janelondon

Hi, does anyone have recs for a QS in the Cheltenham/Gloucestershire area? Please PM me. Thank you!

Wow, this is great. Thanks everyone for the insights. Now off to do some more research.

Finally about to start our build, and we have a ton of trees to clear. A first quote we got from a local tree surgeon included £6k (!!!) for a 9tn digger + grab hire. Looking to purchase a secondhand digger as our build is fairly large and no doubt it'll save us quite a bit £££. While we'll occasionally operate the digger, most of it will be done by local tradesmen we hire. Anything to note about insurance/liability? Also, what size digger should we get - or do you wish you had bought? We have ample space at the site, and want a balance of cost vs efficiency vs eventual resale value. Thanks!

Hi @Ferdinand, no that's not us! ? We're in Gloucestershire! No vicarage near us. Just a copycat/pattern book house from a not-so-famous architect! Thank you anyway!

Thanks - planning to claim for professional fees, mortgage interest, insurance, and mileage so far. I think I can make a reasonable argument for these. Was hoping for case law to bolster the claim but understandably these are hard to find. The increase in cost estimates is another one to consider. Thanks for the helpful suggestions! Edit: This book has helpful examples of what is considered "directly attributable", in the context of stop notices.

Hi all, Haven't been here in a long time (around 6 months!)... we basically had a 6-month period of sitting on our hands :/ Long story short - our local council served us a Building Preservation Notice after we submitted our planning application. They thought the property was built by a famous local architect from the early 1900s (it wasn't); also, having never been inside, they weren't aware of the extensive alterations that have occurred since it was built, thus rendering most of the house unoriginal. 6 months later, Historic England's decision is NOT to list the property (whew!) and have issued a condemning report of the historical/architectural interest of the existing property--much to our delight, since we are planning a demolish and rebuild! Under s29, we're "entitled to be paid compensation by the local planning authority in respect of any loss or damage directly attributable to the effect of the notice." Request: Has anyone come across case law/precedents describing what is or isn't eligible for compensation? Many thanks!

Thank you @JSHarris - I remember reading your blog/forum posts about this and that's what made me immediately question this Openreach guy. I have a strong feeling that they are resisting due to the cost - there are 11 poles on our land.

Thank you... that's what I thought!!! As I understand it all of Virgin's telephone cables are underground. Dealing with one of Openreachs' paralegals who is basically giving me the 'computer says no' response. Trying to play nice for now as I would like them to do the works at their cost or at minimal cost to me.

I've got some overhead telephone poles on my land - some are covered by a wayleave but the majority are not. I have served notice to terminate the wayleave, and have also requested removal of poles that have no wayleave. The poles are not close to the house, but will be in an area where we hope to do some landscaping. Openreach has responded asking to enter into a new agreement, but I would ideally like the poles to be buried. Openreach has comeback saying that laying them underground is not possible. When queried, they said... "The ‘nature’ of the apparatus is that it used to provide telephone services, which are always above ground due to the way service needs to be distributed to properties, had it been internet related this may have been possible." Is this true or are they just talking nonsense?

Have you tried Trello? I find it very effective once you get a hang of all the tips/tricks as you can customise to your preference - create tasks ("lists"), sub-tasks ("cards"), checklists, tags, colour codes, due dates, etc. Available on both web and mobile app.

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Hi @reddal - would you mind PM-ing me the details? May need some rendered photos for our planning application. thanks!

Fair point @Roundtuitbut our main build won't be starting until end of this year. We won't be doing all the work ourselves but will be sourcing materials. We live 100 miles from the site so the hut will actually be for us to stay in each time we are on site to save on hotel costs. Thought it's also a good opportunity to get to grips with a mini build. ?

I'm using a Reolink Go with a sim card and solar panel attachment to keep it powered. So far so good in terms of battery life as it's almost always at 100% given the recent sunshine. Nothing fancy but does the job - can view it on my phone, sends push alerts whenever motion is detected (usually deer!) and automatically starts recording. Night viewing is decent too. Got it off ebay.

Yes - def planning for a woodburner. Thanks for that link @joe90! What size hut are you going for and how are you planning to build? I'm most likely ordering the chassis from a local steel fabricator and getting timber from a local merchant to stick-build. Apart from condensation, another concern (valid?) is noise on the tin roof when raining. I researched a lot into the usual £££ hut makers (Plankbridge, Blackdown etc.) to look at their construction and also asked them about noise and they've said it's not a factor... I'm thinking of putting a bit more insulation into the roof to counter that.

Hoping to keep the hut at the end of the build as it would sit nicely in the meadows (subject to PP). We've looked into the off-the-rack huts and they can be very nice and comfy! But fancy the challenge of piecing it together ourselves... Famous last words.

Hi all, looking for some advice on insulation for the walls, roof & ceiling for our shepherd's hut side project that we're doing alongside the main build. The aim is to create a well-insulated and comfortable hut to live in while the build's going on. It's a small manageable size (probably 6m x 2.4m) and I'm aiming to do this cost-efficiently by sourcing parts separately from eBay etc. What sort of timber frame make-up / insulation detail should I go for? Current thinking for the walls (external to internal)... - Wriggly tin exterior - Breather membrane - 9mm OSB? - Timber stud with 90mm frametherm insulation - VCL - 35mm service cavity batten - Plasterboard wall Does this make sense? Is it overkill? Can I replicate this for the curved ceiling & floor? Thank you.

This is very impressive! What insulation have you got in your cabin?

Definitely haven't ruled that out, but would like to do further research and consider all options!

Does anyone have experience designing a district heating system with ASHP or GSHP? We will have a few different buildings on our site and I'm considering ASHP to supply heat to each individually via a network of insulated pipes. Not a fan of pellet/biomass as I would like a "fit it and forget it" system. Most examples I've seen are for GSHP, and the non-domestic RHI payment is also higher for GHSP vs ASHP (9.36p vs 2.75p). However, broadly speaking I have a preference for ASHP due to the lower installation cost and maintenance. Still in the process of modelling all our heating requirements to estimate likely costs and RHI payments. The RHI will drive considerations but will be balanced against the practical needs. I had a brief conversation with a building services engineer who said his experience with district heating has been disappointing - "expensive and higher heat loss and energy costs than expected". His recommendation as a variant of district heating is to distribute borehole water to local heat pumps. I'd appreciate if anyone could point me in the direction of any issues, problems, things to watch out for... Recommendations for a sensibly-priced M&E engineer also appreciated!

Yup already done. There is a handful around us. Fingers crossed!

In case anyone's interested, just got a quote from them and it's now £425 + VAT.

Thank you! Stay tuned for lots of borehole-related questions... @gc100 How are you getting on with your decision?

Would you mind PM-ing me your contact for the hydro survey? Thanks @JSHarris

Compared to cupboards and shelves. Difficult to reach for that plate when it's right at the back!