Dreadnaught

@the_r_sole, did you look at this one: https://www.aviasmart.com/choose-a-product/avia-secure-smart-lock/. Seems to suggest it can work multipoint locking doors. Here is a YouTube video showing installation.

Good point!

Actually that main motivation is regarding installing a smart lock in the future and for which having an uncommon lock-type will be a hinderance. Good points all, thank you!

Thanks all. @PeterW, as I am learning, Scandinavian oval-profile locks are slightly larger than standard UK oval ones (20mm vs 18mm). You can indeed get Scandinavian oval-profile locks here in the UK (for about £50) but they are rare in the UK. Moreover oval-profile locks in general are less common globally, which means smart locks are not usually made to fit them. @the_r_sole, thanks. Good points about multi-point & security. @redtop, thanks. Good to hear.

Thanks @ProDave. Idealcombi says the door without the lock would be completely blank, no oval-shaped hole. They said "the flush panel door can be supplied ‘on hinges only’ and then the door won’t have any holes for cylinder – just clear flush panel door + frame." I did indeed ask about the Eurolock but sadly not possible.

I just heard from Idealcombi that it is possible to order my front door without any handle or lock. Idealcombi's standard look is an oval one common in Denmark but harder to get in the UK and so getting keys might be a problem. Furthermore, if I ever wanted to replace the lock with, for example, a smart lock then it might be impossible. Could anyone foresee any problems adding my own handle and lock to such a flush-panel door? What are the common locks used in the UK? Would fitting a Euro cylinder barrel lock be a sensible idea?

Welcome to BuildHub! Yes, they are available.Earth Save Products do one, for example. A BuildHub member who installed one had problems with noise a vibration as the combined unit was located in the attic near a bedroom. As you may be aware, MVHR is generally not very well suited for heat delivery as the air speed is so very low. Ramping it up can easily cause noise in the ducting. Personally, because of this for space heating I am going for an ASHP heating under-floor heating (UFH) separately from my MVHR.

The "leaf itself consist of a wooden frame with a 0.3 mm aluminium sheet and externally a 4.5 mm HDF board painted in a variety of RAL colours". https://idealcombi.com/doors/entrance-doors/flush-panel-doors/

As you may well already know, most of the window manufacturers also make doors. I am getting my front door from IdealCombi (along with my windows) at cost of about £1k ex. VAT.

Have you considered spray plastering? I have been offered £220 a day for spray plastering in Cambridgeshire.

Are you allowed to cut in to a collar tie with constraints, like you are with a steel or I-beam? You can get those spots as recessed fittings. Having them recessed in to the collar tie could look good. Just an idea.

He must zero rate the materials to you; no choice in that. To help him with his cash flow, you could offer to pay him a small cash advance roughly equal to the VAT amount to be offset in full against the invoices you will owe to him. If you do so, get a written receipt for the advance to cover yourself as its a bit risky.

That hammock is a nice idea for a mid-build snooze!

Looks good. Perhaps you know @Visti. He's building there too; he's well advanced.

@TJ1, thanks. I'll send you a message.

For very high ceilings, I have two amateur ideas: (1) I think a plate rail with a different colour scheme above helps deal with the height; (2) a dark-ish floor below helps anchor the floor. I have the lighting book @ToughButterCupmentioned (on his recommendation). Got more from it than I expected.

I have roof lights (x9) in my flat roof with 3-metre ceilings. Roof is thick too (600 mm). I would be interested in your thoughts/ideas for them @the_r_sole. One thing I was considering was mirrored reveals for part of the vertical height.

Welcome @TJ1! Whereabouts in Norfolk are you based? I am looking for a digger-plus-driver at the moment as it happens (for my Cambridge plot), but presumably a bit too early for you.

Welcome @Smithy. What part of East Anglia are you in?

Hi @AliG, I just checked my MBC quote and I was quoted £220 per sq.m of internal floor area back in November 2019 and £212 per sq.m before that in December 2018. (I did not use MBC in the end, for a range of reasons.)

↑. Oh damn: "It's also confirmed new-build domestic properties […] DON'T qualify for the green home vouchers.".

Thanks all. That all makes sense. Really helpful! I made 9x calls this afternoon about getting a meter installed. Turned out that my electricity cable installation was referenced as a "TBS", unsurprisingly as that is what I requested, and SSE told me they no longer do meter installs for TBSs. But if I was to call UKPN and have "TBS" removed from the description on the system then they would be more than happy to install a meter for me. So I called UKPN had the three letters removed and, tomorrow, will call SSE back to arrange an appointment for the meter to be installed before the end of August. By the way, British Gas said they are working on a 5-weeks timescale for new meter-installs now and described all sorts of extra requirements too, such as a credit check. SSE seemed easier to work with.

Thanks guys! @dnb, who is your tariff with? For the life of me I can't find any information online about zero-standing-charge tariffs! I looked on Eon, NPower, etc.

Last year, I had has an electricity kiosk installed by UKPN on site for a TBS (see below). Now I need to "turn it on" so I can use it for things like an electric chipper for learning the site. What do I need to do? 1) get a electricity company to install a meter in the box? 2) sign up for a tariff? 3) get an electrician in to connect up some outdoor sockets? Is that right? By the way, I am going to keep the meter cabinet here when the house is finished, not move it inside. Its located in plain site just next as you come through the main gate so, at the end of the build, I am thinking to replace this cheap meter cabinet with something nicer to look at, perhaps made of brick or perhaps one of this nice green posh-looking meter cabinets. I am also going to have an EV charging point here too for an electric car, exactly where this is positioned. (p.s. vandals knocked the door off; so I have taped it back on with parcel tape.)

Its a spreadsheet used for Passive Houses. More details here: https://passivehouse.com/04_phpp/04_phpp.htm And perhaps slightly more approachable here: https://passipedia.org/planning/calculating_energy_efficiency/phpp_-_the_passive_house_planning_package