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

As discussed upthread, I have a Wagner Project Pro 119 machine. New is 700-750 £££ If still in production. Probably lowish end of pro range vs the upper end of DIY range cited above. it it is described as suitable for independent professionals. Power 720W. Pressure to 200 Bar. The 15m pipe is worth its weight. IMO key things are practising - allow a day to get to grips initially .. on eg a shed or garage, paint choice, and not reusing containers ever after they have dried. Each time it gets bunged up with gloopy paint or crunchy bits you lose 30-60 minutes. Overall you will spend more time prepping than painting, but it is still 5x quicker. On paint choice, I have used Leyland Trade and Valspar successfully, and also paint from professional decorating companies who do major paint jobs themselves, making sure that it is the same stuff they use. I have tried Dulux once, and it was too claggy for my machine, despite Wickes claims that it was OK. Was something in the formulation. Total disaster that bunged it all up and we ended up using rollers and 3 extra days painting.. TEST WITH A SMALL 5L pot first. Never Dulux again for me with this machine. NEVER. JSH has a more DIY machine that may be a little less demanding. NEVER put new paint into an old container that has dried paint in it. Your nozzle is about 0.2mm and it will block. Even of you use a bucket get cheap ones and switch to a new one as soon as any has dried on the old one. Ideally open a new 10l paint container and use it completely each time. If you have a half left, start anew nex5 time and leave the other for brushes and rollers. On an example of how fast these things can paint we did about 4 coats on a 30m by 7m average height wall within a 24 hour period from a staff tower, starting from the raw breeze locks. This was doing up a 7000sqft industrial unit in one weekend. But you will come to your own policies. Ferdinand

1 - I meant the tiles for the main floor - but I take your point. When I did a couple of student houses a few years ago, I used a commercial wetroom product for the main bathroom floor just to be thorough, tanked into a deep 1700 x 800 shower tray for the shower. That has lasted 7 years so far, but we get very sensible students. 2 - Horses for courses, as discussed on the thread. 3 - The guy has been doing stuff for us since the early 1990s. For me putting the knobs elsewhere would have involved serious chopping into walls, which I have avoided. 4 - Will consider that. At present there is usually someone here. And there's another: Time for water to run warm. (Mine is only about 6m pipe run from the boiler) F

Last call on this furniture. Piaggo Zip currently at £350. Drives and rides 1:45 to go. https://www.bidspotter.co.uk/en-gb/auction-catalogues/william-george-auctions/catalogue-id-wi412608/lot-5e2c5af3-b5b9-4b26-8757-aa5400a7a38a 1 x 1 X STROPICCIO VASE Currently at £80. 1:50 to go. You know you want to.

Congratulations. Or "oops".

Returning as promised to @ragg987's checklist. My assessment of what I have done is in red. bathroom door next to the bedroom - Yes. bathroom door opens outwards so cannot be blocked shut by a fallen body. No, but 2m clear inside as next to stairs lengthways on. toilet next to bathroom door No large toilet flush plate https://www.designerbathroomconcepts.com/geberit-bolero-dual-flush-plate-gloss-chrome.html Normal dual button flush. large comfortable pan and seat Yes. non-fiddly toilet roll holder Yes. space for wheelchair when needed Yes. sink fixed to wall with clear space underneath to permit wheelchair or seated use Vanity unit as desired. generous walk-in shower flush to floor https://www.bette.de/en/produkte/duschwannen/detail?p=Floor Yes. Not flush. Room to raise floor or fit false floor + ramp for wheelchair accessibility when reqd. wall-mounted grab bars all along shower wall and just outside Croydex straight and angled Yes. ABS plastic fluted - screwfix unbranded. fixed overhead and hand-held shower heads Yes. easy to use shower and sink controls - large knobs or handles Yes. thermostatic mixers on sink and shower to prevent scalding Yes. Also 56C temp set at boiler hinged seat in shower (really nice and strong, no sharp edges, needed noggins in studwall) https://www.sam.de/produkt/0043120010-sam-freeway-badausstattungen/?lang=en Yes. fully sealed floor area to minimise issues when water get everywhere Yes. low-level sensor night lighting https://www.slv.com/en-uk/luminaires-lamps/frame-led-230v-curve-led-indoor-wandeinbauleuchte-2700k-1000574.html na but sockets well placed if required plenty of general light and specific fixed light over sink Yes. wall mounted stuff to keep floor clear, including toilet brushholder Still thinking about. We have since had to supplement due to knee surgery and have added grab bars around the toilet - free-standing / frame type - as issued by the NHS free-standing stool in shower - issued by NHS In reality, the bathroom does not look specifically adapted (apart from grab-bars in shower) and will serve well for able-bodied people, for instance if we wanted to rent it out in the future. This should help with niche rental markets. Extra bits not on the checklist: Textured non-slip tiles on the floor, if using tiles not wetroom. Vertical grab bar to hold whilst showering. Positioning of shower seat in line with rainfall shower head. Consider grab bar positioned low where person can potentially lift themselves back up if they slip. Keep enough tiles to be able to switch it back later, or to show future buyers of house that it can be reversed. Long coachscrews for shower seat; at least 75mm into loadbearing wall (add 25mm for tiles + dot-dab). Consider risk of heavy visitors or family damaging shower seat by "plonking" onto it. If there is a privacy bolt, make it one that can be undone from outside in an emergency. Educate your fitter as to which way to turn knob on shower to test shower wand rather than drench himself with the rainfall. Consider shower room alarm. I'll do an after the fact article on the blog. Ferdinand

My elderly person is about 4 ft 10 so a normal loo Is comfort height. ? We specced the height of the shower seat by matching it to the loo. I am quite impressed by those booster loo seats which clip on top; seems like a good practical answer. Have not done the detailed sums yet, but it looks like around £2500, of which half is materials and perhaps half labour, with about 250-300 of the materials being accessibility aids. Though we have retained the previous whb and storage cupboard. That does not count VAT back if I get any. F PS Our shower room is being finished this am, and so far it is 11 different wall tiles which will need replacing should we ever reverse the changes for accessibility. or we will be the shower room with the most soap dishes in the most peculiar places of any shower room in the whole world. However, the wall tiles were free from a friend and I have loads of extras.

@ragg987 Can you comment on these. Do you mean this kind of thing? (I love the 'magazine rack' - just right for 101 Things to do with a Dead Cat.)

Do I reread this correctly, you are contemplating putting a tiled floor or a concrete floor on top an existing suspended wooden floor with ufh? I think the concrete is not in the picture, unless as a shower tray support ... which I would not advise as it is a bugger to deal with when there is a leak in an inconvenient place. Can I suggest a reset with a wider requirements statement incorporating the whole bathroom? You are after something more more like ufh with spreader plates, plywood both ways to stabilise enough for tiles, maybe a lUxury Vinyl floor etc. IMO. F

Hmmm. What do you actually want to do? You say C1, but also ‘residential’. C1 is Hotel/ Guesthouse not a dwelling, which is C3. If you mean a residential institution such as an old people’s home then that is C2. There are 3 different versions of C3, and also Sui Generis (= of itself or none of the above) for larger HMOs. Clarification needed. Given this is Buildhub, I think you probably mean a single family dwelling house, which is C3(a). On your qs: 1 The Local Authority is the right place to look, but Probably ask for Business Rates, not Planning. 2 You can also obtain more information by putting the premises address into the link provided by @Mr Punter, which is the VOA who look after the Bus Rates database. The most useful bits of info will perhaps be the Description, which will give you a clue as to what they think it is, and the Local Authority Reference, which should be a key to the LA database and help you talk to them about the correct building. Though always cross-check with a second factor eg please read back the address. There is a lot more info there if you dig a little. I believe that B1 to C3 is permitted development, subject to other restrictions. So once you have your info send an enquiry to the general Planning Email address and phone again. There is a gym near us who believed their Agent, and have now discovered it is B1 and they are operating unlawfully. You DO need to get this right, or you could be in deep schtuck.. Ferdinand

This week I have been introduced to a grout colour called Jasmine, which is about the same colour as Uncooked Yorkshire Puddings, as a better colour than white or grey to use with cream or lighting tiles.

Is that not one of those places south of Watford, somewhere?