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Home Farm. I feel for you and am not surprised the local RSPB were unhelpful. You will need to lobby at a higher level. If they are wishing to remove hedges you might have some leverage there. You need to raise specific objections. Objecting to fertiliser spreading will not get you anywhere, access for lorries delivering/taking away stock, delivering feed might. You might want to contact George Eustice (back as farm minister). He has quite strong views on sustainable farming. This link https://www.cornwall-aonb.gov.uk/blog/2018/5/1/the-future-of-the-farmed-environment-in-cornwall contains a talk he gave over a year ago on his vision for the future of farming and CAP payments AB, worth watching, it also explains how the present system works. Tom Tolputt's presentation also worth a look at. It is possible to farm without antibiotics. My son has a pasture fed organic dairy herd and doesn't use antibiotics (except in very rare circumstances poss 1 or 2 cows a year, they are not milked if he has to), his cows are outside, they don't get mastitis, they are milked once a day only, they will milk for many years not the usual two lactations of many commercial herds. He uses breeds that are hardy (largely jersey crosses) and that don't need to be fed grain/soya. His farm is a carbon sink, they have also introduced beavers to control local flooding downstream. He does not use any synthetic fertilisers and because he mob grazes he fertilises as he goes rather than creating a slurry pool. I have never used antibiotics here, I breed poultry (all sorts) for meat and eggs, beef, lamb and pork (admittedly I am very small scale), my cows and sheep have only ever been fed grass. The biggest issue around food production today is food is just too cheap, there are also too many in the chain between farmer and consumer, all taking their cut, the result is some producers looking at the best way to maximise their profits, large scale IPUs are one way of doing this, if you are only going to make a few pence (it really is pence) profit on a chicken you need to produce an awful lot of them. If you live in the country then buy all your food direct, it's easy, and eat seasonally, do you really need fresh tomatoes or strawberries in January or apples in June?

Just got the first draft of our completed pre-construction PHPP and I did a little happy dance on opening the PER tab: What this says is our 8kW of self-generation (vertical axis normalized to ground floor footprint) is enough to offset our energy demand (horizontal axis, normalized to total inhabitable floor area) and achieve their new-ish "PH Plus" category. So far there's only one in the UK that has achieved this (that I know of) so exciting times ahead! (if all rather arbitrary I'll admit, sure). Anyone else gone through PHPP and got PER charts for comparison?

Just finished cleaning and post-curing my first test print: Pretty impressed with the result, especially as this printer is very much a budget machine. I did the test at 50µ resolution, rather than the 20µ maximum, as increasing the resolution massively increases the print time. This took a bit over 4 hours at 50µ, at 20µ it was predicting a print time of over 15 hours.

Two years ago, when our wall blew down a load of drainage piping blew off the stillage into a fence : where I had - with great pride - planted a new hedge. Two years of growth later, I need some drainage pipe. Mustn't grumble : had a good hour's exercise getting it that far - fed a few flies on my blood and simply ruined my fingers nails, ruined I tell you. ..... Eat yer heart out @Onoff When it comes to procrastination, I gottcha beat. Admit it!

Well lets say it has evolved and been shaped by the titanic forces of nature and the planning process. Its not quite what we initially wanted and has been compromised and compromised over its various iterations and has sadly lost some of our ‘must have’ features. But it is kinda cute, and we do really like it! The site is about 1/3rd of an acre slopping up from the road and has a shared driveway to our neighbours at the rear. In the middle of the plot is a 3 bed 1960’s bungalow which has seen better days – habitable but not great (and don’t mention the asbestos). The site may look big and easy but it is actually quite constrained – with a shared driveway down one side and a shared sewer running across the plot. Together with the slope and trying to keep the ridge height down to appease the Planners (even though the houses on either side are all 2 or 3 story) it is a tricky site. We wanted lots of light and a feeling of space and openness – so that cliché of lots of glass and open plan. We also wanted an Endless Pool and garaging for a collection of RX7 sports cars. We also wanted a crisp contemporary exterior and don’t like wood cladding much. We also wanted low energy – but not hung up on achieving Passive Haus per-se. Oh and it has to be low maintenance and a lifetime house. We initially used a designer who was really great and had an amazing ability to use space in a really efficient way. However for the final design shown here we used a real Architect (with a capital A). There are those who would argue its an unnecessary expense but firstly he came up with a very creative design in a very constrained environment. And secondly the quality of his work probably helped with Planning. We get on very well and he is doing a fab (but not cheap) job. As we are downsizing we would actually like a smaller garden than 1/3rd acre, so that and the economics, has led us to two houses on the site. We have had a few different arrangements of this over time but have come to two side by side. They are different sizes and layouts but they distinctly read as a pair. Height dictates a flat roof – much hated by our neighbours – and supported by the Officer. Our house is bigger and is cut into the slope with the front out of the ground and the back completely in. It has the entrance hall, garaging, plant and an Endless Pool in the partial basement. The 1st floor is mainly open plan dining, kitchen, living areas, with the Sitting Room opening out to the rear garden at the back. Top floor is 4 beds and bathrooms and is topped by a flat roof. The eagle eyed among you may have spotted the Lift - not needed at the moment but designed in and will be fitted if and when we have the cash. It seemed like a good idea with a 3 story house and us not getting any younger! The other house is smaller and split level. Again cut into the slope but only by half a floor. So entrance hall and kitchen dinning hall are level with the front garden and parking area. Up half a floor to the rear living which opens out onto the rear garden. Then up another half floor to the front two bedrooms at the front, and then up half a floor again to the rear master bedroom. All topped by a similar, but split, flat roof. It is just so neat we almost wish it was ours! The overall design responds well to the site and makes the most of it, and the Architect has done his best to make the front façade broken and not monolithic, but simple (and cheap) it aint! It will be mainly off-white silicon type render with some Rockpanel grey cladding panels and grey windows and EPDM roofing – so sharp and contemporary but not the classic white sugar cube. You may be reading this and thinking its not what I would have gone for and its not my taste - our neighbours probably thought the same. Our answer is that if you feel strongly then go find your own land and build exactly what you want - just put your money where your mouth is (and keep it shut unless you do). Though in the true spirit of BuildHub constructive criticism is always welcome! We have spent a lot of time refining the design and hopefully we make the most of the space but as we all know its always a compromise! So having got this through and arrived at something we really want to build its now time to start - more to come in future posts.

A very very long and difficult history to our self-build that we will compact into as short a space as possible to save readers much of the grief we have been through. We have always lived in (and renovated) old, cold, draughty and character-full houses, and our last house (a Victorian vicarage) had lots of glass and double aspect rooms and was full of light. We wanted to downsize but couldn’t find anything with similar light and space, and some of the new build ones we looked at were really poor quality. So we decided to self-build and started to look for land – and as some of you already know it’s not an easy task. Then we came across a tired 60’s bungalow on a 1/3rd acre plot about 2 miles from where we were living – perfect location. All the other bungalows on our side of the street had been developed to reasonably dense new build developments with a real mix of styles and sizes, and outside the conservation area – perfect for knock down and rebuild. Piece of cake we thought – how hard could it be to get Planning (little did we know!!!! and if only we had known then what we know now ....). So after a small round of bidding, that was won; not on the highest bid, but with our throw away line ‘offer not subject to anything’. We won the day, we were the proud owners of a somewhat tired bungalow, and then the fun started! First problem was selling the Victorian vicarage in a downturning market which took about 3 years. So finally sold, and knowing how much cash we had, we moved in and started on the long winding road to PP and self-build nirvana. We started with the German kit houses – fantastic quality and build process, and after a few trips to Germany we decided we really liked the modern sharp style that typifies much of new European houses today (or, rather, doesn’t in the UK). As a tip if you want to see literally dozens of show homes visit one (or more) of the (19) Fertighauswelt (think this translates approximately to “ready built house world”) sites in Germany (https://www.fertighauswelt.de/ ) – the best 5 Euros you can spend if you want to look for design ideas. Sadly over time and a Pound sinking against the Euro the German kit house was never going to work. And also working with the site and the budget it really started to make sense to build two houses and sell one to subsidise the one we wanted to live in. Unknowingly we had just created the perfect anti-PP scenario:- cutting edge modern design in a street of pastiche estate type houses; being greedy enough to want to want to build two; and being the last bungalow standing and surrounded by FD&H NIMBY neighbours. Rather than taking you through the gruesome blow by blow story here are the statistics:- Total time from first App to final Appeal decision:- 4yrs and 10months 1 Pre-App – which was a total waste of time and money 7 Planning Applications (inc 3 CofL/ PD apps) - 2 Approved 6 (or perhaps 7) different Planning Officers 3 Committee decisions:- 2 Refuse & 1 Approve, all with prior Officer Approval 2 Appeals:- 1 Refuse & 1 Approve (sadly we didn’t win costs) 105 letters of objection & 1 of support (from a London Architect who loved the design – bless him for that ray of sunshine It was a dreadful process and the main reason for the time and grief we suffered seems to be that we are surrounded by vile neighbours who have friends in high places. The public comments generally had very little planning relevance but included phrases like ‘peeping toms’, ‘covert surveillance’ and even likening our design to ‘Grenfell Tower’. We were stoic and kept turning the other cheek but we sent this last one back to the Chief Planning Officer as ‘offensive and defamatory’ – he said it was perfectly acceptable (to quote Joe Walsh ‘You Can’t Argue with a Sick Mind’)! If we thought the public comments (sometimes called ‘solicited hate mail’) phase was bad then let’s say the Committee phase was much worse. Firstly it seems that the decision is made before you even walk into the room, and that nothing you say will make any difference, or even be listened to. Then the Committee infringed our copyright, accused us of greed and telling lies, and told us that they didn’t care at all that we were planning to build low energy houses. If we had any faith in local democracy and politics we have much less than none now. We are certain that the only reason we got one through the Committee is that one of the esteemed Councillors really upset/insulted the Chair (we decided we really shouldn’t print the exact comment); at which point the discussion divided on party lines and incidentally we won! As mentioned the Pre App Advice was a complete waste of time and money (for us). We offered the Officer 3 options and he agreed what he thought the ‘best’. He also gave us a lot of ‘advice’ which we incorporated to the letter in the Application. He then proceeded to keep changing his mind and we did 3 major re-designs over 12 months until he ‘approved’. It finally went to Committee and was refused. The subsequent Appeal which we lost was true goldmine as it contained real data on what was acceptable and what wasn’t. We then built the subsequent Apps on this and the Officer(s) really couldn’t disagree with the previous Appeal comments. Also in the second Appeal we seriously questioned some of the proposed Conditions and the Appeal Officer took out most of them. A real win and we saved our Planning Consultants fee in having a really onerous Design and Methods condition removed. Certainly worth a shot if you ever go to Appeal. If any of you have been through this sort of process then you will know how personally depressing and demoralising it can be – and we have heard worse war stories! We had great and very patient designers and a superb planning consultant and some amazingly supportive friends and family. Also after the initial setbacks we did have a very focused plan on how to get to where we wanted to be in incremental steps, with a workable Plan B. However our advice would be: only ever buy a plot that has PP for something you want to build (unless you have lots of time, very deep pockets and skin much much thicker than a rhino). So finally we won at Appeal, and we are staring to build two really interesting low energy houses – more in future posts. We will try and keep up a Blog as best we can, and having got that backstory out of the way everything should be easy from now on!!!!!!

I don’t even know how HMRC could know how high foundations were or whether they were retained if the PP said demolish existing dwelling and replace with new build.

You must be right, because even ground-based slabs are higher than ground level.

Some IPAs I've drunk recently taste like they'd dissolve anything...

I bet they still don't eat curry and kebabs.

You could do what I'd guess many do, and just make up the numbers on the water usage sheet. Not saying that's what I did, but our shower uses ~100 litres per shower, before taking account of anything else... We did have a bit of a jobsworth inspector for a short time, who wanted to see proof that flow restrictors were fitted to all outlets, but I'm pretty sure that's an exception, rather than the normal procedure. The inspector who did our completion inspection wasn't interested in the water use calculations, and didn't even bother to take the completed paperwork I'd prepared away with him.

I have already done that. The question is posted here so I get as much input as possible ?

Somebody not like you? A known maliciousness is to throw breadcrumbs on somebody else's roof the night before for the birds to find as soon as it's light.

For good fast fibre internet, you can easily be paying less than half of what you're paying mate. Looked at this last week for a friend and with cashback, it was something like £22 a month

Openreach (a BT subsidiary) manage the network supposedly independently from the rest of BT. All other phone and broadband providers use the Openreach network to deliver their service. The exception being companies that use a cable TV network. My recommendation is to pay the fee to get reconnected by BT/Openreach (without signing up to a new contract) but then shop around for the best phone/broadband deal you can get. Some offer a TV package delivered over broadband as well if you want that. If the telephone pole is on or next to your land you could consider running an underground cable from your house to the bottom of the pole. Leave enough coiled at the bottom to reach the top with spare. Ask them to connect that for you.

£50 a month? You're being ripped off. Any broadband supplier can deliver your broadband service using your fixed, wired line (they're not BT lines anymore - they belong to OpenReach). BT is just one of those suppliers. And you can switch between them to get the best deal on offer once you're out of contract. Check out MoneySavingExpert's free comparison service on broadband here (and get a better price on your existing service while you're at it): https://broadband.moneysavingexpert.com/?_ga=2.42879077.1386909857.1564388750-249517201.1538478553 The only golden rule (IMO) is to avoid TalkTalk like the plague. Awful reputation for customer service.

Tasmota doesn't require Internet connection at all. It doesn't "phone home" to any remote server, unless you configure it that way. You can control it via each device's own built-in web page, via the Yeti Android app, or via a Home Automation server. A Home Automation server could be something running locally on the same LAN, such as OpenHAB or HomeAssistant, or a Cloud-based service like Samsung SmartThings. Up to you. Sonoff devices and others (like Koogeek) also have a physical switch on the device that doesn't even need local WiFi. Same for the LightwaveRF dimmers - they work even without an RF gateway.

The amazing drying cupboard in the utility room, which still isn't enclosed after 4 years and may never be used as intended. The layout of the windows and sliding door in the kitchen, which made it impossible the furnish without having a sofa cover one of the windows. On a related point, we should have done a better job of planning the kitchen. There's too much area devoted to bench space and not enough to comfortable seating. Including a bath in the main ensuite. We've used it maybe twice in 3.5 years. It was added at the last minute to enhance resale value (despite the fact we never plan to sell), and the room would be larger, more attractive and more usable without it. Downstairs toilet is too big - should have made it narrower and given the space to the adjacent utility room. The workshop attached the garage is so narrow as to be impractical. Should have had the internal wall in a different place along half of the garage to make it wider. Should have built in provision for recessed internal blinds. Again, I could go on!

They're suggesting circulating hot water to/from the studio so that warm water is available quickly, not having to run off a lot of cold and wait for the hot to make its way through the pipe. Not all the time, just when the hot water is likely to be used there however that's timed.

I think the word you’re looking for is barge.

20190729_150753.mp4

I know the discussion has moved on a bit, but I managed to get some pics - unfortunately the worktop install has been pushed back till thursday - they forgot to cut one of the holes, and now are saying that they can't put it back on the water cutting table as it's 50/50 whether it will snap. Some negotiating to be done, unfortunately. However, here it is so far We turned the top drawer fronts upside down as it's not a true handleless kitchen and the j groove would have made the shadow gap too large. We are replacing the drawer runners with push to open/soft close but it's not at the top of the list just now. The red tape is to protect the edges - it's not a design choice!T

Why every time I dig a hole do I run into problems? Have a look at this : That, my friends is a stone at the bend in our water services pipe. I was hoping that today's little digging escapade would be easy: dig down next to the house, find the end of the water services pipe (big blue thing with an insulated pipe in it), thread the blue 22mm pipe through it, and all would be well. But. I have threaded some flexible fiberglass rods down the pipe: no joy run water through the pipe: it flows - not freely, but it flows rammed 22mm pipe down the inside of the services pipe to try and persuade the stone to leave : no joy tried threading braided wire through the services pipe - in the hope that if it got past the stone, we could dislodge it. I'm going to have to take the whole pipe out aren't I? Poo.

There is a similar trick to play at Christmas. Collect dog shit, gift wrap if, place on neighbours door step, set fire to it, ring doorbell. Hide and watch as they stamp it out. Makes me grin every year.