Alan Ambrose

In a day, you could actually do a perc test and dig down by the foundation to see how deep it is and/or core the slab. That would give you new info.

>>> immersion heater where we can control the temperature setpoint remotely. You can do this (unofficially) with a Heatmiser set-up if you really want.

I might check that the existing structure really allows class Q in your area. Have a guarantee from the sellers? Talked to the planners?

>>> Not quite how it will work for an individual though Exactly the same. You can figure the duties in advance if you look up the right product code. There will be a smallish import processing charge by the shippers and shipping charges, of course.

Commiserations, at least you can broadcast the new eqpt in your sales particulars

I would guess 3P too. In think the cost depends a lot on which DNO you’re dealing with, and how much of a rush you’re in. My understanding is that most DNOs will put in temporary safety protection for OH wires at little or no cost while you’re building / demolishing.

>>> The loft company have told me there is nothing they can do now. i.e. there's nothing they want to do now, thank you very much. Suggest your options are: Bite the bullet and get in a decent plasterer at your expense. Give the company final notice to fix the problems and then take to County Court for the amount quoted in 1. (not a big deal, but you'll need to spend the time and also the expense if you get legal help). Even better, suggest you're preparing to go with 2. and in a very polite way ask them to anti up the funds for 1. Be aware that most opponents tend to throw the dice on this at this point as (a) they'll think there's a good chance you're bluffing and (b) they underestimate the time and expense they'll need to do 2. In that case, you'll then need to do either 1. or 2. as before. Ignore, and relish as wabi-sabi. Only you (or the other half) can choose. I've done each at different times, sometimes it was simply a factor of how much I thought they were taking the ... or not.

OK makes sense. As planning in these parts takes forever, we've planted hedges and fruit trees already. Did we just shoot ourselves in the foot re 'gain'?

>>> 2 x 48 switches. FFS 😀

Yeah, that's how it always starts. Pretty soon you'll find you've spent 5 years battling with the planners and you've spent too much of your life looking at telehandlers on eBay 😀. Remember that the value of the advice is related to the cost of the advice (i.e. nothing).

Possible to go back to the architect, explain the stuation, and ask very politely if there's any way they could increase it to the higher figure? Having worked in financial services industry most of my life, I have no respect for their box-ticking nonsense - but that's probably the simplest and fastest way. Funny how financial services (a mortgage) requires more financial services (insurance)? No?

These are on the 2nd floor and, say, powder coated aluminium? Unless, they're massive, I would of thought they could be installed from a tower.

OK I think I'm looking at something like this then:

p.s. is there a flood risk report somewhere? Again, that might have been a planning pre-condition so will be on the LPA portal. Lastly, do chat to the the neighbours - they often have juicy bits of historic info you wouldn’t get any other way.

Yeah +1. Those reports are done by looking at maps, not visiting the site and are mostly computer-generated reports. They give a few pointers, that’s all. Walking round with a competent builder or surveyor and/or asking a local SI company or groundworks company about the locality will give you much better info. Personally I think these risks are often overplayed. The report generators will err on the side of caution to avoid liability - a bit like the side-effect lists you get in drug packets. Do the risks all vanish after the typical 10-year warranty period? What if the property you’re buying is several hundred years old? But for a fairly small expense and time investment you can get a reading from local specialists if you like.

Re solar gain. +1 to getting some up-front calcs. Fill in the simple part O spreadsheet and see how far you’re over. Even simpler is a window to floor area calc to see if you’re in the right ballpark, see e.g.: https://sustainableengineering.co.nz/glazing-percentage-handy-rule-of-thumb-to-prevent-overheating/#:~:text=Prevent overheating by keeping the,found it holds true there. Options later are simple part O (if you’re not far over), PHPP shading calcs if your BC will allow it (my LPA BC won’t, but a private local BC has said it would) or TM59 if you want to push the boat out. The last two allow the effects of brise soleil, external shutters/blinds, low g glass, reveals, shading from trees etc to be taken into account. The simple part O calc won’t allow adjustment for any of those. My strategy is to get planning permission with a high glass content and dial back with a non-material amendment if needed. In the meantime I’ve done detailed PHPP shading calcs and determined that I can control the gain with external blinds on the W & E windows (I have v few S facing). That’ll probably need to be verified/repeated by a qualified PHPP person to convince BC. In my view the whole part O thing should never have been applied to single dwellings. The whole part O rational was driven by modern London flats getting hot during Covid. The big housebuilders had their fingers on the creation of the part O rules, so they wrote the rules to suit themselves. Also, you can mitigate after the fact fairly easily with a detached house with awnings etc. You can’t do anything much with a flat, particularly if you’re renting.

@Adsibob Thanks v interesting. Presumably not a ‘self levelling’ screed but a thicker ‘stays where it’s put’ kind.

Did you ever find out what was actually wrong with the flue? Is there such a thing as a camera inspection and can the problem be rectified? >>> Sell the flat. It’ll likely come up unless their solicitor is asleep at the wheel. You’ll need to provide a recent certificate, which will detail the problem, and the buyer will probably want to deduct the cost of fixing it.

>>> Is the area you want to cover 7m by 2m Ah yes, I was ambiguous - that's the internal area of the staitwell which needs to drain i.e. the area of the 'shower tray'. It's the floor of an RC box that is the stairwell.

>>> it's currently a concrete-and-asbestos monstrosity with no public views of that elevation Ah, a valuable heritage asset built with authentic materials which needs preserving at all cost... 😀 - I've completely lost it with the planners at this point. Our current barn conversion was worthless (I paraphrase) to the heritage people and could be knocked down as far as they were concerned as they didn't care. Now they're all about preserving its barn-like qualities...

Ah, I thought self-builds were captured in March/April - obviously wrong again

Hi, I was just looking at @Drellingore's light mitigation question and was reminded of the biodiversity requirement that has come in this year. Anyone care to throw some light / give us the 10 minute version?

Hmmm, sounds to me like they don't like the amount of glazing at all. They would probably prefer that you didn't have any windows ever 😒. I wonder whether you could demonstrate that no-one much is likely to actually see those windows? Even a photomontage showing what it would look like from afar at night?

OK, I have an external basement stairwell planned, about 7x2m, outside our basement. The step into the door is designed currently 350mm from the stairwell floor to allow some space for insulation etc. I'm thinking I'll use the bottom of the stairwell as a sump with sump pumps to remove the rain. I need, say, 100mm min XPS insulation on the floor, near the door into the basement, to partly counteract the thermal bridges. So, I think I need a sort of big 'shower tray'-like shape to funnel the water into one corner, maybe 100mm high at the high edges going down to say 30mm for a 1 in 100 slope. How might I make this? Sculpt some big bits of XPS with a hot wire to get the slope and screed or cement board over? Freehand somehow in screed, maybe with a thick non-flowing screed and some long wedges as guides for some kind of simple tamp? Something else?

Can I ask - are the channels between screed and wall for remedial drainage purposes?