oldkettle

Yep, I am preparing an NMA. £2K sounds OK. Thank you!

Thank you, Peter, this is a very clear picture. Can't say I am too worried about having to dig for the columns as the one inside the house will be where we are digging for the slab anyway, and the foundation will be new so at least 1m deep anyway. Not planning to sell at all. I asked for two reasons. First, they are good agents and handle probably half of the properties on our local market, so know what people ask about in case we like it as well (but missed). Second, I am somewhat concerned about Brexit and want to know we have a way out if the worst comes to worst. Do you reckon the extra cost of those can be £20K? I checked the steel prices and it seems not too bad, about £300 per column with a comparable price for a beam. The thing is we are going to have to support the first floor and the attic above this open space anyway.

Well, I want a warm floor for a change. ? So happy to pay a bit more to finally get it. Surely digging an extra 100 mm won't be prohibitively expensive? Is there a fixed relationship between FFL and DPC heights? As I will be destroying whatever membrane is there in the existing slab (or possibly none) I will have to somehow attach new DPM to the existing DPC in the walls? With regards to the openings, I am more concerned about planners complaining / taking enforcement actions if something is wrong.

Thank you, Russell. I think to make it 5m we'd have to move the steel even further to the right, likely, in line with the other wall, but the principle is probably the same. Do these steel posts need to rest on a separate foundation or can they be set on a slab (this will not be a raft foundation)?

I have several questions regarding technical options for our extension. Please let me know if it is better to split those between relevant forums. 1) As I want to replace the slab and will be digging down anyway to insulate the new one, can I also lower the FFL? If so, by how much (10cm / 30cm)? I appreciate some doors and windows may be affected but most of those will be moved or replaced anyway so shouldn't be an issue. 2) As discussed previously, even if we go for a timber frame for the first floor, it's been recommended to use masonry for the ground floor extension. This presents a problem where existing cavity is 50mm and the new one will likely need to be 150mm. Fortunately, it will only affect one wall, but is there a standard detail for this? Is it something like inner leaves match whereas the outer leaf of the extension will be 100mm out? I guess we can then add 100mm EWI to the old wall to even this out and then render everything? 3) How "rigid" are the sizes and positions of openings in PP vs built? Does anybody care if a window/door is 500mm wider or narrower, moved a bit to the left or right as long as there is no overlooking?

While preparing to apply for NMA I showed the updated plans to local estate agents. They mentioned that people might want an opening into the garden to be larger than our proposed 3m slider. They mentioned bi-folds but that's not the point. I am not quite sold on the idea (there is also a window in the kitchen), but the garden is indeed one of the main attractions and I want to understand whether it is technically possible and financially viable. Here is the plan. In the old version I expected the supporting steel to continue the line of the structural wall (the door would have to be moved a bit to the left for this to work). But If we want to widen it to say 5m, I don't know how to support the upstairs. All other internal walls shown apart from the marked one are "new" and were not planned as load-bearing (that's a stage before BC plans). Thanks in advance for any help!

Yep, that's exactly what every dishwasher I saw had had. We have a very similar set, but by Anolon. Didn't ever think of putting those in a dishwasher as too easy to clean and too expensive to replace ? But with the folding down any of these would fit.

How large are your pans? Our AEG dishwasher has "closeable" bits at the rear and this has been enough for all pans we have and say a food recycling caddy. Edited to add: not at the same time! And at the top the front part can be flattened similarly, allowing us to fit large glass trays.

First I thought you were right, but then I am not sure how wheelchair users can work around the lower door either. It may actually be easier to reach something that is closer to the seat level rather than on the floor?

This is just a picture I found on the net to illustrate the idea. I'd certainly not install the third level microwave ?

I don't think it has to be another appliance an top, although probably makes sense from the point of view of being close to a work surface. Do you mean steam from the dishwasher or from the oven?

Does anybody have a dishwasher installed in an elevated position? My sister has one and it seems a great idea, the only problem is it will inevitably be some way away from the sink, and the second dishwasher would be even further.

Out of interest, were the frames you saw wooden or metal? I was actually planning to start a thread to seek opinions on metal frames which I see a lot in apartments in Germany.

... and if as @nod said the duty is simply added to the price than the buyer ends up paying the interest regardless.

Doesn't the house Charlie Luxton built have the same retaining wall / house wall solution? https://www.homebuilding.co.uk/solving-the-backfilling-problem/

We use one of those door racks https://www.amazon.co.uk/Chrome-Spice-Holder-Kitchen-Cupboard/dp/B00G42GHEG/ for spices and find it quite convenient. Would need a separate one for wider jars.

Is it too late to consider wall-mounted tap or is there not enough space for it?

Actually, it also depends on your mobile mic sensitivity and position - it is quite close. Hopefully, the sound can't be heard outside of the room.

@Onoff Thank you for the videos. The switches are loud though. Likely not worth replacing the pull cord with ?

Thank you, @Patrick Do you remember how much of this amount windows and doors were? Just trying to figure out the price of the insulated shell. I did read Peter's blog, I would just prefer prefab for faster construction.

@Patrick, does your 90K quote include insulation, internal partitions, slab?

Heads up Wagner Airless ControlPro 250 R Paint Sprayer - https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0747QMYDY Prime Day Deal on Amazon tomorrow from 7:15am Obviously, no guarantee the deal is going to be good - but may be worth checking

Well, wouldn't this be a good news though? As winter temperatures rise, much less energy is going to be spent on heating, making expensive upgrades of the existing housing stock unnecessary. Summer cooling is easily dealt with as pointed out before. We are going to grow much more fruit locally, again, saving on transportation of strawberries and cherries. And obviously better growing everything will be consuming much more CO2 - win-win. Can't wait. But something tells me it's just a dream. I'll get my coat (c)

@nod will the builder normally accept a line in any short contract saying "build to the drawings" as opposed to "to the building regs" or "the way I always do it"?

I do hope @Visti will eventually put final numbers into his original spreadsheet