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Here's your challenge. Planners deal with planning law. Building Control (whether LA or private) deal with adherence with building regs law. SEs ensure the dwelling will be structurally sound (and their work/calcs feeds into BC), QS will give you an estimate of what the dwelling could cost to build based on SPONs etc... Planners will happily give you permission to build a dwelling that fails to meet building regs. They will even give you planning permission for a building on land you don't own as that's a legal issue, not a planning issue (see also covenants etc..). Building control will happily tell you why the building you have planning for does not meet regs for a dozen or so reasons and needs modifications (e.g. extra insulation in roofs / walls, windows needing moved, fire provisions not being met, disability access etc..) SEs will happily tell you why the architects design is not buildable or that you need lots of steel to make it viable. QS will happily quote you a number you can't afford or one that you can afford but can't find a builder who will do it for that price. One of your architect's roles should be to straddle these domains and design you a dwelling that will get planning, will pass building control and is buildable to your budget. There may be some esoteric issues that they are not super familiar with which you can query them on but significant issues like fire regs etc should be familiar to them. At a min they should be all over the building regs, QS and SEs are usually outsourced (and may be provided by your builder / contractor). If they really are not engaging with you on these things then you need to be very wary as you may pay them handsomely and then pay again to have it all redesigned to keep SE, BC and even QS happy. Regarding basement, yes planners do need to be aware as they impact the gross internal area which is a planning consideration. If there are street side visible elements like light wells then that factors in also. Note if your basement is a dark windowless hole at the centre of your house with no independent means of exit then you could have issues depending on other fire suppression methods (sprinklers, FDs etc). Whatever you plan to use it for, if it has stairs down to it then BC will be interested. i.e. if you're down there storing something when a fire starts and can't get out then you may die. That tends to get BCs attention. A loft that could be converted to habitable use in the future but is just a windowless space with a hatch upon completion is probably not going to get attention as you would need to get permission to convert it in the future and would need to get BC to sign off any future works.

as per @Bitpipe's post - it doesn't really feel like you're getting the most/best out of your architect because you're trying to drive the design - I'm sure any creatives in the group will have seen the I design, you watch pricelist before.... I've worked with a fair number of self builders before, but I've never have someone work like you appear to be, I'm not sure how or why you've engaged them, but it looks like you're paying money to a design professional and then redesigning their design - can you not just sit down around a table with a set of drawings and tell them what you want them to design?

So, progress has continued and after months of walking round looking at drawings I can actually see proper rooms which is all very exciting. My necessity of carrying lip gloss everywhere has been replaced with a tape measure which is now a handbag essential! I've become almost obsessive checking sizes of rooms, window openings and that potential bathroom purchases will fit. My tape measure had that much use it finally broke! One stand out moment was the steels for the 5.5 metre Internorm doors (modelled by the wife) and the corner window. This will be the kitchen dining room and look out up to the canal so will be one of my favourite places. The inside of the bungalow looks like a group of lads have had the worst house party ever and the chimney, naff red fireplace (see previous forum post), 70s bathroom and bedroom have all gone along with some of the windows, though neither of quite made it out of the house yet so it's just piles of rubble. In the absence of a chimney we have gained an impromptu skylight with view of the wasps nest. Internorm did their technical survey earlier this week and we just need to iron out the measurements of the 'triangle bits' above the huge sliders and hopefully will have our window order placed on Tuesday. The lead times mean potentially the windows will pretty much be the last things to go in which to be isn't a bad thing, less chance they will get damaged. Here is some pics. We are spending a rainy Saturday afternoon arguing about knobs.

This is only a short update because we've been taking it easy on the house so the boss and I can get some (paid) work done. Will be the school holidays soon - so slave labour will be available! I have ordered some plain and simple white UPVC soffits and facia from a local company so time to start measuring up and cutting the splines level. More work for the Alien and some string. The plumb line is made from a Lotus Elise crank pulley bolt! Hopefully the soffits and facia will be installed around the middle of next week. We have some roofing membrane on the roof. About half way there... Just the difficult half to go! My daughter wanted to see the view from the ridge, and who am I to argue? Lets not mention how utterly terrifying this is for a parent! (Even if I was up there moments before!) I have made sure she's been thoroughly chastised over even the smallest transgression when at height and while she's nearly a teenager she will still listen to me over some things. And what a view it is! This is from one of the gable "hop ups" (Why the scaffolders call them this I don't know. You'd need to be awfully tall to hop on to it.) Our neighbours visitied. This is the view from their garden. The green membrane does blend in nicely, so I believe the pale green cladding colour is the right choice. There is still some discussion about the grey window frames.

4K is a significant saving It’s surprising how labour costs can rack up There should be plenty of scope for you to make more savings Especially if you bring in individual trades Good luck

Exciting!

Douglas Adams, in "Life, the Universe and Everything", that Arthur Dent expressed a need for "a strong drink and a peer group". That is what this Gardening Blog is for - my need for the same thing because my knowledge about gardening is patchy, just like my garden. Buildhub cannot supply a strong drink, but I am hoping that the peer group can help me get to grips with the garden I inherited last year. The idea has been around for a couple of months, and is now in a position start. We talk a lot about building here, but not so much about all the aspects of the settings of our houses - planning, clearance, climate, fencing, groundworks, trees, plants, soil, hedges and all the rest. That is what I hope can get a bit more coverage and conversation here, in all its aspects. This is a group blog, with potentially as many authors as wish to contribute, so if you have a question, or a project, or a garden you have liked or a plant you have spotted or grown, we can sign you up as an author or do a one-off contribution. If you would like to involved as a one-off or regular, do send me a Private Message. For my first question - what is the purple plant in the middle of the piccie below, and is it a weed or a specimen? Do I take it out or leave it in? Comments are most welcome. Plant identification is one of my weak points. * The header picture is of the Dill and Watercress in my microveg "Green Wall" - which has been one my new projects during the lockdown period, which I will post about more as things go on.

quick update, since our rogue builder departed (police, trading standards and local MP now all involved) we have had some help from a local, brilliant, builder with od days but mainly done it ourselves on evenings and weekends. Now getting roof firrings on, then boards, VPL, insulation and roofer coming 3rd Aug to fit EPDM (the fleece backed stuff). Also windows started being fitted today despite the fact I havnt yet put the external (140mm woodfibre, battons, counter battons and cladding) on yet ? But I can fit it to the windows so that's fine. Drains done, water in house and electric ready to go in. so slowly getting there. Also got to catch up on noggins, etc. A coupld of these pics are from a couple of weeks ago ?

Don't over think it. An ASHP is a source of heat. Think of it as a system boiler. That heat connects to either the heating (presumably UFH) or the hot water tank via a couple of motorised valves. That plumbing is withing the capabilities of any plumber worthy of that title. The electrics can be a little more complicated than a system boiler and are very dependant on what make of ASHP you choose. They are not as standard in that respect as a system boiler. But again any electrician that can read the manual should be able to connect it. A good option which is well regarded is the Mitsubishi Ecodan ASHP which can be bought with a pre plumbed matching unvented hot water cylinder. That is probably the most simple system to install. I run my system without a buffer tank without issue but some swear by them.

Have you tried.. http://www.rugbytimber.com/index.html Says they deliver free in orders over £100 and ring for price under £100.

No idea on how successful any of these will be but here's all I can think of, I'm a little north of you. Verdon sawmills- barwell Whitmores - claybroke Harlow timber- hinckley Outwoods timber -hinckley Brockwells -nuneaton Sykes-atherstone

We felled 30 trees before we started the build Much more difficult when there are buildings that are likely to get damaged We decided to bring some help Three men one day £650 Bargain

Sorry it was @Roys oops. The issue I'm finding with Fibo is anything we like comes in 600mm wide so we will have to have joins in the panels on the 1200 and 1400 tray walls as they just don't do large panels so there is going to be some wastage and a lot of panels. I'm going to get some more samples from them

Hi Dave, I’m not using the room thermostat at the moment, but I used it in the past as the heat pump r32 has one integrated in the remote panel RS3. it never gave me flow error. I’m just complaining about the poor optimized software and inverter control in cooling operation. I put up a complex monitoring with a heat meter and flow meter, plus many temp sensor to calculate COP, and the unit worked silently whole winter. I made the assistance notice this modulation problem last year and they just joked me around, thins summer I came back with data and numbers, asking for a reply or to see a test setup working, I also asked for a solution I bought a modulating heat pump, i got an on-off one(in summer operation) I had to modify my plumbing, add a 50Lt buffer vessel on the return, just to show that the malfunction was not due to my particular setup. the head heating ing, than called me admitting, after one year of email and a lot of money and time invested, that the unit “ shows a particular behaviour, not reaching the full modulation potential while cooling”. So he prepared a report to send in Korea. We’ll see net year if they come up with someting..

Not a chance !! Basements require planning as they are an engineering activity. They also require escape windows / wells which show up on plans anyway.

I found a man with a set and have been cleaning it out all day ,but it was successful eventually + his set returned

the next revision will be interesting then! ?

maybe he/she does...