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the_r_sole

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Everything posted by the_r_sole

  1. the_r_sole
    the elephant in the room is the VAT, with a conversion like this you're handing a fifth of the cost over to the tax man and inheriting a load of issues with the existing fabric - have you had it costed up as a new build compared to the conversion?
  2. the_r_sole
    Are you actually converting the bungalow? Or are you going to completely demolish it and rebuild it?
  3. the_r_sole
    I've had different requirements previously, one where we had to cross ventilate the solum (in a solid floor!) , tape all the joints with service penetrations etc, others where they've just put the membrane in, hence why we generally send the SI report to a specialist to make sure we are compliant with the BRE guidance (as that's a fun document which doesn't really tell you which protection you need!)
  4. the_r_sole
    We always get the specification from the membrane manufacturer
  5. the_r_sole
    I'm not sure if it's all over Scotland yet, there were some local authorities which were still accepting paper (at a higher cost) but I do a lot in Argyll and Bute and they want everything on the portal
  6. the_r_sole
    You can get planning on any bit of land you want without owning it, but you'd be best to have a formal option agreement to buy the plot for x amount on the grant of planning approval. The application has to be made online via eplanning so there's no "argyll and bute forms"
  7. the_r_sole
    I'm not suggesting building more or bigger, I spend most of my days trying to tell people to not over build but if you want to have a "minimal " look or feel you need to be clever about where the messy bits of living actually happen. The over hang is a good idea in principle bit sticking it on the most open end when you've got a t shaped plan doesn't seem like the best place for it - think of using the building to shelter it from the prevailing wind etc...
  8. the_r_sole
    5 acre plot? House seems very constrained, I'm not really sure what the t shape is giving you? It's always hard to comment on other folks plans when you don't have all the information to hand and haven't gone through the clients lifestyle etc but it seems like there's not much kitchen for the size of house and where do you take off muddy boots etc...
  9. the_r_sole
    In Scotland (no experience of England sorry) you can request a copy of building warrant drawings from all of the local authorities if you have an interest in the house - sometimes you have to get confirmation from the copyright holder that it's ok to get a copy - and they charge you for it (have had to do it a couple of times when selling properties with missing paperwork)
  10. the_r_sole
    You're a better man than me - I'm only about half the time in and have given up expecting anything from them - some are great, most are awful but generally it comes down to communication, if they tell you that they're struggling then I don't mind so much but just head in the sand grinds my gears!
  11. the_r_sole
    rough sawn vertical board on board - scottish larch but depends on what kind of look you want
  12. the_r_sole
    to be fair the lutron system looks sweet as a nut! Have done it a few times, but it really depends on what you want to use it all for, if you've got complex lighting set ups etc it is nice just to use lovely looking switches to control it, or if you've got a full run of floor to ceiling glass with blinds etc. I'm not convinced on how much people actually use it once it's in, just because you can do something, doesn't necessarily mean you should!
  13. the_r_sole
    It just looks like someone has looked at the plot and but something on to fill it, the master bed looks huge! there's windows front and back but it doesn't look like there's any way of light penetrating deeper into the plan, maybe post up the elevations too so it might make more sense
  14. the_r_sole
    There's no right time (or it's always the right time!) If you can get someone to do it now then do it, the market is very volatile at the moment so you might get a higher price, but if you wait hoping to see price decreases, they might never come - there are contract clauses which address price fluctuations which might be worth looking into
  15. the_r_sole
    Get the elevations posted!
  16. the_r_sole
    Planners have a complete get out phrase of "not in keeping" or similar which basically means if they don't like the look of it they will say that
  17. the_r_sole
    Don't overthink it - get the application into the system as soon as you can and then answer whatever queries they have - you'll get points back no matter what, 90% of the applications we do are before the engineer have issued their SER package anyway. Anything that isn't a hydrant needs comment from SFRS so whatever the approach is, the sooner the better!
  18. the_r_sole
    You can innovate, but you need to pick your hill to die on - yes there are alternatives for a tank however a tank is the easiest (and probably cheapest) route to compliance. We've complied with this regulation with all sorts of different methods, suds ponds can be good if need one anyway! I'd guess going by your comments that you havebn't dealt with a lot of building standards officers in Scotland!? ? Young forward thinkers are only a couple of applications away from being jaded!
  19. the_r_sole
    So that you can get permission to build and have water for the fire service if your house goes on fire! It's been a requirement for a long time
  20. the_r_sole
    We went low and got told to use 10,000 - Now I would just go straight with the 10,000. The stream would either be suitable or not, rather than a potential additional volume available
  21. the_r_sole
    Building control will want to see all the details as will sepa - the problem is that there's only a small number of things that SEPA are actually able to process at the moment due to their cyber attack! For a simple one it is usually that you have to show building standards all the design calcs and percolation tests etc and then you just need to fill out the paperwork for registration with SEPA using the warrant reference but no idea how it's working at the moment!
  22. the_r_sole
    They would do a quick assessment on it - I've had one stream before where they asked for flow rates to be measured etc (which was fine because we had to do it for flood risk anyway - but I think the pumping depends on what equipment they have locally. I've had this for a number of years with sites, realistically some of them would burn to the ground a long time before the fire service could get to it, but they don't like that argument! ?
  23. the_r_sole
    I dug around a bit - my 6000lts was incorrect, that's what we'd proposed to SFRS and this is what thier formal response was:
  24. the_r_sole
    Either you have a hydrant somewhere nearby or it was discussed with SFRS during the warrant stage - it's unavoidable in Scotland
  25. the_r_sole
    I think they used to ask for 10,000ltrs! most of the time the tanks are just sunk in the ground when you're doing your drainage - 6000ltrs and the valve spec came from Scottish Fire and Rescue as the minimum they would accept to satisfy the regulations - the idea is that the fire tender can plug into the supply once they've used all the water in the appliance, so they're not assuming that 1500 would extinguish a fire? You have to request consultation with them as part of the warrant process anyway, their timescales are anyones guess so making it easy for them is usually a good idea, they no longer deal direct with you too which means you're at the mercy of the local authority to pass information on...
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