Temp

Southampton? My lads going back to Southampton for his 3rd and 4th years in September.

Exactly. There is no excuse for the planning officer not to issue the planning grant after its been approved by the committee. In my area it takes ages to get planning approved but once it is the grant is normally issued within a week or 10 days. @Sam G Have you checked the web site to see if it's on there? Might have got lost in post?

It will be difficult to correct later. I'd get it sorted soon as.

So the committee voted to approve and you still don't have the planning grant? That's crazy I would appeal for non-determination and ask for costs. Beware you only have 6 months I think. I reckon the moment that's filed you will get your permission. On what possible grounds can a planning officer overule the elected committee? I suppose if there is time before the deadline you could write to the head of the planning department and head if the committee to tell them you will have to appeal for non determination if the grant isn't recieved by date. Make sure to remind them it was approved by the committee meeting months ago.

No. It used to be the case that a garage floor had to be 100mm lower but the rules changed a few years ago. It now only has to slope away from the door between the house (or utility room) and garage. See page 30 paragraph 5.5.. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/485420/BR_PDF_AD_B1_2013.pdf I note there is no minimum slope specified but your BCO might want you to show that any spilt liquids flow away from the door.

They can climb up inside rainwater down pipes, along gutters and in through quite small holes in roofs (for example where pantiles meet fasia boards). Set up some rat traps in the loft where there was poo. Consider fitting leaf guards to down pipes? Edit: I forgot to mention a council rat man once told me they leave scent trails for family members to follow so after you catch one set the traps up again in same area.

Every house I've had including our selfbuild has suffered from a problem in this area. The plasterboarded ceiling shrinks and the plaster cracks where ceiling meets wall. Unfortunately the crack isn't always right at the junction. If it was it would be easy to fix. Instead its frequently a few inches down the wall in places and a strip of plaster comes away from the wall. For that reason I'm not going to suggest you fit tape over the gaps, or at least if you do I don't recommend lapping it down the wall. Any plasterers out there got a solution for this?

Are there enough wide slates for the verges etc.

Got to wonder why it was removed and replaced with steel? Perhaps it leaked because the slates are too small. I think only the headlap is critical because ultimately that's how far up the roof water has to be blown before it gets in. The batten spacing is determined by the headlap required and tile size. Google found.. https://www.designingbuildings.co.uk/wiki/Roof_slates I would do a mockup with 85 to 91mm headlap (instead of the 3" shown) and see what it looks like. Does it work with the holes? Check you have plenty of slate in good enough condition. Can you get more of the same size if needed? American site but.. https://www.slateassociation.org/slate-roof-condition-assessment-surveys-part-1/

Avoid cutting into the ground or dirty logs and it stays sharp much longer.

Ground floor far right hand window.

£66 a bottle. Might be worth it though.

Not yet ! Have tried white spirt though.

In areas that have got the issue sorted you have to buy "credits". This money goes to setting up wetlands to mitigate the effects of your poo etc. Not sure what the going rate is? £6,000? If you do a knock down and rebuild I guess you might not have to pay? Oh and if the CIL is a thing in your area make sure you formally claim the self build exemption after getting PP or you loose it and become liable to pay it. In some cases you might even want life insurance because if you drop down dead you can't live in the house for the 3 years needed to keep the exemption. Have we put you off yet 🙂

In case others read this in the future.. It's important not to move in until you have started work on the renovation. My understanding is the moment you move in the reduced rating is lost. However you can move in after work has started. It sounds like you are OK because you've already had a builder do work before you move in. If they are VAT registered their labour and material should be 5% rated to you exactly as per your builder. You have to persuade them that's correct by referring them to VAT 708. In some cases giving them a homemade "certificate" may help. This is essentially a letter formally certifying that their work is on a qualifying dwelling under VAT 708. If they aren't VAT registered they won't be charging you VAT whatever it actually says on their invoice. So there is no VAT to be reduced to 5%. I don't think it matters much who buys materials because neither you or the trade can reclaim the 20% VAT paid. I think VAT431C only covers the 10 year 0% scheme not the 2 year 5% scheme. In practice both may quote you about the same so you really want VAT registered trades and get them to 5% rate it.

OK so in Volume 2 it says.. So it's clear ! The Building Regulations say its not a Dwelling or a Room for Residential Purpose. Volume 1 only applies to Dwellings. Volume 2 only applies to Rooms for Residential Purpose (or buildings containing Rooms for Residential Purpose). So neither volume 1 or 2 applies to a garage or workshop. Sorry for all the edits.

On the other hand... https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2010/2214/regulation/2/made So it's not even a room for residential purposes.

With reference to my post above about the Application of Volume 1... I think what you need to meet is Table 4.1 in Volume 2 "Buildings other than dwellings" (not Table 4.2 in Volume 1) https://www.planningportal.co.uk/applications/building-control-applications/building-control/approved-documents/part-l-conservation-of-fuel-and-power/approved-document-l-conservation-of-fuel-and-power-volume-2-buildings-other-than-dwellings That says new walls should have a u-value of 0.26 W/(m^2.k).

Not even that. The 15 and 30sqm limits are BC only. For Planning/permitted development you are PDR until half the original land is built on.

My bold.

So way back in 2006 our builder fitted sealed units into our wood window frames. They used a low modulus sealer of some sort to seal the glass into the frame, did a neat job and wiped off any squeeze out. However the sealer left a residue on the wood that is still haunting us today. No matter how many times I sand and wipe down with meths I can't stop getting fish eye when using Sadolins. Im repainting a windows at the moment and had sanded and wiped one area three times and still it's like painting a wax candle in a few spots. So if you are about to fit windows I strongly recommend using a paintable sealer or mask off the wood until its fully dry to prevent issues with squeeze out forever contaminating the wood. If anyone knows of a clear primer or similar that solves this let me know!

Presumably the BCO wants 150mm cavity so it can have 100mm insulation and 50mm cavity. If the outside is rendered you could probably fully fill your 100mm cavity and keep the BCO happy. Just a thought.

What I would do... Slope the top of the post 1 so rain runs off. Fix 2 to 1 with screws, but recess the heads and fill with dowel to simulate pegs. Notch 3 to fit 2. Screw 3 to 1. Don't screw down through 3 into 2 to avoids holes in horizontal surfaces. Ideally slope/bevel all top edges but that needs a table saw.

We've got a slider but only because it was the best solution to a space issue. Avoid if possible, especially on any door that is frequently used like a kitchen door. They are far more awkward to use quickly, harder to accelerate the door, then harder to slow it down to a stop without crashing into the buffer. You will end up leaving them open. The door must also be wider for the same opening width because not all of the door can go into the pocket. Door handles need to be tall rather than wide or they also make the door even bigger. Need to be chosen when the door is installed and adjusted, possibly before plasterboarding the frame.

To my eye.. the planners would consider that the front garden. If you just look at the house without taking into account its surroundings.. which elevation looks like the front? If it wasn't obvious would you really go looking for the front door behind the garage?