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Showing content with the highest reputation on 04/04/22 in all areas

  1. I haven't been updating this. After months and months of extreme frustration dealing with planning, building control etc we started the build a few weeks ago. The frame started to go up today. Very impressed with MBC so far. They have done most of the first floor walls in a day.
    5 points
  2. https://www.theverge.com/2022/3/17/22982166/matter-smart-home-standard-postponed-fall-2022 Now expected Autumn 2022. As I've mentioned before, this is just for publication of the 1.0 standard. I expect it will take 5 years to gain basic, reliable cross manufacturer interoperability and 10+ years to be proven for security, usability and feature set to make it a generally useful for designing into the fabric of a building. [I was going to tag this to an existing thread but can't find it now. IIRC it was ostensibly about garden irrigation so makes sense to fork a fresh topic on this anyway]
    2 points
  3. Run a couple of miles away from d&d
    2 points
  4. If there is a gap, then insects will enter and live in the eaves. Bees and wasps mine into PIR. Whether that is good or bad is another discussion.
    1 point
  5. I used https://www.expressscreed.co.uk. Cracking job, but yeah, it seems a little pricey around here!
    1 point
  6. Hi @crispy_wafer i used these, liquidscreedpumping.com,, they cover Lincolnshire i called the mobile number and gave my m2 and thickness and he quoted me there and then, he was working on 2 week lead time .
    1 point
  7. Had ours done in February - Cemfloor was £2160 ex VAT for 100 m2 at 70mm - that included £400 for the hire of the pump. So that's £21.60 per sq m Dried hard within 2 days
    1 point
  8. The optimistic reading is that your letter has convinced the Planning Officers, but they need their in-house legal team to agree with the interpretation you outlined of the Planning Inspectorate's decision. That's not unreasonable, the Inspectorate's decision was not well written. You needed to jump back and forth between paragraphs to fully understand the decision. I'd say the HoP is confident in them taking new action against both cesspit and building, otherwise he/she's just asking for trouble by suggesting so and committing to a timeframe. ...even though they missed the suggested timeframe, but they'll just blame that on C-19. There may be actions going on in the background. The LPA will often give the owner the opportunity to normalise the breach, by way of a retrospective, before issuing an enforcement.
    1 point
  9. No, so long as battery chemistries are identical (they absolutely have to be to do this!) the SOC is identically proportional to terminal voltage. If the smaller AH battery were to lose charge more it would drop the voltage at its terminals and this would cause current to flow in from the larger AH battery so restoring the balance. The charge shifts around but still equates to the sum of the two AH's overall.
    1 point
  10. We were demolishing a 1950's house that was the original dwelling on that land, being agricultural previously and got the self same condition, almost word for word. In the distant past (1900s) there had been gravel extraction a few 100m away and that had been infilled so maybe it was that. You don't know what you don't know, especially at the start of a project. We forgot to ask for the GI to be zero rated for VAT, which is permissible - the bits that require 'tools' anyway and were not able to recover it subsequently.
    1 point
  11. They said once the meter was all connected etc, then I could select my tarrif and switch onto a better tarrif.
    1 point
  12. Thank you everyone. The plumber who fitted the boiler is coming back tomorrow.
    1 point
  13. Well done @IanR . Thank you. Thanks for the interest in my arse Ferdi 😖 Today, the Planning Department finally told me - two full months after the fact - that they had written to me about what they had decided to do in this case. The word 'reconsidered' is the key one..... The letter was not delivered to my address. Anyway, here's a copy of the text in full The above is code for The Head of Planning has just kicked the can into Legal hasn't he? Here we are in early April two full months later, and nothing has or rather nothing appears to have happened. For me, this is new territory. How can I find out what decision was taken by the legal officers in this case? No new listing of a relevant Enforcement Notice appears on the Council Planning website. Anyone know? Maybe I should just wait a month or two? Ian
    1 point
  14. You mentioned animal buildings. If these were stables the class q approach is dead. I think the current application is game over as well. A 4 acre site with road access is still worth good money. Can you get some industrial units on there? Also just saw this https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/86615171#/?channel=COM_BUY Near you and outline consent was won on appeal. It may not be of use but you could read up on it if you have not already.
    1 point
  15. Standard fixed price tarrif for the immediate connection.
    1 point
  16. The desktop study will identify previous land use and know nearby contamination sources. I am not sure why your site attracted a full contamination condition unless it is previously developed land.
    1 point
  17. Had a similar planning requirement when excavating for our basement. Our ground investigation did specific soil analysis / tests for contamination (none found) and that was documented in the final report we submitted to address the planning condition. We also got a WAC testing cert to confirm the soil was inert for the muck away contractor. Desk survey also done Not to be pedantic but on what basis have the SI company reported 'no signs of contamination'. Have they done chemical tests of soil samples etc? Something indisputable you can put under the LA's nose? Unfortunately what you're finding out the hard way is that there's always a risk involved in obtaining evidence piecemeal vs in one hit. Obviously there is a cost saving in only paying for work in bits and pieces as you need it vs a comprehensive report which may contain things you paid for but were not explicitly asked for. Trade off is the delay should the LA ask for more proof. Hopefully you have what you need in hand and the LA are just being obstinate.
    1 point
  18. Time to pick up the phone to a GSR fitter me thinks?
    1 point
  19. I was thinking along these lines, I think it's 4 years but will check. I'll have to get the exact requirements and see if it's workable. Growing food sounds like a good idea at the moment anyway.
    1 point
  20. How about running it as a small farm (might have to do it for 10 years and then going for Prior Approval when the farm buildings become redundant ( I'm not sure of the qualifying details)? Or wait for some other change or relaxation in planning rules? You have a great asset, it seems a shame to concede defeat. I have friends who had a few acres and ran some geese and sheep, and made a case for having to stay on site to guard their stock and they were allowed a temporary building for this purpose. Some log cabins are very smart indeed and might suit your purposes for your son, if that's really all you wanted, plus laying the way for future changes. They have now finally been able to build a nice house. You could even use/rent a barn out to create a small shop to negate their complaint that car travel is needed? Campaign for improvement in local bus services?! I personally wouldn't give up completely, but might have a long term plan with very small incremental changes. They are not meant to refuse reasonable applications.
    1 point
  21. Opening the screw on the pressure test nipple would tell you if gas is coming out.
    1 point
  22. & they're only in Chatham. Spitting distance from...where you were! 😂 Just emailed them to find a stockist near me.
    1 point
  23. Keep wondering for a year or so. My US military contact says that this Ukraine business will be long and drawn out (just like the 68 Israeli crisis, and GWs 1 and 2). When/if our governments decide on a medium term policy then is the time to decide.
    1 point
  24. Yes, sorry to confuse. I put up that screenshot to show what the perimeter insulation looks like, not appreciating that there was dot and dab above. Agree with Tony, strap and line. Dotting and dabbing onto old walls can sometimes cause patches of condensation. All the best.
    1 point
  25. https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.sgn.co.uk/sites/default/files/media-entities/documents/2019-11/SGN-Excavation-Guide-160216.pdf&ved=2ahUKEwiWifXm8Pn2AhXTTsAKHZA4BfQQFnoECAQQBg&usg=AOvVaw0scq1RZq_KBVOXFbxgRoAd
    1 point
  26. Absolutely fine afaic. Garages get built over existing services every day. Ask your GW guys to dig them in a bit deeper, and to slide some off cuts of duct over them ready to be positioned to run continuous where your founds go, ( from one side to the other ), eg so the services can be pulled out from under the garage if they ever need to be changed retrospectively.
    1 point
  27. Make some 4x2 supports, ( to hold the PB in place with cross battens used as bracing ), and bond the PB on with exp foam first, then screws and washers for mechanical fix after. Then bond PB on. Sides first, head second. Consider using 40mm Marmox instead? Rigid, and you can skim straight to a board which is nothing but insulation.
    1 point
  28. Do you have MVHR? If so then doors do need larger than normal gaps underneath. if not then yes the gap is excessive. Have the doors been cut while fitting or were the frames too high?
    1 point
  29. Have used it for exactly this reason, in school corridors etc, and it certainly works. Of course boarding used behind wc fittings etc. But normal use doesn't need it, or benefit. In fact the board can stress the all a bit and bend studs, especially metal ones.
    1 point
  30. The cost of appealling an appeal is a lot! It's only worth doing if you think the council breached their rules in the decision and then lied etc to the appeal. Solicitor will always say you have a good chance of winning - ask them if they will do it no win no fee and they might think the chances are less good! Far better that you go away and objectively solve the problems. For example contact previous owners of the land and pay them for their time to write affidavits about previous use of the land and stables.
    1 point
  31. Hiya. If the floor screed touches the outside wall you get a cold bridge. What you do is stop the screed often 25 to 50mm from the wall and put a bit of insulation that is vertical. Like below from screen shot of Kingspan detail To finish the existing house walls I always want to know if the existing wall has a clear cavity or if it is fully filled with insulation. If not fully filled then you often get a cold draft in the cavity so the existing wall is cold. Plastering this is not my preference as it can attract condensation at the bottom / top if a kitchen area. My first choice is to strap and line with 40mm insulated plasterboard. Yes it thickens the wall a bit but you can lose quite a lot of heat on a windy winters day due to a drafty cavity! I would look to see if you can tape and seal the DPM as best you can, avoid raggling (grinding a groove) out the block to rebate in the plastic.. not a good structural option over that length of wall. Try and lap a bit of DPM up the wall, tape and seal and take it above the top of the screed. The vertical insulation (perimeter insulation) is often water proof anyway so you have belt and braces.
    1 point
  32. Just finished a 100 meters of Kota Black Indian Limestone with sets, paid around same price, try Stone and Porcelain in St Helens I had good service from them. The Limestone was only a third of the total hard landscaping cost, slot drains, kerbs and edges, recessed covers, lighting, stone, sand cement, brush in grout at £45 a tub( x 10) machine hire and labour. We did some Porcelain too this was much more labour intensive and slower to put down in herringbone pattern than the limestone. All looks great but its only really black when its wet or you apply the sealer. Well worth spending the money on what you want though.
    1 point
  33. Why great expense?, I did mine myself at no cost!, I found the appeal easier than the planning application!, if you have already employed a planning consultant (which I did for the planning application) I simply copied their work where relevant.
    1 point
  34. I did a porcelain patio last year year 600x600 anthricite and i remember them being around £25per m2. Have a look at tilemountain.co.uk. Decent Spanish Porcy, shop;d for months to get quality at a decent price, as some merchant prices are £70-80 pm. If you doing it yourself you will need a decent bridge saw to cut them, Rubi ect 👍
    1 point
  35. I've done limestone, porcelain and granite. Limestone is porous so gets slippery but can be sealed which makes it a slip hazard imo. Porcelain is great and dimensionally spot on so you can work with 3mm joints with no issues. No need to SBR the backs. Flammed Granite gets my vote. cheaper than porcelain and if you get rectified sizes they're very precise dims. I use Nustone'. Does need SBR coating or slurry if you prefer on the back to avoid staining from adhesive below - same as limestone actually.
    1 point
  36. We used 150mm round posts, about a metre under ground and 2m above for the tall ones, about 900mm above and 600mm below ground for the short ones. Below ground is set in concrete. Membrane is used at back off the posts, allow water out and keep soil from washing out.
    1 point
  37. We're the same. Our whole ethos was "how do we build a house that's big enough but without looking like showy tw*ts? Think we did ok.
    1 point
  38. Ok, so the door is flanked by two fixed glazing units and everywhere else the vents are in the cavity. Building Regs (Approved Document C) requires block and beam floors to have ventilation on two opposing external walls of no less than 1500mm² per metre run of external wall or 500mm² per metre² of floor area, whichever is the greater. If your other vents combined provide this then yes simply omit the awkward ones. The mm² ratings of each vent should be stamped on the plastic grilles. Typically you get around 7500mm² per single brick sized grille.
    1 point
  39. @Ferdinand makes good points. I think I’d still go “All Matters Reserved”, just with my knowledge of the self builders who I’ve worked with. I suppose it depends on the site, but maybe access is quite important, knowing the lake district. you need; Form, payment OS plan with a red boundary, 1:1250 Site plan with roof/footprint 1:200 I suppose, at a minimum. I don’t see why that would cost 4K, you can do the first one yourself then go to the design/planning service if you don’t get anywhere. You definitely don’t need an architect though, if it’s not a house for you.
    1 point
  40. Nudura or jackon forget the other two.
    1 point
  41. 4K ? 🤯. That’s it, im getting into block paving.
    1 point
  42. But it does illuminate the crumbs on the floor rather artistically.
    1 point
  43. Use single 15 mil soundblock If your above a ceiling Use a single strip of 15 mil sound block under the sole plate or floor track You will get better acoustic performance from metal C stud than timber
    1 point
  44. I got a bit creative. Upstairs door frames were made of left over engineered wood flooring, with oak veneered architraves. Downstairs, I made a structural door frame of chipboard (strips ripped from P5 flooring) and lined it with 3 lengths of 12mm thick planed Oak to give the finish I wanted. Again using veneered architrave.
    1 point
  45. Won't work without a time machine - the PD requires the agricultural use prior to 2013....
    0 points
  46. ?What about FC with slight gaps on purpose and a feature made of screws and leave the wall that way. Any visual examples of this sort of thing?
    0 points
  47. I have nothing good to say about council planning. All tossers.
    0 points
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