Temp

According to Talk Radio today a significant percentage of the population think the recently agreed deal is the final deal that will govern our long term relationship with the EU. They don't realise this is meant to be the easy bit that only covers the transition period - which is now only going to be 11 months long (according to Boris).

A lot of new bricks are porous. I once filled a bucket with our house bricks then filled all the space with water. They fizzed and popped and absorbed the lot. Next day almost no water in the bucket and individual bricks felt really heavy. A new chimney or rebuild should have a DP to stop ingress through damp bricks. https://www.labcwarranty.co.uk/blog/how-to-ensure-your-chimney-is-constructed-correctly/

Best me to it.

+1 to getting someone in. I hire towers for outside painting as I don't have storage space and rental towers are usually decent quality. Shop around as rates vary a lot, haggle. Some places have good weekend rates. Remember to ask for a price Inc vat and delivery/collection. Don't underestimate how much work it is to erect a tower and get the platforms into place. They are awkward and heavy. Definitely a two man job.

Perhaps but if there is a leak why get the key holder to struggle with the stopcock hidden under the sink unit if it's possible to turn the water off outside. When you get back from holiday perhaps get the builder to improve access to the stopcock by moving it higher up.

Yikes. Is it a three storey house? Wouldn't get me that high on a ladder (and I used to fly gliders). I'd be using a scaffolding tower then a roof lader.

Have you got a key for the valve in the road/water meter? Screwfix and Toolstation probably sell them for under £10 but I haven't looked.

Eclisse pocket door frame kits come in two thicknesses 100mm and 125mm. These are the thicknesses of the finished wall not the frame. So for a 100mm thick wall the metal frame supplied is 73mm thick and you use 73mm thick studs elsewhere in the wall (and above the door pocket). https://www.pocketdoors.co.uk/unique-features/

+1 No stud required. The plasterboard screws to the metal pocket door frame using self tapping screws. Think some came with my door kit. Do not replace with longer or over tighten these screws because if they go too far in the sharp points will scratch the door first time you open it.

PS: If you have soakers you don't really need lead on top of the tiles at the sides of the chimney. Although there will be an apron at the front. My guess is that some time in the past the lead was replaced or repaired by someone who didn't really know what they were doing.

My money is on a lack of lead soakers. It looks like any rain blown under the existing lead can go sideways then down the side of the chimney if there is no soaker under there. If the lead had been a few inches wider you might have gotten away without them because of the profile of the tile. In fact the other side (left hand) on the chimney might not be leaking because on that side the lead might be lapped down the tile profile. Soakers go under the tiles and deflect any water going sideways out onto the tile below. They are fitted before the tiles and the stepped flashing that you can see. Skips to about 2 mins in..

Here are the forms you must normally fill in to claim the exemption. You don't need all of them. See the 4 steps described at top of form 7 part 1. Some people have lost the exemption by not following the 4 steps exactly. Note some things must be done before work starts and some after construction is completed. https://www.planningportal.co.uk/info/200136/policy_and_legislation/70/community_infrastructure_levy/5 Note it says "before commencement of the development", that would be the commencement of the PP.

If it's just 30sqm you wouldn't need CIL exemption. But you mentioned.. So I thought you had bigger plans :-)

You don't normally have to apply for the exemption at same time as PP. Not even sure that's possible. There are very specific forms you need to fill and replies to receive before starting work or you loose it. The 30sqm limit is only needed to avoid building control approval for the structure of an outbuilding. Its not needed to avoid planning permission for the outbuildings. You can build bigger outbuildings without needing PP. If your outbuildings have drainage and electricity you may still need Building Control involved.

Good point. I think you would have to get the CIL exemption for the outbuildings only, build the outbuildings, then do CIL exemption for the PP. Only then do any work on site relating to the PP.

Just make sure the new outbuildings do comply with permitted development rules. If you are feeling rich it might be worth considering an application for a lawful Development certificate after building them but before starting the planning permission. I think the CIL may apply to large out buildings? If that applies to you check out the exemption for self builders. If the exemption applies you need the paperwork signed off before any work is done on site.

Here is someone who installed AC without getting PP and a neighbour complained after 3.5 years(eg just before the 4 year time limit on enforcement). https://www.revk.uk/2018/07/air-conditioning-at-home-planning.html Interesting read. For example... but he didn't need one in the end.

Too late now but doesn't anyone make a channel designed a to be fitted and plastered up to? Perhaps with a cover strip to stop the plaster getting into it. Then just peel off an press in the LED.

Welcome to the forum. It's can be very difficult to predict what planners will say. Our plot already had planning permission yet it still took over a year to get a new design approved. In the end after going round in circles we got something very close to our original drawings approved. I would apply for what you want or submit drawings for pre-application advice, but be prepared to listen and make changes. If you really can't live with the requested changes consider hiring a planning consultant to review your proposal to see if he thinks your proposal reasonable. If necessary be prepared to be rejected and take it to appeal.

Regarding valuable or useful left over materials... Perhaps call and ask if they have left anything on site they need to collect because you have new people coming next day. They will probably say no thinking you mean tools.

Planning Permission: You could pay the planners fee for pre-application advice, or hire a planning consultant, or both. The planners may ask for elevation drawings of what the outside would look like and possibly a site plan. Sometimes there are specific reasons why the planners aren't keen on creating additional dwellings, for example highways might have an issue if the only access is onto a dangerous bend in a road. In some areas they also have a policy against turning houses into flats and may see this as breaching that policy. Building Control: Any good builder, architect or plan drawer should be able to advise on the building regulations issues. This would include things like ensuring the internal layout meets fire regs, insulation etc. If you make a "Full Plans" application to building control then building control will tell you before you start work if the plans meet the building regs. If you make a cheaper "Building Notice" application they won't, and you may not find out what's needed until an inspection and a lot of the work has already been started. You also need to check there are no covenants in the title deeds that preclude building a separate dwelling on the land.

And elsewhere it says it's not just the battery factory but also the R&D centre.

Tesla cite Brexit uncertainty as the reason for building factory in Germany instead of UK... https://amp.theguardian.com/technology/2019/nov/13/tesla-cites-brexit-as-germany-chosen-over-uk-for-european-plant-elon-musk The Tesla chief executive, Elon Musk, has said Brexit uncertainty played a role in the firm’s decision to build its first European factory in Germany rather than the UK. The billionaire entrepreneur revealed that the firm’s European battery plant would be built on the outskirts of Berlin. Speaking to Auto Express after making the announcement, Musk said: “Brexit [uncertainty] made it too risky to put a Gigafactory in the UK.”

Think I would want the word separate in the condition ?

Doesn't that preclude other residential uses such as a hobby room or home office?