[john and helen]

Hello

I am just looking at a few costings, so i can work out the pennies that will be needed,

so !!!! what would i be roughly looking at 

Septic tank.... i would estimate about £10k

water bore hole..................................£9k

would i need a bat survey...................£ ?

 static caravan.....................................£3k inc delivery

survey and structional engineers report £1k ?

I guess i would need PP for static whilst work is being done on barn

basic building, plumbing and electrics is not a problem.... i have those covered

what are your thoughts...and please add anything i have missed

[smiley bucket]

Hi, my thoughts,  well, more guesses than anything so dont take them too seriously would be:
I saw a photo of a barn which if i remember correctly you would make into a house?  Have a dig down yourself and see if it has proper foundations, won't cost anything and would be a conversation opener with engineer.
The planners might say you have to "do up" the end of your driveway, put in visibility splays and tarmac/kerb them to a certain standard, cost? Probably a lot of £s 
If i was starting from scratch i'd put in a drive through disinfection "pit" in my gateway, as per FMD days. 
Security cameras fitted to the entrance, yard and house.  Mains electric fencing on the boundaries, i'd like it low down enough to give foxes and badgers a kick too.
I don't thing you'll need planning for the static while you're building with planning permission, cost, possibly £0 
Are mains services already installed? Cost, £0 to £Lots
Storeage for things from your house till new house is ready, anywhere dry and secure or would a shipping container be better/safer. 
How about two caravans, one for day living and one for sleeping?
Fencing, landscaping, then of course housing for stock, medicine cabinets, feed store, isolation unit, trailer storage. 
Whatever you decide to do, i wouldn't rush into putting any permanent structures up until you've lived there for at least a year and have found out where the sun shines most, the frost pockets are, wet patches appear etc, i've had my latest place for two years and am only just working out the best places for everything!
Best of luck, look forward to the photos, if you want any practice fencing etc let me know!
 

[lachlanandmarcus]

If its any help, when we were renovating from ruin our place, Aberdeenshire council said that because it was uninhabitable, they regarded a static caravan on the curtilage as part and parcel of the PP and there was no extra PP needed or charge. Once finished build, it should be removed.


During the build we paid band A council tax on the caravan and then once house habitable we stopped paying that and they transferred to the house (sadly at higher than A band :-))


Note that shipping containers ARE generally viewed by planning authorities as requiring PP however so something with wheels might be better for storage even if it's sold afterwards.


I would assume as a rule of thumb that a stone built barn is unlikely to have much if anything in the way of foundations, tho you might get lucky, this means much digging down to correct levels or give more headrooms may well require underpinning, this can get expensive but is mainly labour so you can save some money if you can DIY or assist builders.


Does your PP specify a bat survey? I imagine it might?


Septic tank you might be able to do cheaper, if it really is a septic tank and soak away and not a treatment plant Klargester thing.


The things that cost a lot more than you expect are the unexciting things - concrete, turf, aggregate.


Don't forget the cost of the building warrant, it's based on a percentage of build cost and is a much higher cost than PP and unlike PP there is a limited time to finish (normally 3 years tho can be extended by one year twice). It will likely be over £1000.

[shygirl]

we considered a place which was on a generator for electric. the hook up to mains electric was quoted by  scottish hydroelectric for £250k !!!

[Fanackapan]

Anything you have missed           A win on the lottery ?

[john and helen]

The place does have electric to it..it does state on the estate agents report that the vendor will bring a water connection to the property, so thats something i will need to get in writing from the vendor or take into account when i make the offer...

the foundations are about 24" down from the floor level...but that would need to be checked... the heights wouldn't be a problem as  the barn from floor to roof would easily give you 8ft ceiling heights ground and first floor

I do have a friend who is a surveyor and he knows a couple of structural engineers, so getting that sorted won't be a problem....

I did have in mind a 20ft sea container for storage and another one for compact tractor , quad

I would be surprised if we had to make any alterations to the entrance as the road only feeds 3 other farms before coming to a dead end...

great suggestions, please keep them coming

[lachlanandmarcus]

Wow that's good foundations 


Check out about the improving the entranceway, you'll only have to do it if it's conditioned in the pp but any new dwelling nowadays tends to trigger them wanting it. However, it only applies if your sole use driveway but is going out onto any kind of adopted road, if it's just going onto a private shared track it probably won't be an issue. What they are trying to get rid of is private tracks from new houses with stony or gravelly drives and the house owners vehicles pull gravel and stones onto the road every time they return to or leave the house by car. Eg in Aberdeenshire such a scenario would require the first 5m of drive (or whole if that's less) from the road entrance to be tarmaced.

[john and helen]

not the best of pics , but i got this off google  street



there is lots of work to do on the inside and out.... thats not the problem, its knowing what might be expected from the ground level... thats a good point about the driveway... i would more than likely put in a hard standing anyway for a car or two

what ever happened to the good old days when planning was pretty straight forward  it seems like now all these buildings that  have stood the test of time , need totally revamping ....yet just the other day, i was fitting some new flooring to a 15 year old house ...and the floors where shocking...the 2ft x 4ft floor boards they used on a floating floor where all over the place..and they call this progress 

this is the vid i stuck up the other day....
https://vimeo.com/69098105

[cloddopper]

John  ,
I suggest that if fund stretch to it start looking for an old working JCB site master with front bucket and back hoe.


It will easily pay for itself and it will allow you to excavate the septic tank hole trenches and move kit about with out you busting your back etc. .

You can always sell it after you move in but methinks you'll keep it .

I may know someone who might part with theirs as they have indicated that they would be soon selling up & moving on (two years ago )

[Fleecewife]

Quite a Tardis 
 
I noticed what are probably swallows nesting in your rafters.  They will carry on nesting until Sept and it's illegal to disturb occupied nests, so that's something you will need to work around as well as bats, barn owls and so on.
 
What's your vision for the interior?  Traditional or modern?

[lachlanandmarcus]

John  ,
I suggest that if fund stretch to it start looking for an old working JCB site master with front bucket and back hoe.


It will easily pay for itself and it will allow you to excavate the septic tank hole trenches and move kit about with out you busting your back etc. .

You can always sell it after you move in but methinks you'll keep it .

I may know someone who might part with theirs as they have indicated that they would be soon selling up & moving on (two years ago )

I would agree with that, altho having just done exactly that (old JCB3X), OH did have to admit it ''might' not fit behind the house where the drainage channels are needed so he might need a mini digger too.....so see what size is most practical :-))! Ours is only 2wd and a rust bucket but it works and will def pay for itself quickly (it was about £5k, which is about the cheapest a full size working JCB gets)

[john and helen]

agree with the old JBC dave...put many a window in one many years ago (I had a 11 year spell of plant reglazing)



thats a good question FW..we would like to do a bit of both, any beams would be kept along with some stone work

one thing that would need doing is insulation, so the interior walls would be stud and plasterboard, ile see if i can pop the plans on later...or do a rough copy ..

[lachlanandmarcus]

What will happen re windows? Will it be 2 storey, if so will they let you make enough openings or will upstairs be mainly roof lights and downstairs more reliant on the openings there already in the structure? Is it listed? It is lovely and the stonework and roof look pretty good considering!

[john and helen]

yes planning for two levels, windows in both cable ends
plus two skylights either side of the roof

this is just a basic mock up i did

[john and helen]

from the side...this is sort of what i would aim for