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The length of any horizontal cracking, together with its location on a wall - near the ceiling or floor, and if the wall is external and solid or cavity, and if supporting a pitched roof would be relevant. The plaster cracking being stepped and the wall cracking horizontal is odd too. I don't...

That's just for serviceablity though and guidance to avoid cracking to finishes. It does not mean the beam has failed.

If you mean the blocks above the beam, that may not be indicative of beam deflection, as the blockwork would be in compression. 10m is a long span for blocks, so it may be a thermal (shrinkage) crack. It depends on the type of cracking.

You'll get 30 years out of EPDM, and 2 or 3x that out of lead. Will you still be around to make the exta cost worth while? Is the potentially better aesthetics of lead actually going to be seen or even appreciated? Yes, any roof structure must be capable (or made capable) of supporting it's...

Yes. But it's bizarre that if you have the exact same opening and loading, and put a steel beam across, building control will want padstones or a calculation on the wall bearing strength. But, if you put a steel lintel across, nothing is required. It's like magic.

One-man-bands aside, typically Architects in a practice are clueless about technical design and sub that out to others who know what they are doing. Further, they get lower paid technicians to do the donkey work from their arty-farty conceptual sketches without a scooby doo how it all goes...

But when you see the price, you may want to stay on the ground and use a cutter on telescopic pole. Henchman

No. The whole point is not to spread the load, but to prevent local bearing stress shearing the wall directly below the beam. Why don't lintels require padstones?

Nothing wrong with a cold adhesive repair (ie not torch on). You need to ensure that the area is built up to ensure that water does not pond in the repair. The top layer can either lap the sides, or you can build the area up, seal the joint, and then fit a cover strip around the perimeter...

If a warranty comes with the roofing work, then the legal advisor needs to have sight of it and confirm if the blisters will affect any warranty. Otherwise, these are not a significant concern. It's not clear if those lines are folds or laps. It would appear that some should be laps, but they...

The costs would be paid for by the builder if there is a problem. If you are not satisfied with the builder or his explanations, then normally you would both agree to get the opinion of an independent third party, and then the cost of that and any remedial work is borne by the builder if he is...

You don't normally walk on door thresholds or cills, but walk over them. Or should. No mastic is designed to withstand foot traffic Anyway, your problem there is that the lead is not dressed properly and is creating a dip and a back-fall which is actively holding and directing water under the...

How kind. We'll use use this as 1 hour CPD. Don't forget, the trainers normally provide lunch (y)

The back boiler?

If that's the rear wing of a victorian terrace, it's the chimney breast

Really? From an old fireplace?

Never, ever pay for more materials than are delivered, or for work actually done. Never. If paying for materials up front, pay the supplier direct, then those materials are yours. If you do choose to help a contractor out with a deposit or suchlike, then that amount should be calculated and...

There is a concept of creating an insulation envelope so that floor, wall and roof insulation is continuous, to avoid or minimise thermal bridges or breaks to the internal rooms. At floor level this could mean that cavity insulation goes down to the level of floor insulation, or that floor...

You need to actually point out your concerns because from the photos there does not appear to be anything out of the ordinary

No minimum distances. Check with the manufacturer. The standard detail of cavity walls at ground level are a bit bizarre, and there are lots of different details on the internet - many contradictory. In some cases, EPS or suchlike is specified below ground and up to DPC and then the quilt...