Ferdinand

Sympathy. I only ever had one really bad experience with a tenant, and the house was left like that.

I used exactly the same stuff on very similar doors. Excellent and goes a long way. But it is very odoriferous - my handyman who painted the doors had a huge migraine despite having windows open, and had to have a day off. Very much stuff to use with a good mask. Ferdinand

@Luckylad Also, buying from friends mutual clarity of communication and understanding, and equitable outcomes, is *really* *really* important; it is so easy to put a spanner in your friendship by mistake - one misunderstanding and offence that does not feel able to be mentioned and one party may just let the friendship drift.

A quick one. Are there any specific items I am required to include in a formal letter of notice to let a neighbour know I will be putting services into my easement across his future building plot? The Easement wording requirements are "reasonable" notice, comply with reasonable requirements of landowner, as little damage as possible and make good any damage etc. Thanks Ferdinand

You aren't in Sandbanks, are you .... ? !

If you were trying to buy that from me, and the boot was on my foot as the vendor, the price would be at least the extra potential net value added to my house by such an extension plus something for the potential loss of value should you extend plus something for your potential gain should you extend plus something because you clearly want it. ie could be expensive if he is well advised. Your best tactic might be to plonk a large sounding sum on the table as a way of clinching the whole deal and keeping attention slightly off the extra bit you want ... eg "we will add (eg) 15k or 25k or 50k if you include *this* and to wrap this up by next month. I think such agreements can be done, but need careful handling to be right and avoid loopholes and may well cost you extra hundreds of £££ to have drawn up by a suitably experienced solicitor. Simpler and neat and tidy and tied-up is always better if you can do it. Potentially you could try something else which will stop him building on it in future - parking space or garage on a long lease as a capital sum + peppercorn rent, but that is more complex. Good luck, however. Be glad that you aren't in Sandbanks where a tree naturally removing itself and unblocking the view can add an estimated £250k to the value.

If the building is part of the existing title and plot, then I think that that land should continue to benefit from the Right of Way it already enjoys that already exists, but you need to check properly with a relevant solicitor before you spend serious time or money. There may be separate planning or policy restrictions eg access for fire engines, width of driveway to an extra house etc. Ferdinand

No. Child enclosure :-). AKa playground.

I am still firmly with the Council on this one. Wider context in this pic. They have built their unlawful entrance virtually on the 'slip road' of a dual carriageway. That dual carriageway has a normal (85th percentile) traffic speed of 50mph+ and a 50mph limit (in Appeal report I think) and around 7-12k traffic movements per day (no count points directly nearby so need to estimate). I'm still gobsmacked that a Dr could do this. and while it is not exactly an accident blackspot, nor is it accident free and a few seem to relate to that side and that junction. Red=Serious. From crashmap.co.uk: I was chuckling about the Driving School, but it is actually a Diving School. Also an interesting round structure at the back of the estate. Sewerage aerator? F

They are likely to be getting a referral fee. Not sure whether that reduces the total amount available for insulation, or if it is a price reduction somewhere.

If you are messing .. literally .. around with plaster, or anything else, we (me plus handyman) tend to lay building polythene or similar over the floor. Just for ease of sweeping / clearing up. We use one or other of the wide versions from Wickes, sometimes even the heavy duty weed membrane. All are occasionally on 3 for 2 or cheap anyway.

May not be that critical, but my Senco does not like screws longer than 50mm, unless you remove the appropriate limiter ... then it is OK. Mine is a 14V DS202, and is fine. So if yours is 18V it will be great.

Here we go. The garage on the right is the one that was converted for the nanny and fenced off. The new entrance on the left is onto a duel carriageway and you can see the start of the junction splay, which goes to an estate road off the bottom of the pic. I have read several articles on this and I do not think a single one mentions that the retrospective application and Appeal were rejected on grounds of safety for traffic entering the Estate. They all focus on the funny aspect. Credit to the BBC for a contextual pic, however. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leicestershire-43043752 The Applicants comments to the Leicester Mercury website make clear that they *still* are not willing to admit to this. Appeal Decision attached here: leicester-nanny-annexe-hidden-house.pdf F

HAving written all of that I would judge the most likely thing I have run across as being persuading the local council to treat it as a Minor Improvement Grant for £1000 in England, which may involve making a fairly creative argument and perhaps getting an installer to nobble their price. Summary here: https://www.moneyadviceservice.org.uk/en/articles/funding-to-adapt-your-home-for-accessibility#funding-major-adaptations--the-disabled-facilities-grant F

I know a bit of background to thes schemes as I have had several in the last year or two in tenanted properties. In my experience loft insulation is still available for free in many places IF you currently have less than 100mm in your roof (i.e. 50mm) AND it is a simple roof. I have had these where they have refused to go into difficult to access sections such as roofs over rear extensions even at 1st floor level. (*) I haven't met the dormer OK room in roof NOT OK distinction before, but I think it is likely to be because they are targeted on the basis of how many they insulate and how much greenhouse gases they save, and hard to insulate would fall outside that. Therefore the low hanging fruit is targeted. Now that does not help in this query. This next might. Local Councils have a responsibility to help adapt homes to make them suitable for disabled people to live in; this covers things like bathrooms ramps and stair lifts; I am not sure whether this covers insulation etc, but they may know where to go. These are now called Disabled Facilities Grants I think, and the Disabled Rights UK website has information: https://www.disabilityrightsuk.org/housing-grants The remit covers improved heating systems, which may or may not be arguable as improved insulation. THere is also reference to making homes safe to live in, which might engage Decent Homes standards or HHSRS (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/housing-health-and-safety-rating-system-guidance-for-landlords-and-property-related-professionals), which are (very) comprehensive. The other contact point is your local Homes Improvement Agency, who are targeted iirc at keeping vulnerable people in their own homes rather than putting pressure on the NHS. THis website has more info and can help you find your local HIA: http://www.findmyhia.org.uk/ I do not know much about HIAs. There may also be local charities or organisations with the ability to make grants or gifts if other routes fail and it is reasonably modest. That is what I know off the top of my head, but I am afraid there is homework to be done - as ever. Ferdinand * The solution to point one is to remove what is there already first if you are close to 100mm, and put it back afterwards or use it elsewhere.

Don't overdo the tears, gents. This is a household with an income that may well have been over 100k (one is a senior NHS professional) wanting living accommodation for a full-time nanny, in an area with no particular housing crisis and not especially high prices, where they could easily afford a larger house if they could be bothered. So they did it without permission in breach of Planning Conditions designed to protect community safety and opened up an unauthorised entrance onto a busy dual carriage way a couple of metres from a Junction splay into a Housing Estate.. Reckless is the word imo. What lost them the Appeal was endangering other people turning into the housing estate. Will post a couple of links later. F

I think you need a mate with a Hiab and collect from the factory to even have a chance at that. Some scope for saving as transport costs are high for bricks - one number I saw said 25%, but they are not a large % cost in a house. Brick factors may perhaps have a role in smoothing demand / prices and ordering ahead as the economics of Brick kilns requires constant operation(?), thereby redistributing risk? Something like the positive role played by commodity traders / speculators? They also have a role as distribution and matching specialists aiui. How well attested is that 20% margin? Is there a futures market in bricks? Ferdinand

That's interesting.

I suppose a garage door is cheaper than a haystack. Congratulations to Blaby ... it took 2 years to get to Court. If you want to know why people do it, consider the low level of the fines. I think the garage door was an attempt at concealment after challenge by the Council rather than a Thunderbirds style entrance. I wonder what their plans were for it. I have one locally where the developer got pp by offering several off-road parking spaces in a back garden, and claimed that the neighbouring plot had made a legally binding promise to provide access as he had a Right of Way. Neighbouring plot now sold at auction to third party, and garden fence reinstated. Not sure how to proceed.

If you think there is a particular issue at any point a blob of silicone in the screw hole or even smeared on the screw will seal it.

If you have a digger you can push it down, or perhaps there is some clean stuff you can burn? Sometimes repair is much more than replace. Always need to run the numbers.

@Vision Of Heaven 1 - Woodworm .. woodwormed stuff ends up feeling very rough inside and as dry as dust and crumbles to a pile of dust. But we really need a close up photo. 2 - Lath and plaster. If the plaster is sagging or loose it means that the nibs have broken off, where it is supported by plaster pushed between the laths. The answer is plasterboard over, or take it down and patch or start again. You need a plaster that binds together as if it had horsehair in it. 100g of horsehair will do about 4 sqm according to suppliers. You need to think what you are doing with your cornices ... quite cheap to replace but you may have views about original features. I would replace with something as close as possible, 3 - I am assuming it is not listed. Ferdinand

Q: should Greg Wallace have been marooned on veg talk?

Do you have ivy to deal with and clear? The easy way is to cut 6 inches out of the main stem and leave it for a year.

Just checking. You do have your CIL exemption in place if you need one?