Mr Punter

Sometimes you have to as HMRC. We recently bought a freehold comprising launderette, 1 bed flat and 4 bed HMO. We asked for multi dwelling relief. We have completed and HMRC have not got back to us one way or the other. Makes £7,330 difference, so I hope we get this back.

Yes I think you are right. I spoke to another distributor who said they have a fair amount of leeway with pricing and were happy to quote against others. They also do windows by other manufacturers who are not part of the DOVISA UK / VKR / VELUX group.

Are they just supported at the base on those brackets? I assume you are doing EWI and cladding / render?

I will shortly be doing just that, when the window schedule is finalised. Was your quote from Mole Valley Windows?

Result. By the time we get to Xmas day you can spend the whole time in your Speedos!

@Jason L Fine if you cover what you have built with some wide DPC weighed down with some blocks.

We had a newly completed property flood a couple of years ago from a loose pipe on the first floor. Overnight the water poured through the ceilings. In the morning when I got to site it was like a rainforest down there. The ceilings remained intact so we swept out the water, cranked up the heating, got 2 x industrial heaters and 2 x industrial dehumidifiers. The place was bone dry in 2 weeks. We must have got it up over 30 centigrade.

As it stands that plot would be over half a million round here.

I have found that pendants can work well with a sloped ceiling. You can adjust the cord length to suit. Some have special cords, ceiling roses etc. You need to plan carefully where to fit them. Have a look at John Lewis for ideas.

I am keen on lights that do not puncture the ceiling other than the wire. I love the idea of LEDs that last 100 million years but in my experience they often fail within 2 years and they are not repairable and often not replaceable.

It is not a ridiculous fee, but if you would like to save on this you could get some quotes from an architectural technician. Can MBC give you any leads?

Again, is there any point for this exercise, as they will need to have a heating system sized sufficiently to heat when there is no solar gain?

If the rooms are both heated there probably won't be much in it.

Because the ASHP work best with low temperature you may want to look at underfloor heating on the ground floor, with lots of insulation. Agree to over-sizing the upstairs rads. Yes, the heat losses are the fabric losses plus ventilation losses.

Good to catch up on what Rollo is up to @ToughButterCup!

The base of the timber is almost in contact with the cold foundation, so warm moist air may condense on this. Could you use an insulated starter like Perinsul or Marmox Thermoblock at the base? Also, you will need at least 100mm of floor insulation.

They will be OK to quote with the planning drawings. Best in PDF or DWG format. Whoever you chose may point you to someone for Building Regs.

I am pretty sketchy with plumbing so hopefully an all-knowing type will comment with a proper solution. I will be interested to see. With the top one you may need an AAV on top of the soil manifold. Is it possible to take the bath / basin pipe out through the wall and connect it to the SVP? The bath / basin run from looks quite long.

In my experience, people get objection fatigue, so if you are refused or apply for a modified scheme, the numbers of objections tend to dwindle. On a recent site there were 3 applications within 6 months, all approved. The first was from the previous owner and got 8 objections, then one from us got 12 objections, a second from us got 1 objection.

If the house is sealed up, run a dehumidifier and a couple of oil filled electric radiators to get everything up to 18 degrees. It should heat up in a day or so and retain the heat just fine. You should not then have any further condensation issues.

Could it be dripping down from the walk on glass?

Have you and your neighbours spoken to your councillor(s)? They often have the power to "call up" applications to be heard by the planning committee.

I have built on land covered by a covenant to prevent development. I just obtained insurance cover from the seller. Whole estates are frequently covered by covenants. They are not always enforced or enforceable.

Covenants have nothing to do with planning consent.

Who is they? Are you based in Watergate?