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Focus on finding the landlord. Talk.

BPC supplied my system, I found their design ok but they compensated by specifying extra duct (rigid and flex) to give me some flexibility on final layout. As their design service is free, I wouldn't expect too much from them vs a supply and install firm (who will charge you handsomely). Some other comments: I wouldn't put the plenums in wardrobes unless they have suitable gaps to maintain airflow. You typically need a 760mm2 gap at the bottom of each door in a room where there is supply or extract to allow the necessary airflow - remember that MVHR systems are barely noticeable when in normal mode and only marginally more so when in boost mode so any obstruction will just impede the air flow in that room and unbalance the system. We must have got the premium plenums (don't remember a choice) and they were very robust with mounting points and easy to use clips to secure the flexi duct. Buy a can of WD40 Silicone spray as that's essential to get duct with a washer deep enough inside the plenum to secure - it is a very snug fit and easy to kink the washer if too much friction. The flex duct still has a reasonable bend radius and it can be a challenge to get lots of connections made to the distribution box in a small space. My system, installed in a new build, took quite a bit of trial and error to get right, especially when many ducts started to congregate through a small opening (my fault for not making provision in the initial building design) but I got there in the end. My install strategy was to position the plenum and then run the duct from near the distribution box to the plenum, trying to minimise sharp bends as much as possible. When all ducts were in place I started offering up the duct to the distribution boxes and carefully trimming to get good connections with out there being too much excess duct pushing against the boxes. A bit of slack is welcome in case you over trim a duct and need to free up another 20mm or so. I didn't have much option on routing the steel duct and had to get creative with the various bends and spacers to navigate them through floor joists etc. Tip there is to work backwards from your external and remember to leave enough space between the duct and wall or in wall / floor penetrations for the lagging (thicker than you think). For complex joints, I secured up the bends and straights with masking tape until I was completely happy, marked up the pipes with sharpies and only then used the bonding compound and silver tape to make the joints final. Balancing was easy enough once I got a loan of the tool - tbh I did this almost two years after install just to get BC signoff and can't say I really noticed the difference in performance!

As above, you need to make every effort to contact him with a view to removing the tree to enable your development. Be very polite as you may need to rely on the correspondence later. Point out that the tree may cause damage to your property. Offer to remove it at you own expense and provide the details, insurance cover, risk assessments and method statements for your proposed contractor. Offer reasonable compensation to cover replanting of a tree in a more suitable location plus an additional amount. If you are unable to gain their consent, cut back the branches and roots to the boundary. If the tree dies after pruning it would be down to the neighbour to prove it was because of the pruning. You could offer to cover the cost of removal of the dead tree and replanting as above. Court action would be cost prohibitive for them and any award in court would likely be small.

This isn't what you will want to read but as I see it there should have been consultation with the neighbouring landlord at planning stage. This is the issue with the bureaucracy that is planning in this country, it seems to totally neglect certain very critical details and issues. Given that this tree is a pivot point for the whole build why wasn't it fairly high up on the list of things to resolve at the beginning of this process and if unable to be resolved the building altered to suit. There are clearly many options here, but the only option I would currently pursue is making contact with the neighbouring landlord and hope he/she is a nice person! Possibly you are going to need to setup a meeting, and their number may be obtainable from the tenants.

Yes I think you're right. The key for me now is that I don't need to be held over a barrel by him. I'll persevere but only to a point.

They are working but with a reduced team. In fact they are paying 70% of a verified claim immediately before they have fully checked your invoices.

I’ve spent the last few days fitting my Vent Axia MVHR with the semi rigid ducting, supplied by BPC. I had the design done by them but it needed to be tweaked when I was doing the install, so it wasn’t perfect by any means. I suspect that what they mean by the “rubber connectors” mentioned are the things that are used to make the final connection between the rigid pvc pipe coming in from / going out to the outside of the building to the spigots on the MVHR unit. I think they are specified to reduce vibration. They supplied me with flex ducting instead to cut a small piece to make that final connection. It has to be kept uncompressed so, I’ll have to support the vertical pvc pipes which drop down in to it. Have a look at Page 7 of the install guide to see the rubber connectors to the spigot. https://www.bpcventilation.com/mvhr-installation-guide They supplied me with the necessary 90 degree bends and connectors that fitted with their design, so you will definitely need to include them in the parts list. I’ve got the semi rigid attenuators and they do give you a bit of flexibility in fitting which I found useful

If you are on clay soil you will need to take precautions against heave even if you take the tree away, for a couple of years. This is because the clay then has to cope with the extra water not taken up by the missing tree.

After watching that many weird WhatsApp clips I was half expecting that zombie woman to burst through the door or the big guy with the large trouser snake standing there.

1. Get some waterproof pva woodwork glue. 2. get a big pile of fine sawdust from sanding wood. 3. mix it into a paste, push into gaps. 4. leave to harden then sand flat. 5. Send beer tokens to me. ??

Chrome here. I can see the video but no sound. Using VLC. EDIT: I just turned the sound up. I think @pocster is molesting a cow in there...

Fireline it must have been. Anyway one of these I'm having to go with. 30 kg my BCO told me, not alot kg more.. I was pleading can I just go 12.5mm pls pls pls. No. Good idea re. lifter.. but I've used up all scrap for logstores: if I'm brave enough maybe but I am an idiot so it could be a calamity (like that pic in my kitchen, of the disasterous mess). I'm a bit concerned on my board gaps. 3-5mm, many places. I assume its typical to -always- cover these boards with carpet or lino as a rule? in which case I need to think of something 'workshoppy' I can lay ontop. Thin. Any ideas?

Just more to go wrong !!! (From a grumpy old Luddite ?‍♂️)

@joe90 thanks for that clarification on what constitutes First and Second fix, I think it is that grey area between the two that has been my problem. I’ve assumed stuff was done that in fact was not done. Every day is still a school day.

So is it called fireboard, or firebloc(k)? what's the difference to std 12.5mm pB.. just 2.5mm of plaster? Anyway I'm way off getting it with the current lockdown. Floor complete, but not a great job: many 3mm gaps mid board, one or two 5mm gaps one all way along middle of room. I stomped the boards in, putting as much lateral pressure with feet on tops of boards as I could, instead of tonking in at the tongue edge as I had no knowing how much pressure would ruin the tongues with a wood block. Are these gaps an issue? Sorry but my cam will not focus now, too much power.

If this is a workshop he will probably want the fire board wouldn’t he.

Like something out of a horror movie.

Think I would phone them up and talk to them, I keep getting emails from them saying they are open for business. Have you sent them plans and asked for a full design. If memory serves thay may be a fee (circa £100) to do a full plan which is then refundable against your future order. There are loads of on here that have DIY'd an MVHR design/install and I found you have try and resolve each issue one by one. Just a couple of things I looked into from your post. I wouldn't worry about the room valves for now, get the pipework and room plenums sorted out first. The premium plenums seem to have mounting points built in, the others you will have to hold in place with strapping band or fashion some mounts to retain them. For the one you don't have access to then you could fix the outlet grill to the plenum then fix the grill to the ceiling. I have a similar situation, but I used 100mm Flexi pipe for a couple of meters (as per basic individual fan set up) , then connected to the 75mm radial duct, I don't have a restricted terminal vent either so used a restrictor in the manifold to balance flow. The Flexi silencers are regularly used to save on bends and ducting to/from manifolds. If you want rigid silencers then you'll have to use bends and ducts to suit, can't comment on what is best from a noise attenuation point of view. Oh and if the unit is in the cold lift, all the pipes need to be lagged, others have built an insulated enclosure around the whole unit to prevent condensation.

Our house aspect is east (street) / west (garden) and north and south face neighbours so minimal glazing on those aspects. We have external blinds to all our east facing windows and they are a godsend (even the Velux). Really keep the house from over heating year round and are great for privacy too = also no need for curtains On the west side, we have interior blinds on the loft velux, traditional curtains on rear bedrooms and have some lightweight material drapes on our downstairs sliders which do a decent enough job of minimising evening solar gain in summer. One rogue window in the kitchen faces south and we didn't spec a blind as we figured it would never get that much direct sun due to neighbours property. However the sun is low in spring and autumn and causes a localised hotspot via that window, planning to retro fit a blind when the render gets replaced at some point (another story).

I am not opposed to a scratch build but am trying to achieve a particular look and although panels are not cheap at £100 each they’re actually cheaper than trying to make that style myself - even if I were skilled enough to achieve it. I want a narrow horizontal hit and miss appearance with privacy so I need front and back timber ?. Even if I did a simple feather edge design on the rear it’s still ££££. ?‍♂️

Then roots or no roots I would not build that close to a tree. It has to go and the only way for that is negotiate with the tree owner and you may need to pay him.

I tried a method I heard about,where you mark the line with a pen,instead of marking the wall & constantly putting your trowel down to walk back & forth with your level. The results were pretty good,I have to say.

Their contact details should be on the Registration details you can get from the Land Registry for £3. Or ask the tenant, or the agent if they use one. Of course, they will have been consulted in the statutory process when the PP was put through, but it only gives a few weeks and there is no guarantee it made it to the LL within the period or at all. I have a huge extension for next door on the boundary of one of my rentals because the docs did not get through, and I was not sufficiently on the ball then. He tried to do some unacceptable things such as a balanced flue over my garden, and it was a hell of a performance to get them changed. Ferdinand

Crack on! The issue here is you have applied a domestic approach to this, if this was a developer they would have told them to walk and I guarantee you no one would stop working. By slowing down your progress they are only making things take longer. If you make lots of noise for 2 whole days people get over it and are pleased as it then all ends, if you however make noise for 4 half days then people start to think its going on too long and that impacts people more.

I agree, get MBC back and crack on , if the council get involved point them at the change in law, if your neighbour complains also point them at this new legislation I know it’s not happened yet but by the time the council have to act it will have!!!! You can be too helpful to some people. My (PITA) neighbour complained about me working weekends with my JCB but I have a field next to the site and said I was doing agricultural work on my field clearing ditches which is not building work ?????.

Just rung her. She says ........................... Its OK. 344mm wide

Best piece of advice yet.

Failure to realise that caused us a full years worth of overthinking and worry . Its very common to solve the impossible foul drainage problem post hoc.

Here is another thought. Absent non communicative land owner next door. You cut the branches and roots of the tree and build your house very close to said tree. The tree dies. Landowner either does not notice or care and it stands there dead for a few years. A big storm blows through and the dead tree lands on your house. Who do you think would be responsible?

Post the pics here BEFORE you send them to BCO

Very true, the exact situation we were in. Delayed the purchase of our plot for a year, as the house that had planning consent could not physically be built on the plot. Planning consent confers no rights to actually be able to build the house that's been approved at all, as I found out.

Opening it up by by 2 or 3mm isn’t going to hurt. Btw I’d insist on plumb peeps for Flemish bond-any drift off plumb shows up straight away,especially with metric bricks,where the ratio of header to stretcher is slightly different to imperials. A lot of care needs to be taken in the setting out. I’d sacrifice a day to dry bond the whole build,setting out the openings & dropping broken bond under the windows where needed to give you nicely bonded piers with header/queen closer and stretcher on top.

This is about cutting back branches but same applies to roots.. https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?pid=1022

The right has limitations... https://www.tbilaw.co.uk/site/blog/Business-News/what-can-i-do-about-my-neighbours-tree Since you know your actions might kill the tree you could also liable for damages due to negligence not just the replacement cost of the tree. The reason I know this is because I once was part of a group that was advised by a solicitor to write to a neighbour to make certain he was aware of problems his development might cause if he went ahead. You become liable for negligence damages if you know your actions might cause a liability but do it anyway. Writing a letter prevented him from later claiming ignorance. In my case it wasn't about trees but did involve a neighbour's plans to build something.

I'm quite interested to know how the condition "falls away"? Is it because the Tree Officer believes that no foundation design can comply so the condition is unreasonable and therefore unenforceable? As far as I know planning permission doesn't give you any rights over the tree. There are quite a few other situations where a grant of planning permission isn't sufficient to allow a house to be built. As I recall this allows access for maintenance of existing buildings only NOT for the purpose of building anything new let alone cutting down trees... But I might be wrong as it's awhile since I looked at it. We piled our garage and that didnt stop it killing a tree a few meters away many years later. I don't think it was the piles that did for it but the proximity of the wall as your tree officer suggested. The tree had a TPO on it as well. We plan to replace it later this year when the season is right for planting trees.

Note that if it is warmer outside than in then keeping the heat exchanger 'in loop' will cool the incoming air as heat will transfer to that being extracted/exhausted. Your bypass should therefore not be activating in such a scenario.

I appreciate what you say, and of course the tree is not mine to take down but in terms of doing such works as will kill it the thing is, I can do that anyway, can't I? I have planning permission to build on my land and the legal right to remove the roots and branches on my side of the boundary. Nothing I have read says either of these rights are suspended by likelihood of the tree dying, only that I am liable if it does. I am happy to accept that liability. That's exactly what I'm trying to do. I simply want to avoid the creation of an unsafe situation which will likely occur when I do exercise my rights.

Margaret - I am horrified to see what your builder is doing. 'Pushing RSJs into the house as far as possible' is not underpinning, it is guesswork. All you will end up with is a lot of steel and concrete which will act as a further deadweight under the house the retaining wall would have to hold up. This may increase the chances of a collapse. Looking back at your earlier photos of the house from the road, I can see the steps and path to your house themselves present quite a slope. With a physical disability, are you sure the house is suitable for your needs? It may be better to start thinking about finding a place that is more suitable which already has a parking space and level access. This would be both safer and cheaper in the longer run. As others have said, I think you should not do anything further without taking advice from a structural engineer.

I have used a very cheap webcam on my RPi, it worked alright.

Just think how soon you might have got thd "right" answer with a few more pictures rather than trying to convey things with words!

@Margaret dailey have you considered that spending on a Structural Engineer may well SAVE you money in designing something that works and is cost effective? One member here saved over £10k on his foundation cost due to an SE coming up with an alternative solution.

I would suggest having a look at parallel parking across the bottom of your garden. You would need a dug out width of approx 2-3m, and the width if your garden (~18ft) is nearly as long as the recommended length of a streetside lengthways parking space. You would need to check the Council's attitude, though. And - as before - it will probably cost about £1000-1250 for a dropped kerb and pavement crossing. Though - as I said and linked above - there may be a grant available if you talk to them. Ferdinand

Hi Margaret, I realise from reading your posts there are things you can't afford in this proposed project, but you also CAN NOT AFFORD TO IGNORE THE ADVICE! If you do not go about this project correctly you will wish you had never thought of the idea.

In a word. NO The overhead cable belongs to the DNO (network operator) and is before your electricity meter. Any power to the new garage would have to come from the house somehow.

Will that be designed and signed off by an engineer with liability insurance? Will it prevent the house moving if the front bank collapses in heavy rain? Will the house insurer agree to that not invalidating the insurance? If the house is still mortgaged, you will may need to inform them also.

I've heard of instances where councils have fined people for being parked on the parking space they have created in front of their house because they have driven across the pavement where there is no approved dropped kerb.

The Approved Documents (for England) state... "A room (which may be a WC/cloakroom or a bathroom) containing a WC is provided on the entrance storey or, where there are no habitable rooms on the entrance storey, on the principal storey or the entrance storey" I have come across the requirement for a Bathroom or Shower provision (usually the latter) on the entrance storey of a new dwelling but that was something to do with designing for the ageing population. I'm not even sure it's still a thing to be honest as I haven't been asked to do it for new build dwellings recently. The guidelines stated that a W.C. should be capable of being adapted to a wet room in the future along with a habitable area becoming a Bedroom. In addition to this, we also had to make sure an area of the dwelling was suitable to accommodate a lift so would need to demonstrate trimming and strengthening of floors, etc... As mentioned, I'm not even sure it's still a thing/requirement anymore unless it is with specific LA's.

I've not used them but did consider them for a project a few years ago. I'd suggest that their main advantage over aerated concrete blocks would be their resistance to cracking (so no need for bed reinforcement and fewer movement joints required). If you could buy the perlite-filled versions in the UK - when I looked you couldn't - then their improved thermal performance would significantly boost their attractiveness if you need to minimise wall thickness. Maybe it would be economic to import them in those circumstances? Compared to concrete blocks their main advantage would be their light weight for similar or better load bearing capacity. Fixings are not supposed to be a problem provided you don't attack them with a hammer drill, but @AliG obviously found otherwise. Regular wall plugs are supposedly OK for light to medium loads, with chemical anchors for heavy loads.

Estimated cost per unit of fuel 18.35 (I'm not sure what this unit price was referring to) Estimated energy required 11530 kwh space heating 8927 kwh DHW 2603 kwh Estimated current cost £2115.76 Assumed electricity price 11.06875 p per kwh Estimated heat pump running cost £396.06 year 1 saving £1719.70 year 2 saving £1836.64 year 3 saving £1961.53 year 4 saving £2094.91 year 5 saving £2237.37 year 6 saving £2389.51 year 7 saving £2552.00 I have not bothered to check if their calculations even add up correctly, everything about the quote was ridiculous.

Best way to stop render coming off the front, imho, having done it 30 years ago and its still good, is paint behind the wall (soil side) with a black bituminous paint.