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Advise you don't do this.. you'll make more of a mess and it is not worth it. Find a local digger driver who knows what they are doing and is used to working with your soil type. Pay them well and they will give you all sorts of other tips about drains etc.. the founds and with a couple of bacon rolls even more. They could also tell you what ground workers to avoid and who is good locally. I love working with local digger drivers etc as they are doing this day in and out.. they hear what past SE / Goetec Enginners have been telling them and can "feel the ground and see" with their machine. Why not rely / take into account on their local knowledge? It's a no brainer for me! I always want to work with an experienced local machine driver when doing say trial pits or doing founds.. they have saved my bacon on occasions! I know you are thinking you may make a saving getting a machine yourself.. but look at this holistically and the advice you may get.. also you'll get a found in the right place. Digging founds is not easy as you have have a digging strategy.. so you don't box yourself in. Also if you want to have a go yourself then there is a soil bulking factor.. what you dig out grows a lot and if you don't stockpile it properly and seal it ( a skill) then later you'll have a harder job to handle that.

Yes BUT. The replacement plant will be electric. That is a lot of extra green electricity needed if it is not to simply shift the emissions to a power station instead. AND that will only recycle old steel, not make new virgin steel from ore. We probably still need that new virgin steel somewhere in the world, so it is almost certain that new steel will just be made somewhere else, another country getting the jobs and the profit, while being "blamed" for the polution. But not to worry, it helps us meet our target so none of that metters.

Its viable But dont underestimate how crap you will be with a digger first time out. Creating a neat level trench isnt as easy as a good operator will make it look. And if your trench is all over the place, you will munch up a load of extra concrete. Ive done a lot of diggering. Not sure even now i could do "nice" trnches for foundations.

My mate owns and runs a ground works company. His mates rate for him and his machine and accessories is £55/HR. Worth it. I do some diggering, and I'm planning doing some grading, garden wall founds, and landscaping next week. Will be about the fourth time I've hired a machine for a week or so. You do get the hang of the basics pretty quickly, like skiing, but I'm not tackling a black run any time soon. He can do at least twice the work I could do in a day, and far higher standard. Same as any trade really.

Well not to rub it in but currently in the British Virgin Islands. Pretty idyllic until you get to a shop and it's US$12 for a loaf of bread. Fortunately we stocked up on flour in one of the French islands which are less extortionate. Living on the boat for a few years has really shown me how you can live with the minimum of resources. We literally live off sunshine and rainwater. I have a sail for my dinghy and most of the time don't need to use the outboard. So we can go weeks at a time without using any fossil fuels at all. Our main engine is diesel but we don't move that often, and try to only do longer trips on days when we can do the bulk of the journey under sail. Of course, there is some outsourcing going on- we use buses and launderettes, and almost all of the food here is imported.

Fitted the big feature wall tile and the island pendant lights. Bit of centering issue so had to move two of them by 7cm to fix so some holes to fill. Also finished the first room (utility room) apart from final paint and sealing the edges of everything.

When consider the huge economies of scale in farming in some other countries and cheaper labour costs it’s easy enough to see why it’s cheaper. However on principle we only buy meat that is reared local to us consequently it’s dearer but we also cut down on the meat we eat so our spend on meat is less than it used to be. But the quality is better and the money is supporting local farmers.

Ding ding. Break. We can disagree without being rude.

Perhaps those people shouldn't be doing DIY, they should get the plumber in. Or possibly read the instructions that tell how to install a hose without kinking and twisting it.

My comments: The utility is too small. The stairs face the wrong way. The landing is wasting space. The master suite is in the wrong place.

Just don't over twist or kink them. Or over tighten. They usually have rubber o-rings and don't need much more than hand tight.

Out of almost all the trades I tend to find groundworkers some of the best. I think it doesn't attract cowboys - it's blokes who like diggers and digging.

That's a common problem, particularly with DIY, but it's certainly not the only way. It's a real issue: Yes, unless they take M8 tails, but I guess you've asked that. I'd be changing them.

Is this your no neutral smart switch?

So quick to condemn everyone who's opinion differs. Just because what you see on the field next door is rotten, doesn't mean they all are. One minute you are saying the large scale food production is the only economic viability, next you're saying it's abhorrent, yet you disagree when other people tell you about their local situations? Are you just arguing for the sake of arguing?

Thanks @saveasteading. I totally agree! Expertise does have a value and I'd much rather leave it to an expert. However I can't find anyone round here to fit a timber frame door that I supply - I really have tried very hard. And I'm too far away for the suppliers to install. The builder who quoted £1750 was no expert when it comes to fitting windows - he fitted some of my other windows and they are leaky (I have a Flir camera) so they're on my to do list. He'd heard of Compriband but not airtightness tape. However he wasn't keen to rake out the cavity - that would be extra. All the FENSA people didn't want to know which I understand. I think part of the problem is that currently there is a real lack of experts for retrofitting anything. So I've concluded that I need to get on with it and give it a go but you're right - it could be an expensive mistake. If I get it wrong and have to buy a second door I could perhaps console myself that it would still work out cheaper than supply and fit from the swanky companies AND I will have learnt a lot and gained confidence. Apart from that I am currently suffering from a job done incorrectly by experts - I paid over £4k just for the install of an MVHR system (rigid metal). I queried the condensate drain going into the gutter and pointed out that building regs and manufacturer said pipes in a loft must be lagged but he dismissed this. He did eventually lag some of the drain pipe after water was leaking out of the bottom of the machine. Then it all froze solid in the extreme cold weather and water was leaking out of the bottom of the machine. He said he'd never known something to freeze in a loft!! This is an expert. Anyway, the machine is damaged - heat recovery is very poor and it's not boosting - so I'm in a courteous battle with him. Also my new ASHP is not working properly so having similar hassle with that. Do I want to go through this again with a window/door fitter? Not really. But genuine thanks for making me reconsider and look back through all the old quotes. I've found that helpful. And I can see I need to ask my questions in a different, more specific way as people don't want to give me advice that leads me to expensive mistakes.

The sun provides most of the energy. Grass for around half the year and either hay, haylage or silage for the other half plus some cattle feed.

So I guess that means worse working conditions and animal welfare. So I guess that means worse working conditions and animal welfare, as it's not been mentioned. So not comparing like with like. There is a small abbatoir on the outskirts of the village which is used by the local farmers for slaughtering their cattle and sheep. I can buy cuts of beef or lamb directly from the farmer a couple of hundreds metres down the road. The cattle and sheep were kept in the fields adjacent to my garden. So the meat would have travelled a couple of miles maximum. You won't convince me that buying meat from the other side of the world is better for me or the planet.

Yup, that's home, but I'm away travelling on the boat for a few years just now.

Nice an spacious feeling. My one concern would be noise from the plant and utility in the living room. Plus I prefer my utility to be 'off' the kitchen as it tends to end up being overflow of storage. Which orientation is the build to north?

I think that boat has sailed

I don't think it's hugely relevant to a house building forum since it's all 12v off grid stuff. But a bit of info about it: 1kw of PV charging 6.6kwh of 12v LiFePO4 batteries via MPPT charge controllers. 3kva inverter to supply the AC loads. This powers all of my domestic systems including fridge, freezer, induction hob, air fryer, electric mini oven, lights, etc etc. I have a gas cooker which is my backup, but I very rarely need that- maybe one day a month on average. The battery cost about £800, the inverter was about £700. MPPTs about £200. Panels and other bits were dirt cheap- eBay, second hand, etc. The secret is that I'm not in the UK- PV works very well in sunny countries, despite what the newspapers tell you 😂

I really like the design. Nice and simple. Higher ceilings could be good. The living room windows look quite big. If you are overlooked from anywhere you could feel a bit exposed in some parts of the house. Regarding overheating, if you mark up the floor plans with a North point it will be easier to assess, but yes, it looks like it could be an issue.

That gives me a further degree of reassurance. Thank you.

However @flanagaj don’t let us spoil your fun if you want a go, if you do it and get it right you will be dead chuffed with yourself. As I am renowend fir saying “what could possibly go wrong 🤷‍♂️”

In all my years fitting kitchens and bathrooms I have only had one let go and that had been fitted badly (not by me). Not all flexi,s are equal, if they are willing to give a 10 year guarantee I believe they will have sourced a decent make.

Bottom line. Diy digging won't save money unless you have an incredible knack. If you have the line and level marked out then the professional will be in and out in 1/4 of the time you'd take. But if youre bumbling along then diy may be worthwhile. Everything looks easy done by an expert. Not everyone with a digger is good at it, or understands construction. You pay for the muck away and concrete. Surprisingly few people can do levelling properly. GPS is for motorways. For a house use quality tapes, and especially Pythagoras to check the square.

Then crack on! I am just saying I have been there and it’s not as easy at it looks (but can be great fun) 👍

No, https://www.russelltimbertech.co.uk/windows-doors-ranges but quite confusing.

Never had an issue with Flexi hoses. The only way they burst is if you get them all twisted and buckled. If flexible hoses are bad, I pity every car on the road as they have tonnes of them, for fuel, brakes, and air. Stop listening to plonkers on social media, that possibly don't know any better, and possibly caused there own issues in the first place.

Yep Your working to the Topo survey I had an 80 meter drain to dig across the fields With a fall of 600 mil The bit of kit bleeps when you hit your depth

Well I had my own JCB and got quite good at using it but on the advise of my builder we got a local retired old boy who had been doing it for years to dig the founds and he was so accurate and quick it was worth paying him (a little). I think it depends on how confident you are and the impact of getting it wrong. I tried to limit my work to what I knew I was good at. ( I gift my kicks out of digging trees out and drain trenches)

I think you will find it is a bit more complicated than just asking the question. A lot more details is needed. But here is some light reading https://www.structuralbasics.com/flat-roof-beam-design/ https://www.structuralbasics.com/timber-truss-roof/ https://www.structuralbasics.com/rafter-roof-design/ https://www.structuralbasics.com/purlin-roof-design/

I had exactly this problem where my SE specified the foundations below. After a good discussion we've opted for a picture frame instead of goalposts for the beam where the blue squares are and we had 600mm trench dug to 1200mm below DPC that satisfied the SE for the remainder. This way we didn't have to undermine the foundations of the existing structure that have been prefectly happy for 53 years.

The lack of tundish and discharge pipework is serious. Has the installer signed this off as it is non compliant. Get them back to correct this. What on earth is that rats nest of wiring in the bottom, did they do that? It sounds like your mains supply cannot support much flow. You will be lucky to get 2 simultaneous showers from that. Perhaps a mains accumulator would solve that?

It’s not that hard to do. I built a RPi based DAC to compare against a dear Chord DAC I borrowed. Nae difference.

I did my own. I bought an old Komatsu 3ton tracked digger. Digging foundations needs a bit of thought as you want to dig them in an order that avoids you tracking back over a finished trench, and working out how you are going to shift the excavated soil and where are you going to store it for re use or muck away. And the depth is not always constant, it is usually once you pass through the top soil into the harder sub soil, which may not be the same depth all over especially on a sloping site. There you want to step the bottom of the trench not make it sloping. Drains are easy it's the working out how to get a downhill fall all the way without it being too shallow or too deep. That is something you need to work out on paper, not in the seat of the digger. Also be sure before you go down this route your builder is happy for you to do this work.

True story and I have the calcs / drawings to prove it. I did this job for a company who renovate supermarket trolleys. They build big new shed and we had to limit run off into the local water course, from memory it was 5 litres per second. We designed some storage capacity (attenuation) to hold the water and let some of the pollutants settle. As they could weld etc we fabricated an orifice plate.. a bit of metal with a hole in it. But for this to pass EA / SEPA you need to screen it.. we used the old trolleys as a screen and put in place a maintenance schedule (also good to present).. it all passed and happy bunnies all round. If you have a look at the cost of a Vortex flow control valve.. you'll see it's a possible cost effective option. Hint.. next time you are shopping take the trolley home.

I hope you are wrong, fear you are right, and believe that the outcome will lie somewhere in between. Without a doubt there are many people who can easily afford to change who aren't interested. Equally there are many people who cant afford to change who are interested. Yet somehow governments and individuals are taking action. Its too little, too late, for it to be painless, but that doesn't mean that its too late to have a material effect. If you cast your mind back to the 80s, the ozone hole was going to kill us. It hasn't. Not because the science has changed, because people have changed. In the process some people did die, but nevertheless the expansion of the ozone hole has been stopped, possibly even by now reversed. Humanity is equally capable of dealing with climate change and already has all the engineering/science tools to do so. Along the way some will use the argument that 'its all futile so there is no point in me doing anything'. Others (fewer every year because its now self evidently akin to claiming that the earth is flat) will try to deny that there is a problem. But surely enough will recognise that there is a problem to act if they can (and I accept that many cant without some outside support). Just as they have before. Every single person who tries to argue that doing nothing is acceptable, when its obvious that something needs to be done, is acting either without any shred of conscience, out of ignorance, or because they have been fed lies by those who have self interest at heart and are not discerning enough to separate the lies from the truth. However these things snowball, and the actions and words of every one of us makes a difference to what our friend group think and ultimately how politicians act. So we all have a duty to act in some way.+ I am genuinely sorry that you feel that the situation is hopeless and that you cannot do anything to help; its difficult to imagine a a more depressing way to live ones life. Blissful ignorance is one thing, but it appears you recognise the dangers yet feel powerless to do anything. it would be seriously depressing to be in that situation.

Never use fast setting on walls

You might be surprised how much difference it makes, at least to comfort. I certainly was. Not really true. Many older houses (mine included) can be effectively insulated. Not to the absolute best standards sure, but enough to make them much more comfortable. Its a job for when you are otherwise refurbishing or at least decorating. We have heard a lot about what you are against. Whats more interesting in many ways is what are you in favour of? What do you believe we should be doing about climate change, both individually and collectively?

Ah yes, I saw an image - actually with glazing on the outside and it looked great - you just reminded me.

Yup press fit are very good. This type of compression fitting with the built in inserts are very robust too. I wouldn't use these ones which rely on olives. Would it be worth digging up the other pipes anyway and seating them lower in the screed anyway. I'd be worried with so little coverage they would fray and wear over time.

Nobody listens to instructions, nobody reads drawings. They're forbidden from thinking. Not because they're not capable but because there's a cultural rift between those allowed to do the thinking and those allowed to do the doing. It's totally archaic. If I was to do the house again I'd lock the site with one key and keep it that way unless I was there.

Sure I’ve done it too but it’s tiring driving for 8 hours non-stop. HGV drivers aren’t allowed to drive for more than 4.5 hours before stopping for a break (of 45 minutes I think)

Moving heavy loads is perfectly doable towing something a long way is marginal at best not least of all because the charging stations aren’t well designed to cope with anything towed. But the constant myth of you can’t go long distances in them is nonsense. We regularly do Scotland to England in ours which, door to door, is 450 miles. Takes two quickish charging stops and we can do it in roughly the same time as we did it in the ICE car. Sure you can drive your diesel car 500 miles without stopping but few people do that in reality nor is it particularly safe.

Came downstairs from painting to this

If you applied for CIL exemption you need to include the Final Certificate at the final stage of the exemption process (Form 7, Part 2).

Ours is the same: BTW, the "little holding things" are called chairs

Ours was put in on the mesh and pipes were pressurised at the time, so mesh was sat 50 mm up on little holding things then pipes attached to mesh then the pour