Ferdinand

Does it help to dehumidify them for a few days before laying?

Why not just get the whole thing under FOI?

Don't worry, someone will introduce you to a gun that shoots bullets round corners.

Welcome. I think we really need a bigger slice of the plan, showing for example the orientation in the plot, the road etc. F

I think you need to consider what price you put on 1-2 years of planning and disruption.

If it was in date at the point of application, then imo that should have been OK. Sorry you lost on that basis.

You can always phone up and ask. I would make a point of asking, so you know what is happening and whether there is any BS you need to kill, or serious stuff that needs attention - up to and including whether you need to reconsider your App.

That's an excellent point. The better way imo would be for a carbon tax on everything based on emissions, and get rid of all the other "green" taxes. I see that more fixed price tariffs seem to be around, and I'd expect a few more to emerge. F

I think that might be common practice, and Wickes know all about it. It's not as if it is making them make a loss. Sell a wheelbarrow on ebay? Equals "Dangti Barrowboyz".

He bought it, and the oil pipeline iirc turned out to be mainly next door.

Have you considered @pocster's walk on glazing leaned on the wall? He'd probably give it away by now, if you collect. Bristol is only at the far end of the Kennet & Avon. You can tie it to the side of the boat like a glazing van. I seem to recall that you are west of London?

"Energy bills to rise by at least £139 for millions of households By Simon Read" https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-58106105

I think you should start with your requirements. That is a 1-2 page memo with your requirements - that is what the house must do for you. Space, rooms, people who will live there, grannexe, garden areas, indoors/outoors lifestyle, sitting areas outside, and so on. Perhaps styles you like etc. That will give your As things to chew on, and clarify your thinking. If you ask As to give you something substantive, then you will have to pay for time, and probably be bound to pay if you use someone else to do their concept. Best of luck. Ferdinand

At least it isn't an oil pipeline. ?

Re: Grand Designs. Generally, don't. Imo. Find a more sympathetic programme that won't put your build into play to create a storyline. GD are quite notorious for that. If you do, have a couple of pre-manufactured crises lined up with pre-identified answers. Like a diversionary Nasher Stick for your doglet. Isn't there a 'best in Scotland' thing on TV somewhere, or two. But perhaps they are more egalitarian and your build is exceptional ? .

This is beginning to sound like rather a lot of work for one piece of unused glass. Why not make it into a table? And paint the wall with bathroom paint or a scene of palm trees. Or get a huge piece of wall-art that fills the most of the wall. Not expensive in the context of self-building a house. Even one of your own photos. eg https://www.photowall.co.uk/ Hilton Hotels use them to great effect in the entrance corridors to their rooms. In their case they put a mirror opposite.

If you are up against the wall that handle won't fit when you turn it. Unless you are some way away from the wall. You would perhaps be better with a fencing bar and an earth grabbing tool. Both inexpensive. Pay a bloke £30 to dig it, and watch whilst drinking tea and gnawing on a gingernut.

Personally I think that there is an element of cat with fur stroked the wrong way here. They will probably have a legal right to maintain their walls under the Access to Neighbouring Land Act, subject to certain conditions. But your position seems very reasonable indeed - 800mm is plenty for access, and offers no impediment to putting scaffolding in. Perhaps introduce them to narrow scaffolding, or to a hire place that will rent them a scaffold tower that fits your proposed gap. eg https://www.hss.com/hire/c/access/access-towers-and-platforms https://www.zarges.com/uk/products/reachmaster-mobile-scaffold-tower I would also consider optimising your walls to have insulation that makes them as narrow as possible. 100mm extra in a 2m wide room is the difference between a fat man feeling squashed or comfortable sitting on your loo. Ferdinand

Consider a scaffolding tower. I have one of these, for example, which will easily do that height. And won't be that much more than your £900. And it will go in an estate car. None of your named jobs will require it to be up for months. https://www.zarges.com/uk/products/reachmaster-mobile-scaffold-tower

It looks .... complicated, and expensive to deal with the complexity and the buggeration. I'm inclined to ask whether you have considered the alternative of moving house ?? Perhaps even to an identical one without the existing extension. Then extend that.

Is that down a step? If so, a PITA to get out.

I checked Octopus - they are 20% more expensive, I'm afraid. £105+ a month vs under £90 from eg Avro. I know they are popular, but that's a bit of a gap. ?

My fixed tariff just ran out, so I need to switch. Does anyone have any views as to current good suppliers? My current usage is approx 16,000 kWh pa gas, and 2,300 kWh pa electric. I think I may need a fix as a price rise is pencilled in for the autumn courtesy of changes in the 'Price Cap'. MSE is saying Avro, Utility Point, the Utility Warehouse, Outfox the Market or Green Energy - none of which I know very much about. Except that Outfox are quite idiosyncratic. Any thoughts would be welcome. Interestingly, BG estimates calculate the Elec as double that, and the Gas as 10% more than actual. Ferdinand

You are familiar with Underhill House, which is a similar vision? https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2014/apr/10/top-uk-eco-homes-underhill-house-gloucestershire There was a GD about it: Also this one in Bakewell is concealed from the road at the top https://www.derbytelegraph.co.uk/news/grand-designs-couple-spend-16-670402

They could try a Pro Bono barrister plus crowd funding for the rest. The best known is the Good Law project, and Jolyon Maugham. But they are losing a few recently, and tend to like politics. (And Jolyon just lost his own Planning Appeal.)