Ferdinand

I would also add take a hard headed look at the strength of your family and relationship, and make sure you are all committed and have discussed potential costs and consequences of them saying no. And that you have read our blogs about the time and stress involved. This process ... especially if you lose say 10k or 20k without return in Planning Costs ... can stress or sometimes wreck relationships.

IT depends . When we got PP for our family Land (inside the community boundary and enough for a small housing estate) which had been in the allocations for housing for about 5 years and was then excluded at the last point because of a cocked-up Sustainability Analysis by the Council, we judged it was either 1 Accept what is the likely decision which will leave it out Until the next Local Plan which would be 2028. 2 Apply for PP now before policy exists which is against getting PP because it would be zoned Open Space not Housing. IMplemented Council policy has significant weight in the planning process. We budgeted for an Appeal from day one, and our stake money in the game of Planning Poker was a legacy which we could continue to live quite comfortably without if we lost it in the Planning game. We would have had a field costing perhaps £500 a year to maintain if we lost. Cannot remember whether the appellant gets to choose the forum. There is no Council Fee but our Planning Consultant gave us 3 estimates for his and other costs. As ours was a larger project we hired a very experienced Planning Consultant who regularly appeared at Public Enquiries and Higher Courts etc, and had won a couple of controversial Local appeals with our Council. Your costs may be entirely different, but you need a consultant who can win on the benefits of your development outbalancing the reasons for not doing it, which are stringent in the green belt in England at least. IT would help you to find out if is really in Green Belt or not. There are 3 fora: 1 - Written Representations. A couple of thousand for his time. SOme people do this one themselves. 2 - A Hearing. Informal with the Inspector and the applicant, Council and reps in the room. Up to a few thousand. 3 - A local Public Enquiry. Potentially requiring a barrister for a number of days. UP to £25k to be safe. We won on Appeal with written representations. The Council Case was weak. In the end the Council Local Plan was rejected as inadequate and they were told to start again. Ferdinand

This could be one for a Planning Consultant, one who has won previous similar local PPs. And consider whether you will be willing to Appeal, and if so make sure the budget is there if yes ... for whichever type of appeal you would consider.

You need to consider what your position would be were your site to be excluded from the LDP. And it was then brought into force.

You can probably send water down the sewer if they ... the water company ... do not object and the Council let it through. My own Councils' Position is that they follow the recommendation, and a planning App I helped kill last December (30 ft blank gable 5ft from my fence) had waste water to sewerage approved. The Council said that there was no point objecting to that as it was OK by them when I was recruiting the kitchen sink to throw at it. OTOH talking to a family friend today who has inexplicably high water bills, 14% of his water bill (=~ £100 of £600) relates to waste water. So a soak away may actually pay for itself quite quickly by comparison. Ferdinand

What does large mean for your tank? Is there an approximate number in cubic metres?

WRiting that letter from para 4, you could put an acknowledged signature space at the bottom for your builder to sign. 2 copies, one each. But that can potentially be awkward should they refuse to sign. Ferdinand

I think there is an argument for buying 3 and using the same shower in both.

On the trays if you want opinions on that, decent quality shower tray of 1400 x 900 or perhaps 1800 x 900 and fixed 8mm glass screen with a strong iverhead brace should be coming in at perhaps £350-400 delivered from a decent outlet on eBay. Waste etc may be included free. The last ones I had were 1800x760mm from a manufacturer in Tewkesbury called mx-group.com, which have withstood 5 years of students so far. Check their website then phone them up. I think I bought via eBay or traced them back to their factory shop. I am told stone resin trays are the ones to have, but others may have different views or prefer new fangled wetrooms. On the showers, I think the Welsh Wizard recommended one recently.

That sounds expensive. You could go and look at some other planning apps and see who the consultants were. Or one of your other consultants or your tree man may know someone less expensive. If they found nothing, what is the Council's reason for that condition? Does it meet the 6 tests of a Planning Condition? You could apply for a variation in that condition, then Appeal a refusal if they say no. The Planning Inspectorate would decide whether your build needs that supervision rationally. If it is not a pre-commencement condition, you may not even need to stop work. Notes Hth a little. Fetdinand

Wonderful project. There could be any number of amusements in the new round cellar.

HOw are you finding this? The secondhand prices of the early ... 2014 ... ones are beginning to look attractive. F

I would line the retaining wood, but fold over the top to prevent moisture running down the back. I assume you will be stopping the lining a little above the bottom of the retaining planks. I have usually just used a staple gun to attach. On drainage, I would also line the gap at the base of the retaining planks with half bricks or gravel or similar .. like crocks at the bottom of a plant pot. Just to make sure that water has a rapid escape route ... depending slightly on the nature of the soil you use. With this type of structure eg for a raised patio I also sometimes knock round fence posts in on the outside say 100mm rounds and screw back through into the planks using timbascrews of 125mm. THat would tie in the design as rustic like your fence, and also gives the opportunity for a parapet should one be needed by using longer posts. I do that to prevent bulging should the soil become heavy with water. If such posts rot after say a decade it is a work of minutes to add a couple of new ones, and cut the old ones off at the base, removing the screws. Your cross braces may be adequate however. Do you plan to colour the planters to match the house? Ferdinand

Probably do it bit by bit, documented at the each stage, and call it repairs. Building Regs will apply, of course, as you are repairing thermal elements. And check the spec of your back door and where the internal/external threshold ends up.

Out cat popped its clogs last autumn, and is now in the bamboo bed tickling Erwin Schrödinger with a garden cane. We are hoping the bamboo will grow as tall as the cat used to be able to jump before it reached 19.

I use things called LIFF Limebeater 2 in-line devices, which say they are electrolytic in mechanism. As opposed to LIFF Limefighters, which claim to be magnetic. Not as complete a solution as salt-based things I think, but I have found they provide some significant benefit with our water over a number of years. Cost around £30 from the more competitive Ebay suppliers, and so can be swapped routinely every few years. I use them in tandem with Surestop off-switches-for-water in all my rentals, as at least one person on BH has reported that Surestop may be vulnerable to scale - and the total cost is far less than a fraction of the cost of even one serious leak every 15 years. @swisscheeseKeep away from historical films about Romans, or you may end up bathing in asses' milk. That would be interesting. Ferdinand

Good advice. That is the kind of "circumnavigate the problem" idea that I like.

The best barrow I ever had was a ball barrow, but the chap went into hoovers. Best of luck.

On the barrow, to me it looks a bit too budget, and I might get two .. or go for something styled builder's barrow. But at £25 you will not have lost too much, and it might well suffice.

May not be applicable but if you have solid floors you could consider a hose pipe plus shovel if there is a lot lot lot of it. Or even a jet washer. This is from experience of a flock of geese living in a stable where the floor would gain inches of compressed goose poo at a rate of knots. Ducks were worse, but not much worse.

TO find a custom maker, try EBay. You will need to do a bit of due-dil but there are good companies on there. However, personally I would hinge the door off the wall as suggested. I would also make it at most 1.842m high to avoid having to flap around with chopped off corners .. I think 6 ft high is plenty ... works fine in my alcove shower with a gap across the top. Personally though I would leave the 2nd panel off altogether and have a single fixed panel (800mm wide maybe) and an overhead brace, walking in around the side, or a single door and a gap. But I hate moving parts in shower enclosures as they get horribly skanky and sometimes wear out or break. Ferdinand

My local BM sells an identical barrow for builders, gardeners and Hyacinth Bouquet at increasing prices in different colours. Quite funny.

A plan of your shower room would help, and details of heights and position if the wand shower etc. Amd welcome. Rgds Ferdinand

Welcome @Fredd to the forum. I quite like your slightly provocative approach and look forward to some vigorous debate. I have an interest in keeping costs down and encouraging self-builders at lower price points, and I hope to come back later on with a couple of questions. Ferdinand

I do not have much relevant experience except that 1 My dad bought enough Cuplok to do the entire side of a Victorian Mill, then kept part of it for 25 years for use at home. EVen back in the 1980s the savings were huge. 2 The only time I hired scaffolding to have a roof done, it was much cheaper as part of the package. if you have a contractor there throughout that might be an option. Ferdinand