Ferdinand

Welcome. We (OK - I) have an embryonic pre-purchase checklist for plots here, to which your comments would be most welcome as you proceed:

I *think* for grants on solar for newbuild you will be whistling in the wind. But I could be wrong :-) . Special circumstances, perhaps? I think that grants for solar are not available any more for refurb either - it is really cheap so why should they throw public money at it? There may be wrinkles you can exploit - eg the possibility of getting it VAT free if allowable as part of your newbuild etc, or better interest rates from Ecology if those are still available. But note that I know more about refurb grants (which except for loft insulation and small amounts in eg EWI all seem to be means tested). Ferdinand

Yep. There should be consultations for the various proposals.

Ooh. CiL up for reform including self-build CiL. https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/589637/CIL_REPORT_2016.pdf

We have Electric for the bathroom on a timer and a towel rail, then oversized Rads. Works OK. F

You can see the site via the Wayback Machine at the Internet Archive, if it was there a few weeks ago (Dec 2nd): http://web.archive.org/web/20161202154843/http://www.nakedfloors.com/ (Slow) Reclaimed Grey Barn Oak: http://web.archive.org/web/20160530020850/http://www.nakedfloors.com/wood-floors/engineered-oak-floors/43/repro-reclaimed-grey-barn-oak-engineered-wide-plank-wood-floors

@JSHarris Distressed? If consumer and ordered online as a standard stock item then the customer will have an absolute right to return it within I think 28 days (but do it more quickly). The best outcome may be for the customer to agree to keep the off-colour floor if they are willing but to to ask for a 30% (or 25% or 40%) discount, so the seller will still make money and save the hassle. I guess also check the stipulations about colour variation in the T&C. Hopefully it won't be as bad as the standard Estate Agent 'even if I am lying I take no responsibility and you are whistling in the wind' disclaimer. Ferdinand

Yes - they are here. But I haven't head of them doing whole houses before.

It is out, and there is a report here from the BBC, including an interview with the Minister. And this is the paper itself. Fixing_our_broken_housing_market_-_housing_white_paper (1).pdf The docs (all 12 of them) are here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/housing-white-paper As I see it, the point of concern for BuildHubbers may be the reduction of a PP length to 2 years not 3 (bonkers imo, without major Planning Reform). The good according to me: - Support for small developers - Pushing land supply The bad: - PP as mentioned - Doubling down on protection of the Green Belt It is interesting that we are nearly at 200k new units a year, if including changes of use. http://www.theconstructionindex.co.uk/news/view/new-housing-tops-the-magic-200000-figure-sort-of Ferdinand

If only we could apply for an NMA to the existing plot ("add one house") rather than full PP.

This will be interesting to see. I wouldn't mention the instrumentals to the neighbours...

this offer seems to have been around for over a month, so perhaps not *that* urgent.

The only as I can see are a Is the French door as effective as a Final Exit Door? b Perhaps keep the option open for the other one to look like a front door if it will help to sell it in x years. F

As far as I am aware Timber Frame in Scotland never went away, and has been a consistent 15-20% of the market. E.g. Stuart Milne have been doing TF for 40 years. I wonder if closer contact to a real timber industry in Scotland is part of it? There are house builders whose primary identity is as Timber companies. I am not sure either how much substance there was to the World in Action documentary in 1983 and how much it was a scare story. Ferdinand

Can anyone recommend a supplier of a small site office, preferably in the Midlands. What I need is something like a portable building, insulated with electrical wiring and ideally some plumbing and a sink, and ready to connect, and even a window or two. The size I am after is something between 8x10 and 8x16 feet. This is not for a building site, but for someone to use as a base for managing their home business. Any suggestions are most welcome. I will watch ebay, but I would be willing to spend a couple of thousand for something suitable if in vgc. Ferdinand

Just to be clear mine is ON ROOF, not in roof. I was just making a sanity check on the raw numbers.

I do not believe that CiL excludes Section 106, however aiui the scope of Section 106 is reduced to things directly related to the site. If the Council does not have CiL in place, I am not clear whether the Section 106 is the new circumscribed version or the previous (pre-CiL) version which could be applied to projects less directly linked to the site. An example of a valid Section 106 payment under the pre-CiL policy which could be excluded under the narrower post-CiL definition might be an upgrade to the Town Square, whilst work to cope with the extra traffic you are generating may be a directly linked policy. (Note: this is my personal opinion and I have not re-read the national policy documents to check. The thing changes like a kaleidoscope so it could be different next week.) Ferdinand

We had useful checklists at EBuild. Since I am looking at plots, I thought it would be useful to make a start with things that can be checked or thought about before actually purchasing the plot. I am looking for questions, issues, places where checks can be done, and useful sources of information. Please drop any useful thoughts and links in the thread, then when we have done a bit the admins can decide where to put it if worth preserving. -------------------------------------------- ** References Wayleaves: These are rights for third parties to use your land which do not provide the owner with services, eg to put an electricity pole or have oversailing wires. They may be mentioned in deeds, or enshrined in an agreement, and you may (or may not) be able to get them moved unilaterally or by agreement, for no money or at significant cost. Discussed on buildhub in this thread: Wayleaves and Overhead Wires. ----------------------------------------------- ** Information I am looking for for the checklist: Sewers - Where can we get maps? Checking Boundaries. Checking for TPOs. How to look at Former Planning Permissions. Check details of former sales listings. Check viability of road access. What can I tell about the ground conditions from inspection of the plot. How to check previous site usages.

Yep.

Fine. Marketplace here we come. One chappie had about 4 of them to be spares for his brewery :-) .

For a DIY install you need to be considering all your costs. Apologies if you have done this. Here you need to work out how many roof costs you are saving e.g. Tiles. That will change the denominator in your numbers. @JSHarris has a blog about this calculation if you look. I am not totally sure that £1000 per kWp is a best price. I checked with my supplier and they were telling me that a grid linked MCS approved 4 kWp on roof system would be from about £4750 or £1250 per kWp now with them doing everything. I do not think that 20-25% cheaper is very much of a saving for losing the grid tie. I see that your savings with a grid tie would be perhaps an extra £200 per annum on top of your £70. The better option? FIT figures are available some time in advance now, so you can calculate a couple of years ahead. Also solar may influence your EPC value, and potentially capital value of the house, and you may be able to use more than fifty percent of generation e.g. By having a Sunamp or other divert device, which will help the economics of a grid collected system. Your prediction of electricity prices over twenty years may also be relevant. WIll they rise more or less than inflation ? Sorry .. all I can do is draw your attention to other factors that may change the numbers. If it were me, I would do it grid connected on those numbers unless it is impossible, or see if there are other savings I have not allowed for. My thruppence. Ferdinand

Fog Cutter This is a quiet brute of a summery cocktail, but very tasty. Pleading guilty on this occasion since I take pride in testing each cocktail first even when the recipe is from elsewhere. Why wouldn't I? The Fog Cutter creeps up on you a little like a Border Reevor on a Northumbrian Shepherd. For after lunch and before James Bond at Christmas, so you feel like Blofelt at the White House in Miami. Or at least it is one to have *after* you have dealt with your responsibilities. Long Version: 50ml orange juice (fresh is best) 25ml lemon juice 50ml white rum 25ml gin 25ml brandy / cognac (my preference is Courvoisier, but the source of the recipe says Martell. I think he has played too much Contraband.) 25ml Amontillado Sherry 25ml orgeat (which is an almond sugar syrup - I adapted by using an Amaretto almond liqueur instead of half of the white rum, and normal syrup*) Mix everything except the Sherry in a cocktail shaker (or jug) with crushed ice. Strain into a tall ice filled glass. Float the sherry on top, and garnish with a slice of orange, stolen from someone's satsuma. Enjoy your summery Christmassy cocktail. Let the day drift away. I make that very roughly 5-6 units :-). There is a shorter version here: https://www.diffordsguide.com/cocktails/recipe/779/fog-cutter-2 Ferdinand * Syrup: mix sugar and water 2:1. I mix it warm and put in the fridge to cool.

London Fog Cocktail A London Fog, a nice light cocktail for when you can't see anything. Any glass really, but perhaps a heavy base tumbler or a cocktail glass. Fill the glass with crushed ice (I use a food bag of ice cubes and a rubber mallet, then put inside another food bag in the freezer for later). Add 50ml gin and 15ml Pernod. The Pernod clouds the drink. Stir. Add ice to fill. Garnish with a half slice of orange. If you wish you can add chilled water, but I tend to just wait for the ice to melt a little in my hands. Ferdinand

@Crofter Not sure if this helps or not, but I have a new, unused Stuart Turner RG500 Pump sitting under my desk in its box, which I believe can be used for a shower. It is about 15 years old, but has just been stored. It is that last one of a batch of 10 that my father used for a project to develop a "mobile shower chair" for hospitals, and for some reason he bought 10 and I inherited 9. The others sold on Ebay, but I crossed wires with one buyer. None of the others came back saying they didn't work. The thing is engineered like a battleship. If it is suitable, yours for say £30 + postage. If not, I will put in the marketplace; I am sure that there is somebody on buildhub who is constructing a high volume moonshine dispenser or similar. Ferdinand

That sounds like a bit of a scandal, since the providers of the education should get the dosh whether academies or not.