveasteading

Do you know why? We should overcome the reason for this at the same time.

Acoustic rail / resilient bar is useful in stopping vibrations carrying through I once had a roll of a bitumen sort of sheet with lead trapped within. It was made for medical aprons to stop x-rays. Very heavy but also flexible, and I used it on a party wall , hung loose behind the plasterboard, to great effect. It isn't available and would be crazily expensive, but some other heavyish loose material could be used. thick polyethene etc.

maybe sell credits? It could be deposited in empty coal mines which would be a bit like full circle. It is remarkable how little substance is in the branches and foliage. When I cut the hedge or prune the shrubs I put sticks through a grinder and smaller stuff piled on the ground and put the mower over it. What would have been 5 or 6 brown bins become half of one, even though it is still uncompressed, goes on the compost heap and is compost in 6 months...which rots and we are full circle ..again.

What is the work or spec change suggested? Does it make sense that this is an improvement, or is it a quirk of the program? I'm out of touch now, but we used to have the epc assessment program and we played with it, finding all sots of inconsistencies. Also, having met the people who put it together it was clear that they followed fashions rather than reality, and didn't know much about construction. The cheapest way to get a better result is quality control throughout, and a very thorough sealing of vents before the air test. The tester may say that they do smoke tests and then pressurise gain, but more likely they want in and out asap. The best way to get genuine results as performance is quality control and common sense over theory.

At least you know and have seen how it works, Parish councils can be very dull if nothing is happening, or can be vital in a livelier place, You would have noticed how easy it might be for someone to control things to their own advantage or prejudice. My point is though that complainers would benefit from attending. So much junk on local forums alleging corruption and incompetene,,,, so "do something" i feel.

You must stop it from getting wet again and do need the draught over it. If the weather ever improves then there is a chance of lower humidity helping you. Don't count on the 4 weeks!

The good news is that concrete cures much better underwater. When test cubes are made from samples , they are submerged until crushing to test the mix is successful. The cement has now completed its process and so now you should get rid of the water. brush or squeegee it out regularly. It is worth trying to keep rain out using tarpaulins but allowing the wind to whip through. Once you have managed to control (stop) the wetting and ventilate it, it is likely to be ready in 4 weeks or so.

Council meetings are open to the public. Parish, town, district, county, national. The meetings themselves may be tedious, and for the councillors too, but you learn and see that some councillors are there for party or their own purposes, and others are trying to make things fairer.... and up against the party machines. Also some get constant grief from the voters, whatever they do. I recommend going along to a committee that is of interest.. budget, planning, whatever.

All I can add is that I checked the pipes on a Friday, with the screed coming in Monday. There were 2 x severe kinks in one room. Supposedly expert plumber declined to spoil his weekend to sort it. Fortunately. I managed to straighten them. Works nicely. So I don't assume that other people care. Certainly not the £150 guy who poss has no experience. How many homes still have the kinks? Presumably it works well enough normally. So I agree on some redundancy.

That's all good advice. If anything a planning consultant might even make your application more difficult flagging your proposal as potentially contentious. There will be plenty more architects around if none so far make you comfortable. Its an important first stage. You can do the homework as to precedent.. saves you paying time rates, then your architect can summarise... 'this fits with and is consistent with the nearby previous replacement projects' common sense will tell you if it looks contentious.

Add a humidity sensor for the fan and a humility sensor for the fan, door and window blind.

I'd have to ask the professionally active SEs on here if they allow for this. I don't recall ever allowing wall tile loading, except as adding to the weight of the wall if it bears onto any lower support, eg joists. OSB I'd prefer as it will take all sorts of heavy fixings with ease.

I hadn't heard of such a thing, so I googled it. Not to be relied on of course but often tells us what non-professionals are assuming. It seems to me that it is intended to mean a method statement for the demolition phase of the project. This is routine and the builder will do it. It doesn't get submitted but is a formal document which you should keep in case something goes wrong.... look they said it was all worked out. Its actual purpose is to make the builder plan ahead and avoid danger or damage. A demolition notice is online to your LA and routine. I can't say if you need one as don't know the nature of the work. You are at the start of your journey you say. Good luck. Does this involve major demolition or adapting an existing building? At some stage of smallness it moves from demolition to simply being part of the works. If it is a lot of demolition then it may be worth getting a specialist demo company to do it... they think differently and efficiently. You probably don't need an architect to engage a planner to either engage a builder, or just issue a generic ' be safe' document at your expense. But tell us more.

Could you adjust the insulation. Why is it so cold? Mains water is at ground temperature. Perhaps introduce some reduced insulation somewhere along the cold line, so that it warms on the way?

Don't you just need to close the door?

I haven't heard that before. And either it has 'just been done' and I haven't noticed or it seems cautious, as I have no recollection of any issues (a few family projects and accommodation, but lots of commercial, sport and education). Is it to stop deflection ( and tile cracking) from accidental shouldering, or for supporting appliances* ( in which case noggins around 600 up i agree would be prudent). * do people stand or sit in basins? But changing 600 to 400 for the smallest rooms is easy so I'd like to understand the perceived concern.

Because it depends on the circumstances and the product. Eg timber is combustible but may satisfy the requirement.. it chars and needs lots of heat and air to burn. Some firestopping is plastic wrapping to an intumescent core. The plastic melts and the core expands to fill the gap (it is like cigarette end ash) If you don't need the ventilation then timber or rockwool may suffice to fill the gap. But you also have to convince the bco And they need proof, eg a test certificate matching the proposal.

Crushed concrete. It usually comes with soil and other people's demo junk in it, but in your case a bit of earth won't matter.

Looking on the positive side then. You presumably got the drawings done for a few hundred. ditto the SE who did some calculations but not site detailing. Then the builder or trades are not project managing so have not added costs for this or for any risks. So you should have saved a lot of money towards whatever comes up. It's a commercial decision that you have taken, Some things will be required that you had not foreseen, or were even aware of. The building inspector is not your designer so will be seen as the nasty ogre who says no. You must research thoroughly and its a good plan to chat it through with the builder but do lots of reading up as well. Here on BH we can advise on the principles but not take any responsibility, nor spend much time considering all aspects.... and we may be wrong. eg I'm not opening the drawings and spending time studying them ... that's what you pay designers for. So get reading and sketching and BH may help with simpler questions.

getting seriously off topic...

I've had the briefest of looks at two drawings. It seems to me that this is useful in showing all the geometry but leaves all detailing to others, prob esp the builder. There is generous use of terms like 'as necessary' or 'in accordance with'... etc. these annotations are probably cut and pasted on all similar designs, maybe even auto generated. Without seeing your contracts with architectural designer, SE , builder to see where responsibilities lie, or if there are gaps etc I can't say much more. When details like your question arise, and excuse me if you have answered already, it should be the experts that deal with it, but you appear to assume you have responsibility. So I'm guessing that the architecture was for an overview and no detailing. If so then you are relying on the builder whose brief is... what exactly?

Another thing could be the cavity being bridged by dropped mortar. Although if the cavity is fully filled with insulation, that is unlikely. Do you know the detail? Which makes me think... do you have the construction detail? If not then ask for it.

Yes and it's wise. But I've got a pipe that rises to ground level, put in by someone else decades ago. It's under a low use perimeter gravel, so I've squeezed 30mm of gravel over and have no concerns. A paving slab would be better but would look wierd. I would have done more under a more accessible area. One of those pragmatic things where no harm can befall.

Not that I trust Kingspan certificates.

Where else do Christmas decorations go? It really depends on your storage requirements and opportunities. For the cost of the ladder and a few boards you remove the stuff from a more valuable space. £/m2 is very good. However well you do it, with seals and insulation, there will be some heat loss. If you do go for one, then I recommend a permanent ladder, either sliding or scissoring down, rather than a stepladder or standard one. Much safer.