Alan Ambrose

True but.... (And I guess this is an attempt to reduce some of finger pointing 'oh I didn't think it was my responsibility, I thought someone else was carrying the can' sad behaviour of the organisations associated with the Grenfell disaster.) ... if you have one or more principal designers & contractors, the domestic client is mostly 'off-the-hook' except that they are supposed to check and appoint the right people: "Although the client can delegate tasks, they cannot delegate responsibilities and must ensure that those they appoint have the right competencies to take on these roles." "The new dutyholders being introduced under the Building Regulations etc. (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2023 will be the client (including domestic client), the principal designer and the principal contractor as well as duties on designers (including the sole or lead designer) and contractors (including sole contractor)." This suggests that we self-builders should demonstrate that we've done due diligence on the 'principal designer' and the 'principal contractor'. "The client, meanwhile, must take all reasonable steps to satisfy themselves that the dutyholders are competent..." "Although the client can delegate tasks, they cannot delegate responsibilities and must ensure that those they appoint have the right competencies to take on these roles." The model seems to be that a client will appoint a principal design & contractor (and those parties get to manage the rest of the contractors and designers) - which establishes a kind of chain of command. That's fine for big commercial projects, but a bit non-obvious unless you have a very hands-off approach to self-build where you let, say, an architect and a main contractor run the show.

You can always use a bureau e.g. 3dprintuk - more expensive but zero faff. Great for small stuff - the price is generally based on build volume.

"On 17 August, the government published new regulations for higher-risk buildings (HRBs) and major changes to the Building Regulations that will enable further parts of the Building Safety Act to be fully implemented in England on 1 October 2023. These changes, which implement what has previously been set out and consulted upon, will fundamentally reform the way that design and construction appointments are made." https://www.constructionnews.co.uk/legal/will-the-building-safety-act-end-design-and-build-22-09-2023/#:~:text=The Building Regulations (Amendments etc,of clients%2C designers and contractors. I appreciate we're not building 'HRBs' (well not in that sense ) but has anyone figured already what this means for self-builders re CDM and principal designers etc? Maybe this is a better summary: https://www.architecture.com/knowledge-and-resources/knowledge-landing-page/building-safety-act-regulations-updates-2023

>>> Frankly it sounds like I should probably give up on burying any water "loops" in my garden and just work with overground minisprinklers or (gasp) no sprinklers at all. By all means put a bunch of garden taps everywhere on proper 25mm water pipe - you can/should use black rather than blue above ground. Run this with any anti-backflow valve / pressure reducer you want and with enough shut-off valves and drain down points to be helpful. You can attach one or more watertimers and mini irrigation stuff until you're happy. Or maybe bury 13/14mm standard irrigation pipe with pop-ups. I preter the screw on connectors for this as they're less faff.

Maybe my LPA is a bit different - but they don't seem to care much about 'sustainable' in practice - although, of course, their policies enumerate it. My model is that planning (for dwellings anyway) is 'look and feel' only. So, I wonder whether you need a good planning consultant rather than one with 'sustainable' qualifications. That makes the net wider. I'm assuming that you're not going for a para 80 home in the wilderness - correct me if you are.

Ah there are two kinds of leaky hoses - the porous kind and the ones with little holes every n cm. I guess I've used both. Suggest do as the French do and run the 2nd type above ground around the roses etc.

One problem with leaky hose is that you are never quite sure whether it's working or how much water is flowing. For pots, I've come to use the little mini adjustable sprinklers over the years - you can see what's happening and also adjust for each plant. I recently installed some grown-up pop-up sprinklers in a new lawn. Fairly cheap and easy to do and very satisfying when they turn on and pop up. I think the next stage is to use proper 24V valves instead of noddy water timers which seem to have a life of about 18 months even if you take them off in the winter.

>>> Regarding the appeal process, can anyone say how long it would take? There are government stats by LPA for LPA performance. Also, overall appeal stats by LPA with 'appeals turnover rate'. Also an appeals portal where you can e.g. see the appeal decision notices in your area. I remember it's about 6 months for full applications on average - it should be less for 'householder' appeals. I looked at some appeals in my area and concluded that the results were about as random and opinionated as the original results from my LPA. There's a thread somewhere here on BH. So, my conclusion was: by all means go for an appeal, but it's probably just another throw of the dice - don't anticipate a 'more rational' process. I would try to engage the LPA informally in a last ditch effort to find some common ground. Assemble all the evidence you can in advance and be prepared to 'negotiate'. >>> The irony is that the existing garage is around 30sqm, the one we want will be 60sqm but if we went the PD option, we'd be able to have 100sqm and that's if we don't move an apple tree that's in the way - if we did, it would be more like 150sqm I don't understand - 150 m^2 is the floor area of a medium size house?

>>> I was an alien. Presumably here to see whether this place should be demolished to make way for an intergalactic motorway? Our plot is on a single track 'quiet lane'. You'd be hard pushed to do over 20, but that doesn't stop the utilities arguing that they need to close the road because 'people could be doing 60'. On the original question - I think tread warily and stress that the current access exists already and won't be changed, which means the precedent is already set.

>>> Cheffins monthly auction at Ely Ah, thanks for the recommendation.

Ah, not so secure as it’s in the sticks although I’ll have good cctv and lights. On clay with medium amount of space - plot is 20m wide but 60m long - 1/3rd acre. Still waiting for the delightful planners.

The obvious things would be central supports or screed. Neither should be that big a deal - although if you have not planned for screed it will obviously raise the level. An SE should be able to tell you exactly how much bounce you should have now and how much it will reduce. You’ve grouted it already? That will also make a big difference. p.s. actually you don’t need an SE, an online beam bending calculator will give you some idea.

In terms of usefulness, what’s the most useful big equipment to have on site? Loader/forks/telehandler for shifting stuff around? Mini digger for trenching? Rent it when needed? What do you wish you had on site all the time?

You can get a good idea for comparison purposes by looking at kg of plastic / m^2. I see Eco500 is 5kg which is the same as the gravel grids I laid a few weeks ago for pedestrian only. I should say that I generally over-engineer (i.e. build to last) stuff though.

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2023/oct/05/england-worst-place-in-developed-world-to-find-housing-says-report

@saveasteading Yeah, I'm not sure I believe the 0.3mm - a typo maybe? Here's some info on corten for facades: https://www.ssab.com/en-gb/brands-and-products/cor-ten/product-offer/cor-ten-a-for-facades Says, 1-1.5mm thick, modulus (bendability/stretchability) ~200 GPa like mild steel, yields (strength) at about 300 N/mm vs. mild steel at 370.

>>> We went private for the flexibility, our BC is brilliant and really helpful. When you say 'private' - you mean an individual or one of the warranty companies? Any recommendations on what to do to get 'brilliant' or is it luck of the draw?

A couple of points I don't think anyone has mentioned yet: + the VAT situation is much better on new builds than refurbs - this may swing the economics. + the BCO (and I suspect you) won't want to build on existing foundations without SE calcs / soil investigations etc - especially if the soil state is known to be challenging anyway. So, you won't be able to avoid the foundation question. You wouldn't want the thing to subside after it's been built would you? + you'll get much better insulation values if you relay the slab. + it's probably no more expensive to re-build rather than do an extensive refurb and you'll almost certainly end up with a better result.

Curiously, I just saw a new house for sale with "10-year LABC build warranty". Is that a thing?

>>> but B705 is everywhere in all the calcs Maybe there's another detail clue somewhere there on the drawings? Weight / wire size / sheet size etc? It's presumably B785 - sounds like an easy typo for someone doing CAD from the SE's hand drawn notes?

>>> 8 cores (vertical soil profiles) didn't cost all that much Possible to give us a ballpark? TIA, Alan

>>> Edited to add: The Planning App records it as "Core 10" roof panels. Yeah, I was wrong - I didn't think corten came in thinish sheets for roofing - but I see it is a thing. Much cheaper than I imagined - 0.3mm with some kind of seam ~ £15 per m^2 up to 1.5mm flat @ £60 per m^2 e.g.. https://www.vidaxl.co.uk/e/vidaxl-roof-panels-36-pcs-rusty-60x44-cm-corten-steel/8720287069942.html

There are two options - either you or someone else designs (SE maybe), there's a proper drawing (you take the design risk) and you send out for fab quotes. Or, you get a local fab shop over and they measure and design and quote, you sign off their design (they tale the design risk), and they fab, and maybe install. Some of Bradfabs' designs are on eBay, so you can get an idea. Looks like £15K all in: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/333162094277

Well that's just a function of the local market. I have no idea about that area. But this would be an alternative, so the pricing doesn't look out of place given GIA, land etc: https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/139140314#/?channel=RES_BUY Totally different style of course and it doesn't have an EPC. Don't know why, it isn't listed.

I like it a lot. Don't think that's corten just terracotta coloured standing seam. Not fond of the highly veined marble or their choice of log burners. Other than that, I'm sold. I would have chosen a S/S flue rather than a chimney. What's the plaster finish? I see they're doing the hidden drainpipe thing.