Jilly

The ventilation bricks look like perhaps a more modern brick than the rest of the stable, so it's possible they could have been retrofitted to allow air flow for the horses rather than the building. Just musing. I had the bituminous roofing felt cut in my stables to increase airflow as my horse had respiratory disease and I think the pit ponies were as prone as the miners to this type of illness. Cross venting to the opposite wall would have worked better, so it doesn't quite make sense. Maybe ask BC can clarify or maybe you have planning restrictions on the external appearance?

Wow, well done, she's lucky to have you as PM. The BC regs have changed a lot since then, but you'll be fine.

Why not put a second door in the bedroom into the lounge so you (and air) can freely move through the house? Im sure there must be a door through the hall, but I can't make it out. It would probably be closed when you have guests, but I would be walking between these rooms a lot and it looks a pain to walk all the way round (unless I ve misinterpreted the drawings.

I've got some door frame protectors you can have, ahem, I over ordered slightly. PM me if interested.

Not answering your question, but in the genre of daft things we do for animals, I've had a hot water tap put outside for dog washing.

Bad luck.

Nothing. Surprises. Me. I don't know how people just leave their builder to it. I've seen drawings held upside down, walls started in the wrong place, windows wrongly measured, all sorts. It's a very steep learning curve, I stay around and discuss everything without trying to be difficult, but I've had to learn how to keep everybody calm so they can work well. I've finally found a small builder who accepts this (and my little quirks like 'no dust in the house please whenever possible, cos I've got asthma') and we work well together and he's happy for me to share my research without his masculinity being threatened. I'll be good for the next one😂

If you get the insulation right, it won't matter terribly what you use as it should be cheap to run. I swung between ASHP and LPG too and in the end decided on LPG on up front costs for the time being. It's working out OK so far. It's using very little for summer hot water and we have a lot of solar gain, so the shoulder months have been just right with no heating at all. It will use more in winter obviously.

No quite what you want to hear, but how about painting the whole house... But not blue, but a nice off white to blend with other properties. It wouldn't really matter then if you painted the brick the same or not. But I would do it in the house colour not the blue, I think it might make the house look bigger. Or perhaps even compromise and just leave 2-3 courses unpainted so splashing doesn't show?

Don't forget to check the Vat situation.

What a lovely old barn. I did a conversion and found it very difficult to get quotes because of the uncertainties. Have you had structural engineer's report as the condition of the foundations will markedly affect costs? The first SE I had, advocated underpinning, a second opinion deemed the foundations adequate. About £15-30k difference (the price of underpinning varied this much), but this was a much smaller building than yours.

Did you have a Suds planning condition?

Welcome. Spending a lot of money on houses messes with your head. Old houses often have cracks, so don't panic, it's stood there all these years. I would personally prefer to have a structural engineers opinion as you are likely to get one anyway for a mortgage? Ask him to bring a ladder. Or a roofer or builder might also have a good look for you more cheaply/or even free if quoting for the work? One financial solution is to reduce your offer depending what the SE says. Re other causes of cracking, they seem less quick to advocate underpinning these days. You might have to keep the seller's insurance if there has been some structural movement. If the cracks are caused by water ingress behind the facade the downstairs flat owner might have helpful knowledge. I got a little endoscope very cheaply off Amazon, probably not long enough for this, but good for looking behind stuff.

My plumber advised against a decoupling membrane as it can reduce the efficiency of the floor. This does make sense, so we waited til we were very sure it was dry before laying and indeed it does warm up quite quickly on a low heat. People often use these mats to avoid cracking as no one wants to take the risk. Do plenty of research and see how you feel about the pros and cons. Also don't be tempted to turn the floor up to dry it quickly as that will crack it.

Look around at different plastic crates, the thinner ones crack after a year or too, but my thick sturdy (and more expensive ones) are still going strong, if you'll excuse the pun.

Are you going Full Plans or on a Buildi g Notice?

Just spoken to BC and they have confirmed a Landlord's Safety Cert will do. Phew!

The Land Registry is unbelievably slow at the moment. Use a solicitor experienced in land conveyancing who will advise you re Covenants etc

Have just spoken to BC, they haven't come across this before, there isn't a clear path to retrospective certification as Dr Google had told me, and as there is for electrical certification. Apparently the Landlord's Safety cert doesn't quite cut it either. Watch this space.... So Pro Dave, did you get a LSC because he didn't have a pad of commissioning certs?

Ha! On reading round some more, it turns out I should have notified BC before if using a non certified installer and paid a fee, so with a bit of luck they'll let me do it retrospectively.

FFS. Stress texting going on now. Plumber 3 is out of the country til October and says he won't phone Gas safe til then! He is blaming plumber 1 for installing without certs. I agree it was stupid, but think plumber 2 should not have signed off without the certs. Plumber 3 doesn't want me to throw his son, plumber 2 under the bus, and wants me to throw plumber 1 under. Plumber 3 wants me to wait til October! That's ridiculous as it's making occupancy illegal. It seems to me plumber 4 was correct no one else can sign this off?? Any one got any suggestions not involving buses on how to get my certificate? Can I just get someone else to do an LPG after cert or is the commissioning bit vital?

Why did you change career?

Yes, I have paid for this. They won't charge me, it's very frustrating.

Bear with me: (!) Plumber 1 recommended LPG and a Worcester boiler. He installed it but didn't have the LPG cert, a friend, plumber 2, commissioned it. so far so good (although one can forsee problems of accountability already...) After a month no certificate appeared so I called Worcester to see if it had been registered. I ended up registering it and hence inadvertently losing my 10 year guarantee for an 8 year one and also discovering that the installer didn't have a valid LPG certificate... Meanwhile the regulator fails and plumber 1 replaces it. After a week of thinking I have a dead badger in the hedge, I realise there is a gas leak and get an LPG registered person, plumber 4, to check everything (turns out to be poorly connected cylinder). He is a college lecturer, seems to know his stuff and can't/won't commission it again for me. Back to plumbers 1 and 2. 2 is AWOL. Plumber 1 not very bothered, but puts me onto plumber 3 who is the father of plumber 2, they work together. Plumber 3, who is LPG registered, eventually shows up, checks everything again and commissions the boiler again (but didn't leave another certificate). Promises to put everything right and call Worcester again and I will receive my paperwork. He seemed very nervous in hindsight. Wait for the certificate. You guessed, no certificate, not registered with Gas safe as far as I can tell from the online website and Building Control have not received anything. Plumber 3 is on holiday again, promising to put it right on his return. What on earth am I to think?! I can see its all kinds of wrong and probably illegal. I just want the darned certificate! How can it be legally and correctly put right? I need to be armed with the correct facts...

Usually the required studies are all done and dusted before planning permission is granted, or they make up part of the Planning Conditions on your Decision Notice, so it's usually clear what you have to do (Apart from learning the lingo for each specification), so something doesn't quite make sense. Look very closely at your planning conditions and post on here. Confusingly, some have to be 'discharged' some don't, it's not always clear which is which. Within each parameter, each local authority is slightly different. I got stressed with my first architect but it was partly because I was so new to it all and not well. In reality, she was very good.