Temp

Going off track briefly.... there are restrictions on what new S106 councils can demand. They are only allowed to demand 5 for the same reason - so if they have already demanded 5 people contribute to the local playground they can't demand any more do so. That's 5 backdated several years so in some cases the 5 has already been exceeded. The gov did this to encourage councils to move to the CIL.

An IBC holds 1000L and second hand ones cost between £20 and £60. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/IBC-1000-Litre-Water-Storage-Tank-Plastic/182374963189?_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851&_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIC.MBE%26ao%3D2%26asc%3D38661%26meid%3D49b083dba5ed4d8c8327ada4292477c2%26pid%3D100005%26rk%3D3%26rkt%3D6%26sd%3D182353846753 http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/ibc-/182353846753?hash=item2a7522e1e1:g:vrwAAOSwi0RX0YM2 However check what they have been used for. We got one for my wife's allotment. It was last used to hold shampoo and cleaning it out produced a nice lot of foam. PS: It cost me more to hire a van to go and collect it.

CIL Exemption claim form.. https://ecab.planningportal.co.uk/uploads/1app/forms/form_7_self_build_part_1_exemption_claim.pdf So before starting you must apply for the CIL exemption, have it granted and send them a notice of commencement. I suggest you also wait for them to acknowledge receipt of the latter.

+1 about the CIL don't risk loosing the exemption. The definition of "starting" is in Section 56(4) of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 which says.. “development is taken to be begun on the earliest date on which a material operation is carried out”. A material operation is defined as any works of construction, demolition, digging foundations, laying out or constructing a road or a change in the use of the land. So it would be easy for them to decide you have started and are therefore in breach of the condition and perhaps are no longer eligible for the CIL exemption. However if the boot was on the other foot and you actually wanted to "start" in order to extend a Planning Permission that was about to expire, then they will say that you haven't started unless a) the work matches what was approved exactly and b) you have got any planning conditions that say "Before work starts..." formally discharged. It seems the definition of starting is such that it always benefits the council.

I've never heard of that happening before. I wonder who got your permission?

I have fought a planning appeal as part of a third party action group and I'm afraid applicants frequently submit and get away with all kinds of dodgy surveys. Just an example... the applicant submitted a bird survey. We hired our own expert who requested the raw data used to compile the survey. He stated that he had never seen such a "clamatous data set". The logs indicated that two surveys that were meant to be done at different times were done at the same time so one man was trying to count birds on the site from a distance (to avoid disturbing the birds) while another was walking around the site disturbing them. The site was a feeding and nesting site for a protected bird. The appeal inspector allowed the development but the secretary of state called it in and stopped it. Third parties can apply for a special status at appeals but I forget what that status is called sorry. It allows you to call your own expert. Fankly the inspector will probably ignore any survey you do yourself unless you have the right initials after your name.

If there is no void it doesn't need venting.

I suggest you plan now/ahead for the balustrading as some solutions need to be partly installed before whatever waterproofing layer you choose is added. One option that doesn't are systems that fix to the wall and have cranked balustrades to go around any overhang/gutter.

We had a nightmare of a time getting pp for our house but some years later we had reason to see things from their side when a planning application for a wind farm was submitted. The planning officer allocated was brilliant. It took him awhile to decide the application should be refused but the department had virtually no budget to fight the appeal. That meant he was basically relying on the local action group to fund things like professional photo montages showing the impact from key places and an independent landscape expert. The bill for this sort of thing runs into many £tens of thousands. Once the appeal was over "our" planning officer quit working for the council and went to work for a private company, no doubt one that advises wind farm developers as he had now got lots of relevant experience. Great loss to the planning department. I can see why planning departments want planning application fees to be representative of the actual cost they incur.

Thing is mine was a spillover type!

Could it be some sort of tool to remove the terminal/filter? I'm not familiar with that make. Perhaps give them a call to ask?

If not in the DAS where are you meant to make your case that your application is consistent with local planning guidance?

I recently tested the overflow on a WC cistern and it didn't cope with the fill rate. Had to fit a reducer.

Hidden overflow built into the ceramic of the basin.. http://www.laufen.com/wps/wcm/connect/laufen_com/en/products/features-and-benefits/sanitary-ware/concealed-ceramic-overflow

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...