Ferdinand

Phone these people. Brick Development Association. http://brick.org.uk/ They have been publishing a magazine called Brick Bulletin for at least 40-50 years. It is in competition with Concrete Quarterly if that is still running.

And umpteen slaves... "Not Angels, but Anglicans".

I would phone them up and ask for their thoughts.

I believe metric doors, available from the same suppliers, are 2040mm - 2.5 inches more. Enough? F

For Westfield, yes. They are all different in their packages. Since you can read my compressed screen dump, Dr Ferdinandus the Unqualified thinks you probably do not need them too often ;-). It is like those low level security screenings: Q Do I need to check you out? A No. Q Good then I don’t. Do you want a cup of tea? I’ll post a list of the approx 10 such organisations I know about. F

There's quite a bit more in the article linked. The below is also from a bit of research I have done. A number of these organisations go back to way before the NHS, (eg 1870-1910s )and have their roots in mutuals to provide health care for ordinary people by putting a little aside each pay-day. I am not aware of any that are profitmaking - but I have only checked 3 or 4. Non-profit companies, Friendly Societies etc. So they may get some tax benefits, and have quite large memberships (eg Westfield: 400k menbers), and deal with schemes for companies and membership organisations (eg Unions) in addition to those for individuals. They also seem to have linked Charitable Foundations which make substantial donations to Health-type causes. I would expect that the Rewards' programmes a few run are paid for by the companies getting the Trade. I dug into this but did not get very far. 10% off Wickes' or Argos' profit margin still leaves them being very profitable on the transaction. I do not know what ratio of people who are members do not use their benefits, but there must be value in the bundled services. They rebalance their packages of services and grants to match the state of the organisation every so often. One I am looking at is BHSF (was a "Hospital Saturday Fund") which includes eg personal accident insurance up to 100k depending on the level of premium. They are remodelled as "NHS Top-Up" type policies, and of particular value for people who end up with regular needs which are not covered on the NHS, or cannot afford or get PMI, or are self-employed and want a cushion against the 'slings and arrows', or perhaps want to know what they will need to spend and have cover for the consequences of unexpected events eg if back trouvbe means they need regular physio for the rest of their life. Age cutoffs are also generous, so may be good for some buildhubbers as we get on a bit ??. F

Agree. Different animals. Denplan is not a Health Cash Plan, which is the category I was highlighting.

As I understand Denplan that is more about spreading the cost of expected relatively expensive treatment. These are more about everyday costs and usually require no medical. Here, for example, is the premium / benefits table from Westfield Health "Good4U" Health Cash Plan (information, not a recommendation). Premiums from £6.80 a month to just over £40, F

I do not think we have discussed these as such, so a thread may be useful,. Typically you pay a monthly premium from perhaps £10 to £50 depending on level of policy and provider and get to claim back the cost of glasses, dentists, health screening checks such as WellMan or WellWoman, surgical applicances, "treatments" eg chiropractic or physio, and have various other benefits such as a daily payment if you are in hospital as a day or admitted case. Just claiming the glasses and the dentist costs often cover the entire cost, so the rest is a bonus in financial terms. There is usually no medical, though pre-existing conditons are (usually - there are at least a couple of schemes that do not but may impose a longer qualifying period for some benefits) excluded. We have touched on them as one way of accessing Discount Schemes at major retailers (personally I have saved hundreds via a family member who is in a scheme). They also bring specific benefits for specific injuries if there is a Personal Accident element eg ££x for a wrecked joint or a cracked skull or an amputation or loss of an eye etc. There is a good, though slightly old guide on MSE here. I am currently looking to join one as an individual and wonder if anyone has recommendations or can point to schemes that exist but are not well-known. I need cover for pre-existing conditions (diabetic), which is limiting. Given that they can easily pay for themselves and then some, it seems an obvious thing for Self-Builders to take out - especially given that we can get a daily grant for out or inpatient care, massage and other type therapies, accident insurance, and eg an extra auto-10% off at Wickes. Ferdinand

Welcome. Do ask away. There are a lot of areas you mention, and I would start by framing some specific questions which we can then broaden out. Not quite finished yet ... so still plenty of opportunities ! I think my initial general comments would be: - Use the @JSHarris spreadsheet to build a thermal model. Here. - Look at Sunamp. Could that mean a smaller boiler? - Look at a larger solar array. Ferdinand

I used Polyx Oil for patio door thresholds, but they were internal and I expect to redo them every few years. Any exposure will just be occasional or internal moisture. The 5 Star sounds like a good call, but are there implications of not having done the all the wood first, and is it protected from water pontetially standing and soaking in? Exterior wood paint? My inclination would be protect not waterproof so that any moisture can get out again, but ... but... F

It’s one way: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-coventry-warwickshire-44055845 (Thought to be a misdelivery by the Beeboids and the police. Not totally convinced, myself - though it should have some monetary value and could have been sold possibly.) Ferdinand

I thought this was an establishment for selling tap water by the £5 glass in Notting Hill ?.

Have you chosen the noise for the flush yet?

Looking at the PP, there was lots of work wrt soil contamination etc (former brickyard) and I wonder if they were just trying to save the expense of digging out all that ground and getting rid of potentially contaminated earth. It is a big erection for the plot, so it would be difficult to absorb all that earth on the site even if not contaminated. The attempted variation seems to me to be a little over-imaginative in its argumentation - and is attached. I note that the media reports quote the applicant's 0.75m alleged height increase, rather than the Council's 1.1m - presumably they didn't bother checking. The Council seem to me to have done a really professional job here. I would say that fixing the roof will be seriously expensive, since I think he would have to chop the top off that double storey central gable thing right through the middle of that (10k+?) two storey window, which would mean redoing all of that, then there's the two dormers which are wrong, and the bay windows are also above the original eaves line. Perhaps not £200k, but not far off, as the internal heights etc would also be buggered., and he would need full scaff again. Have attached the Council Report and the applicant's highly technical argument. F stoke-planning-demolition-case-62006_VAR-COMMITTEE_REPORT-262816.pdf stoke-planning-demolition-case-62006_VAR-TECHNICAL_NOTE-250219.pdf

@lizzie May help - superinsulated houses keep cool in as well as warm, so if you cool it down overnight then reduce the ventilation during the day that may help. Here I crack our windows open overnight including roof windows it is a warm period, and then close them again before the day warms the air up too much. We are not super insulated but it does purge some of the warmth that has built up. This morning I had an early start so I opened our north side shaded door to get a draught going to the upstairs open windows while I was having my breakfast. Not perfect but it all helps. Ferdinand

Hope nothing is deep. You would have fun digging a 1m deep hole or trench there. F

+1. Forgot about that.

Just had a conversation with our cleaner about that. Dysons are recommended, but Sharks are rumoured to be OK. As yet I have no personal experience.

Hello @Jamie998 Can I add my comments? From the fencing I am assuming that the setting is rural-ish. I think there are some fundamental things that may be worth revisiting or at least rechecking - concise summary of requirements, priorities and acceptable compromises, possible future requirements, orientation, sunlight at different times of the day / year, shelter from prevailing wind, relationship to neighbours etc. I think you have most of those well-understood, but perhaps not all of them. 1 - It is very good to spend extra time cogitating before spending money --- that is the cheapest way to fix any issues. For self-builders most of us only build once so we need to take time to develop the eye and way of thinking that architects get from 7 years training plus several years Autocad-bashing before they get to really design things. Well-worth taking the time to get it right - even 37 days :-). We only do it once usually so let's take the time to do it as right as possible. 2 - I agree with @Mr Punter - at present the design is not sufficiently resolved. To me it feels unclear. There is not a single underlying concept tying it together, and seems to be neither one thing nor t'other. As it sits in the landscape, I am not clear whether it is referencing say a traditional farmhouse, a barn conversion, or a range of buildings that have evolved over time, or a ranch-style dormer bungalow from mid-century.To go for a traditional form in a modern style may give it a feeling of "fitting in well". For example, your dormer windows seem to be a vernacular detail from a farmhouse, and would not appear on outbuildings or barns, but the added-on 'pseudo-extensions '(kitchen, cinema) seem to be trying to echo how a building would evolve, and perhaps an enlargement of a barn. But the architectural language to me does not quite match how an evolution would have happened - eg a single-storey flat roofed extension as living space is a pretty modern concept, and I am not sure the cinema 'add-on' would historically have had such a roof. Though you could take a position of "sod the context; this will be good enough to redefine the context". It can be done. All that is where a modicum of feedback from a local architect or adviser may help. I think room layout etc needs to be informed by the above. 3 - I think there is space for a bit more "wow" for a grand house. Were I to suggest some changes from the existing they might be: a - Make the cinema room into the same profile as the house, perhaps a different shade or material if you want the "evolving" look. May be less expensive to build. b - Put master suite above cinema room. c - Make kitchen / living with a cathedral ceiling, with the formal dining space as a "room off" but with sliding doors to close off if required. d - Perhaps reconsider that single storey kitchen add-on, and have something more like a veranda or orangery along the house there to provide a dining / living space which transitions to the garden / landscape. e - Make the hall and staircase quite arresting - eg open well with gallery and skylight. And go from there. 4 - The form could perhaps be simplified to help maintenance in future, and reduce building costs to some extent. Which money could then be used for something else. Swimming pool? Tennis court? Manege? Handbag collection? Gyrocopter? 5 - Given that this is much larger than you have used before, I recommend going and spending a weekend or 6 in larger holiday homes (eg Landmark Trust) do you get a feel for having extra space and what you can do with it. I would also recommend visiting a lot of similar size houses with an estate agent. Ferdinand

True. Surely the dog has its own evaporative cooling coat of sorts ... you spray it with the hose, and the water then evaporates and the dog cools ? . F

Would a garden pond help as a dog-wallow here? Perhaps under a gazebo or canopy if it is a High Status dog ?. One of my dog-tenants has a former shower tray, and the dogs love it in the summer when she fills it with water while hosing the paving. Ferdinand

Consider whether you want permeable or waterproof render, even if it *is* a garden wall; they can still be damaged by water ingress and freeze/haw cycling. If only one side will be rendered that suggests that moisture can come in from the other side and get in behind your render that way, then freeze-thaw and spall, even if it can theoretically get back out the way it came. So I would make the render permeable or at least semi-permeable, with a suitable "water-chucker-offer" at the top to protect from rain if not there already. Others probably know more about type of render. Ferdinand

In build quality I think they probably don’t. London Georgian houses are notorious imo for being built of all kinds of crud; there are often spontaneous collapses in London. My impression is that the Georgian are worse. Ferdinand

We are all really closet Victorians where roofs are concerned ?.