[Closed] Rate my Brickie....

You are letting him off too easy in my opinion, he is the supposed professional and should have done the job properly for you

Possibly, but I asked him to do it and went through the design with him, so the pier cock up is my fault. In an ideal world he'd have queried it, but I don't think he's the world's best brickie and just my bad luck that he didn't pick up on it. I can't blame him for doing what I asked him to, even if it was completely wrong! As for the slowness, well yes, but in this case it's been a mixed blessing as less work to knock down and blocks / brick to clean up (I'll be doing that all WE).

If you want to have the roof design looked at, post the drawing on here, I had just presumed you would be trussing that roof

I'm OK with it, the Engineer has 12 pages of calculations and BC have approved the complete design, so it'll be OK as long as it's built right - the main issue is as a 1st time self build I'm having a few issues with interpreting the plans. Still, it's all a good learning experience, you never forget things you learn from mistakes!

Basic design:

[url= http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8191/8101096375_e4abb024f1.jp g" target="_blank">http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8191/8101096375_e4abb024f1.jp g"/> [/img][/url]
[url= http://www.flickr.com/photos/brf/8101096375/ ]Screen shot 2012-10-18 at 23.02.25[/url] by [url= http://www.flickr.com/people/brf/ ]brf[/url], on Flickr

12 pages of calculations for a shed? At least now I know what not to do if I get one built. 😛

I feel for you though footflaps, hope it all gets sorted happily.

Edit! Pitched roof!

One last wee story before I go to catch up on my beauty sleep

I've all too often seen so called tradesmen do work that they know to be wrong at the request of a client, they get paid to do the initial work, I come along and tell them it's wrong and ask them to undo it, they say to the client that building control are being awkward and that it has to come down and be rebuilt. It's a good way of getting paid twice to do a job. Of course the building control surveyor is named as the bad guy in this. I've seen this scenario far too many times and it really makes me mad how people can get away with it.

Find a good honest builder and you'll have that wee job done for half the price, to a better standard and a lot less stress to yourself.

I'm in the process of building my own bike shed by the way, it has cavity walls and is bone dry inside even before plastering, my previous shed was single skin plastered and really damp internally in humid weather.

Possibly, but I asked him to do it and went through the design with him, so the pier cock up is my fault. In an ideal world he'd have queried it, but I don't think he's the world's best brickie and just my bad luck that he didn't pick up on it. I can't blame him for doing what I asked him to, even if it was completely wrong

I've been asked to do things that are obviously wrong and refused due to pride in my work. The customer is not always right even though they think they are. 😉

Time for the joiners!

I feel for you though footflaps, hope it all gets sorted happily.

Cheers! It's just a bit of a hickup. The whole self build thing is a bit of an adventure anyway, so it's not that much of a surprise that it doesn't go perfectly.

Sorry I can't wait! Who's roof design is that? Is it being done traditional?

Find a good honest builder and you'll have that wee job done for half the price, to a better standard and a lot less stress to yourself.

I did go down that route originally and was getting quotes back north of £30k, which was obviously insane, hence I thought f*** it I'll just DIY, took the next week off and dug the footings on an impulse.....

So without doing a calc, the roof beam is a 178 x 102? Simple enough structure that, remember if your engineer has over specified building control won't tell you that, we just look at minimum standards.

You could use timber for your ridge beam, cheaper and a lot easier to work with, I can't work out the sizes in my head at this time of night but I'd think a 225 x 75 timber beam wouldn't be far away..........

Time for bed

Sorry I can't wait! Who's roof design is that? Is it being done traditional?

Externally it will be tiled, so look traditional. The lack of A frames gives more space for a mezzanine floor and also all the light comes from skylights, so it will look nicer. As for whose design, the Structural Engineer suggested it.

So without doing a calc, the roof beam is a 178 x 102? Simple enough structure that, remember if your engineer has over specified building control won't tell you that, we just look at minimum standards.

You could use timber for your ridge beam, cheaper and a lot easier to work with, I can't work out the sizes in my head at this time of night but I'd think a 225 x 75 timber beam wouldn't be far away..........

They've all been ordered already...

and meanwhile, in a paralell universe, there is some brickie on singlebrickworld asking other brickies what they thik of his new bike build. they are all laughing; telling him his fork is on backwards, the brake levers are too high, the stem is inverted and that the reflectors need to come off. oh, and it's an Orange Five.....

seems like a lot of faff for a blingy bike shed.

i still think it would have been a lot less hassle to build a decent wooden shed.

footflaps, listen to the guys above (wrightson, lyrikal, rusty, etc) that build stuff with bricks for a living.

i'd consider 150 a day tight (but then maybe rates are lower for brickies than for chippies), but i'd be expecting more progress than that for my money and i'd expect that the guy doing the job had a better idea of how to do it than your guy does.

Great thread and some good advice being offered - hopefully it should end up with a better finished product.
Is it just me or is this like having our own private Grand Designs project??
Chin up footflaps, it'll all be good.

Scratch that glitch.

Glitch in my crotch.

and meanwhile, in a paralell universe, there is some brickie on singlebrickworld asking other brickies what they thik of his new bike build. they are all laughing; telling him his fork is on backwards, the brake levers are too high, the stem is inverted and that the reflectors need to come off. oh, and it's an Orange Five.....

That is quite funny!

and meanwhile, in a paralell universe, there is some brickie on singlebrickworld...

[img] [/img]

Slow day on a Friday Jamie? 🙂

top marks Jamie. Have a dog.

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🙂

What helmet for condemned piers?

lol funny stuff 🙂

"Rate my Bike Mechanic" superb.

Looking forward to today's installment.

OP don't rely on building control getting it right. They are probably the same shower that allowed my sisters neighbour to cause major structural damage to her house (and their own). My sister is currently living in a house that could fall down in a sudden cold snap or very heavy rain.
I repeat Cambs building control are a shower.

Edit Nice bondage Stoner!

A Scottish bond. Or Sean Connery for short...

I was looking for a flemish one 🙂

I was looking for a flemish one

Strangely, that was in the first draft.

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This is one of the most entertaining threads for a long time.

No nothing about building and I hope it works out for Footflaps.

Is the engineer here yet? It's nearly 9

I've cancelled the Brickie and will take it all down at the WE regardless. Engineer will be here shortly...

So what's the best way to clean mortar off bricks? I'll probably bin all the blocks as they're relatively cheap.

This is what you need....
[img] [/img]
[img] http://images.littlewoods.com/is/image/Littlewoods/A111P_SP711_93_UC0FP [/img]

DrP

(got the second one for my lad for christmas!!)

I've cancelled the Brickie and will take it all down at the WE

How did he take it? I hope you didn't pay him? Have you linked him to this thread?

I reckon you'll have that lot, down, cleaned, and in neat piles in half the time it's taken him to put them up 🙂
[img] http://s7g3.scene7.com/is/image/ae235?$p$&layer=0&size=281,281&layer=1&size=281,281&src=ae235/80060_P [/img]
[img] http://s7g3.scene7.com/is/image/ae235?$p$&layer=0&size=281,281&layer=1&size=281,281&src=ae235/46209_P [/img]

Well as you're starting again, is it worth having a re-think about using the handmade imperials below DPC level when a metric engineering brick might make it all a bit easier/better?

Scutching hammer

Best of luck Op I'm sure it'll turn out well in the end.

^ good idea.

Class Bs dont cost much at all.

The mortar on the blocks won't be fully set so it should knock off quite easily with a trowel, you could probably get away with knocking bits of it down to get the piers bonded in again.

If I were you I'd be building cavity, you won't loose that much internally and it will also give good support to the facing brick facade. Give me a shout if you want me to sketch up a detail for you. Cavity wall will still be fine to support your steelwork

So The STW crowd-sourced spec list goes something like:
1) DPM
2) Engineering bricks to DPC
3) 110mm cavity wall
4) 100mm mineral wool insulation batts
5) Wine cellar
6) TV aerial

Wine cellar!!! Brilliant but you would have some trouble digging one through that reinforcement.

A wine loft would be an idea

There's quite enough wining on here already 😆

IGMC

A wine loft would be an idea

Cooled by stoners solar powered thang.

Brilliant but you would have some trouble digging one through that reinforcement.

Good job it's coming down or imagine the embarrassment your family would suffer when the emergnecy services dug your body out of the rubble to find you were part way through building an Orange 5 at the time of your demise.

I'll look up deal extreme for thermal lances now, must have them cheap.

Best thread for ages this....

[i]crowd-sourced spec list[/i]

🙂

I like this thread.

(whilst still hoping that footflaps ends up with the bike shed of his dreams).

I wonder what else you can now make, add to, with the old blocks and bricks?

BBQ?

Outside wash station?

Surprisingly the Engineer was an awful lot less bothered by the whole thing than STW. He said the block work was neat and he'd seen a lot worse. He was happy with the 100mm overlap, all within spec. He's specified the middle load bearing pillar gets taken down four courses and re-built fully bonded, the rest can stay as is and not be completed fully bonded as the load will have spread out by the time it gets that low, so the weaker bonding won't be an issue at that height. I repeatedly said I'm happy to start again and he said, don't - just correct the middle pier and carry on. I'll talk to my BC inspector this afternoon to get his approval for the remedial action and then take it from there.

did he have a view on the DPM/DPC?

When my parents had their extension built, my dad had a small secret box room buit in to the cavity created by the recessed fire place. It was accessed by removing logs from the recessed log store and climbing up and in . Was shelved full height, about 1.5m deep and about 5m long. As a young boy (aged about 25) I thought it was epic and I had visions of him storing weapons, valuable wine, gold bars and porn in there, or creating a panic room.

As it was, I don't think he could ever be arsed to remove the logs so didn't really use it for anything other than a small amout of cash he got from doing some business off the books.

But it was there......

Edit: Double post

I'd agree that the block work is tidy, no doubting that and the 100 lap is acceptable, just not good practice.

It would need to be tidy given the time he is taking over it!!

Do as he says with the middle pier and also make sure you bond in the remainder of the other piers to make sure they don't topple over internally through time.

Do as he says with the middle pier and also make sure you bond in the remainder of the other piers to make sure they don't topple over internally through time.

All the other piers will be fully bonded and I've ordered some Ancon flat plate SS ties which will be used everywhere from now on, to beef up the bonding. We're having a breather till the the plates arrive which will hopefully be Today or Monday.

did he have a view on the DPM/DPC?

I'm not at all concerned about this, there are plenty of solutions, all of which I can retro-fit eg lay another DPC and screed, paint floor + inside of two courses with sealant / rubber paint stuff etc. It's an easily solvable problem. Plus we're the driest part of the UK (it rains more in North Africa than in Cambridge). My kitchen floor is laid on 6" of Victorian rubble on the earth, with no DPC and is dry as a bone.

I guess rainwater harvesting isn't an option on the stw collective specification then?

Just realized nobody has actually rated the builders work yet

10/10 Turning Up

8/10 Tidyness

0/10 Fag rolling

10/10 Bucket toolbox

8/10 Builders cap

2/10 Quality of work

4/10 Cost

0/10 Recommendation

Have I forgot any? 😉

Just realized nobody has actually rated the builders work yet

Are you looking at the right brickie?

Have I forgot any?

Amount of arse crack showing?

Reading the Sun?

Offering opinions on current affairs?

I guess rainwater harvesting isn't an option on the stw collective specification then?

I'm going to channel all the little rain we get to Butts and then the excess to a soak away I've not yet dug.

But to put it in context I cycle to/from work everyday and flogged my GTX trousers on Ebay as I'd not worn them in about 5 years!

Amount of sugars in tea?

0/10 Fag rolling

Yep, he smokes cigarettes not rollies...

Amount of sugars in tea?

A lot..

is he sacked then and your looking for a new chap?

is he sacked then and your looking for a new chap?

I'm going to continue with him. He's not the quickest, but it will be quicker to stick with him than bin it and start again with someone else (finding them, waiting to them to start etc). The Engineer was quite happy with his work (other than the wrong pier bonding, which is my fault), so I'm not overly concerned.

I'd be looking to renegotiate his rate though.

footflaps - Member

I'm going to continue with him.

😯

Have you had a word with him about his speed though? If I was going to keep him on I'd at least cap the job at £x end of.

A mate (wannabe painter/decorator) of a mate (proper painter/decorator) once started a job for my ex. He was f&*(ing shocking. Lasted until midway though day 3 when she told him to do one.

Tis your call though.

If any of the resident brickies are near bristol I have a kitchen extension that needs blockwork. Quality and price needs to match STW standards 🙂 email in profile.

I'm going to continue with him.

Present him with a printout of this thread when he finishes.

Just thought i'd let you know that this thread just had a staffroom full of Construction Lecturers giggling.

"reading the Sun"!! Oi, don't mind being labelled a hairy arsed scruff bag, but i draw the line at Sun reader! 😉

Once i've finished re doing my kitchen, a bigger brick garage/bike shed/man cave is the next project (as asked for by Mrs Trowel!)

When i get around to it i'll do a photo diary or something to post on here for a laugh.

do you need a brick layer?
I've read most of this thread so have the credentials.

Get everyone to chip in, and i'll upload a lesson a week for the next 2 years and none of you will ever need to hire a brickie again 😀

[i] i'll upload a lesson a week[/i]

do you wear a mortar board whilst teaching?

do you wear a mortar board whilst teaching?

Of [i]course[/i] he does..

Present him with a printout of this thread when he finishes.

God no! He's actually a nice person, just not a quick worker and some of the keyboard warriors on here are pretty rude, interestingly more so the less they know about the subject. The nicest people (on this thread) have been the ones who do know what they're talking about - sort of sums up STW quite well.

do you wear a mortar board whilst teaching?

Well I think he trained at King's so what do you expect.

I think the building should be on Grand Designs.....vanity project with large cost over runs