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G will may well chime in on this (particularly if he wasn feeling under the cosh to get ready for the plasters!), but if you have read any of our blog (unlikely give how pushed you probably already are) you'll know that many of us suffer the potentially toxic mix of things not going quite to plan/taking longer than we thought/feeling either the huge responsibility of "carrying" the build forward or the frustration of not being able to do more either physically or generally in support and and ....... The level of honesty and stories of the real projects here is hugely helpful, highs and lows (as well of course the technical know how/duscussions). Self building insn't for the faint hearted and I sometimes think the various obstacles that many face on the way is all part of the preparation (and potentially stopping some before it's too late to turn back)? Yes we need to be optimistic, but support of others, recognising where we can either be helped or help is also important (if only virtually), as is realising that those dream projects probably also had obstacles/compromises/mess ups, they may just not talk about. As in life "this things will pass" even if they are pretty hard at the time. P.s. thumbs up to stopping at others builds to ask questions and stopping to discuss with those who come to ours....that's how we found our lead builder for our first build, and 35 years later he set us well on our course for the 2nd.

What possible sensible reason is there for leaving it in the ground whilst we import the same product from abroad at additional cost, with no benefit to the treasury and impact on certainty of national supply? In all honesty net zero is not my biggest concern. High energy prices are. We need to reduce them as much as possible and any number of benefits will shortly follow. If the plan is to steal a march on other countries by going renewable early, and it means we can compete then great, but I’m very sceptical. China will keep burning mountains of coal for generations yet imo. Whilst we get poorer.

If it’s just a veranda and not a heated space, then the regs are only really about safety eg should the glass break and fall on to someone. DG would be required to keep the heat in, if it was a part of the living space. As you already are going toughened that box is ticked, but I’d not go for less than 8mm glass at that size, and for robustness I’d probably go for 10mm to be safe. 6mm is too thin afaic, as the panel is laying nearly flat so is already fighting gravity / its own weight. Cost doesn’t go up that much for single panes of glass, it’s just bit of an uplift to get them toughened after cutting. Seems pointless to do DG units but they would reduce the noise of rain getting through to the underside, if that is of any importance? @craig any regs on thickness of a flat-ish glazed single roof panel in a veranda?

Or if you see someone building something interesting near you, stop and have a chat. Before we started, I'd cycle past a guy building in the next village. When I saw he was using charred wood for cladding, I was interested, so one day, saw he was there, cycled down the drive and found out a lot more about what he was building. Turned out he was a builder and this was the last one which was for him and then retirement. Had a long chat about renewables etc. The chat didn't go any further but it easily could have done - we had a main contractor but if I'd been self building, I'm sure I'd have ended up round there again with questions. Since we've finished (ahem!) it's amazing how many vehicles pull up opposite the house with folks obviously sitting there, saying look at that, could we do that etc. You see them surreptitiously taking photos as well. If I'm out and about, I'll give them a wave and cheery smile and if I can ask them if there's anything they want to know. It's mainly complements (there aren't many self build houses round here..) but often there'll be questions about the cladding, or the blinds, or how the house is heated etc. So to cut a long story short - put your British reserve in a box - and go and ask about their build - we're all proud of what we're doing/have done, if you do though, don't expect to get away quickly.... One other thought on this would be that if there was a register here of the main aspects of each of our builds and roughly where they were, then that could act as a resource for new members starting out on their journey - could this be something that a student could knock up as a final year project? Rather than it being another 'to-do' for the mods. I'm sure a small group (not mods) could knock together a spec for discussion. Or maybe there's already a prototype somewhere in a building sciences department waiting to be let out in the wild. The mods could make it that there are certain thresholds of number of posts, where a poster is asked to fill in the register. And finally, if anyone on here has stopped outside our build, then why didn't you come and ask about it! We're in batman village (if you know, you know) south of Nottingham.

If so it's 400V. That is still well under 20KV so exempt from this legislation. I am utterly confused why they think Section 37 applies to this, what are they not telling?

If it’s going to be a number of weeks or months then lose the tenner and dose with inhibitor immediately. You’d be surprised how quickly the new fresh oxygenated water kicks off the corrosion process again.

Chin up fella. What keeps me going is the FACT that there’s others out there who are far worse off, and that puts my problems into perspective pdq.

Unless he wants 3 phase?

The exemption refers to VOLTAGE under 20KV 20 Killovolts. Your line is 240V so covered by the exemption. Yours is also a line to feed a single consumer, so again exempt I really don't see why they just can't do it, why they need permission from some minister. This is not a major high voltage pylon marching across a national park. I would be asking your DNO to explain in plain language exactly what they need to do to supply your house, preferably with a plan showing what cables will go where, and asking them WHY they think it is subject so section 37.

I’m up for that, anyone else here in the land of Nessie in the central belt?

I'm very glad this thread has struck a nerve. Like many here, I thought the issue was -just-me-being-a-wimp-. While that may well be true, wimps can have off moments too. And I've had more than a few off moments. What makes it all the more difficult to understand is that I've done some stuff before building: edges knocked off, I'm more ugly than I was last century. (Uglier than @Russell griffiths could imagine) . I thought that that would be a good resource on which to fall back as the build progressed. But it's not enough. Lone Wolf-ness is not for this sector. A detailed, careful read of BH shows me (- maybe not everyone) successful builds are those where the skills network is readily available - either in the person building or (better still) the builder knows a man who knows another bloke who has the telephone number of a man (oops! person) who can. Self building is about building -or fostering- networks. You and I can only do what we can do. And while YooChube is brilliant ( I almost bought a subscription the other day ) its not enough. Principally because nobody on YT celebrates the inherent value in making mistakes. That, precisely that , is what makes BH so valuable. You might re-brand BH as Mistakes-R-Us ; or maybe We Love Mistakes, or how about PickYerSelfUpAndStartAgain. But it takes some balls (sorry girls) to start enjoying mistakes. Specially when the last few mistakes have hit you right in the bank balance. There are hints in the posts above of informal networking - PM someone and talk it through. Maybe exchange mobile numbers - and then a coffee at a motorway service station perhaps? WhatsApp video chat? Just the thought of being able to pick up the phone and chat -this-sodding-leaking-DPM- through with someone really does make a difference. And no @Onoff, I haven't finished. Oh, by the way I've read and re-read your fabulous thread on tiling at least a dozen times. I'm a friggin expert tiler now

I like to keep thinking of each day as my last. Not joking.

I'm lost...haven't you finished your place? I'll do you a swap, my life is sh!t.

thanks for the replies, il keep an eye on it ,plus i must add more rads once the renovation bit is done so i guess that may change the pressure a bit. i should probably get the boiler serviced so i will ask the plumber to cast his eye over it. yes i have some corrosion inhibitor, but i must drain down again due to a sticking drain cock that i must replace. thanks again carl

I believe, from what I discussed with them yesterday, that it's the line itself that determines the situation - and the line to the last pole is a full up 23kVa, the inspector's words were "it's ludricous - that's enough to power about 20 houses, and you only want one". I didn't ask them to consider downgrading the last leg from 23 to 20 or below; my instinct is that would be, as a minimum, a new transformer required, and potentially more complexity / cost / delay? My current workaround is to throw myself on the mercy of my nearest neighbour, ask if I can trench from their pole to the utility verge (I'm sure that's not what they're really called!) and come down the roadside then directly into my plot. It was galling to hear that this legislation is likely to be removed "sometime soon", but not within the timescales of my project - Murphy's Law is how it felt!

Can you not drop your kVa requirement to a smidge below the limit?

@ProDave I have tried reading it ... it's not written in plain English! https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1989/29/section/37 if you're interested. Google interprets it as: Section 37 of the Electricity Act 1989 requires formal consent from the Secretary of State (or Scottish Ministers) to install or keep installed overhead electric lines above ground. This statutory requirement covers new, amended, or continued operation of lines, primarily those with a voltage exceeding 20 kilovolts (kV). Key aspects of Section 37 include: Purpose: Ensures overhead power line projects are properly reviewed for environmental and local impacts. Application Process: Involves consultation with local planning authorities and statutory bodies (e.g., Natural England, Environment Agency). Exemptions: Consent is generally not required for lines with a voltage of 20kV or less used for supplying a single consumer, or lines on premises already under the control of the operator. Planning Alignment: Often works alongside "deemed planning permission" under Section 90 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990. Non-compliance: Unauthorized installation or maintenance can lead to legal penalties. It is crucial for network operators to obtain this consent before starting overhead line projects unless specific exemptions apply. My supply line is 23kVa so outside the exemption range. I do feel my DNO (SSEN by the way) have - perhaps - taken the worst possible view and I was not heartened to hear that other DNOs do not all appear to take this interpretation. Apparently though, the DNO will not be budged, their legal team will not allow any other approach.

@MPx well done - great result in a tricky situation. My inspector suggested that his DNO were misinterpreting the 1989 legislation and that I shouldn't have this issue at all - who is the DNO for your part of the world, out of interest? Sounds like they have a more pragmatic approach, albeit you've gone around the situation a different way. Mine won't allow me to put a new pole off the last (current) pole. SO frustrating!

Good idea. @Alan Ambrose has for example a Suffolk meet up. it's bit too far for me to travel. I live just south of Glasgow so would be more than happy to turn up to a local meet-up and chew the fat.

Nick our posts are overlapping. I donate to BH, my tech skills are shite and that is the only way I can put my "money where my mouth is" What I'm trying to encourage is for folk, you and I for example is to say.. hey we are giving up our professional knowledge as we enjoy doing it! In return please can folk who are probably getting hundreds if not thousands of pounds of free advice not just chip in with a tenner now and again? But we are mostly old crusties, over 30 years old! There is a huge disconnect, hard to make happen as young folk don't realise the value of good advice / discussion.. you have Tiktoc, Instagramme. They expect that the advice you get on BH is free and attach no value to it. @AliG mentioned that you can donate via pay pal.. that is good! In the long run I think for BH to survive we all need to look ahead, see how it's going to be funded. Does BH need to be mass market? Probably not unless it is to be sold.. does it need to be niece for self builders and extenders.. yes.. but with apple pay the odd tenner will go a long way. Should mods be paid for a bit of their time? maybe yes/ no?

I did it on my first house which I bought in 1976. The title wasn't registered so there was a bundle of title deeds. The building society's solicitor spotted that there was a plan missing from the bundle from when it had been sold by the builder to the first purchaser. It had changed hands twice since then and none of the solicitors involved in those transactions had had a problem with the bundle. If I wanted the mortgage, I had to find the plan. I knew the name of the builder from the deeds. They had ceased trading but I found the name and address of the company secretary from records at Companies House. I managed to track him down and he had a copy of the plan in his safe!! All this of course with no internet and all done by phone calls and letters. It took a lot of time and effort. Wouldn't happen now as titles are registered, but there is perhaps a lesson to be learned. I suspect the building society's solicitors might not have looked so closely at the bundle if they had been dealing with another solicitor. Maybe they wanted to teach me a lesson. I wonder whether, if you diy your conveyancing, you will get less cooperation and maybe some nit picking from the professionals you have no choice but to deal with. Anyway I did learn my lesson and I wouldn't do it again!

Let's not derail this thread please.

All in hand By keeping on....keeping on. Time for another winky-emoji...

Two separate subjects. Donations are made, not forced. Advice offered by PM is non-contractual and based on goodwill in equal measures. FWIW, some members on here have taken the piss out of me royally, now since departed (booted off) and had to be relegated to the sin bin of "disingenuous bottom-feeders". They now reside in the best of company, at the bottom. Members time here is offered up, and given, regardless; donations offered (then not always made) would not be subject to enforcement action by bailiffs It should be noted, however, that if you offer me a beer I will hunt you down.

You are absolutely spot on! Lets go back a bit, before I joined BH. In context I was late to BH so I in no way can make any claim on the way BH is set up, I just enjoy being part of it. If you look at the mod list, even the ones that have stepped aside they all use their own names. It was a bunch of folk that were sharing knowledge on self building. Now to make BH what it is today the founder members have put in a vast amount of work. Who in this day and age does this if they don't believe in what they are doing? I wonder at times. If you take time to look at the mods and their background. Some are educators.. they teach, some are "gods" folk.. they love family and want to see young folk getting on, some just are hard nosed, some are really pushing the bounds of innovation (and some have the cash to back that up!) and just want ot see folk building stuff.. but they all are invested in BH, you must admire them as I do. I think for me the best thing about BH, even though I do this as a day job is that: 1/ I've ended up making new friends, some I've met in person. What I can tell you is they are nothing like what you think they are on line. 2/ I've learn't loads of stuff. Yes I'm an SE but a daft SE does not keep up with cutting edge design as on BH. 3/ BH is a place where you can clock off the day job and pursue your hobby and learn. Talk shite with the eco warriors and woke fannies, who very quickly back off when you ask then to stump up thier own cash! @saveasteading and @Nickfromwales. do we really need to go the pm route or can we just elicit donations to BH up front? Looking ahead for the future of Build Hub. Personally I would not want it to go the way the farming forum, paid advertising and so on. But for this to happen I think (I'm not party to the finances, the funding model) that BH may need to elicit more small donations and get new blood in? I just don't know. Mods.. how do you see the way forward? Thewre was a bit of a flag to me the other day when you announced to had dropped down the rankings. Please tell me this has nothing to do with you postioning yourselves to selling BH and making a killing on the data base. I have mentioned this before.. but if you do this then don't expect you will make a killing as your data base is not worth that much! Yes of course you have IP over what I have posted as an SE (under my own name) but.. that info has a shelf life!