Tom

Thanks both, so is it possible to put a figure on the "strength" of the floor? E.g. must withstand x kg/ m2?

Hello all, bit of a random question, can anyone advise on the "strength" of a standard floor slab with UFH. i.e what loading (in kg/sq metre?) is the minimum a floor should be able to take? Is there a building regs requirement? I'm imagining a standard sort of insulated slab with perhaps ring beam. Apologies for the vagueness of the question, and I'm sure there are many if's and but's, but just a ballpark figure would be great. Thanks all Tom

Also worth noting that cement will absorb CO2 back from the atmosphere in a process called carbonation - so it's carbon footprint could potentially be a lot less than calculated simply from the manufacturing process.

Ah yes, but looks like they're 911's so a nice carpeted garage and a tooth brush for detailing should be included IMO

Ha! Honestly, couldn't agree more. Just thought I'd stir the pot...

...they'd be three years late and five times over budget....

Yep, there is a process to go through, but essentially is it not all just a matter of proving that the site meets permitted development criteria - those fundamentals (contaminated land etc) are essentially unchanged and existed in a state that met (or not, as the case may be) the criteria before as well as after the PD application. It's not the same as planning permission, whereby value has been added to the site. Totally agree.

...and just thinking this through again, an overage/uplift clause is intended to allow the seller to recover money when the value of the land/property sold goes up as a result of planning permission being granted. Part Q is permitted development - as such the value of the land should essentially remain unchanged: the right to convert to residential existed before and after the sale of the land. So, even if we found we had to pay an overage, we could potentially argue that the value of the property was unchanged, therefore the overage due was £0? Hmmm...

It is capitalised in the contract, and is defined - the definition certainly does not mention permitted development, change of use, Part Q etc. The uplift would be mutually agreed or determined by a mutually agreed independent surveyor. Maunder away my friend!

Hmmm, not sure Temp. Is that relevant?

That's the nub of it I reckon and will be where the arguments for both sides will be made. I believe in contractual obligations, nothing more, nothing less. If I'm going to give money away so I don't reincarnate as a whelk then I'd rather is went to cancer research! It was reflected, to a greater or lesser extent - but we can only be expected to pay what the vendor wants for something. It's up to them to appraise market value and price accordingly and, as above, make sure the contract includes everything they want it to.

"go get some legal advice" (though not "go ask those fellas on Buildhub", more fool her) I can certainly see you point, but there was certainly no malicious forethought. It was only once we had bought the property and were digging further in to the Part Q process that it became clear that what we were seeking was change of use rather than planning permission. If we are in the right and we are not legally bound to pay the overage then we would be mad to pay what would amount to several tens of thousands - we're legally bound by the terms of the contract, nothing more, nothing less. The seller might be better advised to sue his conveyancing solicitor if this was right. What's the "caveat emptor" equivalent for the seller? I'm guessing there must be a legal precedent somewhere. As the number of part Q conversions increases there must be an example where such an overage based on planning permission existed. Yep, I'm guessing we're going to have to get legal advice. We already informally asked our cenveyancing solicitor and he was worryingly vague. I'm guessing that we could very well not get a clear indication and the only way to test it is to let it go to law (unless there is a precedent) - which is the last thing we need tbh. Yes, We're in the process of making the Part Q application. The thing is, on the planning portal website it clearly says "this is not planning permission". The seller has no charge over the property.

Hello all, it's been a while since I last posted but we are still at the very very early stages of our build. Pre-embryonic I'd say. Anyway, we've recently bought a parcel of land with some modern-ish barns on. The plan being that we would convert one of these under permitted development/Part Q legislation. We've got a planning consultant on board and had a meeting with our architect yesterday to produce some elevations for our application. Hopefully we can get that in before Christmas. Right, we bought the land/barns with an overage clause which entitles the seller to a percentage of any increase in value of the property as/when planning permission is granted. My question is this, to convert the barn to a house under Part Q is essentially permitted development (albeit requiring extra faff with proposed elevations etc) so my reading of this is that as we are not getting planning permission per se, then we are not liable for the overage. The contract says "planning permission" repeatedly, never any variation of this or inference of some other change of use or whatever. Does anyone out in buildhub-land, with a reasonably knowledgeable legal hat on, have any idea where we might stand legally on this? Thanks all

Thanks both. I've seen the brinno ones and like the look of the time-lapse one, will definitely use as/when the build gets underway at the barns - more for fun than security I suppose though. In the meantime I need something that will show me what's going on there in real time. I'll give one or two of the 3g wildlife cameras a go for the top of the track. Any recommendations for a wired 3g system for the main barn area?

Hola amigos. It's been a while since I've posted but suffice to say I've been very much following whats been going on on here and gleaning as much information as possible from you good folks - so a big thank you to all for keeping this forum so active and informative. We're about to exchange on our potential building plot - potential as no PP yet (but we've had professional advice and it's all good - touch wood) and the reality of it all is finally sinking in. Going from a dream which started over six months ago we're finally about to sign away pretty much everything except our kidneys - central crushing chest pain is a normal feeling in such situations, no? Anyway, the "plot" is approx 14 acres with a barn complex and in south Devon. The barns are all modern so we're going for Part Q for conversion of a few that join together into one residential dwelling. Right, the reason for this post is that we need some form of security camera set-up. We live a few miles away and while there is no one there (we'll probably let out the fields and barns until PP in place and construction underway) I'd like to keep an eye on things. The barns are accessed down an approx 300 yard track where there is solar PV and three-phase already in place once at the barns. So, 2 questions (for starters): 1. for the gate at the top of the track I've been thinking of possibly a 3G battery powered wildlife camera eg https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SunTek-HC-700G-HD-16MP-940NM-MMS-3G-Scouting-Infrared-Trail-Hunting-Camera-UK/132586288321?hash=item1edec234c1:g:u1gAAOSwZlZaOH40 This would (supposedly) photograph anything moving and send the pictures to my mobile/email. Does any one have experience of these? Do they work? 2. For the barns that have a mains/PV connection what would people recommend? There is no internet wired up, just power. Mobile signal is OK. Any help gratefully received! Thanks all Tom