Andeh

Thanks, I may be wrong in imaging it...im not on site now...... but it is only 3 very ''casual' steps to the top. Just don't want to ring building control & use up any good will on such a ''small'' thing (in my mind!)

We have 3 large steps going into our kitchen area, total height of approx 700mm. The top of the stairs 'opens' into the large kitchen, but apparently we need a handrail either side of these steps. The challenge we have on one side of the stairs there is no wall to meet them, so we are needing to build a swarf wall approx 900mm tall by 600mm long to support a handrail. This is a really clunky design into an otherwise open kitchen. Does anyone know how 'hard & fast' this rule is? Ill give building control a call tomorrow, but i'm keen to know the exact rules, and 'Part M' docs are not revealing to me what I need to achieve. The stairs are 2m wide, and will have a bannister on one side! Many thanks,

Yep, should be good there! thanks

We received planning permission for an extension, and started ordering materials. It then turned out to be cheaper to do a knock down & rebuild....for which the planning permission was granted for this. However, we ordered materials before the ''rebuild '' planning came through..... but then used them for the new build itself. How would we approach this for VAT reclaim? Submit it all with a covering letter detailing it all out, or are we out of luck? Thanks

Turned a bad day into a good day, thank you Thor! That's will definitely save us some monies

Thanks Thor, I have seen the Gov list, so ill dig that out and go through it. I presume anything we have bought since he builder starter, that is on that list we pull together & submit (a process ill dig into myself). Thank you

We are doing a new build with a main contractor. The standard house etc is all 0% VAT rated obviously, but when we buy something large not included in the original sum (a new patio, wood burner stove etc) he pays for it, and charges us 9% for profit & overheads, but we don't pay the VAT. However, what are the rules if I buy large items myself (ie garage doors) and keep the receipt...can I claim back the VAT or do I only save the VAT if it goes through him? Welcome any guidance - thanks

Thanks, though not sure I follow your point... As in you can't join "my" preinstalled fibre to their fibre at the base of the pole my current location of will come off? (for the day FTTP arrives at our village)

Yet another clanger dropped.....arranged plant room for a BT broadband socket to be in the centre of a wall, next to the AV hub. All AV/network is prewired for it. Annoying, we then forgot to run a ducting to this location to enable a broadband cabling to be pulled through, outside to inside of room. Floor was concreted on Friday & so no more easy ducting runs. I am hoping to speak to builder on Monday to chase the the external wall (will be rendered) and run a ducting up the chase/cavity a 300-500mm, then into the room & along the wall behind cylinder/plumbing to reach this 'broad band'' point. However, whatever we do it the ducting/ease of using it is going to be compromised. As a result I want to try and get as much cabling in now before the cylinder etc goes in to block it off. As a result, does anyone know the cabling I should pre-run into the ducting before we bodge it in? Ideally for current copper but also FTTP. Many thanks,

Obvious comment from an obviously biased source. Not entirely wrong though....

Thanks guys, seeing as everything has already been strapped into place, best I can get is rockwool around it, and simulate the effect. Not perfect, but better then nothing. Ill ring rockwool to make sure, then stuff it up there!

That's idea! I'm hoping I can get away with handpacking vermiculite sheets tight around it, with some metal stripes to hold it up and I'm place. I'm worried about air tightness as well, but having been ruthlessly fastidious over the rest of the house, this area may need to be a compromise. I'll just use fire proof sealant all around all the exterior connections and hope for the best

We have 150mm insulation in our warm roof, insulated flu passes through it, but the installer explained has to be a 50mm zone around the flu. Is is simply the ''done thing'' to keep this 50mm an accepted cold spot going through the roof? Has anyone used vermiculate or rockwool around it? I figured they are non-combustibles and at the 2m height above the fireplace the stove insulated flu will not be so hot as to damage them. Welcome thoughts - thanks

Yikes, that escalated quick! OP, chill out... Geddit? (I'm joking) The locals speak the truth, if you want to cool properly stick to dedicated AC, MVHR is just to light and slow to make a meaningful difference. I looked into it before shitting myself into an extra £4k to install proper AC.

I just spent 5 hours getting AC pipes through a ducting. I (expletive deleted)ing hate self building right now, damn job was only going to take 30mins in my head. The bill to dig up and modify the Ducting will be a shitter as well. I hate this shit right now. "it'll be worth it when it's done..." grrrrrr

Builder has come back with the cost of a 2400 x 2400 (approx) concrete ring attenuation tank under our driveway, saying the cost is now 3x his estimate when we started the build. He is asking the architects for options, and I fear they will just shrug us off onto plastic crates. I don't like the idea of these being sunk under our driveway for future debris build up & not being user serviceable, even with a catch tank further up stream. Has anyone come across anything else that is worth exploring? Thanks

Just to soften it a bit for OP, 150mm of PIR anywhere underneath the UFH is still very good all considering. 20mm PIR and then 50mm is not unreasonable. I'd prob go down that route I think. Quicker warm up times and will still let some warmth creep into mega store underneath.

Screw or it WILL squeak when the joists dry and shrink. Use screws which are NOT threaded all the way to the top. We did lots of research on this building several thousand houses a year and trying different methods on different plots then taking the feedback. We found that even when glued floor boards move a little and squet on the shank of the screw if they are not threaded all the way to the head. Glue and screw - screws MUST be threaded all the way to the top. (Our business had the best customer satisfaction ratings in the industry for many years) (note. We used chipboard floors "weatherdeck", and an engineered beam system called Silent Floor) .... From another forum I am on, though this is from a few years ago!

We are renting the world's cheapest and worst built persimmon new build. It's drafty, hollow, thin single plasterboard on metal stud walls that flex, the pipes knock and bang like crazy.... However.... Over 3 floors and 4 bedroom there is only one single creak coming from bathroom in front of the built in cupboard. I suspect the cupboard (fixed) moving on the semi flexing floor. It's quite impressive not a single squeeky floor board anywhere. I'm sure it's called "silent flooring" or something, where all the boards sit on a layer of goopy glue laid on the joists.

Can't coment on the breakdown, but I'd suggest closer to £2000 to £2500psqm build only, spec dependant. Worth getting an online QS service to give you a ballpark.

For the sake of OP's question, the answer is 125mm PIR to get min for building regs (approx I think? ) I'd encourage going for 150mm.... But asking him to excavate down and go with passive house equiv is excessive. The return on investment for going 200mm PIR and excavating to make it fit would have a payback time beyond his lifetime!!!

I WONDER if you could use am External grade colour matched silicone sealant type, applied carefully and smoothed with a silicone spreader? Even if it needs to be replaced every few years it's cheap, quick and easy to do?

We have gone for jet black on white render, though we have gone for black inside to "frame" the outside view and add a bit of contrast. It is an ultra modern look we are going with though!

Following with interest, as I could do this in our garage!

If in doubt...its 95% of the time on you i'm afraid!