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Hey, @Nickfromwales and @PeterW dinnae be coming oop the day. It’s fair jeelit ootside but bonny enough tae get the washing oot . I’m fair scunnered wit the snow.

Quick update, finally spoke to the valuation officer this morning and asked her to justify the band F classification. Within about 30 seconds she'd quoted a total habitable floor area of almost 40m2 more than I knew our house to be. This afternoon, after taking another look at the plans, I receive an email correcting the size and reducing the banding to E. Result!

Sometimes, as I have learned, it is the only way. Sigh.

Just imagine what Drax needs therefore. The mad distortion of incentives! Sorry, off topic.

We received our as built SAP documentation yesterday and the EPC is A95 without any renewables. Apparently if we install 3.2kWp PV system it goes up to A102. We were going to do that a bit later this year, so I suppose I have to have the EPC calculated again when the work is done.

It doesn’t need to be thick - it just needs to keep the steel at a temperature close to the incoming or outgoing air. You may find the duct is actually made of polystyrene - certainly has that look about it. It’s pretty strong as long as you don’t hit it ..!

Supplied as part of the kit @lizzie

@Robjonesour friends have recently used MAC and were happy with them. They are popular with people extending houses in Newmachar and I haven't heard any complaints.

A friend converted an 18th C. barn in Kent which just sat on the earth. Building control just wanted it underpinned, which he did himself by hand. Lots of work mind.

I think that after nearly eight years of building the house I'll be happy with a shed that just doesn't leak.

Don't forget the smaller the mesh the more it will act like a sail when the wind gets up.

Hi Rob Just responding to your message, clola eh- well you really aren't far. Looks interesting, and much like my steading happy to help out with anything you need re tools or any advice I may have to give etc when the time comes. Out of interest, who is your architect?

On a project like this, I would not go for outline (PIP) planning. I think you would be hit with lots of conditions you may not want. Instead fully detail what you want and go straight for full planning.

So by my maths, (0.5148 - 0.2199 = 0.2949 / 0.8923 = 3.3) as long as you take more than 3.3kWh during the off-peak period, the night owl tariff is a winner even accounting for the higher standing charge.

That looks an interesting project. Just be warned there may not be much in the way of foundations under that. Someone local to me bought a steading for conversion and when they started scraping away the earth floor to lay a new solid floor, found the walls just to be sat on the earth and unstable. He ended up knocking down and rebuilding. Lets hope yours is better. Making new openings in those walls will be challenging. For upstairs. I would be thinking of dormers, or I much prefer as I have done on my house little "gable ends" gives so much more room upstairs. They are not really gable ends as they don't project outwards, think of them as dormers that don't have sides, instead they continue all the way to the bottom.

Similar experience then - no interest in small jobs from those able to do it Although mine isn't as far as yours, it is all under tarmac; the first half will be pavement so no road closure the second half is cul de sac road so will require daytime closure and plates overnight. Just one more occasion to grit my teeth; take it on the chin; man up; not get my knickers in a twist; bite the bullet; rephrase it; Keep a stiff upper lip; come to terms with; put it behind be and move on.

If you want reliable, peer reviewed, unbiased (as it's all reviewed by volunteers, like me) then look at the stuff reviewed by Cochrane. They remove the biased pharmaceutical company stuff, the biased stuff from other sources and only seriously consider studies where the methodology was robust and the evidence is clear. As a consequence a lot of the studies that get airtime in the media and on the internet are often found wanting. Cochrane is globally regarded as the gold standard for medical data, principally as it has no axe to grind, either commercially or politically: http://www.cochrane.org/

Goodness Peter, that is very impressive. You must be so chuffed that all the hard work & detailing has paid off. Something to celebrate. I hope we can do as well.

When we had a woodburner I also had a little side business (legit and registered) selling firewood. Now, one of my main selling points is that all the hardwood being sold for logs in my view is not renewable - the argument that the replacement tree takes the carbon back up when the felled tree might be 200+ years old is greenwash in my view. you might as well say coal is as trees will take it back up in another 20 million years. I sold nothing but softwood left over from clear felled forestry plots - which would have otherwise rotted in situ, so the trees were 25 to 30 years old, and were replanted within 6 months. We of course had in effect free firewood and despite claims "you cant burn softwood it tars up" (heard at a seminar at the self build show at the NEC from an "expert"). heated all of our hot water and central heating by softwood for a 4 year period before we moved house. So our fire was on every day (at night in summer to heat the day aheads DHW). I swept the chimney theoretically every 6 months but probably nearer 10-12 months and we had no issues. The wood was well and truly seasoned. With softwood, the only downside was that naturally you burn a lot bigger quantity. We burned truly vast quantities. But then its vastly cheaper to source, was genuinely replanted quickly and the cycle was about 25 years as opposed to 200. The business just grew with repeat custom and I only packed in when my prolapsed disc eventually got to painful to continue and my day job kept me busy enough anyway. I could give customers double the volume they'd have got with hardwood for the same money and ended up having to turn prospective customers away - very often with new customers at first I'd see their chimney with tar etc on the outside, clearly having been sold unseasoned wood (every customer I ever had came back for more). The classic case was "tree surgeon./gardener" types who would cut someones tree down for them then flog it next day as "seasoned" firewood. During that time I was contacted (probably because I had a web site) by firms from Eastern Europe offering me containers of hardwood at very good prices - Speaking to someone from (IIRC) Latvia, they said that near them ancient forest was being felled for export as logs with no replanting just sort of slash and burn. So I'm completely unconvinced that log burners are any solution, despite having ran one for years. I think for some of us in rural areas, burning waste softwood or genuine hardwood woodland management leftovers is sensible, but certainly not hardwood logs in the quantities I see being sold. A few years ago I saw a farmer get a grant for the logging machinery (as did I) and go on to fell all the trees in his hedgerows! No doubt sold as "renewable, green" fuel!

Its a shame to use a £40k car to transport doors etc around. The delivery fee or van hire fee for doors etc will be a lot less than the loss in value of the car from a scratch or minor damage when loading/unloading. I have a van and a car, my van was off the road for a month or so and regret not hiring/borrowing a van for that month due to the damage done to my car.

We have polished concrete over a structural slab. We had to go for 65mm rather than the 75mm minimum suggested, and have ended up with a couple of cracks. I haven't tried filling them yet, but they aren't the end of the world. A few things: As I said, the minimum is 75mm - thicker is recommended. That's a lot of concrete if you already have a structural slab underneath, but hey, concrete looks cool! The polishers can only get so close to walls. We did ours before plaster and skirting boards. Even so, there's a clear region along every wall that was polished by hand tools rather than the big grinders, and this does look different, and in a few places is slightly undulating. If you're happy with this (we are - we think it adds character), it isn't an issue. If you aren't happy with a different-looking edge, then the pouring and polishing needs to be done before the frame goes up. That allows the whole surface to be polished, so you get edge to edge consistency. You then have the not-insignificant problem of protecting the floor for the rest of the build, including while the frame goes up. Whether you get polished concrete before or after the frame goes up, you will be protecting it for a long time. We used Correx throughout the ground floor. Even though we taped it at every edge, we can still see dark lines in some areas where the joins were, two years after moving in. Also, dirt and dust finds its way in, and can cause scratches. Polished concrete companies get their concrete from local suppliers. In our case, we wanted to see a small amount of exposed aggregate visible after polishing. We really didn't want black/dark aggregate, but the company couldn't/wouldn't make any guarantees about aggregate colour. Was fine in the end, but a risk, albeit slight (I've never seen black aggregate anywhere near where I live. We have numerous sand and gravel pits nearby and they all have light stone). Concrete can be tinted to whatever colour you like. We wanted something a little darker than one of the standard tints and the company was happy to come up with something custom. Again, it was to our risk whether we were happy with the colour when it was down - if the concrete had been yellower, for example, that would have changed the colour in a slightly browner direction, but in the end we got a nice warm dark grey along the lines we were expecting. Concrete is easy to keep clean, but even with a sealer it can stain. My wife accidentally left a bin bag on the floor overnight once, and some sort of fluid leaked out. We now have a large, permanent dark stain in the kitchen that's a bit unpleasant. I personally wouldn't have concrete in a kitchen again under any circumstances. Would I go for concrete again? Not sure. I suspect that large-format tiles are a hardier long-term solution, but let's face it, they aren't polished concrete! If I had my time again, I think I'd perhaps tile the kitchen and have concrete everywhere else. One thing I really like is how it feels underfoot in summer. Winter... less so, especially when the ASHP is on the fritz so the slab is unheated!

Did you give it to her?

Not a clue what the numbers mean but having visited the build you deserve a good result. Enjoy!

Should probably leave a tap slightly open for when it thaws

Apologies Lizzie; it was not my intention to come across as critical. Perhaps my wording was poor. My point wasn't aimed towards you, but rather the marketing of show tickets (generally building related), in particular that they are sold by one hand of event organisers and yet given away by the other. It just made me wonder if all that many people actually do end up paying as I see more offers for free tickets than paid. I suppose at the end of the day they just want footfall, paying or not, otherwise exhibitors won't be willing to pay to attend.

It's a hard choice....been there. Not much comment online from users. I have used dulux aqua preservative base coat and dulux ultimate woodstain mixed at Brewers to a light oak, on my wooden fascia recently. It's meant to last for 10 years. Went on OK. Looks good from a distance. Just have to wait 9.5 years to see how long it lasts. I have used Sikkens on front door and it lasted well and always recommended by trade decorators ... but since formulations changed a few years back, not much feedback online. Sadolin has always done OK on my own windows.

My 2 pennies worth. Mr Mrs is a country girl...originally wanted an Aga/ Rayburn and Woodburner. Its what she grew up with. I persuaded her that the Aga was too expensive, and the woodburner wouldnt be needed. Explained the principle of the house i wanted to build ( based on Denby Dale/ Golcar and " Tonys " house). Told her how the chimney ( she wanted big hearth etc) would be a pain in the ass to build and keep watertight as we are in a very exposed place with driving rain pretty common. Money saved could be used on other stuff..kitchen, furniture, kids rooms etc Currently have the coldest weather we've had for a while, snow last night. Im sat here im my T shirt, i have a GSHP, which i realise not everyone has the space for...running low temp UFH in a 100m2 slab and about 225mm thick including screed and floor tiles. No heating upstairs at all. MVHR. I asked her about the woodburner.... Shes glad we didnt bother...it would get too hot too quick, would mean trapsing in and out with wood, and just be another thing to clean/ dust. In my view, in a well insulated airtight house, a wooburner would be something to look at and once youve lit it, you would be opening the windows because its too hot. Spend the money on something else. Just my view on things.

There is no one single factor controlling air quality and the impact it has on health. There are many factors, and some are very regional. For example, where we live, at the bottom of a deep valley, with very little vehicle traffic, the predominant air pollution sources are domestic combustion devices (fireplaces, wood stoves and oil boilers) and bonfires. The nature of the local topography means we often have an inversion layer over the valley in winter, which traps pollutants within the valley. This is clearly visible on a cold still day. If we lived near a busy road, it's likely that the major air pollution sources may be from passing vehicles, rather than domestic combustion heating devices. The bottom line is that we now know that these pollutants harm health, and we have known about it for a long time. The big eye-opener in the UK dates back to the great smog of 1952 (coincidentally the year I was born) that ultimately killed 8,000 people and caused 100,000 to become ill, over a period of just 5 days.

No, No, it's not a PROBLEM, it's a CHALLENGE, with a reward when you beat it!

That's a good result, Peter, I bet you're chuffed after all that attention to detail!

I have a progressive lung condition. It is not asthma, it is not curable, it will kill me. My annuity was enhanced as on the actuarial index my life expectancy is lower than average due to this condition. I do not use inhalers. My condition is not caused by my environment but is impacted by it. Unless you have the misfortune to experience what it is actually like to live your life with compromised breathing then you have no idea how it feels. Wood burners have an adverse affect on my health as do garden bonfires and barbeques. I have no control over this as my lung condition is not caused by environmental circumstances but my ability to breathe is compromised hugely by these things over which I have no control. I lived many years in Africa where wood burning and charcoal making are the way of life (I do not mean white suburban south africa but africa proper). The landscape has become a dustbowl due to the trees being removed and burnt at a greater rate than they can grow this in turn has caused the soil to erode and is responsible in large part for the famines in that continent. Lack of rain is not the only factor. The pollution caused by all this wood burning is huge. If you have ever flown into Johannesburg at dawn and seen the pall of woodsmoke hanging over the townships as the population rise and prepare their breakfast you would be utterly shocked. Africans in poor circumstances have little choice but to burn what they can and they do it to survive. Here in western Europe people do it as a lifestyle choice with no thought for the pollution they are belching out it is just trendy to have a log burner. There are other far better forms of heating that can be used. I am sorry if this is not a popluar view but I speak as someone who’s quality of life is governed by my surroundings and the air quality in my immediate vicinity. I do also have the food issues referred to amongst other things, its all to do with immune system. I would like to see wood burners of all sorts banned as soon as possible and perhaps when I have some time when this build is finished if I have any energy left I will try and start a campaign to get them banned.

Congrats - now you can move in, when you do I will send a bottle of Champagne (well the sparkling stuff they make in Kent that is very like Champagne but not Champagne), assuming you are not both tea total.

Result... you must be very happy!

Day job. Villain on police dog training courses.

Hi Rob, I have also been lurking and am currently doing a mostly self-done barn conversion in Cumbria. I may well be following your project and questions with interest.

It depends a little on the level of transparency you want to achieve. Personally ive always found the Sikkens Cetol product excellent. If you want a more natural look then you can never go wrong with an Osmo oil.

Thank you all for the replies, advice and friendly welcome. Much appreciated and I now feel I'm not alone! Tin Soldier, wow, what a small world. I'm about 10 miles away near Clola, Longside. So maybe we can help each other!

Hi Rob, Welcome May I ask where about in Aberdeen(shire) you are converting? I'm extremely interested as I have a small steading to convert myself, as soon as I complete (and I've only just started) my build I'm up north or Ellon, near Ythanbank

Welcome. One trick is to define a unique tag for your project ... make it the same as part of your blog title if you do a blog ... and attach that to all your threads on the project, then you can ask in the section and people can still find the whole body of material on the project. I started doing this a few months ago with Little Brown Bungalow. But it is better if you leave the spaces out to make it easier to make the tags identical. You can go back and add them later eg when you go back to the thread and post later summarising the outcome, but it is better to start at the very beginning. Ferdinand

I've never posted anything about mine in the Barn Conversion section as the stuff I've posted about hasn't been unique to a Barn Conversion and I can't think of much that would be. You're in the right place and I'm not aware of a more relevant forum. Welcome.

There'll be 2 now Hi and welcome. Please use the tags at the top of the first post to add search info and folk will find it easier to get to your content. Search under timber frame for some of the conversion stuff, but under barn conversions is a good place to put things if its a barn conversion ! Enjoy, and read....a lot

As I understand it the council are obliged by legislation to maintain a record of street names and numbers/names. The fees vary a lot. Google found one where the fee was £25... http://www.cheshireeast.gov.uk/planning/address_management/fees_and_charges.aspx For some reason renaming costs £31 so pressing the delete key costs £6. The emergency services also use the council database

Well, boys I have built one roof, so I know I can do it. I must admit, the roots of my teeth are cold at the thought of the next couple of weeks.