Ferdinand

Where are you, @Neversaynever, roughly?

TBH I would also think about talking to the Highways Agency and ask them for the map that shows Highways Land, which will be a green area marked on a map of the road boundaries. I have forgotten what the map is called ... Adopted Highways Land perhaps. That may be a double check as to what the Council has acquired (they may be overloaded and make a mistake). We had one consultant overlay this with several sets of deeds to prove where some things actually were, and that Highways Land was not part of a couple of gardens. The person to talk to is the County Council Highways Officer for that one. Be nice to them because you cannot compel cooperation iirc. Ferdinand

Doesn't @Construction Channel have a video about DIY underpinning? Edit: (Which is only an illustrative demonstration of the sort of work that you might want to do to reinforce your foundations were you completely mad and doing it yourself).

Welcome.

I do not think you need the sand (which will mix with the gravel layer) unless someone has specifically recommended it, and the membrane needs to be below the top gravel layer, above the base. For the quantities above, I think you need to be buying by the lorryload straight from the quarry. We can probably help with expectations on pricing. You have not mentioned edging. I have built two gravel drive areas in the last couple years - one used Harvest Gold or Grape Nuts or whatever it was called, and the other used normal 20mm at 1/3 the price, and I can hardly tell the difference. I was astonished. That may be a feasible option, if you find a supplier who you trust. Questions: Are you self-building it? Do you have access to a digger and whacker (for sub base)? Can I suggest that you post a table of materials, and estimated quantities/prices, costs of people / machinery if you are using them, and the grid system you are using, and we will see how much we can chop the price down :-). Ferdinand

Which way is North? And could we have a block and site plan, please (roads, neighbours, plot) ? I am assuming N to top, Principal Elevation tob ottom. At a canter, the playroom wing looks too much of a rabbit warren with 7 different rooms having bits of it. I think I would look at putting all that circulation space to use, and configuring that wing for easy transformation to an annexe / grannexe / teenage or twenties self-contained flatlet or the future. What about: 1 - Take utility into playroom, and make playroom full depth with French doors onto "play terrace" at the top. Also potentially a huge second lounge. 2 - Turn hall/larder into utility, with washing machines etc and storage in big cupboard along one wall such that it can still look respectable. That will get you 2m more useful wall in kitchen - use hall door. 3 - WC straight off utility. Put a shower in it for muddy dogs and children etc - and suitable for annexe. 4 - Put porch over back door outside. Put larder in the corner, accessible either directly from kitchen or via porch. 5 - Take entrance hall RHS into cloaks, and make it suitable to be a study or musicroom for whatever uses you do not know yet. Put a big built in cupboard in it for cloaks, If you wanted access for that could be via door at bottom of stairs into a walk in alcove - far enough away to allow a stair lift space (though a downstairs potential convertible flat may allow that disabled requirment to be suspended). Others. 6 - Perhaps a draught lobby on the front door, or stoop. 7 - I am never convinced by upstairs offices .. it means you have to take a hike whenever anyone arrives. They need to be near the main entrance door with a view of the visitor from your desk. 8 - Circulation to the sitting room is .. er .. circuitous, especially from the kitchen. I would perhaps put in a (lockable?) door (or doors) to the sun lounge such that sitting room / sun lounge / sitting room can be transformed into a single 75-80 sqm party space. Or maybe a camouflaged door if you want t to be a withdrawing room.. 9 - I can see that the evening terrrace might be nice with a partial canopy over the bifolds (bifolds ... aaargh! Leakity-leak), and that a morning terrace might be nice outside the kitchen for the sun at breakfast (assuming N is to the top). 10 - I think I would want a front to back limited through-view of some sort to fascinate visitors on arrival. Not sure where to put it :-). You seem thoughtful - you might enjoy a read of Jim Comrie's design notes for self-builders for varying perspectives. http://www.ebuild.co.uk/blog/5/entry-394-house-design-notesagain/ Ferdinand

What did you say the postcode was?

In this case one point to at least be aware of is that no one tries to enforce the more demanding visibility splay rules for Highways on you, as opposed to the easier ones for Streets. That may or may not be material, depending on whether there are bends in your road (yes, I know ... MK !).

Just having a side-debate with Jeremy as to how "charges for access" are legally possible. We divert sometimes. Apologies. The Milton Keynes quip is remembering how hard it is in MK to find houses there for the trees. We used to go down when my dad was building the 'ice cream cones' in Bletchley Market.

You will need proof that they are adequate, which would be a surveyors report plus probably digging test pits to demonstrate it to the BSO. If you are having a pre-pack Timber FRame 1st storey added that should perhaps come as part of the feasibility study / assessment. Ferdinand

In general they would get access by prescription after 20 years use. I think cases mentioned will be either when permission has been given and is withdrawn, or in the case of Common Land. eg This one where the National Trust were the owner of the land, and people had not checked their deeds and facts sufficiently well when buying. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/property/3319695/Going-home-Thatll-be-8000-please-.-.-..html To me it seems a bit strange people with 400k or so homes having had hundreds of percent value uplift complaining about a 2% charge to regularise their access. I can see they would be cross, however the charge is a relative fleabite. F

In MK you could remove 4762 trees and no one could tell the difference... @JSHarris Hope I am not nitpicking, but how did they buy land which wasn't owned by anyone? Who was the counterparty? Was the enforcement just a scam?

That roof batten looks pricey. Does itwhat type is it? My current price for 25x50 in the posh coloured versions are 48p plus VAT per m run, 38p for the general purpose. It will only probably save £15-20 mind, if that. Ferdinand

Check it carefully. Our sale was delayed by a couple of months because the purchaser's solicitor refused to believe that we had a right to drive over our verge, despite having been there and doing it for 35+ years. The problem lay with the lane having been realigned by a few m away from the house in 196x to accommodate the M1 build and the MoT taking certain powers and potentially retaining certain rights, and providing documentary proof 4x years later. Eventually they accepted that we had the right by long use. F

I would strongly recommend deciding what you will be doing with trees, and *implementing* it before you apply for PP, but after you have dealt with potential show stoppers around drainage etc. If you have a TO who is getting hung up on technical definitions of hedgerow bushes the size of a finger, then you need to limit their scope pronto by removing some things. AIUI these tiny trees only come into play when dealing with woodland TPOs as one particular judge made some peculiar decisions about tiny saplings being an essential part of the wood's future and therefore must all be controlled by the LPA. It is not clear whether the owners of consuming goats or sheep or beetles should be prosecuted. The rules may have changed, and I could be mistaken. A hedge with 3 or 4 larger trees is probably going to be a better quality long term hedge than something much higher, both from ease of maintenance and growing things next to it points of view. You want some sun to get through it imo; this is not Mirkwood. For hawthorn I would say get it traditionally laid, but telling the layers what height of hedge you want for the hedge itself, and leaving a few small trees for birds and the white/pink blossom. What colour do they flower? See if the hedge layer will adopt you as a oppo for a day or two; it is a fantastic skill to appreciate. Ferdinand

I would modify that slightly to be "as much information as you think you will *need* to provide to let the Council make their decision". It will say "built in accordance with drawings x, y and z, reports p, q, r and s, and conditions on the decision notice". It is up to you what is on drawings x, y and z and partly in reports p through s depending how you brief your advisers. There are tradeoffs. If it is not in your PP your Council cannot hold you to it - eg someone here had trouble when the manufacturer changed the design of the front door from the one shown on the elevation to their new design, and the Council planner chose to pick at that particular nit. Or if something marginal (eg specification of expensive landscape feature) *is* in the PP you are likely to be able to be able to include it in the part of your expenditure for which VAT can be reclaimed. They cannot be disturbed by things they do not know, and it is ambiguous what you have to tell them in many areas. The house I am living in at present squeaks up to the boundaries on both sides. Examining the plans I cannot see boundaries clearly indicated. On one side there is only an unlabelled line which appears to be the far side of next-door's drive. Was he misdirecting the Council? But it is all a judgement call and situation dependent, and you are wearing the wig and gown. Best of skill and best of luck . Ferdinand

Welcome. Site levels is not a thing I would skimp on -- since it is the foundation of everything else anda survey is not really very expensive, at perhaps £400-£700. In your case I would have a survey done of the whole thing, including the existing, relevant points on the road etc, since that will hardly cost any more and you will need to know how your drainage trenches etc relate to the existing garden. You want to get a copy of the full digital model so you can give it to all your other professionals, and to make sure there is no restriction on your use of your model. Surely we are now also at the point where such models can be 3d-printed ecoomically? Has anyone done this? Ferdinand

Welcome, but probably one of our Skye or H+I self-builders will be best placed to answer this questions.

If I were going for a cabinet or traditional larder (ie relying on chunky walls), I think I would want it outside the thermal envelope, possibly as part of a 'porch' or 'utility' area covering the back door, and also use the space as a bike store, possibly a cool room for shaggy dogs, wine store etc. Another example of how it all needs to be thought about in advance. Ferdinand

Personally I like the invisible cat . Do you know how I can turn mine into one? Welcome.

I always meet the pet first in its own previous home (which gives an opportunity to inspect the home and owner discreetly), then usually set it up such that the dog tenant is responsible for the decorating - so if the hound eats the wallpaper there is no pained conversation about replacement costs. If a T stays for 5 years, the Deposit Schemes have depreciated items such as carpets and decorating to a notional zero anyway for the purpose of arbitration so you won't get anything back for those items anyway even if you went full bureaucrat on the tenant. Ferdinand

@Archer If you get your insulation from say Seconds and Co (they get the Kingspan not quite perfect stuff), then you could get it well below half price (I recently paid approx £10 a sheet for a pallet of 50mm PIR 8x4s, delivered) - so the extra materials will cost you the same as the half-amount via a normal channel. I bought a shed to store it and the rest in which I will reuse elsewhere later. You just need somewhere to store it, and to watch the site for the correct stuff. Can save thousands if you do it with other materials too. F

Welcome. Do not underestimate how long this could take :-) .

@Andrew 1 - Go beyond the PDFs. Ask for a copy of the CAD data files and raw data files themselves as well as the PDF so you can give them to your architect / designer to load straight in. 2 - Consider whether you want the survey to be restricted to your personal use only, or whether you want the right to "Assign" it to a third party eg if you have to to sell - they may include that anyway, may add a small charge for that right, or may identify a reasonable price should you need to do that later (eg £25 admin fee). If you do not discuss, the fee might be £100 or £200 when you are over a barrel asking for a favour later. 3 - Make sure that they go far enough into the surroundings for anything you will need for your project .. eg the highway boundary, kerb lines, lane boundaries, and street furniture for your entrance design / splays. Ferdinand

@DundeeDancer Are you a hoary old landlord-developer with all the scars, or fairly new to this with only a few years and properties? I think my most useful comment would be that while tenants and purchasers will look at bling and finish when they move in, the place not to skimp is the stuff that means your tenants will stay for 6 years not one-and-a-half, and love living in your flat, since those extra 3 tenant changes could cost you the equivalent of six months rent. If you run the numbers a 5% higher rent takes 2 years to recover the loss of one month of rent if you have a one month longer void - without all the tenant swap costs. Even a 10-15% higher rent will take ages to cover all those. I would argue for not skimping on, for example, sound insulation, ventilation, energy efficiency, very bottom of range appliances, letting the first T choose the carpet colour, perhaps allowing pets (dog tenants stay longer) Mira shower, walk in shower not a telephone box type, and so on. It is very easy to get the things right that make a tenant move in, but avoiding the things that make a tenant move out is equally important. As one example, I have just had a T move into one of mine whose previous 3 bed end terrace was running energy bills of £200 per month. In my semi of the same age they will be saving about £120 a month, as they should come in for £750-1000 per year - not itself very good but reasonably OK and very comfortable. All depends on your market, mind, Ferdinand