The Improvement Blog

Escape to the Garden

Thu, 04 Mar 2010 10:27:00 GMT

Orchard Planning Solutions is very pleased to welcome Cabinville to the site. With an extensive range, Cabinville can build you a log cabin suitable for any purpose. Whether you need a home office, small cabin for potting, a garden retreat, or even a large log cabin for residential use, they have the one just right for you.

Cabinville pride themselves on designing custom built log cabins of the highest quality, with each design carefully thought out to ensure the best use of space. Whilst using wood only from a sustainable source, Cabinville use the highest quality fittings to ensure your log cabin is built to last. During their 30 years experience in the business their passion for what they do has earned them a first class reputation and can even boast ITV, Channel 4, and the BBC in their clientèle.

For more information why not visit their website: www.cabinville.co.uk

Orchard Planning Solutions welcomes David Acreman

Thu, 18 Feb 2010 12:09:00 GMT

Orchard Planning Solutions is pleased to welcome David Acreman to the site this month. David is the author of 'Field and Farm', a book demonstrating how to live, build property, and start a business on ordinary agricultural land in the UK, and all without planning permission! The book takes you through all the steps starting with a field and up to getting planning permission for a house. It tells you everything that you need to know making it possible to turn a relatively modest investment in agricultural land into a substantial asset, uncovering all the loopholes in the current planning system along the way!

David Acreman has been involved in planning for over 30 years in various capacities, mostly as a consultant to the agricultural industry, and has written to redress the balance between the planning system and the individual with regard to agricultural planning matters.The book cannot cover every circumstance or eventuality so for any questions the book doesn't answer, David is happy to answer your questions using an online forum: http://www.fieldtofarm.com/forum/.

Part 2 Confessions of a House Move - The Inside Story

Fri, 12 Feb 2010 18:09:00 GMT

After an anxious few days of waiting, our second offer has finally been accepted. The vendors initially rejected it, obviously hoping we would just keep on increasing our offer. We decided to leave it a few days and see what happened. Actually, we were so concerned that another potential buyer would view the house we had fallen in love with and offer more than us that we decided we would increase our offer to the full asking price. However, the waiting paid off and just before I called the agent to increase our offer, she rang me and asked in a worried tone if we were still interested. I read the signals and said that we were still interested but were not willing to increase our offer. Half an hour later she called back to say that the vendors would accept.

It's obviously a great moment when your offer is accepted, but it's best not to start celebrating until you put the key in the door as so much can go wrong. The first thing you have to do is chose a solicitor. In our case the estate agent recommended one that they use regularly. You could easily assume that this is because they get a cut of the fee which may be the case, but it is more than likely that they like to recommend one that they know from experience will do a good job. After all, they want the sale to complete smoothly as well.

It is worth negotiating on the solicitor's fee as in a tough market they will want your business. We told them we had received a much lower quote elsewhere (we hadn't) and they matched it immediately. Next begins the long process of waiting for all the searches to be done and signing documents. The other advantage we are finding of using a local solicitor is that you can easily drop off all the important documents by hand without having to rely on the postal service. The sale is unable to proceed any further until the solicitors have had some documents back so you don't want to be delayed by a postal strike. Our vendors have specified an exchange of contracts within 28 days of contracts going out which I am told is fairly standard. We will obviously be doing everything we can to ensure we meet this deadline.

How to Fight Back when it comes to Household Fuel Bills

Fri, 05 Feb 2010 10:43:00 GMT

A sure way to end light-hearted conversation is to mention household fuel bills and their meteoric rise over the past seven years. According to the comparison website moneysupermarket.com household bills have doubled since 2003. Fuel poverty is a real issue amongst the vulnerable and occurs when more than 10% of household income is dedicated to paying fuel bills. However, with a degree of guile and imagination, we can do our best to reduce our energy consumption in the following ways:-

Be savvy and search out competitive deals from other suppliers. There is nothing a service supplier likes more than a customer who is compliant and loyal to them. One thing I have begun to recognise in life is that there is little personal gain in being a loyal customer. Make your supplier be it your telephone provider or utility supplier work for their money and above all, take the time to search out more competitive deals. Also, avoid being caught in the trap of thinking that you have to stay with a supplier for a certain period of time. You can in some circumstances, change supplier after as little as 6 weeks for example but do check that the tariff you are on does not incur any penalties for doing this. I changed my dual fuel supplier last year and was rewarded with a more competitive tariff and Nectar bonus points which paid for my turkey!
Be Proactive and submit your meter readings. Again, we are all too comfortable in paying estimated bills which falls right into the hands of the utility supplier. If your gas and electricity meters are not regularly read, estimated readings mean that you could be paying more for gas or electricity than you actually use. More importantly, if you do not submit your own meter readings, you will not be entitled to a refund should you find you have overpaid.
Take the exercise and switch your appliance off at the plug. It is something we all do with unerring regularity and will ultimately cost us in the long run. Leaving appliance on standby is a real no no and can cost us up to £10 per month per appliance.
Invest in Mastic and Foam. If you feel a draft, that will often indicate a potential heat loss source. In this case, try if possible to seal any gaps by either using mastic or expandable foam.
Get those Curtains lined or shutters ordered. Sadly windows are one of the most efficient ways of losing heat from your property. This is a real issue if you live in a listed property with single pane windows and the potential to have them replaced not possible on historic building grounds.
Last but not least, wrap up warm and turn that thermostatic control down by 1 or 2 degrees.

If you have imaginative ways of reducing your fuel bills, we look forward to hearing them.

Living with Builders - Our Guide to Coping with Home Improvement Work

Sat, 16 Jan 2010 16:58:00 GMT

No matter how efficient the builders are and how much care is taken, construction can be a noisy and dust generating affair. From experience I know that in the good old days when the economy was booming, it was as rare as hens teeth to get your hands on a "reputable" builder and you were grateful that they could fit you into their schedule. Whilst this may be so, do not let them rule the roost; remember you are the client and they are working for you! You need to set out ground rules and I hope the following can help inform the agreement between you and your builder.

If you or your family members are usually at home during the day, why not think about living elsewhere or better still, going on holiday for a few days? Quite often this will not prove possible for various reasons so a certain level of inconvenience will have to be endured I am afraid. If this is the case, please bring it to the attention of the builder before work commences and try and ensure (an obvious point I know) that inconvenience is kept to a minimum.

Noise

Before work begins on site, make sure you establish with the builders what their working hours are. During the summer months (hehe), most builders like to be on site early and again, this may not be of convenience to your or indeed your neighbours. Therefore, I suggest you agree at the outset what the expected working hours will be and outside of these, the builder will have to seek your permission to extend those hours.

Similarly, builders like to listen to a radio when they work. Whilst you may not have any control over them listening to Classic FM, if this disturbs you or your neighbours (particularly if you are working from home) ask them for the volume to be kept low.

Dust

Where would you be without good old dust? No matter how big or small the job, it is likely that dust will be generated particularly if it involves disturbing the existing structure to your property. Whilst this is inevitable, the builders should take reasonable care and precautions by sealing off the area of work. The most effective way of doing this is by taping polythene sheets over doors and windows. If the builders do take this course of action, please be aware that the tape used to hold the sheets in place will in all probability result in existing painted surfaces being damaged and require redecoration when they are removed. Please recognise this and discuss this with your builder before work commences and agree what course of action will be taken to remedy this.

I suggest that where possible, you remove carpets and floor coverings or at the very least, they are covered in dust sheets. No matter how careful, dust will always be generated. Recently, I had work carried out which involved the creation of a new door opening and the sealing off of an existing one. I can hand on heart say that it was the first time in my life that I vacuumed twice a day for nearly 2 weeks. One tip I suggest is that water is sprinkled on concrete and timber floors before sweeping up.

Avoiding Obstruction

Yes, you may be grateful that the builder has finally arrived, but don't let them rule the roost. It is your home after all. Convenience for them does not necessarily mean convenience for you and can often be the case when it comes to on-site storage of materials. Whilst this is inevitable, ask the builder that safe and unobstructed access to your home is maintained whenever possible. This extends to their vans also. Disputes with neighbours can sometimes result form builders' vehicles blocking driveways or taking parking spaces in city streets. Where parking is of a premium, it may be that you will have to sacrifice your parking space in order to keep the peace.

Again, new build cannot happen without materials and these will by definition have to be delivered to site. As a matter of courtesy to all, please let your neighbours know when a delivery is to take place and ask neighbours if they can allow access.

Utilities

Unless the project is of a size that will warrant a portaloo, be prepared to have your bathroom visited by alien creatures. Whilst this cannot be avoided, make sure that walkways are properly protected from dirty footwear.

In this day of mobile phones, it is unlikely that the builder will need to use your telephone. However, it is worth pointing out that the phone can be used but not to track down football results or to wish Aunt Nellie in Australia a Happy Birthday.

The act of construction requires water and lots of it. Therefore, the builders will need regular access to water. If you haven't already, I suggest you have an outside tap fitted, not only to service the project but you will also find it invaluable when you are working outside in the future.

As the old adage goes Before Gain there is Pain. Your home will go through a metamorphism. Through the early stages when dust is everywhere and your home looks like a herd of wildebeest have taken up residence, you may question why did I ever bother. However, once the project has been completed, the nightmares of fruitless dust battles will be replaced by a sense of satisfaction.....Yes it was worth it in the end!

Please Remember:-

It is your home and the builder is working for you.
Construction is a dirty job and the creation of dust is inevitable.
Agree working hours.
Agree where materials should be stored on-site.
Make your neighbours aware that you will be having worked undertaken to your property.
Agree which toilet (if you are lucky to have more than one) can be used by the builder.
Agree if your phone can be used.

We are keen to hear of your experiences of living with builders.

Confessions of a House Move - The Inside Story

Sat, 16 Jan 2010 12:18:00 GMT

They say that moving house is one of the most stressful things that you do in your life. As a first time buyer trying to get on the first rung of the property ladder this year, I will be finding out if this is true over the next few weeks.

After spending years watching house prices climb every month at a rate faster than it would ever be possible to save, the recent property price crash probably came as a huge relief to most first time buyers. Initially as the market began to fall in 2007, some analysts said that it was not a property crash, merely a readjustment to realistic levels. As prices fell further and with the banking crisis and global economic downturn, the challenge became getting a mortgage agreed. In the height of the boom, banks were giving away mortgages to anyone who walked through the door, regardless of whether they were likely to be able to afford the repayments. Now they are far more cautious and most require a hefty deposit.

After spending several months looking on property websites such as Rightmove, my partner and I have finally found a house we liked the look of in the area we wanted. We went to the estate agent and arranged a viewing. We fell in love with the house straight away which I'd always been told you should never do as you risk lining yourself up for severe disappointment if things don't work out. Personally, I disagree with this and think that you should get a strong positive feeling from somewhere you're considering making your home and which is also the largest purchase you will ever make. The key is not to show the agent how keen you are.

We put an offer in the next day at a reasonable amount to show that we were serious but still a fair amount under the asking price. This was rejected straight away by the vendors who had no urgent need to move and were keen to get as close to the asking price as possible. The property has only been on the market 2 weeks and has already had several viewings. We were afraid that someone else would love the house as much as we did and better our offer so we got straight back to the agent with an increased offer. We now have the anxious wait to see if our offer will be accepted.

Eight Imaginative Ways to Save on Your Household Bills this Year

Sun, 10 Jan 2010 15:39:00 GMT

The current cold snap has once again brought the issue of utility prices back into the spotlight. With most of us still worrying about paying our Christmas debts, the sub zero temperatures have placed extra strain on our already stretched budgets with boilers working overtime in their attempt to keep us and our families warm. The following are easy and imaginative ways to save on our bills that doesn't mean we have to radically compromise on our lifestyle:-

Shop Around:- At least once if not twice a year, I will visit the fuel comparison web sites in the hope of finding an improved tariff that meets my needs. In order to assist you, I suggest you keep your utility bills as they can offer a more accurate way of comparing your present to other tariffs. Also, dual fuel tariffs together with paying by way of direct debit can assist in reducing your bill.
Get an Energy Monitor Installed:- Costing from anything as little as £30, a smart meter can be fitted to your home thereby allowing you to identify how much energy you are using and this is the clever bit, enable appliances to be set when power is cheapest. It is possible that some energy suppliers will provide them free on request or alternatively, you can buy one by visiting www.eco-eye.com
Get rid of the old boiler:- If your boiler is "G" rated of 70% efficiency or less, you may well be entitled to claim an allowance of £400 toward a new boiler. For more information, please contact the Energy Savings Trust on 0800 512 012.
Get Sewing:- Whilst double glazing is an efficient way to reduce heat loss through the fabric of your building, fitting heavy curtains is a cost effective way of reducing drafts.
Toilets:- As the saying goes, if it is yellow, let it mellow. A crude an inexpensive way of toilet flushing is investing in a bucket. I have one sitting in my shower and when I have a shower, I collect the water, which is not at temperature, and use that to flush the toilet with.
Think Shower, think eco shower head:- It is sobering to think that a power shower can use as much as 20 litres of water per minute. If like me, you do enjoy taking a shower, think of fitting an eco shower head which mixes water with air thereby saving you as much as 75% of water consumption.
Why heat all your rooms:- Simply keep those rooms you use heated and for the remaining rooms, turn the heating down to a minimum. In order to avoid drafts, why not close the doors to the rooms you do not use.
Fix the drips:- Did you know that a single dripping tap can waste up to 15 litres of water a day.

How to make the best of your home when extending may not be the answer

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 11:53:00 GMT

No matter how big our house or how much storage space we have, our desire for more room to expand into is insatiable. I wander round my house, open rooms only to find them quite literally bursting at the seams, so much so, I find it almost impossible to once again shut the chaos away. Yes, the answer is a “spring clean” on a scale never seen before but hey, I don't really want to get rid of stuff because I never know when it might come in useful.

So, what is the answer? With money as tight as the play-off places in the Blue Square, building an extension may not be the most cost -effective way to create more space. Creating space is all about imaginatively reviewing what space you have and how best you can use it. For example, you may have an attached garage that serves no purpose other than housing the chest freezer and recycle bins. By converting these existing spaces into habitable accommodation is often cheaper than building an extension that won't sacrifice any valuable outside space such as hard standing areas or garden for example. If you do not have the luxury of a garage, why not think about remodelling your home to make the best use of space. My parents had an extension built some 5 years ago and the space created has not been fully optimised because the original outside wall continues provides a physical barrier between the extension and the original part of the house. After some debate and encouragement, the wall has been removed to create an enlarged kitchen area that allows them enough room to fit a table and chairs. With some imagination and planning, you may create that extra space you crave without spending a fortune.

Act Now to Save on Your Fuel Bills

Sun, 15 Nov 2009 08:11:00 GMT

I awoke this morning to read that household energy bills are predicted to soar by as much as 40% this winter as oil prices continue to rise. With wholesale gas prices already at a record high, investment bank Goldman Sachs predicts crude oil will rise to $200 per barrel from the current high of $123. The reasons for the price hike are complex, but what remains is that like it or not, we will all have to pay more for our household energy. Again, it will be the most vulnerable in our society who will bear the brunt and we must all act now to head off a potential social and economic crisis.

What can we all do to ease the price pain for less than £30?

There is no such thing as loyalty in the world of free markets, shop around. By this I mean, don't be afraid to leave your current energy supplier. Use the many comparison websites to find a tariff that suits your lifestyle.
If finances allow, why not pay for your energy bills by direct debit?
Savings can be further found if you opt for a dual fuel tariff from the supplier; that is, get both your gas and electricity from them.
Did you know that cutting down on drafts could significantly cut your heating bills as quite literally, you are heating the atmosphere? When you have the time, simply get your mastic gun out and fill all those gaps you may have between your walls and skirting boards and around window frames. By doing this, you will reduce drafts and the amount of heat lost to the outside.
Think of fitting heat deflectors to your radiators. I appreciate they are a fiddle to fit (fixed to the wall immediately behind the radiator) but believe you me; I have already noticed the difference. Quite simply, they deflect heat that would be lost to the wall back into the room where the heat is most needed.
Don't leave electronic devices on standby and the one lesson I have taken from junior school is that when you leave a room, turn the lights off and shut the door behind you.

We all have sit up and recognise that in economic terms, things are going to get harder for us all and with a little imagination, I hope we can lessen the anticipated burden of the impending rise in energy prices by taking some simple and relatively easy steps.

When it comes to home improvement love thy neighbour as yourself...

Sun, 01 Nov 2009 12:56:00 GMT

A belligerent neighbour whose sole objective is to make your life as miserable as his own is a sad tale that many of us can relate to. To add further salt to those wounds, any bridges of reconciliation were burnt years ago with little to no hope of making up. However, at times, we have to swallow that bitter pill, bite our tongue and go that extra yard to "love thy neighbour" as who knows when you may need their support.

When it comes to home improvements, to have a neighbour who accepts your grand expansionist plans for a two-storey extension hard up against the common boundary for example is a case in point. Their support can save you money and angst in the long run. In most cases, many of the common projects we carry out will not need planning permission which means that the local authority will not be required to consult with your neighbour over the said project. From our own experience, we would recommend that for the sake of common courtesy, you let all your adjoining neighbours know of your future intentions to carry out works. Again, by having their support, life can be so much easier when it comes to executing the work. For example, you may live on a busy street with limited parking meaning that you may have to park a builder's van on a neighbouring drive in order to allow materials to be stored on your driveway.

If you require planning permission, your neighbours will be consulted by the local authority and at that point, will have the formal chance to either support or object to your proposals. Again, for the reasons set out above, it helps to talk in advance and hopefully, head off problems saving you time and money.

For those projects which are likely to affect your neighbour, the Party Wall Act 1996 governs the alteration of any shared structures, access for undertaking work, hours permitted for this and responsibility for repairing any damage. You must serve notice to all owners affected - both freehold and leasehold - two months in advance, ideally by hand with an independent witness or by recorded delivery. Include full details and preferably, a set of plans. If they fail to respond within 14 days or refuse consent, you are in dispute and must pay for a surveyor to negotiate a party wall agreement. You can share the same surveyor, but your neighbours have the right to appoint their own independent surveyor at your own expense. They don't come cheap and a typical party wall agreement will cost approximately £700 per neighbour.

It is also worth checking the property deeds to see if there are any restrictive covenants in place to prevent further development of your property without the consent of any beneficiaries. These apply to most ex-local authority properties and to many homes built on estates.

When your neighbour decides to play his music loud or has a dog that fails to stop barking...remember that home improvement...

Calling All Independent Estate Agents

Sun, 11 Oct 2009 15:07:00 GMT

Dear Agent,

With the property market in a state of flux, most homeowners remain undecided about either moving or improving their present home. In order to assist the homeowner, Orchard Planning Solutions is seeking to work collaboratively with independent estate agents across England and Wales. If you are interested in this exciting and unique opportunity to add to your income stream and raise your local profile, please do not hesitate in contacting us by clicking on the following link:-

http://www.doineedplanningpermission.co.uk/contact.aspx

Kind Regards
From All the Team

Good News for First Time Buyers

Sun, 11 Oct 2009 09:11:00 GMT

With low interest rates and the recent falls in property prices, most people would be better off buying than renting. For the estate agency profession, this news could not have come at a better time as the property market is traditionally entering a slow down period in the run up to Christmas.

According to the high street bank Abbey, first time buyers in all areas of the country (outside London) could save £52 a month by becoming owner-occupiers rather than renters. The reason for this is due to the sharp falls in property prices and low interest rates. It is estimated that the typical starter flat or home has fallen by approximately 9% meaning that a terraced home or 1 bedroom flat can be bought for approximately £92,000.

Whilst this is all very exciting for those thinking of buying rather than renting, the bad news is that you will have to have saved hard in order to raise the 25% deposit upon which these calculations have been based. If you are lucky enough to be in that enviable position, based on a 4.38% mortgage rate, your monthly repayments would be £382. Renting a comparable property costs an average of £434 per month meaning that you could be some £600 better off a year. Great news and yes worth a celebratory drink (not too many as remember the deposit). However, the uncomfortable reality check is the 25% deposit. In the dim and distant past when I bought my first property, I managed to cobble together a 10% deposit for which I was extremely proud. Today, those nest seekers have little choice other than negotiate a "loan" from the Bank of Dad or purchasing a property with a partner. Have the days of independence gone forever?