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The boiler upgrade scheme eligibility includes self builders.

Because the inverter supplies at a slightly higher voltage. Electricity takes the path of least resistance.

Get the digger in and strip it back. won't take long to dig down 400-500mm over the footprint. Only then will you know what is needed. You'll only need 100mm or so of compacted stone. The whole beauty of a floating raft is that it is much more tolerant of varying ground conditions across its area.

And that won't be outside the property.

Compact sand and gravel here so no heave. We did have a 215mm inner wall so I guess that could be considered structural all on its own. Also we had I think about 3-4 courses of foundation blocks below the cavity. It wasn't built directly onto the poured foundations like the above diagram. If you can assure drainage to a lower plane a French drain would help regulate soil moisture and prevent heave.

I have hust been quoted £12,000 (zero VAT) to install a 5kW monobloc ASHP (R290) and matched fully-plumbed un-vented cylinder for my new build. Elsewhere I've been quoted £4,300 ex VAT for the same AHSP and cylinder, supply-only. So that's £7,900 on top for labour and minor sundries. Oh, and I'm eligible for the £5,000 from the Boiler Upgrade Scheme ("BUG") too. I know MCS has a lot of overheads and ASHP installers are in short supply. He may well have all the work he needs for months ahead. And there are costs for guarantees, overheads, etc. But I still assume the installer has a parrot on his shoulder and a tricorn hat. Everything is in place for the install. UFH & manifold. Insulated pipe from outside to inside. Even the external temperature-compensation wire. Its as simple an install as you're likely to see. Disregard the £5,000 from the BUG, could a normal G3-registered plumber install this instead? YouTube shows it being a relatively simple install and commissioning seems understandable. Anybody taken this route and can provide encouragement?

What are your exact motivations for hoping to live off grid? It's rarely the most economical or environmentally sound method. Independence from grid has a psychological boom until you arrive at the situation 5-10 years down the road when you have to scale a wind turbine after it breaks and wait for parts to arrive from the far side of the globe. Going to a petrol station for Jerry cans of petrol and running it in a small generator at <25% efficiency is hardly off grid either. A better method on my opinion, rather than isolating oneself from the world is to actively contribute to it with excess PV power and a grid connection. Turn your house into a mini clean power station. @Marvins mantra is on the money. AIM and then APE That is Airtightness, Insulation, Mechanical Ventilation with Heat Recovery, and Air Source Heat Pump, Photovoltaics and Electric Vehicle.

Thanks for all your advice and comments which is really appreciated.

GOOD NEWS ! The plumber found a leak. It was on a new radiator installed by a previous plumber and the floorboards were not yet fixed in place. The leak was in the pipes under the floor and he was able to repair it. Hopefully that will resolve it, but I thought the plumber should be monitoring the pressure gauge, not me. My expectations are quite low with tradesman, and I feel sometimes that I am doing their work. They always want to cut corners.

I haven’t But use The Ardex tile products all the time Very reliable brand

Should have got Hilliard Tanner to sort this out... sleep walked into the architect directing his SE to do the work without me knowing. Oh well.

Hi and welcome Chris, firstly there is a big divide here on wood stoves, some here have one (like me) and others are vehemently against burning anything 🤷‍♂️. All I can say is my wood stove (non boiler) is for chilly winter evenings, looks good and as yet never overheated my near passive build. I have not installed PV yet but plan to. Being off grid is far more challenging and others here will chip in soon. Yes ASHP rather than GSHP IMO. Do post up photos and remember there is no such thing as a stupid question, stupid is not asking. The advise here is born from actually doing it, not sales talk. Looking forward to more info and progress 👍

I doubt you need to break solid rock down to the full depth, but there's likely to be a minimum depth of hardcode to ensure load distribution. Only the engineer responsible for the design can confirm.

I would put lvt under everything except the shower tray. Much easier to lay.

This is what I do with every slab penetrations design, as it's just sooo much easier to not have smaller bore waste pipes traversing the walls / cutting units etc.

I doubt you're the only one who thinks this, but I disagree. "Battery" has a long history of use in relation to thermal storage. Chemical storage devices of the type you're referring to are only called batteries because they're formed from a battery of cells.

In England this applies to new builds Not re roofs In saying that I would always go dry Unless having to match up

I have recently had a quote that amounts to £1280 per kWp all-in, so roughly in the same ball park.

That's what I say when there is some distraught Mr Toad trying to squeeze past dangerously someone on a bike in order to get forward to the traffic jam at the next junction 7 seconds early, in order to wait 7 seconds longer.

It's EASY. I only hit my house three times. Just checked balloo. 6 days hire for the price of two. So that's a 5 tonne digger for a guts of a week for £300.

I think you're right. A local grave digger dug the NIE trench for me. I'll try and get him back on site. Hopefully nobody's died this week and he'll have some free time.

Apparently when farm reps of yore used to visit in yesteryear they drank a capfull of Roundup to prove its safety. I don't know what their current state of health is. Glyphosate is regularly used as a desiccant (drying agent) on standing cereal crops for human consumption pre harvest (not without controversy). I would have no issues with exposing a dog to it post spraying.