ToughButterCup

@ProDave and @Crofter ... you've got me seriously thinking. How about a nice 18 foot clinker dinghy to potter round Morecambe Bay, and maybe to pop over to the Isle of man? Or down to Angelesy and back? Your posts made me remember how good it is to look forward to a good sail somewhere - even if the trip is hard work. Maybe when the house is finished. Now there's some motivation.

Hello Jane Just in case you haven't read this,.....

It's probably both. @Triassic Let's wait for hard data on costs. We won't have to wait long to make meaningful comparisons... Two years maybe. And then when we see that, think about benefits at the same time.

Have a word with @MrsRA, she'll be glad to hear your experience. Ian

And it's easy to answer. Two days on your computer will see the job done.

Makes you completely understand why many buck the system wherever they can.

Those hundred things you haven't thought of yet can wait a bit. While you take pleasure in what you've achieved. Well done. Me? I'm off to get the washing out, the salad picked, the dogs de-fleaed, Sid wormed, the gates taken off, the TAF ready for another night of newts, the door lintel pinned so the next postie doesn't lose his toes, the HERAS up and secured, the soup ready for when @MrsRA gets back (her pipe and slippers by the fireside, the Guardian ironed and laid out where she likes it, the gin on ice and a few cheques for her to sign ). And there's you basking in Devon sunshine. Lovely.

@joe90 and @Temp, I think you might be missing the final twist in this sorry saga. @Barney12 has done all that's been asked of him at National Level. Despite that, the LPA's ecologist has imposed additional conditions - as I understand it design requirements - that the build should follow the original plans. Has the design of your house changed from the design submitted for Full PP? '...Of course she is technically correct, our original planning permission was granted based on standard design and the accompanying mitigation strategy...' (Barney's original post above) In which case, the original ecologist submitted the correct Mitigation Strategy (because it was accepted by NE) . If all of the above is correct, then ask the ecologist you already have (who may well not know anything about the design change in the house) for an opinion on how to meet the LPA ecologists conditions. Your case won't be unique. How have other TF builders solved the problem locally?

So, have I got this right? The initial survey(s) have been done and an requirement to mitigate the effects of the build identified, and The Mitigation Strategy has been written by your ecologist and accepted by Natural England (NE), and Your licence has been issued, and Submitted to the LPA and sent for comment to the LPA ecologist AND further additional conditions have been imposed by the LPA Have I got it right so far?

Reasonable doesn't matter too much. They can. So they do. Creative answers to those conditions might be required, perhaps? Lets start with how will evidence for each load be acquired? And can't you ask your supplier to test their product, and give that to the LPA EH department? The supplier should be able to evidence the quality of the product. Hopefully.

Yes, AND the instant answers to problems I have never faced before.

Barney, tell us where you are in the planning cycle, please. I am not clear about whose feedback is stalling your progress. Is it the LPA, or Natural England, or the Ecology Consultant for the LPA or the ecologist that you employ? Ecology is a 'soft' science. By that I mean that opinion varies by ecologist because (and here I can give you chapter and verse if you need) I have direct experience of the LPAs ecologist feedback (during the official consultation process) differing greatly by company and time. Let me explain. Application 1 on site 1 (10 meters way from my place) required no ecology survey [LPA error]. Application 2 on site 1 did require a survey [LPA correct in requiring a survey]. The LPAs ecologist on Site 1 Application 2 wrote that the applicant required a simple RAMS mitigation strategy. Application 1 on Site 2 (my place) required a survey [LPA correct] and the LPAs ecologist required a normal mitigation strategy [LPA and Ecologist correct] Here's the twist which explains my somewhat cryptic introduction. For Site 2, between the the initial survey, and the writing of the Mitigation Statement, the LPAs ecologist changed. A different ecologist was appointed. By cruel chance it is (for the LPA) the ecologist who dealt with the Site 1 Application 2. The guy who recommended a simple RAMS statement for Site 1. Difference? Many thousands of pounds. Site 1 and site 2 are next door. Why the inconsistency? Because the confidence level required for the ecology survey results is very low indeed. In the case of our Newts, the confidence level is about 10%. I think I am right in saying that the Planning System [LPA] is required to help you solve the problem. Have you asked for their help in solving the problem? And so is Natural England. Yes, it's costly. PM me if you like. Ian

Want to know why I love this forum?

I'll tell him that. You've got a wicked side to you that I hadn't seen until now.

This is what happened at lunchtime today. "Oh, woops" says I. And look down to see this next to his trainer-clad foot "Indeed" says he. "Woops just about covers it" And here's the detail That blackish smudge at the back is solid rust where it has been mended before. What's next (apart from buy a Lottery ticket : I could not have been luckier if I had tried to be. 2 mm from the Postie's foot ) Replace the lot? Make-do and mend? Or make-do and mend AND replace? And, as a minor by-the-by how the hell do I mend this well?

Just before I cobble this revolutionary (geddit?) idea together, I thought I'd run this past you all; I need a double HERAS gate that @MrsRA can use with ease. The second hand ones available here are somewhere between sh1te and not good and cost a good deal too much for my liking. I have a couple of full size HERAS panels spare ...... So, how about this arrangement? A wooden dowel is put inside the vertical of the HERAS panel and drilled to accept a 12mm threaded rod and a thin sleeve encases the threaded rod, AKA - axle. I'm likely to need this 'gate' for a good while. That makes me wonder whether I should double up on the nylon wheels: one outside the panel and one 'inside'. Both wheels will be running on the surface you see in the photo - semi compacted shale chips. A bit of me says put some wheelbarrow wheels on the outside (too big to run under the bottom of the panel) of the HERAS panel instead. Easier for Debbie to push. Worse, the outer edges of the panels would be (about) 6 inches apart. What do you think?

And the effect is all the worse for living on site. There's always a job to do. So yesterday we walked across Morecambe Bay. (Facebook Page) The water was warm! And the Chip shop in Arnside was open at the end of the walk.

Such a small word '...If...' Thanks for the response - from your lovely warm, new cosy passivhaus. I'm in B+Q in the morning to get some paint. If you need any newts, I'll bring the morning's crop round to yours.....

Disable notifications in the preferences AND THEN restart.

Recht schoen Gruesse Roger! Passivhaus aus Deutschland wa? Na mach denn! You're most welcome. Decisions; sometimes stressful, sometimes delicious agony, almost always high-stakes because we have to live with them for the rest of our time in the house. Ask away, learn with us. And if you're anything like me get it wrong a few times and then get it right. Ian

I notice that nobody seems to have addressed this aspect of Barney's post. Does anyone ( @VIPMan ?) have a story to tell about the costs and benefits of sheeted scaffolding, please? I'm sucking my teeth wondering about whether we should get some sheeted scaffolding up as soon as the foundation is in?

@Mikey_1980, looks brilliant. We have two tests to pass: @MrsRA Sid the Tom Cat And I don't know which is the worst. Sid won't like it because he won't be able to strop the carpet, or get a grip on some of his high-speed turns SWMBO will love it. But I'll be shouted at when I come in with boots on. Hmmmmm. Whom to please?

Here's just one: (PM me for the company name if you like) Tucked away in a corner words to the effect; If we choose to use piles as a foundation, then the policy will be cancelled or otherwise varied ( = price increase). And I had to decide whether I would to use piles before the SE had decided. I pointed that out. Oh, that's OK.... just give us £600 for the year and we'll look at the contract again later if you use piles. I read and re-read five quotes, and highlighted sections I felt were dubious. I was and still am unhappy with the quote I accepted; but it was the least bad option. I don't mind companies making money. But I do mind what appears on the face of it to be border-line sharp practice. As standard.

Be really careful to read all the text. Print it out and take your time. Here be Dragons