TheMitchells

Just had a look and it costs £35.64 to order the two relevant maps and if I use the first chap, he's only quoted £38.50 so I can cope with that. I think I will go with him but will have a chat with him tomorrow and see if there is anything else I need add to the costs. And he did say that he could get it all done this week so the application would get sent in sooner than I'd be able to do it. re building regs - the link above says that the Building Notice cannot be used; For work which will be built close to or over the top of rain water and foul drains shown on the 'map of sewers' I am not sure if that would mean us - You may be able to see the drain cover to the right of the garden in the photograph, and just to the left of the porch - it looks as if the porch outer wall was built along the foul drain line. would our drain , be classed as being on 'map of sewers'? What does that mean?? we plan to move the wall outwards by 50cm to avoid the drain and ensure plenty of space inside which will be handy should a wheelchair be used in the future. I really hope we dont need to do more plans for Building Regs too!?

Thats much cheaper! Thanks, will get them ordered. Maybe I should have a go at the Sketchup again. AS it is such a simple extension, I cannot see them needing too much. I hope the Building regs can be done under a Building Notice - will check that out. thanks for the advice.

Damn, damn, damn! While planning to build a small wet room extention on the side of a bungalow for my elderly parents, I had assumed we would not need full planning as its on the side of the house and not that large. But I was wrong! As it sits on a corner with two roads, there is no Permitted development on the side either! I should not have assumed, I know. If I had checked, I would have been able to apply at least a montha go. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/606669/170405_Householder_Technical_Guidance__-April_2017_FINAL.pdf Page 13 to 16 shows our side extension is outside the permitted area. So I am now looking at local architectural technicians to draw up some plans, as I would not have a clue how to do them myself. I did have a look at Sketchup but think it would take hours for me to become anywhere near proficient enough to do the plans. The extension consists of a small rectange added to the side of the bungalow, making it level with the front wall, sticking a little further out than the porch (avoiding the drain run which is currently under the porch wall) and the roof line would match in with the main roof. Here are my plans - dont laugh at their simplicity - I did my best. ? IMG.pdf and a picture of the corner where it will go. So the quotes have come back and are both around £300-400. The first is this one. Drawings: Survey Existing Buildings £ 75.00 Prepare existing CAD digital Plans and Elevations. £ 125.00 Prepare outline Sketch Scheme Plans for approval £ 50.00 Prepare all necessary Plans, Elevations Sections and Detailed Final Plans, and all necessary required to make a formal Applications. £25.00 including all site / home / Council office visits / meetings and to liaise with all other parties as necessary, printing rates as below Survey and all Drawing Work Total £ 275.00 Fees: (All Printing is inclusive) Digital Location Plan 1:1250, 1:500 scale £ 38.50 Preparation of Digital PDF plans and make on-line Planning Portal Submission £ 26.25 That seems quite reasonable. He also included a nice document explaining all about the planning process and how he can help me through it. The other quote is as follows; Conduct a physical survey of the property. The production of architectural drawings which will include: survey plans & elevations, proposed plans & elevations, location, block and site layout plans. £350.00 Licensed Ordinance Survey map download which is an external fee and a requirement for all planning applications. £45.00 The preparation of a Health and Safety file and to act as Principal Designer as laid out in the CDM Regulations 2015. (For further information please see CDM guide that accompanies this quote). £40.00 Additional design work will be charged at hourly rate VAT £0.0 TOTAL £435.00 Note: Any works outside of that quoted above will be charged at £35 an hour. Drawings supplied in digital PDF format, paper copies available at additional charge. The first appears to be cheaper and does the on-line application for me but does not mention of H&S files and CDM regulations. I am tempted to go with that one but would be grateful for any comments/advice. Have i missed anything that will be needed? Could I do the Health and Safety file myself or is £40 a good price for it? Funnily enough - both chaps live just round the corner from our bungalow in different directions. At least they know the area well and as there are loads of other bungalows with a multitude of varied extensions, I am not worried that it will get refused. Its just a shame about the time it will take to apply and that will put us into winter for the building work. Poor Mum and Dad will just have to cope without any bathing facilities for another few months. I can't even bring them to our house as Mum cant do stairs up to our shower room.

I may be coming in late to the blog - but I love the look of the place, especially the stonework! I want that house! At least I know where to come when/if eventually find my piece of land. ? I'm just going to copy yours.....

It looks huge! What size is the ground floor? just catching up on the blog.? Enjoying the read.

Just foun your blog - am reading it backwards but wanted to say I love the look of the house. smashing! We are all feeling for you - all the hold-ups and shoddy work. I am sure it will be worth it in the end.?

Next two questions - how much and what sort of insulation should I be looking at for the floor, under the Impey Aqua Mat, if thats what we use? and when looking at the external wall build up, would Building Regs standards be okay or should I push for more insulation? Thanks in advance. I did look at jeremy's floor insulation comparison too but I cant even get it to work, never mind understand how to use it! ?

will keep watching the post! Though still not at the end yet - dont tell me - - I hate knowing the end!?

will go the thermostatic route! with a pump for better power?? OH doesnt want to do an electric shower due to the required power load needed, I think. But I am leaving that to him. Aquaseal system it is or something similar for the waterproofing. I'll see what patrick the builder says tomorrow. But I think the plan is that he will leave the actual fit out, including the waterproofing and tiling to us. And I will suggest the Aqua Mat for the heating.

I have just been watching the Impey Waterguard Wetroom tankingvideo which looks great and with care, is something I could do. I assume it would be installed onto the plastered walls. But I also have seen Aquaseal wet room system recommended on this site. Is one better than the other? I can see the Aquaseal is about £45 and have not priced up the Impey system but it looks more expensive. The Aquaseal also looks easier for me to use. If OnOff can use it, I am sure I'll be able to do it.!!? I am working my way through the rest of his bathroom post - I may be busy for a few days......

Thanks Nick - that Impey Aqua mat sounds ideal. we may get one for our own bathroom when we get round to it. The mains pressure hot water device is something I shall get the OH to look at. I think he was looking at a New Team NT1000 power shower which gives a good pressure but still runs off the hot and cold water. its the same as ours and that works well. I shall let you know how we get on with the builder tomorrow.

it should be about 4.5 m square. porch wall is currently 1.6m and the side of the bedroom wall is 2.96m. I am not sure if the extension will extend to match the front and roof of the existing building or if it will be set back slightly. there are both in extensions around the area. and if we extend further than the porch wall, to avoid the drains, the extrnal width is likely to be about 2m. I am also thinking about what sort of heating we could include. The bungalow still has night storage heating and a rather large hot water tank which is heated up with night time economy seven electricity. there is gas in the nearby road but its not connected to the house. so any heating in the wet room will be electricity and probably underfloor heating. while it would be nice to change the ehating to gas, that is a few years away.

I have spent the last two days reading lots of posts about wet rooms and waterproofing, so its time to now ask for advice. we have bought a bungalow for my elderly parents and while most of it is ideal for them, the bathroom leaves a lot to be desired. it is small with a bath, which neither of them can use as they cannot safely get in and out. we are not easily able to remove the bath and replace with a shower as there is a large window which would need to be moved/made smaller, it would be a small shower and what would they use while the work was being carried out? so the other option is to add a wet room on the side of the building. it gives a second loo, which is always a good idea, and hopefully will add to the value. we have plenty of land around as it is a corner plot and looking round the estate, it seems the council allow pretty much whatever anyone asks for. The porch will form one wall of the wet room and the side window (seen just peeping out on the right) will be removed from the bedroom and a door inserted. then the room will fill that corner on the right. the roof will extend upwards to link or be just below the origonal and it will come out a little past the porch wall. the reason for that is it appeared that the main drain runs under the wall of the porch?. the inspection cover can be seen on the bottom left of the photo and it runs straight towards my builder. so if we move the new wall further out, it will give us extra space inside and hopefully avoid too much bridging of the drain. We plan to have the usual loo, basin and shower but to leave it all open, so no screens, thinking of the future when they may need to use the room in a wheelchair. The builder has said he plans to build it with a concrete floor and then use a 70/90mm screed to form the floor, draining to a drain. But in most of the BuildHub posts, I am reading about formers. is this needed here when he is building the floor from scratch? Included in the quote is;- *To extend existing porch by approximately 4.5m2, exterior bricks and roof tiles to match existing; - *New soil drainage to connect into existing manhole; - *Existing porch window to be converted into wet room door opening and the supply and fit of new door to match existing; - *Window to be re-used in new extension; - We actually just want a small velux in the roof and no windows. also it would be nice to make use of the whole roof space, to add to the spacious feel of the room. *Plastering works to be carried out in associated areas; - *Removal of associated waste. The OH and I plan to do the fit out ourselves once the plumbing, drains, walls etc are done. we can do tiling and plumbing but I have not done waterproofing before. We have used the builder before and know he does a good job, once he starts - the hard part is getting him! I am meeting him on Friday to discuss the build and find out when he can start. Are there any questions I should ask? Any suggestions I could consider? ?

This isnt the one I was thinking about but it may be worth a read.

Good luck with it It sounds like fun!. I cant give much advice as I am still without plot but there are plenty here with good tips. I am sure there is a post somewhere for all those 'I wish I had done this ...' . Thats probably worth a read so you can avoid some things. And buy the Housebuilders Bible which gives a good idea of how much things should cost for a basic 4 bed house. while not the same as yours, it gives a rough idea. and Spons may be mentioned too. good luck and lets have plenty of photo's please.?

would that work with the electric door opener that we have? we could consider that next time. I ordered the spring and it arrived this week so I am now waiting for the fitter to come round and get the garage door working again. I certainly miss it as we use the garage far more than the front door, particularly for walking the dog - which may explain why the springs keep going. it probably does more work than usual.

One spring ordered at a cost of £114 with fitter costing £75 so much better than Hormanns offerigns.

spring ordered from ABI Garage Doors Sullies - Only £110 for the spring and the chap will fit it for £75 so much better and a lesson to me - always look online to make sure we are not paying over the odds for goods! ?

Will both sides be the same - Ed, my fitter, took the tag to order another one? I shall see if we can get the number and have a look online. I guess we can't invalidate any warranty as we dont have one now!?

When we built our garage in 2002, we had an electric door fitted, 3.6m wide, supplied and fitted by a local chap and it has been great apart from one thing. in 2009 one of the springs went and so our local chap ordered another one from Germany and fitted it - cost £182 which seemed rather a lot for a metal spring but that did include fitting and vat. Then in 2012 another one went, this time it cost £238. the fitter said that he had only ever had to replace one other spring in all the doors he has fitted but ours seems to keep going - in 2014 the opposite one broke. I guess I should have made a big fuss with the German company, Hormann, but we didnt and paid the £295 for our third replacement. Guess what! its happened again. the spring went last thursday evening, luckily with the car on the outside as the OH was away and I ceretainly could not have managed to lift the door without help. Again our local chap came and had a look - this should not be happening. Our door is the only one whose springs keep going. So this time he said he would see if Hormann wanted to come and have a look and see if they could help with this issue. But you've guessed it, they dont want to know. Its out of warranty! I am emailing the company to ask for some sort of discount here - it has already cost us over £700 over and above the installation costs and I would guess the price for the new spring will keep going up. But surely I should have some comeback on Hormann as no-one else seems to have this problem. Any ideas on what else we can do?

cost for a new build vary enormously and while we have not built ourselves, we did a huge amount of research and I'd recommend in the region of £300k at a minimum, but that could go up or down depending on size, design and materials used. Get hold of some of the self build magazines - some of them give ideas of costs, visit the Self Build Centre at Swindon and maybe read the Housebuilders Bible. then you will have a much better idea of what is invovled. Certainly, i have seen some lovely houses built for £300k but most are more than that as the owners want their 'foreve home' and therefore tnd to make it better quality than a general house would be.

I'd recommend looking at one of the building companies such as Scotframe, Danwood or Potton who can do everything for you, including the design and applying for planning. I have been to the Poton site near St Neots and it was very useful. I dont they are too expensive either - they hold your hand all the way through and the houses are lovely. I would certainly consider building new as you can have the house exactly as you want it (within reason) and make sure it is well insulated and efficient, something you may struggle to do with an extension and re-design. Are the bills in the future an important consideration? Anyway - sounds like a great project whichever route you take - Good Luck.?

Better late than never - a final post for this blog. the house eventually sold on 1st June - two years minus two days since we bought it. the buyer is very happy and so are we. we have had some time away from renovating but new plans are taking shape - not quite what I expected but it will do for now. tell you more soon! ?

well done Guys! it looks fab-u-lus!. Love the colours - may have to pinch some of those for my revamp of our place.

Dig them out if possible, after cutting/strimming down the top growth. then anything that comes up, hit with a spray of SBK. You need a systemic weedkiller that gets right down into the roots. Glyphosate is the mian checmical used and does work but it takes a couple of weeks for it to get right through the root system.