Jilly

Thank you. I haven't chosen anything, I'm just trying to get a feel for things. Would I need it to be designed by an SE or are such things available? A structural engineer visited about something else and thought we need piles, which obviously is a massive deal and would cost as much as the structure, so I'm keen to explore every avenue to avoid that and get more opinions

I was thinking of something good, if I can get it through planning.

I have a redundant riding arena (20m x 40m) and would like to put a mobile, caravan compliant, granny annexe on it. The ground beneath is clay with hedging at the sides. The build up is: 150mm carboniferous limestone topped with about 50mm silica sand layer and shredded rubber. It's never moved at all, drains completely (into a pond) , has had horses, vehicles, huge lorries driven on it, and a shipping container is sited there. My question is, is this likely to be sufficient foundation for a mobile home? My instinct is that it is, but how can I test/prove this?

The Period Property website might help, and Chris at Back to Earth

Happy Christmas!

Gorgeous. You are very lucky to have got the house of your dreams.

Congratulations! At least you know about the stress… My observation might be that it’s easier to live on site (rent can gobble up a budget with unforeseen delays). It could be a risky strategy to sell your house part way thru a build, because the subsidence claim might slow things down a lot. You have to accept roughing it tho’. Have you considered a renovation of a bungalow or similar?

DevonKim on the comment above.

Me too. Lots of site clearing to do. Sorry about your mum, ST.

Interesting. Self builders usually get the automatic right to this. My architect didn't put into the planning permission, as is common, but I chatted to an uncharacteristically friendly planning officer and she told me that as it was normally allowed, to just to let enforcement know and get on with it. It looks good for site security, so even a tourer for your site office is an idea. Is it a planning condition because there are several sites and they don't want the place littered with caravans?

Welcome! Glad to have a bit more girl power. It will give you some sleepless nights and push you more than you thought possible, and yes there will be issues, plenty of them. It’s great to post challenges on here and discuss things with people who know or have been through the same, rather than a bemused partner. Keep on to every little thing, because they get out of control quickly. You have to make a lot of decisions with the best info to hand. You can save shed loads by living on site, and remove the time pressure as rent can blow the budget with an unexpected delay. Always protect the downsides.

No offence, but I’m not sure the aesthetics of the dormers will pass muster.

What an interesting job, Gus. Your description there reminded me of Jenga. My mantra is ‘take the emergency out of the situation’ . Bleeding for example, just press, hard, if you have to, while you think about what to do. Person/animal can bleed out while you stand there watching. A lot of people unexpectedly freeze. I was once reversing my little lorry and got caught under the corner of the garage roof and lifted it slightly. I realised and stopped, but couldn’t go back or forward. HWMNBO was so incandescent with rage, he couldn’t think, so he just watched as I let tyres down on one side and weighted it with a couple of bales.

Have you considered clay plaster instead, as it is supposed to be breathable and buffer humidity like lime? Also more expensive than gypsum, but without the risk of alkali burns, which I assume is what puts plasters off, as they do get quite splattered.

I like this game. It's got to start off with a First Aid kit.

Glad it’s all ok. It must be really difficult for you on your own, it’s very frustrating not knowing how stuff has been done. Hope you husband improves soon.

Hi, people tend not to read through long posts, it puts them off as it involves a lot of cross referencing and cut and pasting. You’d be better off breaking it down to the first most important conceptual question, to check your understanding and build it from there and you’ll get to know the posters and their interests and specialisms. For starters try to get more insulation under the screed.

Do you need to be careful where you dig if you need an archeological survey? For the record, my first builder charged £400 to dig the trial pits (three holes through an old slab). It couldn't have been specified as it was exploratory.

I’m just at this point with a flat cold roof. We’ve got 150mm PIR between the joists, 40mm overboard then the plasterboard. What would you recommend, and more importantly, how exactly should I ask the builder to do it, please 😊? I was thinking very thin profile downlighters. The room will be dark as near trees. We have wires dangling through single holes atm. He has use Al tape on the joins of the 40mm layer We could pull it all out if you think it’s a really bad idea…

You need an ultra sound machine of some sort. The interface and structure of different materials is visualised by piezo electric echolocation. The technology was first applied to check the structural integrity of ships’ hulls, so there must be something out there. There are cheap medical ones on eBay but might not work for this application.

If it is a small roof, could you design a surface SUDs system in your garden, utilising linked water butts, and raised rain gardens and the like to attenuate storm water?

You are right to be a bit cautious of unknown stinky stuff. Bird poop can carry salmonella and all sorts. Get some veterinary rectal gloves, a box of disposable up to the shoulder gauntlets. Wear a couple as they can split under pressure.

What did your architect draw? I altered our driveway design slightly (Conservation Area, planning condition) from bonded gravel to gravel and some setts and pavers, by adapting the architects drawing and then tracing it by hand onto watercolour paper, which is textured and has heft. I then annotated and drew the lines in a nice thin black Sharpie and coloured it in vaguely with a kids cheap watercolour paint set, with lots of shaded green, and the gravel slightly brown. I also mentioned native hedging blending with local landscape, and got amenity and biodiversity in there too. I didn’t show obvious flower beds. Not sure what my architect would have charged, but it cost about £10 to do. My point is, I made it look arty, like I cared (which I do). BTW it’s worth submitting your planning conditions together as much as possible, as you only pay per submission, not per condition. And sometimes it turns out you don’t even need to discharge them at all, but you might have to ask/wait to see if you get dobbed in. Strictness possibly varies between councils.

I know that feeling. It depends on your capacity for stress, the amounts involved and your financial situation. If it's not a very big deal, I've tended to just sort things out and have no further dealings with the company. If it is really bad or there are other indirect implications in their work, you might want to go the legal route, but it's not for the faint hearted. Can you post pictures and explain the problem? There are very experienced people on here who would guide you to the best course of action. I've learnt about housebuilding in a back to front way, by looking at stuff and thinking 'That doesn't look right', and then gone off to research on here to confirm or allay my fears.

I think you get 3 months but not certain exactly what triggers it if you start living there before completion.