Ferdinand

I think if I was building some terraced houses, I might use that as inspiration-fodder.. There is another version which is 4 bed and only slightly wider.

I thought I would post a plan of a terraced house I ran across recently. The small estate of houses was built in 2004. Typical but pleasant modern houses, but this 2.5 storey terrace has a notably efficient layout. In the overall footprint of 5m by 9m (including external walls) includes 1047 sqft, and includes: Large lounge 12' x 16'. Dining room 8' x 10' attached to 10' x 7' kitchen Three double bedrooms (one ensuite) Family bathroom Small utility A reasonable amount of storage Here is the Plan: I like: That circulation space is minimised to around 10%. That each bedroom has space for bed + chair + desk, even though bed 3 at 9' x 11' is tight. That there is space for a workdesk on the middle landing should it be needed. That the layout is reasonably flexible. Should it be desired, bedroom 2 could be made into 2 singles of 8'5" x 8' each, which is still larger than most 3rd bedrooms even in semi-detached houses, or could have its own ensuite included. Looking at the plan a decade later, I think there are only three things I would change: Remove the wall between the kitchen and the dining room to create an open space, and insert a small breakfast bar. Add a roof window or two to the rear aspect of the Master Bedroom. Make changes necessary to comply with more recent regs - especially around disabled access. What do you think?

I am completely Solaredge for individual panel optimisation and inverters, which is a different technology to microinverters. Somebody else will have to explain the pros and cons since I can no longer remember :-) . I seem to recall that the extra cost was fairly minimal, and since I have variously shaded parts of my array and may rearrange the panels in future, it seemed a small amount extra (5%?) to pay. Ferdinand

Quite possible :-). But in that case that part of the letter is not relevant to the particular Planning App. I think that @Temp's 1-6 list is about right as comment. It is really up to the Op to decide their objectives. Ferdinand

I do not think that the Council has the power unlilaterally to alter a Planning Permission after it has been granted. To my eye that includes rewording a condition. Once it is baked in it should not be able to be un-cocked-up. Perhaps ask them at the appropriate time under exactly which piece of Law they have the power to do this. I would say they are trying to avoid their elephant trap, perhaps by pulling the wool. I would be needing to ask a planning consultant or Planning Aid to give me a definitive answer on this, and the implications. For the latter the question will need to be worded generically. Ferdinand

In those circs it is worth talking to them first along the lines of "I am unhappy because xyz and I am willing to Appeal, so will you withdraw the condition". Needs a check first that applying to have it removed won't cause you to go over the short time limit, or prevent you Appealing by procedure. Need also to watch for possible tactics such as "thinking about it ... maybe ... verbal yes ... wait .. oops you are out of time but sorry I was waiting for a response from Councillor Stonewall". Verbal contract etc. Ferdinand

That was my logic, and why I went for 9.98 kWp. If you have the extra 5k earning 1% interest in a Bank Account .... Your choice :-) . Ferdinand

Can you paint the surface with anything after the fact, even if more reflective? Ferdinand

Probably a man who knows his customers.

Green roofs can be good. Green walls are anathema. And lots of maintenance. They did a big green roof on the Timbrel Arch Grand Design in Kent, and showed some detail. The video will be around somewhere. Ferdinand

You also need to think about damage when opening the door or if Tearaway Timmy from Timbuctooth is playing at going into saloons like The Man with No Name. I quite like either small plastic nipples, e.g. Mini stick on feet, just where the handle will touch, or a doorstop on the floor or a kerbooiiinggg! doorstop on the skirting, or stick on wedges for the floor. The stick on feet are the most discreet. Ferdinand

I am waiting for @JSHarris to get a drone and invent a device to do it from the air ! Whereas I am happy to put my proven technology back in the garage and relax with my Aviation cocktail. That actually could be a good idea if spraying eg dilute bleach or some other chemical. Needs de-industrialising, though. Hmmm. https://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/RJX-professional-agriculture-uav-drone-sprayer_60642902411.html

Does anyone have any views of less fashionable different types of floors for rooms that may get messy - kitchens, bathrooms, utilities, boot rooms etc. I am quite partial to vinyl off a roll, as it is inexpensive, warm underfoot, can be soft with underlay, and for many rooms it can come in a single piece, and can be selaed round the edge with a bead of appropriately coloured silicon. And it is cheap enough (£6-£15 per sqm) to be almost disposable. Click fit vinyl tiles seem to be an excuse to treble or more the price while losing the benefits. Has anyone used Lino recently? What do you think? That seems to be even harder wearing than Vinyl. I am considering options for the kitchen and bathroom of my Little Brown Bungalow, which has suspended floors throughout. Another possibility would be click fit Bamboo laminate, as I want to be able to get under it easily for maintenance. The sub floor will either be floating, or the suspended floor with a void filled with EPS beads or LECA, air sealed in each case. Thoughts welcome. Ferdinand

I guess one difference worth a note is that the panels are much easier to fit with 2 people. So people working alone may find tiles more straightforward. (Cue someone telling me that they did it single-handed while their arm was in a sling.) F

@MAB Are those plastic trays, or stone resin? I have bought my recent showers from sources discovered via ebay. The last ones were from UK manufacturers who maintained an ebay shop. For example, here is a stone resin one with a drying area which is about £250 in your size including raised legs and fastflow waste http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Rectangle-Shower-Tray-with-Drying-Area-Low-Profile-Stone-Resin-Acrylic-Capped-/262453435127?var=&hash=item3d1b719af7:m:mjHGTupoOJkD72qT2tt-ckQ (Free delivery E&W :-) ! You need to dig a little for the one you want. There also seem to be antislip ones too. If you are planning a fixed screen (you want the 8mm type with a bracing bar at the top) then they are from around £300. eg Stone Resin 800x1700 bnut not drying area with side panel and flipper panel (which I would leave off) for £250. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Wet-Room-Walk-In-Shower-Enclosure-and-Tray-Glass-Screen-Cubicle-Flipper-Panel-/282194371739?var=&hash=item41b418649b:m:mMClUuukEIRK0pd2nvCOt1g (Buggers to carry upstairs - ours below in a student house took 4 people to move the screens up 2 storeys) Ferdinand 'orrible photos but show what I mean. These have been in a student house since 2013 without a tremor. The screen and tray were about £300 each incl. waste and delivery. That floor is Ployflor Polysafe Hydro (hotel spas, shower areas, swimming pool surrounds etc) at about £300 a pop fitted in 4 bathrooms at once. http://polyflor.com/jh/products.nsf/products!open&family=saf&prodcode=fxsc151

Slightly on a tangent, I used quite high end interlocking patterned plastic wall panels for a bathroom a few years ago including behind the walk in shower, and they have proven fine over 6 years of 3 separate tenants. No tiling or finish needed. They came as 8x4s, and slotted together with just a trim of the top or bottom to fit. They were braced against the opposite wall overnight while the adhesive set :-). But I cannot for the life of me find what they were called. Ferdinand

Reflecting on the pros and cons. * Mike system: Gardiner eg Weight: 1080g for 5m pole dry. Cost: £108 for 5m 50% carbon pole including brush head and gooseneck. 4 sections with thumb lever clamps. Cost: £199 for 7m 65% carbon pole including brush head and gooseneck. 6 sections with thumb lever clamps. System: Some assembly required. Internal hose. Shorter. Extension sections can be added later. * Ferdinand system: H&G Promotions Weight: 1.6kg for 5m pole dry. Cost: £59 for 5m anodised aluminium pole including microfibre head. 2 sections with twist clamp. Cost: £95 for 5m aluminium pole including microfibre head. 3 sections with twist clamp. System: Plug and play. External coiled hose. Shorter. * Comment: The Gardiner system looks more thoroughly designed for a variety of professional uses, but the accessories seem to be quite a bit more expensive. The H&G is more 'plug and play'. Watch out for "working height" rather than "pole length" measurements as they add 2m for your own height. The Gardiner looks a lot easier to end up spending £500 or £750 through enthusiasm for accessories, while the H&G is less flexible but good enough for everything most of us may need. The Gardiner will be easier to get in a small car I expect, if necessary - but is perhaps a bit more fiddly to adjust. For smaller or older people the weight difference may be significant. * Conclusion I would be favorable toward the Gardiner if I was needing to go straight for panels on a 2nd storey roof, were small or older, or knew I would need flexibility and transport. But you pay for it as prices seem to be double. I would be favourable to the H&G if I knew the envelope of task I needed, and it did not go beyond conservatory / 1st Floor Windows or solar panels less than bungalow roof height, or if I can run the longer H&G pole up panels on a roof with a low gutter (eg as in my own situation). Would love to see a report on the longer poles within Gardiner system. Ferdinand

Unlikely to be enough. They run at ~2 litres per minute. You would need water butt volumes at least and even that could be limiting.

Full Review: This is a 3 section hose-attached aluminium telescopic pole, which is 26ft long = just under 8m. There is a shorter 17ft 2 section version. Costs are £95 and £50 respectively. It is a professional one from a firm called HG Promotions, and attaches to a hose. The web page is - shall we say - "keyword optimised": http://www.hgpromotions.com/products/6/Solar_Panel_CleanerIdeal_for_removing_salt_spray_seagull_mess_in_coastal_locations_Water_Fed_Pole Add ons available include inline detergent device (£10), hand pressurised 5l pump water supply (£25) for hosepipe bans (and 16l backpack version £40). Various types of head include cloth, brush, double sided, a swan-neck for leaves in gutters, and an inline lever-turn-off device. For cleaning algae from panels, I think you would be looking at the inline supply with the applicator, using an appropriate liquid. I have not tried the inline detergent device which attaches to the hose, but I expect such things tend to eat money if used with the branded product regularly. Diluted oxygen bleach or similar? I guess one could also try attaching copper or zinc wire to the top of each panel, which sounds painful. My main panel array starts at about 7ft with 6 rows of horizontal panels, so the shorter pole was not quite enough. I have not tried cleaning the ones on the high gables,thought it would reach, as my main issues are trees and pigeons. The setup is robust enough for what it does. If you order online as a consumer you have a right to return. I would *never* be using something like a pole on top of any ladder or steps (very bad idea imo). Hop up step or work platform ... maybe, but in that case the longer one is better. Up and down or tilting some way off centre is fine (I have to do 40 degrees off which is too much die to a garage). My intention is to clean panels 2 or 3 times a year. The window cleaner was proposing a charge which would pay for it in 12 months (we have 35 panels of which 28 are in the main array). A couple of pics with the "porcupine" microfibre-with-rubber-bits cloth. More on the other thread. An alternative system from Sureclean seems to be more extensive, but also more expensive - it is made from carbon fibre. Ferdinand

There is a thread about it here, @PeterW: I have a 3 section hose-attached aluminium telescopic pole not unlike @MikeSharp01 which is 26ft = just under 8m. There is a shorter 17ft 2 section version. Costs are £95 and £50 respectively. It is a professional one from a firm called HG Promotions, and attaches to a hose. The web page is - shall we say - "keyword optimised": http://www.hgpromotions.com/products/6/Solar_Panel_CleanerIdeal_for_removing_salt_spray_seagull_mess_in_coastal_locations_Water_Fed_Pole Add ons available include inline detergent device (£10), hand pressurised 5l pump water supply (£25) for hosepipe bans (and 16l backpack version £40). Various types of head include cloth, brush, double sided, a swan-neck for leaves in gutters, and an inline lever-turn-off device. For this @JSHarris I think you would be looking at the inline supply with the applicator, using an appropriate liquid. I have not tried the inline detergent device which attaches to the hose, but I expect such things tend to eat money if used with the branded product regularly. Diluted oxygen bleach or similar? I guess one could also try attaching copper or zinc wire to the top of each panel, which sounds painful. My main panel array starts at about 7ft with 6 rows of horizontal panels, so the shorter pole was not quite enough. I have not tried cleaning the ones on the high gables,thought it would reach, as my main issues are trees and pigeons. The setup is robust enough for what it does. If you order online as a consumer you have a right to return. I would *never* be using something like a pole on top of any ladder or steps (very bad idea imo). Hop up step or work platform ... maybe, but in that case the longer one is better. Up and down or tilting some way off centre is fine (I have to do 40 degrees off which is too much die to a garage). My intention is to clean panels 2 or 3 times a year. The window cleaner was proposing a charge which would pay for it in 12 months (we have 35 panels of which 28 are in the main array). A couple of pics with the "porcupine" microfibre-with-rubber-bits cloth. More on the other thread. Mike's system seems to be more extensive, but also more expensive. Perhaps also lighter since carbon fibre. Ferdinand

Is it more appropriate to ask what a girl can stop doing in order to persuade hubby to start doing something? Both items could be hunting for tiles.

Seconds and Co suppliers of insulation at lower prices have a newsletter, and supply 10% off voucher codes sometimes via that channel. Subscribe via popup on the website. There is one this weekend. They tell me new stock is going on the site this weekend, so hold on for a few days before ordering.

"I would love to use reclaimed concrete, Darling, but I have looked high and low on (list of 498 websites) without success. I need to finish this by date x so if you can find them by date y we can use them, otherwise we really need to use what we have. Good luck !"

Originally written 31/10/2017. "Call off orders from Retail Sheds" This evening I ordered a quantity of CLS (200 off 38 x 63mm x 2.4m) and OSB3 from Wickes, because my local branch had a special 15% discount running until the end of March following a shop refurbishment and related confusion. And to avoid any imminent price rises. With Wickes, because their CLS tends to be banana shaped after moving from the yard to the retail floor and changing with temperature and moisture (I assume), I like to go in first thing and choose the straight ones for the guys to fit that day or the next. This time I have not quite exchanged on the bungalow to be renovated, so they said I could pay now and collect as needed over several weeks, and would just put a tally on the chitty each time. I won't take the P and will pick up 30-40 at a time, and make sure it is cleared in 3 weeks. Has anybody else done this at other outlets? What were the arrangements? it seems useful - though it may just be my local branch doing me a favour and locking in The business. Ferdinand