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Suggestions please on the best/most economic way to provide hot water and heating without using gas in the following situation: A 7m x 7m x 2.4m, well insulated, temporary accommodation for us while we build (max 1 year hopefully), which will ultimately be used intermittently as part craft workshop/part gym. size (approx 7m x 7m) which will ultimately be split into two rooms Walls are concrete block dry lined with 100mm insulation and OSB board Floating floor - 50mm insulation & board, insulated ceiling There will be a simple MVHR system in place to provide ventilation Living area ( to become a craft room), bedroom, shower room, small office (to become gym/workshop) Living area will have a log burning stove in 12kw solar panels on the roof ( for use with house also ultimately) Eventual use will require hot water - preferably instantaneous, as it will be used occasionally and often for shortish periods . Heat from the log burner in the craft workshop will be sufficient.

Hi Folks, My first post here. I have so far put down an elevated concrete pad (30cm high) and have also built the walls out of solid dense 7.3N concrete blocks.Aas it stands the height of the highest block is 2.73m high including the concrete pad height (front of build). The problem is once the single-pitched roof is on the building height will be roughly 3.10m high. I have since been doing some digging and it seems the building may be too high? I have attached an image below so you can see the plan. I know people who have buildings just as high and some higher! that actually touch the boundaries of their neighbours and have been passed by the local council (Norwich, UK). So I'm confused as to what is ACTUALLY permissible and what's not, given the information online and the contradictory reality. Can somebody help? Also is there anything else I need to think about given the size of the building. Thanks

After moving to the Isle of Wight I find myself building a garage workshop. The slab is done now for the structure.

Hi, We are currently looking at buying a property that was build somewhere in the 1950s. The land size is around 0.5 acre and there are some external sheds / buildings which I believe were erected 20-30 years ago but would not comply to today's permitted development regulations. The reason for this is that the main workshop / shed sits on the property boundary and exceeds the available height restriction. From what I can tell, I have a few options but I want to ensure I stay on the correct side of the law with respect to planning and my neighbours. 1. Fix what's there. What can I do to the structure without impeding into issues about consent? I have emailed West Ox District Council however I would need to provide plans etc before they can help and I'm not ready to do that. The building is a steel frame structure with metal corrugate roof panels (some now with holes and no longer waterproof) and some form of corrugated panels down the side. They look like asbestos but I believe they are the plasterboard type. 2. Move what's there - The metal element of the shed does not look entirely fixed - it could possibly be moved 2 meters away from the property boundary and I believe then it would be acceptable from a Permitted Development point of view. As I am considering something as large as 10m x 4m, I may need approval from Building Regulation, is this correct? 3. Pull it all down, start again. If so, my thoughts are to pour a foundation with self levelling concrete like Agilia, then do either single Breezeblock, wood panel, insulation & plasterboard or dual layer Breezeblock. I'd the like the workshop to be usable all year round, therefore heating / insulation is of interest. I may also carve up an area as an office / study / music / recording room. Size wise, I am looking at something like 10m x 4m x minimum of 3m. Most of the CNC machines I would want to have inside need a height of around 3m. Do I need foundations or is a good strong base enough? A friend of mine has done a 20m x 10m workshop and I believe has no foundations - but his base is 30cm deep. I am fairly handy (Qualified Electrician from South Africa) - I could do a lot of the work myself. Speaking to some, it sounds like its worth paying others to do the main brickwork, they will be faster and better than myself. I would perhaps do the wood / insulation and plasterboard. Depending on finish - I may not go for a 'in house' finish. I could also do the electrics (aware I need someone with the appropriate licenses to sign it off) and might be able to do plumbing (would like a basic basin / tap for washing up). For heating, no idea as yet. Ive attached some pics. There's some concrete but not much of it, so that will be removed. The structure is metal 'warehouse' type structure with some metal and some wood joists. The wood seems in bad repair in some places. One photo shows the side, plasterboard type of stuff. The Outside picture shows how ugly it is and what the neighbours see, that is also on the property boundary. All advice / info / questions appreciated. Thanks

Hello all, Hope everyone is well. Sorry if this has been discussed elsewhere on here, I searched but couldn’t find anything - but I have limited knowledge of technical building terms. A year ago we brought a Victorian property that had been empty for around 20 years. We had traders come and do the main jobs but are currently doing the smaller jobs and making the place in to a home. I want to build a small workshop - roughly 14 ft x 9 ft. The area I want to put it has three existing walls - two ‘garden’ walls and the other being the exterior wall to our kitchen. In the one corner there is also an old privy, I am unsure if it would be best to knock down or try and integrate it into the plan, it is a solid build. The garden walls are two bricks in width and around 6.5 foot high, in good shape other than needing to be re-pointed. It would be great to get some advice on areas before trying to move forward with attempting this, so thanks in advance for any help. Would it be possible to tie in to these walls and use them for part of the structure, and would I just use a wall starter kit? (The brick is accrington brick) The garden walls would need more height, I take it I could just add more brick to that to increase the height? Would I have to dig down and see what the foundation is like on the garden walls? I would be digging down to put a foundation for the new front wall, would I lay a new foundation around all sides? As they are walls built at the same time as the house (1901) I would presumably have to put in a DPC, and then build block internal walls? I know I will need to check with my local council but presumably I could build it as high as the privy? I’ve included a photos so people can see what the area and walls look like. One last question (for the moment) - a foolish project for someone with minimal amount of building experience? Cheers for the help and advice. Dave

Hi all, just joined the forum to seek some advise and knowledge on my new smallish project. Have a 3x4m single storey extension to an existing workshop. It's a lean-to against the main house.. so planning class it as attached and hence an extension... Even thought the lean to is not linked structurally. House and workshop are both 1860ish solid stone. Workshop is 18" thick solid stone walls and concrete slab floor. Have planning approved to extend by the 3x4m with same external materials. I'm at the stage of starting ground works to dig out foundations.. there is not a lot as it's only 2 wall - about 5m. Ground is a bit of top soil then seems to be some large rocks (too heavy for me to move by hand) about 30cm down. It's bedrock in the local area. I was under the impression that foundations for this wont need to be very deep (50cm)- but do I need to remove these huge rocks - to then replace with concrete foundations? How do I work out the width of the foundations? Any suggested type of foundations... Strip or trench fill?