Bramco

+1 for that. The Ikea carcasses are way better howdens etc in that you can put the shelves at almost any level. We've had Howdens and IKEA in rental properties as well as several IKEA kitchens in our own homes, so plenty of experience. It will be IKEA with a fancy worktop for the new build as well. And when estate agents see our current one they are always wowed. Simon

Just out of interest, did you put hardcore or gravel underneath, or just leave the ground as it was? Simon

You're probably right - just don't want the thing going all lopsided!! Simon

Hi, We're looking to put a flat pack container on site to dump a load of stuff from our house before we put it on the market - all part of the new build. As opposed to a standard container at 3 tonnes, a similar sized flat pack unit would weigh about 700Kg, so rather than extensive foundations, pads or whatever, I came across Surefoot footings but these only seem to be available in Australia and NZ. They seem like a great solution to avoid doing loads of groundwork, see photo below and I think they've been mentioned on the forum before. So are they available in the UK and if not is there an alternative? Simon

I think they may work differently. Reading the Eddi documentation it seems to say it varies the amount diverted by changing the voltage. I think the iBooster does it by varying the amount of time the power is diverted. Simon

The borough might be but the village aint! Simon

Our permission stipulated 2! Simon

An M+E consultant can do an analysis of what you intend to connect to see if 3 phase is necessary. Can't remember for the life of me what they call these - someone will be along before long who does know - but our M+E chappie said we would be fine with a normal single phase supply - 7kW ASHP, 4kW solar PV and standard EV chargers with all the normal ovens, lights, small appliances etc. As @newhome said though big ASHPs need 3 phase - you can see HP requirements if you look up their specs. Simon

Interesting - I thought you could still do outline even in these circumstances. If you could do outline with access, then you'd be able to force the decision on access without having to do the rest. Simon

Yes if things have changed - planning decisions are made on the basis of the current planning legislation, not on what it has been. I'd be inclined to put in an outline application with all matters reserved except access, so very little architectural technician time needed except for the location plan which would show the access. And be prepared to go to appeal, so research decisions made in the area where the access was less than 5m as well as successful appeals and also check when if at all highways legislation has changed. Simon

Agree with the no WC against the bedroom wall..... And all the suggestions would make things work a lot better and be easier to implement. However - has your architect ever lived in a house with triangular windows - I'm assuming the two to the right of the elevation are the en-suite and the bedroom. If I'm right, what on earth are you going to put up against the bathroom window? Drive round your area and look at all the mish mash of badly thought out solutions to triangular windows. Curtains don't work, blinds? Or are we just luddites as far as this is concerned.... ? Simon

Thanks. Simon

Thanks Ian. That's been done, although there might be some tweaking depending on which company we use. I'll check out Interlace - thx for the lead. Simon

Hi - help needed to find a good supplier of external venetian blinds. We've specced external venetian blinds for 3 large lift and slide doors on the front of our new build - these are south facing and although we're a long way off the road will also give us a bit more privacy. We've seen Warema which look good and there seem to be a few resellers here in the UK but if you look for any of the other continental suppliers like Hella, Alulux, Hunter Douglas etc. they don't seem to have resellers here. @Thorfun I think you said on a different thread that you had Warema - where did you source them and how are they? Has anyone else installed anything other than Warema? And would you recommend the company you used? Simon

Restarting an old thread, but does anyone have an example of what they have submitted for the fittings based approach? Simon

Yep, use old bricks where they can't be seen, so if used as a retaining wall, only use the decorative stones on the front face and the top. Saves a lot. Simon

But it looks like applications won't be open until the autumn. We were hoping to be half way through our build by then. ? Mind you, it might not be worth it. Sounds like it will be similar to the help to buy scheme. Simon

Cheers!! And commiserations about the break-in. Quite a concern for anyone doing self build if you aren't on site. Simon

Also, check out this blog -> https://tech.scargill.net/pivpn/ Simon

You can ignore any comments, even from Parish Councils unless they make 'material' objections - material objections are to do with the planning laws. Most neighbours wouldn't know a material objection if it hit them in the face and Parish Councils are not much better. If the comments are about views, loss of value in their property etc. then they have no 'material' value. If they are about things like loss of light, there are rules for this that you can check etc. But never forget that the planning officer assigned to your case can make subjective decisions, as @joe90 said - fitting in with the local vernacular could be something they pick up on. But we have permission to build a 2 storey tin shed between 2 bungalows on a lane of (ex) council houses and the officer said it was great that someone wanted to build a contemporary building - mind you, that was after we won the appeal on their first attempt at getting it right. ? Good luck Simon

@JulianB is there any chance you can upload the diagram in whatever format you drew them in rather than a pdf? I could do with plagiarising it for our set up - plagiarism being the highest form of flattery ? Thanks Simon

Looks awful - and I know it's not yours but anyone that does suffer from algae like this on render then try MMC-pro, it works a treat. Obvs make sure if you can that you get the cill design right in the first place so it doesn't happen Simon

Useful site - https://www.energy-stats.uk/ Simon

Duh! Good point!! Simon

@ProDave thanks, that's the route we were heading down. @PeterW also thanks, especially for the contact at Cylinders2Go. Not sure though why you would want such a large cylinder - there will normally only be the 2 of us and it seems wasteful (and expensive) to have the ASHP heating 4 or 500 litres in the winter when the PV won't be delivering much. We were thinking of a 250 litre tank with maybe a couple of Willis heaters in parallel for the rare times that both sons are home with their partners. Under normal circumstances you wouldn't need the Willis heaters and 250 litres should be enough for the 2 of us. Simon