Ferdinand

This seems to iwork as well: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/332895172548 ? F

Of those I prefer the green. The effects of tiny changes are weird, but to me the green door makes the LH corner of the RH gable much sharper / better resolved where it meets the window above the porch, and the others do not. It may be that the surroundings being set out in a tone of green make that seem better, but to me that shows how the details really matter. Can you do one with adark grey window frames and door (incl. side panels), and the door surround inside the porch in black or oxblood or dark red. That would be interesting. But I admit this is just a self-indulgence. It wants a few comments from others no imo, and then the inside. Ferdinand

I had not heard of these. The mechanism seems to be to circulate a cooling fluid, such that more heat is generated than used by the circulating pump. A relatively new addition to the solar panels market, solar dynamic panels produce hot water in all weather conditions. Attached to the roof of the home, the panels do not require a backup system of gas or oil and a single solar dynamic panel can provide 55˚C hot water sufficient for a family of five every day throughout the year. Has anyone used them, and are they still a thing? They seem to cost about as much as a big boiler. http://thegreenhome.co.uk/heating-renewables/solar-panels/solar-dynamic-panels-overview/ https://www.thegreenage.co.uk/buy-thermodynamic-panels/ Can @Onoff make one out of beer cans and an old fridge?

Congratulations on the results. Condolences on your loss. There was a Grand Design's quote from the boyfriend of the woman who designed a brilliant 50s inspired house in Falmouth, Cornwall. "The Scandinavian House", that might fit. "In some ways it feels like I am living in Kathryn's head." (paraphrase form memory - at about 41 minutes).

Ring the Council up and ask them what their policy is in general terms without identifying the site or perhaps even yourself. "Joe Bloggs here". F

Sorry - missed the update on March 7 ?. I agree with Nick. The second one is the better. The front door needs a strong frame. Details after the intermission: 1 - That facade feels at ease with itself, to me. a The roofline is progressive in profile - high, medium, low. b That incongruous mini gable has gone. c The consistent window subdivisions unify. d Skylights look good as a counterbalance point to the high RHS gable. That should be preservable even if you need to change them. 2 - The only uncomfortable elements to me are: a The 4 windows on the RHS being foursquare. Perhaps they are foursquare in 2d not 3d, and it is just parallax in the perspective. I would probably try and change that if not. b I am still in 2 minds about the different heights to the bottom edges of the cladding. You can argue that it reflects the graduated roofline, or that they should be the same. It might be good with cladding down to the near-ground on the LHS. One to think about. 3 - My further comments: a Whilst it looks balanced and comfortable, to me the visual feel us a little "flat" in this presentation, with pastel shades of cladding and a front door that does not stand out. b That is difficult to comment on in detail with the drawings we have, but I would suggest that the front door definitely needs to stand out more - that could be done by a strong colour front door say black or match the slates or dark red or blue or Wimbledon Green. It needs to be the place the eye stops when you look at the house from the front. I might be good to deliberately use a strongly contrasting material for the door surround inside the porch, so the eye first takes in the balanced whole, and is attracted in to the porch by the frame, then that material as the "mount", then the front door as the picture and subliminally wants to come inside your nice house. I am thinking of eg glazed bricks (black or grey to reflect the rook, or London Transport oxblood could work), or anything else that stands out from the facade. Or you could use a stronger cladding colour. But imo the porch / door needs to say "look at ME", or something else to say "look at THAT door, THERE". c But how that works depends on your cladding pattern and material and colour, so I need to leave that with you and the decision does not need to be made yet. But try a few colour changes to cladding and door and see what it looks like. Looking forward to seeing your interior. Ferdinand

if officialdom are concerned about appearance, there aris different finishes you could put on your EWI. I age never seen it pebbedashed, mind.. Welcome.

Who are you asking here. Mine was never built as we used a Leanto instead.

Welcome.

Welcome, Ms DIY. 1-2. I would say replace with good double glazing, which might not be that much more than secondary depending on the system. Do it gradually, according to how much a room is used or where other work is being done. No need to be messy. Choose a local supplier, carefully, and you can get a window done when you have a couple of hundred free. 3 Can be good, but relatively expensive so need a very good reason on a limited budget such a burglary area. I think these need to be electric, And built flush into the wall / window opening. 4 As pointed out, these need an outlet for the air. I have installed a number ... what I do is have a outlet trickle ventilation fan at the other end of the downstairs such as a Vent Axia Lo Carbon Tempra HR fan, or simple fan equivalent. Seems to work well, and I have been doing this for a few years. 5 Air sealing floors is good if you have proper ventilation, but lifting the floor and insulating ... even rockwool and a staple gun would be good ... is better. 6 Agree with your architect. Sun-pipes are for special situations or Grand Designs posturing. Ferdinand

I believe that we’re it in the PP, they could have had the VAT back on those as well. Were They adaptations to an existing house, I think te( access work would not be VATable. Ferdinand

I guess it would make sense to make it a very light colour under a clear coating so you can see things that you drop.

Colour me just a touch sceptical on this one ... I really cannot think of anything to put on the floor of a garage. I think I would be more tempted to have attractive walls and a plain floor. F

.

I am not really sure what you are after. These people do refurbed cabins and modular buildings. Available 8n 2 storey if you find the right one. https://www.wernick.co.uk/refurbished/latest-offers/ https://www.portakabin.co.uk/refurbished/products.html and there are various sip small bldg suppliers on eg eBay. Perhaps you want to look at something like a secondhand overflow classroom, which are everywhere but tend to be a little knackered. On square meterage at £400-500 per sqm, it seems to be about 25-30k for a single storey. F

Normally you could do a 30sqm cabin without PP, but I expect that because of the Listed Status you are probably clucked. So it would be a sectional building on a movable chassis, or Planning Permission for a cabin. Ferdinand

You are correct.

is it a situation where you can just chance your arm at 6am one Sunday morning? It would be a trespass, so all they could do would be to chuck you off the ransom bit and be hostile in future.

Question: does eg an undocumented piece of electricity supply equipment develop the right to stay there after x years, as I can get the right to keep something attached to next door’s wall if there is no complaint?

The Wayleave Team are the people with the database and the files, who coordinate the info, if not the project implementation. F

I see that Neff, Bosch, Hotpoint, Samsung built-in appliiances are on a 10% cashback at Currys via Quidco at present. https://www.topcashback.co.uk/currys/ There are also various current offers at Currys, which *may* stack. Ferdinand

I've been trying to codify such a concept, which I have called "Lifestyle Diary" - like a daily food diary but recording for a week who visits, how many people, what they bring, what you spend time doing - structured like a food diary. That, plus common variations, can then be reviewed against the design or with the designer. It won't fix everything, but it gives a top-slice through the heart of your life. Not mushroom in the mudroom, thenm @jack. (Runs and hides)

OK @Sue B, back with a few more comments. You speed of going for Full PP has caught me by surprise; I thought we were on a longer process ! However, a few thoughts 1 - I think it works, but there are a few things imo you may want to change - which gets a little harder if it is on a PP. However, you can adjust things during the process, or withdraw and resubmit, or use your "Free Go" to change some things. 2 - Watch out for things your architect just "likes" or adds for illustration that can suddenly become established and immovable aspects of your design. One example here is that offset-hinged front door - those are seriously expensive and tend to get leaky later on. But a front door design may be a relevant planning matter, and could get hard-wired in. Possible ditto your other windows. 3 - You need to make sure that those overhands will properly protect what you want protecting. Needs an ambient solar model, and fed back into solar gain at key times of year, and whether it is acceptable. 4 - Like the stairs, but perhaps an alternative place for the stair window. IMO that would be better aligned with the 1st half landing such that it forms a window seat, and such that each step up the middle stairs makes that bit a window seat for a progressively smaller child. That will also give you a partial vista view from front-door -> turn the corner -> wow. Make it tall enough to stand in to clean. The stair window as recommended will be a bastard to clean on the inside, if I am right - way up in the air above a flight of steps. You would have to stand on your horse like a circus. 5 - I think your other window positions may be improvable in relation to views outside etc, depending what you want. Perhaps reverse the positions of windows vs patio doors on the lounge, and make a smaller window to reduce solar heat from the S side? 6 - What is your chosen route into the house when you and the dogs are covered in horse-poo, such that the house stays clean? At the moment I can't see a back door through a utility or boot room, though something like a hot (or cold if you are hard) external shower may mitigate. 7 - I would look a little at upstairs layout and flow - eg the door to bed 2 could move nearer the bed to give a more practical sitting area on the landing (I would make that a study area with a desk). 8 - Detail - I would also arrange the downstairs shower and cloak, such that you can get an ensuite plus hall-loo in case anyone ever has to make that a permanent bedroom. 9 - You need easy access to the flat roof for maintenance. That is a large opening skylight somewhere which is safe and accessible. I would also fit a concealed loft ladder if possible. I would not put such an access where you fall down the stairs should you come down through it by slip or trip. Needs to be accessible to men carrying mucky materials with minimum traipsing. 10 - (Dons tin helmet). TBH it is likely to cost as much to adapt your design to Pocster's skylights as to install new ones. Make sure that they are what you want. 11 - Given your tight budget, you need a detailed financial model, projection, and optimisation before it is too late to change things easily. 12 - Given that it is a sugar cube, external finish needs careful thought. Are you a fan of painting, or do you want something else? Ferdinand

Aim for house sparrows.

Hi @Cheib Just been back and read your initial thread; it is good to see you taking the time. My comments: 1 6000ish sqft on 2+ acres. Yes it’s large :-). I can’t resist noting that the size is exactly the same as Southfork from Dallas! 2 I grew up in something on that scale, also 4/5 bedroom. Ours was old, with multiple extensions. What we found was that there were too many - 4 - 20ft reception rooms incl reception hall and landing, so two of them were very little used. So it is a good idea to combine them as you have. Though do you have enough separate spaces for 2 x arguing teens plus a refuge? 3 Have you done any of what I call ‘lifestyle testing’? What I mean is imagine how you would live in this house in your 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s etc, and make sure that it would fit each age. The aim is not to push you any way or imply you will be there until 2075, but to make sure that it is practical, or can be made practical easily, for each set of needs. That will help you should you stay, or give you a wider range of purchasers should you eventually move out. 4 A similar exercise can help plan for if eg you both end up working from home and need a live in nanny or carer as well. Eg where would two people work? I will add a bit more later. (Bonus comments: 5 To me the design has a slight feel of "normal house writ large" rather than "larger house". Everything is bigger, but should it actually be different - in terms of mix of rooms etc? Developing that, barn conversions tend to have a 'wow' double height space somewhere - do you want that (or have I missed it)? 6 Looking at that music space, are the acoustics OK at a 3m ceiling height? Have you considered making the space suitable for private performances? (Being mischievous, what about making that the double height space, switching that end room around for a full height space across the end, and big double doors to outside?) 7 I am unsure about that big study window looking onto a blank wall. What about moving the garage to align with the end, which would also give you a more open entrance court. 8 - Turning space on road side of main gate - to avoid Amazon and Tesco chewing up your verge. Could just be a grass area with grass-car-park type reinforcing. 9 - Personally I would want an annexe, for nanny or granny or semi-independent child. I would put it beyond the studio, but perhaps not build it yet - or identify on Plans as 'site for future annexe', so I do not have to build it for the Completion Cert for the VAT reclaim.) 10 - Where is your garden storage and workshop - for ride on mower etc? 11 - Are you planning a landscaping scheme? It is imo crying out for a treescape. Ferdinand