Recent content by wessex101

Language is important. In your first post you said you "converted" the 2 attic rooms. So you can hardly be surprised that the estate agent is querying the need for planning permission. It now turns out that you didn't convert the rooms you simply carried out some maintenance/repairs. No planning...

Even if it is a more recent loft conversion to the flat do internal alterations actually require planning permission? I think not. Only external alterations such as installation of roof windows etc.

It is not my area of expertise but generally I believe for Business Rates you can apply for a rate reduction or exemption whilst the the building is undergoing extensive building work. I did some work for a valuation surveyor many years ago who specialised in Business Rates appeals and he...

I think the reference to the structural engineer is because the OP is in Scotland. Don't they have that strange system where all building regulations applications need to be self certified by a structural engineer? I have a nasty feeling that England wants to go down a similar route with the new...

From the photos there do not appear to be any branch waste pipes connecting to the stack so why do you want to fit an external AAV? It only needs to be above the lowest sanitary appliance so maybe you could fit it on the ground floor below the flat roof? Unless I'm missing something?

The only way is to look, so a boroscope or remove a brick. If the damp is due to lack of stopends then the damp tends to be concentrated towards the ends of the tray. If the damp is below the middle of the tray then it is unlikely to be due to this.

Does the cavity tray have stopends? It is surprisingly common to be missed so water runs off the ends of the tray in to the wall cavity rather than out the weep holes.

You do not make it clear whether the amended drawings are actually incorrect. It is not unusual for the drawings to be amended during the preparation of the award to reflect changes or corrections of errors. The original drawing shows a step in the flank wall of your existing extension and the...

What paperwork? The deeds do not need to be updated. Stop fixating on irrelevant details.

@Nomadic78 Your response is still confused and jumbled. The party wall process does not work in the way you have described and you keep contradicting yourself or changing the details. I am beginning to think that the wall in question could well be a Type A party wall. In all probability if all...

That's not how it works. The Party Wall Award is driven by the Building Owners surveyor, the adjoining owner's surveyor usually just has a watching brief to check and agree what the building owners surveyor is doing. Earlier you said that you had your own surveyor or are you in fact both using...

Hang on a minute. Why would the surveyor visit the other neighbour unless he was touting for work? Sounds to me like this is a rogue surveyor who is trying to inflate his fee. It would be interesting to know how your first neighbour found them, it wasn't from a unsolicited letter following a...

Over the years I've worked on a number of different public sector contracts, NHS, MOD, local authority, housing associations etc. The one common thread that runs through all of them is the staggering levels of waste, bureaucracy and institutional incompetence. Anything that is touched by the...

Bit of a long shot but it looks like the house is split level? What is the height of the loft floor above the highest external ground level? Is it less than 4.5m by any chance?

Are you installing new rooflights forming a new opening in to the roof or replacing existing rooflights? That Fakro link it just plain wrong, they don't even know the difference between Building Regulations and Planning Permission. Try this link, Planning Portal is much more reliable and is...