Ferdinand

It's a startup gymnasium that has just moved to a new place, and cashflow is being watched *very* carefully for the next few months, as the Council have come back 6 months after being asked and said that the rateable value is a little higher than the top of the discounted value band, having upped it quite significantly, and 'by the way we need all the business rates paid by March', and 'no we won't negotiate'. The upshot is we are paying 12 months rates in 6 months. We were geared up for a rates bill, but were hoping to avoid full whack. F

Tekplas sell into roadworks hole protection as well. So you can dig a hole to *really* really keep the little darlings inside with a fence around the top to make sure, and put the appropriate warning signs on too to stop the Child Protection Officer falling in. F

Kudos to @MikeR. I was very skeptical as to whether it could move forward, but the man gets a pat on the back for making that progress. F

Thanks for the replies. I may have the age range slightly too high ... we are perhaps talking about toddlers-toddlers+. I did query the size, and was firmly told that 6x6 or 8x8 would be suitable. I also quizzed the people at the Sure Start setup where I help setup the hall once a week, and they said that a small area should be fine. @Onoff, I quite like Tekplas - especially that the system is useable without drilling the floor, and can also be used as room dividers, exhibition fences, Christmas Tree enclosures etc, and that it can be bought now in a minimal form and expanded later. Flexible is good. An 8x8 with gate setup in white @750mm tall would be around £300 new. The easy way to fix such a system if it turns out to be too movable would perhaps simply be a screwed down square of battens outside the fence, rather than another 300 ukp on post stabilisers. Now what I need is a nursery to go bust locally... Ferdinand

I need to create an approx. 6'x6' or 8'x8' play area in a club environment for small children to be contained for play whilst their parents do their activities. The age range will perhaps be up to 5. I am happy to install it semi-permanently (ie screwed down) or robust using a difficult-to-move version which is not screwed down. Current thinking is towards Picket Fence panels and posts in screwed down post sockets, with a gate - but on that I am a little concerned about splinters etc. Does anyone have any experience or good ideas / suggestions? Or even something suitable to give away or sell ?. Thanks Ferdinand

Welcome. Can work as long as you think in an integrated way before you actually build it. Otherwise you need deep pockets and a willingness to empty them. Ferdinand

Remember that mixed use is usually unmortgageable. F

@Ed_MKMy advice. You may already have decided on 1 and 2. 1 - Take a look at whether you need quite that many, and whether you actually need recessed - I have about 70 in the house, and I consider them an inherited PITA. That is another 70 points on your wiring bill. 2 - Also look at LED panels, which a number here have found as good or better. 3 - Be aware of the width of the light cone ie the angle of the spangle. 4 - Recently I have been using LAP products from Screwfix for GU10s, which have been satisfactory. Have been about £2-3 each. Here are some dimmable 5W ones that may be OK and are available at £20 for 10. https://www.screwfix.com/p/lap-gu10-led-light-bulb-345lm-5w-10-pack/1402v 5 - Do not buy *too* many spares. With 72 you may only need to replace 1 or 2 a year early-on. 6 - If you do recessed, make sure your holes are deep enough. Some of mine aren't and some of the bulbs do not fit in some of the holes. Ferdinand

Have you worked out the Muckaway savings if you fill it in? At (guestimating - not my thing but @recoveringacademic will have it in SPONS) say £5-10 per cube to have it taken away filling that pool in with your scrapings could save ~£1500 (at say a conservative 1-1.5m by 6m x 12m = 70 cube to 100 cube), which at the least would pay partly towards your bridge over the top if you need one. Ferdinand

Important Point Why is the whole length of the kerb alongside your building already a drop kerb? Have a little dig ... it may be that your deeds show a reason why that may be so. It could be eg that whatever was there before the bungalow used it that way, in which case you already have the right of access, or that the original plan for the estate included a potential off street parking area in the PP. Even if you do not bottom it out, you can still argue that "it is already a drop kerb since 196x, and we have that access already". That could be difficult to enforce on, so you may just be left alone as long as you do not eg cause accidents at the junction or get a busybody taking it up. In the meantime, do not admit in a binding form that it is *not* a drop-kerb. Your query was just a question about a possible scenario. We had an end terrace site in the family where the deeds showed street access along the whole garden length, and there was a drop kerb, which meant that there could be no future access issues when someone considered building on it. There was a delightful sequel where the Council agreed to paint out the double yellows which prevented parking across the "access", and that the new owner stuck a couple of fake doors on the wall to look like a real access to prevent other people parking; that was the tactical way to create new parking rather than a full Traffic Order process. Someone knew the system, I think.

Was was it Deep Thought said of "The Question"? Tricky! I think that could be in practice overturnable, since rational planning allows for equally good solutions reached by different methods, but it could be a battle not worth fighting. Ultimately National Planning Policy is still rational and consistent. That argument could perhaps be won if there is insufficient space to leave site in a forward gear, and providing an in-out driveway (which is unfortunately not what you want as it still needs lots of extra drive), then arguing that it gives safety. Is it possible to argue accessibility? On your options, I think the Council have various ripostes available eg enforce + chargeback, but I agree they may not push it. If you have done no changes - and it is true that the kerb is low - then JFDI and see what happens. If you propose blocking the existing, that could fall foul of them requiring a permanent block (cf easily dismountable disabled access ramps being frowned on in Scotland to try and prevent them being taken away later), or if the new provides less off-street parking. One option you have not mentioned is two tracks of paving from the existing, or using a gridded setup similarly. May be surprisingly cheap. As for how to proceed, I would consider: 1 - Leave the driveway out of your Planning App and get that approved (including the outline new kitchen as I argued above). 2 - JFDI on using the bit on the away-from-the-corner side of the front door. Once your lawn has been trashed by building the extension, consider making what you put there eventually to be dual purpose (perhaps after sign-off ?. 3 - If you need to do a change later, you could apply for a variation to the PP. That leaves the driveway issue separate and encapsulated - as I described here. That means you can proceed with the substantive without it getting delayed due to wrangling about the driveway. 4 - Document your use for future proof of "lawful use" purposes. Ferdinand

Heh. Ordered it yesterday. But there is a five year guarantee.

Weclome. This is how laid back you need to be in your head as a basic attitude - stress management combined with hard work when necessary. My 3 comments would be: 1 - Front load your time budget; back load your money budget. ie Think before anything. The other way round is expensive. 2 - There is always a risk-reward tradeoff eg buy a plot with no pp or outline pp may be appropriately cheaper, but where do you sit on the spectrum? 3 - There is also always a time - money - cost tradeoff. Where do you sit on *that* spectrum? IMO if you feel comfortable with your answers, to 2 and 3, and understand why you are where you are, you are well-placed. Ferdinand

Can anyone comment if these are any good? £34.99 is tempting. My Wilko stick-on battery doorbell just ran out of battery... I see there is also a No No! if any BHers need a shave.

May I add a question. Can I say that dot=and-dab was used extensively from say 1975-present? Is there a time period when dot'n'dab started to be used very widely? Is the 'drafts behind plasterboard' thing becoming less of a problem with new build now that air-seal membranes are used more? I ask because for me renovating, it could be one small factor affecting the ease of renovating properties in favour of older, or even solid-walled, ones. There is a similar time-window calculation for eg asbestos. Two that I have done in the last few years have been renovations of 1970-ish properties. One was traditional plaster, and had cavity insulation so I left the walls alone except for a skim. The other was a virtual rebuild. Cheers Ferdinand

Helmet light, not torch. Or an anglepoise. Drew Pritchard will sell you one for £1234. F

Thanks guys. I think I will be going for the Vent-Axia one at about £95. Here https://www.vent-axia.com/product/lo-carbon-centra-t-timer Unless there are any showstoppers. F

You tease. Any chance of a link?

Someone on another forum has suggested a few of these house removal packer blankets at 2m x 1.5m size, which is a great idea. https://www.ebay.co.uk/i/171821800141?chn=ps&var=470773135762 Pack of 5 is £16, pack of 10 is £23, pack of 100 is £175. A couple kept under the boot floor would be a great idea.

I think unfortunately this reflects the "planning permission is not precedent" rule, whilst the complexity of the system and the 'responds to complaints does not check everything' makes inconsistency inevitable, and the combination bashed you over the head. I think @vivienz has it. Ferdinand

I think the place to ask about that is to email your BC department and ask them. F

Tricky, and interesting, @vfrdave. Two years ago I actually did a survey of porch support poles in our area to see what people used. My favourite was one from a bungalow my dad designed and supervised in 1970 where he actually used a pair of galvanised scaffold poles for a car port. Still there, still unpainted, still with the original occupant in the bungalow - now in her 90s. Here I would leave it until the wall is clad, and some landscaping done, then consider using it as an accent feature on the building, bearing in mind the overall look. To me eye a stone post would be incongruous with the design. If you have something whch is a contrast colour elsewhere, then do something to reflect that - or perhaps to match your downpipes etc. What is at the bottom of the pole? Can you easily put foundations in for a stone or similar post? What does the porch do? Does the wind come whipping down from that side whilst you are fumbling for your key standing in your batman costume after the Christmas Party? If it needs an element of shelter, what about filling the gap to the wall with something permeable. Fill in the bottom half of that gap and you could have a hidden "drop-off" point. Given the clean look of the place, I quite like the idea of afterwards growing something up it where the leaf colour would change, have berries, or similar. So my suggestion is to fill the gap to the wall with something like expanded stainless mesh or Corten or even anodised ally or copper, dressed round or in front of the column, then either leave it as a feature or grow a suitable plant up there. Ferdinand

That proposal to build overhand concerns me. AFAIK it reduces the visual quality of the work substantially, especially if you have to make like Mr Tickle to build it. Can you maintain it, and will you neighbour have to look at it? For me, negotiating access would be a better option for appearance and relationships, or even better leaving enough room so you can get to the outside of it. Ferdinand

A well-chosen AT should not be too expensive, and I expect that you can save more money by putting the same amount of effort into other areas of your build without the extra overall risks. F

Thanks. Looking at that I think I may want more a "tray" type of thing, but it's useful to see - a I don't carry bundles of ladbradors. F