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I would cut a hole at ceiling level and confirm what way the joists above are running.. If they are running parallel with the wall, then they aren't being held up by it.. it's only a matter of pulling off the boarding and then removing the stud..

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Fuck me that looks like a horrible job to do (cutting out the window cill, not taking the wall down)

Will a 4” disc cut all the way to the frame? Looks like it might be tight.

If you’ve got to get up there and do accurate cuts with a 9” you’ll need to have something other than cyclist arms.

And I Weigh 65kg…
It’s only 4cm of the terrazzo as the big bit comes off easily so a 4inch should do it as it’s just the top layer of mortar that needs to come off not the whole lump.

The joists are definitely running in the direction of the blue line as I put in a second ceiling light.

Probably should have said. It's a 1950s build so it's a brick wall, not a stud wall.

The last time I tried to engage a cutter company for coring through a 4ft wall, they wanted £400.
Toolstation have a 4 1/2inch for £25.

There is an Erbhaur(spelling?) one for £38 which gets loads of good reviews along with a slotted diamond disk for about£16
TBH if somebody would do it for £300 I would happily pay as we have clawed back a fair bit of the budget elsewhere.

You could try concrete cutting companies, but I think they mostly wet cut. (hosepipe amounts of water)

The plastic sheeting that you removed was probably to help keep some heat in. It doesn't look like there's any insulation between the two frames, so that's probably just a flashing strip between inside and out. Ply sheeting isn't located in the provided grove in the frame, so that's probably draughty....

With the large sections of frame down the middle of the available opening, you would get more glazed area from a single skylight, even if you downsize it a bit to get a tidy installation.

New velux windows are 24mm overall thickness double glazed units. Yours may be the older 16mm versions, but I don't know what year the change over was.

Obviously you'd need the window £600-800.
Flashing kit £100-150.
If the old ones are in working order, sell them on

the ones i looked at were mostly big firms doing concrete stuff on large refurb and construction sites or were workshops cutting granite etc.
A firm in Croydon are at least looking at the pics of the sill and will get back to me...

Is this maybe a checkatrade job?

The problem I'm seeing is the Venn diagram of people with the skill, advertising their skill, the time slot and desire for a small job means it's impossible for you to find them.

Post the job on CT and you may get someone with a cancellation or spare day or two in between jobs.

In a similar vein, it has been recommended that I put some drip channels in my windowsills. I'm envisaging this involving an angle grinder and a ladder which I'm not 100% sold on. Anyone done this, is it doable without falling off a ladder and decapitating myself?

think that’s the next step and hope somebody want’s a days pay for a half day job.

I think that’s exactly how you’ll tempt someone!

That said, a batter grinder is a great tool for all sorts of things and I reckon you’d do it in a couple of patient, dusty hours.

Don’t know if I’m missing something but a flush cut blade is what you want.
Cut under the mortar bed then just tap to crack and remove.

Here in France you go to the people who usually make gravestones for that sort of job, as they don't usually get a chance to charge money for their offcuts, so it's cheap.
Maybe worth trying in the UK too?

Lucky for me, ikea Pax fit perfectly in the alcoves on either side of my dining room chimney breast.
Walls are straight but not parallel so I squared up to the most visually obvious one. My great local wood/builders merchant cut some planed pine to my measurements to fill the gaps. I recessed then fill ins a little as it looked better and hides a multitude of sins.

Completed with a floating Sapelle shelf c/0 @dbr. Not the easiest to install the hidden brackets which were not true. Also the threaded bit is actually separate and screws into the protruding bit so impossible to remove if you get it wrong!

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Nice light!

If it's not supporting any weight, it should probably just come down with a lump hammer. Much quicker and neater than drilling and grinding.

It's getting it neat along the edges of the existing cabinet that I was thinking of using the grinder for.

We've decided to let the floor guys do it. Mainly because of the what ifs. I am confident that afterwards I'll wish we save the money and diy. I think also the total cost of the floor feels like a lot at the moment. Especially when it's not our dream floor, but it's the best option on balance that meets both of our requirements.

I mainly want it done as I can't see it getting cheaper. Also pretty much all the flooring with >5mm wood top layer is disappearing from the market. Everything now seems to be 3mm in a cost cutting exercise I guess. So I'm concerned it will be hard to buy what we've currently got at the price we want.

Sorry for the long post, just need to get it off my mind.

Looks really tidy. We've got the same mirror I think.

It's getting it neat along the edges of the existing cabinet that I was thinking of using the grinder for.

Grinders aren't for making neat, really. Easiest thing would be to knocks out the whole bricks, and replace with half bricks. Make good with cement / plaster / expanding foam / papier maché.

Has anybody used these people - DIY Alcove Cabinets - for making alcove cabinets?

@stevo_com - was it Fittingly that you used for wardrobes - Who else did you consider?

I've just specc'ed up some alcove cabinets at £2,200 - not sure how this compares with made in person ones. Also, we want / need floating shclves (external cold wall - I'm not risking the damp & mould of boxing in) - I'm not sure how they expect punters to deal with scribing.

was it Fittingly that you used for wardrobes - Who else did you consider?

Yes. I was looking at IKEA bodges but they were vetoed by the internal design committee. The others were carpenters and big companies but they were £££££

What about anti mould paint and whatever bathroom mdf is called for the backs?