Jilly

I had this too, with a first architect. 'Oh we can change that later' when I queried anything. Yes, we can, but first a 'variation of condition, at £250 and 8 weeks delay, and then probably still need a 'Non Material Amendment' NME, much cheaper, only about £30, but still a pain. Depends on the detail and circumstances.

It broke down last year as the head gasket is on the way out, so it hasn't had horses in it for 9 months, so any pee smell has gone completely (thank God!). I think I will dry brush rather than hose it though, due to the risk of resurrecting the ammonia smell. It's got quite a bit of rust on the cab but the body is not too bad.I don't want to drive anywhere but round our land so I'll soon it. I'm over the moon that it is 7foot high inside and so should take a big cupboard I don't want to get rid of!

Just solved the storage/planning/container/summerhouse/studio conundrum with an old wooden horsebox! I guess you lot might think I'm bonkers, but I'm hoping after it's done it's time as a storage facility, it will be a cool camper van

If you get a bad feeling, you are almost certainly right. Been there, done that, got the Tee shirt.

Or Freecycle?

I had a tenant leave a loo like this, it took a week to get rid of the unsavoury mixture of limescale and the brown stuff, but it can be done! I used two bottles of the extra power 100% limescale remover on 3-4 times daily. After about 4 days it started to loosen and I was able to chip it off. Ask your local vet for some rectal gloves, they go up to the armpit!

OK, I may be bonkers, but am just playing with ideas on how to save money and realised that the back flat roofed 'extension' on our rectangular stable conversion, is roughly the size of a regular and a small (i.e. 20' and a 10') shipping container, end to end. The area they would stand on is right next to trees and the stable has some movement and needs underpinning, so this 'extension' will need substantial foundations. However, shipping containers don't need foundations as such, do they??? I can see that the join between the building and the containers might move, but surely that's not insurmountable? Am I bonkers? They seem to do this kind of thing on Sarah Beeny and George Clarke? I've read that containers can be converted to building regs standard. Eyewatering figures for foundation piles have been bandied about by the structural surveyor. ..

Also, you could call the RSPB for advice.

Hi there, corvids are exceptionally intelligent, and may have initially been rewarded by pecking insects and are now finding this to be enormous fun! Apparently aluminium ammonium sulphate can be used as a bitter tasting deterrent. I assume they were initially drawn to the windows by their reflection, its very common for birds to get fixated around mating time as they become territorial, and this may have something to do with it. If this is part of it and you can stop the reflections for a while it may extinguish the behaviour. I know a bird behaviour expert on FB, so will ask there for more suggestions. Sorry, I know nothing about silicone....

You'll definitely need change of use from whatever category it to residential. It might not be straightforward, I think sometimes non viability of the business has to be shown, so it would be worth speaking to a planning officer (get the name) of the appropriate council (which you may have to pay for). I believe you might be liable for business rates (unless it's exempt?) until it changed, but I'm not certain. It might be worth engaging a planning consultant. Good luck

Your situation is a little similar to ours. Firstly go to the planning office and see what their view on a building a house on the plot of land you are intending. If it is within the scope of their policy and they say it is likely to be viewed positively, and listen closely to what will and won't be acceptable. Then suss out a budget, there's no point getting plans for a huge 4 bed, if you have no money, then find a architect or perhaps even look at 'wee houses' which are made off site and come with full building plans. Once you have full planning permission, then you can apply to the land registry to divide the title.

We are also hoping to build an extension in the future. As you don't yet have planning, it's worth going to talk to your local planners, to sound them out and see what the local policy is. You may or may n have to pay for the privilege. If you need the build to be £200k, don't forget you need a good contingency fund, and the cost of services can be eyewatering, look at previous threads.

The Americans do the the upstairs washing machine thing. I think its a great idea, along with having two dishwashers. It means a lot less loading and unloading. You just take stuff from one and when used put it into the other, using them like a cupboard. Fisher and Paykel do a drawer one which is the same width as a regular dishwasher.

Like everything, it's easy when you break it down. Get some tracing paper to overlay multiple design attempts. Get a good book on basic garden design and decide what look you want: informal is flowing and relaxed, much easier to design and manage, just a kind of snaky path to the bottom of the garden will often do. Formal tends is very geometric and suits regimented folk sometimes, but can be planted in a relaxed way. There can be a combination, and is dictated by the style of the house too. For simplicity, divide the space into the zones of what you wish to do: grass for the kids, hidden sunny space for washing, sunny and nearish to the house for veg (so you remember to water), nice place to sit, BBQ etc etc . Choose the barriers : decide on hedge (don't chose something too fast growing or you will be forever chopping it and trampling your flower beds) or fence (repair or replace before your start, as again it will be annoying to damage your planting). Decide views what you want to screen or pinch (if you overlook something nice beyond your boundary). Surprisingly, if you need privacy, it can be achieved by a pergola or some height near the house to screen at eye level, rather than a scary great Leylandii hedge which will rob light/moisture and annoy the neighbours. Put trees and shrubs in early to give structure, but if you are lax with watering, wait till autumn to plant so they don't die. Suss out the soil, (ask neighbours if you don't want to buy testing kit), note prevailing the wind to incorporate design shelter into the design for your selves and the plants, and note where the sun goes. By the time you have decided what colours you like and have sussed out the local conditions, there won't be a huge choice of plants, which actually simplifies things. Factor in the big shed thing you are bound to want under permitted development, decide how much space you want as patio. Decide on your budget.... Sorry, just noticed your fences are very smart and you said it was gravelly. There are a lot of gravelly garden designs you can look at, to adapt what you have.

I'm exploring this properly. We didn't get permission for this with the planning, so I guess I ought to do this. Is there a way round it by just plonking it there and saying it is for tea breaks etc? Any tips of how to acquire one, or would it be safer to buy some kind of actual mobile home so it could be moved?

I've just asked a structural surveyor for a quote on out stable conversion and he's come back with this Building survey and assessment of suitability for reuse £500 Ok.. Design of structural elements for reuse £1750 Ouch But does this seem average? Design of underground foul water drainage system £500 Design of sustainable surface water drainage system to comply with planning conditions £750 Is this average? Can I do it myself?

Just wow!

Wow, it looks great, how exciting. We do the same picnic /day dreaming thing!

Ok, fab, thanks

Hello. Welcome. We have quite a lot of glass on the plans we have had drawn up for our stable conversion. The chap who will do the BC drawing warned we have to check there is not too much or use uber triple glazed stuff. Can you guide me to where the info is on this, please? Thank you.

Thanks everyone. BTW it is a 1980's shed, black weatherboard, as everything new here has to be, not a beautiful 1890's Victorian stable block (I wish!) which I would have been keen to preserve.

We have full planning permission for conversion of a 1980's stable in a conservation area and a few of you (and others) have suggested that demolition and rebuild would be sensible. I went to see the planners yesterday and the duty officer told me that it was against the rural policy thingy in our area, but we could put in an application and make a case for it. Has anyone done this or got any pearls of wisdom, please? I checked that the bat lady is happy about demolition so it seems that we could argue for better eco credentials. The building also has subsidence so that would be easier to sort out. The VAT also seems more clearcut (but I can't say that!) Any more ideas folks?

How about calling the ecologist you used for clarification? We only have common pipistrelles and so have to hand remove the cladding but don't have to be monitored. We are now considering demolition and rebuild (and all this new info has scared me!) but the ecologist said it was ok, and we just have to put up the prescribed bat boxes etc.

Specific bat requirements come from the ecologist who has applied for the bat licence. Ours has recommended something on each elevation of the house, except the side with lots of trees, i.e. some elevated weatherboarding, and a couple of special tiles. No problem. Except the cost of being told this. And the fee for surveys to see if the critters have decided to use the boxes. Or not. I might have mentioned before, I'm a bit sore about the £3K...

I have to get an approved contractor to do it and as I understand it, it can't be done until the drive is done. I'm assuming it would be usual to do the drive proper after the build is finished? Unless I've misunderstood, and the council mean the 'drive' is just the bit over the ditch (its not very deep, but full of crud). The planning permission width is 3.5m at the house side (7m on the road side with vision splay). We should be ok for turning, as there is plenty of room and a good area of road scalpings, which was used for horses, and which I am considering as my new 'drive' area.