Roger440

Theres not much of a sweet spot. Anything thats ex company or ex hire are a lot of money. Anything older seems to disappear abroad. Older stuff here, is hard to find. They do come up, but you need to be on the look out all the time. Plus of course the market is rife with scammers. Also, if going for older, factor in it probably will break down. If you are hands on and practical, mostly not the end of the world, but if you need to pay every time, the cost and delays will quickly render it a false economy. Im on my second Kubota KX61 (which was £5k, Mostly because its got no cab or roll over hoop). Which as it happens, broke down mid job yesterday. Got it fixed this morning but lost 6 hours productive time with the rain closing in. It also broke down a couple of weeks ago, and desperatley needs new tracks (steel). Im nursing it as tracks are mad money. And one of the rams is pissing out oil But it was cheap, so no real surprise.

The best builders merchants would be one i dont have to interface with. i am amazed however, that the world seems to have mostly passed them by. As Alan said earlier, the online activities are mostly woeful, lie about stock, no idea when they can deliver etc etc. The in store experience exsasparating. How much is anything, really? Im my world and many other sectors, if you dont have it, and cant deliver next day, you are not really in the game. Sooner or later, hopefully sooner, someone, probably one of the big boys, (with a big distribution/delivery network)will realise they can clean up by getting their act together. Charge sensible prices that are what they are, deliver next day, and be transparent about your stock. Bit like screwfix, but bigger. In the process they can just close the doors at the braches and concentrate on being efficient distribution points. Cant happen to soon. Whole industry needs dragging into this century. Im still amazed no one has jumped into this space, but im sure it will come.

You think £8k to run a cable down a pole and across a lane isnt "gouging"? Grant, not as outrageous as mine, but hardly reasonable. £8k to connect, so you can pay for electricity. Like going to a petrol station to fill up and getting charged for pump installation.

Can you imagine getting a spares catalogue , materials directory and trouble shooting manual from your average UK house builder!!!

I think that is maybe to miss the point a touch. Their way of working is to cover all the bases and have solutions before they ever set out to the job. They wont need to "fix things up on site". Ive worked with a fair few German companies over the last 30 years. Whilst they are not all perfect, they have a very different outlook and approach to us. In most respects, a better one.

i wish!

I bought a tracked electric barrow, Google mule. Got to say it's been fantastic. Will shift 250kg over almost any terrain, certainly places I'd never have got a wheelbarrow. As you observed, pricey.

Ref your last paragraph, I'd suggest you don't do that. In the event if a flood, your wall will never be able to dry out. So you will have damp inside. Any suggestions or ideas that you can keep water out to the extent the structure stays dry is a fantasy. Water will get in, and definitely into the cavity. I speak from experience. Personally, I'd have had no insulation at all below dpc level in a flood prone situation.

It's crazy isn't it. How are you supposed to know ahead of time, the exact details of everything you will fit to the house. Anyway, that's the least of your worries. Wait until you get the quote for connection.

Lets say you could just bulldoze your house, how could that ever work financially? I did some very loose numbers on mine. It would cost for a similar sized dwelling at a basic level circa £300k. Probably a good deal more. The current house, whilst a thermal disaster in many respects, is, essentially sound. Value, circa £400k. If it made any kind of sense financially, id do it tommorow. But it doesnt, and as far as i can see, wont, ever. Yes, id have a better house, but not £300k better. Whilst planning is clearly, currently a block to such a thing occuring, even if removed, it would only ever be a niche thing for people for whom, money is no real object. So, dont understand your thinking here.

As more and more money hinges on epc rating, at least in the rented sector, the more corrupt it will become. Now that BCO's have at least some responsibility for what they sign off, epc's are, essentially, the weakest link in the chain. Its a market, that has no meaningful oversight. Just like building control has been for a long time. Pay money to the right person, get the result you want. And save 10's of thousands.

What Dave said up there ^^^^^ What i did. You cant win against government.

If i put my cynical hat on, id say the government will force you to upgrade, but if you cant afford it, they will "lend" you the money, payable if you sell or when you die. The latter would allow the government to aquire the house. And sell it to "chums".

Thanks, most useful The below seems to be they key point. ie, 100A may be acceptable.................... Depending on if one can take workshop loads into account, depends which side of the line you fall. With an EV charger, a heat pump, cooker, shower, plus my workshopn inc compressor, one could easily calculate accordingly for a 100A supply. But i dont currently have all those thngs. Because i dont have a supply. I shall have to try and see if i can make progress on the single phase side of things. All that said, its probably acedemic as the supply cable almost certainly isnt big enough if we take the below into account. The supply id suggest is no more than 10mm2 cable. Its all rather complicated for the layman to challenge.

Dont really want LPG. Longer term, yes could move to oil for the shower. The compressor would be the primary load for three phase, with occasional, lower load devices as well.