Any interest in a build thread?

Right2Write

hanksy123 wrote: »

It's all down to money! Exterior insulation is expensive. Most of the exterior walls are dry lined but the job was a bit of a bodge so it will be coming down. I'll prob end you going down the dry lining. Waiting for a call back from an engineer. I'm going to get him out to see which walls are structural so I can know what I can knock. Started getting prices for windows today as well. Once I do all the quantity surveying it will be full steam ahead.

Exterior insulation is expensive but it's by far the better solution. Look carefully at how to do the dry lining. One of the problems with a solid wall, is that rain water hits the outside, some soaks in and then evaporates back out. That's the theory, but some level of moisture will penetrate through. If you trap this between the inside surface of the wall and any timber for dry lining, eventually the timber rots. I think your best solution lies in plaster slabs that are insulated and have a vapour barrier etc. This are fixed direct to the wall. I've not done it, but from what I've seen, that would probably work best but get advice from others and manufacturers.

Structural walls? If you have access to attic space, just have a look to where the ceiling joists are resting on. It'll be the exterior walls but also possibly some interior walls. In our older house, the chimney even support some. These walls supporting the ceiling joists or other structural roof timbers are the ones to be taken into account.

lgk

hanksy123 wrote: »

Planning to widen a gate? Do you need it? They'll have some job getting me to put it back up...anyway, I didn't build anything. I knocked something down, I'd be very surprised if that pillar was a listen structure.

Yeah, you need permission to widen an entrance. If they find out and decide to act, refusing will land you in an expensive legal mess.

It's most likely if/when you go to sell that this might become an issue. Any decent solicitor acting for a buyer will seek evidence that any work carried out meets the building regs and anything that required planning is in order.

Corbally

I was planning on widening the gate by around 18 inches and moving the pillars back and putting up a new gate. I'll have to get planning for the extension so I'll add it into it then. Thanks for the heads up. Never ever thought of planning.

Corbally

Slow and steady progress. More weeding and grass trimming today and I hung a gate. It's a farm gate and I'll put timber on the front to make it look a bit smarter. 100 for a 12' gate in Stradbally. Found a hardware place with decent prices.
I'll put up a picture when Iget near a laptop.

Corbally

Picture of new gate. It's temporary and I'll be reusing it in the back garden. I have a trailer there that I don't want to go missing. I'm going to screw timber to the front so it will look a bit better. It's bolted into the pier but the pier is made with 4" blocks so not sure if it's strong enough. I'll have to keep an eye on it.
20161010_174120.jpg

These are my new curtains, again it's a temporary job. I messed up here. I was tired and rushed so bought them in a hurry. The quality of the curtains are good but they're a few inches short so I had to hang the rail really low. The rail is really bad quality as well. It cost me €40 so wasn't expecting it to be so bad. Lesson learned for the future.
I also had big screws and wall plugs to hang the rail. I forgot totally about the dry lining and didn't have fittings for plaster board so the rail is a bit precarious. Another mistake chalked up.
20161011_192749.jpg

20161011_192819 (1).jpg

The house is dry and fairly warm considering there's very little insulation. I had 2 leaking radiators that I've fixed but not sure if they will hold up or not.

I was planning on pulling down the dry lining when I decided what way I was going to insulate and it's a good thing too. I've noticed some rust running down the skirting where it's nailed to the wall so there must be damp behind the dry lining.

I measured and drew and was pricing an L shaped extension with a court yard and 8ft windows to capture the sun light. I didn't factor in 'Certification of Compliance' to building regs. I had assumed an electrician would certify his work and a plumber would certify the plumbing etc but from what I've read I need a chartered engineer or surveyor to do multiple site visits and charge me a fortune.
I've read a few conflicting articles on this. First I read that any extension over 400 sq ft needs to be certified. Can't understand why they picked a figure in feet instead of meters but whatever. The extension I had planned would come in about 50 ft too big so back to the drawing board.
I read another article saying if the extension is under 40sq m I can opt out of certification but that can cause issues down the line with insuring or selling the building.
I had an engineer booked to call out on Monday but I got called into work so had to blow him off. I'll get him out next week and grill him about the new regs and what I can and can't do.

FrancieBrady

hanksy123 wrote: »

Picture of new gate. It's temporary and I'll be reusing it in the back garden. I have a trailer there that I don't want to go missing. I'm going to screw timber to the front so it will look a bit better. It's bolted into the pier but the pier is made with 4" blocks so not sure if it's strong enough. I'll have to keep an eye on it.
20161010_174120.jpg

These are my new curtains, again it's a temporary job. I messed up here. I was tired and rushed so bought them in a hurry. The quality of the curtains are good but they're a few inches short so I had to hang the rail really low. The rail is really bad quality as well. It cost me €40 so wasn't expecting it to be so bad. Lesson learned for the future.
I also had big screws and wall plugs to hang the rail. I forgot totally about the dry lining and didn't have fittings for plaster board so the rail is a bit precarious. Another mistake chalked up.
20161011_192749.jpg

20161011_192819 (1).jpg

The house is dry and fairly warm considering there's very little insulation. I had 2 leaking radiators that I've fixed but not sure if they will hold up or not.

I was planning on pulling down the dry lining when I decided what way I was going to insulate and it's a good thing too. I've noticed some rust running down the skirting where it's nailed to the wall so there must be damp behind the dry lining.

I measured and drew and was pricing an L shaped extension with a court yard and 8ft windows to capture the sun light. I didn't factor in 'Certification of Compliance' to building regs. I had assumed an electrician would certify his work and a plumber would certify the plumbing etc but from what I've read I need a chartered engineer or surveyor to do multiple site visits and charge me a fortune.
I've read a few conflicting articles on this. First I read that any extension over 400 sq ft needs to be certified. Can't understand why they picked a figure in feet instead of meters but whatever. The extension I had planned would come in about 50 ft too big so back to the drawing board.
I read another article saying if the extension is under 40sq m I can opt out of certification but that can cause issues down the line with insuring or selling the building.
I had an engineer booked to call out on Monday but I got called into work so had to blow him off. I'll get him out next week and grill him about the new regs and what I can and can't do.

Know nothing about curtains but I would reckon a tap of a hammer on that block of wood holding the gate would have it open in a second. In fact, moisture getting in through the open end grain might see it fail around the fixings very quickly. Just a thought. Could you not get some iron work/bracket that will bolt directly to the wall?

Corbally

FrancieBrady wrote: »

Know nothing about curtains but I would reckon a tap of a hammer on that block of wood holding the gate would have it open in a second. In fact, moisture getting in through the open end grain might see it fail around the fixings very quickly. Just a thought. Could you not get some iron work/bracket that will bolt directly to the wall?

I know it's not the most secure gate in the world but I'm bringing my dogs to the house in the next few days so it will keep them in. They've been living in my mothers.
If someone has a genuine reason for calling in they can drive into the front garden and knock on the front door without having to go past the dogs. Without the gate the back was wide open so anyone could drive in and behind the house.

FrancieBrady

hanksy123 wrote: »

I know it's not the most secure gate in the world but I'm bringing my dogs to the house in the next few days so it will keep them in. They've been living in my mothers.
If someone has a genuine reason for calling in they can drive into the front garden and knock on the front door without having to go past the dogs. Without the gate the back was wide open so anyone could drive in and behind the house.

Well if security isn't a huge issue - protect those end grains, water will ingress and the block will split. Try siliconing a cap of anything rubber or even light metal onto it.

Corbally

I have great plans to make a steel bracket but in the mean time I might lash a bit of epoxy onto it. Thanks for pointing it out. I think of the timber splitting.

seamus

lgk wrote: »

Yeah, you need permission to widen an entrance. If they find out and decide to act, refusing will land you in an expensive legal mess.

Can you provide a link to the specific regs for this which define what an "entrance" is?

You don't need planning permission to remove or erect a boundary wall. So what's the difference if you knock a wall and then erect a slightly shorter one in its place?

Or knock the wall completely and erect nothing in its place?

What defines the "entrance" from the planning point of view?

Right2Write

seamus wrote: »

Can you provide a link to the specific regs for this which define what an "entrance" is?

You don't need planning permission to remove or erect a boundary wall. So what's the difference if you knock a wall and then erect a slightly shorter one in its place?

Or knock the wall completely and erect nothing in its place?

What defines the "entrance" from the planning point of view?

In my experience, issues around entrances normally arise at planning permission stage for a new building or substantial extension and change to site layout. It's an aspect that the planner and roads dept. etc., consider when an application like above is being reviewed. This is for obvious safety reasons. Once an entrance is established as safe and appropriate, I don't know what issues arise thereafter. In above case, the entrance is being widened a little but that arguably makes it safer.

There would be a clear issue if there was no entrance to the front garden and a brand new one was being opened up. But that's not the case here. Personally I doubt there are any problems but if I were the OP, I'd have a wee chat with the neighbours and make sure they're happy. More than likely, they won't even have thought about it.

lgk

seamus wrote: »

Can you provide a link to the specific regs for this which define what an "entrance" is?

You don't need planning permission to remove or erect a boundary wall. So what's the difference if you knock a wall and then erect a slightly shorter one in its place?

Or knock the wall completely and erect nothing in its place?

What defines the "entrance" from the planning point of view?

See here, for example. They're not going to define an entrance under planning legislation, the meaning is well understood.

Again, the exemption for boundary walls has criteria attached to state exactly what you can do without planning permission. The Acts contain a number of sections that deal with exempted development, if a change/development is not explicitly listed as being exempt, then planning is required.

seamus

lgk wrote: »

They're not going to define an entrance under planning legislation, the meaning is well understood.

Is it though?

Let's take a farm with a hedge all along the road edge and a gated entrance.

The hedge comes down. Has the "entrance" been widened? I would say not, especially since the farmer is still only going to use the same access point to get into the field.

But more specifically in an urban/suburban setting, the "entrance" typically takes the form of a dished part of the path which the vehicle is driven over to access the property.

In this case, the location of any boundary wall or pillars is irrelevant - the "entrance" to the property is still the dished part of the path. If they remove the walls, they're not going to start driving up a kerb to access their property. So the width of the "entrance" doesn't change unless the householder actually changes the (council-owned) path.

So IMO it's a mistake to say that the meaning of "entrance" is well understood. Since the definition of the word "entrance" is not necessarily contingent on the existence of border walls or pillars. If you remove the walls but vehicular traffic still uses the same 2m-wide track/road/concrete as the entrance, have you widened anything?

lgk

seamus wrote: »

But more specifically in an urban/suburban setting, the "entrance" typically takes the form of a dished part of the path which the vehicle is driven over to access the property.

In this case, the location of any boundary wall or pillars is irrelevant - the "entrance" to the property is still the dished part of the path.

Sticking to an urban setting, the entrance width/ position of piers will be established in the planning granted. Knocking the piers would effectively widen that opening, and as such would not be allowed without planning.

Right2Write

lgk wrote: »

See here, for example. They're not going to define an entrance under planning legislation, the meaning is well understood.

But that's Dublin City Council. What local authority covers the OPs area?

As far as I know, urban requirements as regards entrances are somewhat different to rural ones.

For example, take a street with front suburban gardens and on street paid parking. The local authority will take a dim view of any resident breaking or widening an opening into their front garden so as to provide parking there. Now the entrance cannot be blocked or parked on and leaving aside the visual impact, they lose revenue.

Rural areas, it's more about road safety. Is there an adequate sight line for people pulling out of the house entrance onto the public road. Is the entrance too close to a bend etc. Usually a splay is required at the entrance, wider than the actual road leading in, to enhance visibility. In this sense, the wider the entrance, the safer it is, as it's the adjoining ditches that obscure visibility and create a hazard.

Corbally

The entrance is on a rural road, on a bend with lunatic drivers. I widened it because if you're approaching with the house on your left you need to swing out accross the white line to get in. It's safer now. I am going to make it wider again but before I do I'll bell the CoCo and see what they say.

Corbally

I've just had an epiphany. The last week or two I've had a bit of a sore throat and I'm starting to get a rash on my face. I've never suffered with a rash or allergies so it's odd. I think there's mould in the house!!
It seems pretty obvious now but I didn't put two and two together. I'm going to strip one of the rooms tonigh and see what I find. Carpets, skirting, wallpaper and dry lining will be ripped out.
Anyone have advice for what to do if I find a big mould growth behind the dry lining? Wash it with bleach and wait and see if it grows back?

Stoner

hanksy123 wrote:

I've just had an epiphany. The last week or two I've had a bit of a sore throat and I'm starting to get a rash on my face. I've never suffered with a rash or allergies so it's odd. I think there's mould in the house!! It seems pretty obvious now but I didn't put two and two together. I'm going to strip one of the rooms tonigh and see what I find. Carpets, skirting, wallpaper and dry lining will be ripped out. Anyone have advice for what to do if I find a big mould growth behind the dry lining? Wash it with bleach and wait and see if it grows back?

Look at a ventilation solution.

bonzodog2

Are you sleeping there? Are the rads on a lot, or using dehumidifier? These can cause respiratory symptoms, maybe skin too.

Right2Write

hanksy123 wrote: »

I've just had an epiphany. The last week or two I've had a bit of a sore throat and I'm starting to get a rash on my face

There's a dose like that going around, time of the year for it with the change of seasons and temps, know plenty of people with similar symptoms. So don't necessarily jump to conclusions

Corbally

Rads are on a normal amount. I've left the windows open all day every day but the house has been empty for a few years. The clue for me was the rust weeping from the nails holding on the skirting.
I've a sore throat in the morning and by the time I get to work it's fine. When I get home it starts to get sore again. The dry lining is a bad job anyway so it would have been coming down at some stage. It can move a bit at the bottom so not sure what the story is. You can push it in a bit towards the wall and pull it out a bit.

FrancieBrady

Nailheads will rust, what kind of paint was used on skirtings?

TopTec

hanksy123 wrote: »

The clue for me was the rust weeping from the nails holding on the skirting.
The dry lining is a bad job anyway so it would have been coming down at some stage. It can move a bit at the bottom so not sure what the story is. You can push it in a bit towards the wall and pull it out a bit.

You are going in the right direction Hanksy. Solve the damp problems first. It took about 8 months to fully dry out the cottage I bought. Although mine was a lot worse and a lot older. Plenty of ventilation and a little warmth will be the key. Just living in the property will help. You often see badly fitted slabs moving at the bottom, either insufficient fixing compound or saving on the mechanical fixings is usually the cause. Rip them off and see what you have to deal with underneath.

TT

lgk

Right2Write wrote: »

But that's Dublin City Council. What local authority covers the OPs area?

That was just as an example of one LA's verbiage. They all fall under the same rules in terms of widening not being allowed under exempted development, here's Clare CoCo's. Any of the LA guides I've seen make no differentiation between rural and urban.

Right2Write wrote: »

For example, take a street with front suburban gardens and on street paid parking. The local authority will take a dim view of any resident breaking or widening an opening into their front garden so as to provide parking there. Now the entrance cannot be blocked or parked on and leaving aside the visual impact, they lose revenue.

They may even refuse planning where there isn't paid parking, particularly in Dublin if the change would allow for extra parking that exceeds the densisty allowed for the area/ dwelling type under the City Development Plan.

Right2Write wrote: »

Rural areas, it's more about road safety. Is there an adequate sight line for people pulling out of the house entrance onto the public road. Is the entrance too close to a bend etc. Usually a splay is required at the entrance, wider than the actual road leading in, to enhance visibility. In this sense, the wider the entrance, the safer it is, as it's the adjoining ditches that obscure visibility and create a hazard.

Absolutely, I read a case in the last couple of years where a widening of a rural gateway encountered problems due to these more onerous requirements for sight-lines. In one particular case land had to be acquired from the adjoining property to comply. Some details here. I think this is where the OP needs to be careful, especially if the resulting entrance does not comply with the current regs.