Ferdinand

Welcome @Tony. Dive into the forum and read some blogs - there is a lot here already. We like pictures.

Fair comment. There may be scope, but it's a shark-infested custard!

Can't you build it all from the outside accessed from the porch or new garden door, and not create the penetrations to teh existing until it is nearly finished?

I think that you need to decide whether you want a warm loft or a cold loft. If a cold loft then you may also be able to get free rockwool added to 250mm, but you would need to remove the existing such that there was under 100mm there when inspected. I would suggest putting the 100mm you remove under your suspended floors downstairs as underfloor insulation, if they are suspended floors. Messy but not difficult, as you only need to lift a floorboard every 750mm or so, then reach under with a staple gun. And a cold loft will need adequate ventilation. If a warm loft, then you will need teh rockwool out anyway, perhaps to use in the same way. Loft Legs can add up quite quickly if you cover a large area, even though quite cheap each. I hve used them successfully for part boarding out a loft or two, You also need to make sure that you have addressed air leaks from house to loft - far easier to do before insulating ?. Ferdinand

To me that seems to be a highly convoluted argument. They would be relying on a secondary effect of a very arguably fundamentally unenforcible Plannign Condition (a condition does not come into force until development starts, and iirc pruning trees is not "start of development"). But I'll stop there, as Martin Goodall has written 2 articles about this area in the last 2 months, and did so previously in 2011 especially wrt trees: https://planninglawblog.blogspot.com/2011/06/pre-commencement-conditions.html http://planninglawblog.blogspot.com/2018/09/pre-commencement-conditions.html http://planninglawblog.blogspot.com/2018/10/defective-prior-approval-applications.html Ferdinand

Indeed. Another reason for having the switch near the sink, so you can easily test it by turning the tap on from time to time, and operate the switch to see the water stop.

Excellent things imo, @Crofter. British invention, and - as marked - it is called a Surestop. They are on my list of always beneficial but easily forgotten things that get put into all rental conversions. There are versions which quality as a WRAS stoptap, but I tend to fit them in the order Stopcock -> Anti-scale device -> Surestop for protecton reasons. There is a debate as to whether they should be put in cupboards or on the wall near the sink. I like them out of cupboards so they are always there winking "use me if you go out" at tenants. We talked about these a bit on a thread last year ?. This was my full comment: F

OK. Will edit. Cheers. Edited.

I've been chewing on this since yesterday, and I don't think I am convinced that you are getting as much for your floorspace and budget as I would expect. Whilst I agree with the previous comments that it is an attractive and pleasant house, I think that it is not yet a great or very flexible house. I think the outside is probably a more attractive design than the inside to me. But how to feed back without sounding hostile, and still be provocative but contructive? Rather than list details yet, let me start by asking you to think about "use cases". ISTM that for 300sqm and the best part of a million ukp including plot, you could reasonably expect everything you could ever want, and then some more. How will this house be practical if eg 1 - A parent has to come and live with you? 2 - One or both of you need to work from home? 3 - You have another child, and it turns out to be twins? For a large house like that, I think that all of those should be easily accommodated, and I am not sure they can be on the current design. Switching to rooms and spaces, as I see it you have 3 very generous beds with baths including a master suite, one more generous bed, family bath, a nice big kitchen-diner-sitting, and 2 more reception rooms set up as a playroom and a lounge. The "wow" features are the 'bridge' on entry and some interesting profiles / details on the roof and rear facade. For an extra 100 sqm and 200k on the build budget over a 350-400k 200sqm house, I think that more could be expected. The impression I get is that the extra space and cash budget has gone in part to the bridge and void (and even more space beyond the 303sqm has gone into the insets in the rear facade), but that most has gone to adding space to the same selection of rooms that I would find in a 20-25% smaller self-build house, rather than doing things a little differently to relfect the larger dwelling. I have all of the above or equivalents in my 2100 sqft house, and it feels generous so I am not sure that all that space needs to go towards making the rooms huge rather than merely very generous indeed. What would I change on the current design to go in the direction I suggest? 4 - As mentioned, the stairs do not seem resolved. That stub corridor to a bedroom door and window seems incongruous. Move the door, make the stairs full width with half landing, and put an even larger stair window and window seat on it to give another wow, which will also dramatise the route in for visitors. Put an interesting feature tree or bush at the back fence where it will be seen as people walk in. Make the stairs 35 degrees of slope or even less. 5 - Am I right that Bed 3 is entirely north-facing, and never actually gets any sunlight? I could have misread the plans. 6 - In a 35-40 sqm master suite, istm that it should be possible to find room for a relaxing-bath in addition to a conventional shower. I would also look at turning that Master Bed window into doors onto a balcony in the recess - inward or outward opening should fit. If neighbours overlook, then it could be angled south. 7 - I would make provision to easily divide up the Jack-and-Jill into 2 should it be needed. 8 - I would look to adjust the downstairs to give an easily adaptable grannex. 9 - I would try and create an extra room upstairs as Bed 5, for flexibility and a hobby room or office. 10 - I might try and create a study / reception 3 downstairs for similar reasons. And that is without getting into things like gyms and cinema rooms. 11 - I wonder if storage space is too slight, and you will end up with a large traditional shed. Personally I would want a double garage, or at least make some use of the gable void above the existing. I think that one feature of great designs for normal houses is how they organise space for ancillaries (eg garden store, workshop etc) into the original concept. 12 - I do not understand the passageway between the garage and house. Why is that space not inside the garage? How to approach it - I would perhaps suggest giving your architect some extra constraints if you want to pursue these lines, and see what emerges. Best regards. You did ask for alternative views ! Ferdinand

So what colour are you going to render it ? Coming soon to the Marketplace: One Bottle of Liquid Weather (nearly new)

Thanks all.

I have no idea for the cost per sqm of these, but alternatives might be SiPs (talk to people who supply garden offices as self-assembly kits) or Block with external insulation, which would reduce your internal-finishes costs. There may be relevant thoughts on this thread: Can you buy your cat rooms as offsite-constructed cubicles for a competitive cost, delivered whole on a lorry? Have a look at companies that make student bedrooms or modular bathrooms for hotels or hostels. I assume that you have consulted with other catteries as to how they did it? Anything on cat forums? I am interested that catteries do not require a room with water supply etc separate from the kitchen, or an isolation facility. The difference between contractors and self-management is a risk-cost sliding scale. You have to decide where you fit on that. For some ideas (a lot of work for you) check out the blogs of @Crofter & @Triassic (the cabin part) Ferdinand

Welcome to the Planning System ???.

Once the tree has gone, your No-Dig Planning Condition is likely to be unenforcible, and you may be able to ask for the Condition to be removed on the basis that it is "no longer necessary", and in fact would fail 5 of the 6 required tests: But your blowback could be instant TPOs on all the other trees, which would then be confirmed or not depending on their evaluation of public amenity and tree quality. And perhaps attempts at enforcement. How to play it? I think I would think through, and create if I could , a "landscape strategy" (ie a draft or prepared plan of your proposed garden and attached words, in a report format), which I would then if necessary use to show that it was reasonable to remove the tree. That may assuage any visiting Tree Officers who appear out of holes in the ground with itchy trigger fingers, indeed they may like it. I would apply that to the other trees too, and I would consider doing the works before I talked to the Council to make sure that I wasn't going to get any TPOs that were showstoppers. I would also make sure that my new garden was more nature-beneficial than before eg genuinely appropriate planting (eg undergrowth, bushes and trees with food, and some taller dense stuff for nests, hedgehog holes in fences, and swift boxes etc). Our birds are currently gorging on the Pyracantha berries. A further advantage is that were you to attach the Plan to your PP in an appropriate manner if possible, it may bring some of your landscape works within the scope of reclaiming VAT. (Make VERY sure that they are not protected before you do works; to prune or remove a TPO tree is an offence, and unauthorised works done during a building project are exactly the circs where they would seek to enforce.) This is a strategy to be considered carefully in the light of the local circumstances and the trees concerned. A half grown sycamore that cannot be viewed from a public road is a different situation to a fully grown Turkey Oak that is loved locally, for example. F

Welcome, Iain. This is your biggest enemy at present. No good learning things after you have committed to, or started, a course that will prevent you doing them. So it may be a good plan to take a little more time or learn faster ?. Don't overset your expectations if you are planning a full renovation, or you might suffer from 'bugger we only just started'' syndrome at 6 months. That looks like a spacious small terrace (reminds me of some of the early c1800 ones in Hammersmith), rather than one of the hoofingly-large ones that there are a lot of in Scottish cities. Your thinking is a good start, but there are some areas you need to extend it into imo. Some things IMO missing so far from your list that it would be useful to know are: 1 - Just how far are you cutting it back ... eg are you going to brick or skimming. 2 - What are your plans for the floor wrt eg insulation? 3 - Are you in a regulated area wrt conservation etc? 4 - What are your plans for a heating system? 5 - Are youplanning solar? To my eye EWI (External Wall Insulaton) does not look feasible without doing the whole terrace, so also wrt IWI: 6 - How high are your rooms in general? 7 - Ditto the doors? Are they original and are you keeping them? 8 - How large are your rooms (ie can you afford to lose say 100mm to insulation if you need to)? Have aerogel on your radar if you just need to insulate the front wall and your rooms are small, though your bank account will know when you have bought some. In terms of where to start, I would suggest a Heat Model on the @JSHarris spreadsheet (someone needs to provide a link to where it is now), and also on the Stroma EPC software. That is to understand your house, and also to know where your target is. I would recommend aiming for at least a B on EPC, as it has to be a C for future rental if that will be needed, and is a decent place to aim for. If you are building a 20k-30k extension, then any extra money you spend to take your insulation from "good" to "very good" will be relatively small. ie so do it. If you sweat your extension budget just reasonably well, it should more than cover the other. On MVHR, you need to consider it and balance cost against benefit (including comfort), but you do need a ventilation strategy alongside your energy strategy. The ventilation strategy needs to address the extra difficulty you are causing for for both moisture and air to escape from your more sealed house, compared to the original permeable-walls-full-of-holes. That is, both heat and humidity. I find big benefit from a PIV at the top of the house, and some sort of outlet (eg Heat Recovery fan with backdraft shutter in kitchen or utility, and a low volume trickle setting) at the bottom (usually kitchen). It does make a material difference, either in the case of poor glazing (even single), or with well sealed 2G or 3G, as a intermediate between trickle vents (spit!) and MVHR. It is about providing an alternate route for moisture and air now that you have significantly sealed the walls. Others may argue keeping the walls permeable by choice of material as they do not like full membranes. My view is still to allow the walls to be sealed more but provide robust always on background ventilation. Finall,y remember to integrate your systems in space terms, and keep them maintainable. My last one I brought all the services above the underfloor insulation and plumbing / gas / electrics into channels in the insulation in my floating floor, which I think works. Had separate rockwool insulation under the suspended floor providing an overall insulated envelope. For the next one I will look very carefully at AHSP not gas, underfloor insulation, a floating-floor type underfloor heating system, and electrics running around the edge of the room under the floating floor. That will require good underfloor insulation, and careful tactical consideration for light switches etc. I'll stop there, but happy to answer any questions. My renovations have been mainly rentals so robustness, maintainability and resilience are very important to me. Ferdinand PS You need to decide how to handle those nice windows if you put 2G or 3G in if not there already.

I actually meant if eg Scrote gathers rubbish in England and dumps it in Scotland, or vice versa. Presumably laws are separate on even that type of issue. It wasn't a serious question. If they can't unify alcohol, then waste may be a taller order.

Snipped. Misread question.

Welcome to the madhouse.

Regulators making assumptions? Say it ain't so ?. F PS How does enforcement work across the border at Berwick?

I think that in law the person who supplies the rubbish which is fly tipped is responsible or co-responsible. ie your boxes - final legal disposal is your responsible. (Yes take the addreses off.) F

Welcome. Ask away...

I need to improve the ventilation of my own house (2009 chalet bingalow conversion, done to roughly 2010 regs), as it now needs to run slightly warmer for parent comfort reasons and is starting to feel a little stuffy (need to check humidity). In theory I could fit an MVHR, but it is a warm roof chalet bungalow conversion so that would be more than a little complicated, and also of course it would be a big disturbance. The plan is to try: 1 - a PIV unit upstairs - which will be on a wall on the landing not a ceiling with the unit in a space behind a stud wall in the roof angle, as nearly all the ceilings are sloping and if I get into the tiny roof voids it will be very tricky outside. 2 - Replace both upstairs and downstairs bathroom fans with (100mm) dMEV fans. 3 - If necessary trim a few mm off bathroom doors. I would welcome any comments. I am not expecting a transformation, just an improvement. I routinely fit PIVs in rented properties, and a HR fan somewhere downstairs, and all of the installations have worked well. Any comments would be most welcome. Cheers Ferdinand

If you make the plants ivy it would vanish forever in a couple of years. And so would the drive...

Starting at about £1350+VAT. Can anyone give a comparison like for like over the last 12 months?

I confess that I am still not *absolutely* clear which one you really want to change - the wall or the paving. Taking another tack, what about overhanging planting on the wall? It does rusticate it very effectively in a relatively short time. Personally I would do that and spend the 'perfectionising' money on a holiday or possibly a mistress. F