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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...

Rule of thumb is that if a wall leans less than 1/3 of the thickness it's OK as it keeps the load within the middle third of the wall. Better still if it's restrained by floor joists or rafters. So should be OK, but would be interesting to see some pics. Although that depends on the overall...

I can't see why not as it complies with all of the requirements of a build over agreement. It was acceptable to BC and Thames Water when I provided that detail to them a year or so ago. It's not really any different from building over a sewer with your extension and a ground bearing slab or...

One option is to put a foundation either side of the pipe, ensuring you maintain sufficient distance from it, and then bridge over with a concrete slab and build your wall off that. Here's one I prepared earlier:

Yes, that's the type of lintel you would need. The SE might tell you that a 150mm bearing won't pass building control but he would be lying. It could easily be calculated to prove it. I don't like the idea of spreader plates extending beyond the end of a lintel as the eccentric load causes a...

No. Rat trap bond looks like it’s brick on edge with the headers fully spanning from one side to the other so the wall will be 215mm overall thickness. It forms a more complete (85mm) cavity though (had never heard of it until now).

How about Quetta bond? Although this requires long bricks to maintain a cavity. Although I suppose it still works with standard size bricks - you just end up with small voids.

Hadn’t even looked at the beam or bearings. Also, usually there would be a few courses of masonry above the opening so I’d expect to see maybe a 150x100mm box section with a bottom plate picking up 100mm of masonry (maybe with snapped headers to mimic Flemish bond). Alternatively a solid wall...