Ferdinand

That reduces it to about 20 possibles ! Including the 9 storey tower in the hospital car park in London that had a design concept like a mini Trellick Tower ?, and was arguably very cool indeed but looked like a future maintenance hostage to fortune. One assumes that if she won bigtime you would have been tied down and told about it ! F

Looking briefly at the plans (and without scaling), I wonder two things: 1 - Is that balcony too large wrt the bedroom? By shrinking it slightly can you give room to have some sort of sitting area inside your bedroom to use in the autumn / winter / spring? 2 - Do you have space to make a more sumptuous bathroom without undermining the dressing or bedroom? 3 - The living room seems rather cut off from the kitchen, and the kitchen does not seem to have a place to sit comfortably rather than at the table. Do you want 2 'reception' spaces for when you have visitors, grandchildren in etc. So that you could divide TV / talk or noisy / civilised etc. All of those depend on how you will live in it. F

Good stuff that you already have some exposure; it can be a bolt from the blue if you do not. I'll leave energy comments for the new thread. It will be interesting to hear of your loo but no-longer-a-cesspit strategy. We ended up with an Aquatron, but there are threads about all of that. eg (you may have found) The first thing that they did at ours was to dig 18" down in a trench all the way round the walls, due to change in levels over the years. F

But did she win? I have thought about that. Want to end the introduction with ‘But I’d rather be a millionaire’. Eggheads and Pointless seem interesting at present, but I need team members who know about pop music, ‘classic ‘ English Lit, soap and real operas, film, and football. Sounds like a person with aspirations who didn’t quite make Chiswick, and is now stuck with Corrie, plus a sports nerd. For Eggheads I would need a polymath. Where’s the Good Doctor when you need him? My favourite performance was an unnamed person on Celebrity Mastermind declaring that Henry VII was after Henry VIII. Ferdinand

I may not be been clear, or perhaps cannot find it. I meant a view of the new design from far enough back such that it can be compared with the existing in terms of the size on the plot. F

Interview on BBC News 24 back in 2008 or so when Tony and friends were doing 500k random Section 44 Stop and Searches per annum in search of terrorism without catching a single terrorist. Self and girlfriend were searched after the suspicious activity of looking at the Local Area map at Kings Cross for more than 20 seconds.I think we were the padding to dilute the stats. The Officer said ‘yes, I believe you may be a terrorist’ when challenged, with a straight face. I landed a blog post at no 1 on Google for the relevant term and some Beeboid was doing research via the usual method, and asked for an interview. F

Do you have a site plan, and visual from an angle and distance like the photo to give us an impression of how it sits on the site. F

What about tapping a vertical edging in at the inner edge of the haunch, then fill the 'trough' you have created with the same gravel. You could use something such as slates or edging tiles. I suspect that the concrete, in addition to taking up rootspace, may also be sucking any water that does get there away - just as the soil always dries out at the bottom of walls.There might be a benefit in painting the concrete with some sort of paint-on-DPM, or even lining with plastic sheet. Another thing you could try would be to grow something that flops over the edge, such as one of the hardy ground cover flowery cushion things your grandma had along the edge of her path, and create a narrow border there. Have a look around the locality. I'm trying to remember the name of the one with bluey-purple flowers that we still have, but I can't rmember the name. This one: (update: aubretia) I guess that something Alpine or Rockery might match the conditions. Or you could even use something like Thyme, or a creeping conifer. Or what about planting it in a deep gutter set into the ground if you need to keep control? https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pmapinterest/border-plants/?lp=true F

@Rendall I should add that whilst there are disagreement here, it is to help you think about different viewpoints so as better to inform the synthesis you create, and help your project be better. Ask a question of 3 people on Buildhub, and you will get between 8 and 27 opinions. You'll be fine. F

I need to come back on this, @Rendall. I am not talking about gross criminality; I am talking about managing the inconsistency, the capriciousness, the self-contradictions, and the waste which are part and parcel of our regulatory systems. And the need to be ready for this in case something goes wrong with regulation on your project; you are dealing with a Listed Building and the consequences of things going wrong can be high, in both time and money. Here we are already clear that you are dealing with at least 3 lots of regulators - the Batmen, the Listed Building Men, and probably the Tree Men. You have to choreograph what they say into a dwelling that is attractive and affordable for the next 25 years (say), even when there will be differences between the things they way and they may contradict. My favourite analogy for Planning is Poker with a table stake of thousands, and I like Kenny Rogers "The Gambler" for our options on each issue: corny, but food for thought. Tree Man A may contradict Tree Man B, for BCO (Buildings Conservation Officer) 1 may contradict BCO 2 and BCO 3, but once a decision is made they will probably all stand by it out of solidarity. There are very wide areas of leeway within the bounds of professional competence, and much imo is governed by fashion at the time the partcular person was trained, and the flexibility they display may well be linked with the level of experience. Though there are also factors of some places being old fashioned in their practice, just as a Palladian Villa in the Peak District may be 50 or 100 years later than one in Brighton due to slow spread of the latest architectural fad. eg The last time I had a proper assessment of a TPO tree done, the Wise Owl Treeman listed the names of the local Tree Officers, and was able to tell me what each one would probably let me do, and which would make me use metaphorical nail scissors. The regulation is not consistent. However, there is considerable leeway in most of these regulations eg where the line is on a listed building between "maintenance" and "repair", and whether you need to employ an architect to do a Listed Buildings Consent application (no fee but one day of an architect costs money, especially if you end up doing 10 of them over 5 years). This piece in Building Conservation explores some of the grey areas. eg Do you need to apply for permission to replace the original door handle on your back door to improve security? What about the door itself? What about painting the doorframe? You will get different views and suggestions. eg When you apply for PP, a Tree Officer is likely to appear out of the sky, and it will be a matter of opinion whether you get nothing or a Woodland TPO on the whole shebang, If you get the latter, what would happen to your plans to grow your own firewood if you have any? (It is often advised here to decide what you want to do with your trees and do it before breaking cover with the Council).# I also think that the Bat System in particular is riddled with conflicts of interests - the people who are the key advisers on the rules also make their living from training Batmen - and it all works to increase the overhead on you. There are plenty of horror stories, but in the eyes of the Batmen you lose. I have quoted examples which may or may not apply, but I'll stop there anyway. I love listed buildings and trees, but in these days of kneejerk-bureaucracy and tick-box warriors who shelter in the lee of regulations, they can make life a hell of a lot more complicated (and slower). One thing you need is a wise owl who knows the area and how they all operate, to be a sounding board and adviser. The point is to make sure that you have independent knowledge as to how it might go, and what rights they have actually got - which may be exaggerated - and how this relates to what you want to do, and how you can best achieve your aims whilst developing your project appropriately. (One thing I would be looking at is eg where is the curtilege of your listed building (or where you want to draw the line), and how that may affect you and your plans.) Rgds Ferdinand

The listed building we are talking about on the other thread had big work being done on it from 1976 until at least 2008. A combination of self-managed subbies and self-do, mainly by dad. WIth bits from me. We sold it as basically very sound, ready to have a richer person throw 200k or so at it to make it 21C fitted-out and warm. F

It is a good question, and we have often discussed it on BH. I would be perfectly happy with the approach taken to the stonework at our previous address since they knew exactly what they were doing , and the work was of a superb quality and completely in keeping - but perhaps one to discuss at another time on a different thread. I stand by my opinion and my comment above (which was not intended to refer to wildlife), so I have edited out the conditional on that one.

My parents took one of these on when me & sis were just under 10. That was 5000 sqft+, Grade II Listed and they were still doing bits of fabric 25 years later. The roof was done in sections over 2 decades. At the end our all-electric energy bills could run at £5k a year easily was the whole house in use. Looks like a great project, and I hope you have a decent amount of land too. My immediate comments to try and add to your thinking. Is this a blitz project of less than 2-3 years, or a long-term one of more like 8 or 10 years? ? 1 - There may be something to be said for doing one area first and moving in to that (like a small apartment). If you are doing serious work, you perhaps want to be onsite since it is in the middle of nowhere. 2 - Pay very careful attention to the stuff you will only do once, as you will be living with any cockups or underinvestments for a loooooooong time. Particularly applies to restoration of fabric. eg insulate and ventilate properly - what will the lifecycle costs of poorer insulation look like after 15 years? If you are off grid or electric only, then energy use is important. Do you have a planned strategy for energy yet? I might argue that putting in skirt insulation should be one of your first things to do, if you do not plan to dig out the internal floors. 3 - Is it worth you seeking to become competent in some sort of trade area - one that you will need always whilst you are there? That can be fun and save significant cash. Looking at the pics, tree maintenance, woodwork (sash windows / furniture) or stone walling might be interesting and useful. 4 - Perhaps find yourself a multi-skilled handyman type locally, who is good at lots of different things - and plan to use him for the next decade if it works out. You will get good advice as to other trades man, and hopefully somebody less expensive that Competent Persons who you can use without the same worry. Also, that type may be more available for short term and minor jobs whilst Tradesmen have to do a lot of their main thing to stay certified and have a less chopped up schedule. I'm currently trying to draft a piece arguing that having a good generalist around is beneficial for self-builders - currently mine has been helping a forum member from 2nd-Fit on, and has done dozens of very different things that would potentially require several different recruits if no generalist was around. 5 - Pay attention to your tax strategy as well as legal and construction strategies, eg (and speculating) I think a lot of the structural stuff can be offset against CGT when you sell it, so is there a chance for one of you to buy it now, then sell it to the other when you roll over the renovation mortgage. I think that some things eg windows can be treated as capital or maintenance depending on how you play it (and the words you use). No idea whether any of this would be worthwhile - but have a look. 6 - It may be an idea to build a good double garage quickly, for secure storage, or two for a roofed central section to be added later. Requires no PP. 7 - If it as isolated as stated and a Private Sale, then consider whether there are any 'facts on the ground' that you need to create before any authorities come to visit eg a lake. They always get far more enervated about stuff that isn't there yet, so if you need it or it is something that they will flap about, perhaps put it there first (judiciously). Our listed building was not visited for more than 30 years, and was in the middle of a large clump of trees. "Repairs" can cover a multitude of sins, and if eg you "repair" your whole roof you maybe able to puts loads of inroof solar on it without anyone noticing. My parents repaired entire outside walls without telling anyone as dad was an architect - by traditional stonemasons and with all blocks numbered and restored exactly, but to an extent that the top floor and roof were structurally stood on acros for months. Regulations are tighter now, I think. 8. Consider carefully what to buy and what to hire. I would eg buy scaffolding. Ferdinand

Get some fibres from Wickes, for one thing to do. eg https://www.wickes.co.uk/Sika-No-Crack-Concrete-Fibre+Powder-Admixture---90g/p/154064 F

At this time of year hampers can be good ... of interesting food that people would not normally buy. Then if they do not like it they can give away to family and friends. I usually get my tenants a bottle of something like a non-alcoholic ginger or rum & raisin traditional tipple with the card, and usually something else. F

Well, it beats Marx.

Some things are irresistable. This prescient 1903 painting by C. M. Coolidge shows Planning Consultants meeting the Council, even though it is supposedly called "A Friend in Need". With apologies to any highbrow art people on the forum ... this is very much the 1890s version of the Jack Vettriano niche.

Can something be done with an intumescent strip? eg apply a heat-expanding one (eg firedoor stuff) then play a blowtorch?

Presumably, @Coops85, you could also simply ignore an unenforcible condition on the basis that they will never be able to enforce it. Your move ... Check, Bet, Fold, Call, Raise , Bluff or Showdown? "The Planning Consultant" (below)

You don't appear to have much confidence in them staying up ! (Or are you due to do Hercules in amdram?)

I think your solution sounds about the best, assuming the widths work. Have to watch the design at the corner of your drive, or it could be a potential alloy-killer.

Since you are a straightforward gentleman with a vintage Landy (I think), surely the solution is obvious and in your hands. Adopt the Buccaneering Attitude required post-Brexit, get yourself a couple of Minis and your Landy, and go get 'em. But then I thought this version was more Buildhub-y - vehicles, materials, self-do style - everything.

OTOH take care not to build stairs for Lilliputions. I spent last week helping someone move stuff around their house and my size 11 clown-shoes made me as if I would topple downstairs.

This has been discussed extensively before. My view is that the stair angle is one of the best ways of making your house feel more luxurious than usual, and really helps more frail or elderly people. I reckon it gave my mum 5 extra years in the family house. I say make it about 33-35 degrees unless there is a really good reason to make it steeper. This is one thread, with my comments copied below: If I am correct, I think you are a doing a Prime Contractor build on a dreamy site outside London? It deserves a sumptuous staircase. ? Ferdinand ------------------------------------- A staircase with a shallow slope is one of the great hidden luxuries that makes a house feel sumptuous imo, even at the cost of an extra square metre of space (or two). It is like getting the orientation right - people who instinctively like the house may have trouble noticing why. And it makes a significant difference to whether people can keep going upstairs easily when old; we reckoned our parents found it convenient for an extra 5 years+. And far better for the fat people we are all becoming. I lived with the one below for several decades. It is a magnificent bruiser of a thing - Jacobean oak and pine with a gallery but sooooo comfortable. The shallow angle allowed my parents to keep going upstairs comfortably for a few extra years. Originally it had about 28 layers of paint from the Victorians onwards and we had two slaves architectural students who spent a whole summer restoring it. There were 18 steps between floors, which were a little shallower than usual and I think the angle was under 35 degrees. Suggest go for roughly that. And a generous half landing with a window seat, or space for a resting chair, is good :-). But that is more difficult in a modern setting. My other favourite is generously shallow and wide open well circular staircases. Suspect also that when falling down shallow staircases less damage is done as you go down less height for a given length of horizontal travel, as do half landings and curves (you stop quicker hitting the wall or floor less hard). That is just me guesstimating but feels about right. Looking at Jack's numbers, I think I might try for something like 165-70 rising and his 270 going if the house could take it.

If that is Cornwellia, it is the west NOT the south. Bah humbug !