Ferdinand

Welcome.

I always say that the most important thing is not to rush, but make sure you have sufficient time and headspace to avoid not-quite-obvious mistakes. In my bathroom case I had urgency as it was for my 80 year old parent to move downstairs, but still took several months to consider and talk to them. It is affected by eg how old your relative is and how quickly you need to move, but the quality of the result depends on thinking time first. And nothing is quick in property. If you are building for 20 years of occupation, then it is worth thinking for 6 months to get it right. Ferdinand

Hi Kaye Welcome. Looks like an interesting project. Personally I would want to know *why* CiL does not apply. It may just be that like ours the Council has not implemented it. I'm quite close to the National Stone Centre at Wirksworth in Derbyshire, who have a 'gallery' of different types of stone wall. I know of at least one 'house' built out of a dry stone wall... Ferdinand

Do the Quookers of this world do water at 90C rather than 100C, in order to make better coffee? A life and death issue. Ferdinand

Um. They are dead so they can't smell ... unless they have a ghost. (Gets coat and leaves)

See how far they will let you go under PD - Don't forget that you could go backwards. If your extension poked out the back, then you would get sun both sides. I think the logical way to do it is to draw a line parallel to the neighbour boundary perhaps 1.1m from the fence (or whatever to avoid triggering a Planning Application requirement), then decide how far back you want to go, then see how it feels in a 3d simulation. Removing the conservatory may be a good idea, or turning it into a room. It is a spacious plot. Otherwise you will have a cold, dreary, dead space on the North side. I would also take a SERIOUS look at whether you can do a land swap to give your neighbour a path to the back, in exchange for you getting the bottom RH triangular corner of his garden (where patio and part of shed are) to remove the "narrows" from your garden and get a rectangular rear garden. Think carefully before you talk to them - and make a vague offer initially (ie just raise the prospect) - because once you say something clearly defined it will set the basic terms. That will need talking about over time as it will take some weeks or months for both of you to reflect. But it looks like a big win - big win. Ferdinand

I'll be hoarding a full tank of fuel ... expecting a tax jump on Wednesday. With the oil price falling, and the Govt needing money, and wanting a shift to lower carbon I cannot see him leaving it alone. Personally I would put at least 4p or 5p on it - £2-2.5bn a year in cash terms. Govt revenue from fuel duty is down from £47bn to £28bn since 2000 in cash terms it seems. I think he may also reduce the subsidy for red diesel quite significantly, or signal it for the future. Hmm. Cheapest locally is £1.18. Nearest Motorway Service £1.52.

To me that looks like the best option - but parking and other things will need consideration. eg Do you need a separate entrance? Take time to think especially about the way you will live together, with appropriate degrees of separation for each party and when you will spend routine time together. For later reference, I did a series of detailed blog pieces about an accessible bathroom project. Ferdinand

Take care with your making soft corners etc. My new car is a lot bigger than the old one, and despite extreme care 18 months later I have minor scratches on 2 corners. Are you going to have an "exit in a forward gear"requirement? Ferdinand

It is also worth a note that an assessment is also needed if you rent out one room to a lodger. The HSE comments are pretty good - the word "proportionate" is your friend. https://www.hse.gov.uk/legionnaires/legionella-landlords-responsibilities.htm There was once a Greek myth about a paperless office. But it was just a myth.

There is a quip as well as a serious point there ? . A legionnaires assessment should be included in your general safety assessment, and a typical one would be like discussions on here ... 'no water storage at the offending temperatures (or just "no water storage") as it has a combi boiler so the risk does not exist'. You should be able to do it yourself and there is a bit of a scam with people demanding pro-assessments. Forms here for eg https://www.landlordzone.co.uk/documents Info here https://www.propertytribes.com/legionella-risk-assessment-t-127639686.html I cannot comment on Scotland being different or not.

Calling @pocster...

However it s not clear whether that is retrospective on the building or the tenancy, neither. So yes, take advice.

I did one, using simplifying assumptions such as the whole thing being one room per floor with just the outside walls, and it was within a point or two of the number at the end of the project. F

TBH this is now potentially so variable by property, rental type, whether it is an old or new property, whether it is an existing or new rental contract, and the Jurisdiction, and the Local Authority that I am not sure ? . And it has been a couple of years since I did a new rental. I suggest checking with both the Local Authority Private Rental team and the Building Regs Department. If they agree then you can be reasonably sure. What I would say is whether it is Hard Wired or Battery alarms, then I would go interlinked. If Battery alarms, I tend to go for 5 or 10 year batteries. Ferdinand

I guess that if the duty is increased slightly, there may be the leeway to absorb it by the oil companies.

The news is reporting that oil prices have slumped again overnight. May be an incoming well priced top up opportunity for people with oil fired heating. Use your skill and judgement to decide whether this is the bottom ? . Ferdinand

Have you sorted that you have space to put the ASHPs outside, and where they will go?

Because you see it in the context of the landscape?

Is this suggestion a bodge to get over the absence of a real porch - and the threshold being cooled because the interior has been exposed to the outside directly rather than indirectly?

Would something as simple as a cheap metal detector work to find this if it is a known problem?

.

Welcome.

Welcome. As hinted at, you need to understand the spec, and the backround, and also your requirements (if they will only do a little extra you need to know what that should be for your maximum benefit.) If it is Building Regs only, then it may not be appropriate to have a single heating zone - it depends what the overall energy demand is going to be and whether you are comfortable with that, however you could workaround that using Thermal Radiator Valves to control each room to an extent, or using so called "Smart TRVs" to give you a measure of centralised control. I think @pocster has those in his HMOs. It is about understanding what you are getting, and evaluating that against what you think the house requires - then using that info to demand any necessary changes or choosing options as early as possible. Ferdinand

Since you are there for a long time I would look underneath the surface as suggested. You can sometimes bodge these with a stain block, but not for this situation.