Alan Ambrose

@garrymartin @Indy Just to add - my two parallel appeals had final comments in March too (actually 19th). For anyone reading along - the current appeal stats are here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/appeals-average-timescales-for-arranging-inquiries-and-hearings The stats are misleadingly quoted and refer to the Validation date to Decision date. My Submissions from Submission date to Validation date took 10 & 12 weeks and a neighbour's 15 weeks! So, the quoted timescales need 10-15 weeks added to them. There's clearly some stats management going on by the inspectorate using the validation delay to massage the data - which should be outlawed so that real stats are reported. A letter to our MPs when they all get back to work? The validation process was nonsense and I sent back some drawings with the 'missing items' noted in bold red text and some 'missing drawings' with just a page reference to the required drawings in the already submitted file. Hopefully there will be a number of pleased BH members soon...

Well welcome, put up an couple of photos of your plot just to make us envious . What kind of construction?

Yeah I would like a Suffolk GE recommendation too if you don’t mind.

Do you have the option of submitting another qs number from an independent third party? I guess the mortgage co are just trying to do a sanity check, and your special circumstances make you look ‘different’. And institutions find it hard to do ‘different’.

It will be if we ever get PP .

Present place is in Witnesham IP6, plot is North Green, IP17.

What bit of Suffolk are you in? @G and J , @LSB and me are all in the area. I know one other couple doing a barn conversion also.

Yeah should be zero or thereabouts assuming there’s no dwelling there already. Presently agricultural or residential curtilage? Can’t remember whether it makes any difference though. There are so few land sales that most solicitors don’t know the right sdlt treatment. Also they should be doing the appropriate searches and inquiries for land sales (more comprehensive) not residential. Double check that they’ve covered access, visibility splays, all utilities, drainage, contamination, flood risk, CIL, nearness to aonb, article 4 etc etc etc. This has PP now? For something you want to build?

Yeah I think there’s a bunch of responsibility to be pushed back on the seller. If they can’t be arsed to sort out a warranty such that prospective buyers can get mortgages, then they’ll need to accept some of the cost. Suggest v delicate negotiating describing how hard you’re trying to make the situation work and the potential costs to you (and later buyers for the next 7 years) of the sellers not providing a warranty. An easy calc would be 2% premium you’re seeing x 5 years (say) x your mortgage principal.

Welcome. That sounds an interesting problem - the ‘everyone should use heat pumps’ brigade seem to have ignored some common use cases e.g. not having much outside space.

An easy way to estimate the u-value fairly accurately is to use the thickness of insulation only and ignore the rest of the stack-up. That’s one number. The other bits often won’t contribute much and will mostly net out with the inevitable thermal bridges. By all means when you’re getting close to knowing the full wall/roof build up put in ubakhus or similar. Until then I wouldn’t waste my time.

If you must bodge, then maybe some pointed posts knocked in at 45 degrees in the plane of the fence and bolted to the existing posts. Shouldn’t look too ugly if you attend to the detail. But I’m with @ProDave - consider a full replacement, hedge clip the brambles so you can get at the other side, use best quality matetials and think about the ‘rot at base of post problem’. All so it lasts 30 years this time.

Ask politely for a pointer to which reg this is ‘so you can be sure you’re following the regs exactly’?

We have our fridge/freezer in a kitchen unit type cupboard. Think that’s fairly standard. It has vents at the bottom, maybe at the top - I don’t remember looking This kind of thing: https://www.diy-kitchens.com/kitchen-units/appliance-housings/integrated-fridge-freezer/

Would a telehandler solve your lifting problem? Also, I believe that DNOs (UKPN?) will put up temporary protection to guard against a risk building near/under an overhead line.

What they mean - like a lot of insurers - (guess what) is that they would rather not fulfil their contract with you by paying out on their legal service. Yes, you don’t have a financial loss yet, but you have (fairly deliberate) property damage to the value of whatever you are quoted to put the job right. Part of your argument is that it will be cheaper to fix the problem now than fix the problem later along with the cost of the inevitable water damage. Supposing someone had carelessly backed into your car. Yeah, you don’t have any financial loss. Duh, well except for the cost of fixing the damage.

I think that’s really a misunderstanding by your LPA. In practice, will you light those areas at night in an objectionable way? Send them a detail spec of a unit (maybe with a drawing showing the lighting) and ask them whether that will meet their requirement? Otherwise external blinds are fairly easy, but since the LPA can’t insist you use them, a bit of a waste of time.

Or push another mortgage broker or two - some can’t be bothered, some actually have some proper relationships with the more specialised lenders. The whole indemnity thing is getting silly IMO - no surprise that the lenders are happy to spend other people’s money to cover their own arses.

Little difference to theoretical u-value as it’s assumed that the cavity between the cladding and SIP is ventilated at outside temperature. Try ubakus.de if you want to play around with different set-ups. Some cladding suppliers recommend 50 rather than 25mm to get max ventilation, but I’ve always read this as ‘would be nice’ and probably depends a lot on your local environment (wind, rain etc) a lot. W coast of Scotland, probably 50mm, some sheltered place in Suffolk, probably 25mm. Of course, horizontal cladding will save you 25mm too.

Maybe the SE if there was one.

Maybe see if you can locate a local drainage expert (at your expense ) to propose a solution that works better for you? Talk to their building control? Is the builder the principal or is there an owner somewhere? A professional would design it all up front and run it by you beforehand, maybe suggest some options to choose from, and try to minimise any impact on you. The hardball action is an injunction to prevent access why you negotiate. It’s always better to try to resolve amicably first but some builders will just dig first and make lame excuses after. Those ones require a shot across the bows before you get them to negotiate. How much do you care though? Enough to spend money?

I just saw that Hilti has a wacky ‘exoskeleton’ for that task - about a £1K: https://www.hilti.com/c/CLS_EXOSKELETON_HUMAN_AUGMENTATION/CLS_UPPERBODY_EXOSKELETON/CLS_SUB_UPPERBODY_EXOSKELETON/r14012433

I think he is taking the mickey a bit and that you have considerable negotiating room here to vary the route. Is there not an option to run a straight pipe through, which wouldn’t need a chamber? Depends on the exact wording of the clause and then how much effort you want to put in what result you’ll get. Why is he digging up your patio? Suggest start by asking him for other options and proposing your own route. Sounds like he’s probably going for the cheapest option regardless of the impact on you.

The screws are cheap and DIYable for decking, sheds etc. e.g. https://www.groundscrewcentre.co.uk p.s. I bought a bunch of green oak from these guys during covid: https://www.uk-timber.co.uk/58-structural-green-oak-beams Oak is more expensive but much longer lasting than treated softwood. Use A4 stainless fixings.

>>> you can sit you morning coffee and croissant on 😀