Ferdinand

The only one I've ever done - for a 100 unit housing estate - took under 8 weeks.

I did this back in 2013 with a very similar Wayleave agreement, and a lot more equipment. In our case it was dated to something like 1956, and we needed to give 12 months notice of our intention, and then would need to give 6 months notice for them to actually remove the equipment. There's a detailed thread here, with much advice, including a couple of success stories: My suggestion is, initially, just give notice strictly in accordance with the agreement, with no suggestions or promises or offers possible hostages to fortune. This will wake them up. It's a right you hold that you are simply enforcing; keep it simple and don't complicate. Except perhaps add a "please do contact us if you need to have a further conversation" - make anything about 'necessary wayleaves' or any 'but but buttery' something they bring up when they already under notice requiring removal. I think there is a distinction between supply to you and carrying supply across your land. The Wayleave will only apply to the supply across your land, but if the supply is also (or has been) to your plot in the form of an office building, you may be able to argue that they should replace it as it exists already, ('since 19xx'). They may get ruffled, but at that stage each thing you point out will tip them towards wanting a simple answer. I don't think you have actually told us how much kit the pole is actually carrying. One of your levers is that it is far easier for them to relocate it within your plot than have to find an alternative route, or pay to do loads of paperwork dealing with all your issues. You could eventually say something like "we will let you keep it down the edge of our plot if a) it goes underground and b) you agree to install our lecky supply as part of the agreement and c) a new wayleave agreement has terms acceptable to us and maybe even d) You cover our out of pocket expenses. In this case you need to consider future maintenance access, and also if an underground cable would compromise any part of your build.

I don't actually see why an Election would hold these up - they are decisions made by Inspectors following planning law. The only reason would be to cater for the call-in process by the Secretary of State, but in the UK Ministers stay in post throughout the Election then change over happens like the flick of a switch. But the report is in the Telegraph which for me is now a red flag requiring a reliable source, as I observe them including more entirely fictional pieces as reporting or news.

I'd advise choosing your words carefully, and talking more about sustainable drainage than GCNs. Perhaps have words in the landscape plan that give you a trim or an out if you turn out to need it, whilst mentioning it up front. And perhaps build it towards the end. I'm not sure what happens if GCNs appear when you still have 5 years to go on building the house, and someone notices.

A pedant writes: Are these numbers sound? My gas to electricity simple price per unit ratio is 25.49p/kWh to 6.44p/kWh, which is 3.95 not 4.8. Is this some strange average calculation involving standing charge? And do these use A2AHPs or just ASHPs? My impression is that even though UK ASHP pumps are soaring from a low base, there are a lot of people buying A2AHPs as they cost a fraction of the amount.

Thanks. Can you quote the model name or number for me?

My neighbour is about to have a large reduced, and the branches are overhanging my roof. Can anyone suggest a camera I could use to keep an eye on the operation. I trust the N and his arboriculturalist, but it's my roof .. and I want belt and braces just in case. Thanks

Insufficient drainage so it's going into the adjacent bit of driveway and washing away sub base?

I'd say all of it is key, and the toilet pan is a relatively minor issue - that can be replaced in half a day for a couple of hundred. Getting the basics right is more important, and things like handrails, grabrails and accessible taps (single leaver, easy to reach, low effort - whether singles or a mixer) are of benefit to everyone so should be included anyway. More fundamental things need more thought - what if you don't have room to back a wheelchair next to the loo, or to turn it round? Or if you have water pipes running where in future you may need to put a Hitler Trombone on the wall? I was limited with putting a floor flat shower in one bathroom because I would have had to dig up the underfloor heating in the slab to fit the drain - so it is still up a small step. That means no wheel-in shower. It always all about taking advice, taking time to think and scenario-plan now and in the future, then allowing for or making the choices you may need.

I think it depends on your requirement. (Update: wildcard - may be appropriate if you or the boss are basketball players.) If you are going to want one *somewhere* for the sake of having one, then I'd put it in the bathroom which is accessible - when we moved in to ours the shower was upstairs, and bathroom downstairs, so just as she needed a shower not a bath mum was required to walk upstairs - which was loopy and we re-did both bathrooms. Silly decision by the previous owners. If you know that you will need one (eg disabled or elderly person who needs it), fine - it's a nobrainer. The temporarily adaptive alternative is usually a high-rise seat, or a seat in frame that stand over you loo - this sort of thing. It's really horses for courses - if you have a continuing requirement, then I'd consider your whole shower / washing etc setup from that angle. If you have the luxury of an extra loo or shower room, then perhaps put on in the one you make your "adapted" shower room. I wrote a series of about 6 articles about some of this over on my blog : "Accessible Ablutions". You can generally navigate it, but may need to search a little: And also a forum thread:

First of all, Welcome to Buildhub, Rob. We try to help you turn slightly less grey than would otherwise be the case. On the question, it is some time since my solar was put in (2016), but can you do anything to reduce the 'earth loop impedance' number to circumnavigate the issue? I am not sure whether this is defined here as looking from your installation to the network, or the other way round. Could you affect the number, for example, by improving the earthing of your domestic network? (This probably needs input form someone like @ProDave.)

Thank-you all for the replies. Up until recently, I read it by looking down that hole with a phone camera, which is immediately on the threshold of my drive entrance. I may even have a piccie from a couple of years ago. Nothing else has been fitted to my knowledge, so they are getting the readings from somewhere. Is it perhaps a remote sensing / reporting unit? I'm not aware of anything else being fitted, and I've lived here for 10+ years now. However, my water is now back at full pressure, so I have no idea what happened. Interruptions here are very, very rare. I think I may have had one unscheduled interruption in a decade. Out looking at manholes this morning I found one dating from our very first cable tv / internet installation, by Diamond Cable going back to the mid-1990s. Call me Jeremy - I have spared you the 5000x3000 images.

Should I not be able to read the water meter there? That used to be the case.

A couple of days ago my mains water volume fell by about 3/4. This is a piccie inside my meter hole. I think it means the supplier thinks there is a problem with the account. I'm not aware, but given recent illnesses I would not be surprised. Can someone confirm? Thanks F

The surface of the water will be perfectly level, so you can judge the gradient of the patio it by measuring the depth of water in mm at each end. If the measurements are too small to measure easily, add more water .... 😛😉. (TBH I'd suggest that the water escape routes are perhaps blocked with all that dust'n'gunge.)

Reading up a bit, Eco 4 Boiler Replacement grants seem to only be available to rental properties with an EOC of E F or G, whilst for Owner Occupied it D E F or G. Bizarre.

Yes there is if necessary - I need to think a bit about running pipework. It may require a little creativity. Fortunately it is the heating side of the boiler which is under question, so I do have a short time to think about it. A boiiler swap under ECO 4 is currently looking most straightforward at present.

I have a boiler that needs repair or replacement in a rented house, and I'd welcome thoughts. The situation is: - I bought property to rent to this tenant in 2016. It is unusual in having 3 double bedrooms, which was why they wanted it. - Good tenant, and I expect the family to stay for another decade (kids are 5-7 old years in local schools, family are all here incl. parents and siblings). They love the house. - It is a 2016 renovated 1910 done by someone else I bought it from - solid walls etc. Not to my standards, but adequate. I keep having to have bits done, which is fine but a small pain. - T is in receipt of housing elements of UC, and child benefit (whatever it is called now) -> may be eligible for Eco4 scheme, which is boiler replacement, or a Heat Pump grant for an ASHP. - Boiler (8 years old) is repairable, but not the best brand. Engineer recommends replacement (they would, but I'm inclined to agree) with a Baxi. I am mainly Ideal or Worcester Bosch. Repair cost £500-1000 suggested. Replacement cost £2-3k depending on model. - EPC is 60D on the sheet, but imo is better than that (I've done a few things, and there are some 'average' assumptions in there.) Had I renovated it that would be at around 75C. - Implication of that is that fitting at Heat Pump could get me over the EPC Grade C requirement which will be coming back at some stage, after Rishi Sunk's "how can I save my arse" 2 year panic attack burning all their achievements - including the landlord EPC ratchet - down. - T says house is comfortable running at a lowish boiler temp (need to check that). - My long term intention is that I prefer no gas (safety and hassle reasons). Options AI see it I have 3 options. 1 - Replace boiler, ideally under boiler upgrade scheme. 2 - Go ASHP with a grant, perhaps via Octopus. Octopus use I think Daikon units. 3 - Go with A2AHPs with a couple of multisplits, and units in relevant rooms. 2 and 3 would require a hot water tank to have space found. Should be doable. I'd welcome all comments, especially around if the Octopus ASHP packages are good, whether ASHPs are easy to manage for tenants, and what lifetime I can expect from ASHP or A2AHPs. Thanks Ferdinand

OK. Answering your question, and a couple of adjacent thoughts. I do not know what is in front of the photo, or to the sides (relevant later), nor what storey it is on, nor what "appearance" constraints you are under. For covering the join, as you ask, lead flashing could do it, as could a lead flashing alternative such as Ubiflex. Done properly, ie mortared 40-50mm in to a ground out joint above, either should give you 20+ years with little trouble. I do not think that something like flashband is suitable, which is a mistake some make. Ubliflex or similar is less flexible than lead, but can be shaped. I have used Ubiflex to flash in a lean-to conservatory roof, which has not been in place for nearly a decade - with no problems of which I am aware. One problem may be attaching it to the very not-flat stone cladding. One downside of something more or less following the face of the wall is that you may get staining depending on how the water drains / flows and whether it will still run down the front of the cladding. And we are assuming that the stone cladding cannot be penetrated by water running down it. An alternative is to build your stone-cladding protector a little away from the wall to throw the water off more thoroughly. That could be your Ubiflex which may be rigid enough to stick out mounted on a batten. Or you could take a different idea and build out a mini roof to put container plants under, or for parking bikes, or even build out a veranda with a table or bench underneath. That would keep the water off the cladding. Potentially if the design matches you could use corrugated steel of various colours or designs as your stick-out small roof. Or you could go the other way, and make it simpler. Personally I don't like stone cladding so I might be inclined to chip it all off and render the entire wall. Apologies if that is stone cladding you put on ! That's a few thoughts, including I hope addressing your actual question from a couple of angles. Ferdinand

OK. I would not particularly like this one (I don't like gardens covered in tarmacadam), and I am an activist for safe walking and wheeling, so I'll try and give you an objective assessment as someone who might be objecting like your neighbours. Yes, you would need sliding gates as you will not be allowed to obstruct the public highway (there's an offence in iirc the Highways Act). If your drive is going to be longer you may have space for inward folding gates, but that would depend on your amount of vehicles. I think you are looking at what is called a Material Amendment, which you apply for after a grant of planning permission. There is a separate type of process if it is Planning Conditions you want to vary. I think you have done well to get approval for a drive that is only 5m long on the approved plan, as that is very short (my car is 4.87m long, and 5m will not fit afaik any of the crew cab tonka trucks without obstructing the pavement). TBH a competent planner they should have caught that as it builds in future conflict, but local government has been stripped to the bone in the last decade. One of their principles is to consider potential future use, which imo they have not done here; perhaps the planner was in short trousers. First time round I'd have objected to the short 5m length on the basis of the risk of pavement blocking if you or a future owner has what are now normal size vehicles >5m long. If something is possible, there is always some future hoon who will do it. Ironically that is closer to what you want to do 😉. I think that such an objection may caused them to make you make it 6m or 7m long. Were you to apply for such an amendment making it 7m long, I would have written a letter of support for that aspect. The gate geometry, and entrance width to allow practical access for multiple cars, looks potentially very tight, so I would perhaps suggest getting an electric gate man in 'to quote' and advise you what will be practical - then checking carefully that all the manoeuvres you might need to do (eg going past the corners of all the cars that are already in there). If you have neighbours who are watching closely, you need your ducks in a row and probably need to identify everything in your application that you are doing. It would depend on how good they are at doing research into planning requirements, identifying and sticking to relevant planning matters, and writing objections - or they may employ a planning consultant to write their objection. Here are my things I would have objected to, or tried to ensure that you got good enough so as not to potentially inconvenience neighbours and pavement users. 1 - Number of vehicle movements reversing in or out, and more vehicles turning in the street. That may be OK with the one / one and a half off road spaces you have approved. If it suddenly become 4 or 5 spaces the Council may think that is too much. 2 - Visibility of the pavement (eg seeing wheelchair users and small children, say 4 or 5 years old, when reversing out). They can't regulate to make you go in forward. Similar concerns to point 1. That also speaks to the height of your wall. Could you use railings for a better view? 3 - Drainage. It looks like a principal (ie road facing) elevation so your surfaces should ideally be permeable, or you will need to demonstrate management of runoff within your own boundaries. 4 - Noise? 5 - If your approved plan includes an area of "garden", as it does, I think your neighbours will be able to complain to enforcement after the fact with a hope of success if you do not implement the scheme, who may enforce on you. Councils are likely to view the garden as a mitigation for the damage done by more tarmac area - so I think you need to be clear about what will actually be there for your future protection. I hope that helps - and that you end up with something that works for everyone, with no permanent conflict. Ferdinand

When you say "go onto of stone cladding", is a typing disguising what you mean? Coiuld you clarify - is it "go on top of", and if you mean that do you mean go above it to throw the water away from the wall and from seeping behind the cladding (like a flashing), or do you mean a coating to go on the surface of the stone cladding such as a transparent sealant? Is the cladding a legacy, or have you had it put there? Cheers F

It sounds like you need a flexible system not a rigid grid. This was done on one the very first Grand Designs, back in 1999, with Kevin being introduced to landscaping mesh as used on embankments, which comes as a folded concertina of large hexagonal cells. This was when he was still an interior decorator and had hair. Series One Episode 4. Probably there are now "biodegradable over X years" products made of organic materials. The Amersham Water Tower. Lovely background music. Here's the C4 link. You'll need to tolerate some adverts. The first GD with application of "commercial architecture" techniques. They have done a couple of revisits since. The bit you want is at about 37 minutes, but the whole thing is worth a rewatch. https://www.channel4.com/programmes/grand-designs/on-demand/26262-004 Look under "soil erosion prevention" or "gravel retention" or "GEO grid" categories.

I follow the two methods mentioned. I normally run a bypass paywalls extension, and use archive.ph. Incidentally I find that Adblock Plus and Adblock Pro together (think it is mainly the latter) are quite effective at skipping Youtube ads.

I live in the North Notts / Derbys coalfield. It is possible to build on subsidence liable land - eg the entire CLASP system used for schools, public buildings and stations was designed with that in mind. You will need to use sufficient outside advice and eg pre-purchase reports to satisfy yourself that it is OK. But it is certainly possible to build there without excessive extra expense - the main things will be to understand you site and choose appropriate building methods.