Ferdinand

Here we go. I wonder if they are all actors.

Love it. Good for flats. Wasn't there a prank video last year when a videoprojector set up as a window showed buildings outside collapsing? I can'r find the video.

I'm conflicted here. I certainly think it is reasonable that the applicant of whatever size should cover the costs of processing. OTOH that inhibits some development. I had the experience of having to write a 5 figure cheque in advance for the Council's costs of processing an Outline Application on a piece of inherited land suitable for a smallish housing estate - and the country is full of people with smallish 1 acre to 10 acre sites that need up front investments of 50k or more in the Planning Poker game to get them ready to develop, where selling with PP will be lifechanging, but they do not want to give away all the potential windfall by selling as agricultural or scrub. I am more inclined to prefer a Planning System simplified in some ways to control costs. Ferdinand

Mine are currently, and in slight contrast (4 bed 200 sqm house East Midlands): Council tax: Just under £2000. Will get 25% discount as mum passed away. I am a band D, and I think it got off lightly when they self-rebuilt it. Broadband and Phone: £40 per month. Also PlusNet, 30Mb internet, and included calls to everything all the time including mobiles. I think. I don't feel ripped off as I used to be with Virgin ? . Elec and Gas about £1000 currently though I go for stability over absolute minimum price. House and Building Insurance £180. Dodgy place, Dorset ?. TV License. Still free, as they have been told that mum passed away but have not caught up yet with me not being 75. FIT - About £550 back. Ferdinand

Welcome. Ask away ?

There is a lot about different methods on this thread: Depending on the roof .. material, amount of moss and height ... I have in the past used a 3 stage extending-broom, a window cleaning pole with brush, or copper sulphate solution using a £1 kiddy super soaker from the pound shop. The super soaker can reach about 6m up ... surprising. if I get one for clean water I can harass cats throughout the garden from the doorstep. I did half my roof with copper sulphate last summer, but cannot judge the impact over time until the snow clears. If you are looking at solar panels, then I would say take a serious look at replacing that section of the roof as once they are on you will not want to touch it for 25 years. Look at an in roof system. Personally. I pay people to do roofs .. I go as far as cleaning gutters. Ferdinand

I believe it used to be that if you were an older person you could get the Student Loan, and were old enough never to have to pay it back as it got written off. Loophole may have been closed - just my luck ? .

+1 You can foam it up to fill the gaps, but it could shrink some more potentially - which would just repeat the problem. Best of luck.

if you talk to your insurer carefully, they may let you use your own contractor and pay against receipts. I do that sometimes. Bit more organising, but it gives you control .. and you could get your roofer to split the invoice into insurer work and your work. You would probably need an assessment from the insurer’s assessor or your own first. I have a couple of retired architects I have known for decades who can do these at the drop of a hat. If you want to use your own assessor and get it done quickly, you can see if they are going to make you wait, or simply declare that water was coming in so it had to be done pdq. Perhaps your assessor will tell you that the insurer stands to waste hundreds on the cost of hiring dehumidifiers if you don’t get it done. Sometimes there is a lot to be said for having your own report first as a matter of .. er .. insurance. Probably only worth it for substantial claims of several thousand or more, though your scaffolding will add up if it is across much of the length of your house. Ferdinand

I think you may need to also confirm that they will be willing to connect as you wish.

Alternative sport to England nearly getting stuffed at cricket. Excellent.

more exactly .. decorative header corbel brick. compare to these: https://cawardenreclaim.co.uk/bricks/specials/decorative-corbelling Personally I think dentil may be the wrong direction as I think this is Gothic not Classical, and Dentil Is a classical term. Obvs that could be wrong and any term may put you in the ballpark.

It looks like a terracotta or brick decorative moulding. Moulding is probably one word you can start from. Take one to a salvage yard, and say “this”. If there are lots of those on houses in your locality, then someone local should have one. May be worth gossiping down the street to see if anyone has a spare. Really need a wider piccie.

Ugh ! Might use the girlfriend's old tights, instead. F

For drying I have a sponge mop in the bathroom, or put down a towel or bathmat outside the entrance that can be stood on to dry. Do not leave it down if you have ufh esp. electric ufh as it can cause that bit to run hotter. OTOH electric ufh is cheap so you could whack some in for a few hundred, just in case you want it on for an hour in the morning for heated tootsies. Personally I suspect that unless they are open at the end you will be absolutely fine unless 2 heffelumps have a water fight in there. That is quite a bit bigger than my screens. But I do not do water fights. Ferdinand

And I have a different Senco and my chap said he was able to do I think 55mm screws by removing a bit from the front end. So it may be tweakable ...the Senco ... but perhaps not for 65mm if you really need those.

Does 12V lighting offer much benefit over the energy reduction of modern LEDs? Suspect that it is a bit like trying to use solar for heating - in the seasons you need it there is 90% less energy from sunlight.

I agree this is tight, but otoh you only need insulation on one or two walls in each room, so something like Insulated Plasterboard with 50 or 60mm of Celotex incorporated will only cost about 3 inches in one dimension - the long dimension ? - and give you virtually modern standards. I think the plan is the right way round - lounge sun in the evenings, bedroom in the mornings. I think that knocking through kitchen to lounge would be a very beneficial and perhaps not very expensive (probably) thing to do. I think a possible big advantage you have is being the northern half of the semi, which will reduce potential temperature swings summer to winter - especially during short intense heatwaves. A downside is that you may be a little starved of sun, so I would think about a seating area outside in a sunny corner of the yard if you have one. In my experience people prefer the Northern half. Remember ventilation as well as insulation. Best of luck. Ferdinand

This is true. RHI grant relates to the before-after improvement. However you make sure you do your "before" EPC (ie pay £50 for an extra one) just before you put the extra insulation in and do your works, and then make sure you don't bust the allowed timescale, which iirc I think is generous. I believe you get 2 years (ie before EPC can be 2 years old), but DYOR.

>Delete Hmmm. Friend of cybermen. Welcome. Pushing the boundaries is good, as long as it is in a good direction :-). At this stage my brief comments would be: 1 - Fabric first. Fix the structure before you add the ASHP and gubbins. My experience says you should be looking to reduce bills by 50-70% on a reno. Part of that will come from playing the supplier market. 2 - Most of the stuff is pretty much standard practice as has been done for decades. Grand complications not required. Pay equal attention to ventilation as well as insulation. 3 - Thinking time even more first - the most cost effective way to fix a mistake is in your head before you have made it :-). 4 - Remember this when doing your ASHP, and check precise terms. I think this is still the case. Best of luck. Ferdinand

Where do we sneak in at the weekend and swap all the labels?

Spring loaded NRVs would be one way. But you need a comment from someone who knows more about balancing pipe runs than I do. Ferdinand

It is an Apple iPad translation of “to” . (Sorry) ?

I think the master en-suite and dressing are not a happy arrangement .. not least because the loo flush backs on to the spare bedroom guest pillows. I would try and swap those two round somehow perhaps or adjust the plumbing to the other side of the en-suite away from the guests.. and imo you want a widow maybe 8n the dressing area so you can check your beauty in daylight. Leaning over the bath that window looks a sod to clean. Ferdinand

You would need t9 make sure that none of your bathrooms are open to the outside for draughts when the fans are not running.