Temp

How much was the quote for the two storey? Did it have a pitched, tiled roof? Does the single storey design have a pitched or flat roof? How many square feet? Any known complications like building over drains? Why not call or write to the planning officer and ask for an update on your resubmission? Quote him the planning application number. It's now 8 weeks since your original post and your application went in before that so they should have made some progress. There maybe correspondence between him and the Architect on the planning web site. Sounds like the Architect has stopped chasing them as you haven't paid him. That wont help speed things up. You may have to be get a bit proactive. We were living abroad when we applied to build in the UK. Our application dragged on for nine months before decided our Architect wasn't proactive enough. I had to start arranging meetings myself, book aircraft flights, hire cars and hotels to bash heads together.

I know this is for your garage but I recall reading somewhere there was going to be an Approved Document for service entry points. The idea is so new houses can have fibre broadband later. Did that come to anything?

+1 Some fill valves are supplied with pressure restrictors for use on mains pressure systems. Perhaps they left that in?

Concrete. See.. . http://www.nhbc.co.uk/Builders/Technicaladviceandsupport/TechnicalGuidance/61/filedownload,37205,en.pdf

MOT type 1 can vary a lot. We used crushed limestone which contained some dust and was a bit sticky. After being driven on, rained on and baked in the sun it was set up like concrete. Only put it were you really need it or you will need another digger to remove it. It can form a water proof layer so potential run off issue. If you have any trees nearby they might suffer. I suspect it's quite Alkaline? Not sure how other versions like crushed concrete behave.

Hire a wacker plate as well?

I guess the message has got home already but the tax man can be pretty cunning... If they went and asked your bank about the loan you took out to build one of the houses you want the bank to say it's a self build mortgage not a business loan or anything like that. Be careful what you put on social media etc.

I had to get a water main diverted to build our house. I got a quote from the water co but it included VAT. It took ages to get them to agree they should zero rate it. Even then they said they could only do so because I was connecting to the diverted part. This is nonsense because I couldn't built without diverting the main so it comes under works that "enable a house to be constructed" (along side things like demolition). Any way point is I'm glad I got it sorted and got a new quote before I agreed to them doing the work. I can just imagine them sending final demands for non payment if I agreed to their quote inc VAT but only paid ex VAT.

No no that's all wrong :-) I'm sure what you meant to say was that it's your lifelong ambition To build your dream house to live in even if it takes you A few goes to get it just right and you have to move a few times in the process. You're sure it will be eXtremely hard building and keeping your day job at the same time but you think you will manage.

Sometimes you just rocked up and Homebase and found particular rolls of Insulation was cheap that week due to a subsidy from the energy co. Sadly no longer.

I don't think its always necessary to use 110mm ID round pipe. I think the building regs allow soil pipes to be 80mm diameter in some situations?

I forgot to mention that it's possible to level boards with a router. There are several vids on youtube that differ only in the design of the jig..

You could try asking a local timber merchants if they could plane it "in between jobs".

I've done some work with green and fully seasoned oak. How bad is the twisting? I agree it would certainly be a lot easier to find someone to put it through a planer/thicknesser. However I think if the twisting wasn't too bad, and you can live with it being a bit rustic, I reckon you could get away with an electric plane and a bunch of spare blades. If DIY would be inclined to just plane the top surface of each plank. I would use packing between the un-planed side and steel frame or a carefully profiled cross member. Never leave anything made of steel (like the plane or other tools) on the oak even for a short time. When you get back from lunch and pick it up there will be a black mark on the oak and more

I got a whole years worth of pre app advice for free. ?

Leaking carbon monoxide at low flame so a valve needs replacing? Something about that doesn't sound right.

They forgot the energy needed to drive to work from your rural retreat.

Will they be expecting private building control companies to check you have complied with a planning condition?

As it stands it looks just like a layby. I think a low stone wall and perhaps even some gates would look good.

I don't think the law allows them to make it a building control issue. I think the only way they can do it is through the local plan.

Mostly they make it up. They draw a mental line around the existing development. Some level of "smoothing" is applied, the don't always follow existing property boundaries exactly or there would never be any in fill plots. That's why other documented boundaries can sometimes help.

I had a look on Google maps satellite view and the building south of the plot on your map looks like a car park. If there is a building there now take a look at the planning file for it. Ditto the Quaker lodge. Have a look around for any other maps of the area. You might find it's within church, parish, village, conservation or less formal boundaries. Anything that shows it's included in more obviously developed area to the east of the lane adds to your ammunition.

Thought about this some more.. In cases where someone causes a statutory nuisance you can take them to court for damages, however the court expects you to minimise the cost of any damages (no stays at the Ritz when Travel Lodge will do). So a court might look unfavorably on any claim for damages caused by you NOT turning off her water. I can't claim to be a legal expert but I think you would be on safe ground if you took the following steps... Write to her recorded delivery to notify her that her pipe is leaking and keep copy and receipt or posting etc. In the letter point out that she is liable for repairs and any damage that the leak causes. You can offer to help her turn off the water but say that if she doesn't take action (within say 48 hours) you will be forced to turn off her water yourself to prevent damage to your property for which she will be liable. I've also been told by a solicitor that if you warn someone that their action or inaction might cause damage, and they go ahead anyway, then they open themselves up to additional damages for negligence. My guess is that if when you turn off the water she will come around fuming. So I would be tempted to let to police know in advance what you are going to do. eg Just pop in the police station and tell them about the leak and that you will be turning off the water at <time> to prevent damage to your property. Say you are worried how she might react so you are just letting them know in case you have to call later about a breach of the peace. They might even offer to be there when you turn it off. Might also be wise to contact both the water co and social services both by phone and in writing at the same time you write to the neighbour to let them know you may have to turn off the water supply to a vulnerable person. Might find that's enough to get the water company out to fix it. PS: In cases where a leak in one property affects another the police have powers to break in and turn off the water under the auspices of the 'Police and Criminal Evidence Act' on the grounds of 'preventing serious damage to property'. So if they tell you not to turn off her water ask them to come and do it.

According to Anglian Water the old lady is responsible for the pipe from where it enters your boundary, across your garden to her house. Some water companies will fix the first leak on customer owned pipes or free but the bit in my bold might be of interest... https://www.ofwat.gov.uk/households/supply-and-standards/leakage/ So one option would be to report the leak and the fact that it's been going on for awhile and see if they will fix it and send her the bill. However, that may only fix the immediate leak. I hate to suggest it but I think you may need legal advice. eg. to find out if you can fix the pipe once and for all and send her a bill. Does your house insurance cover legal protection?

How on earth can a plot be both infill and isolated? I think you stand a good chance of getting pp.