Ferdinand

Yep. The client is a HA. The 2.5bn cost for 25k dwellings is 100k each, which sounds about right if they get the sites at a reasonable price. The actual build cost looks similar to that for big developers with no Planning Gain or profit on top. I wonder where they will be for Planning Gain? I don't see them killing the PRS; there are too many types of customer, and Council House building did not kill it in the 1970s; the damage was done imo mainly by contract terms and security of tenure. My expectation is that they will be a launch customer and hopefully the factories can supply commercial developers. I hope the offsite fabrication delivers the 30% efficiency gain we have been promised since Egan in the 1990s. I do not think it will help much with the 1 million by 2020 promise by the Govt since it will be perhaps 3-4 years before anything starts to come on stream, but I think they may hit the target anyway. TH critical path for the project is planning not construction. And of course we have the Right to Buy applied to Housing Associations. But good to see new projects. Ferdinand

Indeed :-), which is why you should always tell them to charge in local currency on holiday because you can bet your pet Great Crested Newt(s) that the Glotel Hotel exchange rate will be worse than the one on your Appropriate (ie no FX Charges) Credit Card which will be the instantaneous Mastercard or Visa number. Ferdinand

A further question: how do Megabad treat Debit Cards? Are they treated as Credit Cards or Vorkasse? Once I have an answer to that I may be able to point out a couple of ways of avoiding the exchange charges as well and getting up to 1% cash/rewards back, and *maybe* keeping some purchase protection (though the Megabad complimentary scheme seems OK and you should have the 30 day return online protection if not ordering custom). Ferdinand

That is a distinctive bathroom colour :-). Back on topic. @TerryE A couple of requests for more detail if I may. Does that lose you any protection? eg Section 75 or the Debit Card equivalent? (My bank explicitly states when asked that protections that come with the account for card payments do not apply to eg BACS.) Are there any currency exchange charges? Ferdinand

Can't you just FOI them for the Validation Requirements if it is a single document? Or is it site specific?

Excellent that they think we are the only forum worth a link :-). F

Forgot to say that anybody doing that now would be facing a Stamp Duty bill of at least 10% = 100k if you moved in, or 13% = 130k if you didn't move in, and (I think) plus an annual charge of approx 0.5% to 1% for owning it in a company should you do that if it is a residential property and not rented out. It is so complicated that some of that last para may be too simplistic. Loadsamoney ! Ferdinand

@Nickfromwales These are excellent points: Tend to agree that they meant irrigation sprinklers. May be worth a check. Now ... about Fire Sprinklers ... I differ a little on a few details , and would welcome comment. I am not sure that I see a contradiction between Smoke Alarms and Sprinklers. AIUI it is for both, since eg Sprinklers are more likely to limit damage to one room, and use approx 10% of the water for a fire that would be used by the Fire Brigade. One difference there is whether the residents have to move out for a couple of months or not - which is a *huge* difference. If the Sprinkler *does* turn on, you will likely have firefighting in progress much more quickly (see timelines below), due to the need to hear the smoke alarms, evacuate the house, contact the FB, and wait for them to arrive before any water is put on. That would be firefighting in progress perhaps 5-15 minutes earlier. (Average London Fire Brigade response time is about 12 minutes). Detection. AIUI Sprinklers are typically set off by Heat Detectors activating at 57-8C and triggering at 65C, compared to the Heat Detecting 'smoke alarm' in your kitchen which will go off at about 58C. So imo they do not need "flames to the ceiling" to trigger. Agree that "tiny fire" was a bad phrase, but differences in property damage are very relevant if you are faced with 2 months in a hotel or 12 months in a rental. My gas cooker doesn't give off smoke, for example, while it does have flames. And if I am burning toast on it I get smoke without fire as well as flames without smoke. And Lord Knows what sort of dodgy materials we all have in our houses and what they will do. However Smoke Alarms rely on a human component in the alarm chain to fight a fire, and that component might be deaf, or old, or young, or disabled, or on holiday, or even on drugs. Of course, anybody having a sprinkler system in should also have fire alarms. I wouldn't see them as alternatives. The advice of the Fire Brigade is also leaning towards "Install Sprinklers". Norfolk: "It`s like having a firefighter on duty in every room of your house, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week". Agree with the comments on grey water. AIUI the spec of a single dwelling domestic sprinkler system is to deliver approx the same amount of water as is carried on a normal Fire Appliance (but all at the heart of the fire and 10 minutes sooner ). The FA carries 1800l, and the Sprinklers are required to have a tank of about 1000 to 1500l and have a dedicated unmetered mains connector of 32mm or 50mm, which delivers (estimate) approx 40l - 100l per minute at normal mains pressure. A singe sprinkler will require approx 50l/minute. Personally in a normal newbuild I would fit sprinklers, and also my normal minimum complement of wired or 10 year battery alarms, which is Heat Alarm in Kitchen, Optical Smoke Alarm in hall, Ionisation Smoke Alarm on landing, and CO Alarms near all gas using appliances. For me as an LL the issue of people being forced to move out has more impact, as I have to provide alternative accommodation. I did this once for a water leak caused by T leaving water on at stop tap when away in winter, and it was 2 months out and an 8k insurance claim, plus endless time dealing with it. Ref: BS9251 is the relevant standard, if anyone has access. Copy here: http://www.fire-sprinkler.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/BS 9251-2005.pdf Norfolk Fire Brigade advice on sprinklers: http://www.norfolkfireservice.gov.uk/nfrs/your-safety/guidance/13-your-safety/safety-in-your-home/43-domestic-sprinklers Ferdinand

IT is actually a self-conversion, but the measurement was inside/outside so it should be quite accurate. I guess if I was making a bay window I would put 75-100mm celotex in there. Ferdinand

I have 2 bay windows of which the roofs are approx 70mm thick from inside to outside, including plasterboard below and lead above. How much insulation will that have? Guessing, I make it perhaps 25mm max. This was built in 2007-9 ish, Cheers Ferdinand

Anything but silent :-) Like a lorry tipping its load.

Further reflections, having watched two of the episodes while working this morning. Internal chimneys are a bit of a theme. That is, using heat moving up staircases by natural means. That was done with the Modern Mews, with the fire under the stairs in the basement. And also in the winner, where "A computerised internal air circulation system takes warm air from the top of the house to the basement via a gravel rock store to produce a delayed heat source for evening use." There was at least one other - the one in the old town in the Lakes? - which used a preheated air intake by taking the air inlet pipe underground for a distance first. Presumably we can all do that as part of our earthworks. They also are nearly all infill/replacement. I tracked down the "Covert House" in "Old Town Clapham" to the garden of The Farmhouse, Broadhinton Road. https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@51.4663272,-0.1449109,270m/data=!3m1!1e3 They got the plot by buying a backlands detached house and reselling without the garden. Good strategy. But I reckon the house purchase was a cool million or so. You need to be moneyed somehow. Ferdinand

Re: banisters Agree with @ProDave. I think regs are that the first 2 steps can be sans banisters, so I would say it is an element of retrofit. Looking at the regs, I can't see exceptions - unless perhaps this was a second staircase (unlikely). We had a pigeon-toe stair to several rooms because there was a main staircase elsewhere. But banisters are a universal safety reg, so would not be suspended. Or perhaps they just didn't ask. Re: Winner The facade reminds me of the Sainsbury Wing of the Tate Gallery, in the way that the facade apes different styles at each end. As somebody put it, Post-Modern is back. Re: Curmudgeon It is interesting that the T&C prevent non-architect designed projects from being entered. Not very good, that. Channel4 should read the riot act and point it out. https://awards.architecture.com/Content/pdfs/RIBA Awards 2017_Entry guidelines.pdf Ferdinand

Can I have one for my local park? The climbing frame is very cold . I assume that this is England and Wales.

Guessing - the banister requirement might not apply below x mm from the ground or steps, which may be why the two halves are separate. Ferdinand

I really enjoyed the finals, and have commented on the winner on the other thread. I liked the cladding on the "huts house" in London, and the arch for entry is very Lutyens. 0.6mm mild steel cladding that is cut with snips and rolled on site and weathers like COR-TEN looks truly excellent. But was there a single house that was built for under about £300k? Ferdinand

I enjoyed the Richard Murphy winning house (didn't know he lived in Edinburgh)m especially the use of a 6m x 11m site. Like the Heath Robinson tracks on the curtain style garage door. It looked eyewateringly expensive to build, though, and not practical when he is 80 not 60. And some intriguing contrasts and comparisons to the Art Museum "Narrow House". There is a full article, including plans, on Arch Daily here: http://www.archdaily.com/777841/murphy-house-richard-murphy-architects This is what it says about the enviro aspects: As a way of sucking in heat impressed with the mechanical insulated shutters idea. Is Edinburgh less prone to passive overheating? 150m deep boreholes for GSHP? Ye Gods the bloke has money... Not sure if insulated shutters add a lot to 3G. Air circulation to a gravel heat store? Simpler than water pipes in a heat store. Super idea if it works. Like the use of water features ending up in grey water. But using it for sprinklers? Sounds like a recipe for full room replacement for a tiny fire due to the mucky water. Ferdinand

How did my USB recommendation turn into THIS ??? !!! However in this case just buy the Mazda.

Or £40 at 10p/hWh.

On the ebay advert it doesn't have the weight either. I am not looking at present but I may be in the future. I would not know how to handle these for transport, people etc so it seems quite scary. IF one were able to create a matching set over a couple of years windows are so pricey that a self-builder could work round them with the design, or have a very posh garden office with only a few. I am guessing that they weight 100-120kg each which means 3-4 people to handle them or something mechanical. Transport anywhere will be hundreds if the kit is not available. Nor without some research would I know where I can put a non-Fire-rated door. I have had considerable success with pre-owned kitchen plus conservatory in the past, but I looked at lots of frogs before kissing one. Best of luck. Ferdinand

I think exposed telegraph poles wee a different matter to wooden fence posts wince they were deliberately long lasting wood treated with all klnds of luvvly stuff such involving arsenic and tar, which has now been banned. I am not sure what under-shed shelter will do for posts, but they usually go just above ground as we all know. I suspect some water will seep in somehow. I either now bash them in sans concrete for 5-10 years, or use concrete posts for 25-50 years. Or metal ones for gates than will defeat anything up to a tipper lorry :-). Ferdinand

Won't those posts be rather short life if direct in PostCrete, even if tanalised? 12-15 years? How long do posts last in Scotland :-). Can you make a provision to add more in between later ie leave places to attach to the superstructure of your shed. Otherwise you could end up doing repairs over a big distance sideways - looking at the big size of your concrete blobs. That makes me wonder whether concrete 1200mm repair spurs may be an alternative for me in the future for supporting shed bases on sloping ground.

Savisto Box has arrived. Well built and solid, with a nice magnetic strip to keep the lid closed. However, orientation is slightly landscape not portrait. It will take an A4 mag in an envelope vertically but it is a little close to the top. Verdict: OK but I prefer the Brabantia. Sticking with this one now it is here for at least one house, though. Ferdinand

That was 13 sockets not doubles :-). One is on the cooker switch. T uses plug in air fresheners, which doesn't help. Adding up the current kitchen diner in my house, which was done by the previous owner, we have 7 doubles and a single, plus 5 more sockets and 2 cooker points inside cupboards for appliances, plus 4 doubles and one in a cupboard in the utility (one of which I had added). It still feels sparse, but it is a large 19x15 kitchen-diner (give or take), F

Final note. I bought *this* warning sign from Amazon because it is designed to be screwed on rather than use adhesive. At £1.74. If it turns out to be dreadful quality I will add a note. https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01AGK064S/ref=pe_385721_37038051_TE_3p_dp_1 Ferdinand