Diary - Saving £1500

So it looks like the heating is going to cost us around £2500+VAT to fix. I’ll add an entry itemising what gets installed and why later.

But it isn’t all bad. We got a call from a friend that knew of a house that was going to get levelled by developers to build 7 flats. Most of the interior was going to a clearing company but she could bare to see her range cooker go to vultures. So calling on a ‘man with a van’ we grabbed a Rangemaster dual fuel double oven for the princely sum of £50.

Moral of the story….swallow your pride and grab what you can.

Diary Kitchen

Diary - New heating system is needed

When we bought the house we negotiated £10,000 off the price to pay for the new heating system. We knew it wouldn’t last - The survey said so, the plumber we got to check it over said so and, to the sellers credit, he said so. But we thought it would last until we started the renovation so that we could plan the installation into the build plan and prevent extra costs of multiple visits from the plumbers.

Unfortunately the boiler died yesterday. No heating, no hot water and to add salt to the wound – it started to snow. We called in our trusted plumbers, Abbey Boilers, and they gave it the final rights. We’ve used Abbey Boilers in the past to sort leaks and replacements of hot water tanks etc. You know you are on to a winning company when they advise you on ways to get things done cheaper without compromising quality or safety and advised us not to throw money after bad hardware.

We have been quoted £2300 to install the new boiler, emersion heater and pumps. The boss is paying a visit on Thursday to talk through the possibility of installing the entire system before the renovation starts. Luckily we know the new layout of the house and the configuration of the first floor. This should make planning the new system easier. We can provisionary install the plumbing to the first floor ready for it to be plumbed in when the building starts and still have the new system working for the ground floor. We know where the new boiler can go as we know where the utility room will be.

So until the 12th of February we will live in a very cold house with no hot running water…joy.

Diary Plumbing

Tips regarding Planning Permission

1. Eight weeks is the target that most planning offices aim for to arrive at a decision.

2. A little known fact is that you don’t need to own the plot – you can apply for planning consent on any land.

3. If you feel that the result isn’t going to be favourable, you can withdraw you proposal and resubmit it another time without incurring extra costs. You are also not restricted by the amount of proposals you submit.

4. You don’t need to include you nieghbours but it certainly help if you pay a visit to explain your ideas and talk through the plans. The final decision isn’t effected by their objections though.

5. Land with planning permission is worth more than land without. So even if you don’t go ahead with your plans and decide to sell– add this to the valuation.

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Tips on finding your Architect

1. Get recommendations from friends/ family
2. ‘Interview’ the architect - it’s important you get along
3. Look for creativity in their past work
4. Don’t be bullied by them - it’s your house
5. Don’t forget to compare costs.We scouted about asking friends and family if they could recommend anyone. We also got in touch with some trusted builders to ask them who they used. We got 4 firms around to see the space, talk to us about their ideas and give us an idea on how expensive it would be.

We were stunned how reluctant architects are in sketching or even talking through their ideas. What we were looking for apart from reasonable cost was inventiveness and a clear understanding of the space. The first company – Loftplan – was a company we used on our last house to convert the loft. They impressed us with total professionalism, patience in waiting for us to commit without getting pushy and willingness to discuss every aspect the project. They draw up the plans, explained the process of planning and building and even introduced us to the builders who were going to work on the project. For loft conversions I would highly recommend them, but this project isn’t just a loft conversion and their quote was way over budget - £48,000 for the shell only

The second company was econo loft. The sent of a draftsmen (women) who arrived with smiles and promises at 7pm. She made us sit with her as she sketched her ideas out and it took man handling to get her out of our house at 12.30am. I can not stress how angry I was with this company and late apology from their smarmy MD didn’t help. Don’t touch econo loft

The third was an independent recommended by a builder friend. He was professional and would have done what we asked, and that’s where the plan lay. He didn’t show any creativity or to quote consultants – he didn’t think out of the box. He was also quite expensive for what he was offering. In short the cost would have been around £3000 for a drawing for the planning office and a building regulation plan.

So we went for another draftsmen that was recommended to us. Ignoring the fact he could talk the hind legs off a donkey (in a friendly way not sales way) he instantly offered new ideas that other, including ourselves, hadn’t thought of. He explained the planning process, payment process and sketched out ideas there and then. He didn’t get precious about changing the first draft and kept us in the loop regarding the talks between himself and the planning office. The total cost will be £1800 which includes the building regulation drawing taking us to the building stage. Details can be found on the proposal plan.

Other articles you may want to look at:
channel4
www.architecture.com
RIBA

Diary - The first hurdle - planning permission is granted

POP - the champers is on ice. We have the go ahead from the planning office. The official line is -

Decision: Certificate of Lawfulness Granted
Decision Date: 01/15/2007

So onward with the building plans.

Cost so far - £800 for the proposal plans

here’s the letter of consent

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