ToughButterCup

At this remove, that's too hard for us to help you. However, estate agents will have a good idea.

Welcome. Was the annexe ever built? Have you looked at you Council Planning Department website to see how other similar garden in-fill developments are handled? If not, that's the place to start. If so, what's your feel for the way the LPA are dealing with similar applications?

Welcome. The best way to start here is with one simple question - such as (say) How do we dry this wall out ? And perhaps post some photographs. Good luck! Ian

Hello. Interesting project. Tight is the word isn't it? You are new to us so you might well not have discovered the power of the local site search Here's a site search for the term spreadsheet in the title (here) You can also search this site from Google like this In relation to question 1 the answer is, genuinely, anywhere. Just do it. (Stopped wearing Nike trainers some time ago - too old ?) As far as 2 and 3 are concerned, I have no idea, but I'd start by chatting to an SE Now, can I ask an obvious question: do you have Planning Permssion?

Morning, and welcome! Getting moving can also mean planning. Care to share your plans with us? When I did, one or two key resposnses here on BH and some more research resulted in us saving about £17K (using ground improvement piles instead of steel sleeved concrete)

You are in excellent company here. It's bloody annoying when any organisation asks for advice and then be mealy-mouthed about applying it. If they are going to be like that, why ask? @bradders3109 makes a similar point. All organisations can be infuriatingly cussed.

Its unlike you to be quite so sweeping in your judgement.

Mmmm, it takes a good deal of emotional intelligence and courage to initiate a conversation about strategic communication . Here's a helpful framework ......

Those questions are exactly why we chose to work with our architects: they make it very clear and simple. I feel for you @ianfish : it takes a bit of effort on the part of the architect to be open and direct about their terms of business: but most aren't. I have come to suspect that many don't want to be. When during our build we faced exactly those questions (detailed drawings? ... more drawings?) I replied that we hadn't paid for them, so we didn't have any. And why hadn't we? Because ' .... the builders ignore detailed drawings and do their own thing anyway ...' (architect) Only one trades person was honest enough to say exactly the same thing : the chippy who did our roof. "When I see a fookin architect gerout of 'is car pur on sum workboots an' hi-viz on a scaffold, I'll tek sum notice of wharee sez .... " That was me told then.

That's the place to start. Always

In our case, yes it did. @craig 'y boy will be along in a minute - he's got naff all else to do..... (I'll get my coat )

But then you always do.... make an effort ?

Because it takes effort to do that. And so very often people don't realise the fundamental assumptions they make.

I'd like to bet that cost (at all levels: screws to completed house) is one of the most eagerly searched for and read subjects on this board. That's why I was so interested in @SteamyTea's one word answer to a post I wrote some time ago ( here ) and the subsequent thread about costing method ( here ) To boil those discussions down: cost per square meter is problematic, but it's also common to do so because that measure is easily understood. There are lots of traps to fall in to because the underlying assumptions (when presenting the cost) made are rarely explained - because to do that is complex.

Welcome. 1 : we dont know, and can't know until you ask their strutural engineer. 2: yes. My fingertips are burning just at the thought of putting in a retaining wall there.......

I'd be checking that. Which pipe work? Foul, or supply ? Get yourself some drain dye and pop it in the cistern. Flush merrily, then (excuse me maam) squeeze. You might be lucky and see the dye . In which case Bingo. Then get (or hire) a thermal camera. And do a bit of investigation (Heres an example) You could also try stabbing around with a Damp Meter. The aim is to try and identify the lower temperature areas in the floor. Good luck. I feel really .... yuk... for you. Its no fun. Ian

First, I would think about my own skill set, and the existing demands on my time first so I could make a rough guess at how much time I have for the build , DIY and - or supervision. Whats your time budget ? Want it done pronto, or can you wait? Trades: The key issue (other than Due Diligience) is the hidden networks which exist - normally trades people usually only work with people they know. And if your luck matches the stories we hear on BH, be sure you can take a joke. Contractors: simpler. Does their price suit your budget? Apart from doing Due Diligence, thats about all you need to know.

I am no expert. I have come to understand Class Q as a nest of hissing, spitting, supurating malignant vipers. And the coolest head around on Class Q is Martin Goodhall. Superb written style: as brief as can be but elegant at the same time.

In haste .... https://communionarchitects.com/article/how-do-i-get-planning-permission-for-a-barn-conversion/ In brief, in terms of permission, if it were easy to convert a barn to a habitable space, most barns would have disappeared long ago.

Better safe than sorry. Here's a start on the guidance ( other parts of the guidance may be relevant in your case) . I ask my original question because in a similar situation as you, my Council refused permission on the basis that part of the eaves (2 meters long) was 10mm above the permissible height for the class of permission I required. (I'll dig the thread out if I have time) @Jilly 's point about BRegs is likely also to be relevant because you are planning to make the space habitable. Whats to lose by asking whether permission is applicable in this case?

... as a living space, or office ... and do you have permission?

Right up my street @SteamyTea. Thanks

That's got me thinking for the rest of today @SteamyTea . Perhaps also ... we know that we have known the answer to something similar ..... in the past Thanks Ian

@mrgreen1234, I think I know where you're coming from.....You are deeply disappointed by the standard of work, and your bank balance is hurting too. There's a kind of hidden rule on the Internet; its very simple : brevity before detail. The Internet is associated with speed and speed of response, most people skim read over detail. A long detailed post requires a lot of commitment on the part of the reader. So unless the reader has a very similar problem, you aren't going to get them to commit to a detailed response. Case in point @craig above ... he's forgotten more about windows than most of us will ever know. The detail he will already know very well indeed. (He provided our windows) With us general builders, I think you might have better luck by asking a simple question - and then filling out the detail when asked: yeah but that's why I provided the detail in the first place I hear you say. Its how the information giving on the Internet works : its a pyramid.