flanagaj

At our recent committee hearing, there was an application for a solar car port. Recommended for refusal by planning officer, but applicant spoke along with his local councillor. The result was that the committee voted in favour and overruled the planning officer.

Is there a minimum distance that you need from a gate to the edge of the highway. I vaguely remember that you must be able to position your vehicle off the highway to enable you to open the gate? As all vehicles differ in length, I am unsure what the rules are around this.

FYI - It's a bit far for you to travel, but I used a company called Salisbury Training Solutions (North Dorset). He did a 3 day 1 on 1 course for me for £1400. It was basically 3 days tailored for a self-builder and avoided all of the red tape for getting your certificate. We practiced digging a soakaway, footings, hard standing and also bank work. Not cheap, but I got to dig holes in his ground and it gave me the confidence to rent a machine, knowing I knew what I was doing.

I am looking at buying one of these. If nothing else, you could use it to simply practice pulling the bucket in level through thin air just off the ground.

So can I assume that as no FFL was specified in the planning application that I can choose the FFL (within reason)? The topographic has a +/- 10cm, eg 122.90 and 123.00. I personally would like to go with 123.00 as it means less excavation. Given that nothing has been specified, what is the legal basis here? By going with 123.00 I do raise the house and remove the possibility of water running towards the house from the adjacent slope.

I thought to myself "What a fantastic idea!", but then realised that the theory only holds if the ground behind is level.

Very useful info. The part regarding tree protection, weeding and mulching is very helpful.

As the fee for discharging conditions is £298, I have decided to try and discharge all of the conditions in one hit. I want to know how vague I can be with the scheme. Our plans showed the general layout, eg, driveway, patio and a few extra trees planted on site. I don't want to employ and ****** consultants and just want to know whether I can simply stick to the approved plans, and detail the driveway surface, material for entrance gates, sandstone patio and make up the tree species. The fact that they want species names, spacing detail .... is all rather ludicrous, especially when most people evolve their gardens over time.

I did an excavator course and I still was unable to grade well. When the material you are grading is loose, eg hardcore or topsoil then it's very difficult. If you are grading an oversite where the ground is compacted, your control inputs are felt more and you can ease off when it starts to bite. A good exercise is to think about what is happening to the boom, dipper and bucket as it moves towards the cab. To keep the bucket teeth in the correct position and level, you need to concentrate on where the dipper arm is in relation to the vertical. As you swing it through on it's arc, you need to be raising the boom. As you pass through the vertical, the process is reversed and you need to lower the boom. All the time you are continually opening the bucket. There is a lot going on and I spoke to an operator who owns a 14 tonne machine and he said he cannot grade at all on a small 1.5 / 3 T machine. Probably because the action on a larger machine is just more controlled and the arc of the dipper is much longer.

We are in the process of trying to find a quality brick layer in Hampshire, but to get a quote we need to decide on what brick bond to use. I think having simply stretcher might look a bit too much like an estate style property and wondered if anyone has some resources or how you go about deciding this. Not sure whether this was the architects job, or whether it is something you decide after you have been granted planning.

One of the conditions of planning is that we have to purchase Nitrate mitigation credits from Eastleigh Borough Council. All I can say, is that I have never had to deal with such a woeful organisation in my life. One woman in the council runs the operation and she does not have a contact number, won't take calls and only corresponds via email (which she never replies too). It took an age to get the credits secured and now we want to purchase them, she has gone AWOL again. It's holding us up, discharging our pre-commencement conditions. I just do not understand, how these individuals remain employed. I work in an industry where responses are done within an hour or two. Has anyone else had to go the process of buying these Nitrate mitigation taxes. Sorry, I meant credits.

Not fallen out. Just trying to keep costs down for the technical drawings.

I said CAD, but I think he actually wants the DWG files

I am now contemplating actual floor to ceiling patio doors. I think these look really nice. The only question I have is around how you go about having a blind. I assume it has to be concealed in the ceiling void?

I suspect this is a common question, but who owns the CAD files and can I request them from the architect?

Enclosing the washing machine is a good idea. That is definitely something that we could also accomodate. With regards to ceiling / floor insulation. What is the general consensus to mitigate acoustic noise as best as possible. I did consider a block / beam upper floor, but having MVHR in the void below the floor would eat too much into ceiling heights. Therefore, it's posiweb joists. Interested to see a schematic of a decent spec first floor, showing the different layers.

We are currently renting a Persimmon home and the sound insulation is absolutely atrocious. You can hear the washing machine in the kitchen from most rooms in the house and same goes for the tumble dryer. The plan for the new house has the utility room adjoined to the lounge. We were planning on having block walls downstairs and using metal web joists upstairs, with a 25mm screed layer. Are there any good resources which help explain how you can reduce sound transfer to the best ability, without employing ridiculous measures, that either cost a fortune or result in very think walls / ceilings. Eg, I am looking for a pragmatic approach that will out perform standard stud wall / block wall.

That is what I want. I will speak with buildzone. Thanks

What if you were the developer and did the footings correctly, but the concrete company screwed up and they failed.

I have been informed that Hanley will accept any of the below. Does anyone happen to know whether any of them are cheaper than others, or can recommend? Premier’s “Guarantee for New Homes” (minimum warranty term 10 Years) NHBC ‘Buildmark’ (minimum warranty term 10 years) Self-Build Zone (minimum warranty term 10 years) LABC Warranty (minimum warranty term 10 years) Architects Certificate (minimum warranty term 6 years) Building Lifeplans Ltd (BLP Allianz Guarantee) Castle 10 (Checkmate) Protek ICW Advantage Structural Defects Insurance (ASDI)

Excuse my ignorance on the subject of 'air tightness', but if I am building a new brick and block house to current regs, how does that differ to a Passivhaus spec design. If for example, the windows don't have trickle vents, there are no extractors in the kitchen, bathrooms ... (because I am fitting MVHR) and the roof is insulated with Celotex and taped, then how can the house be 'leaky'. Eg, how is air leaking out / in? Only asking as I am wanting to get a MVHR design done and the question below was asked.

One giant scam that ideally would be brought to the attention of the FCA. Basically, selling policies that are not worth the paper they are written on.

It's a minefield and I actually believe that you are buying a policy that will never pay out. I am having the same battles myself, trying to find a policy that is actually for a DIY / labour only self-build

Very nice. Who was the architects? I wanted to use Western Designs, but I couldn't afford them.

This warranty insurance is a right pain. Just had a call with a broker and he is asking who I am using for building the house. I actually don't have that information to hand as I am still in the process of trying to find said trades. These policies do seem designed for individuals that simply write the checks and don't get their hands dirty. Has anyone come across a policy that is for a true self-build project, where a lot of the works are done DIY? Otherwise, I feel like I am paying for a policy that isn't worth the paper it is written on.