Ferdinand

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 :-).

As I say - best of luck.

You may have done it, but I would probably want a test hole by the house to find out about existing foundations, and perhaps another one if you are doing any sideways extending, to find out a little about ground conditions and let the professionals give me better advice on deeper foundations etc whilst they were in my employ. If the original architect was as good as it seems, there may be a very good reason underground as to why it is only a bungalow and not a house :-). And - as ever - go to the Council Office and read the entire planning file, or get all of it via an email request or FOI. Ferdinand

You need to check your height etc if it is going close to the boundary. https://ecab.planningportal.co.uk/uploads/miniguides/outbuildings/outbuildings.pdf

Do not forget that there may be materials left over that they will give you if you take them away. That could happen on one part of the estate before they build another bit, since the materials may arrive as a "house kit". A newbuild Aldi near here gave away 7 pallets of facing bricks last month, due t the cost of landfill or removal.

There was an interview in the Sunday Times this week with Chemmy Alcott, and she was saying how she often goes out on the Thames at Hampton Court on a Paddle Board. Try one of those?

On my iPAD your email displays in copperplate! I somewhat disagree with others on the thread. I hope that I am wrong on these points, and welcome contradiction. ISTM that paragraphs 2 and 3 of your email is probably an admission that the potentially unsafe (safety margins etc) situation has been created by the actions and omissions of the highly qualified professionals you employed, who should have known better, and that therefore insufficient investigation had been carried out wrt the nature and location of the lines oversailing your plot to make sure you could complete your development safely. The proof is that if these had all been done effectively, there would be no risk of being too close to the wire, and the house would be in a slightly different place. Therefore the DNO could argue that any action to mitigate the risk is your responsibility not theirs, and that any recourse for you is against your surveyor and architect not the DNO, since the actions of the DNO did not create the present situation. I can't see any defences against that argument, unless there was some admission or omission in their response to the Planning Application, if they were consulted. But presumably they would argue that they relied on your professional survey. Were I them and my interpretation correct, I would probably expect you to come up with and pay for implementing a solution - either doing something with the wire or something to your house. If the offer was on a 'without admission of fault' bases, I might withdraw it in those circumstances. Notwithstanding any notice to move equipment etc, for the longer term they could apply for a Necessary / Statutory Wayleave (whichever is the correct term now). That is not a process with which I am familiar, but in the case of an HT line to a large number of people I would perhaps expect them to succeed. (Personally I wonder whether the maximum offer they may make would be a little less than the estimated cost of getting a statutory wayleave.) If they choose to play it by the book (ie hardball), in the shorter term (ie now) they *may* be able to ask the Local Council to apply a Stop Notice or a requirement not to build whatever parts would be close to the HT wire, for reasons of safety or security of supply until such time as a solution is in place, particularly given your statement that your workers continued working. That would presumably be after serving some sort of notice on you requiring a solution, and escalating if they felt the response was not adequate. Or they may have such a power themselves, or be able to ask the HSE. For these reasons I do not think your legal or practical position is especially strong, and I think that this indicates that it should be played softly. Personally, I would suggest withdrawing this email if you can, and talking to that firm of Chartered Surveyors before resending. If you have already taken professional advice and my points above are wrong, please say - since I am not a lawyer, and this entire post is just my opinion not advice. Wishing you success. Ferdinand

You want to move te one upstairs not the downstairs one, as at present the ensuite loo is positioned to wake up the people in the other bedroom. Ideally it would be on one of the side walls. To make your ensuites feel bigger get a bigger shower ... even say 1m or 1.2m x 900 feels much more spacious than say 800x800. Ferdinand

Is that for me? I was aiming just to illustrate the concept of "pavilion" and "corridor" when you asked what @caliwag meant, rather than provide a full analagous situation. Suspect the one I illustrated would have a slightly chunky budget ?, being built out of Oak by an Oak specialist company. As built that scheme in the picture looks like about 75k-100k to me. But similar things can always be done for about half the all-in cost by self-builders willing to sweat detail and apply elbow grease. In this case I suspect it would need different materials to meet a reasonable budget for ordinary mortals. My pic came from here, and you could ask them more details if you wanted: http://www.essenceofoak.co.uk/OakGardenRoomsGallery.aspx I also think it is a good opportunity to think through your requirements after the various comments, and come back with questions. Or indeed have a chat with a designer. It is also perhaps worth a look into Planning - I think your original idea would need planning permission (closeness to boundary), @caliwag's pavilion may fall under Permitted Devleopment (PD) if you meet the terms of the "Proposed Larger Home Extension" scheme which allows 6m rearward extension until May 2019 under PD if you follow the neighbour consultation scheme and no one goes "nay, lad". My suggestion is away from the side boundary on both sides so should fall under normal PD if you stick to your 3m. Ferdinand

Thanks Ian. So that would presumably mean that the laitance would still need to be removed for a click-fit? (Self-educating here as I have not done an on-screed floor myself for some time as main protagonist.) F

Does it make a difference whether one is having click fit or attached flooring? Ferdinand

Once you have got the water warm round the system, then you need to come to a happy balance between how fast the water is pumped, and the flow (in) and return (out) temperatures. Compared to rads you want the system to be running for relatively long periods with lowish flow and return temps. I think my pump is on "2" out of 3 settings, and my temperatures are roughly 40 and a bit in and 30 out, with the heating on the timer for about half of the day when on. If I need more heat I tend to tweak the temperature on the boiler for a bit, or use the manual 'on' on the main control for a couple of hours, rather than messing about with the 7 day controller, or just use an electric rad for an hour. If too hot I just whack it off for part of the day. But here, there is someone in most of the time. Add: my house is nothing like at well insulated as Jeremy’s. Ferdinand

Thanks. This was the one that I objected to then had the thread hidden a few months ago, and now has conditional PP for a smaller development. They came back and have resolved most of the issues after they lost the PP then the Appeal following my representations and the Council's view, including reducing from 2.5 to 1.5 storeys (33->26 ft) at the apex of the roof, 4 beds to 3 beds which reduced parking and amenity space requirements and made the PP implementable, and sorting out the parking mess they proposed. Not ideal or what they promised when they sold me my property, but acceptable in the circumstances. It is still proposed to build over half of where my 2.5m wide currently unoccupied Easement runs, but the is non planning and the carrot is to negotiate that away in return for them pre-installing ducts for me, whilst the stick is a threat to install them myself across the full 2.5m width and potentially injuncting which will prevent the building of half of the 2 semis. Time to have a conversation toe-to-toe and try to come to a win-win agreement. Ferdinand

A quick one. A new Planning Permission has been passed which includes a soakaway for onsite surface water disposal. Which body is responsible for enforcing the location of the soakaway being a sufficient distance from the boundary, and also the new building, in accordance with Council Policy? Is this Planning or Building Control? Cheers Ferdinand

Do not worry .. took me a couple of weeks to do it all. Go down the offie half way through. Unfortunately this excellently named place is in Sunderland. It is like a boozed up version of Open All Hours. I love Fatso's Cafe next door. If they put one of those in London the Mayor would try to ban it for the implicit suggestion that fat people eat more sausages.