Ferdinand

I think if you want to take it further then it is high quality video cameras to have anything serious done. That is the only thing (unless independent witnesses) that will take it out of "a said, b said" territory; if the latter, then it is a bit of a lottery. Ferdinand

Not aware of an official one, but the Planning Resource website also maintain an interactive map and site section keeping track. You can register for a free trial which wpuld give you 14 days to research.Alternatively you can stick cache: in front of the link and read the copy on the Google cache. This is the web link for the map https://www.planningresource.co.uk/article/1212817/community-infrastructure-levy-maps This thread has much information

Cheers, and nice meeting you on the forum.

For a bit of timescale perspective, the new local Cathedral at Canterbury was completely rebuilt in 7 years between 1070 and 1077. Bits have been added since, but that is how they used to do building in Kent ! Pre-planning system, probably.

Is there an industrial strength surface consolidator you could put down first? That is beyond my ken. The glue I linked is the one we used to stick down stable mats to a gym floor that lasted several years OK with people gymming on it, But did not last when the landlord insisted on driving his cherry picker in through the roller shutter ?. He was stopped promptly. F

I want a video of @Onoff shaving the horse .... perhaps with a cut throat razor. But I will raise a glass to new learning experiences.

If you have not done it before elsewhere, go and visit a couple of buildhubbers’ houses to see just how small the space heating rads are in practice. For some places, a camping stove could probably do it for heating.

One other option could be roofrack type clamps at the edges of the roof.

The 10 year age limit for alarms seems a little peculiar. The CO alarm in all h9mes was in the initial ascot Gov announcement reported by that BBC piece, but not in the n3xt version. They are also allowing long term sealed battery alarms.

Rumsfeld on unknown unknowns. Reports that say that something hasn't happened are always interesting to me, because as we know, there are known knowns; there are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns – the ones we don't know we don't know. And if one looks throughout the history of our country and other free countries, it is the latter category that tend to be the difficult ones Best of luck.

is there anything stopping you glueing battens to the roof with industrial strength glue? eg https://www.diy.com/departments/evo-stik-serious-stuff-solvent-free-grab-adhesive-0-29l/212376_BQ.prd Or clamp battens at the sides of the roof and attach to those?

There's a whole bundle of questions here :-). This may take a post or two. The post was prompted by my spotting of 12v fire alarm systems from the likes of TLC. Firstly, I am talking about single family rentals, or possibly "small HMOs" (ie sharing like a family or up to I think 3-4 people, though in Scotland I think 2 singles sharing is officially an HMO) rather than large or 3 storey HMOs where control panels and emergency lights and things come into [;ay. Secondly, I don't think that Ts doing work applies in my consideration - apart from removal of batteries if the alarm keeps going off or for use elsewhere. One reason for sealed units rather than expecting the T to replace a battery every year. Clearly the only formal legal requirement that can be laid on an LL is at the start of the tenancy, since after that point the LL has no absolute right of access, never mind being in loco parentis to supervise tenant behaviour. Thirdly, I think that lights becoming something of a non-issue, as with LEDs they will hardly ever be replaced and a whole series of short tenancies may go through with no bulb expiries. At home I replace more than 55 GU10s with LEDs back in about 2014, and I think only 1 or perhaps 2 have popped since then. Fourthly, as an example in the Little Brown Bungalow renovation I fitted all mains powered interlinked AICO in every room (except possibly the CO detector), and the lecky put a fused connection unit or two in the loft, one of which my maintenance guy later used to install a PIV ventilation unit. I recall the Fire Alarm bill being a bit of a shock, and a surprisingly large part pf the reewiring expenditure. I think that technically we did not require Building Regs involvement, as that was done by the Competent Person electrician who did all the alarms. My only 'noncompliance' (though not a formal requirement aiui even in a rental) *may* have been the PIV unit - would have to check the certificate. Specific replies following. Ferdinand

Not quite sure to address this, so I will just ask this question about connections such as hard wired fire alarms and PIV fans (typical load 10W) etc Now, there is no issue with us doing those on our own home, provided we do it right. Or having an electrician do the same. I am interested as a landlord. The big issues (obviously) are the linked ones of tenant safety and potential liability, with cost getting a look in once appropriate standards are met. My practice in a full rewiring would be to get the electrician to do hardwired alarms then it is certified with the rest under the 5 year inspection. In a non-wiring small refurb or existing house I currently use 5 or 10 year sealed battery alarms to avoid the ‘tenant not replacing battery’ safety issue. I need to check current regulations before I do the next one. My questions ... probably for tradesmen mainly, are: 1 - How are low power connections regulated? Is it Ok for a non Competent Person to connect up a PIV fan to say the lighting power wires? is it OK if the connection is to a Competent Person pre-installed Connection unit in the loft? The latter would save a second visit by the Electrician. 2 - What about fire alarms? 3 - What about 12v fire alarms? IIRC 12v is not regulated. 4 - Is there a significantly different fire hazard from using 12v vs 240v wiring for eg fire alarms? 5 - Does this mean that running a stepped down to12v circuit into the loft space is a good idea? 6 - Are there many pros or cons to using 12v lighting? Thanks for any replies Ferdinand

What @pdf27 said, plus this: Do your models incorporating at least a 20 year period to give a lifecycle assessment. You will need to do that for an assessment of FiT anyway. Just assume a reasonable value for inflation and sensitivity test with higher plus lower. F

Which, summarised, says expand your knowledge and do your homework up front, even if it takes longer. Because most of us are only building one house and will have to live with mistakes forever rather than have the opportunity to learn from them. Like Icarus and the practical implications of the melting point of wax vs the temperature it can reach in the sun. Which is what you are doing ?. Cool. F

I stay off plumbing, but what is the right way round for a cable tie if I want them all to line up? ?

They should have used a “firm price” contract, and stayed out of the way once the build started. Used to live just across the Heath from there in Gospel Oak (rented ?). They certainly do not have much garden left. (I seem to be having terrible trouble with my linkstyle. Must have lost the towel in Golgafrincham and caused a war somewhere.) F

Creosote? Perhaps I am off-timbre with that.

I suppose : After the incident with the sprinkler and the postman ... ”Fang the red setter never again saw postmen as potential victims, for the rest of his days.”

That beats "It is a truth universally acknowledged.." into a cocked hat. So tempting to sponsor a story competition with that as the defined opening sentence.

If dogs are straying accidentally on purpose, then perhaps leaving the gate open sometimes may help.

@CADjockey Thanks for posting so early in your design process - early enough when we can make suggestions in time for a fundamental rethink should you need it, but late enough that we have enough to react to specifically so avoid shooting at too much random. This has been probably one of the best threads I have seen on BH, which is probably linked to me not having posted yet :-). Other people have posted specifics, some of which I agree with. My first impression on the plans was that it was very compartmentalised, and how much space was swallowed by spaces where you will not actually live, an circulation. To me it has a feel of a house for a senior manager or independent professional from the 1930s or 1950s. For example a University Vice Chancellor or Area Manager who needs to be able to impress and entertain for the job, or an accountant, doctor, solicitor, school headmaster, or minister of religion who would need to have some business or 'public' functions at home while also housing a family. The layout is startlingly similar to a vicarage from that period - family rooms plus an office and a visitors' lounge or parish room. In 2018 I can see that that would be suitable for a similar setup such as a home-based artist, counsellor, designer, or homeworker, or for a family in a communty where 'public' and 'private' are still expected to be substantially separate (eg in some conservative religious communities). I feel that in one sense you have bypassed the ideas developed in the 1960s to 1990s, and gone for the earlier period's style - eg in the kitchen - dining room, and shutting the playroom away. But also now, the Vicarage or the home-practising Doctor would have the potential public functions more separate in an annexe with a separate entrance, a loo, a waiting room, an office, and a seal-offable link to protect the family space. That is not to say you need to do that, but what you may want to consider as potential future uses for you house (if you care). Two metrics that may be useful are % of area which is mainly used for circulation space, which imo for a house this size should be 12-15% (have not tried to calculate this); and % of area which is used for rooms where you spend time (ie exclude storage, circulation, ancillary and service spaces) - for your design I make it that you spend all your time in less than half of the house. IMO that should be more like 65-70%. That suggests to me that you could get the same amount of effective living space for less house (and money), or more house for the same. I also wonder slightly whether you are doing all that is possible with the plot. What would I do? Downstairs, I would reconsider the layout. I think that lots have commented on that. I might consider putting the study/studio or gym into the garage block rather than the basement, specifically designed to also be a potential Grannexe or pleasant work space. If I was being really long-termist I might make it such that the plot could be divided later, and the garage block be a potential retirement bungalow that could be split permanently. Upstairs, I would think about making it 4 doubles pus a studio-study-craft room with North Light, set next to the family bathroom. ie Potential 5 ensuite doubles; I think you have space for that. The 5th family bedroom adds value - beyond that not so much. I agree on Jack and Jill bathrooms; there is nearly always space for a pair of ensuites. It is such a significant plot that I wonder whether you could do something dramatic such as having (or space for) 3 or even 4 garages. If you have a vague feeling of not-yet-happy-enough, then you need to let it steep, and get some more input. There are lots of good comments here, but I would also recommend visiting lots of similar-scale houses to get a feel for different possibilitiies. One way is to stay in various houses owned by the Landmark Trust, or view houses for sale, or read the BH blogs and ask to visit. Many of us do that sometimes. I think it would be useful for us to see the one page spec of requirements about 'how you want to live' (not 'we want these rooms') you gave your designed/architect. That should have generated a dialogue between you and their experience, to help refine your thoughts. Post it here, or if you did not have one, then write one now resourced by comments here, and perhaps post *that* here. But it all comes back to what you want, and what you want to leave potential for. Best of luck. Ferdinand

Come on, Jack. Get real. I think the answer to that is that Mrs Jack quite properly envisioned herself waking up gradually and slowly on a Sunday morning, while you put your clothes, trolled downstairs, bought a paper, and made the coffee - and brought it back up to be presented on a silver tray with an exquisitely prepared breakfast of Eggs Benedict and Melba Toast, while she relaxed on a on a steamer chair on the balcony. Perhaps with the traditional Bloody Mary. Ferdinand

Welcome.

Apropos of not very much, that is very nearly the ground pressure exerted by a medium sized elephant. http://www.physicscentral.com/experiment/askaphysicist/physics-answer.cfm?uid=20090910093223