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@canalsiderenovation, a thought. Theres a group of people living near us who have used the River Lune for just such a hair-brained project. Its called Halton Lune Hydro. Its being going for over 10 years. They have open days every year - there will be a significant number of people there who can at least point you in the right direction. They also built a series of passivhauses way back then. Thats why we know of them. Very helpful people indeed. Halton is ust at Junction 32 on the M6

Hi mate. To give you a reality check, this sounds like way too steep a learning curve, in too short a space of time, on an extremely fragile budget (being polite there btw). As above, £160k will get you the keys to a house you can just walk in to and put your toothbrush in the holder, switch the telly on, and open a beer. So, question has to be; “Why not take this simple route vs the leap into the unknown”?

You've had enough haven't you. Pissed off doesn't begin to cover how you feel. And you find this site and a bell goes off in your head. You read like mad and it looks like you might be able to do something which means you can be in charge of your own destiny. Hope. Been there. It's *king awful. Nobody can take that hope away from you. Nobody. So how about this.... Read this site from end to end. Look at the vast array of problems we all help one another with. Every single one of them (almost) is solvable. None of us here are quitters. None. Warm your hands on the warmth and energy this site gives all of us who decide to give as well as receive. Make a list of the main things that are between your current situation and your aim. Search here (buildhub) on how we've all sorted out exactly the same ones a s you have now. Read in detail. Then work out how you are going to solve all of those problems. One by one. Don't worry about then order in which you solve them. They're all related. Remember how pissed off you are now and use that to reach your aim. Not having enough money is an asset. It makes you think. Hard. Being hard up is no excuse not to start and keep trying. We have taken about 35 or so years (Land bought 1980s) And don't give up.

Thanks for all your suggestions. I successfully drilled a 8mm pilot hole with a log masonry drill I already had and a borrowed SDS drill. I then used a 40mm bit with a 350mm shank off Amazon for £17. Took about an hour to get through from both sides.

Is this irony? If so, please excuse. Or have I missed some fundamental point? The OP has built below the neighbour's land. The neighbour has been left with a messy boundary. The neighbour has been helpful and is blameless. What practical use is that 100mm? It can stay on the deeds.

Very interesting - this is exactly how it should be loads of capacity in a wasted space zone above the cars and shading for cars in the summer so saving on Air Con when they move. Looks like we are doing it here somewhat as well. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-65626371

Wadsworth and Saxon where the main players in my area They ran quite a few successful schemes No money upfront There only criteria was that you had a full time job and was able to get a mortgage at the end of the project A minimum of 20 hours per week was also pledged

Good post One of the above should have pointed this out

Are you able to get some work in the building trade even part time at the weekends? This is where you will be able to supplement your academic learning with hands on stuff. If possible get work local to where you want to build.. much of self building is about contacts.. the folk you know, the ones who do a good job and have "flexible methods" of payment. It is possible I think. I'm a firm believer that if you work hard you generate your own luck. Also, at times, you may feel that this is a mountain too high to climb. Do it in small stages.. get to base camp first then plan and prepare for the next part of the ascent. I wish you all the best and keep BH folks updated if you can.

just install AC. We did and love it. We have external blinds which shade nicely but have big windows that we like to look through so sometimes want the blinds open when the sun shines. other areas have large windows that we can’t shade so the heat comes in. we just turn on the AC which is powered from the solar so we just use it and enjoy our house. we also leave it on overnight if required to maintain a nice temperature in our bedroom. It uses very little electricity to maintain a temperature. love it. So glad we installed it.

Lads lads lads. Thanks for getting involved, but boy this got heated! Thank you all for the input. As well as the suggestions here, I've had a suggestion of a stub wall up against my wall with a DPM vertically between it and my wall for the length of the wall. The outside of the new wall would be on the boundary, and damp couldn't get through it to my extension wall. This sounds good. This is similar to the concrete gravel board suggestion (thanks @Gone West) (again with DPM vertically between it and my wall could work). @ETC thanks for the diagram, that captures it. Something physical is probably the only realistic solution, because even if he digs it out now, over time it's going to fill back up with crud. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but some day in the future, I'll have to crack this nut again. Damp waits for no man and soil creeps. (There's also the added benefit of demarcating the boundary.) @saveasteading I'm not sure I fully understood your suggestion of leveling off both mine and his land, if he doesn't want his level brought down?

Actually it’s not such a big deal to put panels flat on a flat roof - a techy neighbour has that set-up. Again pvgis will tell you exactly.

I have been doing ours on line with UK power networks. Set up an account and just worked through it. It has drop downs for many things including your inverter - not there makes it tough and then all they need it a few pics of the meter installation and a schematic. Need to get ours in now we are putting the cells up, won't connect it up myself, that's an MCS job but have installed the power meter etc as we had the foresight to put an isolator into the power line after the meter so I can isolate it safely.

You can certainly do it yourself (I had no choice as the battery system was a self-install) but it is by no means straightforward so if the installers are willing I would leave it all to them, hopefully they deal with yr DNO all the time and know the wrinkles of the process. There are (or were) several different kinds of application possible, some fast-track and some not and the forms vary from one DNO to another so getting the correct advice is not easy. If nevertheless you are in a big hurry I would start with a call to yr DNO helpline and ask what they want rather than try and work it out from the web site.

In that case give them a choice, either they give you permission for angled frames - which will cost extra and look dreadful - or allow you to have a normal pitched roof. PVGIS is your friend here as you can demonstrate to them how much generation you will sacrifice.

Start with the physics. Power (W) = mass flow rate (kg/s) x head (m) x gravity (9.81 m/s²). While the flow rate may seem impressive, the head is only going to be a few millimeters (across a water wheel), so very little usable power. If you know the flow rate in m/s, then you can calculate the most efficient water wheel size as the perfect speed is half the flow rate. So say your flow rate is 3m/s, a 1m diameter water wheel which has a curcumfere of 3.14m, will spin at 30rpm. But, all is not lost. Do you know the height difference between the start and the end of the bywash? If you have over 2m then you could run a pipe from the start to the end, where it then drops the height down to a very small nano turbine (a central heating water pump). Will still be a fraction of a small amount. How about making a scale model of Niagara Falls? With some battery LED lights to make it interesting.

Love a hairbrained scheme... There is an interesting series of videos for an overshot wheel here, but obviously you would need it to be undershot. The wheel did have to be rebuilt as the driveshaft snapped

So, an update. Today I got an answer back from the sea monster: I’m still trying to get spec info. Anything I do get I’ll share.

I don't own one, but have hired one (or the Toyota Proace version) several times when needed. The bulkhead flap is handy for longer items such as 3m long metal studs. With deliveries, I've not needed anything bigger, though depends what you're building, I guess.

I have my research plan / confirmation report open right now, and I am putting "the effect that increased short-cycling on ASHP COP" in it right now... B^>

My immediate thought was an undershot water wheel, you would need to dam the water slightly which would upset the water level within the canal upstream.

It looks like you have a really good flow rate in the bywash, how deep is it? If there's enough depth I'd look at a pelton turbine, or something more like a water wheel, although you'd probably have to build the water wheel.

My gut feeling is that this would have a payback of 1,000 years or longer. If your setup was modular and movable you wouldn't get in trouble @ProDavemade a water wheel. I think for fun and science, and that it has been removed. His response eagerly awaited.

Ooh I love hairbrain projects, but is the bywash yours? On your property? Canal guys might object.

@David001 there are several slightly different solutions out there. Here’s an installation video of what I installed, which sounds similar to what you are describing. If it is, then looking at the pictures you posted I don’t think you have enough EPDM to lap over the gutter trim.

Except when the client decides not to pay the last instalment. Theyve got their building now, so why pay? Then their qs can invent quality issues. Main contractors do the same. They are used to bullying and winning. I even had one MD tell me he never pays a bill if he doesn't need the supplier any longer. True to expectation....qs appointed to avoid the last payment. I didn't get the money as i decided not to get legal, and he found he was missing something rather important but had paid for it. Very unpleasant. Nice clients get full cooperation and extra value.

first priority is get yourself a trade, only input from you is turn up everyday, 10 mins early and graft. This you can do in the morning, call any local builder tell them you will labour for the week for free if they give you a shot. Once your working full time next week watxch and learn, find one of the trades that you enjoy and crack on with it. Save save save. After a year you will have a network of mates in the trade to help you. It's all there waiting for you. upto you.

3.5 ton tipper opens up a whole world of cost savings and flexibility. anything loose is less than half the price of bagged ive found. ability to just go and pick up anything anywhere to keep the build going, no waiting etc. downside, family and friends will be forever on the phone asking to borrow.

It’s the land price and planning permission (PP) which are the issue. There are places in the country where land is just a few £1000 per acre (without planning, so you can’t just rock up with a caravan), right through to the south east, where land with pp can fetch £million/acre. You also have to consider the viability, as there are areas where you can buy a nice ready made house for £150k and there’s no point building. Morally, £160k ought to be enough, but the answer is ‘it depends’ and it might not be enough for the land purchase too. Eg I spent £25k just on all the fees, bats etc, all risk money, to try to get planning, (luckily successful) so it’s very scary. My advice would be: keep your dream, keep saving and learning and maybe consider moving to a cheaper part of the country where your dream might be doable. You can build a mobile tiny/ microhome, for much less, but of course you need somewhere put it.

One place left on https://cat.org.uk/events/build-a-tiny-house-test-august-2024/

I know someone who did a barn conversion as you are describing, knocking and replacing bits so that it never came down all at once, which would have invalidated the planning permission as it was. A bit like Trigger’s broom.

Forced air heating/ cooling as used in every other country is recirculating. Mvhr is not. Recirculation you can increase air speed without decreasing efficiency, so you can blow a gale and nothing is lost outside. But with Mvhr the amount of wasted energy (thrown out the building) increases linearly to the air speed

Your existing planning is not "at risk" if you make another planning application. You can make as many as you want. That you have planning already in perpetuity means applying for more is a no risk option. Anything new will incur all current regs.

If we assume by the "Right to Build waiting list" you mean you are on the Self-Build and Custom Housebuilding Register of your Local Authority (or more than one Register perhaps), then I hate to be the one to break it to you, but they aren't going to provide you with a plot. At best, you'll get weekly updates from your LPA on applications that have been allowed, including those designated as self-build or for custom housing. You may to able to approach someone who has gained permission and buy a plot from them, or you may be able to find a plot of your own and apply for permission, but it isn't going to just drop into your lap because you are on the list, and it certainly isn't going to be "given to you". I wish you well and hope you find yourself in a better position soon.

Tell your neighbour to move his soil away from your building and into his own property. I can see a situation where your neighbour extends their garden the 100mm into your property and up against your extension so that over time the extension wall becomes the boundary. Nip this on the bud now.

i was in same postion and I could have demolished --If i proved it was uneconomic to rebuild it you could try that angle -but maybe its down to local planning if they allow that so many differences from one planning area to another real minefield

External blinds here, works very well but we have three east facing windows that we didn’t fix external blinds to and that was a mistake. If I were to do this again I’d have external blinds on all East, South and West facing glazing. So far any overheating risk has been easily managed with a very active regime of window opening and closing, the closing is the important bit. If we get another ‘summer of 76’ it may well be more difficult to control.

I would use a 300mm concrete gravel board. You don't need his soil against your wall.

We had a Renualt Trafic during the build, but now have a Ford Transit connect with folding front seat. Can actually get more useful stuff in it, than the Trafic, because the hard bulkhead got in the way. Small van now gets used more than our car, best money you can spend on a vehicle.

Simply make the legs of the solar support structure taller and graze livestock below. Even more controversial, make it a planning requirement to install solar on all new building. Maybe even improve the build quality of homes, so we use less energy!!!!

These do exist: https://www.ecotricity.co.uk/our-news/2022/our-two-new-hybrid-parks-have-launched-today Food self-sufficiency is a bit of a red herring here; national strategy is focused on security of supply, and isn't particularly bothered about small-scale land swaps in and out of agriculture. The UK has 17 million hectares of agricultural land; taking 1K hectares away reduces food production capacity by 0.006%. Or to put it another way, we could do 200 of these before the impact was worth walking about.

What materials are you planning to transport with it. I mostly got everything delivered. I do have a trailer too which has been invaluable. Mine is sized to take a 2.4m x 1.2m sheet. It also has extended sides so has been great for taking waste to the local tip. Saved me a fortune on skips. I bought the trailer new for £1900 and will get most of that back when I sell it. No tax, insurance, MOT, service costs, consumables etc.

Any would do the job Use what ever method is normal for your area, then trades are easy to get.

Timber frame on top of a cavity wall in which you could increase the ground floor internal blocks and/or cavity to suit.

Welcome! I (and many others on here, I imagine) would like to steer you towards breathable (water vapour-permeable) insulants such as cork or wood-fibre (WF), but whatever you use, ensure that it is bedded in a full coat (or at very least (second-best) a full-perimeter bead with cross-hatchings) of adhesive to reduce the risk of thermal by-pass (cold air moving between the wall and the insulation). Before you do anything have a read of the government's Best Practice Guidance (Retrofit Internal Wall Insulation: guide to best practice (publishing.service.gov.uk) Insulated plasterboard may incorporate a vapour control layer but it is missing at every joint. I prefer (if I am using plasterboard, rather than plastering onto cork or WF) to use separate insulation (say PIR) taped at all joints and perimeters with air- and vapour-tight tape, then add the plasterboard. More than anything, though, if the wall has been soaked give it a long while to dry out. 225mm of brick takes a long time if it has been really wet.

Either Stop beads look neater and are less prone to getting knocked off

To save others pondering whether to open an unknown 28MB file, here is a shrunk version. Us, last weekend:

Just an update as realised I forgot to post back. Bath was a punish. Must have turned it over 30+ times to get it right. Also had to buy basin brackets to get it really tight before tiling. Thanks everyone for their advice.

Yes, totally get that, however those of us made of stronger stuff than clotted cream have mastered the art, with the help of small team of counsellors, of living close by him. Of course we take great care not to poke the dragon for fear of fire and brimstone being cast upon us.

Needlessly rude. There are polite ways to disagree. I've given my suggestion already. I think it works. Telling the neighbour to reduce their garden level , when it isn't their extension, probably doesn’t. Sometimes I just let people go their own way. I'm turning off the 'follow' button on this one.