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Some graphs in this post that illustrate your point : - reddal

I've ran out of likes, But @TerryE solution is one way to consider, Cheap and cheerful, KISS as they say,

I needed new connections to my Barn Conversion, to split it away from the original supplies to the Farm. UK Power Networks made sure I paid for a new Transformer even though I could demonstrate that our Farm and two neighbouring Farms supplied by the same Transformer were not using anything like the power they consumed 10 years ago. Even to add 20kVA single phase supply for my property they wanted the transformer upgrade, so I went with 100kVA 3 phase and it made no difference to the price. The Transformer was £3.5K, but the overall connection was £8.5K including the 130m of underground cable pulled through a trench that I dug. Here's my Transformer, I feel I own it!

ProDave, thanks for the point on services. I should have been clearer - we went to see a similar CLT passivhaus in Hackney whilst we still lived nearby and decided that galv conduit surface mounted on the walls is not the end of the world as long as we locate it carefully. Our layout (below) means we generally have a 'servant space' (utility, ensuite etc.) adjacent to a furniture wall in a living space (bedrooms etc.) so I'm not that worried about locating drops etc. at this stage JSH, thanks for the pointers on vapour movement etc. I think our insulation envelope is fairly consistent around the building, although I'm struggling slightly with the base of the Larsen trusses and whether they can just sit on rigid insulation as the detail below. I have been assuming XPS here due to the higher risk of saturation at this level but this doesn't really sit well with your point about condensing outwards etc. Self-adhesive DPM on the outer face of the CLT should keep this dry and separated from any external water (plus it forms a backup airtightness layer at junctions. jack, thanks for the weekend viewing. No intention of going it alone on our build - professionals with a mobile crane all the way! They have attended site already and we've agreed a construction plan for this phase.

The problem I have is trying to, very delicately, explain that her work is total crap, and that when she's gone I'll have to undo it, clean it off and do it again. It has led to some sticky moments. The best example was oiling the doors in the new house. There was me thinking that if I rub them down, wipe them over with some white spirit, so they are ready to oil, I can give her a pot of oil and a decent brush, put some newspaper down under the doors and just explain gently that the oil needs to be worked in pretty well, to do a small area at a time, make sure there's an even coat all over the door and to try and brush with the grain. What did we end up with? A dozen doors that I had to clean off with white spirit after she'd gone, around £50 of wasted Osmo oil and a couple of days of my time wasted re-doing them all. Sadly, she noticed. She looked at what she thought was her handiwork a few days later, said she was surprised the doors looked as nice as they did, then asked me outright if I'd re-done them all. I couldn't lie, but I did have a day or two of the "silent treatment" afterwards. The problem is you can't win in a situation like that, unless you're the sort of person that can look at something not properly done for years afterwards and not let it bother you (I can't.............).

I came across some useful information today that doesn't exactly fall into the categories of the title of this section, but I think this is the closest one. The plot that we have bought has an old bungalow on it that we plan to demolish. Because the property has been vacant for some time, North Dorset Council have re-imposed council tax on the property and no discounts are available. Lack of occupancy and change of ownership make no difference. I advised the council of the change of ownership and just received a council tax bill for the remainder of the council's financial year, to 31/3/17. I rang the council as I wanted to be clear on a couple of minor points, in particular since demolition may take a period of time and when council tax would cease, and they put me in touch with the Valuation Office Agency. In short, the VOA advised that as soon as the property becomes 'unbanded', council tax can no longer be levied. The property becomes unbanded as soon as either the windows or roof are removed and so it is uninhabitable. Whether or not it has utilities connected is irrelevant and it isn't necessary to wait for demolition to apply for it to be unbanded. The windows part of this is very helpful for us as our property may have bats in the roof space, so demolition could take some time. However, once we've had the electricity supply to the bungalow cut off, we can go ahead and remove the windows and escape a £1600 pa council tax charge.

Now, don't forget, don't drill the floor to screw the bog down, just glue it to the tiles!

There is case law on this, posted in another thread here: Might be worth a read, as the Council Tax still uses the basic rating valuation law that goes back many years as it's underpinning legislation.

Couldn't you have just kept one of the single gang plug top outlets and replaced the other with 1-gang cooker connection plate that has an oval cable grip anyway? Were the "20A spurs" in fact radials off their own mcbs?

I was finally up on the scaffolding to see how things look from first floor level. I was still probably 450mm below the finished floor level but it gives and idea. The concrete people have insisted that the walls are braced before they put the first floor slab on on Monday. There's a lot more steel than I expected when we started.

I went up today and had a good look around at the insulation. The vast majority is tight up against the wall and looks pretty neat. The main issue seems to be on outside corners and at the ends of runs and I have asked them to seal these off. I think this looks tight enough?

Ok. In that case, you may be better off with a TS. I do forget ?. Good job you didn't 'rush' out and buy an UVC . With oil and UFH, there is quite a big conflict as the boiler can't modulate. That is usually best dealt with by means of a buffer tank but a TS would be the buffer AND provide DHW it's just down to losses and how the house is occupied. With a TS, you'd typically need it heated according to space heating and DHW consumption, much as with an UVC or your current hot cylinder, but the norm is for it to stay hot pretty much all of the time if the house is occupied other than with 9-5'ers. A TS will ebb heat away much quicker than an UVC, mostly due to the extra connective pipework etc, so is less likely to retain useable DHW through the day unless the time clock is left on constant. The summer is where the TS may fall largely redundant ( as you don't have PV so this info is case specific to you ) so there is an argument for a smallish buffer + UVC vs TS. You keeping the upstairs rads and going all UFH downstairs? An open pipe 'combination' TS won't need G3, but a sealed and pressurised one will. As usual, no easy solution other than the one that suits you best .

I AM running my bathroom UFH where the wet room corner is (far left) but I'm having a Geberit wall drain rather than traditional waste. Figure it'll dry the corner out quicker but hopefully not the trap. I very nearly continued the UFH pipes up the wet room corner walls! Nothing under the bath. I've also run it under where the wc will go but that's wall hung. So I'll have warm feet as opposed to warm, wet feet when the kids miss! The hoovers roughly where the bog's going, cupboard on the left as you walk in not heated either as it'll house the (dirty) linen basket:

Why not just dowse for the UFH pipes

Just to add to the above, although we had hassle from the EA on a few things, when I applied for a Permit to Discharge to the stream alongside the plot they emailed me back with the permit within 4 hours! Not a single question was asked, they just granted it.

Back to the OP. Is there a Main Sewer nearby? The House on the same plot - where does that connect to? If it's economical to connect to the Main Sewer that should be your base line cost, and only go with a treatment plant if it saves you money (including annual maintenance). I didn't have the option as there is no main sewer in the road. I'm also on heavy clay, so it was unlikely that a leach field site would work. However I was lucky with the gradient of the site and that I had a surface water ditch running away from the corner of the property, adjacent to the perfect location for a treatment plant. If you work within the "General Binding Rules", you avoid needing a discharge permit from the Environmental Agency. Not that a permit would be difficult to obtain, I believe you just need to prove that a leach field would not work for your ground conditions. Or if a leach field would work then you don't need a permit anyway. Here's the rules: https://www.gov.uk/permits-you-need-for-septic-tanks/general-binding-rules

This looks like this today I had a look at my records: January 2014 was the moment we first thought we might have a go at a planning application because our colleagues told us it was worth a try. Many times we were advised (correctly by estate agent friends and others) not to bother. @MrsRA bought the orchard (which the digger is now levelling) in 1985. It's nearly 30 years since there was a glint in her eye about getting a house built here. When we've built the house we'll reinstate the orchard. Put your orders in for Damson jam quick as you like. I can't tell you what a relief it has been to get to today. Piling mat will be finished Wednesday, and the stone columns go in on Saturday. The BCOs (Approved Inspectors) are having a CPD session at our place on that day , so a couple of inspectors are coming to see the stone columns go in, and the piling company Town and Country Vibro is also having a company training session at the same time. Better go and buy some more tea bags.

For drones you need to talk to our own aerial photographer @Construction Channel Does the site not have existing power..? Being rural you may find its in a pole transformer - these do need replacing and upgrading over time and sometimes you can get lucky and the company will do it for free. Other times then you may end up with a bill - £10-15k is not unreasonable. It also drives the decisions on what to use for heating etc as unless you go very low energy you will need to get a decent heat source that is not power hungry or the price of the transformer goes up ..! @readiescards did some thinking on being off grid in a similar situation

My wife wants one of these. I looked into it and have put my foot down. They just scream "here's where the key is". The right kind of pry bar will have many of these off in seconds, ready for the scrote to take home and open at will.

Beware if buying cheap. LOOK at the spec. I bought a cheap "8KVA" generator out of the back of a van (don't ask). It was petrol, and 3 phase. Now when you actually read the spec, that 8KVA was "peak" and it was only 6KVA continuous, but being 3 phase, it meant it would only power a 2KVA single phase load. It would do three such loads, but there was no way it would power say a 4KVA single phase load. I sold it on ebay or gumtree, I forget which a week later for a small profit. I would talk to the builder and see about hiring a propane or kerosene heater, the sort garages use is what I am thinking. Re house building power consumption, I am up to the grand total so far of 65KWh used to build my house. I typically get a quarterly bill of about £3

Well all I get is a link to Dorothy Perkins so I can only assume it's something about wearing women's clothes?

Following up this, I see that eg Network Rail use postsavers as a default on their posts ... as standard they use either a post boot or bitumen dip. Ferdinand

But,!!!! Don't call them pricks, I can, it's not my house they are building, If it comes to it, with loads like that, then hire is probably the way to go with loading like that, if it breaks down, get hire company to exchange it.

Machine Mart, Tell the builders to get some propane blow heaters,!!!!!

I live in such a remote location that there are not even locks on the doors...... My main landrover is parked 2.5 miles away and only gets looked at by sea gulls, and the scrappy keeps leaving his card on the window ....... My other ancient ex military landy is such a health hazard that if you managed to get it started and drove off you would be lined up for a darwin award.

There is only 1 real deterrent here and that is a simple one. Drive a shitbox. 1) you are less likely to be targeted and 2) even if you are you would be far less bothered by losing said shitbox i wish I could say I was following this advice by choice but I'm not. im following it because I have no money. There's a lesson for us all in there somewhere.

This idea of a single 'master' isolator followed by a bank of MCB's seems like an elegant solution. How does @Onoff feel about that idea?

I'm sure the pro's will have a better solution but I used a couple of these in my last place to balance a hot and cold feed. Worked perfectly. http://www.wondervalve.com/

The easiest thing is to give SWMBO a blank sheet of paper, let her design the kitchen then ask the architect to put some walls around it.