Ferdinand

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 ?.

Sorry but I still feel I need more information ... such as roads and how the cars get in. Could I have a site layout and a location plan ?. I don’t think it is necessarily making best use of the plot; but I need to see the plot in context. F

You could do lots of things things, but sprinklers would likely be required in the open plan space where it is part of the fire escape route from upper floors or rooms without escape windows.

Can we see the upstairs plan and the boundaries please? And presumably your external look is relatively fixed if it is a full PP, but you have leeway on the internals. Are you planning to adjust the atout without a further application. Will the Council have a fit if you decide to try and make changes to the appearance, or does the option potentially exist? In my head I am speculating about putting the main entrance door on the side of the dwelling. F

That is true if that you are responsible for the filter, but if the download is onto their devices then they are responsible for the download. The law tends to turn on possession. I would ask the Tourist Authority for their recommended policy, and follow that, and not provide recording devices etc. Also the responsibility should be in the contract.

The place looks great. May need to start a thread about Island cycling.

For some reason I keep wanting to yell PARKLIFE! at this thread. No idea why.

The other weekend when volunteers were moving all the kit into the new gym and painting it, I ran up quite a pizza bill working all the way through the Domino’s menu with their half and half options. Love pizza. Occasionally.

There are others around too. In Hucknall near here there is a mixed development happening on the old Rolls Royce Hucknall Aerodrome site where (I think) the Flying Bedstead was created. There they are leaving a space on the estate patterned on the old runway. I am not sure on the quality of the detailed design, but it is 150 acres and 900 homes over perhaps 12-15 years. F

Given Aberdeen now, perhaps they will check affordability.

All interesting. The style of presentation - and extended Design & Access - is not dissimilar to that now being used by boutique developers such as Kevin McCloud's HAB. An interesting comparison might also be with Poundbury, which had some genuinely interesting things going on, and also with larger scale long term projects. Ferdinand

Going to see this morning. Hoping for a loose tile.