Ferdinand

My BCO has just introduced me to the concept of "Covered Way". It is apparently defined by having a door at the front and back, and no access to the house. But if one added an access to the house later, it then becomes a "porch", but doesn't need permissions by dint of already being there. However, a new opening into a dwelling *does* need permission of some sort. Apparently. Also, apparently those lean-to half sheds you get from B&Q are technically extensions to the dwelling so need some form of Building Regs permission, but apparently no one asks and it is not expedient to enforce.

A porch over 3sqm is not Permitted Development. Add: but apparently there are differences if it is one the side of the house !

Here is a Roughneck one of the type I mentioned. Hinged in opposition and good reviews @ £35 from Amazon. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Roughneck-68250-Post-Hole-Digger/dp/B003CT4DE0/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1500276350&sr=8-6&keywords=post+hole+auger

@PeterW Darn. So you haven't got one I can finagle . At a risk of thread diversion, looking into those they seem to be either rather wimpy (ie good soil only, may struggle with packed clay - that has a 52cc motor, £117 inc 3 borer sizes) or of the type that could bodily throw both Popeye and Bluto into a gorse bush 20 feet away when it hit a stone (2 man 190cc Briggs and Stratton motor sold on Ebay last night for £117 but £45 carriage. £550-ish new.). I think Stihl 2 man versions had a reputation for kickback. I don't know enough to take a flyer. If you can guarantee decent ground conditions a buy/sell on the wimpy version would be justified by one day of use. I can't guarantee such conditions. I could not find anything convincingly in between eg something torquey with better dampening. Hire charges per day for Day 1 seem to be 25-35% of new price, which is high enough that it makes me want to buy one instead. Ferdinand

I think the problem here is the "need it now". I spent an hour two hours last night looking into post hole borers when I counted up how many fences I am likely to build, and may turn into one myself. Just saving two men half a day would justify spending £100 or more, and I have 10-20 substantial concrete posts to do in the next 3 weeks. To answer your question, I think you want one of those pairs of grabbers but with a mechanism which prevents you having to open the handles wide. One tip: if it doesn't have them mark 6 inch increments on the handle so you can see the depth with no tape measure. This chap has the type I am talking about, which would need extension handles, and also demonstrates using a wet and dry hoover: I have no idea where to get such at a couple of hours notice. Personally I am thinking about ordering a Boston Post Hole digger (one blade is fixed). F

Insurance claim?

What about lean to sheds? I do not know about this one.

It has been suggested (see the other thread) that a traditional "lean to" might be a better option than a Garden Room (sigh). And I was ready to push the button. What we are talking about is an unheated lean to on the side area of a house against a blank wall with, perhaps, a roof of corrugated polycarbonate or 2/3 layer polycarb as is used on some conservatories. It will be dry but unheated. If you think of a car port with the walls enclosed you get the idea. There will be a door to the back, and probably will not be a door to the front. There may be a door leading into the house, which would be an external quality upvc door - I may need a door there later anyway, so that is not an issue. I can add the door later if that will simplify matters. The floor will probably be slabbed. Cladding (including the roof) could be transparent, translucent, or even opaque. I know that Planning will not apply, as the area under 15sqm, never mind 30sqm, it is on the side of the house behind the line of the principal elevation, and we are not "designated" in any way, and PD rights have not been removed. This is in England. Max height will be under whatever is the PD limit - 3m? Which leaves me stroking my non-existent whiskers about how Building Regulations would apply. The objective is probably that they should *not* apply for reasons of simplicity. I will call up the BCO tomorrow for a chat. In Building Regs terms is it a shed, an extension, a garage or a conservatory? And which are subject to building regs in that situation? In one sense it is almost like a small yard with a roof. I may even be able to make it into whichever I need by mixing my cladding. Although the lean to will be concealed behind a 2m attractive fence, I need to be able to defend my position if someone complains. Any comments are welcome. Ferdinand

I am crestfallen. I thought "Home Brew" was Beer.

"The issue we have is that the mortgage company require these easements to be in place to release the money which we now are in desperate need of as the roof is due to go on next week and our personal funds are now low."

Welcome. We need more detail as to what you are deaing with, and ideally some photos. Type of house? When built? Conservation Area etc? What performance level are you after? It it sounds like non standard construction .. is this correct? Cheers F

If something eg padlock is broken on the way in that is criminal damage.

@KTM Neil Ask the question in the first post to the Land Registry on the phone. 0300 006 0411 They are helpful when it comes to understanding procedures and limitations. If necessary you can make an appointment at your local office. And/Or get an opinion from a second solicitor ... ask your LOCALLY owned Estate Agent's Principal for a recommendation of an alternative good specialist one. They should say whether they can help within the brief consultation they will do to determine your need. This should I think be a common process even if slightly differently achieved in the the experience of a relevantly specialist solicitor, and such should have text they used previously ... ask. An experienced specialist conveyancer may also be able to help. The LR also have Practice Guides .. this one may be guide 62 - Easements, but it is intended for pros and to this layman tonight it reads rather as if It could be in Chinese. So I would start with the above. The guide is here for completeness https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/easements/practice-guide-62-easements Ferdinand

The only respectable principle for a toaster must surely be pop up through the worktop? Will have a nurdle.

You are set up as a Community Interest Company? If so, it is common for these to get Discretionary Business Rates Relief of up to 100% from Local Authorities. See:https://cicassoc.ning.com/profiles/blog/show?id=2691611%3ABlogPost%3A5640&page=1#comments I sense a trip down Alice's rabbit hole will be required. For England (and it may be UK wide) the association to talk to (are you members already) is called CICA: Community Interest Companies Association as per the above link, and their website is a Ning community. You may get help from Senscot - http://www.senscot.net/view_art.php?viewid=8949 . These guys are Scottish Social Entrepreneurs, who are often set up as CICs. If you get through this there may be value in claiming back rates paid unnecessarily since 2008 or whenever! Ferdinand

Looking around, I may be able to get a good set of French Doors in the right size from ebay for about £100-200. Save 20% on the project.

Aha. Clearly I have some plumbing homework to do! The only pressure relief valve I can recall was the one that nearly blew up Three Mile Island because they left it shut.

Looking at the eBay item you linked, @ProDave, it says "PRV included - must be fitted in every case" in the description. Perhaps it has changed? F

The things I would welcome advice on, in addition to general comments are: 1 - EDPM roofs. Quality, trims, how easy they are to work with, and how do I detail the overlapping down the sides? 2 - What breathable membrane to use under the rainscreen? 3 - What type of ventilation. I am thinking of a Vent-Axia Lo-Cardon Tempra P - which is a heat recovery fan with a boost cord and trickle mode that can be set to run permanently for about £5 a year. Would a trad bathroom fan with backdraft shutter be better? 4 - Given washers etc should I do the interior with exterior varnish so that moisture goes through the ventilation setup? Cheers Ferdinand

I'm building one! Previous thread for reference: The project is an 8x12 garden building to be used as a standalone utility room for a small house. The ground conditions are solid - outdoor loo removed decades ago, and used as a parking space, then various bits of limestone and concrete put on there over the subsequent 3-4 decades. I personally had two lorry loads of stone put on that side. Approx half is over an existing estd. 100mm concrete slab. Elements (and budget): 1 - Basic building. A SiPs kit from Simply SIPS, which gives an insulated 8x12' kiosk faced with OSB3, with a 5ft wide doorway for £1335. 97mm SiPs with U value of 0.3. Thicker panels not required as it is not designed for full day occupation in winter. Need to fetch it from Spalding - allow £100. 2 - Doorway. I will pay between about £600 and £800 for a custom made and fitted PVCu door and glass side panel to a pair of French doors for that gap, including locks and fitting, with a U-value of 1.5 or so. 3 - Base. Either 2" concrete slabs - £1 per square foot = £100, or 2" concrete slabs on Adjustable Support Pads which will allow me to adjust things after it is built if anything moves by changing the heights. 25 support pads ~ £100. 4 - Rainscreen Cladding. Box section plastisol coated corrugated at £10 per sqm including overlaps. Area required for walls ~ 25sqm => £250. Trims and special screws and things add £100 => £350. 5 - If I choose to batten out the corrugated for air circulation then approx 50 CLS length at £1.80 each => £90 plus £10 for bits and pieces ~ £100. Or 125m of roofing lath 30p per metre ~ £50. May be a better option as this is tanalised. 6 - Roof. It comes with a 1:40 fall towards the back. EDPM membrane. Say £150 including adhesive and trims etc. 7 - Captain Belt 'n' Braces may suggest a breathable membrane round the walls under the battens. 25sqm => not very much to buy. So for the groundworks and the building we are now at £2750 or so. In addition and not included: 8 - Electricity supply requiring FCU and switch in house, then about 2m of armoured cable, garage CU for lights, a ring main to power 3/4 double sockets, a small water heater, potentially a small fan heater for short periods, and a ventilation fan. Need a real electrician as it is for a rented house. 9 - A path down the side. 10 - A privacy fence across the front. 11 - 2 men approx 2 days to build it. 12 - I hope to build it such that it can be easily dismantled and relocated. The only fly I have in the ointment is, I think, that I need to watch the height carefully wrt permitted development. Ferdinand

Install those black acoustic dampening sponges inside, and return to the womb. Vertical box section corrugated would bend round it. Assuming it is only oval on plan, and not like that egg-boat that George Clarke featured. Is that the budget I can hear flying off into the distance making squawking noises? . (Hotlinking the Daily Mail ... sweet revenge.) I would incite you to try covering the egg in those gold mosaic ceramic tiles, but only from 250 miles away.

I am currently applying for a Change of Use for a business premises, and down here our local MP has been very supportive as it is a new local startup. The one thing the MP said was that they can help use, but we need to be *very* clear about exactly what we need, and ideally to show that it will fit in with the grain of local policy (which makes it easy for the Council to find a way to help us). ie specific not general request, even if informed by evidence from elsewhere.

Comment on the RV. What happens if you make them agricultural? Eg sheep? More generally, given your profile and 1000 Huts etc and how the SG have been facilitating it (?) is there not an opportunity for an embarrassing media campaign against either local or national govt? Doesn't Carbeth have 'national symbol' status, as if they were threatening the existence of the first football club or to cut down the Major Oak or the Tolpuddle Martyrs Tree? Get the MP or MSP on board? Put forward a petition to the Holyrood Petitions Committee about the excessive valuation of vacant hut plots? Online petition? Ferdinand

The insurance may be bundled or added to the bundle if you ask. It is generally a more than proportional benefit to go 1 or 2 sizes up from a micro-digger of the type that fits through your front door. The first time I had a digger I went for a 1.5 tonne, and did not regret it. It is absolutely essential - or that is what you tell the management - to have a day at Diggerland first to make sure you can handle it safely. Think carefully about whether a digger or digger + driver is the better option. Digger + driver will do 2 or 3x your work if you are new, but you will miss out on the fun. Delivered is probably a better option than self-collect. If you know a man with a JCB (perhaps a farmer or smallholder) that can be a very inexpensive and productive option. "How far do I think this can be leaned before it falls over" games are very tempting (were for me), but on balance not worth the risk. Particularly do not drop it into a hole you just dug ... that would go viral. And enjoy having one. Ferdinand

@lizzie Hope you are still reading this thread. Just a note to think carefully about the future of your concrete slab and what you put in there. Even if staying as a patio I would run a couple of ducts to convenient corners and leave voids under a couple of tiles they run to (think about support), which means that you can set up power for eg patio lights later without extensions, or should you put a garden pavilion or conservatory (some can go straight on a slab) on it later you have infrastructure routes in place. Also it could be a good place to put any extra insulation sheets left over (or rubble). Both are probably cheaper than concrete. And a membrane - cheap to do and useful later if you need. There will be a happy medium somewhere. F