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.

fire-up the thermal lance!

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….

crowd-sourced spec list

🙂

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’ll upload a lesson a week

do you wear a mortar board whilst teaching?

do you wear a mortar board whilst teaching?

Of course 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