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Greetings on a miserably rainy Sunday October morning. Perfect weather for catching up on some blog writing! As the title suggests this blog will be about our external coverings of the house and, by the end of it, the outside of the building will be pretty much finished allowing us to crack on internally. We started many months ago by battening the outside of the buildings. As we are having external blinds and they have a requirement for fitting the blind cassette we needed a large gap between the house walls and the outside of the cladding. This meant 50mm x 50mm timber battens and counter battens. We did this ourselves and saved many thousands and, even though it was slow going (as, it seems, everything is when you do it yourself!), it was very satisfying with the carpenter saying that it was good work and he’d seen chippies do a lot worse jobs than we did. Nice warm fuzzy feeling ensued. We are having a mixture of burnt Siberian larch (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yakisugi) and, to contrast the black, standard Siberian larch on the ‘arms’ of our property and entrance porch (all will be revealed in photos below) and I ordered all the cladding to be delivered on-site prior to the carpenter starting. The carpenter started on the garage using the standard Siberian larch which we bought from Jewson at a very reasonable price, and quite a bit cheaper than we could get from the usual timber cladding suppliers and we are very happy with the quality of the wood. He then went on to the black charred larch (which gets everywhere and he and his tools looked like they’d been in a coal mine by the end of each day!). We purchased the charred larch from Permachar (https://permachar.co.uk) who gave us a brilliant price. The wood itself was burnt and delivered from Lithuania (https://degmeda.eu) but they will only sell to the UK via Permachar. It is stunning wood, but incredibly fragile and any sort of dragging or scraping will cause the black char to flake off. While he was busy doing that and while the scaffolding was up I thought it a good time to get the guttering started. Our architect specified Zinc guttering and after a lot of thought and looking at stainless steel and zinc we also decided that zinc was the choice for us. We ordered it from Rainclear (https://www.rainclear.co.uk/guttering/copper-zinc-guttering/guttering-fittings.html?color=235) who offer next day delivery if in stock and were incredibly helpful and very well priced. It’s also a clip on system which even I managed to install without any major issues! Around the same time and while the carpenter was busy putting the cladding up our external blinds got fitted. We bought those from a local company called Powell blinds (https://powellblinds.com) who stepped in brilliantly at the last minute after we were seriously let down by Cornerstar Aluminium (long story which I won’t get in to here). The blinds are fitted up behind the cladding above the windows but externally so they will be hidden from view when lifted up. We absolutely love them and during the heatwave this summer we lowered them and this drastically reduced the temperature inside the house. There was still one large south facing window that didn’t have blinds that needed shading. We wanted and the architect designed a Brise Soleil in this area but all we had to go on was a 2D drawing. I contacted a few companies about getting one made and installed and the quotes came back at between £6k - £7k! A figure we simply could not afford. So I did research and spoke to a local forge called Horsham Forge (https://www.horshamforge.co.uk) with an idea I had. He said ‘that could be done but how about this instead?’. He suggested brackets with a pole running through them and vertical timbers slid on. Genius! On to Sketchup where I draw up the brackets and gave them to the forge to be created and spoke to my timber manager at Jewson who procured me some thermowood at the size I needed and got my carpenter to fit it and it cost me £1700 in total. So we saved around £5k by doing it ourselves and we also enjoyed the journey and got a solution that we designed (with the help of the forge of course). We think it looks fab and it does a good job of shading from the sun apart from a couple of hours when the sun is directly facing that side of the house. So we will still get some solar gain but it is definitely reduced and it’s a brilliant architectural feature. 😉 Right, while all this was going on the chippie was finishing up the cladding and now that it is all finished and I have put the downpipes on we have an almost finished external facade to our dream home. We love it and think it’s stunning. So very happy with the carpenter’s work (http://www.kmlcarpentryandroofing.co.uk). Kieran’s attention to detail at the junctions between the 2 types of wood is fabulous as it is in other areas too. He would also discuss any issues and potential solutions with us to make sure we were happy with them rather than just doing something he thought was right. Hopefully the pictures below do it all justice! (Note: please ignore the 110mm brown downpipe in the below photo! It will eventually be a rain chain but this works for now. 😉 ) Thanks for reading and we hope you like what we’ve achieved so far.

There is no concern for 1ph. But when surveyed i was told that its only about £150 more for a 3ph supply. So i said yep lets go for that then. Then i got a phone call saying 'no capacity in the village for 3ph you can pay for a new sub station.' Single phase it is then.

I was sitting overlooking the sea earlier and for some reason I thought of roofs. Now it is almost certain that most people will have a requirement for at least one of the above, if not all of them. So the question is, do we need to redesign the roof to incorporate all the above in a simple, and ideally, modular fashion that can be adapted to most houses? I find it strange that there are so many different ways of making, what is in essence, a weatherproof covering. So over to the cleaver people on here, and our helpful SE and Architects, @Gus Potter, @ETC, @joe90, @saveasteading and the others who I cannot remember. All comments/ideals welcome.

Plenty of information on ASHP is available on this site and very little on hybrid heating systems, i.e. boiler and ASHP. A few manufacturer designed hybrid systems are also available. When we built our house it was with an Atag gas combi boiler. We then installed an ASHP mostly for cooling, but it also heated our house well last winter and provided hot water via an UVC. The system below could easily be replicated by anyone wanting to install a hybrid heating system meaning little or no changes to heating system such as radiators. So the Atag boiler only 2 years old has sat idle for the last year. For periods where the CoP of the heat pump, means gas is cheaper why not marry the boiler and heat pump together. Most of the off shelf solutions, rely on the gas boiler doing the hot water, not what I wanted. Most the time the ASHP is way cheaper than gas (especially with solar). So makes sense to do hot water via the ASHP most of the time. Most ASHP already have all the control logic for hybrid mode built-in - mine does. I have a few location issues which makes the implementation a little more complex than I could be. Boiler and UVC are about 20m plus away from the ASHP, with UFH in the middle. The solution I chose to use has the boiler on a separate circuit to the ASHP. Combi DHW tails are not connected to anything and the isolation valves closed. Phase one Get hybrid hot water heating. Had a 40 plate PHE sitting doing nothing, so inserted in the flow line from the ASHP close to the UVC, the other side to combi boiler heating circuit. Set max flow temp to 60 on the gas boiler. I can change the rate at which the boiler adds heat (gradient), set to a max of 2 degs every minute. Initial run was all manually done to check concept. With ASHP only the reheat time of the UVC is around 40 to 45 mins, with boiler engaged about 20 to 25 mins. During test, I monitoring the ASHP and gas boiler and both work well together, neither running away temperature wise. Now how to automate. All control logic is in the ASHP, to use a boiler as a secondary heat source, you can set different outside temperatures for the following control schemes - 1. ASHP only, 2. ASHP leading, boiler following, 3. boiler leading ASHP following 4. boiler only. ASHP controller supplies 230v as a control signal to the boiler. But boiler is 20m plus away from the ASHP. So used a Shelly relay at the ASHP end and a remotely controlled Shelly relay at the boiler end. Set up a scene in the shelly app, switched live to ASHP end Shelly energised the boiler end Shelly relay. All worked fine. Set the hybrid mode (ASHP leading) to start at 7 degs and a delayed start of 10 minutes for the boiler, after cylinder heating starts with the ASHP. PHE, boiler on left side ASHP on the right. Phase 2 UFH - coming next.

Children don't stay at school for ever. Ours flew the nest after we gave them as much money as we could (some would say bribed ?) In any case we're horrible parents - insist on clean rooms no loud sex after midnight, no drugs, limited rock and roll . If we found their booze we stole it, usually by accident. Well one bottle just looks like another. It worked. That meant we could live in a smaller house. Is four or five years too long to wait?

Are you sure? Using the spirit stove on our boat at the weekend, with the main hatch shut but front hatch open a crack and rear ventilator open. it set off the CO alarm. I am happier that the WBS at home takes it's air directly from outside and all the products of combustion go up the flue, not into the house.

Unless is Blackpool Or not so great Yarmouth 😁

Not always. The perfect seaview may be expensive, but often a mile inland is cheap.

But usually more expensive 🤷‍♂️

3 things pop into my mind. There are other good schools in other places. A home does not need to be a conventional house. Can Family Trusts (or other tax vehicles) help with finances. Just thought up another, the seaside is always best.

Tough one. Have looked at shared ownership opportunities it may be a route they could take and then purchase the other portion in time.

The rules are generally easier for outbuildings than extensions. Summary... Planning: You can have any size outbuilding provided you don't build over more than half the area or the garden. Outbuildings must be single storey with a maximum eaves height of 2.5 metres and maximum overall height of 4 metres with a dual pitched roof, or 3 metres in any other case. If the outbuilding is within 2 metres of the property boundary the whole building should not exceed 2.5 metres in height. Decking or raised platforms must be under 300mm. Building Regs: Between 15 square metres and 30 square metres, you will not normally be required to apply for building regulations approval, providing that the building contains NO sleeping accommodation, and is at least one metre from any boundary. Any mains electrics will need to be done by a qualified Electrician who should notify Building Control as part of the process (check and ask for copies). If you build an outbuilding within 1m of your house the planners can try and argue its effectively an extension. How likely they are to do that depends on how "bad" they think it is in planning terms. The planners don't normally go looking for minor breaches, problems typically start with a neighbour complains and then they feel obliged to check you have net the rules.

If that were the case, then plonking a garden table with a parasol on a patio with a few potted plants down the sides would become a semi enclosed usable space. An awning over a paved patio area that was neither raised nor permanently semi enclosed would not be a verandah. Maybe if you had an awning between two fencing panels, you could call it an extension under PD?! The more I learn about planning regulations, the less I like. As with a lot of things that were started with good intentions, it's become an industry for its own perpetuation.

Hello, I’m David. I’m a time-served decorator, specialising in “particular” clients after a high-end finish. I'm here because I’m taking time off work to build my wife a garden office, and a bit of lurking tells me this would be a great place to seek advice on insulation. What a minefield.. Here’s where I am so far!

Just gorgeous!!

Min distance should be no less than 3x the diameter of the hole, ideally 5x diameters. So 500-800mm ISH. How are you planning on making these openings? Hiring a core driller? 162mm will be tough work.

They’re not governed by anybody. Unfortunately, the buck lies with the homeowner to check and make sure they seek the relevant approvals. It’s the same with some garage conversion and loft conversion companies. Many do refer to the PD rules but you’ll also find the majority don’t mention the possibility of Article 4 Directions.

if its not broke dont fix it! A pitched roof covered with Stone/slate works is simple to fit and maintain. Also quite like the new recycled slates hard to tell them apart from standard. Just look at USA for cheap, they use shed roofing felt on everything. Can't get too fancy and futuristic or the retarded planning system will enforce against you for 'damaging' a building built when planning permission wasn't required. It would be good to see a system for in roof ASHP, the current box model could be broken up and a solar panel size type heat exchanger for example.

another vote for the lindab galv guttering. Found the 125mm cheaper to buy than the 100mm. The hoppers were 8 weeks leadtime from factory when i ordered in feb. may have changed..

Firstly, thank you for the complement of “clever” (yet to be proven!!!). I think with new builds we are seeing new materials, GRP, metal, composite materials. Historically we have seen materials from thatch, through slate to tiles of differing materials. Mostly roofs are slopes to shed rain, constructed in timber (mostly) with a covering that’s waterproof. So in answer to the question. Why, if what we have works, yes thatch is being replaced (where allowed) with modern materials, asbestos also but change for changes sake is not necessary (I used slate on my build for longevity, proven reliability etc).

Declared a 'cleaver ' person i should retire now: lay down the sword. So a cleaver statement is called for on that subject. Here goes. What I used to repeat to keep business relationships in perspective: None of our clients wants a building or to pay for it. They just need to keep the weather off their product / staff / family. That doesn't apply to banks, corporations or billionaires as they want to be noticed.. but they were not our clients.

Go with your gut. Keep searching, they’ll be something else out there.

My name is phil. I had my own building firm for 20 odd years doing repairs and renovations. My main passion was roofing and lead work. I was a one-man band and liked working on my own. And of course, when you're 100ft in the air, the view is fantastic.

Dismantling is a nicer word than demolition that doesn't change any need for a demo notice. But I don't think that is a 'building'. It is a shed and they normally don't need a demo notice.

Stay friendly with the neighbours who will ever know. be carful cutting back bushes, look out for nesting birds. the easiest way to piss someone off is to have a bonfire stick to this and I’m sure you will be fine

We had a raised deck and wind out canopy from the wall at our previous house, installed there 20 years ago without PP. I guess I just "got away with it"? So if your deck and canopy were a few mm gap between it and the house, and it complied with the permitted development rules for a garden building would it comply? Unless you have vindictive nosy neighbours I would just do it and take the flack if any came.

Reset to factory settings.

Ours hardly ever kicks in, it did the first year after the build, but now everything has dried out, it doesn't need to. Our boost kicks in around 60%, if it doesn't get there it doesn't boost. As the weather changes so does the humidity inside and out.

Munaf, I think you have the answer in your question - you made some changes in settings. I suggest revisiting the settings and revert to what you had before (I hope you remember what they were), and check if the boost kicks in at the next shower time. If the boost doesn't kick in, then maybe the humidistat is faulty.

We did internally but using the blue acoustic soil pipes, to avoid hearing anything