Ferdinand

I think that appearing on GD can genuinely help a sale or a B&B business, but comes into that category called "non-neutral" - it drives the outcome to extremes. So you can do really well (that early Tower in Yorkshire with the Ancient Monument designation or the bungalow on the Isle of Wight), or disastrously (the big house in Whitehaven (?) by the chap with the Geodesic Dome bee in his bonnet). You can also embarrass yourself a little ... eg the Doctors in Bath with the £350k hole-in-the-ground, or prove your eccentricity to the world (the Cob Palace or that Gothic Horror one, or the chap with the aeroplane and the circular plan). Or you can potentially make a career. What you do get is more attention. Ferdinand

Another aspect which I put in a post which seems to have vanished up my iPad's posterior, was that one way of mitigating risk is via a household or directly arranged policy which covers legal expenses, since that draws at least one ("the legal action will cost you umpteen thousands") of the teeth from your opponent. Though the corollary is that your insurance company will expect to run the legal action. If the cost is small and were I in a position to do so, I would usually provide the indemnity policy. In fact I am just about to buy one to cover potential value lost of a right to use a driveway which was developed from a pedestrian pathway in I suspect a JFDI manner, with a questionable right to access it with a car. The issue would be if someone blocks it. Probably needed to obtain the extra bit on the mortgage and for when it is sold eventually. Ferdinand

I do not see that liability transfer. If I change something such that it is not in accordance with the architect’s plans, then how is that architect liable? That would be a material fact. F

Underneath all the verbiage and procedure that will come down to mutual agreement, and possibly a payment one way or t’other..

Talk about silly questions .... (Disclaimer: I have not assumed any particular answer)

I do not see that cutting a hole in PB is too difficult, but you know your room. But there is nothing stopping you using a mortise and tenon joint. Fix a 2x2x4 inch section of timber to your ceiling joist through the pb, then route or chisel out a 1x1x4 piece from each of your 2 halves of newel post. Fit the newel around the timber on the ceiling, then glue, and screw horizontally from both sides just below the ceiling, or bolt through. If you are only fixing from below then vertically well spaced out attach points are important, as the torque of someone leaning on it across the line of the bannisters is the one with the large load and long lever and no racking strength in resistance, which is provided the other way by the length and grid of the banisters. Perhaps consider triangulating it that way if you can, using for example triangular brackets at the corners. Ferdinand

My general view is that covenants are so expensive actually to enforce (High Court?) that someone has to be really seriously narked or their property fundamentally damaged for them to do it. But some are willing to risk 5 figures on a perceived affront.

Somewhat extensive explanation on Restrictive Covenants by Gary Baker QC is at the link below. http://www.pla.org.uk/images/uploads/library_documents/Gary_Blaker_notes.pdf He calls it the "Briefest of Overviews" thusly: "3. This is only the briefest of overviews of the law relating to restrictive covenants relating to freehold land. It is not in any way intended to provide all the answers, in some places there are more questions than answers." Wordcounter.net says it is 13,925 words. Enjoy. I applaud the distinguished Mr Baker for making his authoritative notes available, however... ☺️

Every time you go into the shower, you will notice them and silently kick yourself. Can you live with that for the next x years after all that work?

I have one (high quality ... complete sod to drill the bricks) house built in 1913 that came with service ducts from downstairs to upstairs, made from hollowed timber - one up the side of a chimney breast, the other up the side of a window. I would generally say keep the inter-floor runs concentrated if you can, but that there are other factors too. F

The economics of distribution are always fun. According to my calcs it is only ever worth me getting free pressed Council slabs from within about 5 miles due to collection and time costs, vs buy/deliver of new ones.

I admit when I read the title I thought you had been on a posh holiday ?.

@vivienz (Note: If anything I am overcautious in these matters. Apply pinches of salt as you feel appropriate.) My apologies if this reads scarily, but the situation you have seems to me to have potential to go several ways. Again, this is just my opinion and I welcome contradiction by people who know better. Like my other post, this one is more hedged around with caveats than Hampton Court Maze. (Aside - the correct way of course, would have been for your architect to have flagged it up and dealt with it before even applying for PP, or buying the plot). Something which had not been mentioned afaics and only touched on to by me - is your site a safe working environment, and where does responsibility lie if it is not, and can eg the HSE attend and stop your development in its tracks whilst measures are put in place to "control the risk" from the HT wire? And who is responsible were there to be an accident? There are whole procedure manuals about working safely around oversailing wires, which involve things like fencing them off from access etc. Much material is on the HSE website. I do not know the answer to that since it is very dependent on your individual project and how you run it. Crucial point: Who is responsible for the H&S on your site. If you are contracted with a PM or architect for supervision throughout then they may have the "Principal Designer" role, and be responsible for safe working practices wrt the HT wire. But if you are supervising the build yourself with some *involvement* in *how* things are done and directing work, then you are by that action asserting that you have expertise and taking on responsibility yourself. If you have not taken on that responsibility (ie demonstrated throughout your ignorance about the practicalities of building things) then your role is termed "Domestic Client", and it is accepted that your responsibility is limited. That is all somewhat elucidated in this summary post by @recoveringacademic. I raise this because the email in the post may mean that you have stuck your neck out (said the giraffe) and put yourself on the radar. For all I know there may be a procedure inside the DNO where they report potentially unsafe working environments they meet to the HSE, who could potentially appear and demand that proceedings on your site stop until the perceived hazard is removed. Though I would guess that they can have the discretion to deal with it more flexibly (eg "fence off a 10m corridor each side of the wire and get a consultant to brief all your contractors about managing the risk"), and perhaps a procedure requiring their interventions to be as small as practicable, and it is all about judgement calls anyway. Given that you have had a pretty good go at them, they could choose not to use any discretion. TBH, if I had received such an email about my staff, I would be playing all aspects strictly by the book simply for cover in case there were to be scrutiny later. Though they likely have a duty or a procedure to keep costs minimal - however if you get into closing roads, shutting off electricity supplies to umpteen people who all have to be leafletted in advance, and cherrypickers, and half a dozen people on site, it could be 10s of k. When I had a big tree on a big road removed it was 3k for a single day job. And since iirc it is a matter of 3 or 12 months notice to get the wire moved (according to your Wayleave), then that could be your project in the deep freeze for a chunk of time, or an even more substantial bill for emergency action to be faced than the quote you have already received. And the HSE deal in offences and fines and charges as well as warnings and notices; they may not pussyfoot if they get involved. Clearly were there to be an accident, it is all that many times more serious. This could be unlikely, but it is possible. Both areas - Wayleaves and HSE responsibility - are rather grey and smudgy. My suggestion would be to get some professional advice between now and Friday, including possible scenarios and how you should be prepared to react in each case. I think you need a roadmap of where you are in terms of the DNO and the H&S aspects. That advice could be anything from a 20 minute informal phone call to a 2 hour meeting.

Depending on when it was built, it may be worth having a word with Building control as owner, and seeing if you can have a view of any records they hold. F

That your neighbours have done it suggests that it is likely to be cost effective. It's not him that suffers the consequences if he is wrong. Do ya feel lucky ? ? To me it is a bit like not getting laser surgery until spectacles vanish from conferences frequented by opticians and doctors. Welcome to the Pleasure Dome. F

This reminds me that I failed to report back on the thread wrt a wheelchair for my mum. We ended up with a 16" seat width item which folds, and is 600mm wide when unfolded. This makes me wonder whether in fact they consider that standard doors are acceptable for the majority of users, and so do not demand them everywhere. Ferdinand Report here:

I reckon the wall will need about 8-10% of that amount ... (assuming it is good stuff). Build a maze or labyrinth? Or sell them to hikers to sneak into their mate's rucksacks for £1 to repair the nearest cairn?

Wassat, then? A bog for logs and VIPoo?

My kitchen has one of these ('orrible imo, but I do not have the casting vote) led strips along the plinth panels. Approx 1m has become detached after a few (9-10) years. Can anyone recommend the correct glue to reattach? They are a plasticky self-adehsive strip not unlike the things that used to connect the circuit board of a dot matrix printer to the print head (plus adhesive, which has died), so non absorbent surfaces both sides. In the house this morning I have superglue, double sided tape, artists mounting spray glue, carpet spray glue, the 2 part mitre bond, wood glue and perhaps a couple of others. Some are obviously wrong - but of those I am inclined to try double sided tape. Cheers F

I think you should look at it and think that you have correctly operated the "inspect, check, correct" part of the process. Catching it earlier than you could have done (eg instead of after the lantern was one) is a saving over worst case, even if it is a cost over best case (ie spotting the wrong angle on the firrings before they were installed). It may not be an A+, but nor is it a D-. Ferdinand

If you are just doing a few to help people trace them (eg several through a duct) - then what about colour coded small zip ties? eg - 250 assorted for about £1 https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/331886665283 F

What happens to those when those LEDs start popping, and how will performance be affected by time on or number of times it is switched on? I have not had a good experience with LED replacements for some type of bulb claiming tens of thousands of hours. GU10s have been great and last for a long time, but some other types seem to die much more quickly. OTOH that panel is inexpensive. Given that LEDs run cool, could you use something like a stick-on window-film on normal glass to diffuse the light behind the artwork? I am sure some on BH have offcuts they could send to be played with once you know your size. I am sure I have some Rabbit-Goo frosted-roll left over somewhere, for example. Does it need to be dimmable? OTOH this 36W 7mm deep 600x600mm at 400k colour temp one comes for a similar price as the naked one you link, with a 5yr guarantee and an extra dimmable option mentioned. https://www.elementlighting.co.uk/commercial-lighting/led-panel-lights/36w-led-panel-light-600mm-x-600mm-with-5yr-warranty-cool-white-4000k (GOOGLE5 for 5% off) Ferdinand

I would say either Wordpress or Blogger would meet the need. If you are going to do it in a serious or pointed manner or on serious subjects, then being with somebody in the USA is probably important, which is the case with both of the above. Ferdinand

When I did something very similar on my old workman’s cottage ten years ago, the problem I had was to make the ‘loose’ end of the banisters strong enough to be leaned on. The problem was that just attachment to the floor was not adequate, and tbh I did not know how to do it properly so I improvised. I created a floor to ceiling composite newel post, then filled in with a banister and decking, all from inexpensive sources. The newel was bolted or screwed to joists above and below, half over the hole and half over the floor to both attach to the joists and support the banister. I have attached a sketch and detail below that you are welcome to steal from. The components were: - 2x4 PSE timber, varnished. - Wickes DeckRail insert https://www.wickes.co.uk/Wickes-Straight-Deck-Rail-Insert---Black-914-x-270mm/p/154466 - Banister handrail like this but hardwood (decking handrails were too rough) https://stairpartsdirect.co.uk/range/handrail-with-infill-70-x-50mm/ Total cost Then was well under £80 iirc. It has been rented out since then and remains solid. Not especially elegant but it is a 1850 farm cottage that was just built cheaply so solid and practical is in keeping. ferdinand

You sounded as if you had done your homework :-).