Owning your own home

I remember my mum stripping a fire place like this when I was young. She used a chemical treatment and when all the paint was off it, left a 50cm green scar on across the front, got a bit upset with it going wrong etc. Anyway later, we were on holiday in Wales at an old slate mine and it turned out lots of the slates had green scars running through it. Got to have pizza hut that first night :)

So maybe it's slate rather than granite?

Likely to be slate. http://www.vicfires.com/13_original_mantel/m290.html

As someone who's spent the last four years in litigation with my freeholder that gives me the cold shivers. That'd expose so much space for our (aggressive third party offshore) freeholder to operate. I imagine with absent or uninterested freeholders its a manageable risk but by lord it's not a position I'd be comfortable in.

Question; strip it back to black or stay with white?

Glue gun some diamanté onto it. Mantlejazzle is very 2022.

Thanks, useful reading that again. As @Dammit said to me, the analogy of a bin bag over a goretex jacket has put me off. But I just want the fucking work done!!! They need to do the work I want to be able to apply their Super Jizz, but I doubt I could just kick them off site at that point.

Have two more folks coming over to quote today (and a carpet fitter - sod's law they all show up at once).

The control panel for our central heating/ hot water has started turning itself off after a few minutes of running. Flicking the fused switch next to it off and on again brings it back to life only for it to go off again shortly after. The fuse in the switch isn't being blown so my first thought is the control panel is on the blink. It looks pretty old, a Honeywell ST699B1002 and I wonder if this is the likely suspect or if something else in the heating system might be affecting it. Having said that I wouldn't expect the panel to go off completely if it was, possibly just turn off the heating or something.

Any thoughts? Next question would be, if it is the panel, is it a diy job to fit a new control panel or best left to a electrican? Thanks

is it a diy job to fit a new control panel or best left to a electrican

I replaced my existing control panel when I installed Tado. It was basically like wiring a plug. But the Tado kit came with very detailed instructions (online) for swapping out my specific unit. Labels to put on the wires with numbers and then "put 1 here, 2 there, 3 here" etc and it was all screw terminals.

I imagine it's even easier if it's a like for like swap, but still something that no-one would blame you for getting someone in to do

If you can get the same model control panel I'd just DIY it but that's me.

I did this when our underfloor heating controller died.

Did miss a setting that was controlled by a jumper that meant it was using the air temp thermostat rather than the floor temp thermostat which was problematic with the controller in the airing cupboard along with our boiler and hot waster tank...

I think in Scotland as long as any part of building that is within 1m of boundary is under 2.5m, it's permitted development.
https://www.mygov.scot/build-shed-garage-greenhouse

The permitted development rules for an ancillary building are:
it's located at the back of the house
it's not used as a separate home to live in
it, and any other development, does not take up half or more of the 'curtilage' – this means half or more of the grounds behind your home
it's not higher than 4 metres at the highest point
any part that's a metre or less from the boundary is no higher than 2.5 metres
the eaves (the part where the wall meets the roof) is no higher than 3 metres
if the land is in a conservation area or in the grounds of a listed building, the ancillary building has a footprint of less than 4 square metres

Speak to the planning officer. They can tell you right away.

Thanks, I read through that link last night.
It would seem that their garage is definitely less than 1 meter from the boundary.
I’m going to contact the planning officer today to see what’s what.

I of course realise that I couldn’t realistically ask/tell my neighbours their garage needs to come down. Going by the info given here, the time has passed anyway since it’s been there for about 20 years.

I just need to figure out if I can rebuild it with the wall back in the same place. If the wall had to come further back then it would cease to be a double garage really.
I’ll never have two cars in there but the space will be used for my work in the future and I absolutely can’t lose any of the space.
It seems worst case scenario I’ll be going down the the extensive repairs loophole.

Assuming Scotland is similar to England & Wales in this respect, you would also need to consider Building Control regs (which the planning office may have no idea about).

In E&W, if an outbuilding is <1m from the boundary, and over 15 sqm, it is subject to regs (this goes up to 30 sqm if > 1m from the boundary, iirc).

Re: selling without planning - a decent conveyancer would recommend doing nothing, other than buying indemnity insurance (which would cost <£100) - otherwise you risk opening up a can of worms for everyone, with no valid reason.

Second chap seemed more sensible (still awaiting the quote), outfit #3 due in 45 min.

How long does something have to have been complete for, for building control to not have to sign it off? I'm assuming there's a limit or Building Control would be telling people in thatched cottages to fit firedoors, but that's an assumption.

We used Peelaway on our cast iron fireplaces. Very effective but messy and time consuming if you have a lot of ornate detailing. Yours look quite plain so should be easier and even if its not metal this stuff will work well. You will need to be careful with your newly laid floorboards though as you need to use water to wash down the surfaces after you've removed the paint.

I don't there is a time limit. Building works have to meet the regulations at the time. The rules when a 17th century thatched cottage were built were different.

I'm sure someone else can give more detail, but I think building control can only serve an enforcement notice up to a year after work is finished. There other routes they can take (injunctions and straight up prosecution) but think they are rarely if ever used. In other words if you are planning some dodgy work, make sure you do it more than a year before you plan to sell, then you can just buy a useless indemnity policy...

Building control only makes sure that the standard of building is up to current spec, not whether you are allowed to do something though, doesn't it?

LABC in UK are pretty good at answering questions, so I'd imagine the same for LABSS. Those would be my two calls, LABSS and local planning officer, rather than focusing on the neighbours garage.

Other than a 'Hi Neighbour, did you want to re-render your external wall whilst I'm rebuilding garage.'

I think it's 12 months.

Building regulation enforcement has to be within 24 months of completion according to https://www.planningportal.co.uk/info/200128/building_control/38/building_regulations/3

Hi Neighbour, did you want to re-render your external wall whilst I'm rebuilding garage.

Ha! Funny you say this as I had thought about an offer like that.

Their wall looks like it’s never actually been rendered. I’d guess it because there’s no bloody space left to do the job properly!

I was just out looking at the rubble there. Photo of the part that’s bricked it all in.
The more I look at it the more I think I could maybe just break down those bricks and start a very slow process is dragging it all out bit by bit.
The rubble is about waist high we’re the photo is taken and lowers towards the front. The gap at front is much narrower though.

4 Attachments

Bigger issue is that without a completion certificate, selling may be very difficult.

I'm assuming there's a limit or Building Control would be telling people in thatched cottages to fit firedoors, but that's an assumption.

In general, contemporary regs are applied (a bit like an MOT).

congrats on your flat retaining an original fireplace. Ward Antique Fireplaces are just down the road and are generous with advice on care/restoration of these things if you fancy a walk.

Bigger issue is that without a completion certificate, selling may be very difficult.

Sure but no specific time limit there and down to the risk appetite of the buyers, what their plans are etc. Some buyers want an old house with all the paperwork and assurances of a new build and are crazy IMHO.

My parents have been in the same house for 50 years and have done loads of things over the years. I expect I'll sell it after they die. I don't think the odds of me finding the building regulations sign off for various things that needed it 30+ years ago are high. I don't think it will have any impact on selling the house. Maybe I'm wrong, I'll report back one day.

That's more an issue for things like a house with a DIY loft conversions being sold and valued as a 3 bed, when it's actually a 2 bed.

I moved some doors around 7/8 years ago, removed a wall, and moved the kitchen from one end of the flat to the other. I paid for the permit from the freeholder/got their permissions, but never got building control sign-off, because I didn't realise I needed it. If of course I need it.