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Yes, but can he build a 14 inch naval gun out of a set of bagpipes and a crate of whisky?

Velfac'a here, really minimal frames and not possibly to spot the casements from the outside

As per title really, best way to move them I find:

I don't do blogs but I thought I would share the look of my build now the scaffold is down, once again I could not be more pleased with the build and my builders. P S shame I can't get many building materials in the car !!!

Turn the container upside down then the hole will be on the bottom..... You've got lights on the digger - off you go...

For me this has been the hardest few weeks as we get closer to finishing there seem to be more decisions for me to make. Also finishes and how things look become more important. With the build dragging from an initial July finish, to end September and then end November, I decided that I had to make sure it was not going to slip anymore. I think we are now good for mid November. My wife has a party organised for December 2nd which allowed lots of time from completion when it was arranged. I managed to source paint for steel painting which was quoted at a ridiculous £150 a square metre when they knew it desperately needed done, I expect the final cost to be around a quarter of that. I have just got an estimate for the internal doors. Lucky I did as the specials are 8-10 week lead times. They have pretty much finished the electrical first fix and started on the plumbing. They have been framing out and plaster boarding upstairs. The plaster skimmed walls have lovely finish. The windows are still not in due to the steel lintels not being painted and the roof in only around 25% tiled. The windows should be done in two to three weeks and the roof maybe a week later. Then the rendering can start outside and we can work on finishes inside. I have just told my wife that she can finally choose paint colours. Framing for master en suite More roof tiles MVHR and other pipework Hot and cold water loops going in. These will be fixed to the slab. Sprinkler system in, can finish plaster boarding the ceiling now. Plaster skimmed walls More plaster Cabling in AV cupboard Plant room

Alternatively:They have said you can discharge to the watercourse via a "partial soakaway" Is not this open ditch your "partial soakaway"? If it were filled with a perforated pipe and covered, there would be no question. I have gone the "partial soakaway" route as that's what SEPA stipulated. Like you in winter I expect my partial soakaway will act in reverse as a land drain helping to lower the water table, but certainly all summer it has been working and actual discharge from the pipe at the other end into the burn is not very much at all in the summer. Here SEPA wanted to know flow rates of the burn in the summer to work out dilution rates etc. I guess the partial soakaway does work as it ensures in summer when the flow is lower, so too is the amount of discharge into the burn. In winter if the water table gets high enough that it does become a land drain, then the flow rate in the burn will be very much higher so should still have a good dilution rate.

Jesus I can feel my curry coming back up!

im with Russel, Ct1 a slate over the top and go for a pub lunch. Priorities Ian Priorities....

We've painted our storage containers Matt olive green drab and they blend in to the woodland background to the extent that visitors say what containers? The problem I have is the different shades, if you search for RAL 6003 and look at them as a page of images you'll find at least 12 different shades of the same RAL colour. https://www.google.co.uk/search?client=firefox-b&biw=1024&bih=664&tbm=isch&sa=1&ei=v12gWaTQM4WjwAK81bjQDQ&q=ral+6003&oq=ral+6003&gs_l=mobile-gws-img.12..0l2j0i30k1l3.9922.23195.0.24266.9.7.2.0.0.0.421.960.3j2j4-1.6.0....0...1.1.64.mobile-gws-img..2.5.393...35i39k1j0i67k1.KMmb5MVeSWI

All fur coat and no knickers may have a bigger chance of being preserved.

You threatened that months ago. I call all mouth and no trousers.

I went through much the same process. As far as the EA are concerned, then the best bet is to just do it online. There's every chance you'll be asked no questions at all, just issued with a permit to discharge within a couple of hours or so, semi-automatically. Once you have the permit to discharge that will satisfy building control. In our case I was already engaged in a fairly long debate with the EA about flood risk, which frankly was like pulling teeth. The flood people in the EA gave me the contact for the permit to discharge, and in complete contrast that was the most painless bit of bureaucracy I had to deal with for the whole build. The rules for discharging to a water course (which can be a field drain or ditch) are that it is automatically permitted (in England and Wales, not Scotland, not sure about NI) as long as the water course flows all year around. There is no definition of flow, so I would assume that as long as it's wet it's probably OK. This is the form: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/609905/LIT_6778.pdf and in my case I was given an email address to send it to, in Exeter, I think. I can dig out the email address later, once I'm back on my main PC, as it's probably the same for where you are. They emailed me back the permit within a couple of hours, with no queries. I got the feeling they treated it as a formality.

Think I read on BH somewhere that it can be 'sanded down' by a few mm to get rid of the scummy top. But I'm sure the experts on here know more... ahh found them: and

Would she be better with some kind of cart? Takes all the lifting out of it just need to drag it around. Only advantage of a wheelbarrow really is being able to tip. Or you could get a tipping cart ( not that I can see it being any good at tipping) e.g VonHaus 75L Garden Tipping Cart Dump Truck Wheelbarrow Trolley https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01DKTQLH8/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_RsbOzb6FA1YHK

LOL! My genuinely original quote did sound too good that no-one had done it before!

Erm, yes you do, because your employer (or the entity to which/whom you're contracted) has agreed in writing to "do" Durisol. Quite aside from anything else, why would any builder, irrespective of knowledge or experience with particular building systems, want to do anything less than the right job? Following a line is a fairly fundamental part of building, whether you're laying blockwork, building a stud wall or slating a roof! Looking back at this from a few months or years in the future, the loss of time and funds will pale beside the feeling of relief that your house wasn't ultimately built by these neanderthals.

Looking good @joe90 As @craig says, going for a non standard window colour really can pay dividends. We went for a similar green in our last house at were very pleased with the look: There are a few old croft houses up here that have bright red doors, works really well against the stone.

Cheaper: Stick @pocster's avatar pic the garage side of the door. Would you come in to that house? If you made it back out it'd leap off the roof onto you...

I hadn't realised until this morning, but Eurocell are one of our local successes, and seem to have a very good reputation. They are a £200m turnover business based within 5 miles of where I live, and manufacture their products in Alfreton, Derbyshire. Largest UK based PVCU profile manufacturer / recycler. I hope they stay independent; we require a Mittelstand. Founded in 1974, , and hahave been through a couple of ownerships; now independent and on the stock exchange. So, yes ... buy Eurocell if they meet your needs. Hopefully suppliers like Sunamp will follow a similar or better growth pattern. Ferdinand

I'm just bloody glad the wife doesn't read this....

Better to be a coward once than dead forever ! I made that up but it sounds good!

The installation manual here isn't very clear but the speed adjustment is on page 15.. http://www.greenwood.co.uk/uploads/docs/448.pdf step 3 Press speed adjustment buttons to required level and verify with an airflow meter - re-press Airflow Button to confirm

Thanks for your comments guys, our neighbour has finally moved away (hooray) , the caravan is still on site Nick, your most welcome anytime. The colour of the windows is a sore point, we thought we had picked "National trust green" ( olive green) it wasn't till the windows were delivered already sprayed that we realised what RAL 1000 actually looked like, don't ever pick a colour from an iPad colour chart ?. The good news is we love the colour and have had lots of comments about how nice they look and the colour compliments the bricks ( phew). Yes it's larger than we thought, the planners didn't like dormers but the appeal judge thought it was in keeping hence we won our planning appeal. Just the inside to do now ?.

When we lived in Scotland we had a pump station, as the house was at the bottom of a steep drive. It never gave any trouble in the five years we were there, and there was no spare pump, or alarm. I did lift the lid a few times to check all was well, and it looked as if changing the pump would have been an easy enough job. It was on a length of chain, so just needed pulling up, hosing down and replacing with a new one. An alarm and a spare pump kept ready to fit seems a good plan. I have a effluent spare pump and alarm on our treatment plant, as that has a pumped outlet. I can't see the point of a dual pump system, as that's like storing the spare pump in effluent all the time. I'd rather have the spare somewhere warm and dry, so you can be reasonably sure that it'll work when it's fitted.

Thank you all for your wonderful replies - I feel quite humbled. And 100% my fault for being so terse I generated a few misunderstandings - sorry ! @JSHarris I've been talking to Onyx Solar [ http://www.onyxsolar.com/ ] . They supply world-wide, and were happy to talk to me in the context of domestic / residential, even though the majority of their work is much larger scale. Unlike quite a lot of the 'near market' stuff we hear about, they've got an extensive back catalogue of finished installations. Attraction for me is they could supply BIPV windows, roof tiles (made to look like red clay pan tiles) and opaque BIPV glass for ventilated facades (note @Tennentslager ). My handle is astro-related, not vehicular. Enterprising detectives might use this route to un-mask me ! @Triassic You are right. I don't have much of a network here (read above for socially inept ) but am confident that new circumstances and activities will bring their own rewards, via astronomy, agro-forestry and social action interests, providing only that I make a go of it. @ProDave I agree with you: I am not likely to save money on a custom build. @recoveringacademic is exactly right and understands me well. Within reason, I am exchanging higher initial capital costs for lower outgoings in the future, coupled with as much independence from utilities as possible as a hedge against future instability. Even to the extent of not paying particular attention to payback periods, ROI calculations etc. It's the evidence-based case that bothers me at the moment. No point in wishing on the moon if I am not likely to be in a position to achieve it. And I have significant responsibilities I must continue to fulfill (two older teenagers needing a base, father who is not getting any younger, etc) @gravelld: I've actually had initial feedback from one firm of architects that three significant trees just to the S of the plot, in combination with a single storey build, might make PH unachievable, if built on the existing OPP footprint, elongated N-S. However from what I understand, cooling PHs is more of a challenge than heating them. DHW could be immersion during high insolation months and HFC CHP during the winter. @Nickfromwales and @Ferdinand: My apologies for misleading you. The granny annexe could also serve as a short term self-catering holiday let of one double bed self-contained accommodation within the single building unit. Relatively easy entry into this market: a fire inspection (recommended anyway!) and some understanding of customer service and market research, coupled with a willingness to hire and pay well a cleaner on a changeover day. I'm looking at Green Tourism accreditation as a way in. The plot is right next door to an established mid sized country hotel, though, which could make life interesting! I would definitely not be in the long term rentals market, and nor do I have the slightest interest in resale value. This is an extremely long term commitment for me. And shared facilities is definitely the way to go: one MVHR & one heating + cooling + water system for both main and annexe. @JSHarris and @reddal Thank you kindly for your testimonials about GSHP. Per the above, ROI is not what I am looking for. I thought though that GSHPs didn't involve refrigerated coolants, and were water: water. I am looking at open loop systems such as http://www.synergyboreholes.co.uk/geothermal_boreholes/index/open-loop/ and http://www.soloheatinginstallations.co.uk/ground_source_heat_pump.htm . How much would you pay for filters in the heat pump primary? Would this be of the same order of magnitude as filters I understand the MVHR would need? Open question: the local sewer mains is 150 mm piping which according to local residents has already blocked twice in a year, but Anglia Water say it's just fine to add another 35 houses to (! ). But the site is on the boundary between groundwater protection zones 2 and 3. Service connection to main sewer, or sewage treatment plant, like http://biorock.co.uk/ ? I'm sure I must have missed loads, but it's late, and there's plenty other chances!

I looked at one of these but they aren't ErP rated and getting a control box was a nightmare ! Did see this one though - Trianco are rebadged units so can probably be controlled pretty easily http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Trianco-FG9005-Activair-5kw-Air-source-heat-pump-/172762211301