Ferdinand

The double door thing sounds a little ‘nice in theory but not to live with for the next 20 years’. Would it not be easier to solve the boiler room issue by not having any heating whatsoever as an homage to how they lived when it was originally built? So no need for a boiler room. ?

Two big threads with much background that may save you some time. https://forum.buildhub.org.uk/topic/4507-treatment-plant-without-power-biorock-clearfox-etc/ https://forum.buildhub.org.uk/topic/1963-excessive-cost-of-sewage-treatment-plants/

When my bath panel was removed last week it turned out that the waste had not been connected for perhaps 5 years +. ? When I looked into these he devices about 3 years ago, prices were prohibitive from a payback POV, as Jack has highlighted ... could not find anything much under £300. In the end these should be £50. But for me as an LL these would also have the dual purpose of managing regulatory risk attaching to EPC values. Ferdinand

Easier I think with shower-baths, but I do not see many new self-builders fitting those. Ferdinand

IMO it is in how you break it up and use it for different things. It also needs to be a social space that works in your setting. Consider what you do together and apart, in the same room and separate, and use that to work out what you actually need. Personally I am not a fan of different levels, as it inhibits frail people and wheelchair users. And get a cat or two. Also, there is massive and useful and overblown status symbol. The latter can tip over the line into less practical, and you end up with a modern take on an absurdist Jacques Tati movie. You still need to do the same activities and roles you did before, and life is supposed to be easier after we have built our ideal home. Ferdinand

On the wider design thoughts. Have you run some thought experiments / scenario plans about how it will work based on the possible routes for development for the business? I would look at - for example - taking care that the kitchen will still work to a necessary extent domestically whilst business is in full swing. That might involve having a separate sink at the other end, or careful thought about the utility. eg How will you practically have a friend around for a cup of tea and a biscuit, or make lunch, when your beloved is icing cakes on the island, butchering an ostrich in the main sink, or making 5 gallons of raspberry vinegar? Or how will it and you cope if 1:4 cookery courses need to be run? Your normal routine needs to continue to work. F

. (already covered)

Sometimes MPs do build or live in innovative houses. I can think of a couple of examples. I am not sure I can think of a long list of well-informed MPs or Lords at present. Ferdinand

If you are within 2-3m of the boundary and want to put more on, you will very probably need planning anyway for being within 1m of the boundary, or 2m if it is above 1 storey (specific measurements apply), w,hich makes removal of the condition no benefit for significant extensions. However it would probably benefit you for something like a single story thing 1.5m wide eg cloakroom or bike shed or small study, unless other restrictions apply, To get that condition removed would depend on the time since the PP, and you could do eg this, or perhaps do a full planning application if later. IMO perhaps an annoyance not a showstopper. F

Met the same chaps in Surrey lats December. https://forum.buildhub.org.uk/topic/8008-modular-loft-installed-in-sections/ I honestly don't see a need to move out, unless for a couple of weeks. https://moduloft.co.uk/faqs/ Your issues will be ensuring attention to detail by the contractor, to stop them rushing, and perhaps cost. Blog entry here and photos of a project in progress. https://forum.buildhub.org.uk/blogs/entry/496-what-about-a-modular-loft/ Ferdinand

If you will be happy with the existing should you fail to get it amended then I would by it first, at which point there are fewer complications. Ferdinand

A few piccies, of not very good quality. (There are a couple of 'before aids added' photos which I have left in.)

Remember to buy the machine on the way TO Vegas, not the way back.

Here is a quick video of where we have got to: There are still a few finishing touches to do: Hooks on door need to be a foot lower. Non-slip patches for shower. These literally just arrived whilst typing this post. Something extra for a bathtowel. Somewhere to put clothes whilst in shower. Soap and assorted unguent dishes etc. Chair outside shower. I need a way to fix the end shower screen in place; it is the former bath screen reused. The intention was to allow a slight opening of the gap for larger people, but it is too tight in the space as finished. A couple of filled holes and touching up the paint. F

Example of how it easily turns into a runaway train: https://www.propertytribes.com/please-help-desperate-situation-t-127640494.html Due diligence and an exit strategy are everything here.

I think think there are both sorts of Bridging finance, but either way you may end up with a Credit Card style level of interest. That is 1-2% per month potentially. Not a good one imo if you are going to have it for more than a small number of months. But there are millions of other options out there, depending on the amount and the circs. In the BTL world there are bridge to mortgage products that automatically change from a Bridge while renovating to a normal mortgage after you have rented it out. In that world it saves a second set of fees. If you going without pp then a secured loan will only be on a % the agricultural value, unless you borrow from a speculator with a healthy profit share. F

My suggestion would be to seek a recommendation or three from the most experienced person at your established old style local estate agent. As a second string you could try the Historic Houses Association. Ferdinand

What an epic project. I really wish you the best - which you deserve. Will you be keeping momentoes. I am imagining a long gallery with one of those "photo every week" sequences showing the gent in the piccies with his grey hairs becoming more and more extensive as you walk through. We could all do one of those. I still have one of those "layer jars" made from the dust from the row of drill holes when they did the injected dpc on our family house from when I was about 11. But I tend not to keep enough reminders. Ferdinand

Not sure whether it is a useful distinction for you, but when Ts want to play with electrics in the garden (eg power for dog incubators, mower or an extra freezer) I tend to get my electrician properly to install a double socket with RCD externally to whatever the standard is for that, which will either come off a CU or a fused spur. So I do have the ability to turn it off in voids, and if necessary my trades can do things without need access to the house interior. It is now part of the standard spec, as usually is an outside tap. And then, whilst encourgaging T to be sensible, I stop my responsibility formally at that point. Ferdinand

Bump.

I see you have no responses yet Let me try a couple of suggestions. I would really want to have some more info. Not having this may be holding people back. a - What is the converted barn for, and who will be using it? eg is a incidental to the main house for guests, weekend Hut for a Hutter, a camping barn, garden room with sleeping when they visit, official B&B, crashing place for workmen / volunteers, shed of the year type of hut-in-the-woods etc? b - Approx. layout of the rest of the barn. c - Something about the 3d - height of roof, height of mezzanine etc. My thoughts based on on the info in the op are: a - Consider getting the shower room *under* the mezzanine. b - Seriously consider a "pod shower", as are used to build eg ensuites in student halls and Travelodges etc. You just hoick it in on a trailer, connect water, soil and lecky, put a frame round if you want it to look like a built-in shower room, and you are good to go. Could save a helluva lot of time, but some research needed. Search term will be "bathroom pod", and they range from "designed to look standalone gorgeous in a warehouse flat" to "designed to be boxed in in a travelodge, caravan or nursing home". Prices may be from perhaps 2.5k. eg https://www.eblcomposites.com/ http://www.baudetpods.co.uk/ https://www.crystal-en-suites.co.uk/ Look for localish manufacturers, since delivery could be significant. I might be inclined to put it on lockable smalls wheels or castors, or skids, and make a panel removable in the inside or outside bathroom wall so it can just be disconnected and wheeled out if there are ever problems. Ferdinand

The only awkwardness I can see is no wheels, and how it will address 10l tubs of paint - if you are going to be using scores of these it needs to be neat and quick, otherwise you risk spilling paint and walking it everywhere unintentionally. How does it do this? And are there any precarious balancing exercises of piles of blocks to give it the height? Mine is 18kg which is manageable but awkward. The trolley goes up and down from the axis of the wheels like a Hollywood Robot to fit in a car. You also need to consider the exit route and future use. I am a serial renovator for rental, so it will save me 3 or 4 days on average once a year. (Have you tried advertising in Marketplace forum - I bought mine form a Buildhubber). F

What a wonderful opportunity to improve the world ?.

Piccies here https://forum.buildhub.org.uk/topic/5596-spraying-emulsion/#comment-91898

With better designs machines you get little facilities like components that get blocked that can be reversed so you can blow them out with the machine itself. On the logo, I now know what paints work for me in my applications so I will continue to use them as they do what I need. Ferdinand