joe90

Yep definitely repair work, our entrance I had to work on in a similar way whilst we were fighting fir planning permission, our neighbour (who objected to everything) reported me for removing a tree but as it was an existing entrance (to a field) it was ok and I was entitled to repair what existed. I don’t know how you can prove it existed, google earth as mentioned or photo,s or a statement from a neighbour. Wait till the council contact you with their evidence then prove them wrong (if they go ahead).

Ah, I remember the elation of a flat floor well done

As @Temp says even if they objected you would almost certainly win on appeal and the planners know it, just put it there and say you were told it would be ok, IF they object, offer to pay council tax, apologise fir getting it wrong (grovel grovel). I don’t think it would be a problem and worth the gamble. If you get on with the neighbours that would be a good start.

I had bifolds made by the same company that made my windows, they used a German hung slide mech (don’t know the name) and I insisted on compression seals as I don’t like brush seals because of the air leakage issue. They work very well, look good (oak) and yet to have an air test but feel positive it will be fine.

I put a static here and did not apply for PP, if you search the web you will find info that says PP is not required fir a temp building, like the container I have on site. I told them it was for builders facilities but I was sleeping In It during the week but had a house in Bristol where the wife stayed till the build was nearly complete and paid council tax on the house only. It might be worth a punt not applying fir PP like I did but if you are living in it you will need to pay council tax like @ProDave says above.

I was advised to use a buffer tank to stop the ASHP from short cycling but others have not installed one and theirs seem to work ok ?

Who is your “designer”?, I am not a fan of architects generally (but I am sure there are some good ones out there, somewhere?). I designed our build but got an architect to put it on CAD and send to the council (I heard on the grapevine that our local planners don’t like people doing it themselves, plus I use pencil and paper ?) the architect, despite my pencil drawings got so many things wrong and charged me £1800, I wish I had done it myself. Architects tend to design what they want not necessarily what you want (and you are paying for it). Hunt around for a recommended architect or architectural technician. You will know when you meet a good one.

Hi @Pemu and welcome, for starters there is no such thing as a stupid question here, stupid is not asking.. I for one have learnt sooo much from this forum and I am a retired small time builder!,!. There are blogs here about various builds, @JSHarris fir starters is very comprehensive. Search fir various topics replayed to your questions, we are all very friendly ?.

Unlike me I think a lot of people don’t like older properties because of the maintenance issue and see new build as not requiring work. A friend of mine said to me recently after completing my new build “ I thought you didn’t like new houses” my reply was “only if I build it myself and it’s got character “.

I bought a manifold kit from Wunda fir an ASHP and it did not have a pump and the wrong connections, when I called them they assumed the pump in the ASHP would be sufficient. Our ASHP does not have a pump and because we are using a buffer tank two pumps are required, one for the UFH ccts on the manifold and one for the buffer tank and DHW and ASHP cct.

When fighting our planning application our neighbour (tosser) told us he owned the grass verge between his wall and highway about 1m, on talking to a very helpful chap at highways he was wrong (not that he would admit it!!). The verge is counted as highway in fact it being the predecessor to a pavement, somewhere for people and horses to walk if they choose. The boundary is the wall, hedge or ditch. if you leave the bottom couple of brick courses (repointed) and erect the fence on top no one can argue, especially if you photograph the leaning wall of pitza as evidence, I imagine if you remove the ivy it will look even worse so you have good cause to make it safe. Simples ?

I am not a fan of fence panels but have installed fences fir people using post, rails and either taper edge boards or hit and miss boards (my preference) and they last far longer than fence panels. Using bricks at the base will be good to keep the fence wood away from the rot zone which is next to the soil and stop dogs or vermin digging under the fence. I have also found that using 5” x 4” posts worth the extra small cost. My fences never blew down ?

Ah, enough said. Chances are it’s built with lime if it’s that old so picking the bricks off should be easy, if they are fairly good I would rebuild it in single brick with piers at intervals.

If you read threads on here it appears ASHP,s are a better bet than GSHP,s. I have the room and machines to instal my own GSHP but went with an ASHP (self instal) and it was soooo much easier. I am sure others will chip in soon.

Have you considered removing the ivy and repointing the wall?, is it that bad?, if it’s not leaning or disintegrating it’s amazing how repointing can revive a brick wall. (And a small cost relative to replacing it.)

The cost of a building company employing a clerk of works would be less than putting work right afterwards, he could also train/keep an eye on younger trades people to make sure things are done correctly.

Yes a good friend of mine used to be a clerk of works, just like my late missus knew a ward matron in the NHS.

@the_r_sole we tend to agree then, notice you also quoted clerk of works like I did, make someone responsible (who knows what they are doing ?).

@the_r_sole So how would you make sure new houses were built to a good standard?

Am I wrong or did building companies have a “clerk of works “. Taken from a dictionary. :- a person who oversees building work in progress.:- ?

Should it not be the inspector (private or otherwise) that is responsible for faults, heavy fines/struck off. That will focus the mind. Or fine the builder (heavily) for not meeting current regs?.

Yes, and that knowledge is based on being a retired builder, doing my homework on this and other forums, being the project manager on site all day, and employing a local builder for the “hard” work that has a brilliant reputation for good quality work and embraces new practices found in “passive” type builds.

Makes me even more pleased I did a self build as I KNOW it’s done properly!

This makes me laugh, look at most housing estates and tell me they take sight lines into account?. We also had a neighbour who objected to our new drive as he said headlights would shine in their kitchen, on appeal (which we won) the appeal officer said they were too far away and any way their headlights would equally shine our way!!!.

Well we have a wood burner as her and me would rather watch a real fire than most of the crap on tv. It’s a real feature in our “cottage” we live in a very rural location and most around us have fires (not as efficient as ours I bet). With the doors open the heat circulates quite well, the huge brick fireplace acts like a thermal store, yes it gets a bit warm but is only lit fir a couple of hours when the weather is cold. Not sure how much the MVHR retains its warmth and distributes it but the whole house benefits and the effect lasts till the morning which is nice in winter.