newhome

My council BCO signed off the very last thing via a photo, and he did the same for next door too. It didn't matter to me if he came out TBH as it was the last thing on the list, but I offered to send him photos and he said that was fine. I can see how irritating it would be to want to move on with something and be held up by an inspection however so I agree a few hundred seems worth the money as if you have to start cancelling trades it could end up costly both in time and money. Up here there is no such thing as a private BCO afaik however and the one here only seems to come out to inspect in this area on a Thursday, deffo not a 24 hour turnaround!

Thanks. The last time the surveyor came out he said that he didn't need to come out again as it was all complete bar a couple of tiny things that I was struggling to get someone finish off so that the council would issue the completion certificate. So once I managed to get the completion certificate I sent it to BuildZone and requested the warranty. I will chase them next week.

@PeterStarck can I please ask you how long Build Zone took to send your warranty through. I sent them the completion certificate a month ago and have heard nothing. Not sure if that's usual or whether I need to chase. Thanks!

10% off eBay purchases until 8pm tonight using the code PERFECTTEN Valid on many categories including DIY by the looks of things. Minimum spend £20 maximum discount £50. https://www.ebay.co.uk/rpp/perfect-10?_trkparms=%26clkid%3D4466854449037586000

I don't know why the LA doesn't enforce their decisions either in truth, especially as there is evidence of enforcement notices being applied in other areas, such as the link I posted above that was a house not a shed, and the very large house that someone posted previously that was due to be demolished for being too tall. What makes this particular case different from others I wonder? That said this must impact many more people locally so a combined effort is what is needed, not the expectation that one individual will do all of the legwork.

And I get that, but it's important to decide whether something is important enough to you personally to invest time and energy in, because you never get that investment back. I assume from your comment that RA can see the caravan from the scaffolding? It didn't come across in the previous posts where the caravan was located. I would point out that scaffolding comes down though so unless you can see the offending structure from your house, or it's very close by, or might impact the price of your property then it's a walk away decision in my view.

Moving back to captain sensible land - are these likely to be decent tools for me to use? I find the 18V ones here a bit heavy but can't work out how much lighter these will be. There is a total product weight that I assume includes the charger etc? Any views on whether it will be worth buying these or whether I should soldier on with the larger ones I already have? I imagine I will use them infrequently TBH as I'm unlikely to turn into a DIY buff anytime soon.

Wise words. Unless it impacts you personally it's likely to be more beneficial to walk away and do something more productive and satisfying. Save your energy for fighting the important battles, and don't sweat the small stuff.

Is there anything in Martin Goodall's blog that would help? Maybe BH could fund a copy of his book under the Tool Loan scheme?

I don't know anything about the schemes but I would have thought that a few ads on the local FB pages would be the ideal place to advertise / build up his client base. A decent handyman is worth his weight in gold so he will soon build up clients if his work is good and his prices reasonable as he will start being recommended. On the flip side there are plenty of posts from people on my local sites who are unhappy with the quality of work from various trades and although the posts are often taken down it's not before many people have seen them and noted the name (photo evidence is often posted too). A handyman's work can be so diverse I think it's important that they only do jobs that they can actually do well, not play around with things they 'might' be able to do and make a hash of it. That's where reputations are lost. I had a handyman out here to do a tiny job (sealant in bathroom). After having a run of poor experiences with various trades I wanted to let him do a small job first before asking him to do more. He actually advertised sealants as one of the jobs he covered, but I kid you not he was here an hour, charged £60, and made a worse job of it than I could have done myself. And complained that the bath was the most difficult one he'd done (not clear why!).

Do you have weak wrists too then?

So are they using the caravan as a permanent residence rather than a temporary arrangement whilst they build a house? How long have they been using it? I would widen the net and look for similar cases elsewhere to ascertain whether other councils had been successful in taking enforcement action that you can use as evidence of successful enforcement. Any mention of this in the parish council minutes (or whatever they are called in England these days)? What do other local residents think and are you likely to have any support from others who live locally?

I'm trying to think why guys have stronger wrists

Oh, I didn't know that. Just as well I didn't live in ours then although I guess I could have argued that I was involved, after all I did do 'some' stuff and I doubt there is a definitive meaning of 'involved'. This was a case where a shed was approved and someone built a house and sold it on. Heaven knows how the searches didn't uncover the issue (or maybe they did and they thought it was worth the risk?). http://www.deadlinenews.co.uk/2018/06/07/family-lose-appeal-to-stay-in-home-which-was-only-given-planning-permission-to-be-shed/

Our scaffolders erected the whole lot too close to the house. They had clearly been left unsupervised because when the boss came out at the end of the day he noticed the issue. They had to dismantle it and build it again! We were on holiday but we had security cameras on and could see it going up, then coming down, and then going up again. It was like a wtf moment watching that happening remotely!

I’ve never had any luck with that. When we had trades on site they quite often recommended another trade but never their own leading us to employ numpty after numpty especially in plumbing land!

This any good? http://www.wyre.gov.uk/site/scripts/enforcement.php

Planning court for most (appeals by the householder and suchlike) but I think magistrates court for planning enforcement cases.

In fact, why build a house, just string a few huts together, hot tub in the garden, job’s a goodun!

Tell him you’re going to put several workhuts in the garden and fill them with tenants

Do trades ever suggest others who could possibly do a job if they are too busy, or is it just a ‘no sorry, too busy’ response?

I think it’s the same everywhere not just in the building trade. And there is often price fixing in the retail world in general even though it’s illegal. Having said that I do expect retailers to make a profit!

Looks amazing, well done! Love a bargain!

Make it a Hermès Birkin and you might have a deal

In your opinion ...... . I don't have anywhere where walk on glass would even be a remote possibility.