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Vertical rebar in the middle looks like a bad idea. It will get in the way of shovels when you will be spreading the concrete. Less of an issue with a pump, but you will still hate it when you'll be making it level after you pour. I made marks on sides of trenches as a rough indicator, then used laser and a ruler. Got level it all level to 1,5 cm. BTW, pumps are generally expensive and for trenches often unnecessary.

Rail for me, EVERY damn time .

Good that you stopped that one from doing anything more on site tbf. That wall is (was) just shockingly bad. Onwards indeed

On the current MBC project I'm consulting on, we have soil pipes in the 150mm MOT1 layer directly under the 50mm sand blinding, and some others like comms and landscape power are lower to avoid these. I designed all this ahead of MBC's arrival, making sure there were the least number of services crossing over/under each other. As you're under a raft, there is no minimum depth THB, but for power and water you do need to drop down towards the periphery to comply with the 750-900mm that these authorities will mandate.

We're prepping to dig foundation and drainage out and wondering about depths for the (approx 5m) run that is going to be under the insulated raft and how low to set the foot for the main stack which exits straight out. Any idea what that depth needs to be? Is it 600mm below the mot 1? Also, how far out from the edge of the raft do the drains need to run - I'm reading 1m min is the part H requirement if pipe is below foundation but, as our raft is only 450mm into the ground makes interpreting the regs a bit tricky as, pretty much any drain will be below the raft level. I'm not sure if it's interpreted the same as obv the weight is spread over the raft rather than down through strip foundations so, does this make a difference? Or, do I just ask BC?!

Good call. My neighbour had a huge tree right next to his bungalow, it would have flattened the bungalow if it had fallen onto it, and if you were in the bedroom next to it, it might be your last nights sleep. But also across the road was the 11KV overhead line. SSEN removed it for free when he pointed out if it fell down it would break their overhead line.

Just DO NOT let them fit them down low, as you'll bash the crap out of them taking things in /out of the cupboard. Get then as high up as you can, plus then you pretty much cant see them. This. Install a piece of 15mm MDF or PLY behind, screwing it into place where the sockets etc will hide the screws.

Guessing that might be just the mounting system, without the panels?

You don’t need the SVP then! Just vent in the garden on a stub stack.

If the wires are in place then that’s that, unless you want to move them. most of our isolation is in the pantry all flush fitted. however the isolation for the two oven is as you describe a 47mm surface box in the back corner of the cupboard. cut a square of osb and fit it behind the cupboard where the switch is going. 47mm in a 600 deep cupboard isn’t exactly taking up a lot of room.

As it 'threatens' the sub station, maybe with a suitable bit of blarney the electricity utility company might take them down for you ? Also check with council that you can cut and remove them - sometimes you need permission granted which avoids any friction if someone were to complain about your unapproved tree work. Some places are conservation areas where you can't just cut trees down, also there can be tree protection orders. (Warstory: We had a beautiful mature and healthy tree at the bottom of our garden on the edge of a nursing home property. Provided screening and looked fantastic. One day I came back from work to hear chain saws buzzing - thing had been chopped down. Some old bloke in the nursing home kept complaining to the warden about the tree, eventually they got a tree surgeon in that proclaimed dangerous fungus found at base and chopped it down for a large fee. After local complaints the LA have now put tree protection orders on all the nursing home trees.)

I think the building control specs I posted earlier are based on 25kg/m2. 10-11kg/m2 sounds quite light ??

Now, had you used habito plasterboard...

Please can I get some advice on fitting grid/isolation switches into a kitchen. We did discuss this with our kitchen company and the plan is to fit the switches inside a suitable kitchen cupboard. So now I am wondering how exactly this is best done. The kitchen company have said the electrician should fit a surface box onto the backboard inside of the cupboard, which is a 3mm back board. Is this the common approach and does anyone have any photos of this achieved in practice ? Fitting an electrical box onto a 3mm board doesn't seem that robust, neither does it seem great aesthetically, a 47mm box would be 2 inches of box obstructing the back of the cupboard for example. It may be too late to do that much about it given the wires are in place. But what is normal, does anyone mount the box onto the wall behind the cabinet and then cut an opening around it ? Or reinforce the board from behind with timber ? We have one wall run of cabinets with Oven, Microwave/oven, Warming Drawer, Induction Hob, Extractor Fan, fridge freezer, and a smart switch for opening the rooflight. And a kitchen island with D/washer, wine cooler, quooker. Would be really good to see photos of what others have done. I will discuss again with the sparky, but sometimes trades have no criteria other than quickest for them, whereas we will be living with it, and looking at it for 10-15 years.

Nah...looks off to me too. More like an a 'artist's impression', particularly as one of the kitchen above-counter sockets appears double-up through the photo montage...

Thanks Dave, so I’m basically gluing the plywood onto the flimsy hardboard then screwing through both into stud? Never even thought of that to be honest. Much better than seeing a batten inside cabinet

I’m a bricklayer. Just had planning approved for south Scotland. Was told rigid boards (PIR) is the standard with 50mm air gap. I sent a email over to building control about having Dritherm 32 fulfill along with the BAA certification. They replied saying I can go ahead with it as long as installed to manufacturers standards. There was no way I would do PIR. Even on my own build taking all the time in the world it would be a nightmare to install. Looks great on a drawing but it just don’t happen in real life and when the bricklayers not getting paid much to take the time you end up with a right mess as shown in photos above. It repels moisture too so won’t get through the cavity, even in exposed locations like mine.

XPS poly beads, every gap is filled around the whole building, any damp gets in the poly beads allows it to drain away. Easy

This cavity slab from URSA available up to 175mm & 200mm.

After the debacle of the last builder, who just couldn’t admit his work was rough, I decided to get https://www.tmcoatesjcbplanthire.co.uk/ back in to dig down the oversite ready for the next brickie that we have managed to get on board. Tim is an absolute legend and goes above and beyond when it comes to excavation tasks! here is a picture of our site (I’ve demolished the abomination left by the last incumbent)

For a PRV? When I've built a whole Nudura house without being a qualified builder?!

I would cut a sheet of 10mm ply to be a snug fit in the recess behind the cabinet, fixed there with your favourite gap filling adhesive. Fix the cabinet with the official fixings into plasterboard fixings, then two screws through into the studs one top one bottom, going through the flimsy back and your 10mm ply

Bringing this back up, significantly in the good way? Or stay away from. Currently being advised on a 150mm cavity partially filled with 100mm PIR. Reading on here suggests I should opt for dritherm 32 at 150mm and fully fill. But I have scope to go to a wider cavity too.

Wow that’s shocking. Can you help what wool batts I should be looking at?

The Dritherm 32 slabs are easy for the bricklayer to fit, easy for wall ties, decent u-value, don't make a mess if the wall gets drilled and easy to clean up mortar droppings. EPS beads are good too but you said you are not keen on them.