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Thanks both, it's for a side return on a victorian terrace. Sounds like digging, then inviting building inspector is the way to go.

(After party wall chat with neighbour.)

What's your foundation build up (depths, etc)?

We need to do something similar next year but I have close to zero knowledge of foundations.

Capital Economics predict a 5% drop in house prices by the end of 2024 (blaming consumer confidence and mortgage rates).

Without a door to the kitchen you'll probably need to demonstrate how a sleeping person would still have 30 seconds to exit if there was a (big) fire in the (high risk) kitchen.

For us, this meant detailing the sensor/alarm and then having the automist (initially one, but they made us get two). Our kitchen to front door distance was further, but we had the added risk of a loft room.

'Defense' meaning water/foam/screening/etc. Or you could possibly detail a second fire exit through a window, etc.

Building control will usually ask for your plans to be signed off by a fire officer if there's any ambiguity (fire risk assessment/fire strategy plan).

Your layout is fairly unique. Usually the only way an escape route could lead near/through a kitchen is if you have a mist system, or sprinklers installed. Open plan room = corridor/escape route.

You would probably be expected to defend the front door from an overnight kitchen fire so the bedroom occupants had time to escape.

We've used Automist previously which was £2960 + VAT for the following:
2 x Automist smartscan systems
2x wall mounted emitters
2x hard wired Aico
Heat alarm
24 months warranty

Shout if you want other Automist details: pump location and water pressure might be tricky, etc.

I played pong on the central line too! Kept missing Tottenham Court Road and had to resort to standing up to try and stay awake which meant I fell over at each tube stop.

Talk to the Listed Property Owners Club: https://www.lpoc.co.uk/ (much more responsive than HE).

In general like-for-like is permitted without prior consent, but you must avoid removing old paint/materials wherever possible.

Just came back from Taormina, great place. Also loved Etna... well worth the trip.

I've previously driven around the East/West of the island (cutting through the middle quickly) and it was good, but the driving can be a bit hectic! The history/civilisation changes are fascinating, but the small towns did start to resemble each other after a few days.

The Palermo/Catania rivalry is amusing: 'Two cities, both alike in dignity...'

For hot water only, or heating only, or both? Electricity via overnight tariff, or PV array (existing or new)?

Ours was very cheap (~£6k installed), but was part of of a bigger job to plumb a new build Passivhaus via a sub-contractor. We actually saved money overall (compared to a traditional build) as our plumbing became VERY simplified: PV/overnight to SunAmp to hot water only, no tanks, no underfloor, no rads.

Best possible 2yr fixed deal is around 1.75% currently (+1% on base).

Base interest rates are expected to rise to 2%, although some analysts are forecasting 3% as 'the new normal'.

So you're looking at between 3 and 4% fixed sometime in the future, I'd go with the 5 year option.

We're moving at a snail's pace as we only spend the occasional weekend on site and we're trying to source materials on-the-cheap.

Envelope upgrades list
Loft: 400mm loft insulation 0.1 W/(m²K)
Sloping roof: 30mm PIR between rafters, 150mm below rafters 0.15 W/(m²K)
Eaves: 400mm loft insulation 0.1 W/(m²K)
External walls: 180mm PIR internally gapped away from solid double bricks 0.15 W/(m²K)
Floors: 400mm loft insulation 0.1 W/(m²K)
Double glazed low-e argon sash windows 1.2 W/(m²K)

Ventilation list
Airflow front-to-back via cleared under ground floor (10 bricks deep)
Add more air bricks
Airflow vertically into newly gapped external walls
50mm above sloping PIR
Cold/sealed eaves/loft
Block chimneys
Air tight tape everywhere
85% bathroom/kitchen heat recovery (4x single room units)

Imagined heat loss reduction (assuming 150sqm envelope, 0°C outside, 20°C inside):
Losses before: Avg. U-value of 2 W/(m²K) = 2 x 20 x 150 = 6kW
Losses after: Avg. U-value of 0.5 W/(m²K) = 0.5 x 20 x 150 = 1.5kW

Ventilation losses are more difficult to guesstimate, but we'll aim for a 85% improvement everywhere.

Switching to PV (planning willing) or an overnight electric tarrif for a Sunamp would reduce the cost of our hot water by at least two thirds (nice-to-have).

The budget for renovations, plumbing and 3 new bathrooms is non-existent (£25k), so we're trying to secure the cheapest price per square meter for insulation and are doing the work ourselves. An AS heat pump is another nice-to-have.

Once the renovation work is done, we'll improve the kitchen. Currently there's a dodgy rear extension which we'll remove and then re-build including a side-return (planning willing).

The last two weekends we broke the back of the loft rooms (attached). We've been very lucky with the condition of existing materials so far.

Yeah, I've been down this rabbit hole and have now flipped to an air gapped stud instead of a heritage lime/wood fibre approach with no gap.

The latter is better if you need to drive moisture out of external brickwork, but has a maximum possible thickness/u value to be able to achieve that aim (otherwise the bricks become wet again).

We're sheltered externally and will be managing moisture levels inside with heat recovery units.

I'd start by working out if ~45 degrees circulating will be adequate and if you'll need to change your plumbing/rads.

You may find that you may need to hold out for a higher temperature AS heat pump, although we found that improving the fabric of the building was cheaper and more effective.

What's your heating demand? You may need to improve the fabric of the building before an AS heat pump will (efficiently) give you what you need?

We're in a similar situation (terraced Victorian) and are hoping internal wall insulation, new windows and epic floor/loft insulation will be enough to only use an AS heat pump for heating and a solar battery for hot water moving forwards.

If anyone wants the benefits of raw food without the hassle, I'd recommend Rocketo.

It's dried raw food, you just add water to turn a 4kg bag back into 12kg of raw food. No mess, no chance of contamination, etc.

It's expensive (£60 for 3kg which is actually 12kg), but you can get 20% off with a referral code:
https://gorocketo.com/aff/jon.marshall-1233/

Maurice loves the beef one, they do an insect one too?!

You can setup a google sheet to see your effective payments each month. That would only ever be out by one month maximum (depending on first payment date, etc). It's useful to understand the effect of overpaying, or imagining future funds if the property was sold.

It takes an average of 58 days to secure a sale in London. You're not behind the curve, you're just one person in a crowded market. It's madness to accept the first offer and most sellers will wait for multiple offers (bidding war).

Get ahead of the estate agent and put some letters through doors on the streets you like?

You talked to an estate agent to find the property you wanted to buy?

I don't know anyone who does that, it's all via online searches.

Automated platforms also suggest other properties when you view one, but say you're not interested. That algorithm is usually smarter than an individual estate agent and is more impartial (no sales-driven crap).

When listings/opportunities are plentiful estate agents are motivated by volume, not an increased sale price. It's a broken model. They're also a source of mistakes/delays.

Why would they try and sell quickly for you (or get you a better price) when you've already agreed terms/exclusivity and it's more profitable for them to focus on finding the next property to sell?

Personally, I'd attribute any difference in viewing numbers to the property itself, or to the listing timings/images/copy.

I was told talk to (negotiate with?) building control. Especially true if you're in a conservation area. They'll want the best possible performance given the structure you have to work with. For us that means internal insulated board for sloping ceilings that gets close to (but doesn't meet) building reqs (U-value of 0.15).

Ventilation path is meant to be 50mm, eaves vents are meant to be equivalent to continuous 25mm gap.

"Sometimes the hardest thing about having power is knowing when not to use it. Our mission is better served by focusing on individual needs above those of any government or political faction. The People's Money is an exit strategy for humans, a weapon for peace, not for war." Jesse Powell

The People's Money, barf, what a complete crock of horse shit. If there's ever a time to stand for SOMETHING then now is the time. Enjoy your depressing cruise ships in non-territorial waters. Here's hoping a rogue Ukrainian sinks your irrelevant ideology to the bottom of the ocean.

Nice. The Smiths Sectric ones are cool. We got one of these for £20 in Wales:

Smiths early (1940s) vintage bakelite gets my vote. You can get good original working ones for cheap (~£20) if you enjoy a rummage.

I worked as a labourer doing some underpinning on a large barn conversion ~20 years ago. It wasn't as involved as you might think... dig some channels underneath the wall (with a small digger), fill with concrete, repeat.

Start with a survey to work out what's gone/going wrong? They do say that if it's no longer moving then there's no longer a problem!

I would guess the original foundation design was inadequate? Or do you have soil/slope/tree issues?