Bozza
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Bozza last won the day on October 26 2023
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Aberdeenshire AB32
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See his previous posts.
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I think what goes in your favour is that as soon as you realised / suspected it didn’t fall under PD you stopped immediately and presumably fessed up to the planners and have now put in an application. At the other end of the scale are people who deliberately ignore planning laws like that farmer who built a house without PP and hid it behind hay bails. Or Capt Toms dodgy family spa. Though planners follow rules etc like anyone in a decision making position it’s difficult not to be influenced by human factors and perception. The risk could be at this stage is if you you utilise a consultant you may be perceived as someone who knew the proposed build was questionable/ borderline from the outset and as such it wasn’t and innocent mistake. Which is why you didn’t apply for PP. They may think you’re at it and a consultant told you “no chance” so you went ahead anyway until “caught out”. If it were me I’d just let the planner make their decision, if your PP application didn’t include a full explanation of what went wrong, I’d just put in a letter explaining this with suitable apology. I have never worked in planning, but I did have a long career in a job that involved granting licensing and legislative applications. We used to work positively with erroneous applicants who made innocent mistakes and helped them navigate the application process. Those whose integrity was in question often found that their applications failed. Decision makers are not dafties and it’s quite apparent when someone, or a company is at it, or when someone has made a faux pas. You need to assure the planners you haven’t been at it with this build. You don’t need to pay a consultant to do that. Your post will generate opinion based upon experience and others may advise differently but if it were me that’s what I’d do. Based upon the assumption that your build isn’t something that would clearly never stand a chance of getting PP because it clearly breaches local planning rules.
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Can I set up my site before building regs approval (Scotland)
Bozza replied to Dunc's topic in Building Regulations
Can I just confirm you mean you have planning permission for a static caravan, and to build a house, but you are awaiting a building warrant for the actual house. I thought you don’t need a building warrant, but you need PP, for a static caravan - but I’m happy to be corrected if wrong by others, as I didn’t have one on my build, so cannot be certain if this. Hopefully someone else can give you a better steer. Off the back of my planning permission I did a lot of site clearance / utilities / prep, whilst awaiting the warrant being granted. I would concur with @Jenki, I also had a verbal and email dialogue with my local planners and building control depts, to ensure I could progress my project accordingly within the rules and requirements. It seems there’s a better relationship between applicants & local authorities north of border, in fact in my shire my local planners etc were exceptionally helpful in keeping me right and made very helpful suggestions to allow progress. -
Kitchen sink in the middle of the worktop?
Bozza replied to Super_Paulie's topic in Kitchen Units & Worktops
Middle. Mrs Super-Paulie is right. boiling tap will free up more space and you can get them for under £300. Best kitchen decision we made was to get a £300 boiling tap, and second one was not to put the sink at the end of a worktop run. -
I used to live in a city centre apartment complex that was plagued with seagulls. bought a plastic hawk off the internet, put it up high in the roof. Was surprised at how effective it was. Eliminated the issue permanently. *plastic hawk as in a moulded plastic bird with reflective eyes, not as in what you would use for plastering. The latter probably wouldn’t work and your neighbours may think you’re mental*
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https://www.scotlime.org May be of use & they run courses in the skills you wish to learn.
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Hello, looking for advice for economising on heating
Bozza replied to waxingsatirical's topic in Introduce Yourself
Tread carefully, and do lots of research, especially with some dodgy companies that will try to flog you heat pumps on the basis of promises of huge energy savings. Loads of previous very similar posts on this site for you to search through. -
I think you’ve assessed that correctly TBH, but the specialist groundworks should definitely be zero rated for VAT. We had to remove hundreds of tonnes from our site (though it wasn’t contaminated). And some asbestos roofing from an old building, which certainly was. Specialist firms were very expensive so I did my research and found alternative ways to remove everything (safely & properly). It therefore may be possible to do some of the required works cheaper than what I assume is a significant quote. I’d imaging the actually disposal of the contaminated soil is the biggy.
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Designing with contingency for any future crisis/emergency
Bozza replied to saveasteading's topic in Barn Conversions
Quite a few of us here have backup generators and changeover switches. Not so much for a zombie apocalypse but more SSEN network failures. Problem being petrol generators use a lot of fuel. if you are thinking about full on “prepping” I would normally have suggested tin foil to make a hat, until those who were ridiculed for a prepping for a overdue pandemic turned out to be quite correct in 2020. In terms of longer term major disruption / disaster - fuel in storage is a challenge (unless using long life fuel or additives). As is the supply of medication in particular penicillin. In reality in an apocalypse more people would die from dental infections than zombie bites. Of course being British toilet paper was the priority if everyone recalls. I must have missed that Walking Dead episode where Rick Grimes was in a shootout over a roll of Tesco super quilted. Fear not, in such a scenario the govt definitely “have a plan”. -
“I am worried about overheating as well. I will have to look at a combination of roller blinds + trees on GF + Brise soleil to tackle the overheating.” so like @Conor I have an overheating issue on my south facing elevation, have a look at my profile pic. The 6 windows on the main gable - lounge & bedroom - are a small fraction of your sqm of glazing on your south elevation. And you’re in a warmer part of the country. my daughters bedroom - she has to close the curtains during sunny warm days even with windows open.. The main livingroom is rarely used in the summer even with all the windows open. You can get glazing finishes that can help. You’re definitely going to have to make this a number one priority in terms of mitigating, if you’re committed to that glazing design otherwise you may find parts of the house difficult to live in. like you say you can create shade via planting but the sun is high in the summer., so you’ll need to ensure most of that glazing is shaded me thinks. one thing we do is we have some roof windows in the hallway. These help the rising heat to escape. If you think about it with modern insulated homes effectively the heat has to have some way to escape. 100% don’t think “it’s probably going to be ok” as is. Hate to think a major part of your house will be unusable.
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Floor plans in isolation are only part of the story in terms of a successful home. So providing a bit of detail eg family, kids, dogs, WFH, relevant hobbies, home for life, etc all play into us being able to give you the best layout advice / suggestions for your circs. I do love what you're planning though but a couple of initial observations. I think the bedrooms are a bit too big and the house is big enough to have its own office - you don’t need to combine your living & office in a house that big, unless you want to of course.
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I also have Rationel windows aura plus alu clad, & exterior doors from ADW. Have performed great over past 3 years despite facing prevailing heavy winds and storms. Had an issue with paint finish imperfection on one of the doors, it was replaced under warranty with zero quibble. Great after service. Cannot comment on the other brands.
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For the double fireplace opening problem ….here’s a creative solution. Large piece of what appears to be wall art / canvas on the chimney breast, however it’s actually constructed from an acoustically filled frame finished on the back in same colour as the wall. Hinged at the bottom so it flips down and covers and seals the gap. Could even replicate the art in the actual chimney beast, so you don’t have a big gap. or not hinged but made in a way with a lip that hides a rubber seal, so it can literally friction for / plug the fireplace gap with it. You could have one either side to create an airtight gap, because obviously the fireplace couldn’t be used if covered with certain materials. if you have tvs there could use same idea just hang the wall art/acoustic panel on another wall when not used. do I win a prize ?
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How about doing a slimline stud partition eg option c then incorporating a system like this link below so you have a slimline wall but maximising the acoustic benefits. I’m thinking just using boarding - options a or b - would act a bit like a drum ? https://sounddeadeninguk.co.uk/products/silent-cloud-1-2m-x1-2m-x-27mm-stud-walls-soundproofing-panel?variant=42620285780141¤cy=GBP&utm_medium=product_sync&utm_source=google&utm_content=sag_organic&utm_campaign=sag_organic&cq_src=google_ads&cq_cmp=21032152032&cq_term=&cq_plac=&cq_net=g&cq_plt=gp&gad_source=1&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI5oWTrv65hAMVl5NQBh0DWgCGEAQYAiABEgIFGPD_BwE
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If you did it, with current design, it would mean it wouldn’t get natural light. Being where it is it offers natural light into the staircase and hallway. It appears that this is a big extension as opposed to a scratch self build ? we are limited as to what suggestions we can make without a fuller picture of your site and your design brief. But your original design though a big property will not feel grand nor spacious as would have a lot of dark narrow spaces. Me feels you or your designer are thinking about trying to fit in as many big rooms , without considering flow, circulation space, light or space. Those are the things that can make a house feel much bigger and better. I’ve attached another idea for you - if my two suggestions don’t work for you please do say so and why.