ToughButterCup

It was indeed. Everyone visiting our front room for the first time was drawn to the large 'picture' window looking out over a thousand square mile view of the Vale of Evesham: Gloucester Cathedral to the south, Bromsgrove transmitters to the north, and Broadway to the West. Watching the progress of lightning strikes on the power grid in the valley was an especial treat as the strike's effect flared along the HT lines blowing up sub-station after sub-station. Since the Radar Station (RRE, later RSRE) was within spitting distance (where I believe @JSHarris worked) , the RAF would regularly 'attack' it; I vividly remember a Jaguar fighter crashing into a field right below us - strange to watch an aircraft crash from our vantage point several hundred feet above it. The impact caused a perfect smoke ring to rise in the still air......

Now I know why the houses in Great Malvern (my home town) are so expensive. I used to live on the Old Wyche road, one of the steepest streets in the UK. Handbrake starts, no problem.

That's interesting. We'll find out more later this month

I don't know, but it looks as if they'll be straining at an angle, as it were.

Hi, @RichS; not sure what you mean by skirt, but, since you ask, do you mean something like this? The vertical white EPS300 'skirt' (on the LHS of the image) is designed to prevent well, reduce the cold bridge from the side of the slab. By contrast, the area being poured isn't part of the heated envelope, and so doesn't have a skirt. See you in Mayorkshire (as my lad calls it) at the end of April. Ian

Shampoo in yer sausages? And it's not even April 1st..... This just has to have been Photoshopped. Please, someone tell me this isn't true. Please.

I don't know is the straight answer. But here's what you can do Network Read widely Buy expert local advice On BH there is a wealth of experience, read the Planning section. Then review your LPA planning website; you appear to have started that process. Find out who the best local planning adviser is - on the basis of both evidence and recommendation. There is no substitute for legwork and hours of reading. '....heavy justif[cation]...' can be read as a hint as well as a caution. Local expert advice will help most Oh, welcome, by the way! Ian

Thank you. Pouring tomorrow. Ian

The research evidence completely supports your conclusion. Worse, when I trained with Simon Catling, we learned how few teachers taught even the rudiments of making or interpreting a simple plan, never mind issues like the appreciation of third angle projection or isometric drawing. (Apologies for the digression) Ian

What evidence do they have that the build was unlawful? Or more precisely, what did they actually say when they told you that the build is unlawful? I ask because you might be able to claim for the new build stuff in the normal way - might you have accidentally claimed some refunding in error?

Don't just sit. Plan, plan plan. Ian

Can I suggest you do a bit of networking? Have a word with your mates, ask around. Who is dealing with your case (sometimes called a Case Officer)? Read Decision Notices written by that person. Who has any experience of working with that officer? Talk to your local councillors, and in particular the one who has responsibility for Planning. Look at time scales - date submitted (i.e. validated) to Decision notice dates. There will be a range of time scales - yours is likely to be in the middle of that range if your application is unexceptional. Take an interest in refusals. Why were applications refused? If you can, look for those that were refused , and subsequently overturned at Appeal. That can be very instructive. All this research will only hint at the answer you will be given. Not so very far from me, there is a case of an application which bears the hallmarks of grudge; between applicant, officers, Head of Planning and others. Unevidenced claim and counter-claim, almost pointless pre-conditions, official complaints aired at public meeting(s), obvious and uncomfortably documented erroneous procedure. And the application may yet succeed.

From bitter, bitter experience, I echo @PeterStarck's advice. The best you can do is to build up-wind , I think.

@JSHarris, and when you've done the garage, how about the car as well?

+ a million

Oh poo. If only you had told me that when I needed to know... ?

Yes, of course but......£

Hi Rich, I went to the training days ages ago at The NSBRC Swindon. Yes it is important (well for me it was). Tim Bevan comes out on site for the first half day or more if needed at the beginning of your build. Excellent service, I think. Ian

To 'lose' all of them several times is unforgivable. 'Lose' is being used loosely here. It's just that every time we cover the pile marks (nails) on the strip foundations the piles are lost AGAIN. And there are three layers of EPS, the first of which contains the Perinsul block. And the position of those is important. There are about 50 blocks to place accurately. Why does this matter? Well for one thing , it's time wasting. For another I'm sure there should be an elegantly simple answer to this problem. Here's Dan of Cowley Construction, patiently marking out yet again. Got an answer for this one? Is there a simple answer? The closest I have come to it is to laminate the plan. At least that saves paper.

Hello Kris, I'll very likely be glad of a chat...... For starters, concrete delivery and volumes. How did you manage that aspect of things? Did you build (in area terms) to the exact volume of a load of concrete? Oh, by the way, welcome! Ian

Good idea Dave. The way in which it's delivered or handed over will be important too......

[...] There's not much I can do. My (new) house is upstream of the neighbour in question. If his new pipe did become overwhelmed then the water would back up, the level would rise, and it would end up flowing over his lawn above the culvert to get back into the burn. There is nothing I can do on my own plot to prevent that, and nowhere else for it to go other than through, or over, his garden, somehow. By the time it backed up far enough to flow over his garden, it would have also flooded part of my lawn, i.e the burn would have "burst it's banks" [...] So not doing what he proposes is in his interest somewhat more than yours. What's the difference in cost between what he proposes and the higher spec?

I wondered where that gearbox went. Can I have it back please? It's failed its MoT every year since then......

The tree line in the photo - which are probably up- wind looks perfect for causing some nice rotor: and so could well make for fun take offs and knock-kneed landings. But living next to your own runaway : what a treat that will be.

Still temptable eh? It's Friday. It's Ok.