Ferdinand

What I mean is that your bath has a very wide surround, which makes it catch water very easily if the shower head is "on the wall" not "in the hand", which water then leaks out. So if you get a showerhead which sticks out further, it will be more over the bath than over the surround, which will make more water go into the bath. Normally they just screw off at the point where it joins the flexible pipe; get one that pokes out further. Alternatively you could try one with a narrower fan of water, as they seem to have in Hilton Hotels for doing your feet. Or they even do "extension arms" for shower heads. eg (illustration not a recommendation) https://www.victorianplumbing.co.uk/160mm-angled-chrome-extension-shower-arm-for-handheld-shower-heads? I appreciate the point about the screen.

My 2 suggestions: 1 - Get a longer shower head. That bath plan is not ideal. 2 - If you don't actually need to open the screen, fix it in place. That could be something as simple as a big bead of silicone after you have cleaned the surface with something like surgical spirit. I'm tempted to say acetone, but I am not sure how that would react.

I'd punt that it was a special for somebody who can't complete and they are now left with a hideous pig-in-a-poke that no one will want. It's not really Lincolnshire. More blingy London suburb that is actually Essex. I'm inclined to think it was a holiday place for Max Mosely, who has passed away recently, and is an estate fire sale. If Lincolnshire was like Nevada, it would be a cathouse.

We need a couple of overall pics. (Or I do; I'm thick.)

Please could you post a site plan, showing the permissioned footprint and dimensions and directions. From the plan you could eke out a little space for Bed 3 by switching to a spiral staircase towards the top end of the current stair. But headroom ...? You could also save a bit of space in the Ensuite and perhaps make the bed end of the master a little narrower. Or swap ends with it. But that would leave the ensuite facing south. Then would change it from a boxroom to a tightish single I won't link to it from here, but I'd consider a new application following the orientation of the one being done on the other half of your plot, which seems to be larger and has permission aiui. But do some intense homework first, as you are doing. I'd also suggest having a walk round the village to see if there are any self-builders who have finished that you could bounce some ideas off, who will have gone through the whole process in your place. Ferdinand

The thing I'm chanting involuntarily every week at the moment is "Yes Sir, I can boogie." It's the fault of the Scottish Euro Fans.

Sounds tense. Can I add my advice to the others? Go get a cup of tea. On your builder, your position if it goes for conflict is not that strong, as demand is so high now. My suggestion is to pick up the Hewlett-Packard idea of Management By Walking Around, and visiting regularly but non-instrusively - preferably each morning - so that they know you are very interested. Keep interested and talking. Keep an eye on the detail, and continue to dream up ideas as to how you can save budget and help the project. If you need to be have minor changes, make sure the reasons are valid but do it if you need to. Suggest you pay special attention to the next 2-4 weeks of work to catch anything you might have missed. Your neighbours are being NFN. Normal for Nimbies. In one sense I don't blame them - who wants a bloody great building project next door thumping away for a whole year? OTOH you have the rights you have to make your home. I would make sure you stick by whatever the LA has set for limitations, and don't worry about Ns as far as you can. Do NOT evaluate them totally on what is happening now and blow up the relationship - when it is really finished tell them and drop some obviously nice wine round (couple of bottles of Nyetimber?). Then leave them alone for 6 months or so and then see how it goes. Even reluctant tolerance in the future is far better than being sworn enemies. I wouldn't invite them to look as a close interaction about your new pride and joy while things are still tense between you might not help, and both your senses of judgement will be affected and both egos tender. When you get to the end do something symbolically to leave any bad feelings behind on your side. I got PP for a small housing estate behind mine, and the neighbours objected vociferously ("you know we have to, don't you?"), but a few years later we are still talking if not yet going to sex parties together. But then we are both somewhat involved in construction. On your budget, perhaps it might be helpful to know how much you will be up financially at the end? Find out what your rebuilt house will be worth (something similar selling price in the same street/area), and compare it to what you paid. Since 2015 it should be quite a lot extra nearly everywhere. Try and think of overruns as a reduction in gain, rather than a standalone loss. Trickery, but perhaps useful. Pay attention to your relationship if you have one. And carve out time for mutual things are *not* building related (ban mention of it, go clay pigeon shooting -just something else) . This is really important. Is the self-builders prayer helpful, or at least the sentiments therein? It's all about focusing on the things you can control, and keeping a careful watch on the progress of the rest: And get a picture of a kitten for the wallpaper on your phone :? Ferdinand

Plan B: do you have a friend with a private explosives license?

@Dazza TBH it doesn't sound *that* big for an old farmhouse. I'd endorse a coupe of suggestions above - do a heat model to work out what your demand would actually be. Should be doable in an evening. The forum has a sprreadsheet available here: And do some planning work on your insulation scheme. There's no problem making it long term - the most important thing is not to do anything on top before you do the insulation underneath, 'cos then you'll never get a round tuit. And evrybody needs a round tuit. How much can you reduce those heat losses by? Then you can get to what size boiler you actually need. Bosch seem now to have some big ones on their list. One other thought (which others really need to comment on) - is this a good application for a Sunamp in series with a not-quite-that-huge boiler, as it would heat the water first from its stored solar or offpeak electricity energy, and therefore reduce the highest demand item? Ferdinand

That graph now says lumber prices have gone back down again by nearly half.

Bottom wide than top. IN the early years keep pruning back to pairs of buds to encourage branching. Trim back to less than desired final envelope, so that the many-branched hedge with leaves will reach that point.

I would consider having a variety of species for interest. You can also make an interesting hedge from Evergreen Oak (Holm Oak). if the Council are trying to make it into a municipal park, i would gently ignore them as much as possible. The RHS have a page with a *lot* of suggestions, then links to a page about each. https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?pid=351 Hawthorn is good - you can then encourage one or two of them to make small trees. I used to live somewhere called Thorn Cottage which had a red flowered Hawthorn tree on one corner, and a white on another. I'm doubtful about Laurel as a thin hedge - big leaves. And you can also add in a flowering climber or three to add colour. I'd encourage you to allow slightly more heinght so birds in their little nests will feel safer and more cat-proof.

So minimal exposure can do it but yours sounds small enough to be relatively safe. It is also a sunk cost, so not a lot you can do apart be sire to take care in future.

There are several us on here who lost family members to asbestosis. I lost my dad, and his only known exposure was as supervising (ie not working directly on it) Council architect on a ventilation system with asbestos in it 40 years before he died. So minimal exposure can do it but yours sounds small enough to be relatively safe. But *never* relax about it. So I find @Ralph's comment below to be rather too broadbrush: High levels over time is what causes problems like asbestosis. I would not worry about what you've described at all and it sounds like you are generally being careful anyway.

I had one with a LED light in the mirror, and including an anti-steam feature. You can get ones that are nearly 1m wide, with an illuminated edge strip, demister feature, and sometimes a bluetooth speaker, with touch switches embedded in the mirror, for £100-£200. Watch whether they are mains or battery powered. They are out of the extravagance category. eg https://www.amazon.co.uk/Modern-Bathroom-Mirror-Additional-Features/dp/B07SQYBHP2 F

Let me be on topic for once. 1 - Do you plan to have an arrangement of 'side mirrors' as for a traditional 3 mirror dressing table? And are your mirrors planned to be illuminated - the prices for large integrated-lighting mirrors surprised me when I redid my main bathroom recently. I have a sort of version of this in my bathroom - in my case driven by my current need to self-haircut. 2 - If you are going fitted but open shelves, is there value in having some cupboards for dust avoidance on items used less regularly? That could even be a different idea, such as roller blinds. Ferdinand

I now have images of you and Ms Joe90 being like Bernie Ecclestone and Slavica.

If you were a real fashion victim, you would know these things.

Fabric First. And don't skimp on the standards. Make damned sure that you do first the things that you cannot do later such as under floor insulation, walls etc.

Ye Gods. Wotta lotta underpants.

I have found hedgehog fine, and have used the Hedgehog clips where necessary. These: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Hedgehog-Gutter-Clips-Keeps-Brush/dp/B00FOTN35Q The only recent problem was that it needed so little attention that a clump of grass rooted in it. Sorted by glyphosate.

We're actually going with a more thorough layout. It is a 10 year tenant who should stay for another 10, and the sparks is tame.

Be aware how close you are to the boundaries of your plot and neighbouring buildings; potential complication with eg Party Walls // Party Wall-Fences, and perhaps access to the rest of the plot if the basement dig takes up most of the width.

Wouldn't a sparks protest at that, as it needs to cover the max possible. Had a conversation re a tenant's outhouse where the requirement is a washer, 2 dryers and a fridge and a freezer, and the sparks nearly had kittens.

Censored, hopefully. Or the bastard child of Paul Raymond and Dame Edna Everage.