Ferdinand

I am going to take the dimensions of the footprint overall as a hard limit. I am inclined to question all those small spaces at the rhs. In essence it is a plan of 2 halves ...ignoring the stairs, 4.5m x 6m on the rhs is services and circulation. 8.1m by 6m on the lhs is living, where you want to spend your time. ie you are living in less than two thirds of your downstairs. I would try and create some space from the right before crunching about on the left. You want the space where you are going to spend your time. I would say aim to transfer 10% of the space ie 1-1.2m to your living space, which will give you a lot more to work with within your existing footprint. Take a 1m slice out of the I think that by losing the store, and allowing the space to go to the utility and bathroom whilst making them taller and narrower on plan, you can gain space for your kitchen-lounge whilst keeping the bath and utility almost the same size. There is also an opportunity to gain perceived space by having some doors at the rhs at 45 degrees. I will need to sketch that, as I find it hard to explain. On perception of space, I would also consider reversing the staircase, so that the volume above the lower stairs is in the lounge volume rather than hidden. That will add a perceived 1m at eye height. Questions: Hiw big does your lounge area actually need to be? what will you be doing in it? Is it one space or two spaces functionally? Please can we see a site plan, with a north arrow? Why does your porch need to be 7ft wide? Does that have to be a downstairs bathroom? (I have one of those, and it is about to be turned into a shower so an elderly parent can move downstairs). A shower room could be smaller. A sliding or outward opening door would let you shrink it further whilst keeping circulation space. I would also look at a slider for the utility. Is that store really necessary? Have you stacked your washer and dryer in the utility to save a unit space? Why does that outside door to the utility have to be so wide? How is outside light going to get into the hall / corridor? For the question you actually asked ?, I would agree with Dave wrt having the dining area at the top, or combine it with the island in a 2 level arrangement as some have here. Or, once you have your extra 1m in your living area, consider a mini L shape on the LH end, and have the dining area there. If you can comment on the various qs, I will do a sketch to try and tease out my thoughts tomorrow. Ferdinand

Excellent focusing question - thanks. It is more exploring whether there is an opportunity for me at this point, rather than trying to solve a problem. It is really - can I reduce my bills further at this point, in a way which is at least marginally justifiable on the numbers (I am always happy to take a slight hit for energy economy)? (Bills have just gone back up again as I am now running heating more for a parent who is heading towards mid-80s. When we moved in in 2013 I knocked them down by a 35-40% by various usual means, but got a small shock over the last 2 quarters as extra usage has taken them part way back again.) I do not think batteries are anywhee near viable for me yet - especially as I do not get eg power cuts and so on, and I am wedded to diesel for my car for some years (towing) - just having bought a new one. For now, it would be a 24 hr capacity (ish) heat store linked to the hot water only, with the water preheating done via a heat exchanger. That is it would have at least one coil plus an immersion heater or two, and the mixing valve, boiling prevention gubbins and the rest. Reflecting, I think I would be happy to lay out perhaps £1000 for the type of saving I mentioned including the Immersun equivalent, and I do not think that will happen unless a suitable Heat Store comes up for a couple of hundred. So I think it is probably futureproof and wait until one is taken out by a Sunamp Enthusiast, and have it on the "ebay swoop" or "returned to seller" list, and provision where necessary. I will also take a look at Shower Waste HR devices, but these may be tight for my setting, and still seem to be seriously overpriced. I also need to provision for a buffer tank, which does not currently I think exist in my ufh system, unless it is in hiding. Cheers all. Ferdinand

Indeed 10kWp of solar and 5500kWh of energy. I am doing bathrooms, so I am thinking about what else would be appropriate at the same time. It may be that I in fact do nothing now about from a little provisioning. Ferdinand

I am looking at adding a Heatstore and an Immersion type device whilst I am redoing my two bathrooms this summer. The position is: Currently I have a big solar array (10kWh, generating approx 550 kWh per year due to E/W alignment and a measure of shading) No Immersion diverter as I have no convenient heat sink. Big combi boiler (Worcester Bosch Classic Range - the biggest model). Not relevant, but modulates down to 35C. The boiler is quite new - 2-3 years. Combined UFH/radiator downstairs/upstairs heating driven from the combi. But no buffer tank in the heating system. 2 x elecric shower, 1 x shower, bath etc driven off the gas. No problems on space in the Consumer Unit etc. Most of the plumbing is in the right places, and I do not plan t be digging too many holes in walls apart from the bathrooms. Current bills are more or less £1000-1200 a year - half gas, half electric. Showers are used everyday, bath several times a week. Mainly use the gas powered shower. I am thinking about: Adding a heatstore and immersion or i-Boost, to make better use of the solar. Putting in provision for a buffer in the ufh, which willrequire inserting a couples of pipe runs in one of the bathroom refurbs. I can see that in the future I may wish to replace the boiler with a ASHP - space is available for that. Questions: Can I use a heat store in a straightforward way in this arrangement? eg can one be used to preheat water to the combi like a Sunamp? I am aware that a Divert-device will be about £500 installed, and should potentially give me £150-200 of electricity a year (perhaps), which would replace perhaps £60-75 of gas. What bill am I facing for a potential heat store? I estimate I would want one that would do 1-2 days usage. There are currently 2 here but it is potentially a house with 3-4 or a family. Am I missing any tricks? Really I am trying to think about what can usefully be done at the same time as bathrooms. All comments will be gratefully received, as thus is not an area where I have good gut-feel? (Potentially I can move some solar to the South to get better performance, but that requires me to get a car-port past the authorities - which will not happen any time very soon) Cheers Ferdinand

For a reason or reasons unknown to me I am about to pen a short piece about cats. I think it is mainly because @AnonymousBosch posted a picture of his supervisory cat, here. Now, that cat is a lot of things, and whilst allegedly Jellicle (ie black and white), is not so. It is clearly a Rum-Tum-Tugger - particularly given a penchant for using 'playbites' as a slightly abrupt management tool. It is also the fault of whoever did not tell me about the statue of Hodge, the supervisory cat that used to own Dr Samuel Johnson, when I was living in the City of London back in the late 1990s. As reported by Boswell: 'I recollect [Hodge] one day scrambling up Dr. Johnson's breast, apparently with much satisfaction, while my friend smiling and half-whistling, rubbed down his back, and pulled him by the tail; and when I observed he was a fine cat, saying, "Why yes, Sir, but I have had cats whom I liked better than this;" and then as if perceiving Hodge to be out of countenance, adding, "but he is a very fine cat, a very fine cat indeed."' I need to record somewhere that a statue of Hodge now exists in Gough Square, outside Dr Johnson's House - just around the corner from where Cafe Opera used to exist in Fleet Street. Cafe Opera was just what it says - reasonable Italian Food whilst being serenaded by Opera singers earning a crust on the side. (Credit Mrs Woffington, who's current blog, which seems unfortunately to have stopped in 2010, is here. I will assume she found a congenial Latin teacher who now occupies her interest). The oysters, upon which Dr Johnson used to feed Hodge, are a sign (in 2019 anyway) of a very supervisory cat. Whilst I'm jabbering about this area, I recommend that anyone wanting to get some amazing ideas for Garden Design take a tour around the two dozen pocket-parks in the City of London. These are genuinely delightful, complexly small designs, and deserve a profile as high as the collection of City Churches by Wren. Greyfriars Bobby, never mind Paddington Bear, eat your heart out.

Welcome. I am sure that this has been done before - I recall a conversation about one, which may have been here and buried, or another forum. I would be concerned why noone else seems to have done one or even a small extension in the block. May point to lease or freeholder issues. I would also be concerned as to what was underneath the garden. If there is anything going through the middle of it then you have a problem opportunity to innovate. I cannot see anything that has been done in the street, but adjacent streets seem to have that type of extension - especially backing off properties on the main road. Nice green area. I think it would be wise to keep *some* garden - perhaps a semi-basement bit with a roof garden on top for part of it. As you seem to back onto commercials it may be possible, and could give spectacular light into the remainder. "Outside space" is not as good as garden, but it is far better in Lunnon than "no outside space". Ferdinand

If you are drawing lines between bits you do and bits the builder does, you need to be very sure indeed that nothing falls in between - as you are then taking responsibility for ensuring that all bases are covered.

Camel? I suppose the other solution could be radiators. [Update: What about a herd of dehydrated elephants: They are good for pushing things through conduits. Why not this?]

Bit close together for dowsing, perhaps. But I would love a video of you trying to persuade SWMBO of the method' efficacy, whilst perambulating around your toft brandishing a hazel twiglet. >the best way to fix penetrated ufh pipes ? You dig a bigger hole than the one you just made, and apply posh elastoplast. There was an example on Grand Designs: the Street in one of the episodes. It was, apparently, (metaphorically not literally) harrowing. F

I am not sure what the room is for, but you could - if you have to - suspend the staircase from the ceiling beams. Perhaps a bit drastic. Or you could potentially sit it on the floor, held firm from other sides, with some sort of pads beneath. That would avoid digging or drilling holes. Ferdinand

I would run a few tests if it is into the Duracell matrix. I have successfully fixed wallplates for a leanto conservatory with Thunderbolts. Walking on the roof for access was fine. If it is fenceposts in sockets into the slab, I would make post holes instead - they will wobble otherwise. Also, prices on these type of fixings are *very* variable - cast a wide net. Ferdinand

I did that. Front lawn went. Replaced with gravel. Park cars on it. @lizzie Have you considered some areas of feature paving. I am sure there are acres of former slate roofs to be salvaged from Buildhub demolishers. I have a whole path made from the former roof of the shop where my gran was born in 1897, which is gradually vanishing into the earth. I love that. Personally I have never seen one grow ... This is my current back garden, which (having had the lawn removed in the first half 5 years ago). It was supposed to be an ornamental grassery, but too many creatures like eating it. It is now a cross between a traditional cottage garden and a shrubbery and a scrubbery, but looks attractive and gives a measure of vegetables. Manicured will not happen. There is something to be said for so many plants that grass is suppressed, but you would need to wait a few years. The only vigorous grass is that which has invaded the patio. For a suggestion - chamolile seat?

Use your imagination. Glass half landings...

The normal process I have seen here is that it Is advertised by the agent with the best price so far, and a deadline. And that normally they go for the best price where they are confident that the purchaser can deliver. I am sure that there are places where a wad of notes will get the deal, just as it can get you the best position on an estate, or a drop kerb when they are working in the road.

>Clearly I'm exhibit A for risk... (although I guess we'll have to see how bad this bad situation turns out. ) Not sure of that; you have resources and the ability to pay. You could of course insert the extra "Mc" in your name and try the "Yippie-Ki-Yay Mortgage Sucker!" tactic. (Do you like sequins?) At which point, I withdraw ... having made the objoke that everyone else is too careful of their reputations to mention.

I think it all depends on the calculations they make. In the recession the RBS drove a lot of companies over the edge because their priority then was to shrink the book rather then make a max long term return on it (think that is right), due to iirc things like regulatory ratios and liquidity. You are then in a place of guessing their priorities. F

The other way you could ask them to think about it is to consider what the LTV is now with a .. er .. knockdown valuation (groan), and adjust your terms in the interim based on that. eg They used to run Mortgage Indemnity Guarantee for people with eg LTV of over 80%, which were a single up front payment at a rate of (say) £5 for each £100 of borrowing up to 85%, then £10 for each £100 up to 90% and so on. I had one of those on my first house, and they could get expensive very rapidly and were in the end withdrawn. Do the rough calcs first based on the reduced value and the most accurate numbers you can get, but it is another option to think about. My feeling (and only a feeling) is that the way is likely to be a confession, apology, bootlick, then a mix of fastracking as much as possible to a watertight shell, combined with feedback from your architect or other professional. Who knows - they may decide it is less painful for them just to watch you, as they presumably want it built as a successful transaction. The one time I got into serious trouble on a mortgage (nearly lost the house), the thing that unlocked a solution was a desperate letter to the CEO of the Leeds Permanent explaining why 15% interest rates were a struggle too far, and all the things I was going to put in place to get it back on track over 18 months. >If your completed dream house were worth £700k it is unlikely that the bare plot is worth more than £350k and if repossessed could net just £200k for your lender after fees. Which is perhaps a strong argument, but one to be made with care or only by implication. In the numbers quoted by @Mr Punter, your max risk is when the bank decide that they can get their loan plus costs back at a heavy cost to you, and something out of your control makes them do it. Ferdinand

They may even be rustic hand-made rolled-on-the-thigh-of-a-brickie-from-Burton things ?

I was going to make a couple of suggestions that could potentially help oil the wheels. As I see it, their concern will be the extra risk you have inadvertently imposed on them by not knowing the dot and tittle, and therefore your answer needs to mitigate that risk. - The "blitz" answer would be to have it built to a stage that stops them worrying before they have done anything, and the problem would have gone away. Obvs not practical in the the circs. 1 - So, can your solicitor (or your architect) come up with something like a traditional Indemnity style policy or a plan of periodic supervison / audit that would help. As I see it, the relevant risk is now that your construction process will fail, and the sum to be covered will be the difference between where you would have been following the bank's rules, and where you are now. But the risk of a construction process failing should be an insurable one, though it may need some sort of pro-supervision if the lender insists. 2 - Can you offer (or afford) to put a sum in escrow to cover the increased risk for your lender, that will decline at each stage as you have surveyor or architcetural reports that the work is done, and so gets released as the build proceeds. I am sure that once you get to the more senior staff, they will have had this before and must have ideas about how to manage it. It is always good to have an answer to hand. Best of luck. Ferdinand

Welbeck? I wish I had such august connections. Respect.

OK, @scottishjohn Me >> It is possible now that inroof ie not onroof panels will be as inexpensive as as your roof covering, and so a no brainier. Thee >> Solar Panels costing less than a normal roof... Roof coverings are (as you say) £10 per sqm up to about £60 for slates or much more for something premium (eg copper). Area of normal solar panel is approx 1.65m, based on the one I just measured in my garage. Cost of a solar panel is from (as quoted here for Wagner Renewables the other day) say £95 Cost of a solar panel mounting kit is from £75 per panel (14 panels £1100 see Ebay), all in. And you are (technically) there, once you have taken into account the fitting costs which are cheaper for solar. And much can be done with eg secondhand panels. For most people it will be a help in justifying the cost of solar (save £xxxx on my roofing), but we are well on the way. Ferdinand

I have done Peter's trick with Wickes. Had 200 CLS planks in one go, paid in advance, and collected them on a call-off basis over several months. It is very much about sweat and detail. The best thing I have done with bricks was to buy an orphan load where the customer had backed out. One of my Ts built a conservatory, and found an Aldi newbuild branch giving away 7 pallets of leftover bricks to allcomers; cheaper for them than scrapping. F

I love optimists ?

Currently paying 0.1395 per kWh with Co-op (Mid-Counties). Standing charge £0.1461 per day. I changed last summer. F

@gc100, As a comparison, you could probably get 10 year money on a mortgage at around 2-2.5% (?). Looking at it, I do not think they are giving you quite the information you need. As has been said, you need to work out how much of that generated electricity you can actually use, and to work out where install prices should be now for non-FiT. Back in autumn 2015, I was offered, for installs including all the FiT paperwork. 1 - 4kWP setup for full FiT install, including everything with black on black panels. £4999 + VAT. That was a very keen price on a straightforward install then for 16 panels, but the last time I looked prices were achievable at 10-15% below that, and that was over a year ago. 2 - My own install, which was complex (3 arrays, full Solaredge, full FiT, 10kWp from 35 panels, loadsa scaffolding, negotiations for the larger FiT tie) was a little under £1200 per kWp, exc VAT. And they gave me 2x spare panels + 2 x Solaredge controllers as well. This was quoted in late 2015, and installed just before FiT was cut off at the knees. I am on about 11p per kWh. I have no experience of the FiT/non-FiT differential, and price impacts of any industry shrinkage etc. To pin a tail on the donkey, with 15% fewer panels per kW, and no FiT buggeration, I would be aiming to be some way under £1000 per installed kWp before VAT now. I cannot tell whether I would be aiming for £900 plus VAT per kWp, or more like £750. Which suggests a target price for a 6kWp install of more like £5000-6000 plus VAT. Others may be able to tell you whether that would be very demanding or not. I hope that is a useful datapoint. F