DC5

Thanks for the input, I have updated the post with the drawings added thus far, any feedback appreciated! I have removed the details section on the base of the plans for now just in case anything comes of the issue we have / are having!

Hi Folks, apologies not been on for a while as we have been saving to have an extension built so not been doing much building! We implemented a structural engineer / architects company to carry out plans / building warrants for a loft conversion to an old cottage about 5 years ago. The job went smoothly and we were very happy as the advice we received was very good and several critical areas which I feel could have been missed by some people were attended to, the conversion is now almost complete and all was well. Between last year & late 2018 we decided to apply for planning permission for an extension which we got via said previous company and then within the last 6 months requested warrant drawings and also a drawing for a retaining wall in the back garden to accommodate said extension. We received near complete warrant drawings in July but when we submitted them to our builder for him to cast an eye over prior to council submission, he said measurements were missing as was the retaining wall drawing. We chased said company from August to December with continual time wasting and delaying tactics until we heard nothing from him at all, we then heard on the grapevine the company had ceased to operate. This is a real pain because not only does it leave us a bit out of pocket, we have lost our preferred build window and probably our preferred builder for this year as he has had to commit to other jobs! It looks about 80 / 90% done, does anyone know the best way forward or have any recommendations of someone who could finish the drawings (if that is possible) and provide spec / drawing for a retaining wall. We are based near Stirling! Any help much appreciated. If anyone is able to have a look at the drawings and see what they think of they that would also be appreciated! 479-02-03.pdf 479-02-04.pdf 479-02-05.pdf 479-02-01.pdf 479-02-02 (3).pdf

Hi all, we live in a rural area / valley in northern central Scotland. We are a small hamlet of a few houses with no street lights and very minimal exterior lights. Within the last 6 - 9 months a development of 3 houses has sprung up across the valley poss 1 mile as the crow flies. By day it looks ok and is relatively in keeping with the area however by night it looks like a Christmas tree! There are several large bright flood lights and many up / down lights it looks ridiculous and significantly spoils our view at dusk and is an annoyance in darkness. All the lighting is cold in temperature and bright spot type. I suspect there is very little we can do but it severely detracts from our previous view!

Don't panic! The area needs cleared a lot the top is very heavy going so it will get the top 300mm taken of over a fairly big area, after that its pretty easy going by hand as its good soil!

The house sits lower than the field the pipe runs through, the 4m I am just going by where the services map and where landowner thinks it runs. I also have my suspicions that the plastic pipe doesn't run straight. Have added a pic of the ground, above in the op.

thanks that depth is probably more accurate! We have black plastic pipe coming into the house and have traced that about 3m toward said pipe but can't go any further without a digger now due the area needing cleared a bit!!

Hi folks, as our refurb progresses we are looking to build an extension this year hopefully. We have a private water supply pipe approx 1 mile long passing 4m from the gable of our house approx 1.5/2m deep, it supplies us via a toby (which we have never been able to find) and about 8 houses downstream! The pipe is owned by the local estate and I am unsure of the bore, there was some mention of it being concrete asbestos in nature however I am unsure if this is correct. I just wondered what the general route here is, if it can be left in situ it would be directly under the extension which I have no real issue, however rerouting looks like a major pita. We are very rural and field all around so finding a new route isn't an issue. Just wondering if anyone has any input or experience in this and what what happen and costs involved?

Hi Folks, Some input appreciated on the following! In our loft conversion our architect has most recently specified in agreement with BC - 150mm insulation between the 160mm deep rafters (externally sarking, high performance breathable membrane and slate) 25mm on top of the rafters to stop cold bridging etc (then plasterboard to finish). Originally we had planned 100mm between the rafters with PIR but Building control wanted a roof vent top and bottom on every!!! rafter bay for the 60mm void (which externally would have looked ridiculous) but it was because we have no eaves space for top to bottom and bay to bay air flow (very old house the rafters terminate in the wall head). Because of this we have gone for the route at the start, this also means we only need the 25mm insulation on top of the rafters mentioned which increases ceiling height internally. So what I'm not sure about is the architect and BC officer have agreed on the 10mm void behind the insulation with a highly breathable membrane over the sarking externally (under slate). What are peoples thoughts on this my feeling is that there should be no void in this application compared to say a 50mm void behind insulation board where vents are present (I have spoken to the kingspan technical team and they said it was fine but for some reason I wasn't totally convinced! Is there benefit to the 10mm gap? I was also surprised to see on a Kingspan Kooltherm that it has small pin holes compared to none on normal PIR does this mean that vapour can pass through it? Finally how does xtratherm safe-r phenolic compare to kingspan kooltherm? In general thoughts or musings appreciated!

Thanks for the input. That plan is just a rough but is of the current house layout as it stands, it is cottage proportions so its tight but it works. The stairs aren't in yet but the rest is done. One issue is the fact these were originally 2 tiny cottage so there is a large wall between the two making layout even more restricted. Where it says lounge this is actually the dining room space of the kitchen so through flow won't be an issue - the wall / partition in red is now down. Going to the back isn't an option we want to peruse (we have considered it) because of the slope it would involve a huge amount of excavation and we couldn't find a design that actually improved flow whilst increasing usable space. The walls are approx 2/3ft thick rubble construction so supporting them with rsj's over any distance of more than 1m is almost impossible without compromising them higher up and serious disturbance - it has been tried! The company that quoted came from us getting a quote for a conservatory that then grew arms and legs we realised quickly that wasn't the right route and that they weren't up to building an extension. Yes the extension roof pitch angle shown is far from ideal and it could be improved. However the aspect shown in the render is not normally in main view as the main access road and access to the house is from the opposite side with just fields in the other direction. Therefore I would rather not limit floor space based on this aesthetic, however I am open to suggestions - we only have a 5.6m contained width to work with!

Thanks outside Stirling heading North

Hi thanks, Sorry I do actually mean gable ended (have edited above) - should have read back through what I wrote. We want to benefit from the amazing view (which we barely see just now) by glazing the gable. Yes you are totally right the long thin style is very difficult and we loose a lot off the bedrooms as a result to hallway but going to the front would be problematic due to the ground and planning and to the rear there is a big height differential so to the side is the best option. We have no living space currently (currently have a sofa in the kitchen diner) and we have been converting the loft as such however as we now have children we feel this won't be enough and want a ground level room that flows outside better that the house does at the moment. We had a quote and a mock up done last year and were quoted £80k by a bigger company, internal size approx 4.5m x 8m (we'd like to go a bit longer if possible) they were planning to use block work but without ground works costed in, not sure why. From my own research groundworks would be probably anywhere from £5-10k++ depending who we use. Said quoting company specialise in Scotland in conservatories and now do solid roofs, I think this project although not beyond them was maybe a little bit too far from the mainstream and I felt the cost was pretty high. The basic style isn't too bad but not sure what any feedback is, I feel our only real route is cladding or render because the stone could never be tied in too look good due to the original stones nature. I want the ceiling to be vaulted / open and would like possibly depending on height have a small mezzanine for the children to play on and to create a nook within the room. Finally I'm not sure what it is called but would like a verana / overhang of the roof at the gable end as we get a lot of rain year round and when its vertical! it would be nice to still be able to open the doors and or sit outside. I have attached a rough plan 18thdec pdf below & and a mock up. Any thoughts much appreciated! FYI current gable height to ridge from ground is 6m and front to back is 5.6m wide dec18edit.pdf

Ah well done, it can't believe how long ours has taken I think we hit an obstacle at every stage! We had hoped to build but ultimately it was finding a plot in Stirlingshire that was in a good location non flood plain and within budget that prevented us. We have done some renovating in the past but nothing preparred us for this task, I would certainly think twice in the future and would go down the build route. The biggest problem has been fixing either poor workmanship or semi-temporary repairs! Overall I have been very disappointed by the quality of tradesmen locally to where we are either over pricing and not delivering or being difficult to tie down to a date! Our first roofer did a runner on us and we almost lost a very large deposit the second roofer (Thistle in Falkirk) was excellent!

Thanks we are 3 years! in but doing most myself with held from our fathers and we’ve had 2 children in the process so it’s slow going! The roof was surveyed as excellent so we didn’t expect to do it nor the chimney and that sadly killed a huge amount of the budget and slowed it all down! We we are only the 2nd owner and it was rented for a very long time so a lot of rectification work needs done. Yes I think I recognise your avatar I was on ebuild toward the end!

Hi folks, as you may have seen in my intro we are currently renovating an old 1850s cottage! this year we want to get an extension moving and this is the early stages. We are not listed nor conservation areas, a initial chat with the local planning officers has not thrown up any issues that could be major stumbling blocks so I want to progress things. The extension will be to the side of the house off the gable end and will be gable rather than flat roof with the ridge sitting lower than the existing (I think that’s a requirement but would rather it was anyway). Style I not sure on but size is max width of existing house 5m by at least 8m ideally longer house is strangely high but very narrow! Glazed fully on the gable of the extension and some narrow full length windows on one side. Roof will probably be slate but I am interested in a folded seam type sheet metal but not sure how this would last in our very exposed aspect! Finally a reasonable retaining wall will be needed (at least 1m high on one side). 1. My first issue is whether to go timber or block work any thoughts appreciated 2. I know the extension will possibly sit over a private water pipe and our utility main waste pipe I have no idea how this will affect things!

Hello all, I am currently renovating / building / rebuilding an 1850’s cottage. Converting part of the loft and a lot of maintenance work after years of neglect. so far it has been reroofed (not by me!) and had the chimney rebuilt. Tearing up floors and down walls all messy stuff and the large garden is a riot too!