Puff

No idea what ProDave said in English but I have a Hive controlling the heating in my place but the HW bit controls the immersion heater. Not perfect but then my house used to be empty for weeks at a time and it was enough to get the HW hot for when I returned home.

The condition was requested by some neighbours and passed by Planning Committee against advise of LPA solicitors. They could have appealed but have chosen not to. They can apply for a loft extension and that would be taken on it's merits and may be decided as over-development of the site. With the condition removed, they can just go ahead and do it and that is the worry for the neighbours, hence why the condition was requested. It may not, at the time, have passed the 6 steps though reasonableness likely to be covered. Necessity will have to be looked at obviously, though it can be argued is it necessary to have such a big house in a cul-de-sac of houses 1/2 the size or less and therefore the condition of over-development would be necessary imho

Neighbours to a friend have an end of terrace house. There was enough space to extend the house sideways and they sought planning permission for a 2 floor side extension. This was granted but there was a condition attached that they would lose the right to Permitted Development in future with regards the roof. This was so as to NOT allow them to stick a loft extension and effectively turn what was once a 3 bed house into 7 bed house. They did not appeal. These neighbours have now completed their side extension and have now applied for a Minor Material Amendment to have that restriction removed. Can you actually change planning permission and conditions after the building works (completed according to plan) have been completed? Any other guidance on this? My thoughts are that they accepted the PP as given, built their extension and should they/future owners wish to extend upwards, there is a mechanism in place to do so, should they be successful. This is London where there are loads of loft extensions.

Fortunately not! Last owners threw on a green box tin roof to stop the whole lot collapsing and I put in for reclaimed Welsh slate (like the converted barn next to it) and that was accepted. Bloody hate the thing, can't wait until its all gone. I've found a local farmer who'll buy the tin off me, so that's useful.

I'm a bit ahead of you then. I was extending so had to take the end gable off first and then part of the front wall was beyond saving, so I propped up the existing tin roof and took the wall down. This allowed me dry access underneath so I could (carefully) get a digger inside to get the floor dug/levelled and new foundations. Kept the roof on in order to the floor/blockwork until high enough. Have removed 2/3 of old roof but there's still a bit over the garage, which is still being used as such. Plan is to get the other end "dry", move all the stuff over and then take the remainder down.

Have got the rafters up for 1/2 the building but no builder for a few months, so I'm going to cover with damp proof membrane until he's back and we can do the remainder of the roof. Had considered OSB/felt the bit that's done but he said easier to get the whole roof straight without it, so membrane it is.

Alternatively... 4.5m of 30kg/m using 1 ton winch on the tractor and braced scaffold frame but that only had to raise 2.5m

I hired one of these to put up the steel ridge beams on my build. Longest beam was 5m and was 31kg/m so 150kg. Floor to apex is 6m and its another 1.5m to ground level at the end in the picture. I'd never driven one before but it was an absolute doddle to get them in place. Recommend using a 2-way radio if you can!

Thanks PeterW I'm fortunate in that I have a good builder to hand to show me the way. He can then do all the stuff I can't do such as stone facing whilst I'm on the roof!

Thanks all - found 3 large unused Velux with flashing nearby - £100 each. Don't mind one of them being in the garage

Wow - where's the saving?! I can see some but b-me that's not cheap still. Only really after some light, doesn't need to be double glazed. I'm guessing there's not an easy way of DIY

I'm probably been dumb here but I'm generally not too bad on google searches but... I want a sloping roof window that doesn't open. The old roof on my barn conversion was box section tin and over the garage part they had clear plastic box section, which obviously let in a reasonable amount of light. I'm keeping the garage/man cave and just re-roofing with slate (new rafters etc etc) and I essentially want to have some natural light but I sure as heck can't get up 15ft to open and it doesn't need to. All I can seem to find are normal opening velux types or flat roof windows, which as the name implies won't go on slopes.. Can someone point me in the right direction please?!

I had 2 guys for 3.5 days doing blockwork (inc doors/windows/some steels) - £160 each/day and I was the labourer More than happy with what they achieved.

With just under 6000 to lay, think I'll be trying to do it myself as that's a chunk of budget I haven't got Long cold winter for me ahead I think!

As per title! I'm aware there are other options but only looking for Velux and wondering where the best (cheapest!) place to get them is? Happy to not have the latest models.

Barn conversion, lot of new cavity wall/insulation and definitely doing UFH on the ground floor (especially after how much work I've had to do to get it ready for a new pad!) but what about the first floor? Obviously UFH is less intrusive but likely more costly to install. What is the better option and why?

I've an ASHP still under RHI when I bought the property. No questions as to how the place is heated and no issues at all with 2 insurers and various quotes. No recommendations as I've a holiday let on site and that's enough trouble in itself.

Thank you, that was what I was hoping for. Yes, plan is to do u/floor on both levels.

Probably a very simple question but one I can't seem to find an answer for. Logic also says it should be possible but then I'm not a heating engineer. Any reason that I can not put the manifold for a ground floor underfloor heating system on the 1st floor? Intending to put all my "plant" in a room on the first floor as it'll be over the adjoining garage and I don't want to use (ground) floorspace in the garage.

I'll get some pics but its not so much gravel around here but what is dug out the ground. Its VERY stony soil and somewhere a hole is dug and what is dug out gets put on the driveway. So, all that I dug out of the ground for foundations I will eventually use on the driveway. Underneath its just not dug but is starting to wash away in places. Seeping water into a drain may not work unfortunately because earth/clay holds the drive together, so might not seep and water tends to run over the top of it like tarmac.

I don't know but from looking at them, possibly not. I've got other places where they would be used though (fields with running water!).

I have say 50m of driveway on a gentle slope, which then gets steeper as it comes into the yard. Over the last couple of wet winters, a lot of mud and small stone has flowed down and left channels in the steep parts of the drive and puddles in the shallower bits. What is my best option for reducing the flood of water that comes down? I'm thinking concrete channels running across the drive at strategic places leading to drains off to the fields but I want to avoid them becoming ramps if/as stone erodes away with people coming/going. Grading to a gentle crossways angle (drains to the side) will help a bit at the top but once it gets to the steep parts that is not an option really but I need to do something as opposed to fill the puddles every now and again with gravel. Help!

Wow - so much interest but such a boring story. 20 years ago I featured in a magazine article for Revs - "Subaru vs Cosworths". It was P'ing down and they posted a picture of my green Subaru Impreza Wagon with the heading "Puff the Magic Wagon lives in the sea, tra la la...". After that and in order to wind the Ford owners up, I put Puff The Magic Wagon on my windscreen for RS day in Silverstone and since then been known as Puff to many people. Even had a comic art version done...

West Wales at 1000ft mark and it can be windy, rainy, sunny all at the same time. Yesterday bright sunshine, boiled the kettle and looked out, heavy snow, drank tea and it was bright sun again!

Hello all, just introducing myself. I'm in the process of undertaking a barn conversion in rural Wales. Adding a small end extension to the barn part and the other end as a garage. One of the remaining walls is collapsing, so will be renewing that and replacing current tin roof with reclaimed slate. Desire is to make this place highly insulated and as enviro friendly as poss (GSHP/solar etc). I'll be trying to do most everything bar brickwork or at least giving it my best effort as budget is minimal. If nothing else I will make a great labourer/slave/biatch Already finding value in this forum as I didn't knowI could reclaim VAT