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Don't let your neighbors stress you out you are not doing anything wrong , you have every right to explore the possibility of extending your home and it seems your architect see's no issues with building up to 600mm from your boundary. As i see it you legally have the right to build and once you know the depth of their foundations you will know how to build, trench or raft to avoid PWA. Personally i would take the attitude of , I've tried to be nice and that clearly isn't working so just going to crack on and do as advised from the architect , SE and building control and if you want to pop round and talk to me about what I'm up to best bring an apology and change of attitude , if not , do one. ( i get very grumpy around people who think they can bully others )

I would be leaving them 600mm max. Enough room for a not too fat builder to get in an make any repairs to the section of wall on the ground floor in the future. If at some point in the future they want to do some work on their wall higher up than they would still be able to do it. A scaffolding company would span your extension from the front to the back, no problem. And i would not be allowing them onto your land, without a full method statement, insurance in place to cover any damage to your land or property, and i would ensure that the insurance covered anybody who they employed to work on there house. I'm sorry, but you are allowing yourself to be bullied. Your extension would be much better a further 200mm wider.

Is to dig a hole on your property next to their wall to establish the depth of their foundations, she cannot stop you and you can move on to the next step. also if their foundation “sticks out” as it should your side, and their guttering, facia etc is out from the wall the boundary (should) be at that point otherwise it’s trespassing. (Get that hole dug and get back to us ?).

If the boundary is their house wall their guttering and foundations are on your land surely. It’s amazing how some neighbours believe they have control over others land. You need to establish their foundation depth and whether you can have your foundations (or raft) at the same level to negate a party wall agreement. Dont be bullied!.

Thank you all for your input which I appreciate. I stood my ground with Surveyor of Grants team and pleased the normal PB was all removed Aquaboards put up and jointed. Ceiling got mist coat today. Insert has been laid today, tiler weekend, heat sealed flooring next week. Small bathroom with largish tiles, no mosaics etc. Politely suggested they review their specifications on future jobs in accordance with B/Regs good practice and to do a job fit for purpose.

You have lots of interest and support here. Can we have a simple sketch to ensure we understand fully? The party wall act is process, not a prohibition. If you tell us what you really want to do, maybe it can be done.

Just remember the important rules, my neighbours have informed me of, over the years. 1 You are entitled to a view. 2 If your tree leans over your neighbours fence they cannot cut it back within 10 feet of the boundary. 3 If you move your fence onto someone else's property after 10 years you can keep it. 4 If you want to move a bulk storage gas tank into your back garden you don't have to ask permission, just go down your neighbours private drive and trash the hedge leaning over. No worry. 5 You can build all you want because you need to, but no neighbours can build as it will destroy the neighbourhood. 6 You can put your stereo in the back garden full blast and have parties on every hot Saturday in the summer, but your neighbours builders must only do silent working. Have I missed any?

so, here we are at the end of the 3rd week of our build with the groundworkers having dug the basement to depth and put the sub-base down ready for levelling and compacting on Monday with the blinding and insulation to also be completed on the same day. We got a second digger driver on site this week and things have really got going and on Friday we even had a 3rd person to stand around with the laser level to assist. Here's the time-lapse video of the week. The basement contractors were due to start on Monday but as the groundworks aren't quite finished they've been pushed back to Tuesday. Despite that we're very happy and even happier since I've been told that the basement construction should only take 5 - 6 weeks, whereas previously I'd been working on around 8 weeks to complete. This is brilliant if they can do it in that time frame and I've already given the timber frame company notice that we might need the TF a couple of weeks earlier than anticipated if they can accommodate that. only time will tell if that's the case. The week finished off with me laying my first ever slab. It will house the electricity kiosk and also be a place for our wheelie bins to go. it was actually the UKPN surveyor who suggested to me to make the slab for the kiosk a bit bigger to allow the bins to go there. I thought it was a great idea and saves me creating something further down the line. Being a bit of a cheap-skate I use some of the old shiplap cladding from the pool house that got pulled down so it probably wasn't the best wood to use for the formwork and, after I put one piece down I did notice is was a bit warped but figured it's just for bins so just left it there. if it's not obvious it's the piece on the left hand side. Also, the 150mm ducting for the electricity cables made tamping the concrete down quite tricky around them so it's not perfect but it'll do. And if anyone asks I'll just say it adds character. seems to be a one-stop excuse for shoddy work. I promise I will take more care over the actual house! For mixing the concrete I was going to hire a cement mixer but at the last minute decided to cancel that and save myself £25 and a drive to pickup and drop-off the mixer and ended up mixing it by hand in a wheelbarrow. that was pretty hard work for someone who sits behind a desk all day and I'm feeling pretty stiff and sore right now but I'm sure as the manual labour progresses it'll help get me in shape in the long run. I'd like to finish with an observation.....this self-building is a funny old thing as I've never ever looked forward to a Monday morning so much in my entire life! I'm just so excited to get to Monday to see what next week will bring. Hopefully I'll go back to hating Mondays once the build is completed. that's about it for this week. I can't wait to see what next week brings.

In that case you might as well get UKPN to put in the 3 phase head whatever, if it doesn't cost much more. All my research (talking to UKPn in particular) was that you can definitely get any supplier to put a single phase meter in on it, but having the 3ph head now will give you future flexibility should you ever need it.

Sent you a PM.

No idea , but the people who do know will need ..... If you can grab a spade and start digging down , expose the foundation and keep going down until you find the bottom of the concrete measure and take pic;s , now you will know what potential options you have available to you.

If you go to the Gyrpoc website and click on the "White Book - C04 - S02 - GypWall Classic" under Related Downloads you see see diagrams and tables of various standard stud walls. You can quickly and easily compare the Sound insulation by comparing the various dB rating numbers. https://www.british-gypsum.com/literature/white-book/partitions/gypwall-classic You'll be able to compare easily what a 12.5mm regular board provides compared to a 12.5mm soundblock board or two layers of plasterboard and the difference with and without the 25mm isover acoustic insulation. They also have GypWall Quiet, GypWall Staggered, and GypWall Audio, etc. which would provide higher sound insulation. It's going to be a case of how thick you want the wall and to what level of sound insulation you want to achieve but hundreds of possibilities with various levels of sound level and price points.

ISO acoustic is best Often only 25 thick I’ve two bathrooms back to back Built a standard party wall Two 50 mil mf studs with a 50 mil cavity I boarded one side insulated then boarded the second side Then built the next wall in front You can’t even hear the loo flush from either side

Having had a nightmare with Wiltshire planning we used their building control with some trepidation. No worries- they have been amazing , very pragmatic and helpful. Delighted to see a modern fabric first building - sent the students to look. Helpful during lockdown . Cheaper than private one

I have seen loads of houses built closer than 600mm, if 600mm was a minimum then surely each party should be 300mm from the boundary. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2751782/Couple-s-fury-4ft-gap-houses-completely-swallowed-building-work-door.html psss, you dug that hole yet? ?

As others have said, you probably will not need a Party Wall award and the fees and time that would cost. A couple of trial holes down to the base of their foundations would be all your engineer and Building Control would need to establish that foundations at the same depth would be structurally acceptable. Regarding the access for inspection, not really an issue and this could be carried out at ground level or a small scaffold tower could be erected. As long as they have access it is up to them how to do the inspection.

OK they have a right to inspect but not to erect scaffolding .... and even if they did they still need your permission .! For example, they cannot erect scaffolding that would block your usage of your property without your express permission. And this all hinges around what is “reasonable” and a surveyor would not reasonably require scaffold to inspect a wall - if they did then it would be commonplace and I’ve never seen it used in over 30 years !!

(Get that hole dug and get back to us ?). Then there may be other solutions that are shallower. Raft foundation only about 450 deep. (Just to reduce another worry: I saw an earlier worry about builder costs if aborted. They can only claim reasonable loss of earnings. Keep an eye on whether they are busy elsewhere)

If you summarise what you now know, I think you will realise all is ok. The PWA itself can be tricky to read but there are well explained summaries with sketches online. Your concerns re demo understood. To remove the apparent risk and real worry, explain to the neighbour first, with an independent letter perhaps, and drawing, and have the argument before building. More likely it is shown to the family QS who says 'fair enough'. Your Architect and/or Engineer can show the cross section relative to the neighbouring house with a big NOTE ON IT.. " the new foundations are not below the neighbours therefore the Party Wall Act is not an issue. approx. 800 gap left is ample for access." In the unlikely event that neighbour still complained, after the event, you will be seen to have been utterly reasonable throughout.

List of mortgage companies will be limited with that, and if this is for sale in the near future (is that your plan..?) then I would get a recognised warranty Differences are here - and it’s pretty clear why mortgage companies don’t like these. https://cic.org.uk/admin/resources/cml-certificates.pdf

There is no stipulation as to how much space you need to leave, them 800mm is more than enough. Nobody is going to make you take down a building that is completly on your own land.

That would be a fantastic addition to your house. You are not going to be made to take it down.....Your neighbour is just a bully.

I kind of meant it in jest but there was a more practical undertone. Since self-building, my head has been so full of questions and information on how to get it right, there's no room for how not to do it. But in any case, if you want to learn how to do something well, it's surely better to spend your time listening to and watching someone who's good at it, not someone who's crap at it, no? Understanding how not to do something doesn't get you anywhere, other than maybe some entertainment value from other peoples' disasters. ?? I haven't watched one of these programmes in probably 10 years now but one thing I did always wonder was how on earth so many people seemed to find an extra 300 - 500 grand or so behind the sofa to complete the project....

Looking good! I'm in West Sussex as well building a self build ? We started in July last year. Roughly where abouts are you? We are near a place called Southwater.

I wouldn't use a digital shower with an instantaneous water heater, such as a combi, as the supplied hot water temp can fluctuate a lot in a multi-occupant dwelling. Even flushing a loo or filling a kettle will affect the hot water output of even the best combi. With any instantaneous water heater you 100% need to go thermostatic in any respect, and a good quality mixer shower will serve you perfectly well. A quality thermostatic mixer will adapt to input hot water fluctuations almost as they happen, and then zero additional boxes / thechno-paraphenalia / moving electro-mechanical parts etc.

I find the screws have much better purchase with P5. I use screws with a part blank shank so they don't 'jack' the boards up off the joists. Vortex screws ( 5.0 x 50mm ) are a favourite. Link.

Why start the problem in the 1st place by using 18mm chipboard?!? I haven't used that weak weetabix pap for donkey's years. 22mm minimum in every instance for me, and then no silly issues or need for 3D CAD drawings then . If you really are losing sleep over this, go get yourself some pine T&G floorboards and go 'old skool'. Ditch the idea of 18mm, and get onto the next problem. And yes, you ARE over-thinking this, but you're focussed on the wrong solution AFAIC.

Do you need a warranty ..?? If so, private will be cheaper when linked with a warranty inspection company. I don’t use LABC as around me they used to be atrocious for not turning up but I have now seen they have amalgamated 4 authorities BCs so that may now improve.

Building in Wiltshire and using private inspector. Service has been great as far as I’m concerned but then I don’t have much experience to compare to. Chose private as Wiltshire planning were so incompetent that I didn’t want to risk anything like the same (I know they’re separate but I was cross at the time!). Also could use the same private inspector for our warranty - seems to have saved a lot of hassle.

As a general rule LA tends to be a bit cheaper than private and more flexible with site visits

See all the posts by "crusoe" here. He's used it. Not without some issues. See the follow up post on feb 23rd 2011. http://www.greenbuildingforum.co.uk/newforum/comments.php?DiscussionID=6212

No you should probably choose.. 3. MIxer Shower or 4. Digital Shower (Provided the maker allows use with a combi). Not a recomendation but Mira do some digital showers for use with a combi boiler.. https://www.mirashowers.co.uk/showers/digital-showers/products/?installation-type=rear-fed-dual-outlet

There is a guide to the party wall act here... see page 19.. https://www.gov.uk/guidance/party-wall-etc-act-1996-guidance If you are digging within 3m of their building you only need to worry about the party wall act if you are digging deeper than the bottom of their foundations. As I recall if you dont go deeper than theirs you dont need to do anything at all. On the other hand if you are going deeper then its going to get expensive as they can virtually force you to hire upto three surveyors. So if their founds are right on the edge of your property dig a trial hole to find out how deep they go. Photograph the hole with a ruler in it so its clear how deep they are. Tell your builder not to dig any deeper and tell your neighbour the Party Wall Act does not require you to do anything because you are not digging deeper than their foundations. The other thing to note is that there is no penalty for a breech of the Party Wall Act. However they could try go to court and seek an injunction to get you to stop work until you have complied. Likewise if you were to damage their building the judge would look less kindly on you if you also failed to comply. But as i said above you will comply if you dont dig too deep. Lakeside hire do scaffolding towers that are 750mm and 600mm wide... https://www.lakeside-hire.co.uk/narrow-scaffold-tower/

Nobilia will be dearer than Howdens but competitive with Magnet.

If you aren’t putting in the loo, sink, make sure you at least run some pipework and cabling and have it hidden behind plasterboard so access is easy once you change your mind and minimises disruption to the rest of the building.

I use a 17dbi dish router from Mikrotik to get my internet service from the 3 Network even though I'm technically not in coverage. https://mikrotik.com/product/lhg_lte_kit You need to pole mount it and line it up, but the signal you get is vastly superior to anything you'd get on an omnidirectional phone antenna. If you're a non techy you may need a bit of help getting it running

Fab Bobby Dazzler. Don't worry about next doors deeds. Yours says it all. If you want to build 0.8 mt from that wall you crack on. There is no stipulation as to how much room you have to allow for either them, or there tubby builder. There scaffolding etc is total tosh. Check up on the PWA and get your builder to confirm that he is only digging to the same depth as your existing foundations. Then you won't have to worry about the PWA. Because you neighbour has been such an arse, I would be making it very difficult for them to ever come on my land. Method statement required, and full insurance for any damage they might cause to your land or property.

You have a combi, so have a mains pressure hot water supply albeit lower than an unvented cylinder due to the flow restriction within the boiler. Power are usually pumped (but not exclusively) and can’t be connected to a mains supply directly, Mixers can be either high or low pressure, and digital are just posh mixers (some of which have pumps )

So how to you currently heat hot water? do you store hot water?

After numerous leaks ? Ensuite and shower constantly running seem leak free now .....

In the last few months work on the house was on hold because of the COVID 19 pandemic. With the rules starting to be relaxed we have now been able to make some progress. A few months ago I posted on BH about being a bit concerned about the bath being a tight fit as it’s 1800mm and the distance between the wall was 1802mm. Not sure how the plumber got it in but happy that it fills the space. The bath is made from Carronite so it should feel more rigid when showering. Our joiner fitted the hydro lock panels and the plumber came back to fit the shower fittings. The Joule Aero tank has now been connected up. The tank holds 260 litres and utilises a heat pump which draws air from the bathroom, utility and ensuite. We visited a couple of properties that utilised this set-up and although they were happy with the efficiency of the system the feedback we got was to consider potential vibration noise from the tank. We took some steps to do this, firstly sitting the tank in a cupboard in the utility room, using a thick anti vibration mat with 22mm plywood on top. The ducting throughout the house is metal but we switched to flexible ducting for the last bit to ensure any vibration would not travel through the ducting. We also fitted a silencer to reduce the noise travelling through the ducts particularly to the ensuite. These steps have had the desired effect. Because we have yet to move in, I was able to monitor the electricity consumption of the tank when it heated the first 260 litres. To get the water to 50 degrees it used 4 units of electricity which would be about 50p. The tank also has a dual immersion which could be used to heat the tank more quickly if desired. After the air has gone through the system it passes through an external vent through the utility wall. In the last entry I mentioned that we wanting to prepare the ground for grass seed. The first job was removing a lot of stones. I’ll probably use the smaller stones to extend the parking area slightly and it would be good to use the larger ones for a small wall or some other feature in the garden. After the stones were removed, we raked the ground and then sowed the seed. The grass is starting to come through which is promising but we will need to fill in any patchy gaps. I can see why people go for the more expensive option of turfing but a big bag of seed is very cheap and although it takes some time and effort it’s satisfying to see the grass come through. I guess this is a good analogy for our self build! We had a sunny weather spell which allowed me to finished off some painting and my wife put some oil on the cladding. This had been previously left to weather but as this is on the southern elevation this could now do with some oil. We chose one which had a slight pigmentation and after applying the finished result was that it looked very similar to the pre oiled look but helped to even out the upper areas that had yet to sliver as they are shaded by the soffit. We plan to work our way around the house with the oil. We have used various tins of Osmo throughout the house and although it is quite pricey it does the job well. This is the tin what we used on the cladding. What is next? We had hoped that we could order some furniture from Ikea to furnish the downstairs but I think the pandemic is affecting stock issues and delivery. We now need to decide whether we want to move with limited furniture or wait a few more weeks. The next jobs: - a little bit of electrical work, lighting fittings, connecting up cooker, towel rails etc - BT due to connect us up on Tuesday - need to get some tiling work done for splashbacks - order some chips to spread around the site. - need to decide what to put as a finishing layer on the access road. - need to order materials for ramp, decking and downpipes for guttering. I hope everyone is keeping well and thanks for reading.

My impact driver is good but I only use genuine Makita batteries - that may change shortly as I've ordered a chainsaw that needs 2 batteries

I worked through this problem a while ago when, luckily, @JSHarris was writing about the issue. For 146 sq m (our house area) I drew the conclusion that it wasn't worth it. The discussion is on this board - somewhere - not sure where, though - so long ago that I read it that I can't remember which thread. But I do know what you mean about liking the idea of GSHP. There's something elemental about it: something deeply connected.

Looks good ! Surprised you only had baby diggers in ! ?

Sadly we're already there - getting services in cost us around £23k more than we had anticipated ...

On Valspar paint, see this story https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-40655163

Here you go, knock yourself out ?