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Can you build a replacement house adjacent to the existing and then demo the existing later? You would have somewhere to live then at lease during the build.

Interesting question! Depends on how significant the change is. We had a timber frame. If I wanted to move a doorway 400mm, it was sucking of teeth and back to the drawing board. If they'd somehow managed to omit an internal doorway in the frame, it was sorted on site same day... I think honest and open communication on both sides is key. Your builder needs to be upfront about the implications for him/her (including the impact on their other commitments), and then you can decide whether the change is worth the cost.

Just to say @ProDave kindly gave me a code for Octopus today. The website does look like they're not taking/are discouraging new customers. However if you click the "I know I want to save money, I want to switch anyway" you get through to the option to phone up. I phoned this afternoon, got through pretty quick and spoke to an extremely helpful & friendly agent. Call took about 15 mins all in including holding & a bit of chat. He was able to set me up over the phone - prices on the variable tariff basically the same as Shell (standing charge about 0.2p cheaper) as I'd expected. He also added the referral code to my account, worth £50 each for me and @ProDave so worth having! Less than an hour after dialling the number I've had the email to provide Octopus with closing meter readings so although the official switch isn't till next week I've used my last Shell-supplied units which feels brilliant 🤣

Plastic dolls head floating in the header tank?

Use the correct 63mm corrugated ducting, min 450mm deep and make the bend up to the surface long and slow. assume you’re planning a meter somewhere else then as you can’t install an internal location for the DNO service head..? 110mm water pipe with a long slow bend, min 750mm deep. Can use 63mm blue twin wall but it’s a pig getting 25mm MDPE through it. Single stack or multiple stacks ..? Best running across the base full width for this and putting a rodding point at the far end - drop into the run using Y branch with a rest bend.

We use a laser and put datum marks usually 1m above finished floor level around the buildings corners. . We then build the corners up to the desired height then run the walls in. You can get a bit of line sag on a long run so we usually tingle the line to a datum in the middle of a long run.

When I find them I'll put them on! 😂 There's no "13" either...can't remember why...must consult the book of fag packet sketches...

Minus point for the terminals not having corresponding numbers as the conductors.😀

Sweet Jesus you'll be using dog's cocks next! 😱

I really like the idea of placing some shed skins from a bfo snake under the floor for future sparks/plumbers to find...

Not the most weather proof of things, these photocells. I'm wondering if giving both sides of the PCB a spray with some conformal coating / laquer will help prolong their life?

You need to find a good and pragmatic bat "man" - the guy we used was excellent. Thorough and genuinely cared but not OTT. All solutions were pragmatic and open for discussion in terms of what would fit best with a proposal. It did help that our LA seemed to accept an expert's report and recommendations without questioning any of it. Whether this is commonplace or luck of the draw, I'm not sure.

That's exactly it. No, not downloaded the full guide, but will now. Thanks for the link!!

Damp wall then Thistle Hardwall followed by skim coat (Either Multi or Pure) is the spec I have seen used on these blocks. Also seen a belt and braces of fibre mesh embedded around wall openings for reinforcement in the base layer.

@Mulberry View This one ..? have you not downloaded the full guide from here..?

Absolute madness. I’m awaiting our 3rd survey. 3 bats in and out in the first one, 3 in the second but ‘droppings indicate possible maternity roost’. It just seems like absolute theft to keep going with all these surveys. We’ll do our third in a couple of weeks time and then get planning in. Am dreading what the response is, even though the impact to the bats is minor and only during the roof alteration works and the space goes back to ‘as existing’ as soon as we’ve finished! Sadly it does seem we’re beholden to the ecologists and their wish to charge for another survey! At least there’s no mention in yours about preventing the works altogether.

So it’s interesting what is called “specialist training” as I’ve been on a couple and tbh they spend less time on the important stuff and more time on meeting their MIs. When you start asking questions such as “how do I change the flow curves for a low energy house” there are blank looks from the trainers who are essentially following a training manual. In terms of “passing” their training then very rarely there is an exam at the end - on one we plumbed in a “dumb” ASHP unit that basically has a loop of pipe inside and then pressure tested it, hooked up 6 wires and that was it. “Programming” was follow the installer guide that has the correct settings in bold on the pages …. Heat Geek is also just a referral website owned by the same 2 directors who run Vito Energy in Surrey - their “installers training” is actually shadowing on their own installations. If you want a good ASHP engineer then go and find your local refrigeration engineers - they have been doing this stuff for years, and I’d trust someone with an F-Gas cert more than I would someone with a certificate from a single manufacturer.

Thanks. I have followed your advice and given the scaffolder until tomorrow to carry out 2nd lift or remove scaffolding. I am a bit nervous how he will redpond

Hey, Sorry for late reply - I've been away the last two weeks cycling through France having a much needed break!! Our chap comes tomorrow (he's on his solar course this week funnily enough). As far as I know he is Part P / typical electrician. He just so happens to be branching out into Solar seeing it as something that will be in demand. He's local to you (Minster). I'll report back and pass on details etc in a few days. Ta

We had the opposite issue. Allowed 20mm for engineered wood flooring. We changed to 12mm laminate at the last minute, so used 5mm wood fibre underlay to bring it up to the right height. You'll not motoce a 10mm gap at the thresholds, so definitely allow for the thickest floor covering you'd likely go for.

It also increases the chances of pump-over as the change in pressure when the circulation pump starts and stops gets stored in the "springiness" of the trapped air and bounces back. This is particularly acute if the vent pipe is restricted (either by being too small a diameter, or if crud has lodged in the T-off from the system). I've had systems that would have intermittent pump-over that could be temporarily cured by bleeding. The sludge that was in the tank indicates corrosion so frequent refilling has probably been happening for some time. I'd bleed the system, then close the isolation tap to the F&E cold supply and frequently monitor the level in the tank for a while. I'd also be looking around for leaks from pinholes, poor joints etc. just remembered to add that if it has been pumping over, it makes a lovely lot of steam that condenses out all round the tank and provides perfect mould growth conditions.

welcome. I hate to put a downer on this exciting time for you but, and I speak from personal experience, don't spend too much on ideas/designs/architects/site investigations etc until you've exchanged contracts! we spent many thousands on a previous property only to be gazzumped about 1 week before exchange of contracts. money down the drain. best of luck with it all!

Level in expansion tank would only drop if the central heating system is full of air. Inadequate ventilation would be my guess, high humidity area around tank, has he checked the eaves vents are not blocked with insulation? Feed pipe to F&E is supposed to be a vertical pipe, so will always transfer some heat. You can install a cylinder in a loft, but heat losses in winter would be quite high and all wasted.

Steady on chap, some of us have not had breakfast yet.

I think I'll need to make sure I know what the day rate is!

if no need for achitect or se then most changes are done on a 'day rate' and paid for accordingly. if design changes then achitect will charge accordingly and builder will charge the same day rate to complete

If the light fitting was made with a 2 core flex without an earth core then it will be double insulated and not require an earth connection. There will usually be the square within a square symbol to show it is double insulated.

Just had a look, daily costs of around 40p mentioned, which is high. Carbon filter flowed by ION exchange resin and then a post filter. I am using a BWT AC002200 Combi Care Polyphosphate Scale Inhibitor. About £30 per year for a new cartridge. just installed it upstream of the boiler.

Check the price on 75mm too - it can be had some times for much less than the equivalent 100/50 setup.

https://ecclestons.com For EPS70. https://bmdgroup.co.uk/products/jablite-expanded-polystyrene-insulation-eps300 For EPS300 and other grades.

The PIR I got came direct from the factory, manufactured two days before. All the Rockwool came from a builders merchant just down the road, for a third the price of me going to builders merchant direct.

InsulationHub for me too, as cheap if not cheaper than the likes of SecondsAndCo.

Cemfloor say Pouring between 40mm and 50mm of liquid floor screed for underfloor heating is optimal. The diameter of the heating pipe is included in this depth. We are going for 50 as 40 doesn't allow much tolerance for any wobbles.

What screed are you going for? 50mm is generally considered the absolute minimum depth for a liquid screed, 65mm if using sand/cement.

So basically your threshold is about 230mm above the B&B floor? Take away insulation (150mm), and your left with about 80mm. Allow 20mm for flooring, anqother 10mm for error, and your down to 50mm. The key thing is the floor finish at the door threshold. 5mm lvt or 30mm limestone slabs?! That'll determine your screed finish level. You need to decide this yesterday. You normally do this on the reverse way, set your thresholds based on a set depth of insulation, screed and floor finishes.

Nope. The MVHR heat exchanger works both ways. As long as the bypass is closed, you'll be cooling the fresh incoming air with the extracted air. You should be able to set the thresholds for the bypass opening and closing in the unit. Keep it simple.

Think you may have lost the plot, making a simple reliable ventilation system in to something it's not. Sounds like a recipe for failed ventilation system, that also does little or no cooling as the flow rates are way to low to be effective.

The reflective component only works with air gap - will you have one either side? If sandwiched, it will be just a fancy airtight membrane. I disagree: from U value perspective alone, heat is not clever enough to distinguish what stops it from flowing and which direction. In steady state the same U cases the same flow. But life s not perfect and we have days and nights What stone cottage benefits from is high gravimetric thermal capacity (aka thermal mass) that delays the spread of heat energy (aka phase shift). And by the time it would try to get inside, it will start flowing back out in the night. Also a cottage usually benefits from uninsulated floor, with free underfloor cooling at steady 8'C

Steico and Pavatex/Pavatherm are the leading wood fibre insulation products. I did a combination of wood fibre products. Here is my build up, but on reflection I should have foregone another 40mm of ceiling height to increase the wood fibre thickness.

Things I made sure of before I started the build. Takes from the below are 1. plan on paper, 2. Alway go for the simplest way - keep it simple. Don't build technology into a building that may not be supported in a year's time. 3. do not change design unless there is a really good reason. Your mental attitude needs to be looking forward, how do I get from A to B and C and so on, once A is done it's done move on. Don't ask for too many opinions, as you will get 101 opposing views, that all valid in their own way. The order I did things Made sure layouts where right, we went to the beach and draw out the house in the sand to make it flowed right, scrubbed bits out, added bits, did this a couple of times. Sorted where we wanted light switches etc. Did as much upfront as possible to limit any decision making or more importantly changes during the build, tried to keep things as simple as possible, no clever or complex stuff built in to the fabric of the building. No paid for learning curves at my expense. Still a 1001 things you are asked during the build, but that's the nature of building a one off. Discussed with contractor how they were going to do the build process. Realised pretty soon, they didn't want us on site during the build and we would be invited a key stages only. So knocked that idea on it his head and went self managed, mostly self build. Changed build method to ICF, so it was easier for me to do the walls. Had plans redrawn and new Warrant (Scotland). This caused a 2 month delay. Explored myself internally what I could and couldn't do on the build, and what would be given to others to do. In the end we had we had the following changes to initial design, after building work started CAT5 cables installed in all rooms - an add on to electrical scope. Made sense while electrical work was being done. Changed from main water to private borehole, due to the stupid high price Scottish water wanted. Posi joist roof rafters instead of cut roof. Joiner suggestions to save time on site. Worked really well. Changed the roof insulation to spray foam. 2 day job instead lots of days. This made sense with the posi rafters as all gaps are filled. Reduced the size of a hall cupboard, to make hall feel more generous. That was one my scopes of work, so saved time and materials. Upgraded windows from double to triple glazed. Expensive upgrade.

A slight - but maybe helpful - aside.... Whenever during the build process relatives are involved, a red light flashes for me. It does so because of the inappropriate weight that is often given to their contributions. And that process works both ways : they try to please the other family member and vice versa. In doing so objectivity is the loser. Sometimes difficult messages have to be given and received. With relatives, thats problematic because punches tend to be pulled. I'm not arguing that relatives should not be consulted - I'm saying that you seem already to be involved in a process where if you decide not to work with your family member then it will be difficult to manage the family dynamics. Especially if your choice leads to a 'faulty' installation. I do not envy you. I made that error. And it hurts. Still.

Tbh, why do you need a cad file, what you do want that he said he would do is to have a set sent to your surveyor, structural engineer and bco. What you need on site is a set of drawings with measurements on them, you cannot really scale from plans accurately. So get a set sent to surveyors, they will come out and do a rough plot peg out, from there you can do your site prep, then surveyor to mark out foundations, then you dig then surveyor to mark wall position. I cannot see how a dog is of any use to you unless you have the ability to read it on your computer. If you really want it get the surveyor to send or to send a copy to you.

Yes, but he's a highly experienced builder and worked his arse off.

I have 2 different size blocks in my walls. The largest can go to 1.2m without any membrane but can go higher if needed using one. The smaller blocks can go to 0.9m and that's it.

Oh, thing of beauty!

Those things taste like shit . I’m a purist . Local coffee shop only please ! How dare you mention Shitpresso !! - shame on you !

Some on FB said if I don’t hurry up it’ll be me . Personally tempted to just stick @Onoff in the cabinet . No one will notice his absence of work progress for years .

Not in the absence of an actual schematic of how PW and SE are wired. Sorry.