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Is the land part of the sellers garden or agricultural land? The seller may have CGT or other taxes to pay on the value of the land rather than what you pay for it. In some cases you only have 30 days now to pay the tax due. Does the land have planning permission? It might be better to buy it while it's still valued as agri land rather than as a building plot. That might save the seller tax.

In my case it would be the other way around. I find tiling easier than plastering. Each to their own.

You will need a package of drawings, possibly including structural drawings and calculations for the Building Control Application. 1) Building Control Approval The normal process would be to hire an "Architect", "Architectual Technician" or "Plan drawer" to "Obtain Building Control Approval to start work". They all have similar skills but an Architect has done 5 years of training and is going to be the most expensive. The exercise involves them producing the necessary drawings and supporting documents, making the Building Control Application and making any changes necessary to get Building Control Approval. Given your description of the foundations its very likely that this person will need support from a Structural Engineer (SE). I mean the person drawing the plans will need support, not necessarily the foundations although they might. SE are frequently used to design foundations and any structural beams needed. Most people capable of drawing up plans for Building Control will be able to recommend an SE as they often have to work closely. What I would do is find a few reasonably local people to quote for the work. Perhaps suggest they meet you for a site visit with their recommended SE? 2) Construction Drawings. Frequently a builder can build the house from the same drawings submitted for Building Control Approval. However if there is anything unusual or specific to the design then some additional Construction Drawings might be needed. We needed some for the steel work in our roof. The Building Control drawings and any construction drawings can be given to a Builder to quote against. In your case its possible the SE might advise that the building be underpinned and he could draw up a "Method Statement" that you could use to contract with a builder should follow. It might not be necessary but see what the SE and Building Control say. 3) Quotations and Builders I would suggest getting three people to quote at least. Ideally go and visit one or two of their previous projects (not their mothers house!) AND the site they are currently working on. I actually found my builder by visiting sites, telling them i was looking for a builder and asking to look around. Nobody refused but that was pre-covid. I always asked for a business card even if I was tempted to throw in in their skip on the way out. Ask questions. If you get answers that begin "Oh I wouldn't worry about that, we take care of it all" then those are the ones to worry about. You want straight answers. You can sometimes get a "steer" from local builders merchants if you visit in person... wait till you are the only one at the counter and.. "I'm new in the area and looking for a builder, I've been given these three names, are there any you wouldn't want working on your Mums house ? ?" They obviously won't give you a formal response but just look at their face when you mention a name. Some builders are infamous. When builders quote they frequently include Provisional Sums for things you haven't specified. For example the windows or the Kitchen. Before rushing to sign up the cheapest quote you need to check that they have all used the same figures for the Provisional Sums. That's unlikely so you have to adjust the total to allow a fair comparison. Anyone can give you a cheap quote by budgeting £500 for the whole kitchen instead of £5,000. Some may have included painting walls, some not etc. If the SE says you need underpinning then you could consider hiring a Builder to do just that, check the work is done well and to spec and then decide if you want to hire him for the rest of the project.

Welcome to the forum! Yikes. That must be somewhat of a "distraction" (I'm sure there are better words for it). We've become rather too familiar with the cancer care facilities at Addenbrookes ourselves. They are pretty good though so if you are with them you are probably getting some of the best care available.

I believe the inspector could not grant your application subject to a condition that you pay because of funny rules governing conditions. These things are normally done by an S106 agreement which forms part of your planning application. I would reapply and mention in the covering letter that you anticipate the need to ammend the application to meet the policy (refer to it by its name) and request planning officer draft the necessary documentation. In addition to the Environmental contribution you will probably have to pay your and their legal costs. Try and get the s106 to be as specific as possible as to what they will use the money for. That way if they don't use it within 5 years (?) you can in theory get it back.

We have a beam and block ground and first floor. Also needed steels to reduce the span of the beams. SE was happy for the steel to rest on the block inner leaf but in one or two spots specified denser blocks and piers due to the loading. Mostly where steels bear on areas between two windows.

Probably also time to think about wiring for lighting.

We have a pitched roof with 200mm deep rafters. Its a breathable membrane so only needed to allow 25mm for it to drape. Think our insulation is around 160mm PIR. Vapour barrier below and plasterboard. Wish we had more insulation, mainly because it gets too hot in summer in those rooms. You might investigate putting another 50mm layer of PIR or insulated plasterboard below the rafters.

I'm only an amateur/novice/DIY welder. I don't understand why they were trying to weld across gaps? If it was me I'd cut small strips to fill the gap where i was going to weld, or is that cheating?

Ours wanted to see us pressure test the drains and checked every bit of glass in the house was to spec. Eg standard marks on internal pages and coatings on windows.

Does the voltage rating of the Cin Capacitor help? Probably not as it could be way higher than needed.

If that doesn't work I think there are brackets like this that are designed to be fixed to the wall and the rad hangs on them? Not used them myself. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Chrome-brackets-for-towel-RAIL-radiator-Flat-Or-Curved-Wall-Fixing-FAST-SHIP/251736072301?hash=item3a9ca3a06d:g:oGQAAOSwD0lUeG9d https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Universal-Chrome-Bracket-For-Flat-Or-Curved-Radiators-CHROME-Towel-Radiators/184371533481?hash=item2aed6656a9:g:L-YAAOSwnJJfFs5O You might even be able to put them into the studs if the rad is wide enough? Otherwise I'd put a pan head screw into the threaded holes on the rad and make "keyhole plates" to fix to the wall.

The problem with most of the warranties is that they cover failure rather than poor quality. They will most likely argue that the welds haven't actually failed so there isn't a problem. If the building doesn't fall down in first 10 years they are laughing. I recall a case where someone's drains were blocking once a month due to poor design/layout. Their claim was refused because the drains worked when unblocked.

Any particular reason to use plywood? If you are going to tile it consider wedi board instead. Easy to cut compared to plywood and doesn't need any sealer. Some plywood is pretty poor quality. Have a look at the edges to see if bits have already come off. Get some filler same trip? MDF takes paint well but perhaps not recommended under a basin as it will get wet.

+1 I used a local engineering co to skim a commutator on a motor few years ago. The chap in reception sucked his teeth and said it would be expensive but only charged me something like £30 to fix a £150 motor. Mind you I had stripped it down for him.

Elsewhere I've found data that suggests the last two digits might be important. The -A1 version appears to be the "standard" version. The -A8 appears to have a connector with additional signals on it (eg Alarm signals). Otherwise they appear to use the same motor part M3G084-GF. If the motor on yours only has two wires that difference might not matter as they are likely to be just power wires.

https://www.ebmpapst.co.uk/en/contact/ebmpapst_uk/spares_replacements/spares_replacements.html

+1 Papst have been making fans for decades. They appear to have a near match on their website here but the last digits of the part number are different. That could be a problem or it could just be a version number. https://www.ebmpapst.co.uk/en/products/axialfans/axialfansdetail.php?pID=132250 I suggest getting your engineer chap to give them a call to ask if its a replacement or what the differences are.

How do they know when to defrost?

I think you may need a wider door. The regs specify a "clear opening width" not the width of the door. When a door can only open 90 degrees the door itself obstructs the opening reducing it by the thickness of the door and sometimes by another 10mm or so. If you specify a room width of 760mm that only gives the builders 10mm for errors, plastering, tiles? Id be inclined to allow a bit more.

Welcome, One of my sons did briefly flirt with the idea of doing an Architecture degree and one of the courses offered had a specialty in off site manufacturing, however he eventually decided to do Materials Science instead. Would be interested to know why you think the big house builders in the UK haven't really adopted off site manufacturing in a big way? It is a mortgage issue?

Google just found this.. https://www.theheatxchange.co.uk/potterton-fan-motor-blade-l-20m-on-arg-pot1753260 Pretty sure Potterton = Dimplex and they claim its "in stock" on their web page. Best double check that.

If you cant get one from Dimplex pester them to see if you can get any kind of specification for it. There are loads of fans and motors out there that could do the job but you will need more technical info than just their part number to select right one. Some things can be measured like the dimensions and operating voltage but others like the air flow rate are harder.

CE is being replaced by UKCA at some point. Think it stands for "United Kingdom Can't Agree" or something like that. Was story in the paper recently about a small toy company that makes 39 products and has been told UKCA marking will cost £500 each.

+1 dead handy for all sorts of things.