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Access for maintenance might be an issue for timber frame. I think blocks usually have to be rendered to make them frost proof as well? What say others? Bricks can be done "overhand" but bricklayers don't like it.

We have a beam and block ground and first floor. Think our SE recommended 14N blocks in certain areas. It's less a problem for the ground floor because sleeper walls carry some of the load and reduce the span.

If you want the culvert to be some sort of water feature you might consider hiring a landscape or pond designer to come up with some ideas. Typically pond construction uses a membrane over a sand blind and might be terraced to allow water plants to be planted in pots in the shallows at the sides. Typically paving or natural stone is used to cover a the edges of the membrane but there are any number of materials used including stainless steel.

Did the planning department impose any conditions in your Planning grant that refers to the ditch? I think I'd want something like a French drain across the back of your house diagonally to collect any water and divert it around the house to whichever side works best. How steep is the slope? It looks steep enough that there may only be a significant depth of water in it immediately after rainfall? Eg not much of a water feature? I guess the alternative might be to create a line of ponds to trap water with waterfalls between them? Perhaps also a pump to keep them going when it's dry?

If you decide to make one.. A 100m reel of 2.5mm^2 flex is about £80 in black and £90+ in orange. Rubber 13A plug and socket £7. Hose reel/cart perhaps £20-40. That would probably be ok for a (typical 500-750W) hedge trimmer but for a 2kw electric chainsaw you need 4mm^2 which adds another £70-90.

Some discussion here on this old thread about cable size needed. How about using a hose reel? https://forums.ybw.com/index.php?threads/100m-mains-extension-lead.284474/ If you decide to ignore the voltsge drop becareful what you plug in. Something like a pressure washer can behave a bit like a constant power device drawing more current if the voltage drops. Can actually burn out.

Several websites claim that one advantage of EPDM is the run off contains no harmful chemicals... https://www.rubber4roofs.co.uk/blog/8-reasons-why-epdm-rubber-roofing-is-the-most-eco-friendly-roofing-system/ Have you got wire leaf guards on the down pipes? Perhaps something like a rat got in the tank?

+1 That's what we did. PS: Our 80mm rainwater down pipes also go into 110mm via rubber adaptors.

Wife has asked me to repair some posts and wires used to grow climbing plants. We've been using 75mm pressure treated fencing posts but they seem to rot away underground in 18 months or so. Getting fed up replacing them. What's the verdict on metposts or similar metal hammer in post bases? Are they going to dust off in two years? Are there best/better makes? For example Screwfix sell Sabrefix. Toolstation sell Easygrip etc. Are any made from thicker metal? Taller clamp above ground? Galvanised or painted?

If it is a piped ditch you may have rights to discharge rainwater into it.

Perhaps worth checking old maps to see if this was once an old roadside ditch they put a pipe in an covered over?

Didn't someone post photos of their "benching" on this forum recently?

I've no idea if its any good but Amazon has put some "Amazon Basic" filament on their store recently at under £18/kg. Never used it myself as never been able to buy any.

I recall some years ago there was a system that uses aluminium (?) sister joists. I can't remember if they were only to help convert trussed roofs or if they wern't as deep as timber joists making them useful in situations like yours. Google found one system called Telegram.. https://www.telebeam.co.uk/

We were allowed a rainwater recycling tank and overflow to a piped ditch but our tank doesn't buffer storm surge if it's already full. The tank is only used for gardening but it's been very useful. We pump the water several hundred yards to an allotment using garden hose quite regularly.

There are rules in Part H on what can join a stack at the same level. Typically you can't have a 110mm pipe from a WC join a stack opposite a smaller pipe from a basin or similar. I believe the thing you are referring to is a "Soil manifold" intended to prevent "cross flow" from one branch to another. Thereby allowing multiple branches to connect at same height.

If you have to discharge rainwater into the ground (rather than a ditch or drain) and your percolation rate is slow you have to store the water somehow to give time for it to percolate away. It doesn't really matter if that "storage volume" is part of a soakaway, separate plastic tank, drainage crates etc as long as it's big enough. For example crates like these are designed to be both storage and a soakaway (when wrapped with a membrane) at the same time.. https://www.gclproducts.co.uk/p/civils-and-drainage/soakaway-crates/recocrate/?attribute_weight-bearing=20+Tonne&gclid=CjwKCAjwk6P2BRAIEiwAfVJ0rHale208EnyPm9n7gx_Ebt5lMvfnMQ0o7gF5LFJrltzeDaPAD9omxxoC4CQQAvD_BwE

As would large soakaways?

Sorry if you know this but I probably should mention it.. A loft usually means a house has three storeys and that has implications re the fire regs. It can mean stair wells need to be enclosed on the ground/first floor. It's been awhile since I looked at the regs so I'm rusty on the details. Usually you need a 30min fire rated path on ground floor but I'm not sure how high up that has to extend.

They do some really strange things sometimes. In our case they put a new cabinet half way between the village and the exchange in the next village. Then to power the cabinet they had to continue the trench the rest of the way to our village. Nobody seems to know why they didn't put the cabinet in our village and run fibre the whole way.

Spiral staircase?

Think you will have to ask the BCO. Only ever seen them used on loft conversions.

Regular tile battens are always pressure treated, probably for good reason. Can't see why cladding battens would be any less critical.

What diameter are the branches at the height it would be cut down to? Mine grows 2-3 feet a year and I cut down quite low - just above waist height. A few of the branches can be thick enough to need manual cutting with long handled branch loppers. If it's not been cut for a few years it might need mostly hand cutting. Otherwise I use a petrol powered multi tool. Started out as a Ryobi Expand-it, but like the old joke about a broom it's had the power head and the hedge cutter replaced by Stihl that are much better. I must have broken three Ryobi hedge cutter attachments over the years on my hedge. I use a multi tool because I needed a petrol strimmer and pole saw as well for other things. I dare say the dedicated hedge trimmers are better/stronger and less awkward. You can't beat Stihl for quality overall. Expensive but I got fed up breaking the Ryobi. The attachments are compatible with a a bit of fettling. I normally cut mine in January after the leaves have gone so there is less material to burn. I have 60m of hedge and usually takes me about 4 hours (2 hours one day and 2 the next).

At least he didn't say a whole new planning application is required.