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Because our site was on a slope we always envisaged having a walk-in basement, that’s a basement surrounded on three sides by the slope and open at the front to a lawned area. The architect recommended a structural engineer to design the basement walls, what I hadn’t realised until it was too late, was that the design would be way over-engineered. His design is for a 200mm thick steel reinforced poured concrete wall tied into the basement slab. The slab and retaining wall contains about 52m3 of concrete and 3.5 tonnes of steel. The only saving grace is that it sits on an insulated raft designed by Hilliard Tanner and has UFH pipes cast into the concrete. So here we are just about to start pumping the concrete into the insulated slab. Next, the ICF basement walls were put together, a bit like Lego. Here you can see the completed walls braced and ready to receive 26m3 of concrete. Finally, the lounge section of our insulated raft foundation was done to complete the three-stage foundation project. In this photo, you can see the insulated raft and its steel ring beam under construction.

If only you had taken your time with this project instead of rushing you might have spotted this

Best solution, if achievable in your circumstances, is Access Points (APs) connected by ethernet (not wireless). APs ideally should have seamless roaming, like Unifi AC-Lite (below) or similar. They are not very expensive. About £70 each. If you go with that approach, you don't need anything else. You can turn off the wireless transmitter in the modem provided by the internet provider. It does take a tiny bit of technical knowledge to set up such a system up but I assure you that its very easy and there are people on here who can troubleshoot for you. For an HMO, you can also manage the network remotely with a little extra cost (about £70). An example of a suitable AP (you would need at least two):

Newer AC Lites, including all those currently sold, also support 802.3af/A PoE as well as 24V PoE. But do beware of that if buying second hand. There's a sticker on the box of the newer model, see the top left blue triangle:

Oh and one last thought. I would imagine in this day-and-age and for an HMO, complaining about WiFi will be a perennial pastime for your tenants. I would think that investing in a good Wifi system (ethernet wired, not wireless, and mounted in the ceiling away from prying hands) would pay-off many fold. Add in remote management and you have solution that could well make your life easier. Not to mention that good WiFi could be a selling point for prospective tenants. In your case, I would avoid consumer solutions and instead go for a commercial solution like Ubiquiti Unifi. Its widely used professionally, including for large deployments. Every professional installer you speak to will know all about it. It takes a little getting used to be once setup its really just fit-and-forget. You can DIY-it easily. And its not expensive. Just a thought.

Hi Everyone, Just as we are finishing off my house, just a few things to do mainly landscaping, I am contemplating doing it all over again. My parents moved to an apartment 6 months ago and it is lovely, but they just don't like living close to other people. Meanwhile there is a piece of land for sale at the other end of the street to mine. I am considering making an offer for it and building them a house. Hopefully I could learn from mistakes that have been made on mine. Stay tuned, I will know if I get it next week.

The Passivhaus Trust has announced that the number of certified Passivhaus units in the UK has topped 1000 - with at least as many again in the pipeline. http://www.passivhaustrust.org.uk/news/detail/?nId=787

Shared drives only bring trouble. Reduced house value as well?

wouldn't buy a house with a shared drive, too many problems can be encountered, tell vendor to sue his solicitor.

I'll be watching tonight's episode with interest. It's billed as "Britain's first 'healthy' house" and that's quite a claim.

I didn’t bother fitting the flow meter as I didn’t have much space. So I set the pump to the lowest setting and then kept upping it till the ASHP didn’t trigger the alarm. Then did it from highest setting downwards. This gave me the range of what settings on the pump would work. I aimed for the slowest, as (to my logic - no actual facts) this used the least energy and extracted a degree or two more heat.

It depends on how difficult the developer could make life for the friend. If not very, then I would feel under no obligation unless legally required to do so.

Wouldn’t provide the shared drive, it’ll only be trouble in the long run.

I don't think I would be inclined to add it in those circumstances but it would depend whether there was anything in the legal paperwork required me to do so. Title deeds seem to get cocked up all the time (mine are in relation to an access route through to a gate at the back of the property).

Nigella visiting every other Thursday?

I wouldn’t

One further thought, if you want to spoil your tenants with WiFi coverage outside in a garden or open space, there are waterproof APs made be Uniquiti.

Might be worth playing very safe and fitting a battery powered dry contact thermostat, as that way you know there are no high voltages around, although a relay would be fine, if you can find a neat way to mount it.

Just be careful what room stat you use ?

I’m automating my house not the tenants ?

It wouldn't enable you to reset the modem provided by the ISP (which you will still need). I would recommend a remote activated smart switch as a solution for that except for one huge flaw. The smart switch wouldn't work when the internet is down (unless it is connected to the 3G network; I believe there are some switches that do).

? Sounds perfect for me . Will get it I love ‘controlling’ my properties remotely - saves SO much time - except when virgin screw up ( as of now believe it or not ) - so no access ? Holiday photos for 2 weeks of the year are why I work the other 50 weeks . Just wait until next year !!!

You can access everything about the wifi network. You can see who connected, how much data they are using, you can set all sorts of limits. Importantly, if you need to reset the network (fixes most problems) you neither have to visit nor instruct a simple-minded tenant what to do. You can reset it all remotely from you beach in a far off place (yes I remember your lovely photos ). Its entirely optional. Perhaps start without it.

Good point. I forgot to mention PoE. Keep in mind that a PoE injector is included in the box with every AC Lite.

You beat me to it @Dreadnaught The AC Lites are POE, power over ethernet, you will either need a separate ethernet power injector to power them or a POE switch. A cheap switch plus POE injector like this seems the cheaper option. https://www.amazon.co.uk/UBIQUITI-Networks-POE-24-12W-Ubiquiti/dp/B00HXT8LPW/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1538588859&sr=8-5&keywords=poe+injector POE switch option https://www.amazon.co.uk/TP-Link-TL-SG1005P-5-Port-Gigabit-Desktop/dp/B0769C24T1/ref=sr_1_2_sspa?ie=UTF8&qid=1538588800&sr=8-2-spons&keywords=poe+injector&psc=1

You beat me too it ! just googled and found poe powered switch with Poe pass thru Perfect thanks ! . Have to ‘box it’ in so prying fingers don’t touch !

IIRC, wasn't that Wunda not knowing anything about a product they were selling? The thing that gets me with them denying what they told you on the phone, is that their plain wrong technical advice could have killed you, rather than just blown the ASHP main board. They told you that the contacts were isolated and that the case of the product had been marked wrongly, so you might have taken them at their word, handled the wiring from the supposedly isolated contacts and been electrocuted because they weren't isolated at all. I bet a court would have taken the advice they gave, and which you relayed here, into account if such a dreadful thing had happened. I think the clear message is to not trust anything they say in future, as trusting their advice might just kill someone.

I asked for WiFi recommendations a few months ago and five members recommended Unifi. I put in 2 AC Lites and the whole of my 4 storey house is covered seamlessly. Pretty simple to set up and works very well.

Looks great ! I'll see your 200mm thick basement walls and raise you a 300mm thick wall and slab with 12.5 tonnes of rebar and 111m3 waterproof concrete

When we were in the caravan, we set up an old spare BT hub to be a wifi access point. Hard wired tot he main router with am ethernet cable. It seemed to work well. Something similar for you with 2 or 3 of them?

I was also thinking about buying a Tesla at the end of the build using the money Id saved. Looks like I might be just about able to buy a second-hand electric bike !!

I'm with you on that one, what's a £100 and a weeks delay in the grand scheme of things, nothing worth worrying about! Just think of the poor buggers on Grand Designs wasting thousands digging holes for over complicated foundations or buying taps at hundreds of Pounds, because they look nice!

I've found an Italian supplier that has it listed, but with no price and a really clunky website: http://cantieriazzurra.com/ECLinkProduct.asp?grigliaOrder=Sorter_product_s_desc&grigliaDir=ASC&product_id=289306&newtitle=Compatibile

Pub? Just to reflect and have some time out away from the problem. Hope you get things sorted. (At not much cost to yourself)

@Triassic @joe90 I’ve ordered a replacement GMC board. It should be arriving beginning of next week, so i’ll Let you know how it goes.

@PeterW On advice from you and Nick I didn't get the stats, will buy those separately. You suggested I got the ones that @JSHarris recommended. Not got them yet.

I would ask the stone slip company what board, adhesive and fitting is covered on their BBA certificate (if they have one) because otherwise, if anything goes wrong, they will have a get-out. There are lots of boards on the market, like BluClad, which can be used outside. Building boards are sometimes called Calcium Silicate, Magnesium Oxide, Backer Boards and various others but you really need a spec from the slip system manufacturer.

I hope it's not done any damage, too. With luck the 12 V connections in the ASHP have some form of protection. If there is damage, and as Wunda told you that the thermostat had dry contacts, I wonder if you could claim against them?

I would have said it’s gutter seal or similar. Loads of movement and sticky as hell. Everbuild ROOF Roof And Gutter Sealant, Black, 310 ml https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B003OVCCU8/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_rUhTBbMVYM3YY

Try this Sample_Costbook.txt Rename from txt to xslx

Is this a garage to use as a garage or something else ..?? The only issue with putting lots of windows and glass in a garage is they become scrote magnets as the local light fingered fraternity decide to use your tool collection as a free version of Halfords .... Oddly I prefer working with artificial light in the garage as it’s more consistent - nothing worse than the sun going in as you try and put some fiddly bits together on a bench !!

My God! Are you 2 related (ain’t that the norm up the valley anyway ?).

Once you've got one, it's keeping it fed and watered thats the issue. Spreadsheets are worse than children. Instead of ' .. needing ... ' this or that, spreadsheets just sit there silently sneering at you - You haven't updated me recently have you? Hmmm, you'll see.... Listing itemised costs is difficult. How much detail? Enough to be meaningful, but not so much as a book keeper might require? Going to cost in the extra travel, the additional phone calls? Consider keeping an online version so you can update it from multiple platforms . Good luck

You can get windows put into sectional garage doors.

Cat will pick up pretty much anything metal - to find water sometimes you need to put a tone generator on the pipe but some pipes it doesn’t work with. The difference is that if you hit a water pipe, you fill the trench with water .... hit an 11kv underground cable and you fill your pants .....

buy an Austin seven, simples.

@Triassic when calculating what type of system to install, I compiled a table listing the various options, taking into account capital cost, servicing and energy costs (using 500kWh increments from 2500kWh to 5000kWh )then worked out the total cost over both 10 and 20 year timeframes so I had realistic annual figures to compare. It was a pen and paper rather than PC job, so no longer have the actual figures. Below 2500kWh demand for DHW and 2500 kWh for heating, direct electric worked out best overall, above that other types of system became cheaper. Interestingly there wasn't a huge £ difference once all the cost factors were taken into account (maybe a £100 to £200 per annum difference IIRC), which for some may be a price worth paying for the simplicity of an immersion / willis heater vs an ASHP. We went for an off the shelf plug and play system which has worked really well for us - no messing about, no trial and error, it just works and works well.

Hmmm not sure how i’ll get on poking around in such a small space with my clumsy hands and cheap tester.... but as Del says “He, who dares, wins Rodney!”

I used a company in co Donegal called mcmonagle stone. They do both the cladding type and normal stone. I only have 2 pics on my phone. The corners are L shaped so look more like real stone work. Mine is silver and gold quartzite. I have the same silver quartzite flecks in my dash so when it's sunny they sparkle.

I'm interested to know the purpose of the air gap? I haven't come across it before in a fully filled context, we didnt have one (dritherm32 batts fully filling a blockwork cavity). The Denby Dales houses spring to mind - they were I think 300mm cavity fully filled with mineral wool batts and again no air gap that I recall.