vivienz

Definitely zero rated for supply and fit. I'm having my glazing supplied and fitted by the same supplier. I gave them a copy of my PP to confirm that it was a new build and that was it. It's a big old chunk of cash on the glazing - I wouldn't want to have to argue over it at the end.

Okay, the supplier I looked at is Tanks Direct Ltd. For a 10,000l non potable underground water tank, delivered cost is £1,700 + VAT. The estimated delivery time is 4 weeks. It needs to be sunk to 2.635m and set in concrete.

The price for rainwater storage varies according to whether you want a potable or non-potable supply. We plan to have a 10k litre underground tank with an extraction pump. It will only be used outside for the sake of simplicity but as I plan a kitchen garden and There will be loads of other gardening stuff going on, I figure it's well worth having. I haven't got my figures with me right now but will post them tomorrow.

Fingers crossed!

Our LA quoted £740 + VAT for the whole process, and the local private building inspectors matched this exactly.

Really, Lizzie? You don't strike me as a sellotape kind of lady, not at all! Get on with those blinds!

For anyone considering more than 4kW on their solar PV, I received this from my DNO today and it may be helpful. Note that their quoted maximum turnaround time for applications is 65 working days, i.e. around 3 months. To complete an application, and allow me to send the application to our Network Planner, we would require the following information; · Schematic – Please show all live phases, neutral, earth, lockable isolators, the name & size of inverters being used, a clear demarcation between the DNO and customer equipment and the generation itself. · Site Plan – Please provide a google earth image of the site, and mark the meter point · Completed G59 Application Please can you also provide your MPAN for the above application. We will retain your partial application for 10 days from todays date. If we receive no further correspondence from you by this date, we will cancel this application and delete your records. You are, of course, free to make a new application at any time. Microgen.pdf

Our planning conditions fall into a few categories, in the same way that yours have, Russ. The important ones are those that you need to discharge before you can start to do anything, conditions 6 and 7, possibly 8 and 9. I can't help with the Right of Way Warden (really?!), but do you need to bring vehicles/materials, etc. over a right of way, or do you have an alternative access to the site? I would say that you only need to worry about this if you will and, if so, get hold of the person asap. The other one is your drainage plan for SuDS. Get it sorted, designed or whatever, then you can get it approved and crack on.

I didn't realise quite how long a while since the last blog entry so time for an update as I'm on an admin day today, not least for the electricity supply which I'll come onto later. So, what's occurring? I'll start at the bottom and work my way up: Groundworks - the groundworkers arrived on site the day after the last May bank holiday, 29th May. They took the roof off back in April to sort out any potential bat issues and now they're back doing the main job. The old concrete garage block came down first. The roof panels have asbestos and have had to be properly disposed of, which has been done at a reasonable price of £650 rather than the c. £1300 I was looking at a couple of weeks ago. All done properly and I have my disposal certificate but without having to resort to sending stuff all the way to Swindon and get charged for 2 tons when it was just over one. A small result; still expensive but less than it could have been. My ground worker arranged this with one of his contacts; PM me for details if anyone local needs the details. The concrete sides of the block are all down but we've left the floor in place as it's a ready made hard-standing for everything that will be arriving on site over the coming months. It's mainly parking, portaloo and site cabin taking it up now. I will need to get some hardcore compacted down going further into the site as I'm not sure it will stand up to all the heavier construction traffic that is due. Demolition of the building will be finished this week, but there's still the old septic tank to be dug out and a bit more concrete from where there were sheds in the past. Next up is digging out for the insulated slab, drainage and services, not to mention the piles. I have my groundworker until the end of next week before he's due on another job, so we should get a fair bit done by then. I reckon the initial excavation will be a little rough until we've established the levels, which seems a bit chicken and egg to me at the moment. How can you mark out how deep you need to go when there's a whole lot of earth in the way? Fortunately, there are some useful markers on the site that I can use as references for the setting out of the perimeter but I will get everything checked out before the piling guy arrives and have any remedial excavation done for that. Speaking of piles....I've ditched the idea of the helical screw piles. Not because they weren't lovely enough, but because they were outrageously expensive compared with other, more traditional systems. The initial design drawn up by my SE would have cost more than £42k for the helical screw piling system which seemed like mad money to me, probably because it is. I had a chat with a contact and he said that very little of this kind of thing is done now, certainly on house projects. When it first came out it was embraced with open arms by the telecoms industry for ease and speed of use, but they have dropped it almost entirely now on cost grounds, and I can see why. My initial quote for CFA (continuous flight augur) piles came in at just over £15k which was far closer to what I was expecting. I reckon that in the end, with SE fees and everything it will come in at around £20k for the piles. As mentioned in a previous entry, the alternative was to dig to at least 2m depth over the entire footprint, which in itself is an expensive exercise due to the cost of muckaway (I estimate an additional 15 tipper loads), so swings and roundabouts, the piles aren't as extreme an option as it first seems. I've used Mini Piling Systems Ltd for the piling system - nice people, easy to deal with, based in Bath, will travel. I should add that because these are mini CFA piles, as long as the ground is dry and reasonably level when they come to put them in (July), there is no need for a piling mat as the rig isn't considered a large one. Moving upwards, the other thing that has slowed is getting drawings from holy trinity of architect, SE and MBC to the sign-off stage. The SE has been very efficient and have turned things around very well. The architect and MBC have been slower, but I'm going to hold back some criticism because were I in the shoes of the architect, I would probably be doing this amount of nit-picking on behalf of my client and I'm sure that I will be glad of it. As ever, just because an architect designs a house and it gets planning permission, that doesn't necessarily mean that it can actually be built. In my case, there have been delays in getting the small details that can be glossed over in the desperation to see physical progress and having something coming out of the ground, and this is what the architect has been pushing back on. They are determined to make sure that the proportions of rooms are consistent with the original design. For instance, the ground floor ceiling height has been raised so that the large open plan downstairs doesn't feel oppressively low due to its large area. As a result, most of the ground floor windows will also need to be increased in height as will the front door. This all has a knock-on effect, hence the delays. There has also been back and forth over the balconies and warm or cold roof construction and the parapet wall around them; we're not quite at the end of this but pending a response from a supplier, we are close. The issue is that the common solutions to ventilating the cold roof would look ugly. Everyone has gone to a lot of effort to make the house as good looking as it can be and it would be a shame to rush through this detail and then sit looking at ugly vents on the balconies for ever more. But, tick, tick, tick, more time passes. By far the biggest issue is that until these details and corresponding drawings are signed off and I pay a stage payment to MBC, my manufacturing countdown doesn't start. Standard time for MBC to get on site is minimum 6 weeks, this time of year more like 8 so I'm realistically looking at end of August or early September. Then there are the windows to go in and roof to go on. I really, really want the build to be weather-tight before the weather breaks in the autumn, as it will. Moving on to making the building work as a home, and for construction to actually take place, I'm sorting out the electricity supply at the moment. There is a live supply to the site as there was an existing dwelling there. Last year I contacted the DNO and had a service alteration done, which basically chopped the wire running into the bungalow and moved it all into a box on the pole with the overhead cable running down it. I rang the supplier at the time and advised them of the changes being made and arranged for one of their bods to come along and collect their meter. Sadly, they didn't turn up for the appointment, so now their meter is buried at the bottom of a pile of builder's rubble in the local landfill site. This put all sorts of twists into their collective knickers and it's taken the best part of a day to sort out how to re-establish the connection. It turns out that what's needed is a temporary building supply and this is always done through the commercial team. I've been quoted up to 12 weeks for the whole thing, but this is if you are applying for an entirely new connection, not just to get a meter installed. Even so, it could take around 4 weeks. We shall see. In the meantime, I've (for the time being) decided on getting my kitchen from DIY Kitchens. I've planned it all out and know what units I want and where, so I'm not going to think about that again for a while. I do, however, need to start thinking about lighting schemes and bathrooms/wetrooms as I've made very few decisions on these. Needless to say, there is a huge amount of other small detail going on but little of which can be done until the final drawings are in. Never a dull moment, though, my groundworker has just called to tell me that they have bent over a water pipe to stem the healthy flow of water that was coming out of it when they went to remove it, despite Wessex Water having sworn faithfully to me in February that the water was all turned off at the meter and that nothing should be coming out of anywhere. Off to make some more calls and demo photos to follow soon. Ta ta for now.

Our old hi-fi will go into the snug and stay there, no networking or anything. OH and I don't share musical tastes and the snug is his for watching TV and listening to his music; as it is, he will need an entire wall for all his CDs and vinyl. I will need some acoustic insulation in the walls of the snug.

Yup, that's me, completely forgot about a doorbell! Not that I think we'll get many visitors being so much in the middle of nowhere, but you never know. Thanks for the list, Jack, really helpful.

Following on from @lizzie's topic on external roller blinds, I've been wondering about the best way to run the power source to these. There will be 2, both on the south side of the house, one upstairs (south east corner) and one ground floor (south west corner) but both on the same face. I had a quick chat with MBC and it's a choice between something coming from under the slab, then wired along the outside of the building under the cladding, or penetrate the wall and use grommets and seal before the insulation goes in. I'm also wondering whether I need any external power points. There will be some in the garage, but nothing on the south side. I'm not sure what I would use these for, but that doesn't mean I won't want or need any at some point in the future. Any thoughts, anyone?

They look good, Lizzie, and far less harsh than the security shutter type. Do they say what the life expectancy of the fabric is and/or what replacement cost would be? Thanks for the research and the sharing - really helpful.

I have my MPAN number from the DNO and they have confirmed that everything is good to go for supplying electricity to the site, subject to a meter being put on the supply by the electricity supplier. As per a previous post, the former electricity supplier, SSE, never came to collect their meter and it's now buried under a pile of rubble at the local landfill, so a new one needs to be connected. What sort of supply should I go for? I'm thinking that the most appropriate will be something with a low standing charge and take the hit on the electricity cost but no miinimum contract time. This is on the assumption that the house will be livable late this year/early next year and the type of supply need will be different to that of a construction site. Does anyone have any opinions or pointers?

Just stop it. I have to go to work now and I'm already late. This isn't helping. At all.

I'm shocked that you should assume it's a fallacy. So disappointed. As I emphasised to OH the other day, I was merely taking an interest in current affairs and discussing them with my girlfriends in a lively manner. This was quite valid given that a still from the new series of Poldark was on the front page of at least 1 highly reputed daily newspaper. ?

Thanks, newhome. The connections are simple enough, and we've moved the old one in and out often enough with various repairs over the years. I'm not paying £60 to have the new one connected when it's only a case of screwing a hose in; I have my adjustable spanner at the ready. I think it's a right handed one, ProDave!

Phew, thanks both.

It seems to be my week for thicky questions, or certainly naive ones. I've only ever had one dishwasher and this has finally given up after 18 years of service, so I know very little about all their bits and bobs. The new one is coming tomorrow, so we were taking out the old one this evening. Crack, spray, squelch. The plastic part that is on the end of the water inlet hose and between that and the connector that screws into the dishwasher broke and is beyond repair. Is the part that screws into the new dishwasher a standard thing, or do they vary in size from brand to brand? Can I just walk into a plumbing supplier and just buy a new one, or do I need to order from a supplier?

I cant speak for the new build yet but our supplier at home hassled me no end with letters, emails and then a phone call to my home line. I told them 'no' and then gave them a roasting for what I considered to be a marketing call and not to ring me again. Haven't heard from them since and still have power supply.

Absolutely not if I can help it! There is no broadband around there, so I'm not sure how they would connect up unless it's got a nice fat 4G signal, which I doubt, as I have to stand in the middle of the field to get a signal on my mobile. Why do you ask?

It's for trades. The groundworker has already asked if the cabin will be connected, but I think it's more about making a brew. If that's the case, it's definitely a camping stove!

I did wonder about that, to be honest. It seems the simplest solution and certainly cheaper. I think I'll get a gas stove over the weekend and have a word with the DNO on Monday and see how long it will be before the electricity comes on.

Just a thought, but how nickable are these? Will I need to wheel it into the site cabin each day, or can they be somehow locked up?

Its only for the site cabin, so things like the kettle and hot water. Not much else is going to need it between now and August, by which time I would hope to have the mains electric back where it needs to be, although it could be useful in the intermediate stages of the build, I guess. Thanks for the pointers.