Temp

People with solar PV are to be charged when they export to the grid...

I wouldnt put wood into the ground unless it's oak. Pressure treated softwood is barely OK but never use a strimmer near it. It cuts the pressure treated layer. I found out the hard way. Our house has some external oak posts, typically holding up roof overhangs. We dug pad foundations filled to just below ground level, then brick piers (1.5 * 1.5 bricks, 4 courses high with the top course being 45 degree plinth bricks). The hole in the middle was filled with concrete with a Stainless Steel pin sticking out the top. Then a square of lead was put on top, dressed about 1" down the slope. Then the post drilled with a hole to take the pin. You could also buy or cast your own concrete block pier to get the wood out of the ground... https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/275700203774?chn=ps&_ul=GB&var=577119817626&_trkparms=ispr%3D1&amdata=enc%3A1l_9kbZx_TFyjSM9PSQnmNw71&norover=1&mkevt=1&mkrid=710-134428-41853-0&mkcid=2&mkscid=101&itemid=577119817626_275700203774&targetid=1647205089000&device=c&mktype=pla&googleloc=1006886&poi=1006818&campaignid=21194089662&mkgroupid=162053931300&rlsatarget=pla-1647205089000&abcId=9406426&merchantid=6995734&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjwyJqzBhBaEiwAWDRJVIW55VLnv0qmo2qIlY1t4Av1Unz35lGaM2bEf3tGRdE1ezBMKB1ZZRoCV-EQAvD_BwE

This was a requirement when we built our house in 2006/7. That's 17 years ago. How can builders and Architects still not know about this?

I don't have any answers I'm afraid. According to Google we use 1.9bn bricks a year in the UK with about 0.5bn of those being imported. That's just under 1 in 4. Data from 2022. That's the impression I got. When we looked for bricks we found many companies selling the same physical bricks under different names, particularly the imported bricks. In many cases the photos were identical so a Google reverse image search might work.

I've used a lot of smaller clips and ties in electronics projects and usually go for makes that use 3M adhesive. They stick OK to metal and plastic but not sure how well they stick to (dusty?) OSB.

+1 We just brought 110mm up through the floor under the kitchen sink and used a rubber (?) adaptor down to 40 or 50mm. We have inspection chambers on all 110mm junctions outside. I think all other rooms such as the downstairs WC have 110mm stub stack with AAV.

One option might be to create a square platform outside the door with a step down straight ahead and a ramp off one side.

In cold weather/winter the air outside is frequently drier than indoors. So I'm thinking it might not be a low humidity problem. Could it be dust mites? We designed our house to have mostly tiled, stone and wood floors rather than carpets and that helped me quite a bit.

Probably too late but I would raid the skip and recover as many of your tiles as you can in case they come in handy for repairs.

PS Actually if they make one you probably want one that takes hot in the side, cold in the bottom and mixed on the other side so it's easier to insert in the existing pipe.

Yes but... Most shower mixers require the hot to be 10-12C hotter than the shower water. So if the hot to the shower is limited to 48C the shower will probably be limited to 36-38C ish. However google says the ideal shower temperature is 37-38C. You might see lower in practice due to losses down the pipes. You could fit a mixer valve that can blend up to 60C and turn it up a bit or remove it when the BCO is gone. I'm not sure if they need specific fail safe features or could be a regular mixer. Google found this one intended for UFH but again it's not one I've used. The one we have is no longer available. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Temperature-underfloor-Compression-Kudos-Trading-delivery/dp/B085GLWX73?source=ps-sl-shoppingads-lpcontext&ref_=fplfs&psc=1&smid=A2S4BLAJZOXGY6

There are whole estates or two storey houses closer together than your proposal. One option might be to mirror your design left to right and possibly reduce the resulting part of the L nearest the other house to one storey. Do this and rotate it to the same angle as the other house? You might also consider making a street scene ddrawing as proposed showing both houses as viewed from the road showing the heights and gap between them to scale. Perhaps run that drawing past a planning consultant before submitting it.

Is there a danger of it freezing if not deep enough? Old houses frequently have cast iron stacks on the outside of the building so it was probably allowed in the past. One issue Is that stack should have a large radius vertically mounted bend at the bottom. Not sure how you would do that. How wide are the footings and how many pipes do you need to cross's them? Could you core drill a hole through them?

So you have fully filled trench foundations and want to run your soil pipes over the top? Above ground?

I don't know if these are actually any stronger or if it's just marketing speak but they say upto 40kg. https://www.eurofitdirect.co.uk/collections/heavy-duty-concealed-hinges

The vertical separation between the hinges matters so a short wide door is the worse combo. Think I'd look to see if they make a version for heavy doors and/or move the hinges as far apart vertically as possible. I guess replacing with two doors would look odd.

Blum hinges are probably the most widely used hinges on the market. Have used them myself. What I would do is remove the middle one temporarily. Set up the other two and refit the middle one.

VAT 708 has akl the details but it's quite a messy guide that tries to cover all the schemes. Best find the relevant section and refer your tradesmen and builders to that. I assume you haven't moved into the property as I believe that restarts the 2 year clock.

I feel for you. This sort of thing is unfortunately quite common. It took me over a year to get to the "recommended for approval" stage. All I can suggest is to keep going. If you run out of ideas consider employing a planning consultant.

Yeah I know that but I think you can only apply to discharge numbered conditions.

Mentions cavity trays should be used above windows etc in here but not a lot of detail. https://www.recticelinsulation.com/sites/default/files/country_specific/uk/Specification Guides/Recticel Insulation Cavity Wall Spec Guide.pdf

I notice the house also appears to be close to a slope on the left. I wonder if there are any foundation issues?

Was the 3 year time limit a formal numbered planning condition? I suspect not but if it was one option would be to apply to have it discharged 🙂 There is a fee but one fee covers all of the conditions you ask to be discharged at the same time. So if you discharge them in two groups then there are two fees.

I can see some people not putting in a first floor to stay within the new floor area limit. Then later trying to add a mezzanine.

Different councils have different attitudes to class Q. Some seem very opposed, others seem to have no issue. If its just been used for agricultural use for 10 years it should be OK. But it must be "capable of being converted". Some councils want a structural survey that confirms that the amount of work doesn't take I into the realms of a knock down and rebuild. I think I would get a locally based planning consultant to quote to do a site visit and comment on your chances and what he would recommend you do next. That might be a survey to convince the planners it's capable of being converted. If the survey isn't favourable you don't have to submit it, figure out what you need/can do to it while it's still a barn and if necessary get a new survey done to accompany the application. I've heard some councils draw the line at underpinning. Eg if underpinning is necessary they won't grant it as a class Q. However I don't think there is anything to stop you underpinning while it's still an agricultural building. Others are probably more knowledgeable about this than me.