aAsk a Tradesman

I am messaging pearly for info into your trade, as I will be leaving the HM Forses in October this year I am interested to know what would be the best Plant Op ticket to obtain around the Nottinghamshire area for job availability and would love any advise given. I have a Counter Balance FLT Licence and C+E so HIAB is on my mind also Telescopic Handler and 360 Excavator! Also will have no exp how would that stand? Any advise would be grate thank you.

No insurance company will look at me as I cant get the sellors to do this before exchange of contracts, it is a repossession property. Also the structural engineer assures me that if the work is done properely that there will be no further problems. Also, if a company does insure me it will stay on their records for 10 years and possibly put off potential buyers in the future. I could just not mention this when i get the buiding insurance, but do they have access to reports I have had with this property. I understand that if something does go wrong that is linked to this the insurance with be invalid, however, the structural engineer states that if this sorted properely then there will be not further problems in that area. What is ur advice

Dont particularly want to do this in an underhand way, but seeing as the problem will be rectifyd a few days after i get the keys, i dont see why I should have this down on my policy for the next 10 years, which may affect my resale (about 5 years time). I have had a structural report, do buildings insurance have access to these without my permission?

Flooded garden.Our 100ft garden at the back of the house is at the lowest level amongst all the neighbours and it is clay based. Consequently it is forever covered in water. Can anyone with who is en expert in this field help please? Mr and Mrs Harrison

I'm building a new workshop/bike store/man cave in the back garden, having outgrown the garage.

The workshop will contain my machine tools (milling machine @ 400kg and lathe @ 250kg + benches)

Overall dimensions of the slab is 6m x 4m, the workshop itself will be constructed of sectional concrete panels and will be 5.85m x 3.85m externally with a low pitch box-corrugated metal roof. Walls and roof will be insulated and boarded with OSB.

I have dug the hole approx 275mm below the datum level and 75mm larger all round, the finished height of the base will be 300mm. The undersoil is London clay and there is a mature chestnut tree approx 3m away which has been severely cut back and I have removed a significant number of roots (some over 4" dia).

The plan is to put 125mm compacted hardcore in the central 5.4m x 3.4m to leave a 300mm footing, 25mm blinding sand, 1000 dpm, 50mm insulation and then pour concrete over the lot, embedding some A142 mesh centrally in the top 100mm. The edge of the slab will be bevel troweled for 75mm all round to aid water run off.

Once the formers are removed and the concrete is set I'll fill the 75mm gap round the edges with pea shingle to aid water dispersion.

Questions I have, in no particular order:

1. Is it sufficient just to lay the mesh on 2" broken paving on top of the insulation, or should I form it down into the footings by bending at right angles and going down vertically one mesh (200mm). Is there any further benefit in returning it horizontally at the bottom?

2. How far should I extend the insulation - the same area as the hard core or out into the footings? And if the latter, how far?

3. I plan to extend the DPM up the side of the slab (between the concrete and the shingle) but how do I terminate it? Just cut it off 25mm below the top of the slab?

4. Is this over the top? The mill weighs 400kg over a 0.5m x 0.5m base so is quite a point load. (about the same loading as one wheel of a Rolls Royce , so I am following 'garage' rather then 'shed' thinking )

The ground rises towards the back LH corner of the shed, being approx 500mm higher in that corner then the front RH corner (datum point). I am considering erecting some shuttering and pour a concrete retaining wall across the full 4m of the rear and 1m to the LH side. The wall will be 250mm wide at the bottom, sloping up to 200mm wide at the top with some reinforcing mesh. Is this wall necessary?

The base is for a shed 12 ft by 20ft . 6 inch below ground and 6inchs above
as I layed the wat mix the timber rose up.

Sloped embankment (approx. length 10m, height 1.5m) with 1 m width shingle path at top, supporting the gable end of 200 year old house which has previously required structural support. Embankment is being eroded by movement of soil down slope due to death of hedging plants and other shrubs. Recent survey by structural engineer recommends "low key approach" to prevent further erosion by either an edging strip set in concrete haunching next to path, or a reinforcing net (eg Tensar Mat) to grow shrubs through and support embankment. Given the importance of this embankment to support the house, is this a job for a landscape gardener or does it require a more high tech approach for a general builder / ground works contractor, please?

New owner, garden is only lower at the side driveway.Front has soakways on level ground.

the work they have done is as follows: they have strippd back slates,fitted lead gutter seal to my gutter(this was leaking directly outside the back door)and refitted slates,they also raked out loose and defective pointing to flags and repointed and applyd cement fillet to flags and house wall.And after the water still getting in they reciliconed around the base of exterior door as this was also defective. However none of this work is stopping the water getting in!!! any idea please? thankyou