LSB

Welcome, there are a number of us from Suffolk

well done, you've waited long enough, bet it will be finished way before ours 🙂

Thanks, the SE approved the rafter drawings, and the walls, but didn't actually specify the hangers 🙂 He is currently on holibobs for the next 2 weerks (I know because I'm waiting on him for some changes to the floor structure for phase 2) so no chance of involving him and we don't really want to wait for him to return to 1000 emails. I'll look at the links you sent

We are looking at fitting the following roof. The wall where the rafter fits is the internal wall below the rafter and for 2 blocks above it will be the external wall. This wall is built using H&H celcon high strength 7.3n aerated concrete block 440*102*100mm My question is, what sort of bolt should we use to fix the wall plate to this wall. The wall plate is 47 * 147 and the rafters are at 400 centres. The walls have been constructed, but we are wondering about them being aerated as the the decription. TIA Jill

laying a suspended concrete floor with 2 layers of mesh not suspended on the foundations, so just sitting there. luckily we hadn't poured so it was rectified by removing, but it was noticed by BC not us and the mesh was all too small after being cut to go into the foundations, not on them.

not adjoining their existing land and land away from the farm is never going to be farmable due to the issue with moving the equipment needed. There is little ag land available except in huge parcels as farmers give up, getting 5 acres of good ag land by your land is like finding hens teeth.

why would we want to sort out the roads, that will just bring more tourists 🤣

I would say to rebuild to look as much as possible as it was previously, from a distance. But, if you at any time are thinking about a dwelling then agricultural to dwelling is a well trodden path. As IanR says though if you change the use to workshop then you will need to wait 10 years before you could ever consider converting. By the way, there is no such category as 'countryside', they is agricultural, amenity and residential (including gardens) so I guess it's still agricultural if it was never changed, but that shouldn't make any difference to you using it.

I don't have any experience, but ask the neighbours surveyor that question as I'm assuming that he is insured and if he is prepared to do this then he must feel comfortable as it will come back on him. But, and it's a big one, won't you need access to his land to build your property and have you had a structural survey to confirm that his wall is good enough to hold up your new house.

welcome

our private BC company have recently contacted me saying that they need to visit every 3 months, this is like the OP 3 years into the build. When I questioned this they mentioned changes in legislation. He came out last week and is coming again Wed to meet with the SE on site. No mention of charging, but our contact, which I questioned at the time, said visits for each stage however many times that is all included in the price. As we are building in 4 or 5 phases and only just moving to phase 2 then he will be here a lot. But, he's been really helpful and has suggested cost saving ideas, hence the SE meeting this week. He is a biker and has a massive stately home project nearby so does tend to pop in when he's passing.

I have class Q and it was passed as structurally sound. But when it came to BC and SE drawings it had to be underpinned. It has stood since the 1950's and is only single storey like yours, so be prepared for this eventuality and how expensive underpinning is.

We have already been years on our build and are still on phase 1 of probably 8, many times I've considered giving up. the only reason we haven't is because we live next door and I couldn't stand seeing someone else doing it. We are a totally DIY self build and we've made mistakes, had bereavements, job losses and the consequent money issues. Do what is right for you, but consider how you would feel if you sold up, if it's total relief then do that, if it will be regret then battle on. You can always sell up in the future, but won't be able to buy back once you've done it. Good luck with whatever you decide and I hope it works out for you. Feel free to reach out to the BH community and maybe find someone local who you can physically visit and see their progress / finished results. By the way, we are in our 60's so you are not old 🙂

my daughters partner doesn't drive and isn't interested in learning. that is until he needs to get somewhere and she isn't available to taxi him. it's feasible to reduce the no. of cars, but we need the public transport for evenings / weekends / emergencies without having to get expensive taxis. another daughter came to stay and couldn't believe that we have no uber here and that's East Anglia

it's actually block / block, but I couldn't find a picture online showing that. So, they will both be covered by plasterboard