Bozza

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&currency=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

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.

I think other contributors have misread play room as plant room. 1. Hallway far too narrow. will be very dark 2. Snug far too long and will have a dark spot 3. Utility too small 4. Not enough storage for shoes / coats 5. Some windows & doors in wrong place, or too many of them. the drawings don’t have measurements but can guesstimate some. Looks like you have specific needs but difficult to help fully on basis of just the drawings. Nevertheless see below sketch.

I really like what you’re trying to do with your layout, but also see straight away the issues you are concerned with. Normally I’m the first to make suggestions for layout changes, but as you wish to retain the overall building shape I’m really struggling to come up with anything. The challenge in the open plan area is the TV location due to lack of spare wall space. The only thing I can suggest is to to put a TV in the reception room, but that rooms pocket doors would probably have to be replaced with a hinged door bottom left to allow tv to go on that wall, to facilitate suitable sofa location the fit in with the main window. then just have some comfy seats in the open plan area as opposed to a sofa, and ditch the telly. If it’s a must to have a sofa and tv in the open plan the only thing you could do is extend the wall area upwards and reduce glazing there so the tv sits central to sofa area. Having that tv off centre to sofa is not good. Though I appreciate that tweaking the exterior is not desirable don’t forget you spend more time living in a house than you do looking at it. No point in building a bespoke house with a layout you’ll always be unhappy with. You’ll always regret not making those changes even if it delays things. in my last house we had an an open plan kitchen living dining with a single sofa and TV,and separate lounge with TV. Our layout wasn’t perfect, like yours fairly compact, and we ended up removing the sofa. The TV was rarely used TBH. In terms of kids when they reach about 12 they live in their own rooms with iPads etc anyway. if you really must stick to the external design make sure the reception room has a telly and perfect layout, and if it were me I’d ditch trying to squeeze a second living area in the open plan and think more about have comfy chairs by the big glazing. I would also suggest you think about making your utility room galley layout or L shaped. Thus will create perfect wall hanging space / dumping area etc for coats and shoes. Very important in the absence of hallway storage. good luck with your decision.

“She's now paying more like £300 per month but that still sounds very high to me” if that means her annual cost is £3600 there’s definitely a problem with the house (insulation etc) or the set up.

So for the RHI you have to make an annual declaration of certain things including to the effect that you haven’t changed anything significant with your heating set up. Well I do anyway and assume others do. I would imagine if you were wishing to change something material about how you heat your house eg introduce fossil fuels, that would impact upon the assessment that was used to calculate the RHI payments. As the RHI payments / funding is calculated upon the continued use of the ASHP and estimated heat calc for an individual property. So if I decided to rip out my ASHP and install fossil fuels clearly I shouldn’t be entitled to the RHI. theoretically someone in receipt of RHI could alter or change their heat source and not tell them. There’s a word for that though - fraud - this is why you have to submit an annual declaration. So it’s not that she’s not allowed to make changes, just that she’d need to declare them with the potential that her RHI reduces or is removed following recalculation. bit like someone receiving disability benefit whose circumstances changes thus need reassessing to see if they are still entitled to it, or not.

https://rationel.co.uk/doors/casement-doors/ this is the link @Flossy1234 so they are outward opening doors that from the outside look like full height windows and match their normal windows. (with no exterior lock etc). So you can have what looks from the exterior full height windows but function as doors. Word of warning though be wary the mechanism that locks them into a fixed open position isn’t robust enough for heavy wind conditions. if you look at my profile pic the identical 4 x full height windows are these window doors. we remain delighted with the performance of our windows.

I don’t think anyone can legitimately recommend any insurance company for anything unless they’ve had to recently make a big claim and found them excellent to deal with. If there is I’d be delighted for them to be identified for consideration when I use the usual insurance comparison sites. If it’s any reassurance all insurance premiums seem to have rocketed.

Ours has a 100mm gap top & bottom and 70mm gap either side. I think the idea to have a 2-3mm gap would be impracticable. For starters, your fingers would need to be 2-3mm deep to lift the thing onto the bracket unless you devised some sort of tool or clamp. Or put in a scissor type mount but trying to get that installed with such accuracy would be very difficult to maintain a precise equal 2-3mm gap all around. It would have to be a mount with precise x-y adjustment. Or some sort of suction cup for the screen. Bad idea that lifting a telly by the screen. We’ve had to access the back of our telly a few times since we installed it. secondly you’d have to replace the existing telly with something identical size if it breaks down. Thirdly any heat generated by the back of the telly. All that before the speakers issues. Though you don’t need gaps as big as ours, I think you’d regret not having a decent gap around the telly. another option may be if you like that vertical wood slat aesthetic would be to to construct a decorative screen with a precise cut out, that could hinge out like a door or a panel section that could pop off.

I think the scenario you present itself is probably less relevant than other individual factors, namely credit score, whether this is your first mortgage or you have a good history with mortgage payments, gaps in employment etc, longevity of contract etc etc, LTV etc. From my recollection it’s standard to present 3 months of income. When we secured our SB mortgage my wife had recently changed jobs but showed a history of income and employment. I’m fairly certain that someone consistently earning a decent wage from back to back contracts in a stable and in demand industry would be seen as lower risk than someone in another permanent but risky role (Post Office investigator, Tory MP, or football manager). Many here have had excellent experiences with Ecology BS. Including me. Just give them a phone, they’ll never be able to give a definitive pre application answer but certainly a steer. Even if someone here advises they have secured a mortgage while on a fixed term contract (which there will be), their circs will of course be entirely different to yours. There will be other factors in their decision to lend, LTV etc, that will impact overall on the risk you present to a lender. good luck !

https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/sites/default/files/docs/2014/04/guide_electricity_distribution_connections_policy_0.pdf this may help in your research. If it transpires you do have to pay that much - £18k - I’d be tempted to install a generator and/or renewables and go off grid.

@Alan Ambrose that was my exact thought, I’m pretty sure because the DNOs have a monopoly the regulator agrees/approves standard pricing eg per meter etc. I have specific recollection of finding a price list for Openreach for telecoms fur my own project. that said @Lordster even if there is standard pricing you need to scrutinise as different people could assess your project differently thus resulting in different quotes. Suggest you post the quote here.

When I renovated my parents bathroom last year I replaced the chipboard floor but put ply down where the shower was going, it was a very heavy stone resin tray and the chipboard was just basic B&Q stuff. I had tanked the shower area so just tanked the ply area too as had leftover tanking paint. My plumber nephew advised that they would normally do this (put down ply) but if the floor was sound and new chipboard they would just lay the tray on that, so this corroborates what others have advised. The top tip he gave me was that to make sure that the floor is proper level if the tray is big and heavy, as mine was. If slightly out use cement or if just a mil or two out flexible floor tile adhesive down first to feather to a level, then let it dry. He advised it’s a nightmare trying to level a heavy tray purely with silicone etc as a base adhesive as clearly it will just compress. soz if you knew this, just passing it on if you didn’t.

Have you discussed with the neighbours the possibility of relocating their seating area to another part of their garden, that would be unaffected by your build, so they could still enjoy their garden. At your cost. Though you advise the overshadowing would only occur during the winter that sounds like your proposed build is still quite close to their seating area and as such it sounds like their quiet seating area in their garden would have a house close to it. It may well be the case that your are on the right side of the planning rules on this, but regardless I’m an advocate of not doing things that could antagonise neighbours and cause further problems when your could perhaps mitigate it to their satisfaction at an early stage. look at it from their perspective (literally), and how you’d feel about it if other way round. My neighbour is a good guy and has an application in to build a new home in their garden. I will see it, we live in a rural area. He approached me early days to discuss it with me out of courtesy and is someone who always tries to be a good neighbour, as I do to him. The result being I submitted a strong letter of support for his planning application. Just saying.

+1

A game changer for ASHP etc will be when the UK produces 100% or more of our electricity consumption consistently from renewables and no longer needs expensive fossil fuels to do so. Some way off that though. Scotland has hit nearly 100% already, just need rest of GB to catch up.

Agree with @ProDave. Getting your services ready for plot 2 alongside plot 1 should be economically advantageous and start the ball rolling now. One option could be to get the electric supplies onto the site in phases. Phase 1 being getting the supply into the edge of the two plots and install two separate temp site boxes. Then when you’re ready Phase 2 to connect from box 1 to house 1. That means plot 2 is ready to go when you need it with its own site box. there are various options but as proDave says get the ball rolling asap with the DNO. We had SSEN and they were brilliant was able to discuss options with their domestic connections PM and work out most economical and sensible option. There will be various options that could work for you. If not already aware connections quotes can reduced massively if you are able to do any trenching yourself. I know my main contractor welcomed me handing over a plot with the site box & supply ready to go. One less hassle for them. don’t forget DNO should not be charging VAT for any connection work.

Unlike on a 2d drawing in b&w in real life as you’re moving and see the gables and other elevations so I don’t think you have a huge problem at all I think you’ll be fine, plus you’ll have planting. But a couple of simple bling things your could dress the from elevation design with if your main concerned. Tall planters either side of the door would work well and add interest. Also can bling your impressive house with quality metal guttering and downpipes. Not that much more £ than plastic. We put in galvanised and it’s really lifted the elevations. You can get them in silver, gold, brass etc. interesting exterior lighting could be an option too. Uplighters with a bit of colour for example. one thing that catches my eye. Do you have unequal distances between the dormer windows and the gable corner. Bigger left than right. As the elevation is a symmetrical design that jumps out. But maybes that’s me because I’m a bit OCD about things like that. Possibly an optical illusion with the shadow. Great house !

@de devil tail great views/plot/project @ETCis offering to help you design your house. For free. He’s an architect. I’ve seen the stuff he’s posted here before and you’d be bat shit crazy not to let him do that.

What have the objections been? Are they of reasonable and of merit or just plain silly (eg “I don’t like the design”). Or locals with pitchforks who want to remain in the 1950s etc. looks like you are wanting to build in a rural location a partially timber clad low level house somewhat hidden by trees. Nothing obviously crazy or offensive about that TBH.

I’ve previously suggested in other discussions my own planning approach which was to have an early informal discussion with my excellent and helpful planners to get an understanding of potential issues the types of things that could cause issues, to read and understand local planning policies, and early discussions with neighbours. Resulting in an uncontroversial and successful application. But others rightly have pointed out not all local authorities have accessible and sensible planners like I encountered. I’m unclear if your latest application has been knocked back or not. One option you can consider is posting your designs here. It may well be the case that what you’ve submitted is actually hideous and they have rightfully knocked you back, if it is we’ll tell you honestly and offer suggestions. Likewise it may well be what you’ve submitted is beautiful and we can give you that encouragement. It may be a beautiful design but you’re trying to build it in an inappropriate location. Thing is this group has zero agenda not being your neighbours, etc and we are obviously pro-build. Just a thought. I’ve seen a few designs posted in this forum and unsurprised that the application has been troublesome.

That’s a really smart idea particularity fur those who haven’t laid bricks or blocks before.

There are so many options for something like this. There’s that garden rooms bloke on YouTube that advocates cementing threaded rods into the ground and building off that. Also your skill level - what you can do yourself - costs of materials etc etc. I’d never built anything before so my small barn was DIY constructed as follows ( apologies if using wrong terminology). for founds I did a strip foundation with deeper dig at 6 points - four corners plus mid way (8x4 building). Couple of courses of brickwork around. Foundations. In filled with hardcore, sand, dpc, solid insulation then did a concrete hand pour over top to create concrete floor. Treated timber bottom plate 4x2 fixed to perimeter brickwork. I built a series of modular 2.4 x 1.2 wall panels out of 4x2 with 9mm osb on face. These were bolted to the bottom plate. Built the gables same way, then the roof timber, beams etc for a 45 deg roof. Clad structure in breathable membrane. Insulated the framework and put airtight polythene stapled inside. Whole thing clad in combo of steel sheeting and leftover Siberian larch from house. Interior not yet finished but thing has not moved even in storms. Inside it’s not cold in winter and not hot in summer. saved a fortune building it myself and really enjoyed doing it learning many skills I hadn’t done before other than usual diy around home.

So you’re still effectively at pre planning stage then, awaiting a confirmation that you don’t need planning from the planning dept before undertaking the work and satisfying highways. What explanation have they (planning) provided in respects of the decision delay and do they have any timescale targets that they may be missing. If you’re not getting any reply to your query perhaps contact your local elected councillor to get representation in your behalf regarding the delay.

Three possibilities of varying likelihood assuming they were aware of big TPO tree encroaching on your site. 1. Architect has a lot of experience on building near roots of TPOs/trees, and knows what he/she is on about. And is right and you’ll have a trouble free project involving digging into the RPA of TPO trees because your local authority is ok with that. 2. Architect has not a lot of experience with trees in that regard and genuinely doesn’t know it could be an issue, 3. Architect knows is could be a big problem but didn’t want to discourage you from paying for their services to them to the point where an application is refused. Thing about trying to speak with, if you can, the TPO / environmental officer etc at the council (for free) from the outset is they are paid the same regardless whether you submit an application, or not. They do not decide whether an application is approved or not but in your scenario I think they could have a very crucial input as they are effectively an advocate for the tree. In my case it was them who told mr about how to calculate RPAs and basically the more RPA and mitigations I do the greater the chance of a successful application. So we designed a house / plot layout that missed most the RPAs, but meant taking down two trees. No dig driveway etc. so that resulted in the tree report that I sent you that was non controversial.