Conor

Is this your DPC course? If so then it'll need to be a single pour. Just get a mini mix in and a have a couple a couple extra guys with barrows and you'll have the job done in less than hour. Hand mixing that amount on your own is a very, very long and tough day, two realistically. And it'll work out more expensive than the ready mix. Factor in the time you'll have to spend getting the cement etc ordered/bought. You're only at the start do the job, you'll soon realise that your own time is precious, don't waste it trting to save a few pennies. And, you just end up physically exhausted doing too much manual jobs!!! Most I've mixed with a belle mini in a single session is 0.5m3. it's a lot of shovelling.

Got a call and email from my local hire company. 3 months ago I could hardly get a digger for a weekend and no offers or discounts. Now they are offering hire at 30% less now. Definitely haggle and hire

Thyme thrives on poor, rocky, well drianed soil. The opposite of the average UK lawn. Mum has thyme, oregano, sage and mint taking over their stone wall terrace part of the garden. It's sprawled over the path and is popping up in little pockets everywhere. But I think this is a product of the very specific conditions (shallow pockets of pool soil in raised areas so well drained and plenty of warmth and sun in the summer). I think youd really struggle to keep other native plants at bay as thyme is quite slow growing. A lot of work.

Are there any manholes or chamber lids in the area in question? A utility company might have assets there and they will have a right to access, which could help out. A dial before you dig request will show this.

A good airtight test result will get you a much better score. Get the SAP person to re-run at an infiltration rate of 3. If you've been paying attention to quality and taking basic airtight measures, you'll get less than 2. Are the windows ordered/installed? They sound very poor performing. You'll notice that in summer and esp winter. Ours ranged from 0.5-0.9.

That's sick.

We've a 80cm Korvo sink. Love it. You could have two of them side by side to replicate the size and functionality of the above, for a fraction of the price a fabricator will need.. KORVO Workstation Kitchen Sink Undermount Single Bowl with WorkFlow Ledge 16 Gauge T-304 Stainless Steel, Include Bamboo Cutting Board and Drain Tray, 76 x 45 cm https://amzn.eu/d/8GdUT3g

We've listed out all 174 invoices and amounts in an excel file... If we format it same as the pdf application form, can we print off and I set in the middle of the paperwork in place of their blank forms? Please tell yes me we don't have to hand write everything out ...

These are the same people that faked fire safety data that led to the Grenfell tower disaster... So don't be surprised. Quote happy that most of ourse was insulated with good ol' honest EPS from Kore down the road 🤣

What's your heating source? I found our ashp was really good at keeping temps down. House was about 25-27c in July and heatpump got it down to 21c in a day.

Cut them down to 2100mm to match the top of your door architraves. That's what we did at our last place. Gives you a good 400mm to the ceiling and it looks right.

^^ good point. From what I can see, my 9kW has a min output of 2kW.

Would be much more cost effective to add more PV panels. How many do you have currently? Would the orientation of the new roof be suitable? Sorry, no real first hand knowledge of solar thermal, just that it's more expensive than PV and has longer term maintenance issues and higher failure rates.

I think you'll need to swap the central 7x2 with a steel, something like a 203x102.

For cutting sheets of PIR I found the best way was a cordless circular saw. Sheets are too big and heavy to use on a table saw. Only 50mm cut depth but flip the board over and you get all the way through. With a bag or vacuum attached, produces less dust than a handsaw. Mask and goggle up, it's not pleasant. And do it outside. Overlap you floor sheets at 90°. E.g. put down 50mm sheets first, then the 100mm on top but across the opposite way. Then foam any big gaps, and finally tape the joins. For the roof, stick your 100mm between the joists, then the remaining 50mm or whatever it is under the roof joists, and fix down with battens and your airtight membrane. You might have a different detail to this tho. Oh, get that roof battened and slated before the first storm rips all your membrane off

I think it's enough. Our island is pretty much the same, didn't go for a prep sink though as wanted more wortop space. No regrets as main sink is right behind my prep area on the island

I absolutely would for a vented system. Ever since finding a dead bird in dad's attic tank anyway. Chlorine has a finite life and gets used up. A few animal remains and a few days brewing, you've potential issue, not just legionnaires. Unvented, no point at all.

@richo106yep, and @dpmiller has one as well.

Avoid b&q.

Yes, but you can get box section steel in most dimensions, so you can replicate the chunky look of the timber. Obviously, painted steel looks nothing like oak. All comes down to the look you're after. You seem to be in quite a natural, wooded area, so steel maybe not the most sympathetic choice. An alternative to oak would be larch, but it's now expensive as well.

At the bottom of the report it shows the total heating demand for Jan and Dec, 2200kWh. Translate to a daily heating load figure and you're looking at about 7kW if you assume heating being on for 12hrs per day, every day in the coldest months. The peak may actually be higher than this, but normally it'll be much less. Other comments will follow from people that have done in depth heat loss calcs that can give you a specific number. But from us being in a slightly bigger house but with the same heat load (but unused basement), our 9kW coolenergy monblock is doing a splendid job. Hardly broken a sweat yet. Oh, monblock every time, less complicated, easier install, and all the noisy bits are outside.

Re steel. Just got a price from the company that are doing our gates and ballustrading, £1200 for a 7m long, 2m deep brise soleil with five supporting posts. Installed. Mix of 50x50mm box and 50x200mm, galvanised and powedercoated. Coming out cheaper than timber, and 4x cheaper than alu. Definitely worth pricing that option.

If you've an existing connection then just use it and save yourself a chunk of money. Replace the pipe that's on your land from the roadside onwards with 25mm mdpe pipe. Remember, you own the pipe from the stopcock/meter box onwards. And as you say, you can put a stand tap at this point as well to serve the construction. Exactly what we did. Dig down at the hedge, found the pipe, cut I and stuck on a tee, post and tap on one beach, and th other ran to the building. There's little point in paying NIW a grand or two to replace the metre or two on their side. Unless it happens to be lead, in which case they'll do it for free.

That looks like quite a simple and neat solution for a complex roof. It's the hipepd end on your gable that's the culprit, along with the fact that there is no continuous ridge from front to back on the opposite side. Edit. I've just seen your plans post. That's a ln unnesecsarily awkward roof design. Why is there not a continuous ridge from front to back and why is it a tad lower than the main ridge? It looks awkward and it's going to cost you more.

The biggest issue I can see is BC signoff for the first house. The plans will show a party wall, which has a different specification to an external wall. Your brother will have to change the design of the wall to an external wall sepc - e.g a insulated and vented cavity wall. So extra cost. And when it comes to build your house against it, there may be other implications. Does a cavity wall meet the same requirements and a party wall? How do you tie the brick work (if applicable) together? At the very minimum you'll be adding tens of thousands in extra costs by not doing at least the main structure at the same time. Biggest costs savings would be groundworks, floor slab, walls and roof. Would you be able to do the slab, services, walls and roof of your half? Then do your fitout down the line.