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If there is some acoustic insulation that can be put in the cavities, make sure that it is also suitable for external walls and will not let moisture through. And acoustic insulation will be denser than normal cavity wall insulation, so will not be as good as keeping the heat in !

There are lots of posts on this forum about party wall soundproofing (general principles: mass, isolation, avoidance of air paths), so I'll not repeat it all again. But specific points about your case: Party wall - 9" thick solid wall plastered directly is very common up to the 1930s. A...

How far away is the loft conversion ? That is a lot of work for something temporary, and anything you do now will have to be re-done then anyway, so no point in spending too much now. However, I'd be tempted to get designs done for a proper loft conversion (steels, dormer, etc) and state that...

I don't think this has anything to do with the neighbour. Their fence and gate has not been moved and can stay where it is. The path between their gate and the end of their extension is not part of the alley, it is part of their garden. If you want a path wide enough for access along the side...

Its obviously dropped a bit above the door as you have noted, which can only be due to lack of support. There may have originally been a timber window or door there that did offer enough support. Often those type of soldier courses relied on this, and some arching due to build in compression as...

Usual way is for the builder to build the shell. Then you do everything inside. If you want contractors to do bits inside such as plastering just employ them as required. You can employ various subcontractors to do the shell if you want, but its easier to lose control of the costs. With a...

Can't be much pitch on that roof !

You can fix loose plaster by drilling some holes and injecting watered down PVA. Its worth trying an area before you decide to pull the whole lot down or not.

If you use push fit, the reducer can be removed for rodding access !

Something like this ?? http://www.cablinginstall.com/articles/2012/10/magnet-cable-clip.html No idea how expensive they are.

There was no screening on the cable. The run was only to the other end of the tube and wired like you would inside a luminaire. It was twin-and-earth with the earth conductor unused. However, using the FM radio as a detector, most of the interference seemed to be coming from the ballast itself...

I have 4 x 36W T8 tubes on top of my kitchen cabinets so be connected to 2 dual dimming ballasts. I tried Philips dimming ballasts, not mounted inside a luminaire, just fixed to the top of the cabinets. Short wires to one end of the ballast as required. The RF interference generated from the...

If you are using carcasses with backs to them, no need to include the plasterboard, just use insulation board. If you don't want to lose too much space, 25mm celotex should stop the condensation. If you sandwich it behind the cupboards it should do the job.

I don't know much about epoxy, but you may be able to use a sand cement screed with a reasonable amount of SBR in the mix to make it waterproof. Use a cement / SBR slurry to bond. Usually ratios are provided on the SBR container. Got to be easier than bonding down a DPM with epoxy.

I would fill any gaps with expanding foam.

Look in the yellow pages for local fabricators. I have seen PVCu windows much smaller than this. Or the online window manufacturers might do it (but these might be the ones that limit sizes of "standard" orders). Avoid at all costs the National places - Everest or whatever.

Maybe too late now, but I would never build an external skin from aircrete blocks. And definitely not for an exposed parapet. Just too light weight. Thermal cracks on a tied in internal skin is not of much consequence, but on a parapet ...

I put one in my extension roof to brighten what would be a dark corner, as I don't like great big velux windows overheating the place in the summer. They are fairly easy to fit, depending on the routing. Lots of use of gaffer tape to get the thing in the correct place while you fit it. Make...

You can build a "conservatory" to any standard you want as long as it is safe. It no longer needs to have a translucent roof. It will be building control exempt if you keep it separated by external doors, have a separate heating zone etc. The foundations of a conservatory can be shallower and...

I did a trench a bit like that running alongside neighbour's kitchen / coalhouse outrigger (skeleton party wall agreement signed, no surveyors). Next door foundation about 400mm, my trench 1000mm. My risk analysis allowed me to do it, bearing in mind: - it was only single storey - it didn't...