Andy H Posted January 26, 2021 Share Posted January 26, 2021 I am new to self building and stumbled across your forum. I have spent a few days browsing various topics and am impressed by the quality of the advice, information and the kind manner in which it is given. Being new to self building at this stage I'm unlikely initially to be able to offer much advice to others but as my knowledge and experience grows I look forward to being able to contribute to others. I have chosen to start a blog ("Garden Escape") that records the journey of my first self build; a single storey building at the bottom of our garden that is intended to fulfill a number of functions - home gym, workshop, bicycle store and bolt hole - located in London I am completing the build under permitted development and in order to get an internal ceiling height in the range of 3 to 3.25m I am excavating to allow the building to start underground. This introduces additional complications and along with the building being close to the 3 neighbouring boundaries this seems quite a challenging project to undertake. I have plenty of time available to work on the project and along with a friends son I am aiming to minimise the amount of involvement of others to keep build cost down. I do recognise that I will need to pay for some skilled help and through this forum I will look for guidance on when that may be the case. The project started in the summer of 2020 by the removal of 2 trees and the excavation of a hole 12.5m by 6.5m by 1.2m deep, which is now shuttered up with plywood ready to restart in Spring 2021. I have appointed a Building Regulations inspector and had an initial site visit from a structural engineer (not yet appointed). The decisions I have so far made are: 1. Build using ICF either Isotex or Logix 2. Foundation to be Isoquick raft 3. Build in the principles of Passive housing but am not looking for cerification. 4. To build as close as practically possible to the neighbouring boundaries to maximise the building space. 5. The building is to include a toilet, shower and small kitchen facilities - mains drains approximately 40 meters away at the front of the house. I have done alot of reading up online in the last month and on this forum in the last couple of days but as you might expect I have a ton of questions. For now I would like feed back on the best way to get advice through the site. Should I post seperate questions into specific forums, put the queries through the blog, an initial post with all my current queries or message individual members whom appear experienced with the specific queries? Kind regards Andy 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joe90 Posted January 26, 2021 Share Posted January 26, 2021 Welcome, we all started somewhere so don’t be afraid with the questions. I would pose each question in the appropriate subgroup otherwise subjects get mixed up. Looking forward to hearing about progress and pictures. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thorfun Posted January 26, 2021 Share Posted January 26, 2021 Welcome. Sounds like a great project. Like @joe90 said, post questions in the relevant sub-forum and don’t worry about thinking you’re asking too many questions as we’ve all done it! I would suggest using the search function for each question topic you have first as I found there was a thread already started by another user that you can add a question to if appropriate. You might find that your question has already been answered. At least that’s what I found. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newhome Posted January 26, 2021 Share Posted January 26, 2021 Welcome to the forum 3 hours ago, Andy H said: The building is to include a toilet, shower and small kitchen facilities - mains drains approximately 40 meters away at the front of the house. Have you checked that this doesn’t put it into separate annex territory that may attract council tax unless you apply for an exemption? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DevilDamo Posted January 26, 2021 Share Posted January 26, 2021 10 hours ago, Andy H said: I am completing the build under permitted development and in order to get an internal ceiling height in the range of 3 to 3.25m I am excavating to allow the building to start underground. How much are you excavating, in excess of 1m? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy H Posted January 26, 2021 Author Share Posted January 26, 2021 26 minutes ago, DevilDamo said: How much are you excavating, in excess of 1m? It depends on the foundation specifcation but if I assume that the hardcore(20cm) insulation(20cm) and concetere slab(20cm) take up 0.6m and the roof takes up a minimum of 0.3m then to get an internal height of 3.25 metres and stay within permitted development rights of 2.5m I would require a depth of 1.65m. I am currently at 1.25m Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy H Posted January 26, 2021 Author Share Posted January 26, 2021 8 hours ago, newhome said: Welcome to the forum Have you checked that this doesn’t put it into separate annex territory that may attract council tax unless you apply for an exemption? The building is not going to be occupied in the sense that somebody will be living their. The 'kitchen'' will be a sink, kettle and microwave. Its likely to be in use 1-2 hours per day. In view of this do you think it is something I still need to be concerned about? I will do a little research myself as this is something I have never heared off - thanks for bringing it to my attention. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DevilDamo Posted January 26, 2021 Share Posted January 26, 2021 16 minutes ago, Andy H said: It depends on the foundation specifcation but if I assume that the hardcore(20cm) insulation(20cm) and concetere slab(20cm) take up 0.6m and the roof takes up a minimum of 0.3m then to get an internal height of 3.25 metres and stay within permitted development rights of 2.5m I would require a depth of 1.65m. I am currently at 1.25m That is quite some effort all in order to keep it within PD. I assume formal Planning wasn’t an option? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy H Posted January 26, 2021 Author Share Posted January 26, 2021 11 hours ago, Andy H said: I am new to self building and stumbled across your forum. I have spent a few days browsing various topics and am impressed by the quality of the advice, information and the kind manner in which it is given. Being new to self building at this stage I'm unlikely initially to be able to offer much advice to others but as my knowledge and experience grows I look forward to being able to contribute to others. I have chosen to start a blog ("Garden Escape") that records the journey of my first self build; a single storey building at the bottom of our garden that is intended to fulfill a number of functions - home gym, workshop, bicycle store and bolt hole - located in London I am completing the build under permitted development and in order to get an internal ceiling height in the range of 3 to 3.25m I am excavating to allow the building to start underground. This introduces additional complications and along with the building being close to the 3 neighbouring boundaries this seems quite a challenging project to undertake. I have plenty of time available to work on the project and along with a friends son I am aiming to minimise the amount of involvement of others to keep build cost down. I do recognise that I will need to pay for some skilled help and through this forum I will look for guidance on when that may be the case. The project started in the summer of 2020 by the removal of 2 trees and the excavation of a hole 12.5m by 6.5m by 1.2m deep, which is now shuttered up with plywood ready to restart in Spring 2021. I have appointed a Building Regulations inspector and had an initial site visit from a structural engineer (not yet appointed). The decisions I have so far made are: 1. Build using ICF either Isotex or Logix 2. Foundation to be Isoquick raft 3. Build in the principles of Passive housing but am not looking for cerification. 4. To build as close as practically possible to the neighbouring boundaries to maximise the building space. 5. The building is to include a toilet, shower and small kitchen facilities - mains drains approximately 40 meters away at the front of the house. I have done alot of reading up online in the last month and on this forum in the last couple of days but as you might expect I have a ton of questions. For now I would like feed back on the best way to get advice through the site. Should I post seperate questions into specific forums, put the queries through the blog, an initial post with all my current queries or message individual members whom appear experienced with the specific queries? Kind regards Andy Having thought I had decided on Isoquick I have come across many recomendations for Kore so I have asked for a quote from Kore. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy H Posted January 26, 2021 Author Share Posted January 26, 2021 18 minutes ago, DevilDamo said: That is quite some effort all in order to keep it within PD. I assume formal Planning wasn’t an option? Planning was an option but I wouldnt have wanted to go much above 2.5m above the garden level as the building would be too dominating in the garden. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newhome Posted January 26, 2021 Share Posted January 26, 2021 51 minutes ago, Andy H said: The building is not going to be occupied in the sense that somebody will be living their. The 'kitchen'' will be a sink, kettle and microwave. Its likely to be in use 1-2 hours per day. In view of this do you think it is something I still need to be concerned about? I will do a little research myself as this is something I have never heared off - thanks for bringing it to my attention. If there isn’t really a kitchen then I doubt that it could be classified as an annex as I think it needs to have a kitchen and a bathroom. Definitely worth double checking however. I would call it a something that couldn’t possibly be construed as an annex. You know what neighbours are like ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DevilDamo Posted January 26, 2021 Share Posted January 26, 2021 50 minutes ago, Andy H said: Planning was an option but I wouldnt have wanted to go much above 2.5m above the garden level as the building would be too dominating in the garden. That’s fair enough. It does seem the more expensive way of going about it. Even if you were to be happy with a 3m height above ground level, which reduces excavation and costs. But you’re at that stage now so no point dwelling on it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ferdinand Posted January 26, 2021 Share Posted January 26, 2021 2 hours ago, Andy H said: The building is not going to be occupied in the sense that somebody will be living their. The 'kitchen'' will be a sink, kettle and microwave. Its likely to be in use 1-2 hours per day. In view of this do you think it is something I still need to be concerned about? I will do a little research myself as this is something I have never heared off - thanks for bringing it to my attention. You have to watch this - they are very hot on this, especially in London. They can catch you for Council Tax with far less than Dom Cummings did. But there is an exemption for "occupied by dependent family". But check very carefully. If it is capable of such occupation, you can end up with Council Tax even when empty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joe90 Posted January 27, 2021 Share Posted January 27, 2021 Can the “kitchen” not be added afterwards!!,!, call it a cupboard for now ?. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyT Posted January 27, 2021 Share Posted January 27, 2021 Yep, with waste, water and power services under the kick plate hidden from view Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy H Posted January 27, 2021 Author Share Posted January 27, 2021 Thanks Joe90 and TonyT 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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