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I have got to write a specification of requirements for an offshore oil rig looking at this very thing. HVO, or hydrotreated vegetable oil to give it the full title. Basically you take any oil vegetable, fish or animal derived, it is basically treated to get rid of debris and treated in a similar manner to crude oil to break down the molecular structure. Then as it's a substance that absorbs CO2 (before being cropped) it's treated as low CO2 fuel source, so green wash. Particulates and other nasties are just the same as diesel. You can use anywhere, you use diesel. Lot of downsides Not enough used material available, so raw oil gets used, the HVO prime ingredients are palm oil derived, mostly shipped from Malaysia, palm oil plant isn't that great at soaking up CO2 apparently either. Crops get diverted to making fuel instead of feeding people. Food price increases Just as much CO2 gets dumped to atmosphere. Move the co2 from Malaysia to the UK. Just more green wash, kicking the can down the road.

We’re thinking through various options to fund our self build next year…. Just wondering what others have done and what would you do differently re funding - self build mortgage, bridging loan, remortgage??? Our circumstances are…. A plot we own outright with a property on which will be demolished Current home has a mortgage of £40k with 10yrs left Current home value of approx £250k Savings £50k Current home will be sold to ‘pay’ for the self build Budget for self build £250-300k Time scale for self build completion 3-5mths Not wanting to rent as mortgage payments are low Not wanting to live on site as we live close to the plot.

I think the thing "they" miss from this "good carbon because it has only just been captured" thing is we are NOT ever going to meet true zero. We will only ever, at a push, meet net zero if we can capture and long term store some CO2 from the atmosphere. So carbon capture is essential. So our waste vegetable oil that has been used for cooking, it has served it's purpose. So rather than waste a lot of energy processing it so we can burn it to release that CO2 again. Why not accept it is already a good source of captured carbon and pump it, untreated, into a disused worked out oil well? That is a damned good underground storage option where the carbon can be stored for a very very very long time. Instead we have this hair brained idea to burn it in the mistake belief it is carbon neutral, which then leaves someone else the problem of how can we capture and store some carbon so we can achieve net zero? The same goes for wood. Felling it, moving it halfway around the world and burning it on an industrial scale claiming it is neutral is bonkers. Fell it as it is needed to make something long lasting, like houses and the insulation for them. That would be another good and easy carbon capture means. Someone needs to challenge nonsense if we are going to stand a chance.

I have tried this a few times - it made no difference to our house, so really wouldn't bother. In fact I was so unimpressed, I took the facility off the heating system. Keep as simple as possible. Don't see why you buffer/volumiser config wouldn't work.

The reason MVHR has condensate is because the exhaust air is cooled as it passes through the unit. If this is just a normal extract and the ducting is inside there will not be an issue. It can run up, down, left and right. It is only when it approaches the outside that it will possibly cool enough for condensation to be an issue.

unlikely the slab runs under the house so nothing really to worry about. Once you crack it in the middle the whole thing will move.

We built in 18months which I think is reasonably good for a self managed build. But the entire process from buying the site, to moving in, took 3.5 years. And we spent way, way more than anticipated. We've just had to take out another £30k loan to do the landscaping and a few finishes. Cash is king, sell up, ring fence your money and get started. If you have £300k, after you fees, design ,demolition, services etc, you will have £250k. Things will cost a lot more than you think, so you should have a build design that will cost £200k to build. That means a max of 150m2, 1.5 story house, with budget/ modest finishes.

I normally say to a potential client at first contact that they can be in the building in a year. That sometimes includes planning if they allow full design to commence. The reaction was 50/50 seems a long time / that's good. What to add to that? Time lost through client changes or stipulations. Can it be done quicker? A little quicker for a large extra cost, because you are giving us risk. Realistically say minimum 18 months construction period unless you are a very experienced construction manager or accept a standard kit building on a perfect site. @Harmony we are all sounding negative, but in your interest. We now need your response to confirm you are listening.

Good point. It took me 8 months from beginning to end from the initial quote from the DNO to a metered supply

Welcome. Circumstances you haven't mentioned are your knowkedge and experience in construction and in management. How confident are you in the budget? Planning permission status. The construction process. Consultants/ main contractor / diy?

My point is, whatever the fuel, it shoves CO2 up the chimney. Exactly what we are trying to stop doing. It's no good saying it's "good" CO2, the atmosphere cannot tell the difference. As long as "they" tell us this it good (must be the same they as behind DRAX) then you cannot blame people for taking up this sort of scheme, and they will be misguided into thinking they have "gone green" and don't need to bother insulating their homes of finding another heating source that does not emit CO2 (whether good or bad) To me it just shows that "they" either don't understand the issue, or they recognise we have a CO2 reduction target to achieve and this is indeed a way to bend the rules to say "we" have achieved the target. It does not inspire me with much confidence that anyone in charge actually has a clue about the problem.

The quicker you build the more it will cost 3-5 months isn’t long enough Trades are sill busy You May be waiting a month between trades

In the present climate sell the house and live on site, it may not be what you want to do, but you don't want to be stuck like we were with a part build house (basic shell) all money spent, and the old house would not sell in a dead housing market, not unless I gave away a 5 bedroom house for less money than the construction cost of the new 3 bedroom house (i.e pay to downsize)

I hope you have managed to get your party wall agreement sorted out. BUT if you haven't then here is my experience of extension work going on currently next-door where a single storey extension is being built AND the value of getting a Party Wall Agreement sorted for both partys. The first thing I will say is that your projects success relies on the competence of your builder. This is our timeline - 1. March 2023 - Neighbour buys house next door. 2. April - Council inform us the neighbours have applied for planning permission. No communication from neighbours. 3. June - a family friend tells us about the Party Wall Act. Still no communication from neighbours. 4. July - we see on Council website that permission is granted. Still nothing from the neighbours. 5. Late July - we're awakened at 8am by a small jcb type digger driving into the neighbours garden. I then climb onto our garden fence to ask the driver to stop and get his boss. When I say that the neighbours haven't informed us about getting a Surveyor to arrange the Party Wall Agreement sorted before works start on the extension, he says that this project doesn't require it because he's not going to build onto our wall and he's going to leave a 6 inch gap between our and their extensions. As you know, the digging of foundations within 3 meters of a boundry wall falls under the Party Wall Act but either this builder didn't know or else was chancing that I wouldn't know. I said that I want them to stop and wait for my Surveyor to sort the Party Wall Agreement out. 6. Early August - the neighbour delivers a document to us (in silence) with information on their proposed extension works stating that they will safeguard our foundations. Our surveyor and their surveyor visit our property and do their thing. 7. Mid August - Both partys recieve a copy of the Party Wall Agreement. 8. Late August - work begins - foundations are dug, concrete is poured, walls are built, steels are inserted, a wooden flat roof is put on (but only half of it has been glass fibered and its been raining for 2 days on the uncovered boards!). 9. September - works continue... My assessment of the builders hired by the neighbours is that they are cowboys with no interest (or time?) to do a good job. I dread to think how thorough they have been in digging the foundation channel beside our Party Wall. BUT because there is a Party Wall Agreement in place, any damage to our property will be paid for by my neighbours, not me. Your neighbour might not have realised whats involved in your building works and is within his rights to have his property protected.

Hi @Conor I just filled in the move in date of 26th June 2021 and hoped for the best. We did not get the valuation letter until November 2021 so that was to late anyway, Fortunately they paid it all out. Also a picture of our house, it's still not finished. But getting there.

I tried it with the REB speed regulator but it tended to stall. I just use it on full as it is very quiet. Just on/off wall switch. Reducer either side.

Depends on the material. I used a little acrylic sealant on the connections then taped over the join with aluminium tape.

Yes, I'd remove the slab as you'll want to get a good bit of floor insualtion in to the new extension. For removal, two options. Do it now, yourself with a mini digger with pecker, and a large skip. It'll likely only be 100mm or so thick. Option two, just leave it for the builder who is doing the extension to worry about. They'll need to do their own digging etc. Yes,.you need building control involved. If you intend on using the existing footings, you'll need to show them that they are suitable.

Found this place from Google searches, was looking for solutions to a few problems and a couple of times this place has the answers so I signed up! I'm a spark (mainly industrial) by trade, but worked as a formwork chippy before.. Either I'm brave or stupid, but I'm 3/4s finished on the shell of my loft conversion, all the works done myself. But the interiors will be ongoing for several months. What sub-forum is a good place to post about my project? There doesn't seem to be a place for ongoing projects.

Have a look at Beam also, they are the same units rebranded (much lower price when I last looked) and the accessories are the exact same.

I've gone with the mid range Vent Axia Sentinel Kinetic. Only £899 in the Air Shop sale and good support, parts and usage across the UK and Europe. Those fancy units aren't worth it for my retrofit - and most will not go through my loft hatch. Everything should be about £2k all in, including core drill bits etc. I'll be installing mine starting as soon as the ducting arrives from BCP, ideally will have it in by end of September. Another bunch of hours in the loft, yay... I hate it up there 😅

In about 20 years I have only had one shatter cutting a steel pipe, diamond blades won’t shatter.

>>> Been to A&E several time after doing a quick job and getting stuff in my eyes. I find angle grinders to be scary enough that I usually wear a full face shield. My concern is thin disks shattering. This kind of thing: https://www.screwfix.com/p/site-face-shield-clear/6540D?kpid=6540D&cm_mmc=Google-_-Datafeed-_-Safety and Workwear Fairly comfortable.

any member of the public can talk at a PC meeting, there has to be an agenda item of 'comments from the public', you do not need to be invited they are public meetings available to anyone. I'm on our PC so have experience of public coming to talk, can be a right pain to be honest, but it's your right and what you say must be minuted.

Have some experience with Parkside grinders and in general they're great with one exception- the new-ish brushless 20V one. Very little torque, the wheel just stalls under protection any time you force it. Keep the revs up and it's fine. Not recommended...

I have always been pleasantly surprised with Parkside kit. Price is no marker of quality these days.

Have come across this from time to time. Yes your starting point here is to intially forget the soakaway concept and go for a packaged treatment plant. The cost of these has come down a lot over the years. 300 -400m is perfectly doable to pump to a water course.. you may find that a 40- 50mm diameter pipe works fine. It also does not need to be on a fall. I designed one a while back down Aylesbury way where the pipe went up hill first then down to the water course. The main thing is the dry weather flow in the water course.. SEPA do that bit of the work for you.. so you need to make any offer on the plot conditional on SEPA giving you the OK. The application process is faily simple and not hugely costly, but it takes a bit of time to get SEPA to process it. But I would try and lock in the seller early.. don't tell then just how you are going to resolve the problem in case they do it themselves and gazzump you. Also a PTP does not need to be buried in the ground. If the house is higher and you can get a fall to it then fine. Another way is to gather the soil water from the house and pump it up into the PTP a bit like an external saniflo.. but much better. . You have options here. Yes the plot is worthless so the Estate should be fine (unless they want to knock off 40+ k of the value of the plot.. subject to conditions).. all you need is 750m deep track to bury the pipe from the PTP to the water course. You could maybe do a mound soakaway but these are costly to design.. lots of liability for the designer. A mound may cost 20k+ to get it right.. even then the topography of the ground and area available may make impossible.

Over 400m I would put in some rodding points, whether addressed by the regs or not . I haven't looked). In theory the effluent is clean by this stage, and shouldn't ever block, and the rainwater guidelines should suffice.

110 drainage pipe starts around £5/m so thats £1500 to £2000. If your pea gravel was 0.25m * 0.25m * 400m thats 25m^3. Density is about 1900kg/m^3 so 25*1.9 = 48 tons at £45/t = £2000 Digger and driver for a week or is that optimistic?

Sorry just read the first post again, you do need SEPA approval to operate, the full design has to be approved by them, including make model and size of treatment plant, soakaway design etc. They will question everything we got questions on loads of stuff. https://www.sepa.org.uk/regulations/authorisations-and-permits/application-forms/small-sewage-discharges/

I lapped the external wall membrane back into the reveals and placed DPC on the bottom then the window was mounted, foamed to fill gaps and then silicone to seal around it inside and out. I used Siga Wigluv tape to seal the window to the timber kit. The joiner then built the reveals as part of the cladding install and I’ll seal these eventually too. On the inside you lap your airtight membrane around the reveals and then tape to the internal frame. I used pro clima profil tape. Practice how to make corners for a neat finish.

you need to seal it to whatever your inside structural finish is going to be. Sit the frame back so its in line with your insulation and tape it to the timber frame on the inside all the way round.

I too removed my own asbestos (dressed like haz mat gear) and put it into an asbestos lidded skip and paid fir it’s removal (to be buried in an old quarry in Cornwall) it was ok ed by the environment agency (because my nosey neighbour informed them after a fire that asbestos was involved).

Cement bonded (roofing sheets) it’s fine and legal for you to put in a skip from an asbestos company. I did 3 ton out of my place in wales 3 years ago, and I’ve got close to 7 ton to go from here now. My dad collected the stuff

@ToughButterCup I suspect you have plenty of cat swinging space per person. It's fallicy to equate a house with 2 occupant's, high ceilings and an open plan compared to a house with tiny rooms and a large family even though they will have the same designed ventilation. I really liked the active system like Aereco's DCV with the humidity controlled vents. However it was dearer than our dumb MVHR system.

I agree with @Dave Jones. I was going to borrow a digger and do my own, but found a local guy who had all the equipment, I marked out the site and levels. Using an 8 ton digger with myself holding the lazer level he dug perfect trenches, they were straight as an arrow and within 10mm of required depth all round. It didn’t take him very long and he took 200 ton of muck away at a very reasonable cost. I then arranged for a local company to pour the 300mm strip footings then did the blockwork up to DPC myself. So with a mixture of DIY and Trades I got very accurate trenches and level, square foundations for a much reduced outlay

Many organisations use the fear of Asbestos to print money. Last big building we took down had around 8 tons of Asbestos cement roof sheets. A word with HSE and we were told it was low risk asbestos cement, but we couldn`t flame cut or grind the old bolts off as these cause dust. We had to hammer the bolts through the sheets and place all the sheets in a covered skip for transport by the registered waste company.

I got an asbestos skip with lid and filled it myself, dressed like a nuclear scientist, got a “ticket” that covers its removal and that included the quarry it was being put into, copy went to BCO on completion.