How do I bathroom / kitchen / extension? etc.

Planning: Next door is about as good a precedent you can have for planning assuming your design doesn't look to reinvent the wheel too much!

Dormer city.

Getting permission for a dormer plus extra room on the back should be a formality. I'm chancing my arm a bit with the addition of a small roof terrace (suitably set back from the rear wall) but my understanding is Harringey have recently started allowing them for flats. Permission was granted recently for one a couple of streets away almost identical to what I'm after.

My scaffolding all came through my flat. Downstairs weren't too keen on it going through theirs (unsurprisingly given scaffolders' famous dedication to minimising damage) and taking through upstairs was actually a straight run rather than having to try and take it round corners.

You probably need to have a look at your lease and work out exactly what you are entitled to and what issues you may have from non-co-operation. I'd think the only real issue would be around being able to put the scaffolding in the garden (particularly if you're planning to start during summer).

From the planning side I'd guess the part that would be most at risk, if he can put forward a coherent argument, would be the roof terrace.

Not ideal but have you thought about giving him some money for the inconvenience.

There's no way they'd get scaffolding through downstairs here. I'd anticipated the rear scaffolding going over the roof once the front was up.

Am sure it would only affect the side return, which isn't used other than for hanging washing. The rest of the garden is pretty neglected so they can't claim that as an inconvenience.

Don't think the roof terrace would have any impact at all on the ground floor flat. I can see more of the garden from my kitchen window than I would from up there.

Some compensation for alternative accomodation may be a way forward, but I'm not about to have the piss taken out of me (other than by the freeholder obvsly). He's actually away from home frequently anyway, often for extended periods. The more I think about this situation the more it feels like he's getting worked up at the prospect of it rather than the reality. But then again, I don't have long covid.

How much money do you roughly need to trim to make this feasible?

Next door renovated an entire house including the addition of a loft conversion in late 2020/early 21 which he claims severely impacted his recovery.

What a dickhead

I'm genuinely more sympathetic than that. Despite appearing physically ok he used to be a very good runner but has been reduced to short daily walks, so I certainly don't doubt that the long covid thing is real and that he has genuine symptoms.

However - planning permission and freeholder faff aside - as the owner of this flat I feel I have the right to go ahead with it, and the expectation of me to simply abandon the whole thing is totally unreasonable.

I increasingly feel like the onus is on him to find an alternative to being there while work is happening. It's not like the place will become unhabitable, just a bit noisy from 8am to 4pm for a couple of months.

His COVID story won't make any difference to the consideration of the planning application.

Whether someone is Ill and will be pissed off about a proposed development isn't a factor relevant for consideration under the national planning policy framework.

Has he stated the specific reasons the renovations will hamper his recovery?

That's what I was hoping, appreciate the reassurance.

Chronic migraines, which would be exacerbated by the noise.

My current take is that he's likely do himself more harm by objecting than just finding a way to deal with the fact that it will most likely happen.

Personally feel much better than I did when I read his email this afternoon. Thanks all.

I agree that I don't think his ailments will have any sway on your planning applications.

I do think you should make an effort to communicate with him. Endeavour to make it clear that you'll try to mitigate his concerns.

Saniflos are absolutely shite, the reliability is so crap on them although they do now have like a pro version out now that’s about 700 quid. It’s meant to be better

For professional shitters.

I had a turboflush in my last houses ensuite. It was there for 5 years, I even Airbnb'd the loft out a good few times when we were away - it never missed a beat and never gave me any issues

It is annoying when it goes off though. Just make sure you clean and descale it regularly with the right solution.

Just gonna pop this here

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😮‍💨😮‍💨😮‍💨

Smashed the budget and economised on speaker cable?…

One of those statements is true

Actually both true. That speaker cable is like 50p/m

My cousin laughed at me for having a cupboard dedicated to the highchair but I think it’s a great solution.

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Love stuff like this. Custom little bits that just make sense in use.

Surely a Triptrap is a status peice to be displayed? You wouldn't put your MBP in a draw, would you?

Jokes aside, isn't it a faff having to take it out while your kid screams at you for their food, then (I assume) clean it before you put it back along with all the other tidying up?

That said I admire the diligence, and once your kid can sit on a normal chair you have the space for something else like crafts.

Anyway...

.... what glue should I buy for an engineered wood floor install?

I've seen Sika T55 recommended, but it's pretty pricy and a faff to find. Screwfix has Bostik. Any thoughts or experience?

Cheers.

Out of curiosity what sort of catches do you have on the doors?

Remind me - did you do with Dinesen for your floors or someone else?

No catches just soft close hinges on that one.