Square Feet

Hi all, I am looking at a plot in Southern Scotland. The plot is a 0.15 acre garden plot in a small town. It has PPP for a new house and there is also an old stone workshop building which could be converted to residential (as long as it is a 'satellite' of the new build and not an address in its own right). The idea is to convert the workshop into a 'tiny house' for myself and my son (it is 55 sqm, so bigger than our current flat) and live in it while building the new (passive) house. The PPP that is in place doesn't cover the workshop and is not for the style of new house I wan't to build, so I would need a new application for that, one which will need to address a couple of contraints the LA have placed on the design, ie overlooking issues etc. Funds are extremely tight, so I will need to do as much of the work as humanly possible myself. My son is 14 now, so he can help a bit too. I would like to build something that sings to my soul, and doesn't just provide us with a roof over our heads. For that reason I asked an architect to visit the site with me and to quote for the design and planning work. The quote has come in much higher than I was hoping for, but to be fair this probably reflects the fact that this is in fact for two houses. I wonder if you would mind having a look at the quote for me and telling me what you think? I would also like to get some idea as to what parts of the work I could do myself (no architecture or engineering background, but I have been involved in numerous renovation projects over the years). Works: Proposed New House and renovation of workshop Fees: £ 7,545.00 + VAT The above fees includes all expenses with the exception of postage and printing costs which will be charged at the rates shown on the attached sheet (one set of all drawings produced will be issued free of charge) and cost to obtain OS Location Plan which is estimated at £ 40.00. Payment Schedule: Fees to be paid in instalments as follows: Stage 1 £ 910.00 + VAT following site survey and preparation of existing drawings Stage 2 £ 1,885.00 + VAT on agreement of design proposal Stage 3 £ 650.00 + VAT immediately prior to submission of Planning Permission application Stage 4 £ 3,380.00 + VAT immediately prior to submission of Building Warrant Stage 5 £ 720.00 + VAT on receipt of Building Warrant & Planning decision In addition to my fees the following other costs are likely to be incurred should you proceed: 1. Planning Application Fee (payable to the Council) which is currently £401.00. 2. Building Warrant Lodging Fee (payable to the Council) which I estimate to be £ 1,755.00 (please note that this will subject to a discount as both myself and the engineer are Scottish Government Approved Certifiers of Design). 3. Structural Engineers Fees the services of a structural engineer will be required to provide structural advice, design, specification and certification (required for warrant) I’ve estimated this fees to be: £ 2,400.00 + VAT. This fee would also include a site investigation report.

Hi all, I don't know if any of you read Passive House Plus magazine, but I have found it a useful source of information and inspiration. They are Ireland based, but put out a UK version of the magazine. It is probably more geared at Architects and the like and so can be a bit technical, but I like to see which way the wind is blowing and learn about new ideas early, even if I don't always completely understand them! Anyway, they have just launched a new trade directory online which I thought might interest some. It has only just gone live, so hopefully will grow a bit in future. https://passivehouseplus.ie/directory?featured=0&geolocation=0&radius=100&resetSearch=1 If anyone is interested in seeing what the magazine has to offer without subscribing then they will send you two free copies if you give them your details: https://passivehouseplus.ie/enquiries

Nice one, thanks for that.

Hi, I am looking at a plot in Scotland where the boundary wall and a couple of other bits are Cat C listed. I am wanting to make an offer subject to planning. Can anyone advise the likely length of time it will take to get planning approved (assuming no issues) in this case? I believe my local council are pretty good at hitting the target times, but I have heard that once Historic Scotland gets involved it can take longer. Cheers

Thanks again folks. Yes I would rather keep the use of concrete to a minimum, but it might be necessary though. I found an answer to my own question of 'how far can concrete be pumped' on this page. https://www.easymixconcrete.com/resource-centre/concrete-pumping-faqs/ Just mentioning it in case it helps anyone else. To save you the bother of clicking, it says this: How far can a concrete pump hose reach? All pump lines are made of interconnected metal pipes and flexible hosing. We can add additional pipes to extend the reach of our pumps. Please be sure to call the EasyMix team to discuss your individual job requirements. A ground line pump can reach over 150 meters, with possible extensions if required. A boom pump can extend up to 72 meters. with possible extensions if required.

Thanks all. No, craning over other properties is not an option I'm afraid. Yes it has PP, but not for what I want to build so I will need to make a new application. It is all flat so no issues with fall for drainage etc. Sorry, I should have been clearer - the narrow road is the first that you come to when you turn off the main road, the wider road comes after. The main issue is the right angle turn from the 3m lane into the 6.5m street that the plot sits on - there is no pavement or other wiggle room as the walls of the adjacent buildings are right on the street. If the vehicle delivering the materials was less than 3m wide then it could park across the T junction and a tele-loader or similar could take the materials off and trundle them up the 6.5m street to the plot, but it would require neighbours to park elsewhere and so on so it couldn't be done every day or without some pre-planning. That is interesting re your kit house Dave, thanks for that. Do you happen to know the maximum distance for piping concrete? It might be possible to bring it from the next street over but distance-dependent. Failing that it would need to be mixed on site, yes. I am meeting an architect on site next week who I can discuss some of this with, but practical advice from those who have faced these sort of issues is always valuable. I haven't discussed price with the seller yet either so obviously all these sort of potential difficulties, while challenging to work through, might help to keep the price down.

I'm actually metric all the way, having been born two weeks after we went metric The name just amused me, I am a simple soul

Thanks guys. I have had a look but I can't find an obvious thread to ask my questions so here goes.... I am looking at a plot that has restricted access. It would be accessed via a narrow one-way street in a small town. I have been told that the street is too small for the bin lorry or fire engine to be able to turn into. The main problem is that access is via a 3m wide lane that turns at sharp right angles into the street where the plot is sited. This street is 6.5m maximum width (without parked cars, bins etc). Obviously it would not be possible to build a kit house on this plot as a low-loader couldn't get near it, but I didn't want to do that anyway! I suspect that any materials would need to be double-handled to reach the site. My question is more that I am unsure what kind of plant would be able to access the site - is there anywhere that I can see the width and turning circle requirements for different types of plant? Have any of you faced such difficulties in the past and if so do you have any advice? Many thanks in advance.

Hey all, I am new here so just saying hello. I am currently looking at a plot in southern Scotland with the hope of building a passive type house sometime in the near future. I have a few specific questions about the plot I have found which I will try to post in the correct place later. Cheers