AliG

I really do like them and wish I had paid the extra for our front door where I don't like looking at the hinges. I think it was something like £400 there though. The only thing I notice is that they can sag a little over time and need to be adjusted back to straight. Also the builders have broken the adjuster screws in a couple of them and the there is no way to replace the screw, you have to replace the whole hinge. Other than that, no squeaks or breaks and I love the clean look. Would definitely go for them again.

Generally BC will not allow full fill cavity insulation in Scotland. Blown beads seem like they would be the most reliable fill option from my research.

They just started a new 40% off sale this week. We got our bathrooms from them at "trade" price which is basically at least 40% off, sometimes more. This brought their prices down to what I could have bought similar items for on the internet but I could buy everything in one place and they would design bathrooms too. List prices are indeed way too high.

£38k is still over £1000 a square metre. Does that include VAT? It doesn't seem suspiciously low to me. Does it include kitchen cabinets, floor tiling and so on? I know you didn't ask about this but I have to comment on the shown kitchen/utility room layout. Did the architect design the kitchen layout? Having seen numerous house plans where architects have put a kitchen layout on them, the conclusion I come to is they shouldn't be allowed near kitchen designs. In the utility room the washing macing is behind the door, as it is narrow, if you left the washing machine door open, the utility room for would bang into it. Indeed the front of the washing machine could well be 650mm off the wall by the time you allow for connections at the back leaving only 750mm for the door swing. You'd have e to go into the room and close the door behind yourself to access the washing machine. The washing machine should be directly next to the dryer to allow for the easy transfer of wet clothes from one to the other and also moving it away from the door. You would then position them so that the doors swung away from each other. Generally washing machine doors cannot have the handing changed but dryers often can. Does the kitchen plan propose a tall oven then a hob then a tall fridge and freezer then the sink? Or are the fridge and freezer under counter? That kind of up and down in cabinet height would be very strange. The dishwasher door opening across the cupboard under the sink is not ideal. I would have to think about it, but it just doesn't seem right. Do you need a breakfast bar with 4 seats right next to a table. My initial temptation would be to turn the breakfast bar around and attach it to the end of the table, but a lot depends on how you want to use the room. My personal preference is to put the hob on the bar island, if you can so you can look out into the room whilst cooking. Something like this

Hi @Steph188 they are having a laugh. "The mist coat will cover it" How do they expect a thin coat of paint to cover gouges, rough plastering etc. That is a much worse job than I was complaining about , in fact I think it is probably the worst plastering I have ever seen. We had two rooms that were a problem and one wall in another room. They were all replastered at no cost to me by a better plasterer.

I don’t think you have anything to lose. Is the procedure noted down anywhere? You should have a strong argument that the extension is over 200ft from your neighbour so has no impact on his amenity and there are many similar extensions in the area so it is in keeping. Did they put the reasons for not giving permission in writing? Irrespective of what he may have said on the phone you would only have to argue against the actual stated reasons for not giving permission.

It is better than this as you can reinvest all the income you make along the way, hence the right way to do is is to use an IRR calculation, which TBF I had not done.

I should have done an IRR calculation, the longer you own the panels the less the initial cost matters. If the total cost of the panels was £4000 and you saved £300 a year in electricity then the IRR would be 5.7% over 25 years if you assumed that the system was worthless at that point, in reality it will still be generating electricity and making a return. I have previously looked into the requirement to replace inverters. As far as I understand this is exaggerated and they may well last considerably longer, 10-20 years or even more for microinverters. If you want to assume that the inverter is replaced half way through the 25 years then the return would drop to 4.9%. If you assume that the price of electricity rises by 2% a year then the return rises from 5.7% to 7.7%. If you offset this by degrading the panels by 10% over 25 years then the return would be 7.2%. These numbers are based on using 2300kWh a year from the array. If you got 3000kWh then the returns would be considerably higher, 7.2% would increase to 10.4% for example. This is probably closer to the output you would expect but you might not use it all. The yield to maturity on a 25 year UK government bond currently is 0.7% for comparison. The yield on 5 year bonds is negative! The yield on a 25 year inflation linked bond is -2.3%. This includes the benefit of getting your money back at the end of the period and so is calculated in the same way. Another way to look at it is what mortgage payment could the income cover. £400 a year would cover the payment on £7000 of 25 year repayment mortgage at 3%. You can put in other numbers if you like, but the point is that relative to other low risk investments or to the cost of a mortgage this would be a very good return at today's interest rates. Where solar panels get weird is that despite the nice cash return they make it is difficult to get anyone to pay you for them when you sell your house, so these calculations make sense if you plan to live in your house for 20+ years, but not if you end up selling it and not getting paid for the panels.

I am assuming the sun isn't going anywhere and electricity prices inflate over time so it is pretty much a guaranteed return. *prices may go up as well as down

I'd like to know what investments your other half has access to. For £3-4k you get an index linked return of 7-10%. If you plan to move soonish then payback might be more relevant, but it isn't a bad return on the investment.

I agree with almost everything said. The planning officer seems to be being lazy and saying that if a neighbour objects under this scheme that is the end of it and not actually analysing it. If you apply for full planning permission that shouldn't happen. The vast majority of planning applications get some kind of objection that is not relevant and completely ignored by planning. Your neighbour thinks he is smart, but there is nothing can do to stop a full planning application. I personally don't think you would need a planning consultant as it should be straightforward, although you will need location plans etc drawn up. What direction is his house from your's? If you are south or west of him I would be planting a nice row of Leylandi along the fence to block out some of his light and so you don't have to look at him. There are high hedge rules, but a hedge can get very tall if his garden is 150ft long before it breaches the rules.

The Dyson

@ProDave is right. Really there isn't that much difference, so a lot comes down to how much you like to open your windows.

I don't find that you need openers in bathrooms with MVHR. The only exception is if you have an actual bath in the room. If you like to have long hot baths the room can get quite hot and stuffy and it is nice to open a window.

Ah, I think a downstairs room that has a door that opens into another room, not the hall (main means of escape) needs its own escape route. So a TV Room with a door to the kitchen would need an opening window, but by not having a door they would be considered all one room with a door to the hall.