saveasteading

Does bead keep dampness in the outer skin. I guess it does, as any water will trickle down and away.

Interesting point. Let me test it. But a crossover typically takes away 2 spaces in a suburban street due to turning circles. The neighbours can't use them or they are blocking the drive. Your theory only applies when the o p is already home with 1 car in rhe drive and 1 over the entrance. Any remaining spaces are first come first served. O p has 2 private spaces at all times. Others have 2 fewer to fight over.

The commmitee have every right to decide for or against. They may be wrong but they have the right. You are entitled to attend the meeting. You can also ask to speak. 3 minutes to make sensible points, calmly, then sit quietly. It often helps the case for councillors to see a real and reasonable person. It is unusual that highways don't insist on entering and leaving in a forward direction. Perhaps your situation is very quiet with good visibility. As a neighbour my concern might be that you are removing one or more street parking spaces. Ie more private parking for you, and less for everyone else to fight over: can you resolve that if it is the case?

I dont know whst the rules are, but i would always use treated timber where there is any chance of damp. The extra cost isn't huge, it keeeps away woodworm too. As a compromise, the ends could have been treated on site. That woudnt be "impregnated" though. Bottom line: it's on the drawing. No insulation in the walls?

The wonder of arches. The Roman ones have survived well. They didn't paint theirs or use cement , or they might be long gone. Yours seems to have been painted, which would trap water which has caused spalling. Maybe after cleaning and not applying any treatment, it will survive another 140 years.

This height of plinth is nigh on invisible in its context. I usually have this detail whether poured concrete or blockwork, painted in blackjack, and it then does become un-noticeable. Nobody has ever, to my knowledge, remarked on the plinth at all (dozens/hundreds of projects).

They are like double thickness t &g. Have you a strategy if any curve in the vertical plane, preventing fully mating with the adjacent logs?

That is my opinion. How about a concrete slab, poured from within? its not the best idea but a possibility.

More about the barn please. Old/ modern? Oak / steel/ concrete?

Looking forward to the full story. You'll get to know every part while sorting it.

But will be if you seal above the floor. I would heat using an ashp or infrared, not insulate or seal the floor, and instead use bubble wrap on walls and ceiling It's a shed, partly rotting already, and may never make a suitable office.

Don't mess with arches. They joggle to adjust to building movement yet stay strong. You can't take one stone out or it fails. It is odd to see a stone arch with brick beside and above it so i'd hazard that this has been rebuilt. As @ProDave, get a stone mason to replace it and allow £2k or more. Or get it rebuilt in a modern way, but designed by an Engineer. OR just clean off the loose stuff with a brush, and keep an eye on it. Don't think about diy or a builder who thinks it is straight forward. Are the buildings listed or is it a historic area?

Don't leave timber in a damp underfloor space then seal off the room above. It will rot. Garden room conversion to what?

That's all good news then. I think my theory of rain flowing on top of the ground then into your reservoir still ahem....holds water. So land drains it is. Use cheap perforated pipe, gravel surround and membrane around that. I would send it all to the pond if the levels allow, with overflow to ditch. That way you are keeping the pond full and limiting what runs off to contribute to flooding elsewhere.

When we design structures we base the loadings on a 50 year return of snow and wind.* So how often will we get 1m of snow or a hurricane? Will one of these occur within 50 years? What chance of them combining is already catered for in euro codes. That is where 50 years comes from. When asked how long my building will last I answer, indefinitely , if you look after it and do proper maintenance. Build it properly and look after it and don't worry about it failing in 50 years. Mass housing? Due to quality issues perhaps 50 years has some substance. * 50 years is the norm. It can be reduced for a temporary structure to save wasting material, and increased for a good reason.

As you say you have clay, this will prevent rain soaking away, and it may even run across it as an impermeable surface until it reaches your permeable footings. That would be an easy fix, in sealing the wall and cutting off the flow before it reaches. Can you tell us about the slopes of the site? Is the footing blockwork? It will never be watertight, but any gap in the mortar will let water pour in.

That is the big sum and the item to get alternative quotes for.

A core would let water in as well as out. So maybe, maybe not The french drain yes. IF it has somewhere to outfall, or it might also run in reverse. Plan F is to leave the sump pump in place.

Yes i would pump the water out. It can harm the concrete if sodden for long. I would buy a cheap muck-friendly one plus hose. Also, if the water level goes down and stays down, then that doesn't seem so bad. If it appears to refill immediately from the ground then there is more concern. We don't know your circumstances of course. do you have a lower area or ditch or potential soak-away to take the water to. in the perfect wold you have spare land for a pond and soak-away. then you can put in a land drain to take the groundwater away. Do you have designers? The water table level should have been considered when selecting floor level, and barriers or drains designed in.

Ig sounds as if your officer is simply out of their depth and doesn't understand the role. There is a shortage, but that shouldn't be your problem. Sometimes a junior officer can be reluctant to back down, where an experienced one is pragmatic. Contacting the supervisor for a quiet word is correct. I'd also contact your Councillor. Officers have to respond to them. Its wierd that an elected Councillor with no planning skills can do this, but it works. The council doesn't want appeals, hence a firm approach by your team can make it clear you've got good grounds so accept now. A planning consultant can help as they know the precedents. I'm assuming your submission actually is reasonable. Again a planning consultant will have an unbiased view.

I agree that showing the look on a roof is important. Concrete tiles looking like slates appears to be pretty standard and acceptable to planners but they do not look like slates. Perhaps a bad picture of them too. Perhaps also emphasise that your proposal is the only way to preserve the existing roof structure.....list any planning reasons why that is a good thing....profile, heritage, sustainability.

Our decision has been to use 50mm pir cut in slabs and pushed between studs, then the rest filled with frametherm. The reasons follow having done the initial phase and found the difficulties, and with much reading and advice on BH. We initially had 100mm pir. To get that cut to the right size is tricky, and you can't assume the spaces are standard or exactly square. so it involves squeezing into the space and some gaps. With 50mm all aspects are verymuch easier and more precise. Then the frametherm can be pushed into the remaining space, filling every gap. So as much pir as reasonably practicable, for the insulation value. then frametherrm with lower insulation, but totally closing air gaps. This does not meet regs. (We don't have to for a conversion, but are aiming for new-build standards because we can. Any shortfall can be offset by additional insulation elsewhere.) Inside the stud walls we are leaving a service gap (much appreciated by the electrician..in fact it might have convinced him we would be a good client. Then the inner wall will receive either insulated plasterboard, or fibre-board, yet to be decided.

in fact they must fix it or you will have water pouring out when you remove the lead pipe.

a la Frank Lloyd Wright. (Waterfalls) . Is that wise? The SE doesn't do down-pipes. if external they should be shown on the drawing so you know what it really looks like. They may have to check the gutter size though. If internal....no please don't, they may leak and they will gurgle. seriously about the slab. 150mm reinforced concrete is an industrial slab for forklifts and racking. Then you have have battens and chipboard????? I advise do not give any 'benefit of the doubt'. You will pay for then live in this house. Now is the time to insist on a practical design that will be to your budget. you have an economic wall construction, tho needs changes made, a very expensive roof, and an over-designed floor. Allow lots of money...you have discussed budget I hope. Have you checked your consultants out? seen examples? They may be qualified but this not really be their thing. Or the alternative is to not have an architect as a good (and substantial) builder can make this work. Then the SE signs the papers.

That is very pretty. i could cut and paste from my standard responses! where are the rainwater pipes? Glasgow has the second largest amount of rainfall for a town or city, but has the highest number of wet days with 14.2 on average every month. Actually that is possibly less onerous than London and other places with less rain but in huge downpours in recent years. do you like that wall colour? If you intend it to go grey then show it grey. if you want to keep it that colour you must apply a finish. the horizontal boarding will catch the water at every joint and go slimy unless this is looked at in detail. That roof needs a very good builder indeed. I see from the ground floor construction that you will be running 5 tonne forklifts. You might want to tell your people to try harder, or are they subsidising it? 90mm pir (kingspan again) is not nearly enough. Plus the floor is the easiest area to insulate so more here can offset the walls as they are. some confusing description of the floor, but seems upside down. then over the industrial slab you have a batten support system and then chipboard. I feel I have missed something. Either that or it is a good time to change designer.