Ferdinand

Still check the trimming margins. If you over trim the door may come to bits, and you would have to trim some more and remake the door bottom from the first bit you cut off .. removing a slice. If the bit where you weakened the last bit of door structure is too thin a slice, then the recreation is tricky. I got overenthusiastic on the Little Brown Bungalow with high quality 20 year carpet underlay and we had to extra trim 2 doors. Fortunately they were the two with extra leeway due to opening sizes. All the others were nearly down to the quick.

Check the trimming margins do course. Some are very minimal.

If you now have time, then take time to look around after you have found out what is involved, and avoid the distress purchase. If your T is on LHA then they may qualify for a funded replacement given that your current one came over with the Visigoths (nearly). There was an RLA one with a non-means tested pot of money from one of the Green Funders available recently. No idea of the current status. There is currently a scheme with a £400 rebate on replacement boilers running. And finally look out for 10 year guarantees that are on offer from time to time at no extra cost. if you let your plumber choose his schedule at some time in the next 3 months, and get the T to agree to it being done when somebody else cancels with a phone call at say 8am or the night before, you may get a reduction in labour. The last 2 I have had installed have been a Worcester Bosch Greenstar (my default) and an Ideal Vogue. If it is all that old, then perhaps you need a powerflush or new rads (not necessarily pipework). Ferdinand

I would like to see the exact product identified and linked there .... the same chain may have others that are fine. Ferdinand

You and Yours sounds like a route, too. Or local paper. Though you could try the slooooowwww complaints route via what (used to?) be called Overview and Scrutiny.

I think I might involve the MP, now. I think I would also ask for chapter and verse on that rule and the law that permits it. Councils doing things unlawfully on the assumption that it is too difficult to stop them (or because their staff are not sufficiently knowledgeable) is routine. At present, Liverpool City Council's Landlord Registration Scheme is up sh*t creek because they are trying to require landlords to do things that are against tenancy law or beyond their powers. Many, many Councils are heading the same way by requiring LLs to sign up to regulation by Councils that will require them to supply all sorts of private info about Ts and neighbours in violation of Data Protection Law. The penalty for non-compliance is to not to be allowed to be an LL, and potentially a Civil Penalty (=fine levied by Council) of up to 30k. To take action requires High Court or Judicial Review, which is 10s of k to do, Ferdinand

@MikeSharp01 Going to disagree with you a little on this Mike. Timber Frame is significantly offsite, in that large parts of house are factory made and arrive on a lorry. And the UK timber frame share of new housing is now over 25%. Eg https://www.pbctoday.co.uk/news/planning-construction-news/timber-trends-report-tops-previous-years-growth-forecast-beyond-2018/34474/ For self build it has a majority share. Do we need to talk about types and degrees of offsite construction? Perhaps we need to think about preinstalled modules and services, where I agree we are nowhere near there yet. F

Thanks all.

I recall that there is a software package that someone used to model exposure to sunlight throughout the year, and I think fall of shadows. 1 - Can anyone give me a name of the software (or website?) and a link. 2 - And can anyone recommend a consultant who might do such a model. I need to make a submission to the Planning Inspectorate about a 30' x 30' blank gable about 6m from a kitchen window, and want to model the impact on sun and light as part of a representation on loss of amenity. Cheers Ferdinand

Obviously install the conduit before the roof gets on if you can, with a drawstring. (for future readers).

OK. Email lady with what you think she said. Or to reception with a request to forward. Put a time limit on it ("please confirm that my understanding is correct by date X"). On day X+1 email the Head of Department as has been suggested, with the account, and "requesting clarification" or "confirmation that the Valuation Office control the list, and that the Council will stop trying to charge CT on my property"). Potentially your local councillor may help with this. Or wait until the system grinds through. Ferdinand

I might be tempted to a la Jeremy write to the legal department, or get a solicitor who knows to write and tell them what the law says. But that will cost money. A neat way might be to write or email despairingly and tell the Valuation Officer what the Council lady said (with email address ?), and ask them to forward a copy of the decision direct. Perhaps you could provoke the Council lady to confirm it by email first - for forwarding the 'neigh' that came from the horses mouth to the VOA for a response. They might not do it, mind. F

The separation distances and relationships are also affected by local policy, how that policy is interpreted, the leeway they may give you, and if they are being more generous today for reasons unknown. So you need also to be aware of local policy and practice if you are anywhere near skating any boundaries. LPAs have a lot of leeway in what they do, and a lot of options. Check the exact way in which the policies are interpreted and tested - you may be able to walk the line with something very close to what you really want. A Planning Officer might come out with something as nebulous as "seems too cramped" as a reason for refusal, which may or may not stand up if challenged. There are many ways of challenging. The only recommendation I can give is to take time, take care, do as much homework as possible, and really sweat the detail. Unfortunately there is a whole bookshop of things you can usefully know about Planning Gain contributions :-). And it is likely to be a different bookshop with a different selection of books in every Local Authority. For example if they do not spend it in 5 years you can get it back (may not apply to Affordable Contributions). Around the time your previous PP was obtained there was a precedent setting Court Case which ruled out Section 106 for small (<10 dwellings?) developments. I believe there was some action by Govt to mitigate the impact, but I do not know the outcome. Needs a check or someone may know. One option would be 1 - To take time to read the entire previous PP, and also read the entire file (which may not all be on the website) - perhaps submit an FOI request. 2 - Then study all the local relevant planning policies. Then come up with a list of questions from your notes and a specification as to what you actually want. 3 - Then - looking at your questions and how many you have not got the foggiest notion about - if you need pay (up to several hundred £££) a local consultant to spend some time reviewing your information, and arrange a meeting for 1-2 hours where you discuss your list of questions. To navigate the planning system can sometimes need someone almost like a ghillie (the hunting guide not the dancing shoe). Call it an insurance policy. 4 - The consultant acid test is that they know the LPA inside out and has done a number of similar planning apps, and knows the individual planning officers and their styles by name. You need to test their knowledge / experience not that they seem to know more than you; the latter could just be a skilled bullshitter. That may be tedious, and you may have done some of it, but at the end you will be in a far better position to understand the circumstances you are operating in, and there may be nuggets that will save you thousands and a lot of frustration. Best of luck. Ferdinand

You would need to ask Mr Putin for that. May get some free Vodka, mind.

HOw often are you there and how well insulated is it? Is it an option to run it at a constant temperature, perhaps even a bit below what you need and boost it when you are there, at nearly zero cost rather than buying lots of control technology? COuld you improve that flat to make that a viable alternative? I have known people who had 2 or 3 bedroom flats in cities, and rented out the rooms except one which they kept for their own use. IN that case you could be a live in landlord renting out a spare room or two under the spare rooms allowance i.e. tax free up to I think 7.5k, and help solve the housing crisis! F

YOu could try asking MBC for feedback on a paid consultancy basis. Or an engineer or consultant who works for them on the relevant design tasks. No idea whether they would do it. F

I think I mentioned about 19 pages ago that we were going to need to talk about your evils of insulation etc, which will affect how much you run it. Has that time arrived? Frost setting in the wings of the house you do not use, and perhaps even draughtbproofing those doors sounds like an option. I am sure that even Bess of Hardwick used to seal up parts of the house in winter. ELizabeth I probably just stayed in the South. F

YOu need to check the Planning Gain contributions with a toothcomb. I am not clear whether they can currently be levied on single dwelling developments, and Shropshire have a substantial history of utter chaos on these points, and the original PP is around the time of maximum confusion. I would recommend checking the national policy position with the Planning Aid service of the RTPI at http://www.rtpi.org.uk/planning-aid/, then checking locally. Ferdinand

Welcome. 16m face to face for habitable rooms sounds (from memory) tight for direct facing, but you need to check the exact policy of your Council and find a form acceptable to you that meets that policy. Some have variable distances depending on the angles, and it may vary depending on whether it is 1st vs ground, whether their rooms are habitable etc. ALternatively you can stretch the policy and make an argument which may or may not work, and then or Appeal it if it fails and the Appeal may or may not work. You could possibly do eg skirting level windows in a bedroom so you see only your garden downwards or with restricted views such that you cannot see into their rooms. OR at an angle eg side viewing oriel window. AT GND level you could eg propose a 2m fence and a condition to retain it permanently. Lots of options, but you need to know the policy limitations first. Given that one neighbour is built at an angle, there may be scope for an angled window viewing parallel to their angled back wall. TIme to dust off those geometry skills. Ferdinand.

My comment was from a member of GBF. I have not run it it through the EPC software to check yet.

I have these in my list of things to look at for future rental refurbs, on a single shower version, because 1 They should give some benefit. 2 They have been around enough that prices may soon reach non Green-gadget levels. 3 They should be fit and forget with no moving parts. 4 I am told they are low hanging fruit for a couple of points off the EPC, and I am regulated on that basis but the definition changes every few years so it may be a useful buffer against the slings and arrows. Remember to think about furring up of pipes if in a hard water area. Ferdinand

That is the classic field drain pattern used by farmers.

Welcome, @Scotrock

@BBCRenovationShow Welcome to the forum. I would like to see a show renovating some of the houses built to substandard by the major companies. You are very prolific in "outraged of WC2" tabloid heartstring twanging. But I am fed up of consumer so-called champions rabbiting on about problems just generating so,etimes overdone outrage. Let's have some programmes about solutions. I am sure that many of us would take part in that ... say in a similar style to the former Radio 4 Punters but with an answer. 5-10 minutes on the problem then 15-20 on the solution. Be a giraffe and stick your neck out. Ferdinand

But are we sustainable nuts? https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/mar/02/is-it-ok-to-buy-nuts-from-california