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The membranes are magic at distributing the weight but you'd deffo want to be lower than aby soil it will just liquefy. You can use a good thickness of 6f2 to make up the levels it will cover more m2 to the tonne than type 1

Wish if known this several weeks ago, when we had normal block paving sand laid.... Ya win some ya lose some. No idea on sealer yet, it's a minefield!!

Not complete rubbish. I used foil-back PB, which is vapour impermeable, although you end up with some gaps in it for sockets, switches etc. and fixings for PB on the externals walls and roof were specified as 150mm spacing. Payne Insulation were happy with that and there's no noticeable bowing of PB panels or of fixings popping. My (I-Joist) studs were at 400 centres - 600 centres would probably leave the PB insufficiently supported.

I've got 300mm walls and 350mm roof, filling an I-Joist Structure. Yes, would definitely do the same again. Thermal performance and acoustic performance exceeded expectation and are a large part of the resultant perceived high comfort levels. I was a little concerned about cutting Ø100 holes in the plasterboard at the top of every void, thinking the re-work of these may pop the plaster after a few years, but not one is noticeable after 7 years. Just remember to keep the discs you cut out.

Mine was £282. I think it would be big enough for a 3 phase head. Mine is single phase and has a small CU and fuse switch. Sparky is going to fit a Ryefield board so we can feed 2 properties, so we will need another meter. That will be a squeeze, but space on site is limited.

I think it depends on your requirement. (Update: wildcard - may be appropriate if you or the boss are basketball players.) If you are going to want one *somewhere* for the sake of having one, then I'd put it in the bathroom which is accessible - when we moved in to ours the shower was upstairs, and bathroom downstairs, so just as she needed a shower not a bath mum was required to walk upstairs - which was loopy and we re-did both bathrooms. Silly decision by the previous owners. If you know that you will need one (eg disabled or elderly person who needs it), fine - it's a nobrainer. The temporarily adaptive alternative is usually a high-rise seat, or a seat in frame that stand over you loo - this sort of thing. It's really horses for courses - if you have a continuing requirement, then I'd consider your whole shower / washing etc setup from that angle. If you have the luxury of an extra loo or shower room, then perhaps put on in the one you make your "adapted" shower room. I wrote a series of about 6 articles about some of this over on my blog : "Accessible Ablutions". You can generally navigate it, but may need to search a little: And also a forum thread:

Polymeric sand for narrow joints and Rompox for wider joints - both set and prevent any weeds. Did my driveway 18 months ago and no weeds to date! Didn't use a sealer.

Easy enough at the build stage. Wet UFH below screed, electric above.

Yes, an SE has designed the foundation. Everyone, & that includes you, knows this is more than 3 days' work.

Welcome. Spend a bit of time reading the forum. Invaluable. If you look at the forum topics it will lead you through the various stages in terms of information and questions folk ask. If you’re employing a PM won’t they have a project plan? I just used a simple spreadsheet and an action log but about half way in i stopped updating it rigorously as there’s not enough time in the day to stay on top of everything. I did kinda document a fair bit on here for three reasons. Firstly it helped get advice on how to address issues. Secondly it helped me think it through by writing it out and thirdly it was cathartic. The encouragement from the other forum members was good too.

It’s the Emiter one I have. The compression seal on the door is crap and it fell off quickly after installing it. It didn’t leak with this missing but I’ve since replaced it. I also sealed it both inside and out around the base as water was getting in. Even for single phase I’d recommend the taller one especially if you are going to use it as a temporary supply so will have a CU and some sockets in it.

Just buy a new hinge

You don't have a meter, unless it's somewhere else?

11 metres end to end of the house, but not herringone, just wide planks.

Always with the writing on show when fixed

Anybody know what has become of Ed? Not seen here for some time and his last blog post is also some time back. Hope all is well.

Looks very nice by the way.

But to be clear - this is the wrong way.. the bubble is slightly 'toward' the drain, so the slight fall is towards the grass. (which is on pretty solid clay sadly so it soaks the grass)

Neighbours pressure OK? Perhaps check the water co website. In our area we get regular water main failures. They have to bridge the fault with hoses until they can fix it, meanwhile we get somewhat reduced pressure.

Yes I’ve also rendered Plasterboard Same for both Fix S Steel mesh over Fixed with S screw and washer every 300

Nothing wrong there. Just make sure the tap is fully open. A restricted bung is usually yellow, white are full flow, red are stopped.

Sorry missed the question. Mine has an adjustable pressure switch on the accumulator which is wired in to the pump control. Think it's currently set at 2.5bar. so pump starts and stops based on accumulator pressure.

Having re-read the entire thread there were some points I had not taken in. You are completely off-grid You do not have electricity out to the tank location ATM You already have a VSD pump but it does not work properly. Your existing pump sounds as though it ought to do the job but I am not sure about the long suction line, if it is/can be used as a submersible then it is probably designed for flooded suction side rather than having a significant suction lift. I would not have thought the bends etc would stop it developing enough pressure head though it might reduce the delivery flow. I have got at least 10m of suction line as well as a foot valve with integral strainer, several elbows and another fine mesh strainer before the pump. If you need to run a cable out to the tank you could try it with an extension lead first. Have you tried the existing pump as a submersible to see if it works any better in this mode? I am not off-grid so there is mains backup available to help with motor starts but I don't think it makes any use of it. Can't be completely sure as the Victron current graphs don't have the time resolution. Occasionally they catch the starting current of the freezer which produces a really big spike. If I remember I will test it tmrw without grid power. IIRC Victron recommend an inverter 5x the nominal motor power for single-phase motos (and 3x for three-phase which are easier to start as upthread). Hence the 5kVA (which is only rated for 4kW continuously) is not really big enough for a 1200W 1-ph motor. So the solution to this is probably a smaller pump, hence my suggestion of the small jet pump which IME is adequate for a similar house. They will handle a suction lift of 7m though the performance graphs show a significant drop-off in flow rate (from 40 to 20 l/min at 3 bar delivery pressure) but still enough for you. Depending on the relationship with your supplier he might lend or hire you the pump he thinks more suitable. Fitting a second pump to help the first sounds like a cop-out to me and no advantage. It also occurs to me a standard centrifugal pump might be more suitable in your situation with significant resistance on the suction side, but I don't know enough about their characteristics to be confident. Maybe find a supplier (?Anglia Pumps?) who stock them all and so are in a better position to give dispassionate advice. Yes, that should do it. If it does not have an integrated control (haven't seen any reply from @JohnMo) then with the Clarke control unit in the house feeding the pump circuit. But it would still mean a cable to the tank location, which you might be able to avoid with a jet or centrifugal.

Very similar to my last house, everything looks like it’s about crumble (one of the reasons I decide to build new). Nevertheless it didn’t fall down or even show any signs of movement in 13 years I lived there. Unless you want to knock it down, all you can do is stabilise the walls as best you can, mainly by filling/pointing the gaps. The door lintel itself looks solid however the wooden/clad beam running from the corner looks like it needs propping while you stabilise the supporting wall underneath.

Seems to me your installer has been negligent in not advising you of the correct process. They've also broken the national rules by connecting to the grid without consent. I'd be looking for them to fit a G98 inverter for you FOC. If they are members of any trade bodies you probably want to make a complaint. Once you've got a G98 inverter fitted, if the DNO decide to do reinforcement works to handle your 3.6kw export, then once those works are done you can reapply for G99 with a 3.6kw G100 export limit. Shouldn't be any reinforcement cost for you

Yep

There are rules in place to stop people doing what they want and becoming a free for all. For example; looking at your photo it would seem that none of your neighbors have front fences, it would be common to see this on the deeds and planning in developments as there would be rules against erecting fences, parking on footpaths, leaving bins out, maintenance fees etc. But as always, some people have no regard for these and just do whatever they want

When did you get the figures from National Grid, and were they desk-based estimates or actual costed quotations? The rules changed from 1st April 2023 and you should no longer be paying for reinforcement assets (cable and transformer upgrades) and should only be picking up costs for extension assets (the actual connection). OFGEM Access and Forward-Looking Charges Significant Code Review https://connections.nationalgrid.co.uk/significant-code-review/

My pipes are in the ground, but when researching the topic, I thought Primary Pro had a good wall sleeve solution. https://primary-pro.co.uk This Ovo Forum thread also had lots of advice and lots of pictures. https://forum.ovoenergy.com/my-smart-home-138/heat-pump-pipe-insulation-energy-efficiency-starts-with-the-pipes-9477

A lot, in fact, I did a BA in lighting design (and I had the opportunity to do a PhD) and specialised in it for about 15 years, although now I am a consulting building services engineer I still do a lot of lighting design as every project we do still needs lighting. Don't get too hung up on lux levels and uniformities and glare and what not for domestic lighting, even when I do domestic lighting I still just use my professional knowledge and best practise. The issue with domestic is that it is not used like typical commercial buildings, offices, it is an office, you light it like an office, or a warehouse, you light it like a warehouse. Houses are a different kettle of fish, you can put a single pendant kit into most rooms and that complies with what BC want to see. However, we all know we will add desk lights and table lights and floor lights. Kitchens are about one of the only rooms in a house that needs proper, as close to a "design" as you need for task lighting. If I am doing a kitchen in apartments etc. I usually go for about a 500-600lumen downlight, say 2.4m ceiling height, spaced at about 1000-1200mm in a row or array to suit along the counters - typically I will pull out a second row if there is a dining room table shown on the architects GA's. Bathrooms being about the only other room that needs dedicated properly "designed" lighting or else you are stuck with it. Corridors I would typically put the same in in about a 1200-1500mm spacing. I have my go to downlights for these applications and I know the optics will give me the right distribution to work in these spaces for me. Very occasionally I will fire up the lighting design software and do a quick check calc if I want to do something a bit different. "Design" when used in a domestic situation, to me and for many interior designers and even lighting designers is just picking nice lighting, and placing it in such a way to create some nice ambient and useable light. A well placed downlight to create a scallop of light down a tall wall above a stair, or a row of small (e.g. 35mm) down lights along an oak balustrade in a hall, or some recessed LED strip into shelfs. Dimmers are also your friend when it comes to domestic lighting as it lets you add all the light you want, but without the concern you might end up with your living room sitting a 600 lux!, however, make sure you pair your source and dimmer or you will have a hell of a time. I have often put in standalone DALI dimmers (Osram DALI MCU) with DALI driver luminaires to guarantee nice dimming and when done wisely, the over-cost is not that much. Houses, in my opinion should always be 2700-3000K light. I hate seeing 4000K (or worse) in domestic settings, however, that is my opinion, I think some people like the clinical look.

I built this housey on sauuuuuuu saaaage rollllllllls… But I’m guessing I need a good rodent barrier. (With apologies to LadBaby!) I'm really appreciative of all the inputs guys, I think I need to reflect and revisit this soon.