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That’s my thinking!

Hi guys, I have a section of wall that is damp to the touch. This is a stone and brick wall in a building dating back to late 1700’s. Interestingly it is only the last metre or so of the wall that suffers, the rest running across the house seems to be fine. I’ve added some photos of both sides...

Thanks Notch7, very helpful.

I need to take on a self employed labourer to help with joist hanging, fixing plasterboard, timber framing etc. Nothing too taxing. What sort of day rate should I be looking to pay do you think? I’m in Wiltshire.

Interesting. So you’re saying that if I could stick to maximum 6m runs (essentially turning a 12m run into two 6m runs) with rodding points at each end I would meet regs? Is this definitely correct? The lower side of the slope adjoins a road with limited space for a septic tank.

Any first hand experience of these things? I’m thinking of using a 190L tank to serve the ensuite’s single toilet, basin and shower.

And tapping into the main sewer isn’t an option due to time, money and the complexities of the land under which I would need to run not belonging to me.

Ah balls! Unfortunately your suggestion isn’t possible, I don’t have enough fall between where I need the new stack and the existing drain the other side of the house because of the sloping site; essentially the main drain is uphill from the new bathroom. I’ll post a picture.

I’m having a nightmare trying to get waste away from a planned en-suite the far side of the house from the existing stack. Due to a sloping site, three levels within the building and an open plan layout I have two options: 1) Install a pumping station underground to take the soil, macerate and...

That’s what I would do personally but I’m not a pro, someone far better qualified might disagree.

How far apart are the joists? A quick scan of the joist span table I found shows a 50x195 joist can span 4013mm @ 400mm centres. If that table is correct then the full end to end span once the discussed wall is removed will be too great. Will it fall down... doubt it, might it be a bit more...

Thanks Woody. The existing slab has a membrane under it. If I cut through the slab and dig a trench how is the moisture barrier usually preserved?

Hi all, I’ll try to explain the situation. I have a rectangular ground floor room which currently has the joists above it for the first floor removed. I need to add in an internal staircase and so I am in the process of working out how best to construct a wall to section off the stairs and...

Thanks Woody. You talk complete sense as usual.

Thanks for the detailed response Woody. I am slightly confused as to what to do then since your calcs above suggest a total load of 14kN (correct me if I’ve interpreted wrong) yet the concrete lintel I picked is rated for 9.84kN. Are you saying that on paper it isn’t strong enough but in...

Gotcha, I thought perhaps Woody was boiling things down to “real world” facts. I think it’s fair to say that in occasion BC (or rather building regs) focuses on “worst case to the power of 10” and ignores what actually happens in the real world. Thanks both!

Out of interest then... was my calculation correct based on the information I gave?

That’s certainly a simpler way of doing it Woody!

Hi all, I'm just trying to get your advice as to whether a concrete lintel is sufficient for my needs as my number crunching is at odds with a steel RSJ supplier who is recommending one of their own products. It's a bit long-winded but I wanted to show you my full workings. I would like to...