kandgmitchell

This works best on an older house where the new works in effect reflect an improvement despite the windows. On a much newer house it gets harder to justify.

I'd second that. The dwelling is the planning unit and a home gym and a home office are both legitimate uses within a dwelling so you can use it for either. Converting a garage to a gym/office would only require permission if the garage use was secured by a condition for parking purposes. But that is bye the bye , Temp is right, make it clear to the planners that the development will have a significant impact on your use of the room as it stands at present. Ask if they can request that the developer carries out an impact assessment on light levels to this room, prior to them considering the application. Speak to your councillor to help put pressure on the planners to consider the situation.

Have a look at page 8 of the Approved Document to Part E, in particular E2. It'll be applicable to new floors and walls being constructed not existing. Note also the exemptions to the right side for particular walls. You need an airbourne sound resistance of 40db for your new internal walls. Looking at Knauf's details their 12.5mm wallboard with 97 metal studs and 25mm insulation gives 42dB. Your studwork will be at least as good as that. There's no requirement for testing anyway. The masonry wall will well exceed the requirements.

Well get ready to follow paragraph 10.10 of Approved Document L1 because you will not comply with 10.7(d)..... Extension of a dwelling 10.7 When a dwelling is extended, elements should satisfy all of the following. a. New thermal elements should meet the standards in Table 4.2 and paragraph 4.7. b. Replacement thermal elements should meet the standards in Table 4.2 and paragraph 4.8. c. New windows, roof windows, rooflights and doors should meet the standards in Table 4.2. d. The total area of windows, roof windows, rooflights and doors in extensions should not exceed the sum of the following. i. 25% of the floor area of the extension. ii. The total area of any windows and doors which no longer exist or are no longer exposed due to the extension. e. Existing fabric elements that will become thermal elements should meet the limiting standards in Table 4.3 by following the guidance in paragraphs 11.2 to 11.4. 10.8 When a dwelling is extended, any fixed building services or on-site electricity generation that are provided or extended should comply with the guidance in Sections 5 and 6. 10.9 As an alternative approach to paragraph 10.7, the area-weighted U-value of all thermal elements in the extension should be shown to not exceed the area-weighted U-value of an extension of the same size and shape that complies with paragraph 10.7. The area-weighted U-value is given by the following expression. [(U1 × A1) + (U2 × A2) + (U3 × A3) + …] (A1 + A2 + A3 + …) Where: U1 = the U-value of element type 1 A1 = the area of element type 1 and so on. 10.10 As an alternative approach to paragraphs 10.7 or 10.9, the Standard Assessment Procedure may be used to show that the dwelling primary energy rate, the dwelling emission rate and the dwelling fabric energy efficiency rate for the dwelling and proposed extension do not exceed those for the dwelling plus a notional extension. The notional extension should be the same size and shape as the proposed extension and comply with paragraph 10.7. The openings in the notional extension should conform with paragraph 10.7d, with the door area set as equal to the door area of the proposed extension and the remainder of the openings being classified as windows. NOTE: Where the performance of elements of the existing dwelling is unknown, data in the Standard Assessment Procedure Appendix S should be used to estimate the performance.

Now being put on the spot I've read that lease term again - it's in three parts: (13) Not at any time during the said term without the license in writing of the Lessor... to make any alteration in plan or elevation of the maisonette building hereby demised or in any of the party walls or the principal or bearing walls or timbers thereof... (my emphasis). So you cannot, without a licence make any alteration in plan or elevation, or make any alteration in plan of any of the party walls etc. Now I've added a comma in places and it makes it easier to read. The legal people avoid commas deliberately but it does make things harder to follow for the rest of us. That term can be read to mean that removing the cupboard walls is an alteration in plan of the maisonette building and thus needs a licence. If it was me I'd send a simple polite letter with a copy of your surveyors opinion and bathroom plan and make the point no loadbearing walls are involved without specifically referring to the lease - as a courtesy perhaps. See what comes back. If it's a "that looks nice - good luck" then I'd say that's your licence.

Could you not swap the wc and the basin so the new wc uses the existing wc waste (which I assume goes into the floor) and the basin uses the ex. basin waste route so no alteration at all to the external wall. If the cupboard wall is non-loadbearing then no need to involve the leaseholder.

The west elevation being designated as the principal elevation will be of no use, as then the north elevation will be a side. If you are in a conservation area then: E.3 In the case of any land within the curtilage of the dwellinghouse which is article 2(3) land, development is not permitted by Class E if any part of the building, enclosure, pool or container would be situated on land between a wall forming a side elevation of the dwellinghouse and the boundary of the curtilage of the dwellinghouse. If the south is the principal elevation then the north elevation is the rear and the above doesn't apply. The technical guidance states: Principal elevation: in most cases the principal elevation will be that part of the house which fronts (directly or at an angle) the main highway serving the house (the main highway will be the one that sets the postcode for the house concerned). It will usually contain the main architectural features such as main bay windows or a porch serving the main entrance to the house. Usually, but not exclusively, the principal elevation will be what is understood to be the front of the house. There will only be one principal elevation on a house. Where there are two elevations which may have the character of a principal elevation, for example on a corner plot, a view will need to be taken as to which of these forms the principal elevation. From your description the obvious choice would be the west but with the north being a closely argued alternative. If you need to persuade both the planners and an Inspector to accept the south as the obvious principal elevation you may need to "enhance" matters to make it much more of what the man in the street would describe as the front (entrance door, letter plate, doorbell, house name etc).

Ok for the master en-suite then - just watch the length of the basin waste - you may need an anti-syphonic trap to stop it gargling. You don't want to "Y" on the guest room WC to the cloakroom run as you'll have a junction under the floor with no access (other than taking off the pan) as a rod will just push straight past when introduced from the IC. Take that WC out to the IC direct. The shower depends on the type of tray you are fitting, as running a 40mm waste through a floor slab given the tendency to "slime" up with hair and soap etc never seems a good idea. As for connections to stacks see Diagram 2 in the Approved Document H as well (your BCO will have!).

Alan's right - some LPA's will discuss queries with you. Others are in such a state that they will take no amendments whatsoever and one is quite open that even simple domestic extensions will take 12 weeks to determine so feel free to go to appeal.... Personally I'd apply for the house with the LPA's amount of parking shown and then apply for the garage once the house is secured. Two applications I know but planning can be a bit like a chess game at times! Again, pre-application discussions vary. Some LPA's are good, prompt and stand by their officer's opinions (assuming councillors do not get involved), others take forever and the advice they give is so thin you'd have been better just giving an application a shot. State of local government today I'm afraid.

This begs the questions: How is the master en-suite drained? How are the guest wc and shower drained? There needs to be a basin in the cloakroom wc. Normally the head of the run is vented direct to atmosphere. You could run the kitchen gulley across under the building to connect to one of the side IC's Ground floor showers connected to stacks can be a problem as the waste can hit the stack in the bend area if it's not properly planned. You could raise the tray and use a manifold or if against an outside wall pop the waste out to a gully as just two of several alternatives. Never have liked rodding eyes on stacks. By the time you know it's blocked the level could be well above that eye and opening it into your house isn't nice! With an external IC you should be able to rod right into that bend to clear it.

This is from Part B means of escape from flats. Escape from the ground storey 3.15 All habitable rooms (excluding kitchens) should have either of the following. a. An opening directly onto a hall leading to a final exit. b. An emergency escape window or door, as described in paragraph 3.6. (my bold) Your arrangement would comply without the door marked

I'd agree; what's the worst that can happen - someone turns up and says "you should have told us". If the pipe is a direct replacement for the size and is stronger then there's not a lot they can say....

Cars? By the time the planners have approved the schemes the powers that be will have us all cycling around our "15 minute" cities wearing hand knitted jumpers made on our own hand looms using wool from the sheep grazing on all the green spaces promised and shown on artist's impressions of all new developments. Cars will be for authorised users only on production of the appropriate permit. Oh hang on got confused....that last bit was soviet russia not green policy. Sorry.

Well to get to an appeal situation you will need either a refusal (which will at least crystalise the issue at dispute) or be beyond the determination date. I guess if the planners have clearly told you they will not let have what you want, then as soon as the date on your acknowledgement letter has passed go for a non-determination appeal. You could try the "well I'll go to appeal if you refuse this" approach but frankly they get paid every month whether you appeal or not so it rarely works. You could try getting your local councillor have the application referred to the planning committee (procedures for this vary between authorities) - odd decisions do get made there. However, all this takes time (and blood pressure!). Good luck.

Well you can't lose anything by trying !

Well I'd just prepare a simple layout drawing using the build out as my reference for the highway edge, use the 2.0m "X" distance ( Manual for the Streets para 7.7.7) then use the 25m "Y" distance and show that. Could you widen your drive so as to push the centre line away from the neighbour's hedge and thus improve the splay? Good luck - I'm arguing one where planning was refused on the basis that the vision splay of 56m wasn't shown in both directions as per guidance etc etc. The access is onto a one way street so I'm not sure why that's needed? Upon pointing this out Highways " are considering the matter" but another application will be needed!

Be aware appeals can be slow. There is a "standard" procedure to get through first where documents are exchanged between the parties. That runs to a set timescale of 8 weeks or so. Then comes the allocation to an individual Inspector. These Inspectors can come from well out of the area. I met one in deepest commuter Buckinghamshire who lived north of York and another in Essex who came from Nottingham. I suspect the Inspectorate wait until a number of appeals in an area makes it viable to allocate them to an Inspector who makes all the site visits across a couple of days. I'm helping someone with an appeal in north Essex that was ready for it's site inspection in February and it still hasn't been done. All I'm saying is an appeal may get you the decision you want but don't assume it's a quick process for bypassing an obstructive planner.................

I agree - you're going to struggle with Dri-Therm 32 or similar in a 100mm cavity - using lightweight aircrete blocks as the inner leaf you will still need a 35mm plasterboard/insulation laminate. There are many U value calculators on manufacturers websites. Try out other combinations but rigid in the cavity is usually the way now but I agree 10mm air space is a big ask.

I'd argue it's all about protecting the pipe from damage. A minimum depth of 600mm in fields is there to prevent farm machinery from affecting the drain. However, a drain laid under a garden path outside the back door of a house is much less likely to come to harm. So arguably Table 10 in Part H wouldn't apply to my second scenario. The 300mm figure for drains I think arises from Diagram 10 which shows the bedding arrangements. I would have thought that was perfectly acceptable in residential gardens with no car loading. As for freezing, well all the external gulleys would have their traps frozen before the drain becomes a problem and most foul sewers are quite warm from hot water, washing machines, dishwashers etc discharging into them. I've usually found upon lifting a cover, that drains smell of washing powder rather than what most people think they ought of......

Be aware that "openness" in the green belt for planners is not so much about long views but lack of "clutter". They tend to like buildings grouped together rather than spead out and "dotted" about. That'll explain their desire to see you keep the garage closer to the house. The open view for you and the "openness" for them will then be between the garage and the side boundary. I do like DevilDamo's idea though.....

Go on the website of your local sewerage provider - Thames Water, Anglian Water etc and head to the developer pages. There you will find information about building over or near sewers. "Build over" is a bit confusing as it's not just the pipe itself but the 3m zone either side. Most providers now do a "self certification" approach where as long as you meet all the criteria set out then you can proceed (subject to normal building control requirements for drainage) without a formal build over agreement. If your proposal doesn't qualify for self-certification then they'll expect to see plans of how the pipe relates to the proposal, depth of the pipe, foundation arrangements, etc etc. There's a fee involved and you'll have to wait for their approval.

B785 has 10mm bars 100mm apart and 8mm cross bars 200mm apart, so it looks like the SE expected the slab to span further in one direction than the other. I wouldn't swap it for an A mesh which has the same bar thickness set equidistant in both directions without checking with the SE first (albeit proving hard to do).

If this is new work then check out Part A of the Building Regulations. To fall into the simple guidance a wall should not be longer than 12m between buttressing walls and the enclosed space should not be more than 70m2. That is not to say your proposal will not be OK but it will be up to you to prove it is - usually via a structural engineer.

Ah but those cores will not tell me much more than the 25m x 1.8 and 5m x 1.8 "trial holes" illustrated when they were looking for King Alfred.....

Our plot is basically a bit of unused agricultural field. It's triangular in shape and probably got left over when the main rectangular body of the field was sold off. Over the years it became overgrown with a lot of self seeded trees and scrub. It slopes down to a drainage ditch. When the landowner applied for outline planning they cleared many of the small self seeded trees central to the plot leaving the more mature trees around the edge. It then took them a good 5 years to gain outline approval and we now have full planning. As the site is near the medieval village church we had to have an archaeological excavation done. Whilst they found no artifacts they did see a "buried top soil layer which may be remains of a medieval ridge and furrow surface". This lay about 900mm down. The strata below this level looked the same as that above (it's a moderate plasticity silty clay) So, there has been change in ground level - probably some attempt to terrace the ground and reduce the slope but it certainly isn't recent, given the tree cover that was cleared and from talking to locals. Now, in one corner the foundations will be influenced by a retained tree to the extent of making the foundations 1.4m deep but NHBC Chapter 4.2 says for existing trees that is measured from original ground level. Well, if that is the extant ground then it's 1.4m but if that's the medieval layer then it's 2.3m - a bit of a difference! Hence my query, at 1.4m I'd be some 300mm into the original sub-strata below the medieval soil but not technically 1.4m below it. Can a ground layer ever achieve the status of "original" for the purposes of Chapter 4.2 ?