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I had a look around, there's no metal box. My neighbour's supply is a meter away from the boundary fence, they too don't have a metal box. When we dug the trenches for foundations, we did find a disconnected gas pipe but not water pipe. This is where the drive would had been for the old house. The neighbour's water supply too is next to his driveway. I'm quite hesitant to start digging there close to the footpath for water connection just in case I find live gas line intruding into the garden. Gas connection including trench in garden was ~£600 - adjoining footpath with 13 meter trench in garden. Electricity ~£1800 - adjoining footpath, no trench in garden

Thanks Conor, I'll speak to the plumber.

Yes, full road crossing on a quite a wide road. Not sure what you mean by open cut. There used to be houses on site before I purchased the land that were demolished in 80s by the previous owner.

(apologies if this is not the right place for this post) Just received a quote for new water connection to a self build detached house, shockingly it's £5.5k from Yorkshire Water. The house is fronting onto a street in a residential area. The plan shows the water mains are on the other side of the street and approx. 19m of excavation is required. Is this realistic cost £5.5k, which includes £1.5k Council & TM (not sure what TM stands for) Charges. What are you're thoughts on this. Anyway to get a new water connection for less? Thanks

Will give the Ikea portable inductions hobs a try subject to big boss approval. Let's see if they're fit for our purpose.

The heat that is generated by the induction hob, is it as hot as the gas hob heat? Can you cook those tougher meat/veg on induction hob (not that I'm a cook)?

Thanks I'll check it out.

Thanks JohnMo, I'll get couple of quotes to see what it'll cost to install ASHP. We have planned to use the boiler unvented cylinder for UFH and hot and cold supply to the bathrooms. Does it mean that we don't need a boiler if we go with ASHP?

ASHP for £3k is that including installation? and does the installer needs to be MCS certified?

Not disagreeing with induction hobs being better but unfortunately, I don't have no choice it has be a gas hob. My other half demands it. On social media people are saying ASHP cost around £5k that's with government grant (I'm not entitled to it). Just want to know what is the life expectancy of an ASHP and how long does take to get the money worth? Thanks JohnMo. That means cost is the only issue. Does ASHP really cost ~£10k?

Thank you. We need gas in the kitchen for cooking. We have no gas fires. Before the build, I considered all kinds of renewable energy systems. I was considering ASHP and Solar Panels but took them off the list as most of my budget was eaten up by long delays in building the shell. Furthermore, I'm not sure what the return on investment is on ASHP. However, that was then but now, I've been reading up on ASHP again and was considering getting some quotes. What are the drawbacks of placing ASHP 5 meters away (near the boundary fence) from the house wall? Or does it has to be next to the house wall? It'll be in way if it on ground next to the wall and will spoil the looks of the stone built house if it's on the wall. I prefer it to be away from the house, near the boundary wall, surrounded by hit and miss fence. Thanks

We need to install a gas meter in a new build. We already have a supply from footpath to the meter box. I contacted a Scottish Power for new meter connection. They asked whether it's Low or Medium pressure. I didn't know so I contacted Northern Gas Networks who said it's Low pressure. What does Low pressure actually mean? Should I be requesting Medium pressure (the more the better)? Thanks

Thank you

Good thing I asked the question. Thank you. Is SMETS2 a dual rate meter?

Hi We just had services connected to our self build and was applying for a new electricity meter. One of the options on the form, is type of meter required, 1 or 2 rate. After some Googling, I think this is economy 7 and 10 meter types. Economy 7 makes sense since different rates are applied as to when you use electricity (day or night (cheaper)). Is economy 7 an old technology replaced by smart meters? Should I request a SMETS2 meter? Thanks

Thank you. Will play around with some spray paint.

Thank you We were too considering large 1200mm porcelain tiles. If 3.6 meters is sufficient space, it'll leave just 1.5 meters to the fence for plants and path. I'm not sure whether this will look good from patio? Currently, the garden is pretty much level right up to the fence. Thank you

I need some opinion on a (about foot and half) raised patio size please. Our back garden width is 5 meters. The length isn't an issue as it spans the length of the two sliding doors about 10 meters. The architect's drawings show that the patio width is about 3 meters, which seems quite small. It doesn't seem like they'll be enough room for people to walk around a table and chairs. If we extend the patio to 4 meters then it only leaves a quite narrow 1 meter strip to the boundary fence. Should we go all out 5 meters to the boundary fence or is 3 meters or even 3.5 meters enough? Thank you

Thank you all. I did consider beam and block but went against it because of the cost and probably most importantly I'll have to get the builder back on site. I think hardcore and then type 1 or type 2 would be a better option and cheaper. How deep does the trench needs to be for the patio perimeter retaining wall? Dig until we reach clay?

Thanks @ProDave The finished surface would be outdoor tiles. I don't think anyone in the family prefers timber decking so that's a no. Is there an alternative to timber suspended construction? Thanks

Hi For a new build, I need to raise the patio area to be level with the internal FFL. The current difference is about 1.5 feet. What kind of fill dirt would be the most appropriate (and cheap) to fill the patio area? The patio and the step down garden area are splitting the 5 meters garden space? It doesn't seem like 2 meters is sufficient for step down garden area. What are you're thoughts on this? Facebook seller is only charging delivery £60 for 15 tonnes of recycled screened top soil. What do I need to consider in regards to the soil quality? After all I don't want someone dumping unusable soil that I then have to pay to get it removed (had enough fly-tipping on site over the years) Thanks

Thanks @JohnMo

Hi I will have a gas boiler and a hot water unvented cylinder. The hot water feed that goes to UFH manifolds, does it come from the boiler or cylinder? Thanks

I really appreciate the information you provided @Temp it's not as straightforward as I initially thought. Like you said there's a lot to consider and plan. Thank you

Ignore this, it's Friday and had tough time at work. I can't seem to edit my posts even though I'm logged in.