Temp

Here you go.. A waste with hidden overflow.. http://www.bathroomspareparts.co.uk/ideal-standard-idealflow-hidden-basin-overflow-assembly-chrome-n8326aa-31883-p.asp

I half remember reading that an overflow is a Building Regs requirement ?? That said we don't have one on one of our basins. Some free standing basins have a hidden overflow built into the waste. The seal is lower than normal and the basin contains a hidden pipe that bypasses the seal when the water level in the basin gets too high. I will try and make/find a drawing.

+1 VAT is only zero rated on new builds and conversions. Even then hard landscaping is only zero rated if it's detailed on the planning permission.

and their reply was.. I'd like to advise them where to go :-) When they called the Damage Team to "test the number" I guess it didn't occur to them to pass on details of the problem?

The other night I'm driving home in the rain and I pass a roadside cabinet with the door open. I tried to shut the door but it wouldn't stay closed so I went home, got some rope and put it around the whole cabinet to keep the door shut. Next problem is who to call at Openreach. Their website has a number to call if you see a damaged cabinet so I ring that and select the correct options as instructed. I get cut off. So I ring again and this time it just rings and rings with no answer. Searching their web site I discover an email address and dash off an email with details of the cabinet number, location etc. Today I get this reply.. I particularly like the bit about them investigating "for me" as it's not my equipment out in the rain. Anyway I ring the Damage team again and I'm put on hold. After awhile I give up. The door is a side door and may have contained power supplies although it was too dark to tell what was in there. So I've now sent them this.. Where do I send the bill for rope hire?

If it's just one or two rings I would lift the cables above the insulation and put JBs at each end. The JB's should be "accessible".

+1 to that question. Daft electrician? I found this study awhile back.. http://electrical.theiet.org/wiring-matters/15/current-ratings.cfm?type=pdf Basically it says cables under insulation might need to be derated by reducing the circuit breaker value. Otherwise the wire might have to be fatter than the standard 2.5mm^2. The exception was some lighting cables where they say.. .

Have you considered doing a partial conversion? I think all you need is to put the insulation at rafter level instead of floor level and fit a vapour barrier (plastic sheet). I don't think you would need to plaster board it. Perhaps ask the BCO?

Can you expand a bit on what you mean by "a rather unpleasant showering experience"? When you say the pressure is good do you mean the mains pressure is good but the shower pressure is low? If so that sounds like the tank in the loft is a vented tank. Switching to a well insulated mains pressure tank might be an option.

Is there a potential issue with Part E (Sound) in that if you don't build to a "robust standard detail drawing" you may have to get a sound transmission test done?

Would something like this work.. Hide the ramp in the garden path. It's only 150mm...

Not unless it freezes. When you connect it up remember to put some corrosion inhibitor in the system.

Ask your SE if he has any specific things he wants included and if he can recommend a company to do it. Typically it involves digging two or more holes and pushing probes in at various depths to test the load bearing capacity of the ground. Samples are also taken and sent to a lab to look for anything that might effect the foundation design. The report describes the various layers they find and the results of the sample analysis. Do you have a builder lined up or are you using subcontractors? You might save money if you provide a digger and driver although most companies can arrange one if you haven't. If the ground is clay.. Will you also need a percolation test to see if soakaways work and to provide data to size them? If so you might get this done at the same time.

Perhaps it's just me but what are "lookouts"? The planners only want to know what it will look like from the outside not the internal structure. So you can remove a lot of the detail but need to add info on the cladding (wood/render? Colour/stain?). They will also want to see how it relates to the rest of the house so you will probably need to draw the house and extension together. The drawing you have done is more suitable for Building Control Approval which is the next step after getting Planning Permission.

Winter/spring here can be quite wet but it looks like you have the concrete base arranged so the frame is raised well above local ground levels. It also looks like you have avoided a common mistake which is to lay a flat topped slab that is slightly larger than the building. They forget that this allows water to run under the cladding to contact the frame. It looks like you have a step in the concrete to prevent this. A few courses of bricks or even a visible brick plinth is sometimes used. Building Control will probably want details of the damp proof membrane (DPM), damp proof course (DPC - between concrete and sole plate) and the wall membrane. Perhaps consider a linear drain across the door opening if you haven't already planned this. Are there any purlins planned? Perhaps I misunderstand the drawing but if the clear span of the rafters is 18 feet they will need to be deeper than 6". I can't tell your rafter spacing but that might be different between Canada and UK. Here it's normally 400 or 600mm.

Do the Aico support a reset/kill switch? Wonder if I can add one to mine. In case it matters, I think you can only interlink alarms of the same make/model.

Thought I had seen dimensions on the Paving Expert site but I was mistaken. That just refers to.. http://www.pavingexpert.com/drain03.htm "Most local authorities and/or water boards have their own specification for an outfall detail, but the illustration opposite shows the type of scheme favoured by many authorities for small outfalls."

I remember seeing guidance for stream end (the outfall into the stream). That might set the height that end. Will try and find it. Then working back up from there to the digester you need a fall on the pipe. At 1:40 that would be 2.5 meters over 100m.

I think this would be possible with a bit of planning. Most pocket door kits have some sort of metal frame that plasterboard is screwed to. If I remember correctly the frame is thick enough to form a void for a wire. Run the wire before cladding the frame with plasterboard.

+1 Presumably there are pumps on the manifold that draw water through the boiler and these are over powering the pump supplying the DHW tank. If this part of the system can't be balanced you could consider giving the DHW tank priority over the UFH as it won't take long to heat/top up the DHW tank. The UFH probably has lot of thermal mass so the temperature of the house won't fall much while the DHW is calling for heat. I've lived in houses where the rads and DHW worked like this.

Regarding living on a building site... The GPDO allows temporary buildings http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2015/596/schedule/2/made As I understand it that's usually interpreted to mean building workers don't need PP to live in a site van on site but a spouse (that isn't a building worker) and children (who cannot be building workers) would need PP. In the latter case councils sometimes turn a blind eye if permission for a house has been granted. Why was the application for a house refused? If it was refused due to a design detail the council might turn a blind eye in anticipation of a new modified application for the house. If it was refused for a whole host of policy reasons/green belt/no chance of a house there then they should really look at taking enforcement action. Otherwise once they have been living there 10 years they should be able to get PP for change of use allowing the caravan to remain indefinitely.

I might be wrong but I think "domestic (householder) planning applications" are only for extensions and outbuildings not new houses? If the original application was for a new house I think it must have been a Full Application and I think the deadline to appeal that is 6 months. Edit: Householder Application.. https://www.planningportal.co.uk/info/200126/applications/60/consent_types/2 This form should be used for proposals to alter or enlarge a single house, including works within the boundary/garden of a house. It should be used for projects such as: Extensions Conservatories Loft conversions Dormer windows Garages, car ports and outbuildings Full Application... https://www.planningportal.co.uk/info/200126/applications/60/consent_types/3 You should use this application form to make a detailed planning application for development, excluding householder developments. For the purposes of this form, development includes building, engineering or other works, in, on, over or under land, or the making of any material change in the use of any buildings or other land. As such it should be used for: Any works relating to a flat Applications to change the number of dwellings (flat conversions, building a separate house in the garden) Changes of use to part or all of the property to non-residential (including business) uses Anything outside the garden of the property (including stables if in a separate paddock)

Our tumble dryer is now 20 years old. It's lived that long because it gets very little use now we live in a house with MVHR. Most things, even towels dry overnight on a rack in the guest bathroom. We have to use a lot of water in the steam iron because things dry out too well.

Perhaps your local secondary school metalwork shop could do better (for a donation).

Our exit vent makes a bit more noise than the inlet so perhaps don't put it/them near your patio? Don't put the inlet down wind of your or a neighbours gas/oil boiler flue/bonfire location.