LaChab

Sorry for such a probably odd question, but I can't find the answer on the forum, and pictures I've seen don't seem very conclusive. Is the topsoil (organic matter) cleared before digging stepped trench fill foundations, or later, and just inside the trenches, after the concrete has been put in and dried. I'd like to know as it would seem to make a difference of at least an extra row of blocks if the topsoil is cleared first. Any guidance much appreciated.

Based solely on my very limited experience building "stick" outbuildings from 4x2 and 11mm OSB2, I find that if you've only got OSB on one side, then noggins will add noticeable stiffness to the structure, and reduce any tendency to twist. If you've got OSB on both sides, then it doesn't seem worth it (as long as there's sufficient fixings for the OSB) But I'm just a DIYer!

I was wondering if a few of these would work if they were fitted into the ceiling........ https://www.myson.co.uk/products/kickspace.htm Even with water at 40c, just one could probably contribute 1kw, enough for a whole well insulated house! And they're cheap enough to fit in each (downstairs) room. Run all day off nightime off-peak heat. There's a sophisticated variant, but it's a bit pricey. https://smithsep.co.uk/catalogue/caspian-universal-concealed-fan-convector/

@Kelvin Thanks for the prompting to review the cloakroom. I'm much happier with the new layout. I'm intending to have a glazed front door for light. I did originally have a glazed panel as you suggest, which I think looks really good, but once we'd added the large window at the top of the stairs it seemed unnecessary and a lot of money for not much benefit.

I really appreciate people's comments and suggestions. It's prompted me to make a small change to the ground floor layout. I hadn't realised that the cloakroom would have been a bit inaccessible from the living area, so I've moved it, which has also reduced the utility room (!), tidied up the TV room doors, and allowed room for a nice big hall cupboard. All good things I think! Forum ground floor.pdf

@ThorfunWe haven't! Just like the actual construction, we like to do as much as we can ourselves. Just do our best and enjoy the journey!

@Adsibob I do agree the utility is a bit odd, but your suggestion of an insulated workshop sounds good! It would be really useful while we're building. My cad skills are a bit limited, but I'll try adding fittings to all the rooms and see what it looks like. @Ferdinand I agree with your points, especially 2,3&4, as a bit of extra thought now would save lots of work later. Moving the garage out of the rear view would be great, but I don't think changing the wayleaf is very easy, and I need to keep access to the barn. Not too keen on the bungalow idea though! Thanks again for the suggestions,

@Bozza Thanks for the suggestion, we'll have a look.

@ProDave That's very true, and extremely annoying! We're ok with the house at the front, but would have liked the garage back a bit further to make the rear garden a bit longer. As you say, we'll have to go for lots of "agriculture"!

Hi, @BozzaThat's impressive investigation! We want to use ICfs, and do as much as possible ourselves, so we thought simplifying the shape would make it easier and cheaper. It also greatly simplifies the roof shape, which in turn gives more room for solar PV. We also think the simple rectangle, without plastic cladding, better matches the neighbours. The other specific change we made was to make the staircase a single straight flight, so upstairs should always be accessible. I do take your point about a downstairs shower though. We'll have a think! @ProDave That's the main selling feature of the plot. Really useful! Very much our barn, and I look forward to filling it! We own all the (very long) plot, but the planners refuse to increase the red area. which makes the garden a bit small, but have to compromise on plots really. Access is only shared with the electric company who have a wayleaf to maintain a small transformer on a pole. Splay has been approved for the existing plans, so not a problem. I assume the length is because the access is on a private lane with very little traffic. Thanks for the responses,

Hi, @BozzaThat's impressive investigation! We want to use ICfs, and do as much as possible ourselves, so we thought simplifying the shape would make it easier and cheaper. It also greatly simplifies the roof shape, which in turn gives more room for solar PV. We also think the simple rectangle, without plastic cladding, better matches the neighbours. The other specific change we made was to make the staircase a single straight flight, so upstairs should always be accessible. I do take your point about a downstairs shower though. We'll have a think! @ProDave That's the main selling feature of the plot. Really useful! Very much our barn, and I look forward to filling it! We own all the (very long) plot, but the planners refuse to increase the red area. which makes the garden a bit small, but have to compromise on plots really. Access is only shared with the electric company who have a wayleaf to maintain a small transformer on a pole. Splay has been approved for the existing plans, so not a problem. I assume the length is because the access is on a private lane with very little traffic. Thanks for the responses,

Ours is the empty bit in the middle of the photo. @Adsibob Sorry, my plan's not very clear, I just quickly added some rectangles into the kitchen mainly to see if there was room for an island. We're actually thinking of (about) 6 high units along the utility side of the kitchen, and then worktop along the window and TV walls. @Bozza Not much in the way of views I'm afraid, even when we deal with the front hedge. Haven't got any photos from in the plot, but I've attached an aerial view. The current permission is for about 180m, which seems a good sort of size, so we're keeping our changed application to that Just the two of us, and we've been retired since we built our current house in France about 15 years ago, so not expecting to move again after doing this one! @FuerteStu We've included a terrace on the application, but we didn't want to make the actual building any larger in case it caused problems. We're pretty anxious until we get our application approved. Once this is approved, we thought PD would work for a conservatory outside the lounge / utility and even a "boot room" outside the entrance hall, covering the Kitchen rear outside entrance door. Thanks everyone, suggestions much appreciated GLP-12 Photo - Neighbouring Houses.pdf

That's a good idea about the stairs. Was thinking closed. We've drawn them as 1m wide, so quite a bit of room, although I do like a generous cloakroom! I'll have a look at a section view and see how the headroom works out. Would prefer just one door into the TV room. Thanks

We hadn't thought too much about the other 2 bedrooms. We're intending to use Bedroom 3 as on office, and bed 2 will only be for overnight guests. Our reasoning was to prioritise bedroom 1. Bedroom 3's large enough I think for some cupboards, but agree that two is a bit compact. Thanks for the comments,

Hi, It is a bit uninspired! It's actually going to be part "services", and we thought having it full of storage and a long worktop would be really usefull. We've accumulated a lot of "stuff"! It also keeps the posi span down a bit. But basically we couldn't think of anything better! We're not keen on windows in bathrooms or the utility. Prefer the look of nice bright led lighting. You're right about the TV room, but we couldn't see how we could change that without moving the cloakroom, which didn't seem to fit any other way. There is the back door directly into the kitchen which we would use ourselves, and we don't get many visitors to the front door! Thanks for looking GLP-02 Site Layout.pdf