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This reminds me my shed is the wrong colour. Needed PP as it's in a conservation area. Planners said they wanted it painted barn black. I sent a sample painted with black paint from my kids paint set which they approved. I actually painted it with Ronseal General Purpose Wood stain which is brown. Nobody has ever come to check or complained. I think it will soon be too late for them to take enforcement action as they only have 10 years to enforce a breach of a planning condition.

Planners rarely come and check unless someone complains. If there is a complaint the planners often feel obliged to get the situation "regularised". So they might send you a "notice of intended enforcement action". This may look scary but don't panic. If you get such a letter its important to contact them and ask them what they recommend you do. It might be they would be happy to ammend your existing planning grant to allow the wood stain. In which case ask how you go about getting that done. Can you just apply for a non-material ammendment? If they really insist you paint it white you could wait for them to actually issue an enforcement notice and then appeal it. Nothing happens immediately but there are deadlines for submitting appeals so dont put off responding. Its also possible to both appeal and apply for permission for the change at the same time. If permission for the change is refused you can appeal that decision as well. I think if they start insisting it's white I would discuss the issue with a planning consultant as to which is the best route to take. In the end it might come down to how much you want to spend as applications and appeals all have fees.

I think the bell cast above the gap should have been much wider and the top of the grey plinth sloped down and out. Something like this.. Perhaps this wasn't possible for some reason. Can you tell if the DPC is at the top or bottom of the gap?

@nod looks like I need a new diamond blade for my Norton wet tile cutter. Got any recommendations for cutting stone (limestone/travertine) ?

I think Building Control normally want 225mm of cavity below the dpc. Google suggests this can be reduced to 150mm if weep holes are provided. At least the nhbc say so here... https://nhbccampaigns.co.uk/landingpages/techzone/previous_versions/2011/Part5/section1/sitework.htm That means you can/should start the cavity at ground level or below as the dpc is typically at 150mm above ground level.

OK so these are links to relevant sections of the planning portal rather than the actual legislation but they explain how the government intended it to work.... https://www.planningportal.co.uk/planning/planning-applications/consent-types/prior-approval https://www.planningportal.co.uk/permission/common-projects/extensions/planning-permission https://www.planningportal.co.uk/permission/common-projects/extensions/prior-approval

My understanding is that you submit your Prior Approval Application and if nobody objects you get the go ahead. If there are objections its effectively treated as a planning application and the planners decide if its OK. I don't believe you can apply for a CoLD instead. Those are determined by checking the proposal meets planning law. I'd be surprised if planning law doesn't require a prior approval application for large extensions.

Call me suspicious but... Is Properla actually an insulation or just a waterproof coating intended to stop water penetrating defective render thereby reducing its insulating properties (which arent exactly spectacular even when dry)? £9k seems a lot for waterproof paint. Perhaps I mussunderstand. Got any links?

I've used this type in the past single handed. Best way is probably to find a mini digger and push in pointed fence posts with the bucket. Two man job but quick.

On many houses they only render the wall above the DPC. At the DPC there should be a bellcast to form a drip line (reminds me of flared trousers). The bell cast slopes out and down on the underside to prevent water tracking back in to the DPC. You can render below DPC but not all renders are approved for use below DPC. The render below the DPC is normally thinner so that water dripping from the bell cast lands on the ground not the render below the DPC. It looks like they added external wall insulation at some point and used too thick a layer below the DPC? You can see how the rainwater downpipe touches below the DPC but not above it. I think you need to see how far back the concrete is below DPC. See if it will be possible to re-render with a thinner layer so the bell cast works properly. Might be necessary to remove insulation below the DPC before rendering or at least protecting the top edge better?

The wording suggests someone (her surveyor?) has suggested she ask for them. Regarding point 3. I believe you actually have a right for foundations to undersail the boundary if strictly necessary (nothing must oversail)... https://stanleyassociates.uk/neighbours-basis-on-my-land/

OK so some people will call this a warm roof because the loft space is heated or at least on the warm side of the insulation. I prefer the term "warm loft, cold roof". This is a cold roof because part of the structural roof (the rafters) extend through the insulation to the cold side. The gap between the metal roof and the membrane needs to be well ventilated. This would involve using a ridge system that provides a full length vent with matching vent at the eaves. The vent at the eaves would be equivalent to a 25mm wide slot. The vent at the ridge would be equivalent to a 5mm wide gap each side of the ridge "tile". Insect mesh may reduce the effectiveness area of the vent so allow for that by making them bit wider. It shows counter battens and I would expect horizontal battens to be added on top of these to raise the steel roof further to form the gap. The membrane should be a vapour permeable type (Exoperm is breathable) and approved for contact with the insulation (I haven't checked). Metal roofs have a history of attracting condensation on the underside of the metal so I'd be tempted to increase ventilation above what normally recommended. Bigger vents at the ridge? As the roof supplier.

I had Ryobi Expand-It (petrol) range for 8 years. Broke several of their hedge trimmer attachments and third party metal versions but my hedge is a natural hedge with branches as thick as your thumb so I was abusing it somewhat. Eventually had issues with loss of compression and hard starting. Not sure if I didn't let it warm up (micro sieze) or if carbon build up broke off and scored the bore. Apparently this is common with many makes. If they get hard to start buy a compression tester 😞 Replaced with a Stihl 4 stroke petrol unit a few years ago. Horribly expensive but its a beast. I started with just a motor unit as the Ryobi attachments fit and I still had a working Ryobi pole saw, strimmer etc. Then got the Stihl hedge trimmer attachment. The result is quite a long and heavy hedge trimmer. I think I even fitted a shorter shaft and it's still quite long. Gives you a good work out. A multi tool hedge trimmers might be too big and unwieldy for a small hedge? If you need a strimmer attachment I strongly recommend the Echo Speed Feed head as its so easy to reload the line compared to some other makes. They do a universal model that comes with adaptors to fit most makes of strimmer. So my strimmer set up is now a Stihl motor, Ryobi strimmer attachment fitted with an Echo head. Works very well. Trigger would be proud.

https://www.kingspan.com/gb/en-gb/products/insulation-boards/insulation-technical-hub/articles-and-advice/what-is-the-difference-between-a-warm-pitched-roof

If building a house with a low pitch roof (so no prospect of a room up there) then you could consider a cold loft/cold roof design. This has the insulation at joist level not rafter level.

Assuming there is a room in the roof or might be in future.. Warm roof has the insulation above the rafters (eg rafters are on the warm side). Cold roof has the insulation between or below rafters (eg rafters are on, or partly on, the cold side of insulation). By that definition a warm roof is usually deeper overall. Cold roof has options... a) Ventilated void - if the membrane is NOT vapour permeable there must be a 50mm ventilated void below it. Typically the membrane drapes/sags 25mm into this void to prevent water being trapped above tile battens. b) No void and counter battens - if the membrane is vapour permeable you can reduce or eliminate the void. If you eliminate the void by fully filling between rafters you should add counter battens on the outside to raise the tile battens off the flat membrane and allow water to run down. If the membrane is in contact with insulation (eg Cold roof with no void/drape) then you should use a membrane approved for that as not all are. A room in the roof design (aka warm loft) can have any of the roof types above. I would go with cold roof b) as the counter battens add 25mm but you avoid the 50mm void. So overall this saves you 25mm for a given thickness of insulation. If height isn't a problem I would build a warm roof with as much of the insulation above the rafters as possible. If you want to build a hybrid (some above and some between) then you must get an Interstitial condensation risk analysis done. I believe the recommended ratio 2/3rds above and 1/3 between. If you put more between the rafters that "moves" the top of the rafters nearer the cold side increasing condensation risk.

They will be changing the name soon to Rubble.

Started planning the tile layout in Fusion360. After some hours the best arrangement I've come up with puts some holes fairly close to the edges of one or two tiles. The big vertical slot is for the mixer valve. The smaller circles are 25mm holes for body jets and shower hose. Tried moving tiles around but that doesn't look good elsewhere. Think I best get some nice new holes saws 🙂

Might be worth taking if apart to see if the 230V version is just a 24V model with a 230V to 24V power supply circuit.

I think I agree in the situation here.

For electrics we waited untill the house was up then I marked up a set of plans. It's easier when you can walk around it pretending to turn light switches on and off etc.

Duplicate post deleted.

Not sure I follow exactly where the edge is but there are border tiles available. Just check they are the same make and colour as sometimes two companies use similar names.. https://www.tiles-direct.com/wall-tiles-c26/retro-metro-tiles-c1065/retro-metro-sage-border-5cm-x-15cm-wall-tile-p1832/s1832?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_term=retro-metro-sage-border-5cm-x-15cm-wall-tile&utm_campaign=product%2Blisting%2Bads&cid=GBP&glCurrency=GBP&glCountry=GB&gclid=CjwKCAiAvaGRBhBlEiwAiY-yMBOKdrFL3PpHyFjiP0Hd8aGQSs5P4zS05QvSmYlKCg9fmKc01lZ3TxoCK2IQAvD_BwE https://www.dantotsu.co.uk/wall-tiles-c26/retro-metro-c1065/retro-metro-sage-border-5cm-x-15cm-wall-tile-p1832 Years ago companies sometimes made a version of a standard tile but with one rounded edge for this situation-but think they are rare now?

Oh sorry I miss read your question. For some reason I thought you were talking about pressure testing the drains. Face palm.

I think this might be relevan? May only apply to big wind farms? https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/granting-a-necessary-compulsory-electricity-wayleave-guidance-for-applicants-and-landowner-and-or-occupiers