epsilonGreedy

Just a temporary garage CU fed from a meter tail that runs back 4m to the cavity wall meterbox. I had to decide on the inbound DNO cable route at the start of my build when I had much less knowledge. My brickie created a 40mm deep recess at the current CU location using concrete coursing bricks on their side and this is large enough for the Harger CU I want. In retrospect the kitchen would have been a better location and on average the major high amp circuits would have been 3m shorter. The longest high amp circuit (cooker) will be 9m horizontally so not a disaster. Two years ago I was reading the CU accessibility regs too literally and thought a wheelchair bound householder had to be able to manouver right up to the CU.

The meter tail comes down from the ceiling and the fused circuits head upwards as well, in fact this creates a bit of a routing problem previously discussed here. The CU will be one of these fancy Hager recess mount jobbies that have a metal inset, I suppose the proximity of this to the masonry block wall will act as a useful heatsink for the CU internals and counteract convection heat wafting up from the radiator.

Thanks guys. p.s. Could the post edit time window be extended or longterm mebers be placed a privileged list who can edit posts for 48 hours? It is a real pain not being able to correct manifest typos and grammar errors.

Is bad form to position a wet radiator on a wall under a consumer unit? My concern is that the radiator could warm up the whole consumer unit and what might then happen when the house is at full load with say 80 amps running through the CU? This is a new build question. The CU will be partially or fully recessed in a masonry wall at regulation height, all circuits will run upwards to the ceiling void. I have not decided yet on ASHP or gas heating hence I will need to assume the wet radiator is running at 60 degrees.

I thought that might have been the case, I was just correcting the impression that an NMA cannot be submitted to vary single property in a multi home approved plan. I cannot offer much help on your planning variation/building control schedule dilemma. I went for private building control which might offer more flexibility in your situation. Are the floor plans similar enough to route in services ahead of approval of the variation? How about starting a new thread seeking advice on what can be done onsite while waiting for approval on an updated design and before building control drawing submission. I think building control have to respond on a tight schedule. Your main risk right now is that the ward councilor will object to your plan update which will then add another 1 month delay for your application to go to committee. There can be extra costs here as well preparing an info pack for the benefit of the planning committee.

NMAs can specify design tweaks to specific properties. My self build neighbour submitted two NMAs that did not affect my plot or house design even though both new properties were approved under a single full application. When submitting a list of changes it is safer to do this via a full application because in the case of an NMA that lists 7 changes where 6 are acceptable, the one item that the planners do not like will cause the whole application to be rejected. With a full application there is a period of negotiation that allows for revision of details within the scope of a single application and fee.

I only had 2 minutes think time... The SW elevation window positioning is chaotic. I would lower the cill height of the ground front elevation ground floor windows to give the house some aesthetic gravitas. The current window aspect ratios look a bit late 70s when architects were part way through a roundbound from wide aspect 1960s windows but had not at the time worked out where they were heading.

I hope so. For others wondering about this, the idea is that a dark course of bricks under a chimney corbel (flare) will trick the eye into thinking the corbel band at the top of the chimney is bigger. Yes I had different deliveries for the garage and main house below dpc facing bricks and noted both colour types were delivered. Just popped my head outside and the colour difference is not noticeable between the two adjacent structure. My main bricks are buff multi so either colour will work at the top of the chimney. Yup I will ensure they are proper solid engineering bricks for the chimney. Got the perforated type in the main house below dpc, I nearly sent them back when delivered but have forgotten about it now. Regular F2s would have been ok below dpc which means the perforated blues are not a specification fail but they don't seem like the real thing however. It has worked out well for my house design with buff multi elevations. I nearly went for red engineering bricks but then another self build neighbour chose that combination, so my dark dpc band helps mix up the overall picture of the 3 house estate.

That does not sound right, in my part of England an individual plot owner can submit a small design amendment for a multiple plot plan.

Good to hear, I thought I had a made a design mistake. When I first read your post I began to think that a hydrogen boiler might generate a lot more water and require special drainage arrangements.

Is an external wall a viable substitute for the condensate drain, freezing risk aside?

Is there a new heating technology around the corner that needs a drain? A cooling circuit for a domestic nuclear fusion reactor?

Interesting to note we both plan to use blues to visually enhance the impact of the corbel. My pattern going up will be: +20mm corbel Blue +20mm corbel Regular brick Regular brick -20mm corbel Regular brick Flaunch

I am happy with the 12 pc Trend set, not sure how much I paid. Happy with my trim router so far, beware they generate clouds of wood dust. Later in the summer I intend to build a fake Georgian front door with fluted pillars each side, that will be a real test.

Presumably the small amount of vermiculite between an 200mm solid flu and 125mm SS liner would be poured in loose without any cement or water in the mix. Just guessing...

I would be interested to hear if your brickie supports the underside of slate + flaunching. I also noticed the half (header) bricks in the chimney bond design, is this just to continue a Flemish type bond pattern from the walls up to the chimney pots?

So true, our previous conservation officer instilled a degree of fear in the freeholders of the village not seen in England since Marcher Barons were overlords of the Welsh boarder counties in the medieval period.

Something like that would trigger aesthetic distress in my local conservation officer.

Hmm yes I take your point, my flu section below roof height is made from commodity Redbank sections which were the default available at my local BM. If I fitted a purpose made lead dpc tray with the inner 100mm upstand then I could build the flu using your choice of flu sections. I suspect a chimney is going to pick up a lot more moisture from its facing bricks as the wind drives rain. My working hunch is that the chimney will absorb less water and dry more quickly if the final 18 brick courses of chimney above tile height surround a hollow void. Yes think you are correct, I was hoping to discover some purpose made metal support bracket/clamp that could be embedded in the brick courses and wrapped around the flu sections for lateral support.

My question is related to the question just raised by @MortarThePoint. Once a tile-height lead dpc tray is installed and the build of the chimney continues up with bricks and flu sections up to pot height, should the remainder of the chimney void be filled with Vermiculite? My concern is that the final top courses of the chimney above tile height will be exposed to the weather and prone absorbing rain. If the chimney void is filled it could act like a sponge. Prior question:

I have loads of spare slate here including a few warped 500mm x 250mm slates. Are you in Cambridgeshire? How far south? Your posts have got me thinking again about chimney flashing, I might need 3 trays because with my hipped roof there is about 1.6m of chimney exposed above the line of the back gutter flashing. This could mean two trays at the upper and lower roofline heights as identified in your initial post plus another under the flaunching at the top.

Interesting, I was hoping PIR sheets between the ceiling and attic floor boards would equal 250mm of regular loft insulation but was worried this could be a moisture trap and be a concern with insulated wires. Am I picturing the I beans correctly, do they sit inline and on top of the truss joists or are they laid across the truss direction?

My feeling is that a chimney has so many inherent moisture ingress risks I would prefer to isolate the flu liners as a route for moisture as per the severe weather zone regs. Did you have a look at the video? It shows the first flu liner above the tray slotting over the lead tray upstand. There is a forum member in South Lincolnshire who has had problems with damp blockwork around his chimney, not sure the cause was identified. His reports here prompted me to think more seriously about chimney design. Do you note @PeterW's caution about ensuring a firm base for the tray to prevent sag?

How much were the pots, the ones I am looking at are nearly £100 and I need 5.

Any risk that a chimney sweep brush will catch the wedges and bend them down?