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The old Holloway house is my favorite. I really like it. If you're aiming to emulate the same feel I think your design is over glazed to the north. The old Holloway is much more biased towards southern light making it feel very unexposed but it might not suit your site. Have you any idea how you'll build? 350mm may be ok. A 220mm stud with a 63mm service cavity would be about that. Blown insulation ideally. I really like the wobbly metal too. 150mm is good for internal walls. On the layout maybe make the small beds a touch bigger. The kitchen+living a touch smaller and th utility a bit bigger too. Over all very good though.

I'm interested in this too... FWIW I spoke to a couple of the MCS umbrella companies last month and they only deal with a trading plumber not a self-builder so they basically said "get the plumber you want to work with to call us"

I would like to do all aspects of our heating/cooling and DHW installation myself. I've read that I can do this and claim the grant if I use the MCS umbrella scheme. Keen to understand if anyone has gone down this path?

Thanks everybody. The DNO confirmed that the sloping install inside the meter box is standard for a flush mount. He did say that the installation on the pole would be redone. The ducting is only exposed because we didn't back fill that part of the trench in order for the DNO to gain access to the end of the duct. I think the way they cut the duct we buried and hooked up the hockey stick is poor, as is the connection on the pole. I guess we'll have to finish it off ourselves. I don't really know what we pay for nowadays. I had to pay up front. What is the workd coming to? (And other things old people mutter to themselves)

Yes, 2mm is standard - more-or-less the thickness of a 10p coin.

I used an old credit / debit card, cut up into 4 pieces and masking taped to the door along the handle / latch side as a spacer between the closed door and stop. Then same on the header and hinge side, though a slightly larger gap is fine. I would paint one first and pin lightly to establish the gap required, too much gap they can rattle.

Anyone got any tips on attaching the individual door stops to the linings? I've got the doors hung, the linings are all filled and sanded ready for paint but I've got to get the stops on first. As I'm painting the frames (not the doors) should I be leaving like 2mm all round to accommodate that additional thickness, and should that be more like 3mm at the hinge side? Planning on Zinsser BIN then my topcoat.

I've reached out for some contacts. I'll let you know if/when they respond

Further update on our VAT reclaim journey... HMRC have written to us (actual letter, not email) querying four invoices, covering about £3k VAT. The invoices are for our lights and our flooring tiles (two invoices for each: deposit and balance). They are asking for more information because the invoices don't specify the goods supplied. They have asked for paper copies of the four invoices, and supporting evidence from the suppliers detailing what the invoices cover, so I have sent the matching orders for each. The good news is that they said they will pay the vast majority and just hold back the the £3k for these invoices. And the day I got the letter the money arrived in our account. So, quite happy with that - 14 weeks or so from claim to payment of the bulk of the claim.

Are Lindab's assumptions the same as yours? (Page 4) '...Lindab has used the Swedish standard with a rainfall volume of 0.013 l/sqm...' and further '... It is difficult to generalise when it comes to the design and dimensioning of roof drainage, even though there are industry standards to rely on. In recent years, we have seen that rain volumes increase in certain rainy periods and, above all, that the intensity of rain showers has increased both in terms of time and quantity. Adjacent topography, other buildings and the building’s design can also influence the needs of the building in question. Combined, these factors mean that a property owner should - in addition to industry requirements - take into account the building’s needs and vulnerability...' When it rains in BC, man does it it rain. Might you have generalised rainfall reference tables for your area?

Can't you use a hygrometer (pyrex jug and digital scales)? Find out the density at the correct ratio and then compare your mix.

In a non square room it took a while to decide what straight edge to start from 😀 A lot of measuring and marking to get a "centre" line, then choosing which corner should be on that line. Tips: Dry run fitting the pieces together - you may find there is one way that works better/easier for you. A centre of the room line is not necessarily the correct thing to do as you may end up with tiny pieces to fit in at the edges. Lay out 10 to 20 "rows" but only two pieces wide (hope that makes sense) to start with, then line up that "patch" of planks on your marked line, and fix it in place (glue, or several screws around the edges that you'll later take out as you add more pieces). HTH To answer some other points above, I only glued the tiny pieces at the edges so they didn't move out of place. The windows face WSW so only get late afternoon sun. Even with LVT, the angle can wander a little, but I guess not as bad as wood parquet. And yes @Super_Paulie, the struggle was real 😀

They won't be engineers, just technicians with BTEC or C&G qualification. Look up the qualification and then ask around for people with the right certificate.

I'm feeling too lazy to try and draw this. But if you made the master 3m wide then you would have room to rotate the wardrobes 90 degrees so the doors face the bed. That would give you room to expand the bathroom. I think overall that gives much better proportions to the master suite. I'd also be tempted to switch the second bathroom/bedroom. That would mean the bulk of plumbing could be centralised. Ideally, I'd want the hot water tank to be co-located there to minimise pipe runs for hot water. The current location for the plant room is ideal for the ashp but not much else. A more central location would make various runs easier but I'd guess that central space is more valuable as is. I think @Square Feet mentioned some reasons not to do this earlier. I'm not sure either way, there might be a 3rd option. However, will point out that by doing as you propose there is the potential for the 'corridor' from the front door to act as space around the dining table (double duty) that might allow room for the bathroom/study given the expansion of the master.

Without reworking the whole design, the main change I'd make is switching the kitchen to the other side of the room, allowing a larger living room by cutting down on the 'virtual corridor' space on the original: I'd probably use a little of that space gained to make the main bedroom suite a little wider.

I think there are two main reasons for the location as close to meter as possible. 1. If you are doing work (like moving a consumer unit) then you might be changing all the wiring all the way back to the meter so that's where you need the isolator 2. If you need to isolate a fault then you need to be able to isolate as much cabling as possible (too many instances of people drilling through a cable between the meter and the CU (there is a short distance limit before you need armoured cable but still). New rules mean battery systems will need an external, accessible, fire switch if not now then soon (and this one has to be visible from a distance). That means there will be another external switch that a nefarious person could flip. Often these switches are fitted by default when a meter upgrade is done so it's not just new builds. Many electricians will recommend getting the DNO to fit one vs paying the DNO to come isolate the system for an electrical project as it's easier and less disruption (possibly less cost) to do it that way. They do but I think there is still a periodic physical inspection. But yes, the need for external meters is less now, but that's not the reason for an external isolator I think external connection points are here to stay.

Since Grenfell the demand for fire safety work has skyrocketed and AFAIK there is a huge shortage of qualified people to do it. Bit of a shit situation all round. Sorry, I know that doesn't really help solve your problem.

On the verge of taking this thread off topic - so I'll do one final reply and let it rest. I'm not arguing against why it's needed but the fact remains that it's location is not optimum for the customers. It may be for DNO. I extensively argued this with UKPN, my electrician and main contractor to understand why and the final response was - just because we say so!! I am having a full battery backup system for the house, the alarm system comes with its own battery, the cameras will be served by both the rack mounted UPS and then a whole home battery backup system. But these are measures I put in and shouldn't really be part of the conversation. The onus is entirely on new builds to comply to this regulation. For my existing 1930s house - the meters are all under the stairs in a cupboard which is not accessible and that provision has worked miraculously for almost ~100 years. The final puzzling piece of the equation was that we already have smart meters - so what is the need for any engineer to come around and take readings anyway? Isn't the whole point of a smart meter to send these automatically/periodically?

Yes, and we're struggling to get a response from his go-to firm as well (and as a bonus they're likely to very expensive if we ever get a quote through)

Have you asked your PD?

My timber frame project needs a fire engineer for a couple of items: 1. Timber frame fire mitigation report, as the building is near another property. 2. Assistance ensuring an open plan layout with inner rooms can comply with building regs. I've was speaking with a few well established firms, but recently I'm having an awful time getting anyone to actually provide a quote -- So far I'm waiting 3-4 weeks to get a response to emails, which makes me worry that even if I get quotes through, the work won't actually get done during my lifetime. Can anyone recommend fire engineering firms for this sort of work who might not be useless at communicating?

Here's a link to a vid about Old Holloway for anyone who might be interested.

I think so - especially if I can get the level of the decking to match the flooring inside so that it all seems to the eye to flow on outwards.

Of course. For some reason I missed/forgot that! Cool. A challenge indeed but if you are up for it then they will no doubt look great!

I'd love your input @ETC if you are still around.....