Ferdinand

Hoping that Zoot’s Gaff does not become Zoot’s Gaffe.

Allan Corfield Architects are specialists in self build and only 100 miles away, and do fixed fees, but more like 20k than 12k I fear. Talk to them? https://www.houseplanninghelp.com/hph168-an-example-of-how-much-it-costs-to-hire-an-architect-with-allan-corfield/ https://acarchitects.biz/ Not a recommendation, but seem to be flexible. F

Welcome. No need to worry about language, unless it interests you. Some of us - including me sometimes - enjoy debate about language. We do need to move from "eco house" being some sort of weird exception for hipsters and freaks, which gives an excuse for *not* building low energy houses, and to make such the norm and "non eco house" to be the eccentric option. But for any single project it is very much a side-debate. Personally I like the term "low energy house", though I would prefer "house", and a "high energy house" to be more like "gas guzzler" is for an inefficient car. Ask questions and enjoy building your house :-). F

It turns out that the one I need is this one, which has a wall bracket adjustable by angle which can also be rotated round the bar: https://www.kerolhardware.co.uk/shower-stabiliser-bar/wall-mounted-shower-stablise-bar-with-adjustable-wall-bracket.html Cost to have two for tomorrow is just under £100, which is quite a bill but a lot less than the screen. It comes with 1m of bar each, and I need just under 30cm so I have enough bar for 4 cockups. I think that Kerol Hardware are a bit of a find. F

Why do you need two?

The most prominent Countryside Museum case I have seen recently was probably that chap who owned the slate mine in the Lake District and had various projects stopped ... was there not a Zip Line and also a Via Ferrata, then he was killed in his helicopter one day. I do not think the Iberian Lynx will stop that many developments, as there are about as many in existence as Scottish Wildcats, and I am not aware of any BH questions about those. And I am not clear how well we engaged with the Bat Protection etc stuff at EU level. I think the legislation was eary 80s then early 90s. Not sure if there is different enforcement here than say France. F

TBH I think I need to see a plan to say more that is useful, and that is not needed if you now have the info you need, @Triassic. From the elevation you have a 4 floor house. One of which is basement, and three more to the top of the ‘tower’. I am not currently clear whether it is a single staircase all the way up etc.

So relaxed it is almost horizontal...

I think you want either symmetry with each half of the facade, or both asymmetrical so as to balance each other. Needs to look Ok overall, and you are best placed to judge that. I would go for both symmetrical within themselves, which says either the Wormwood Scrubs option or something balanced in a different way. Doing what @Dreadnaught says to the door could actually help, but that also depends on alignment inside. Do what we did at the start of the thread .. grab a screenshot, monochrome and edge detect, and draw some pictures to get a view.

I prefer B. A is less symmetrical but has a whiff (northern whiff with an h) of Private Walker giving a guilty glance left watching for the coppers, whilst handing over pilfered silk stockings made from Douglas Bader’s stolen parachute. So ... choose A and you advertising to the world your views on the theft of silk stockings. ?

I missed that. I always say make stairs more relaxed to fill gaps, but I would also say keep an eye on maintaining a measure of consistency if more than one staircase will be seen as being conceptually part of the same run stairs, where a variation might throw guests off. Would not imo be a problem if eg there was a main staircase, then one to further bedrooms - there is a conceptual break in the type of area within the house and they will be seen separately. Just keep an eye on that if you go that route. F

It is an interesting little subject that is like Arthur Dent's tea machine ... loads of options, and all of them are exactly slightly different from the thing I actually need. @Temp - thanks for the suggestion. I found those. They seem to have the normal limitation in that the adjustment is in one plane only, and it always seems to be the same plane at both ends of the steady bar. It is possible that they can do more - will need to have a conversation on Monday. @Adam E - (aside - we seem to have lots of Adams - popular name. One of my Ts has so many friends called Adam that I just use it for anyone I meet in their house :-). Thanks. That one has the same issue. The real issue for me is that I am attaching to a sloping hipped ceiling not an angled wall. I need a universal joint on one end of the steady bar, or alternatively to have the ends pivoting in orthogonal planes, or for the 45 degree sleeve above to rotate freely rather than having 2 fixed points. Thankfully my ceiling slop is approx 45 degrees. For the first of my pictures I can maybe use a normal adjustable bar attached to the side of the screen, not the top and running across to the right. Need to check very carefully because that corner is a shower door hinge, below, and shattering that door would be very easy. I am sure this is doable - just needs to keep prodding away at a solution that will give me support both sides of the door. It may seem like a lot of palaver, but that shower screen is custom, and must have cost £500-£1000, even well-sourced. So I thought it worth keeping. F

I am looking for a "Glass to Wall Adjustable Support Bar" where the wall of my shower is at 45 degrees to the glass. These are available, eg here, and there are some really elegant products: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Stainless-Support-screen-shower-enclosure/dp/B00GABTC52/ However I cannot find one for a 10mm glass screen. My bar needs to be about 25-30cm long, but most can be dismantled, trimmed and pics below but difficult to show. Ideally it would be from Amazon for quick, free delivery as I have Prime. Can anyone recommend? Cheers Ferdinand

I find the interactive designer at Stairbox useful, and quite sophisticated. But may not be up to what you ultimately need. Quite a lot of options etc. https://www.stairbox.com/stairbuilder.html F

I prefer the other version...

Admit I found a well-discounted Malbec in Tesco this evening.

Niches are far too 1980s “look THIS Barrett house is posh”. A bit El Dorado. Will they be having gold painted papier-mâché Cupids in them?

The fitter says I keep changing requirements and adding things. eg I added in sound insulation when the self builder had left a lot out. I added half a day’s work to the other bathroom. Etc. F

One can always fit a bath that fills the for corner,and avoid all the fuss . Note to @Onoff My bathroom will be taking 12 working days to finish, including a totally new floor and ufh.

Presumably one blows it out with an air hose once every 5 years. At which point you notice how greyer your downstairs hair is than it was 5 years ago, and Mrs Pocster has a good giggle.

How will you clean behind the bath? Problem with standalone baths in a corne. Just asking...

Your content is worth exactly what you can sell it for... Interested how that compares to the walk-on windows.

??

Notes of an update, which perhaps would benefit from an article of its own. Before: After: 1 - Grabrails The older person for whom the room was adapted has spent a couple of weeks mainly in a wheelchair, following a slip off the settee (note to self: investigate a custom cushion with non slip fabric for the settee). This slip was caused by weakness following sickness for a small number of days, which caused some weightloss - only 2-3kg , but significant for someone weighing around 43-45kg. Recovering more normal energy intake will help that over several weeks. A couple of months in we have made adjustments to some elements that had been left in until we had decided what to do. We have fitted trombone-Hitler grabrails as per the photo below. I have no idea what the real name is of the piece of kit. On these grabrails we have fitted 2 types bought from Screwfix, Croydex have not been very impressive in this situation, Nymex have been. Croydex have more play at the hinges, whilst Nymex have rubber bushes at the hinge to hold the rail steadier. The extra row of holes is where we got it slightly wrong with the stainless steel grab rail. ( * The action is like a fascist salute, and it looks like a trombone; it seems highly appropriate to remember an evil Dictator in the name of a piece of kit to benefit people he wanted to kill, in the spirit of The Producers.) 2 - Radiator Width We have also narrowed the radiator, as the previous one is exactly the same width as the wheelchair usually used in the shower room, which has the effect of preventing the wheelchair backing against the wall by about 50mm. That may seem like a detail, however gaining an extra inch makes the transfer if the user wishes to do it sideways (rather than face on) feel more comfortable. That is an example of how tiny details can make a difference. 3 - Squeezable Wheelchair Another detail is that the wheelchair used for this bathroom is a folding wheelchair, and the width can therefore "squeeze in" by about 2cm, which makes it just fit between the loo and the shower, and also slightly wedge itself in, which also helps. I admit that that was not planned. 4 - Turning Space Remarkably there is also room to turn the wheelchair in the alcove by the shower, though this is miles from meeting regs for a turning spot. None of these details would work for a larger or taller man, but in these circumstances they do - a strategy of "marginal gains". 5 - Wheelchair Accessible Shower I also have a plan for making the shower wheelchair accessible should that prove necessary, which simply involves removing the end screen (about 4 screws at the wall end, the block at the top, and a Stanley knife cut along the silicone bead at the bottom), plus raising the floor by 125mm with a tightly fitting but non screwed stud frame, and a ramp from the door, which would then be topped with ply and tiled or covered with vinyl. This can then be removed to do a full restoration later. 6 - Individual Adaptations It is worth noting that some of the above is only possible for the particular small individual. If mum were a rugby player we would be whistling in the wind, and would have had to go with a full wetroom.