Recent content by RonnyRaygun

Nope, just a bog standard 1930s semi, on a very typical 1930s street. A driveway on which there’s room for a couple of vans and plenty of room on the street. I guess around 20 linear metres of tiles. I’ll see if I can get some more quotes and update in due course but thanks for confirming.

A friend has had a quote of £5700 to replace the hip and ridge tiles on her 1930s semi. No other work has been quoted for. This seems rather high to me as I thought a re-roof would be in the region of this price. It's within the M25 so understandably the cost may be slightly higher than...

If your foundations need to be greater than 1.5m deep then you will need a suspended floor. A ground bearing slab is OK where foundations are 1.5m deep or less. No specific trees no, but some have more influence than others on foundation depth. Oaks, poplars, and cypress are among the worst...

You should use slate or steel shims to pack between the beam and the pad stone.

I’d have a look on the loft. I’m sure I did a survey on an almost identical property last year. I’ll see if I can dig it out tomorrow.

I did a timber frame extension onto my own masonry construction house. I saved a huge amount on the cost of getting builders in. The insurance and mortgage companies asked whether the property was majority masonry construction, and I was able to honestly answer yes to that question. However, I...

Yes, it's a cavity wall so the outer leaf of brickwork isn't supporting anything. If it's a 1950s property then the bricks are probably supported directly off the frame. The internal leaf will probably be on a concrete lintel. They won't be able to support the bricks when they take out the...

More important than the mix is using the correct shuttering and sufficient vibrio compaction to remove any air pockets.

It’s so minor I wouldn’t even call an engineer out. A stepped crack can indicate localised subsidence but it’s so minor it’s not worth worrying about. BRE Digest 251 would suggest it’s at worst a category 1 crack and requires no action, or just filling...

Go on the Catnic and Kingspan websites. You'll be able to use their calculators and brochures for alternative options for insulation and lintels. The info you get off the calculators and brochures is suitable for issue to building control. Then you can ignore what your architect and engineer...

Why is the SE specifying the insulation? Not really their job...

Still not necessary on such a small span. Did he say why you can't just use a Catnic? No, you need 150mm of rockwool to meet regs, but there are alternatives. You can use 90mm Kingspan with 10mm residual cavity, so 315mm is achievable, or some architects are now specifying external insulation...

As FMT says, your engineer will need to assess the existing columns and beams to ensure that they can take the additional load. It’s possible that the existing members are OK. The loadings depend on materials to be used and also the style and pitch of the roof. Also, if you know what the...

You need to know if the existing floor is ground bearing or suspended for a start. Most likely ground bearing, but it may have been designed to span nominally over soft spots etc. Cutting a large hole into the existing slab may affect its structural integrity. You will also be adding point...

Sounds about right. M12s would be plenty. It doesn't help to spread the load between the beams as the beams can still move independently of each other. Therefore they don't really share the load equally and so I always design the beams to take the load of the masonry leaf they are carrying if...