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What is the aim? What kind of wagon: transit' 40 foot artic? What's the ground like? How straight is the run (width required?) For any sort of ongoing access you need to be thinking about digging out topsoil at least, Terram then 150 or so of crush. Even for a one off less than 50 is really...

Your analysis is generally very good but a few small clarifications: 1. The flux coating melts to form a protective slag which protects the weld metal for the first vital seconds. One of the signs of a poor weld is the guy chipping away with a slagging hammer for ages trying to remove it. A...

Or run off the top if you'd finished it properly.

That could well be Asbestolux: where is it?

If I might add a couple more thoughts to my first reply: I learned stick welding purely by watching. When I tried it I had the benefit of the current being set to the rod size (all you can really alter) which is a big chunk of the battle, I was using part used rods which are much easier to...

That just looks like normal sand cement screed to me. What was the time gap between screed an flooring?

For years I had an old style air cooled 140A stick welder. It did a job but it was heavy and the arc wasn't terribly consistent. I picked up a set of industrial welding leads at a boot fair for £2 and that made it much handier. About 10 years ago I had a lot of stuff to do and treated myself...

Where does the dynamite go Kools?

I'm confused here. The normal procedure is that the person doing the work serves a notice on those neighbours who are affected and those neighbours give their formal consent. This doesn't in fact need to involve Party Wall Surveyors at all and indeed over the last 20+ years 90% of my jobs...

That seems awfully good for £40

I'd knock out the infill between slabs and bricks: it'll need reinstating anyway.

Yes. Simplictically more water = less strength. The hydration process needs about 20% of the weight of cement any water above this makes the mix more fluid but has to go somewhere. Some of it will rise to the surface dragging cement particles with it leaving a soft dust surface (bleeding) and...

Modern cements are finer ground than in times of yore. This means that in a given volume of concrete there are a greater number of particles of cement which are therefore closer together. The setting process is the growth of dendrites (finger like structures) which interlock binding the mass...

That's an old (>40 years) strength curve. Modern cements typically give 75% of 28 day strength at 7days. You're going to tip the barrel over long before the concrete fails even after a couple of days but if it's very cold then strength gain will be slower.

Still no drawing posted.

8:1 will do that: You've got a steel barrel holding it altogether

Those long strands look like glass fibre to me, but if you're concerned send a sample to one of the numerous testing services.

OP has stated builder won't accept a reduction.

You should expect the guy to build you the structure on the drawing: if he has to pull some of it down then so be it.

For this application you could safely go to 8:1 or even weaker: you only want weight. I would be bulking the mix out with lumps of broken concrete if any available