ToughButterCup

Hmmm: and they say that there are no old bold pilots left ? That saying must be wrong then. Shucks.

If you can get hold of it. We needed the shaped EPS 300 for our foundations. 10 week back order....

Show us how the ICF wall can contain the concrete as efficiently (financially and thermally) as insulation on it's own.

Are you aware of the General Binding Rules ?

Make a little recess in the ceiling - you know, a bit like a downlighter. I'll get me coat , Ed

I shut my eyes and sleep. 19:24 and I'm almost asleep on the sofa.

? With gutters, I'm at the YooChube video stage : a la How d'ya fit Lindab gutters then squire? Professionally, I had a fairly thick skin before I started this build. But since the build started, it's a lot - and I mean a lot - thicker now. When that happens ( get disheartened) to me (once a month or more) I try and do something to inspire me - I've been known to go and lurk around building sites - sometimes ask for permission to look at things on sites (told get lost occasionally) - I learn a lot doing that. Don't tell SWMBO, but I might treat myself to the odd nice tool now and again . (My Bosch laser spirit level is the mutts nuts) Would that I had the confidence, @patp ...

I've worked Up to 7 days a week for the last 4 years - almost all (except for three months) on my own. Few days off here and there, most weekends I work at least half a day. I'm retired, getting fitter by the year, losing weight, down in the dumps occasionally. But mostly head-down-arse-up-go. The most important thing is having a supportive other half. I would have thrown in the towel a couple of times if it weren't for her. 146 sq m. Roof on, windows in, some carcassing, first layer of plaster on, first fix. Zero experience of building before I started : well, I mixed concrete for my dad and few times - he did have a slipped disk after all. Often I work very inefficiently indeed. Because I haven't got a clue how to do stuff. Takes me about 5 times longer to get things done than anyone else. It's the stress of the c@ck - ups and the lack of knowledge and skills that gets to me most. Its rare for me to be able think and so plan strategically, often, I ' ... wish I'd thought of that last year ...' I could not do this job without Build Hub. Yep, I'm a Mod, so I would say that wouldn't I, but seriously for me, this isn't doable without Build Hub. How the Hell @nod and his other half did it as well as full time jobs I don't know.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch this is as far as we've got..... Knocking the hole in the ICF took three hard hours' pleasant work: stitch drilling , hammering, chiselling , swearing (no need for the gym) Here's the hole from inside the Piggery with the outer sleeve fitted (digger arm protecting the nosey general public from falling in the trench ) and the inner box (below) is slid into the outer sleeve (above) The inner sleeve is fastened to the wall with straps and screws. A bit of foam is needed to jam the box in place - you can just see it in the upper foto. I rang the pipestock people and got a very helpful operator. He suggested I use the combined stop valve and drain off point : good idea I thought. Quick call to UU and they said it was Ok to use them since they are WRAS approved. Bit expensive, but with 40% discount (from what?) using two valves instead of four makes sense to me. OK, they'll be delivered Friday or Monday, but UU won't even have the quote for their work to me by then. That went well then didn't it? Rare on my site. Right, next job ... guttering. Hmmmm.

Its you Ferdi.... Never been inside a cow for a good look round mate ....?

Bang on. That's why we're having the water come into our Piggery, and not the house. Have a look.... The 'Desired Connection Line' is marked by a line of red ==== and thus is outside the heated envelope of the house.

Edward ( @Construction Channel ) you are a star, my son. I had another look at the instructions: The image as presented confused me because of the way the inlet and outlet pipes are portrayed : inlet on the right (in the call-out circle) and outlet on the left. In the meter box I have, the pipes are reversed. What matters is the arrows (indicating flow), not the position of the pipe (inlet left or right hand side). Your post , made me look at the situation again. Thanks. Now I am not going to bother with the NRVs (non return valve) in the Piggery. I am going to fit them in the house instead. That'll reduce the likelihood of error (in the meter fitting process) on my part greatly. Just for completeness, I add a screenshot of UU's general instructions in the hope it might help people planning their water supply strategy. and finally here's the manufacturer's cross-section drawing for the meter box : note the fixing straps (securing straps) for the 'inner' box - they look pretty flimsy to me. I'll post pictures of the final installation later today. Thanks everyone for the posts - for me it's especially valuable to see a range of opinion. Carefully argued, politely expressed and closely evidenced opinion, dissenting or not, is healthy.

Yes, and erm, I'm off to double check Ed Thanks.??

Thanks very much everyone for your posts. I need to cross this Rubicon before the winter ( 2019 or 2020? ?)

Remember the Piggery? Where you parked that one time? The water comes into the piggery first , gets metered and only then goes to the house and the Wintergarden and pond.

Ta! Is there any point in putting a pressure gauge in ?

Hmmm. I'll give them a ring in 't morning. It took 40 minutes at my local BM to source those few bits and bobs in the photo at the top of the post. God it was a faff.

Yes, yes.

Ermmmmm Ed, you were in a rush to post , I can tell Have I got this right on your photo above: In through the big red valve Past the pressure gauge Through the non return valve To the drain point And what you suggest I should do is - on the incoming bottom row of mine In through the blue valve (bottom right) Then the non-return valve Then the drain point. On the outgoing top row Put the drain valve downstream (to the right of) the blue stop valve Should I - like you - put a pressure gauge in ? I have a pressure tester (4 bar at the furthest end of our system in our current house - next door)

Right. I'm ditching Philmac. Did you get your Plasson stuff online? What's the point of poorly designed and built infrastructure.? It's only the metal non return valves that were expensive. Why is Plasson stuff better?

Yes. United Utilities require me to: from a meter or so short of the main to the meter itself.

I think I have followed both the manufacturer's guidelines (Atlantic Plastics, Talis Intex 2) and those issued by United Utilities. In the same vein as this post, could you please have a look - thanks. I'm a bit jumpy about getting this right because UU are coming to inspect my work soon. I'm not that confident about it either...... This is the layout of the; stop tap, non return valve , and the drain off tap. Bottom 'row' is incoming, top 'row' outgoing Thanks @Conor and @epsilonGreedy. I'll be sure to Moisten everything before tightening. (why?) Not use PTFE tape. Tighten just beyond hand tight. (instructions say the thread should not be visible) Use a Sharpie to mark a depth guide to help me check the 'fit' By accident, it seems the incoming pipe may well come out of the ground at the correct angle to match up with the meter box. I'll have more on that adventure later today. Is the sequence of piping and valves correct above, please? Thanks Ian

I'm installing our water meter box. Never done this before, so I'd be glad if you could give these images a quick coat of looking at, please. Comments welcome. I have assembled the bits and bobs and slid them onto a scrap piece of 25mm 'Blue' (as I now know I should call it - plumbing jargon eh?) The bits and bobs Quick question: use the long or the short insert - does it matter? Inserted into the meter box in this order Results in this connection : do I need that white tape stuff? Which of the two sleeves above should I use ( long or short) should I use Plumbers tape (? the thin white tape stuff) Thanks for your time: I appreciate it Ian

Yes, I agree: it's sometimes fun to ski in front of an avalanche. Tell us about the front door. Maybe a few pictures would help - or a scan of the plans perhaps?

Good summary @gc100 (above) . Two thoughts. Do you know what's under the ground? And you are certain sure of the off-mains drainage permissions and practicalities aren't you? (Why?) Here's to lots more interesting posts from you about your build! Good luck Ian