Ferdinand

it is reported on the grapevine at the local timber merchant that Appliances Direct who are 4 miles away have temporarily hiked the prices of their portable air con units. No idea if it’s true, and not going to find out. Ferdinand

OK. Couple of hours looking. I am *not* shelling out the best part of 2k without some careful research, especially as I am so wallspace-constrained. Can anyone recommend a decent portable 1 room aircon unit that I can have as a holding strategy this summer? I guess that - like sports cars - this is something to buy pre-owned in the winter when someone has just barked their shin on it. (Has anyone installed something and now has an unwnted portable unit?) ? Any comments most welcome. But damn that puts me back to hoses out of windows ? . Ferdinand

How much of a breeze would one of these generate outside. Does it need to be kept away from where people? eg If one (different room - S Facing potential downstairs bedroom) came out into the open front porch would it blow the postman away? Ferdinand

cache:https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/insight/insight/an-inspector-falls-what-the-building-control-insurance-crisis-means-for-the-housing-sector-62279 (sorry: does not seem to work. Put this into Google search, and the direct link should allow you to see: "A large building inspection firm has filed for liquidation. Luke Barratt explains what it means for those involved in building new homes." ) F

Good job you checked ! Recommend a misspent retirement watching Countdown. 55 sqm is about the size of my lounge - conservatory - kitchen - utility when I add it up. But it is north facing so should be a bit more resilient.

I make that 140 cubic metres. F

My main considerations for what to put where and how to attach it are normally: 1 - What is the impact on the light from the window when the whatevers are open, esp. in the darker months. Unless they are removable easily. 2 - Avoiding fouling the window or door, depending partly on how often it will be opened. 3 - How to attach in a way that will not cause problems in the future eg by drilling of lots of holes into plaster. And the answer would be different depending on the exact circs, what the window is made from and if it is actually a door, slide or hinged etc. My normal answer involves a batten inside or outside the reveal, and sometimes good quality curtain poles leaving space to put in cup hooks into the batten below that. But that is driven mainly by surviving potentially frequent changes of occupant with ease of repair, and preventing my walls being repeatedly drilled by possibly not brilliant DIYers. In your circs I might be looking for something nearly or entirely damage free, which might even be suckers on the glass. I wonder whether command.com surface hooks could do it? Can you do it such that you just take the whole thing down, rather than open and close it? Just thoughts. Ferdinand

Yes, just talked to a chap, and it would need to be a tower unit. It seems that there is flexibility for the pipes. F

Another basic question. Can the inside half of these units be mounted vertically, or the pipes fed in from the end not the back? My 400-500mm width of wall where it has to go, which actually has a drainpipe on it as well, is going to be a big constraint if I am not careful. Whilst one can build a custom shelf unit to hide it, far better if the unit can mount suitably. Ferdinand

Just a marker for a project thread.

How do these units work wrt to doing several rooms? I ask because mine is a lounge - conservatory - kitchen-diner, with external quality patio doors at each room division (translation: the last owner did not get around to building the conservatory in the "L" between the two due to running out of getting-his-money-back on sale, which is fair enough). There is also a bedroom above that might be easiest to reach from this side. (The rest of the house could be reached OK from the other side as there is a garage and garden corridor the full depth of the house. Presumably they come with several pairs of outlets, and the pipes can then be run to several of the indoor-half. Or you rely on natural flow between the rooms. Or alternatively set up a tree type set of pipes on both the in and out halves, but that would then bring in balancing issues I assume. Has anyone done this? Or is it a bonkers idea? Ferdinand

I'll be biting the bullet on this, and going for a mini-project ("The Coolroom"). There's a little bit of thinking to do first, just about how I will tackle it should I need to do more of the house, and about possible ASHP for the future when the boiler dies in about 10 years or whenever. I don't really know about this side of self-build. so help will be most welcome.

OK. Serious. Has your planner asked for a contemporararary design? If so, what an opportunity! But it is not "features". If you go for "features" you will get a pile of features, not a house. That is probably one element of how the TF companies operate - you can have your nearly-identical house looking bricky, or stoney or woody, or even metally, but the interior might not be that different. And that is valid. But contemporary designs can be just as old fashioned as traditional designs, or trad materials can be used in wonderful ways. Did you see Eileen's "Walled Garden" that she posted here. Trad but contemporary. And probably slightly beyind most of our reach, but inspiring. I love the approaches, but my interesting brick bit was a 5m long patterned garden wall and a perforated bin store - which I still love, and which still make the street a bit more interesting. Planners can be a bit like exterior interior designers when approaching your house (as opposed to say community facilities) - they really focus heavily on appearance, and you need to start from "How, then, will we live?" and "What do we need?" After you have an idea of this, then... My suggestion is to go and visit lots of other houses - architects' houses are always good fun, via National Trust (eg Goldfinger, Hampstead inspires me), Open House days, Estate Agents, Landmark Trust, friends, BHers, and Air BNB. And enjoy it. For a bit. Then come back to your ideas and your practical head once your thinking has been stretched into a weird shape, and you can decide how far you wish to go, and in which directions. Then if you have an architectural technician or architect, you are in a position to be an engaged client rather than being overwhelmed. F

Makrpe it like a Rubik’s Cube not a Sugar Cube. (Runs and hides)

Do the pipes running to the external unit need insulating if they are running a few meters outside? Logic says yes, but do they come insulated as an option? I think I am heading for doing the same as Jeremy here. Should I start a mini-project thread, or continue here? Ferdinand

unfortunately the only Unico that fits my wallspace is the tower version, which looks even more expensive than the normal normal £1200-1500 in the range. I will not get that past the authorities for cooling a single room. So it is perhaps looking like Jeremy’s option, and running the ducting for a few m down by the conservatory. F

That is me out of ideas then except borrow a trailer or did something else that needs the tower to mitigate the cost, or accept it sticking out of the back of the car a little. Best of luck. F

The room has no external windows - just a double french door into the conservatory, which then has a further double to to outside and some opening windows, and a double door into the (large - 4.5m x 5.5m) kitchen. Conservatory and kitchen are on the N side. It is the classic somewhat-inner room you get with a fat-at-the-back extension. I just built the (PP obtained by previous owner) conservatory to be 18" in from the boundary rather than on the boundary as in the PP. So may need to reconsider. Swamp Cooler?

Hmmm I do have a 400mm wide "alley" down the side of my conservatory which adjoins this room at the end. Is 400mm enough to mount one of these split units on the Garden Wall (block) sideways. It sounds horribly tight. To get out of the alley would require about 3.5m of pipe run. Do any of the internal units have remote controls - the extra comfort is for a room for a older family member. Ferdinand

I would do some reading on this. Protection etc.

I need a device to keep one room rather cooler than the temperature the house is currently running at. Can anyone comment on technologies, or recommend best options? Since I have plenty of solar, I can be a little less cautious about power consumption etc, though obviously the less the better. In reality, I am probably after something portable - though I can consider options. I certainly do not have the outside unit a la Jeremy. The particular room only has an outside strip of wall perhaps 18" wide, as the rest is boundary with next door. Thanks Ferdinand

Wrt to your architect making decisions and representations freelancing, you may need to bang the table or act on a decision pdq. Key question: "Who is the client?". I think you need to explore the distinction between "basement" and "lower ground floor" in the Westminster Council policies, and what in reality applies to yours. As you know there has been huge flapping about Basement extensions for years; if yours is not one, it may help. Also, is there a policy requiring this - worth asking the Planning person? If there is not, you may just be able to say no. It does seem to be a bit of an idiosyncratic demand. I would verify that you are going to get away with extinguishing a parking space, and just check whether that is the best option. If I was the Council I would be giving you a Paddington Stare and asking about the proposed locations for bins and bikes. I would take a moment to consider whether you want to extinguish your rear access routes as it appears you do. I would have a dig for some precedents where the appearance rather than physical position of the new part has been approved as meeting a "distinctive" or "subservient" criteria (eg fenestration, material, texture or colour). Proposals such as yours are one source; looking at how the facades of mews houses have been treated, eg the former stables bit, may be another. I would wonder about arguing that caring about the facade facing an 'orrible windblown carpark where tired and emotional MPs may sleep rough every night is not that important (if it is genuinely unattractive). If you end up with a 200mm set back, I would probably make them oriel bay windows on the set-back side, reaching to the boundary. According to the property sites, that extra 0.2m x 2m x 2 is worth the best part of 15k ! If only we had that up here ... Ferdinand

That looks expensive, even for integrated. I think. But I do not have reasonable prices for those in my head. Anyone? I think that the money should go on insulation first, but that you may well be able to save the difference if you buy well, or on something else, and get both. Detail to be sweated ? . Ferdinand

With non of the ASHP gubbins I managed to get out inside temp in the kitchen down to 23.5C this morning - not comfortable for me. It was at 25C last night. Suspect that the step I really need to take is a veranda on the S side across my office and the front lounge (soon to be bedroom), and move some solar panels. That will be a 2020 project, maybe. F

Depends on what you mean by a "normal" car :-). Mine, which @MrPunter sold me, is a Zarges Reachmaster scaffold tower 3.7m platform height 5.7m, goes very comfortably in the Skoda Estate with the passenger seat down.. It might even take another stage. Biggest pieces are 2120 x 750 and 1800 x 950. One to watch is the deck, which may be wide enough not to fit on the front seat width, so may need to be behind your back-line. Any car such as a Mondeo, big Audi, BMW or Merc, or Volvo should be OK. If not, it will only stick out by about 12-18". You just need a system to keep the boot shut without wrecking your paintwork. Take lots of padding. I wouldn't say it will go in something like a Focus Estate, but maybe. Unfortunately Manchester is a bit far for a loan, and mine is currently in use. HTH F