Bozza

Slate ?

From the pipework picture there appears to be room to reroute the pipe work closer to the middle joist thus allowing the correct low profile installation of the waste pipe & tray. But that would depend on what’s to the right and where the waste would run to. so either (a) it was impossible to reconfigure the pipe work or (b) it was possible but he either can’t do that level of plumbing or didn’t want to do that work and it’s easier to put it on a plinth but having decided to put it on a plinth, he’s decides to fabricate one out of softwood rather than a proper legs & plinth kit. I’m not a plumber nor a tradesman but fitted a low profile tray for my parents house and had obstructive pipe work underneath which though time consuming even I was able to reroute. If I had been unable to re route and had to raise the tray, there is no way I’d have done what he’s done. I’d have got the correct plinth & legs set and replaced the chipboard with marine ply for enhanced stability. id be asking him why he didn’t reroute the obstructive pipework, and why he didn’t utilise the correct plinth kit & legs. I can guess the true answer may be because it’s easier for him to do it that way.

Well for starters the manufacturers warranty wont be valid. That appears to be a slimline tray ? I can only assume it’s been placed on a timber frame to make it easier to run the waste pipe above the floor boards ? If so that’s lazy work. I am not a plumber but did my parents bathroom and installed a slimline tray and lifted the flooring and waste pipe noticed the joists and laid 18mm ply and bedded the tray into that flat surface which is I’m sure the proper way to do that. why has the installer done it that way ? You’ve posted elsewhere regarding the dodgy screen support arm. Is your installer a professional plumber both these things are raising red flags for me I’m afraid. Sometimes waste pipes may need to run above the floor level, in which case there is no point in buying a slimline tray that’s why deep trays exist.

That’s seems a really terrible design of shower screen support. Just buy a normal one that goes across to attach to the wall with the window. A bit of work to fill the holes and colour match the filler for sure but it being a marble design you might get away with it, or get in one of those smart repair people who are very good at that sort of thing.

If it were me I’d have it removed entirely. Otherwise they’d be unable to assess the soil conditions below. It might expose soakaways or pipes that you didn’t know about, there may have been a house there prior to the 60s house. I wouldn’t risk putting a new house on uncertain foundations. I doubt any foundations engineer or builder would either. Don’t underestimate the value of your disassembled 60s house. Timber, roof tiles, cable etc all has a value even if it’s free for collection on Facebook. We demoed our property at zero net cost, and probably ended a few ££s up. Soz if you knew that already.

Nice. But your apex glazed elevation (lounge) + south facing = big overheating risk . look at my profile pic & my south elevation glazing much smaller than yours. Our rooms there overheat big style. Fine if you are happy to wander around the house butt naked. You can open windows but if your site is elevated & windy…..you may have problems using that room. Roof overhang or reducing glazing will help.

Just as well my username isn’t Tig or Mig.

if the contractor moves the car it’s a matter between them and the car owner, nothing to do with you. If the car is on the pavement at all that’s potentially an obstruction to the pavement. in terms of section 103. Its down to an individual officer in how they interpret any legislation in any particular scenario. Ultimately that legislation is not designed for arsey neighbours in your scenario but more for people just abandoning their vehicle in the middle of the road. It will boil down to the individual officer and how they choose to apply an legislation.. If you do need to phone the police do so reporting a vehicle unnecessarily obstructing access to part of a road namely the kerb. if you think about it, logically, say the council were building a new junction and some plonker decides just to plonk their car in the middle of the roadworks it’s inconceivable that the road traffic act would deem that lawful. likewise no it’s clearly not an offence for construction vehicles to park on your road because that’s not an unnecessary obstruction. Unless for example they parked across a driveway fur example. This is why I was advising about evidence of unnecessary obstruction. Clearly it’s never an offence to park in the street even in front of a neighbours house. Your neighbour can park there all day long. However the difference being access to that part of the road by your workmen is necessary and lawful. And if the neighbour knows this (hence advance letter) and that is evidence of him parking there deliberately for no other reason to obstruct that access then sec 103 could potentially kick in if the officer chooses to use & apply that legislation in that way. If they do that gives them powers to have the car shifted, at the expense of the owner. If threatened with that, the owner is likely to move the car and problem solved. but all of this may not be relevant if the guy moves the car before your workmen arrive. I regularly used to use legislation creatively as a means to an end to resolve issues aka the ways and means act, a lot will depend upon the capability and judgement of the individual officer attending TBH.

Surely they will need to move their car at some point in which case put your car there or something immovable. In first instance speak politely to the neighbour. If he’s being a di£k, send the neighbour a letter. An extremely polite and non threatening letter eg don’t say if you don’t move it I’ll call the police. You’ll need to specify a date of the works you can’t ask them not to park there in perpetuity. If you get no response whatsoever or a negative response, send another letter by recorded delivery so they cannot claim they didn’t get it. Again being polite and reasonable. But refer to previous letter and a copy of the pp. On the day of works ask them to move it, if they refuse: Regulation 103 of the Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986 states that “no person in charge of a motor vehicle or trailer may cause or permit the vehicle or trailer to stand on a road so as to cause any unnecessary obstruction of the road”. Your workers inevitably will need to access part of the road outside your house to carry out lawful works per PP. at this point in light of his belligerent refusal to move his car, you could argue that he is in contravention of this regulation. If an attending police officer agrees, they may not, he/she has powers to have the car moved. Be aware not every cop knows every bit of every legislation verbatim so have a printout of this regulation. The police call handler almost certainly won’t know this either. Your case is stronger if you have evidence that the parking was deliberately obstructive, hence the letters plus for example photos of his car being parked there AFTER the letters being sent and prior to the day of works. Evidence of unnecessary obstruction is the key element. You’re asking for trouble if you move his car without some form of court order. He alleges you’ve moved and damaged his car. Calls police. Etc etc. In ANY neighbourly dispute it’s really important that you don’t do anything that inflames the situation & puts you in the category of being a di£k. Let the other person be that and you’re more likely to get more help from the authorities. In a lot of neighbourly disputes it’s hard for the police to identify the true victim because the initial victim takes action that inflames and extends the dispute. I should know, I’m a retired cop.

Your scenario is quite similar to ours, cottage demo & big house build. except we did the workshop / barn as PD AFTER the house was built and occupied. but clearly not the same issues you have. are you legitimately able to build the the workshop as a garage if so not liable for VAT saving you the 20%. Then use the garage as a storage etc. big though if it’s questionable whether you’d get PP. Otherwise have you thought about a very basic steel framed building under PD. Surely way under £50k. Use as storage. Then build house. Then if able to do so financially fit out the steel building to a higher standard insulation etc if that’s your intention. Using left over materials from the main build. are you demo’ing the cottage yourself - we saved £tens of thousands doing so.

Personally I wouldn’t have the decking above the sliding door sill. The sill will have weep holes for rainfall running down the glazing, but the decking at that height height would deflect and channel more rain (and gunk) into the door channel and likely to block and overwhelm it. Especially with driving rain. Then the door channels will pool up and water will seep inside the house. just my opinion based upon common sense and some experience with sill weep hole issues, others may have expertise to counter my opinion, but I think you’re asking for trouble with that design. I can only assume you're looking at having the decking being flush with the interior flooring for aesthetics, but you’re doing the right thing to consider the practicalities of doing so. I do see house designs with exterior being flush with interior so I assume there are ways to do so successfully. Maybes some sort of decking grates.

Agree with @JohnMo, if it’s going to be anywhere near what they have indicated, go offgrid. + you’re building passive anyway + you’re in a sunny part of country + no overhead wires + no energy bills + no power cuts approach it as an opportunity or a hurdle to overcome. Some build 100%off grid by choice. Don’t give up on the dream. It’s still doable. While you’re waiting the 4-6 weeks start speaking to solar & battery storage firms and those here who know more about the off grid stuff. So when the quote comes in you have choices.

Only tangible benefit for you is for someone who may wish to buy your house within the next 10 yrs. without a warranty or architects certificate they won’t be able to get a mortgage. Irrelevant after 10 years.

The pros and cons of using a main contractor v individual trades are not just financial cost. A brilliant main contractor with a good reputation could end up cheaper than individual trades. If something goes wrong with one trade it could have a knock on effect on others. Any £ savings could be written off if you need to redo work if you subcontract an end up with a bad tradey. a good main contractor will use good tradesmen. however if you have a good knowledge of building work, and a network of good trades, you can project manager yourself and save some money. My advice would be to apply a sliding scale of building knowledge to your decision. The worse knowledge you have slide that scale towards a main contractor. The more knowledge slide towards sub contracting. if this is your first rodeo: Ensure sure you have a written contract or at very least detailed correspondence emails quotes etc. Having an email chain that asks “is there anything that is not included” can be helpful to you. Eg waste disposal. Utilising a trade or contractor without due diligence is risky. Online / social media reviews should be treated as fake unless you have verified them. A good tradesman will have no problem in you wanting to getting references. look after your tradesman. I pay mine immediately as they’re tidying up. They tend to come back. Keep out if their way as they do their job. If you’re delighted with their work drop them a line a week later saying so. trades are not cheap if you get good ones. If quotes are noticeably cheaper than others be wary. don’t forget if you think OMG he’s getting £40 per hour or whatever, I only get paid £15 per hour working at my company / I went to Uni / blah blah, he’s ripping me off. Don’t forget he only gets paid that when actually at the job, not all the other stuff he has to do when he’s getting £zero per hour. Pays for expensive tools. And he’s probably not in a workplace pension scheme, gets 28 days paid hols etc etc. yes some tradesmen are doing ok but few are super wealthy. This forum is good for advising if your quotes sound fair, when you get them in. Oh, and where I say “he” I include the great female tradespeople that are coming into the industry,

if any if the bedrooms are actually tv rooms or studies you could glaze those doors. Also would light shafts / veluxes or light tunnels into the dark hallway be possible. failing that permanent led lightstrips in coving or channel could help.

Also in Scotland. Don’t think you can combine as different liabilities risks and costs. We just went with pcc for mortgage purposes. In our opinion warranty only of benefit if you intend to sell house within 10 years (namely lifetime of warranty). if you have a very reputable builder & project manager & architect, whose work has a good reputation then ask yourself what’s the likelihood that they will build something that’s likely to fall down and be subject to a warranty claim. All about risk. my understanding is that warranty claims companies are a nightmare to claim off. If they don’t go bust. My builder, PM and architect all worked together so they coordinated the relevant architect inspections for the PCC and the building control sign offs. I don’t recall my mortgage provider - ecology - requiring the staged certification though they just required my say so to get the money I needed when I needed it. Unless I’m being stupid and forgot that, or things have changed.

Hi, entrance hallway is too small and the long right corridor is a bit weird and waste of sqm. Assuming the bedroom off the living area to be used as a snug. You’ve got some unused space in the main livingroom. not to scale etc but how about something broadly more like this with all rooms wrapped round rather than long corridor, you can play around with rooms to right. But 4 still bed / 2 bath. If really needed cloakroom could go off bigger reception area. spacious reception and inner hallways will make house feel more spacious than your design. double glazed doors to main living area would give natural light to inner hallway and provide grand entrance to big room even though losing a bit of the sqm from living area. just providing ideas for you

I think you mentioned in an earlier post about using extra liquid, so if that means you watered down the mixture more than needed that may be why. Soz if I’ve misunderstood.

If you go for 18mm if it stands proud of the plasterboard you’ll have to pack out the bottom of the units which will naturally want to pull in at the bottom to the wall and putting strain on the fixings, and making it harder to get nice and level. Sourcing 15mm ply will make your life much, much easier than faffing around. I did something with something similar with my DIY K wall units in my utility room, fitted them onto a horizontal batten then had to brace out at bottom. Big heavy extra high extra deep units. other option would be to put in another lower batten but all extra work like I say having one 15mm not sitting proud is best option by far.

+ I’d do this too exactly as @Russell griffiths suggests. Personally I’d big screw the new ply strip at the vertical joist locations, though it would go through the membrane it’s clearly going to be trapped and clamped and thus sealed. Also some good quality no nails along the length too. makes hanging those big units a doddle.

1. Don’t put a toilet off the the new open plan area. Very awkward. Use the middle of the house eg what is currently the back of the house for the loo, utility etc. 2. Think about natural light in the middle of the house, or lack of it. Rooms that don’t need natural light are the loo & utility & storage & pantry. so top to bottom do decent sized lounge, then utility etc, then your open plan kitchen dining etc.

Adding too much compound is likely to create a lip between the new and old & create extra height where you don’t want it as the compound hasn’t got something to butt up to. Make sure the new compound covers from 1mm thickness to minimise this eg https://www.screwfix.com/p/no-nonsense-floor-levelling-compound-20kg/453hu. I’ve previously used floor tile adhesive as well for levelling small areas, which you can obviously level and feather with greater control maybes better option for your small 40x40 area. And sand thereafter if not perfect. Don’t forget it doesn’t have to be 100% perfect if you’re laying foam underlay and laminate. sounds like you’re close to resolution. if it were me I’d use some self leveller for the very deepest bit of the 4mm section only , being very careful not to overdo it as it would be easy to end up running over to where you don’t need it and thus creating extra height. Pouring short will leave a low valley maybes 1-2mm deep maybes a few inches wide between the exiting pour and your new pour, and then once dry feather in some floor tile adhesive in that valley. Then sand smooth. Won’t look pretty but will be level & will work for your needs.

+1 DIY. I did so myself at at the time my local council took asbestos for free. Buying the required ppe & bags tape etc still much cheaper. my tip would be get a second person to help - significantly reduces chances of damaging the boards. And do it on a cold day it’s hot and sweaty in proper ppe. Get a decent all in one mask if you can. being a low flat roof it should be an easy job. Planks as catwalks, unbolt and bag fixings. stu w gave some good tips. Lift down panels and double bag & tape. Don’t be tempted to pull the sheets down into the garage, lift off from the top and be careful that they don’t scrape on the way down. you’ll have a huge amount of mitigation and don’t forget the asbestos removers do this work day in day out.

Yeah +1 to what everyone’s said. Obviously if you claim stuff that doesn’t quite add up in terms of the stage you’re at / what’s on the plans it risks issues with your claim. But if it’s the stuff like you say kitchen, or landscaping materials you should be ok. I was a bit nervous about a lot of that so I got in a load of material i needed in asap and created my own little builders yard. I got a temp habitation cert with a couple of cheap ikea kitchen units then fitted a proper kitchen afterwards. Claimed the proper kitchen but not the temp one. Wouldn’t do any harm to keep a photographic record of progress at the regs sign off so if they challenge something you can show it did in fact get installed at the house. Agree with Connor put in a covering letter with explanation if anything that may be seen as potentially questionable. I had a few things, did just that and it went through no probs.

I didn’t put anything down but if it were chipboard I would, I don’t think it would make a lot of difference what you use just as long as it seals the chipboard & prevents the chipboard sucking in the moisture from the compound. I’ve used the cheap no nonsense stuff from screwfix with success a few times, ultimately worth a punt because sounds like plan B would be to rip it all up anyway.