Ferdinand

Thank-you for that - very illuminating Glad you got it through. May I ask a couple of several questions? Did you consider appealing for non-determination when you were being messed around? Can that happen in Wales? When it came in there was a lot of consultation, including advice that the cost-benefit of the lives saved vs investment required was the wrong side of the "justified" line - so they perhaps made a political decision to override the evaluation rather than failed to understand it. For what it is worth, my reading of the BRE Training material is that there is no legal obligation on the Householder to do maintenance each year. http://www.cewales.org.uk/files/2114/5191/9937/04.12.15_Residential_Sprinkler_Guidance.pdf (Though personally I disagree, and would consider 1-2% or so of build cost to be reasonable and would probably do it in my own build. Can you point me to insurance co evidence on frequency of false alarms and amount of water damage done ... as that is contrary to my reading elsewhere? The LABC categorises those points as "myths".) Cheers Ferdinand

Can you hire a conveyancer for this? Are they less expensive? I don't know, but I would like to know too. When I have had services put in, they have usually brought a metal detector type meter gubbins to find (perhaps some of) water, cables and pipes iirc. Can you hire one of those? That may be your GPR. Ferdinand

I cannot see why it is *impossible* rather than *difficult*. From here it appears that you would need to prop and chop some of the structure, then replace with your desired option. What are the reasons why you are being told "no"? Is it because of structural impossibility, planning requirements, time it would take before the next trade is due, trying to save you money, fixed price contract, your workers have another job and need to finish etc? Knowing that might help. Ferdinand

@JSHarris I am just giving a bi of personal experience and pointing out a few more potential quagmires :-) .

800 being the level below which you have to fit expensive special glass I think, but iirc is below 1100 so counts as a fire escape window. I am not sure whether 800 gets you caught or not. My replacement picture window starts at 810mm on the LBB just to be sure. F

VAT Registered Sole Trader I have been avoiding this thread for days, because it is the sort of technical debate I enjoy far too much. My week would vanish. However :-), respondng to @warby This is why the "customer buys materials" for tradesman practice is very beneficial for both parties sometimes - the customer gets to use their status as a Consumer, and the tradesman gets to keep their turnover down. Limited Companies And commenting further on what @PeterW said about Limited Companies ownership and 'getting money out' etc. Our specific project that I have alluded to on BH was the obtaining of Planning Permission on a piece of family land in order to increase the value adn sell on to a major or regional developer. We did create a limited company, driven by liability reasons (ie to be able to close the company and not be liable personally years later) and the ability to have more control of when and how tax was paid. We then closed it down as soon as practical. We did take specialist advice from a specialist accountant, and the overwhelming comment was "Keep it Simple" and don't do anything marginal. Setting up any structures and paying accountants to maintain them has the habit of negating many of the benefits through the need to spend time and money maintaining them - unless sums involved are large enough. My rule of thumb is that it will be £1k a year to maintain a limited company, plus time. There are concessions to get money into and out of a limited company - for example you can inject the property into the company as an asset (cannot recall the accounting term - sorry) at X valuation, which allows that same amount of money to be withdrawn later tax free. Or you can make Employers' contribution to a pension, or use Entrepreneurs Allowance to pay a 10% rate of tax. But each of the latter two come with conditions attached - around proving that activity has been done in the Company to justify the payment. And if profit is involved the Company will pay eg Corporation Tax. Given that we have a General Anti Avoidance Rule, this can get complicated and it is possible to get badly bitten in doing marginal practices. So the watchword is take care and take advice and do not be too much of a tall poppy. There are lessons to learn from all those celebs who put huge sums into Film Investment schemes and suddenly find they are sitting on a blowtorch, having created huge tax liabilities for themselves that aiui would not otherwise exist. If you attempt to keep your own property in the Company while living in it, then you are potentially into areas such as taxation on a deemed rent / employee benefit. And you may be into ATED (Annual Tax on Encapsulated Dwellings) which is an annual charge of 0.6% to 1.1% of the value of a dwelling starting at a property value of £500k - which would catch here I expect. There are exceptions such as property owned as rentals in a Company, as long as each is registered every year, and properties not classed as Dwellings (eg Care Homes) but it is not simple. It has the feel - like the inequality point out by @warby above - that it has been mackled together to be kind-of-equal. There are various Allowances and practises related to the creation of a Limited Company which may or may not help. But as ever surely the golden rule is just do not dabble with things until they are fully understood ... just like designing your house and using power tools. Self-Employed Business and Your Own House I am not clear about the points wrt Self-Employment and ownership of assets between the Business run as a self-employed person, and the Individual themselves. eg Does a self-employed business count as a separate Legal Entity, and how does the law applies there - eg does the Individual living in trhe property have to pay tax on the benefit derived from the Self-Employed Business letting them live there? Ferdinand

And here's me thinking the Essex Flange was the Baboons of Basildon.

Boots do 3 tubular bandages at "large knee" size for £7 or one for £3.49 online. http://www.boots.com/boots-pharmaceuticals-tubular-bandage-size-f-10146378 Or you can get a 10m roll of 12cm (width) for about £15. F

LXT Makita Pricing appears to be complicated :-). Combi drill plus Circular Saw plus 4x 4.0ah batteries plus Twin Charger plus 3 hard cases is 499 at £FFX https://www.ffx.co.uk/tools/product/Makita-Dlx2140Pmj-0088381817332-4X4.0Ah-Li-Ion-18Vx2-Lxt-Combo-Kit#FullDescription Combi drill plus Circular Saw plus Impact Driver plus Recip Saw plus Angle Grinder plus a Worklight plus 3x 5.0Ah batteriies plus Twin Charger is £700 at FFX. https://www.ffx.co.uk/tools/product/Makita-Dlx6044Pt-0088381813099-18V-3X5.0Ah-Lxt-6-Piece-Kit-Twin-Port-Charger?gclid=Cj0KEQjw2-bHBRDEh6qk5b6yqKIBEiQAFUz29rVZIEnKKyvRkGktRR_J2ruvZJekBFVZ5_tffQbrRHwaAiyc8P8HAQ So that is an Impact Driver, a Recip Saw, an Angle Grinder and a Worklight for £200 if I can live with the batteries. Hmm. Spreadsheet Required. Ferdinand

Try getting some of that tube bandage and sewing a pair of foam pads to it, or using that over the pads to hold them on. It is everso cheap and could be replaced daily. Or - if you know you have socks that do not irritate - cut the feet or the toes off an old pair and use the leg section of those to hold them in place. There is also medical quality stuff called Fashion Tape which may be worth a try. But I would not admit that I was wearing it in construction company. Or you could try Yoga Pants or leggings or long johns :-). F

Thanks. All helpful. Decision this afternoon.

The diagrams on this thread are clearly not complicated enough because I can understand them. Mine is going to look like this. I was listening to an item about a Yorkshire Malt Whisky on the radio this week; we'll have a Friar Tuck Whisky from Notts. (Sorry: Friday Feeling).

Are 3Ah OK even for a circular saw? Which batteries are the newer range?

(Sorry about the strange formatting) Thanks all, so it looks like an inexpensive option from Argos@£70: Worx 400 Watt Plunge WorxSaw - which is a more powerful version of the one above: http://www.argos.co.uk/product/2276980?cmpid=GS001&_$ja=tsid:59156|cid:189934405|agid:18091936165|tid:aud-144400486596:pla-96719255845|crid:77627771125|nw:g|rnd:7569497862283719467|dvc:c|adp:1o2&gclid=Cj0KEQjwuOHHBRDmvsHs8PukyIQBEiQAlEMW0OcopBoqJ6sQO8AKlF_-34CDzwbG7Grt0WnkeU14BcwaAiDo8P8HAQ#reviews or one of these from Makita as a cordless posh option 85mm disk @Approx £150: Makita HS301DWAE Circular Saw 85mm 10.8V CXT Cordless Li-ion with 2 x 2.0Ah Batteries, Charger and Carry Case http://www.toolstop.co.uk/index.php?option=shop&page=shop.product_details&product_id=72544 (Unfortunately 10.8v battery) or the cordless 18v battery larger 165mm disk version from Makita at £140 body only or £270 with batteries and a case https://www.angliatoolcentre.co.uk/makita-dss610rmj-18v-circular-saw-with-2x-4-0ah-li-ion-batteries-supplied-in-makpac-case-pid45127.html?gclid=Cj0KEQjwuOHHBRDmvsHs8PukyIQBEiQAlEMW0EzAp9UG5rDj-O0ytu8ajS9oyvISC3l-j7r8N0UAQFUaAlGq8P8HAQ There is also a cordless from Bosch, but I think II am swinging towards the 165mm cordless Makita for the greater range of uses and batteries which fit other tools. Or there is something like *this*, which gives me a drill, impact driver and recip saw as well for £500. But I think DSS are the old range. http://www.screwfix.com/p/makita-dlx4088mx1-18v-4-0ah-li-ion-cordless-4-piece-power-tool-kit/1872r Can anyone give me a sanity check on which Makita batteries would be most broadly useable. Do I really need 5 or 6Ah? Need to decide today. Cheers Ferdinand.

Would a waterproof cover in winter be a good thing? (Just asking, no experience). Ferdinand

Thanks. @Nickfromwales There is a floating floor going on top. We are taking up Over several rooms to verify what is underneath e.g. Cables and to insulate with rock wool. Can anyone comment on the handling difference between an 85mm circular saw and a 165mm circular saw? If I needed to I could justify something medium-expensive since I could be doing several similar renovations over the next 2 years. Need some bones to put under my floor to get the coppers to lift it. Any volunteers to be topped? Or "Ello Ella Ello Have you seen our Planning officer?" Ferdinand

I need to raise a significant number of T&G floorboards vintage 1966. Can anyone point me at an appropriate small powersaw (prob. Makita)? There is plumbing beneath so a jigsaw would be risky. Thanks Ferdinand

I think I see a material difference between 'side of the road' and 'back garden', as implied imo by 3 point 4 in @PeterW in his attachment. F

What happens in the gap? Can you run the pipe above ground inside something like a potting bench or a sitting area or a raised garden feature such as a terrace or a double fence?

You cannot leave it exposed where the public esp. children can be in contact with it. I interpret that as the above ground section of posts in garden fences are not ok, though e.g. those supporting a closed deck might be OK.

If a Condition, that sounds eminently appealable - not that it is relevant; sparrows nest in several kinds of bush etc. More fun than a Wordsearch or Jackie Collins on holiday.

I think it is legal to block someone in on your own land. eg dig a hole with your digger between them and the exit.

Hmm. Can you get your trees from France? Single Market, innit?

If you do do it they will need a lot of care this summer. For watering that hedge perhaps consider a Leaky Hose. If we get a ban you will not be needing your gym membership with all those buckets :-). If you are in Kent can you get a non-metered water supply? Pond or Sand point well, depending on your soil / water table? Or hose with a big interim tank? Personally I would wonder whether the Council would,be sticklers for the full fake-Latin name. Perhaps ask if you can change, or JDI? BAsed on other threads these could be on your VAT reclaim.

Will do. When I needed to hide a big pile of rubble I made a raised area, on the basis that it was unlikely to move and free draining. Levelled it off filling in with gravel, then weed membrane and made it part borders and part gravelled seating area ... so that it could be relevelled with a rake when the underlying compacted over time. F