Omnibuswoman

I’ve just had the quote through from WPD for connecting us to the network- over £14k. That was not what I was expecting. Looks like they want to do some upgrading at largely (70%) our expense. I don’t really understand what they are proposing or why. Can anybody help decode this for me please? The chap next door (north of us) is waiting for planning consent on his land for 5 houses. We might be sensible to wait for him to foot the cost of upgrading local cabling before we get connected....

Yes, this happened with HMRC. I made an error on the SDLT1 form by not writing in an address for the land (although the instruction clearly said that if the land had no address, instead I should submit a plan, which I did). It was rejected because Q28 is a mandatory question, and not completing the box is an automatic fail. We've now been fined £100 for not submitting our land tax payment on time, because they rejected the form and the payment. Suffice it to say I have appealed the fine based on their own guidance for completing the form, which offers the option not to complete that particular question...

excellent, thanks Ferdinand! I will give them a call

Does anybody know if there is a timescale set out in law for land purchase to be registered with HM Land Registry? I've tried reading the Land Registration Act 2002 but I can't see anywhere that it sets a timescale (unlike the payment of Stamp Duty Land Tax which is 30 days from the date of completion). Thanks M

@bitpipe - We have 10 35mm x 836mm x1980mm internal doors to hang. The quote/QS from our builder is £100 per door to fit/hang. Does this seem like a reasonable cost? As you mentioned, there is quite a bit of work involved, but the quote took me rather by surprise!

Thanks! That’s pretty clear - I will need to get some work started this side of March next year to hold the permission. I shall be watching @BotusBuild to see what amounts to starting work in the eyes of Cornwall Council!

Can I ask about the extra six months as I haven’t heard about that (Cornwall is my planning authority too). Our PP expires in March 2021. Do I get an extra six months to begin work?

Yes, we will need to take the rubbish bins down to the end of the driveway for collection, and we will put a post box of some kind down near the end of the driveway so that the postman doesn't need to walk all the way up the drive. I can foresee my steps count increasing massively with all of those trips up and down the driveway! Deliveries are going to have to be trollied up the driveway. I actually bought a trolley for that very purpose which you can see Darren pulling in one of the photos. The plot allows for cars to turn around (3 point turn) but nothing larger than that. We didn't even once think about the accessibility of the plot to anything larger than a car when we put the offer in. It's only been since researching the land clearance that the restrictions have really dawned on us (novice error).

Spot on! Yes, we will have to have a sprinkler system installed which will be a few K. We are engaging a freelance building control person to advise us on meeting fire regs as part of our design process, but we already know that sprinkler will be mandated.

Thanks, that’s helpful advice Ferdinand.

???

Unfortunately not at the moment - the driveway comes up between two properties and is fenced on one side, and bound by the wall of our neighbour's house on the other. Her guttering restricts width at about 7-8ft off the ground. However, the neighbour to the north has applied to build on his plot, and if he wins consent that will open up significant access that we may well be able to make use of. He will demolish half of his house to create a new roadway from the road to the back of his plot. If he gets consent, then we could have a concrete truck come up on his side of the boundary, and would be within a few metres of the build. Otherwise, it is going to be the length of the driveway as there's no way a concrete lorry would come up. The soil removal is also going to be tricky unless we can access via the neighbour's plot (provided he gets planning consent). It involves dumping the contaminated topsoil on the driveway near our neighbour's house and from there scooping it into a lorry, x15. A massive pain in the butt. We asked the owner of the field to the west of us if we could access that way, but she declined. Massive disappointment. We plan to move the entrance gate to a slightly wider part of the driveway as the gatepost currently narrows one of the narrowest parts of the driveway. The attached plan shows the pinch points, and the neighbours plot to the north. Drawing 02 PROPOSED SITE PLAN copy.pdf

We only agreed that we would explore the possibility of building our own home in January, and now somehow seem to be well and truly on our way to seeing that happen in the coming year. Very exciting, but also quite daunting. Like most self-builders, I watch episode after episode of Grand Designs, Build the Dream etc, wondering why people fall into the same financial pitfalls almost every time, and more importantly, how we might avoid doing the same. Having found a plot with planning consent pretty much straightaway, we are now making great strides with our potential builder, Dan, who is a passivhaus enthusiast and all round eco-builder. We think we have arrived at the actual design, and will be in touch with the planning department shortly to see if we can have the changes to the original planning consent considered as material minor amendments rather than making a fresh full planning application. We have copied the scale and footprint of the design that won the original planning consent - a rectangular box that is both generously proportioned and an efficient use of space - and are designing in efficiencies where possible to make the best use of our budget. Three weeks ago we went down to the plot for the first time since having completed the purchase to began clearing debris and strimming the long grass. My parents, who live 10 minutes away, just over the border in Devon, gave us a hand. After four days of physical labour we were all absolutely exhausted, but very satisfied with our handiwork (see photos). We also met several of our future neighbours who almost all were absolutely lovely. We had a remote meeting with eco-builder Dan yesterday to discuss timescales and the build method. He proposed that we consider a stick build due to our very tight access (a 50m long driveway to the plot with only 2.2m width and restricted height in places), and to begin next Spring. With the likelihood of a second wave of Covid striking in the winter, and with me working for the NHS, we think that planning the build for the spring is probably sensible. It gives us plenty of time to deal with planning and do some thorough research on the various options for AHSPs, MVHRs, windows, external finishes etc. Below are photos of me, my parents, and my husband Darren, all hard at work. C63ACCAC-732D-438E-A3D4-11048661E3F6.mov IMG_7771.mov

I forgot to add that the balloons on the gate were put there by Isobel, our nearest neighbour and the vendor of the plot, to welcome us to our new home!

6m would be plenty to cover the distance between the ground and our bedroom wall

I'm just looking into the possibility (necessity) of AC for our master bedroom, and it looks very much as though this will become an essential piece of kit as the planet warms. We have our master bedroom in the NE corner of the house, second floor, and I'm wondering whether I could ground mount the AC unit, or whether it has to be a certain proximity to the internal unit? What was the reason you couldn't put yours on the path @Jeremy Harris? We will have a path running along the north side (gravel) between the house and the workshop.

thanks @JFDIY I'll have a look at that now!

Good thinking @Dan F, no I hadn't thought about that!

@joe90 I'm guessing that's more than 2m wide, eh?!!!!

What a monster!!!

Thank you @Ferdinand, @ToughButterCup, @Cpd, @PeterStarck, @Construction Channel, @Conor, @joe90 & @Declan52. Great food for thought - I appreciate you all taking the time to contribute. I suspect a machine will come in handy for landscaping our garden, and for various tree-related tasks around the plot. As we can afford the upfront outlay, I'm very tempted to get my hands on one. Unfortunately the local one has already sold, but there's no great rush so I can have a look around for something suitable. I will take a look at digger world to see if I can visit any time soon.

@joe90 how big is a JCB compared to a mini digger?

Thank you all!! Brilliant ideas. I’ll see if the chap is willing to hang onto it while I test one out. I LOVE the idea of diggerland!!!

will do!

I've spotted a mini digger on Facebook market local to us and am thinking about whether it would be worth buying. I have several things that it could be used for, and limited width access (only 2m in places - I can just about drive my qashqai up the drive and into the plot). We need to get the topsoil removed, and have it taken away and disposed of by a specialist processing company because it is contaminated with arsenic. Due to the access issues this is looking like it will cost around £12.5k at best. I'm wondering about saving some ££ by doing the scraping off myself, and just paying the company to remove it and dispose. That could save us £2-3k. There are some tree stumps to dig out as well, and we want to dig a small pond in one corner. Any advice/thoughts/feedback? I've never driven or used machinery such as this - am I mad to think I could learn quickly?? The mini digger is being sold for £6750.