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Thanks for the replies up to now. Very helpful. I called home insurance legal team and they got back to me within the hour. Ive drafted up a letter about the partywall agreement because the legal advisor believes this extension build falls within the act. Also any access without prior consent or within agreement of my terms (scaffold license) will be classed as trespass (including cantilever scaffold) and I’m to contact them back immediately so they can issue a trespass notice. Very helpful for a small additional fee on the home insurance. Party wall draft below. I’ll sort scaffold terms later. Dear occupier …………………………….. Party Wall Act 1996 – Notice Regarding Proposed Building Works I am writing in relation to the building works currently being undertaken, or proposed, at your property. Under the Party Wall etc. Act 1996, where excavation works are planned within 3 metres of a neighbouring property, and to a depth equal to or greater than the foundations of that neighbouring property, a written notice must be served at least one month prior to the commencement of such works. I would therefore be grateful if you could confirm whether any excavation works associated with your project fall within this requirement. If so, please ensure that the appropriate formal notice is served in accordance with the Act. For clarity, if the proposed excavations do not extend deeper than the foundations of the neighbouring property, and do not otherwise fall within the scope of the Act, then such works may proceed without the need for formal notification under the legislation. I trust you will understand the importance of complying with the relevant statutory requirements and I look forward to your confirmation. I have included the relevant extract from the party act. you can find the act in full with here. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/preventing-and-resolving-disputes-in-relation-to-party-walls/the-party-wall-etc-act-1996-explanatory-booklet#part-1-party-wall-etc-act-1996 Yours sincerely, ……………………………..

And very often an allen head screw. I bet you don't have a proper double insulated allen driver designed for this job? BUT show us a front picture of the meter, I think that might be a half turn isolator switch on the front, that white thing. If so you can turn the output off, verify with a proper meter that it is really off and you are go to go.

Danny, I would say the PWA applies anyway, because they are building at the boundary. I would just assert that to them in the letter and tell them they need to comply The PWA is potentially your friend here, it is the law, and it makes your agreement with the neighbour legally binding. I certainly would not tell them or suggest to them that you want foundation drawings to determine if the PWA applies. As far as you are concerned they are building at the boundary and so the PWA does apply. I would say, ask for the construction drawings for the extension they are building. This is important because what is built may be or end up different from what is only approximately depicted in planning drawings. Do you not care what type of bricks or blocks that wall is built in ? Do you not care if the eaves illegally overhang your property ? Do you not care when conveyencers start to ask you whether the building at the boundary was covered by a PWA when you try to sell your house ? Do you not care if the drainpipe discharges onto your patio ? Do you not care if their kitchen extractor belches out over your patio ? Foundation depth is not the determining issue here. Foundations typically extend beyond the wall itself - which would put them on your land ! A construction drawing would show this, eaves width, height, rainwater handling, will there be a soakaway ? The legal responsibility is theirs - you need to state that unequivocally and invoke the act. They need to do the work and make the running here in order to get your formal written agreement, otherwise they are in breach of the law. I would not begin to state to what you will agree with at this stage. Things need to follow the PWA process - you can't just make it up yourselves. It feels like you are wanting to be super friendly and helpful to someone that appears ignorant of the law, too rude and selfish not to have spoken to you way before now, is breaking the law, and could make your life a misery for 12months and more. Be positive and assertive, hold them to the law, do not make concessions before you have even got them on the right page legally. There is a negotiation and agreement process here which is legally required. As an example the boundary line is not necessarily defined by your fence. Whose boundary is it in the deeds ? part of the negotiation might be you deciding that when the wall goes up (very likely to require complete removal of the existing fence) that you would decide not to have the fence re-instated giving you 4 extra inches of useable garden. Don't start rushing to complete a process in days that is supposed to take weeks or months.

Not a lawyer, but I think personally I would ask them to specify what they want to do first. Don't lead with the offer, lead with saying you are willing to be reasonable but need to hear their plans (in detail, in writing). Be specific about what you want to hear.

To disconnect you remove the faceplate to access the terminals, but they will be live unless you (insert suitably qualified person) pull the service fuse first.

Is it possible to undo the outgoing live and neutral from the meter pictured? if so do you know how to? It doesn’t look like you can just put a screwdriver in to loosen a nut in the holes to the side. for context, and before you say get a qualified electrician in, I wouldn’t be doing it until this meter is no longer functioning. due to the RTS signal being switched off in a few days here I will be moving the consumer unit that this meter is connected to (it’s the cheaper tariff meter of two) over to the main 3 phase board and it would be easiest to just re route these tails into that board.

Just to be clear, you’re looking to add an oven and hob circuit, and possibly a proper dedicated kitchen ring as well. If it were me, I would install either a 2.5mm² ring final circuit or a 4mm² radial for the kitchen, depending on exactly what I was intending to supply. This would typically be protected on a 32A RCBO or MCB on an RCD split board. For the oven, at around 2.3kW it only draws roughly 10A, so in theory a 16A supply on 2.5mm² radial would be sufficient, but personally I would install a 20A supply on 4mm² radial to give some headroom for future changes or upgrades. That way you are not limiting yourself later on if the appliance specification changes. I would then run the 20A feed into a fused connection unit, fit a 13A fuse, and then run out to the oven on flex. My usual approach is to remove the factory plug and hardwire the appliance via an isolator, even though I appreciate this can technically affect the warranty, as I prefer to control the quality of the flex and terminations myself. I generally do not like heavy loads running for long periods through standard 13A sockets, particularly where socket quality is questionable, because cheaper sockets can degrade and overheat at sustained loads around 2kW or more. I also do not like the idea of sockets being hidden behind appliances for years on end, so I always prefer them to be accessible in adjacent cupboards where possible, ideally unswitched sockets with a separate above-counter isolator depending on the setup. For lower power appliances I often use MK unswitched sockets at low level controlled via MK grid switches, which keeps things tidy and accessible while maintaining good isolation control. For the hob, assuming a full load of around 25A, I would normally install a 32A or 40A supply, and in most cases I would lean towards 40A using 6mm² cable if available, as that gives better long-term headroom. That said, a 32A circuit on 4mm² is still perfectly acceptable depending on the installation constraints. I would run the hob circuit into a double pole isolator of suitable rating, and I generally prefer to size up, so I would usually specify at least a 40A isolator, often 50A, using brands like MK, Schneider or Hager. All isolators should be installed in accessible positions rather than hidden behind appliances, so in practice I would normally mount metal-clad fused connection units inside adjacent cupboards in a location where they can always be reached easily, even after the kitchen is fully fitted.

ChatGPT/Claude/whatever can turn it in to a legal agreement and make suggestions for changes. Those models can now pass the law exams in the top 10%.

Reminder Identify the prevailing wind direction for your location (probably Westerly) Intake should be up-wind of exhaust And on the same wall to ensure even wind pressure.

It’s heated via the ASHP, I’ve not seen it use the backup heater though I suppose it could do in extremis and yes it’s just for defrosting.

Yes I'd allowed for a CU upgrade in the budget and of course part of being prepared is asking the questions before doing the job......

I also live in Scotland, so I’m intrigued to learn when we collectively decided electricity was complimentary. It was a joke—but even in reality, there’s a difference between hospitality and quietly footing someone else’s ongoing costs. And I actually agree with you—constantly asking “what’s in it for me?” isn’t a great mentality. But that’s not what this is. I’m usually the one giving up time, tools, and know-how to help people out—fixing things, sorting problems, no questions asked. That is being a nice human. The flip side of that is not taking that generosity for granted, or framing basic boundaries as selfishness. Being decent goes both ways.

The cost difference can be significant. Two layers with staggered joints is better than one for insulation and stability. As it is softer eps will compress over any lumps in the floor and reduce gaps and hollows. With diminishing returns as thickness increases the lower eps works quite well. I got the best prices from the local BM, and 100mm was the best value £/mm. Get prices for 100mm and 150mm for both materials, then cost out whether the saving is worthwhile. I'm an expert in cutting it now. Handsaw only useful for 50mm or less. Stanley knife is very quick for 25mm. For 100 and 150mm , jigsaw with blade cutting within 5mm of the thickness, and complete by saw or knife. (Going fast the jigsaw blade wanders off line and verticality: for a few seconds more, the cut is straight. Pir is useless to cut with a handsaw. Eps easier but lots of dust. The professional who did most of the floor used a reciprocating saw but it was rather approximate.

i'll see what we have around here, not sure i can fit any in my 2 seater though no matter who small i cut it... I assume the secondary foil layer on the back is as vital as the one on the front, so hacking 10mm off the 50mm i have is a no-go? I have like 4 full boards left over from all my build stuff that im just stuck with, would be useful to use it up here.

Isn't the in-built buffer just for defrosting, as in it's heated via ASHP and or immersion tona high temperature the energy is then used to defrost rather than stealing heat from the house. So not that relevant to a nerd real or otherwise for a cooling specific buffer. Been running my cooling an a 70L system volume zero issues (no buffers). Second type/manufacturer ASHP used, both have worked with zero issue.

Are you sure 100% it's all the ceiling not the wardrobe off level? Not sure if this is new build or reno but for a new build that seems quite a lot for the ceiling to be off. I'd probably try and return the coving into the wall (like this) a few cm away from the wardrobe and keep everything flat above the doors, so there's no obvious line to highlight the height difference. Harder to do now as you'd have to cut back what's there at 45 degrees. I appreciate that's not the finish you wanted though. If you really want to run the coving above the wardrobe doors then you could experiment with finishing just the bottom section of coving neatly but further away from the wardrobe and then just carrying the rest over the wardrobe, as it might be a bit less jarring without the bottom end butting up against the wardrobe.

That's a good point!

Lime can take years to dry, then it crumbles and falls off. As the wall is SW facing, it will have the larger temperature swings as well as driven rain. Hard to know what to recommend as, chemically, until it has fully cured, it can react negatively with costings. Scrape off what you can, then leave till October and reassess. I should have said cure, rather than dry.

Ask them for a breakdown so you can see where the money is going

I’ve got a Viessmann 151-A which is effectively the same only with the integrated UVC. There is an inbuilt defrost buffer in the system anyway, I wonder if that’s what the engineer was referring to rather than on the heating circuit side. Also I have the 8kW and my heat loss is 4.6kW but the 4,6 and 8kW units are all physically the same but firmware limited for the 4 & 6kW. Great piece of kit though!

I would spell out exactly who it is that will pay this figure. For the avoidance of doubt.

And a cleaning cost, after the scaffolding is removed you will be left with a days work to tidy the courtyard and remove all the dust and crap that has fallen through the boards.

Also check the planning permission as I had time limits on the period work was allowed. E.g. up to 12:30pm on a Saturday.

Financial compensation should the time period overrun? Which it will. There is no penalty for overrunning stated currently.

You will be putting the DPM in underneath the insulation, so anything above that won’t be in direct contact with damp / moist ground, so just go with 200mm insulation. You should be using PIR vs EPS at <250mm btw, as EPS is a poorer performing product. You’d be fine with 50mm EPS at the bottom and 150mm PIR, if on a shoestring.