Anyone know when building works are considered to have "started"?

[robinbanks]

I agree. But isn't it likely that most of the conditions will concerned with work that comes later in the build?

My planning department demanded my S106 payment because they considered that I'd started even though all the conditions hadn't, at the time, been discharged

 

[robinbanks]

You can imagine the advice I gave to the customer once BC passed this nonsense...

Install a heat recovering vent to keep human-generated moisture and consequent black mould at bay while ensuring that all their paid-for heat wasn't wasted?

125mm seems a bit big.. I know the ventilation regs are ridiculously poor compared to a decent standard like Passivhaus, but I'd have thought boring a 5 inch hole in a wall straight to the outside world would blow Doc F's requirements out of the metaphorical water. How big was the extension?

 

[johnny2007]

Install a heat recovering vent to keep human-generated moisture and consequent black mould at bay while ensuring that all their paid-for heat wasn't wasted?

125mm seems a bit big.. I know the ventilation regs are ridiculously poor compared to a decent standard like Passivhaus, but I'd have thought boring a 5 inch hole in a wall straight to the outside world would blow Doc F's requirements out of the metaphorical water. How big was the extension?

Standard 5x4 metre extensions roughly.
In my opinion it is simply wrong to superinsulate and seal everything in the first place.
I've always been against cavity celotex as soon as it came out.
Many newish properties suffer from mould and condensation because they are totally sealed.
Older properties with rockwool insulation in cavity and ceilings breath a lot easier and are a lot drier.
Despite regulations, some councils insist on rigid board cavity and roof insulation and some nutters even want 25mm celotex on the internal leaf.
Why???
Do they have shares in insulation companies or mould specialist companies?
I know a landlord who gave up on a property because his loft was dripping with condensation.
He tried everything, spent a fortune and nothing worked.
He sold the house in summer...

 

[robinbanks]

Many newish properties suffer from mould and condensation because they are totally sealed.

It's actually more like because they are inhabited by people who generate huge amounts of moisture by doing things like drying washing on radiators in the middle of winter, with every window closed so the moisture has nowhere to go

 

[johnny2007]

It's actually more like because they are inhabited by people who generate huge amounts of moisture by doing things like drying washing on radiators in the middle of winter, with every window closed so the moisture has nowhere to go

What else would you do in those shoeboxes they insist on calling "homes"?
They have 25m² at best, no garden and they're totally sealed.
A window opened for an hour a day is not gonna do much.
Instead, in older properties made properly, a window open for an hour a day keeps everything fresh and dry.

 

[robinbanks]

Now there's a set of statements that seem be over-egging the pudding but if it is as you say then opportunities to reduce or remove moisture generation should be taken. In the case of washing, you use a tumble drier that vents outside, or condenses.

Taking clothes that have a kilo of water soaked into them, and spreading them out on the radiators isn't really any different to just throwing a litre of water over the walls and floor

 

[johnny2007]

you use a tumble drier that vents outside, or condenses.

In a 25m² flat???
Only possible if you live alone, but I've seen families of 5 in those shoe boxes.

 

[jeds]

I agree. But isn't it likely that most of the conditions will concerned with work that comes later in the build?

Conditions come in many shapes and sizes. Some require discharge before starting work, some at the start or end of specific work sections, some before occupation and some just need to be observed - i.e. they don't need to be discharged in writing.

 

[johnny2007]

Conditions come in many shapes and sizes. Some require discharge before starting work, some at the start or end of specific work sections, some before occupation and some just need to be observed - i.e. they don't need to be discharged in writing.

Some conditions cannot be discharged until almost end of building work.
Think about fireproofing of walls in proximity of boundaries.
Maybe, just maybe, that's what they have in their rules.
Reality is that as long as you have addressed all conditions in writing and agreed to them, you're ok.
Then dig a trench, lay the pipes and you've stopped the time.
As said, thousands do this in west London, many just before they sell, so not to have to go through the hassle of building, but increasing their house price.