Thorfun

if I may just add a +1 to the 'leave it and crack on' responses. I've had many of these 'agonising' decisions so far in our build and can safely say that they end up being quite inconsequential and soon fade into distant memory but, at the time, it feels like the biggest decision of your life that could have massive follow on effects as it's not what you thought it would be. I remember our groundworker saying to me that 'building is basically a bodge'! now he wasn't saying that it's done by cowboys (although I think that sometimes it is) what he was saying is that it isn't precision engineering and things happen that are slightly different to as expected and then you just deal with them and find a solution around that. as has been said I don't think you'll notice it. Also, even though you said it's cheap with 3 or 4 days for the bricklayer but that could end up being about £1000 which isn't really cheap. it is in the grand scheme of the whole build but when you get to the point of the build that you're penny pinching as costs have spiralled and you need to save as much as possible that £1000 could go a long way. when I first started I had loads of money from my bank and was like 'yeah, an extra £500 here or there is fine!'. now I'm like 's**t! I've got no money left. I could've done with that £500 I spent last year' etc. just my 2 cents. 🙂

Is there any kind of matting or underlay needed for engineered wood flooring?

yeah. groundworkers do the stuff in the ground like foundations, drainage, STP etc. maybe you could pick up a copy of Mark Brinkley's Housebuilders Bible (https://www.amazon.co.uk/Housebuilders-Bible-14-14th/dp/1916016812) . it's a very good book and has loads of great information for self-builders in there to help you not use the wrong terminology! 😉

cor. sounds like your Architect made a big blunder there if they thought Zinc was standard and not expensive! we only had Zinc guttering and downpipes specified and knew that was going to be expensive but a whole darn roof! I wonder if you could get away with a material amendment rather than another full planning application? good luck! at least you're value engineering now and not after you've started building.

thanks. each pump has an NRV on it. there's no chance of water never being in there! even during the drought last summer there was still a trickle of water coming in. I'm tempted to put a monitor on the 1st pump to record when it runs and for how long to keep some form of stats and so I can see if it is running or when it last ran etc. but that's a very nice to have and can wait.

afternoon all. I've finally got my dual pump system up and running. the new pumps are really good and clear the water very quickly. one is 200mm higher than the other so if that one ever kicks in we know there's an issue and I will eventually get alerted if that happens. thanks to @pocster for that suggestion. I've also got a separate float that will go to an external alarm that also has a trigger that will feed the HA system as a last line of notification if both pumps have failed. that will go in at some point soon but I need the electrician to come over and wire all this up properly as it's just on 13A plugs for now. still got the Shelley flood sensor on the floor of the courtyard so if the sump does overflow that will alert me. feeling a LOT better about the risk of flooding occurring again now. Basement is free of water now as well. we've got a hired dehumidifier running and a 2kW convection heater going to try and get some heat down there. it's 'kind of' working but I'm now speaking to companies to bring forward our ASHP/UVC install so we can get the UFH going in the basement to help dry it out. thanks also to @Nickfromwales for his advice and effort in assisting. I'm just waiting to hear back from the second company with their quote and timelines before I make a decision between the 2 companies. Sadly, though, this has had an impact on the schedule for our house build. all the stuff we were storing in the basement is now in the house above ground so we can't really do any work as there are boxes and things all over the place drying out. hopefully we can get the basement fully dry again soon so we can put that stuff back down there and get on with working on the build. no one ever said self-building was easy!

if this is the case I think it'd be a waste to build a bungalow! as has been said it'd be cheaper to build a 2-storey house and put in a lift. that way you can enjoy the views of the sea every day for the rest of your lives while sipping a beverage of your choice from some form of sun terrace. 🙂

And I think the moral of this story is to always get more than one quote (3 is the magic number for me) to compare and then make a decision based on cost, previous work examples, personality and gut feeling!

Opening the back door and fly it out of that might be a cheaper option. 😂

does it need to open to purge heat? having a non-opening one will save quite a bit of money! maybe enough to allow an alternate cooling system to be installed? just an alternate angle to consider.

I wouldn't worry about the lack of building experience as @PeterW says, BCO will check that stuff and what they don't check you'll pick up on pretty quickly. I would be more concerned about the amount of time it consumes! it's very much a full time role. researching, purchasing, ordering, planning and so on and all very much in advance of when you might actually need it. It's not easy but it is very rewarding. it will also save a ton of money on materials (as the main contractor won't put their 20% on top of all of the materials) and also allow you to shop around. it's not easy but is definitely do-able.

That’s what I was hoping to avoid though if possible. The cost of an enclosure and a CU.

I presume you also mean IP65 as it’s the same liquid protection as IP55. I’m assuming also that the solid protection level of 6 to 5 is not an issue? Hager make outdoor units that are IP55 https://hager.com/uk/products/residential-distribution/consumer-units/insulated-consumer-units/outdoor-units i guess ultimately I really need my sparky to approve as he’ll be doing the work and signing it off! has anyone fitted a CU outdoors without issues? Would rather not have to buy a suitable IP rated enclosure to put a CU in

Ok but isn’t that just semantics? Or does the addition of the components change the external usage?

Yeah. That’s was my understanding as well but nowhere in the description does it say suitable for outside use and I was wondering if the regulations are different as it’s a consumer unit.

can a CU be housed externally if it is suitably rated or should it still be housed in an external cabinet? I ask because this IP65 rated unit from TLC direct (https://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Main_Index/Consumer_Units_Index/Wiska_Consumer_Enclosures/index.html) states external building but doesn't seem to suggest that it can be installed outside. other IP55 rated CUs state suitable for damp/moist areas. ps. I will speak to my electrician but he's done for the day and I don't like to disturb him OOO and I do value the expertise of the many electricians and knowledgeable people on this forum

if you're putting a screed above the insulation is there much point getting the slab level? surely the screed will sort that out? if you've got hollows then I'd just use sand to fill those in. it's what we did.

I like this idea

thanks. something else to add to the list of things to investigate! 🙂

that's some good research! and if the Ebara pumps don't work out then i'll revisit the Zoellar pumps. can't break the hole wider. it's fine as is. message understood. both pumps will be at different levels and floats will not be near/facing the other pump so free movement should be possible.

https://www.pumpsukltd.com/ebara-best-one-m-a.html

thanks. I get it now. for me it'll probably be a CT clamp of some kind then as my pumps will be hard wired to a CU. yeah, I was going to go with the loose floats with a control panel but one chap said there's not enough room in my sump and they could get tangled up! obviously something I want to avoid. so I'm going for pumps with floats attached. then I'll have a single loose float attached to an alarm panel (https://www.pumpsukltd.com/puk-alarm-box.html) that has an connection for an external trigger that can feed into my Loxone system. I looked at the Zoellar pumps but I couldn't see one with a 1 1/4" discharge outlet so I've gone with Ebara instead. Neither of us want to run a separate 2" outlet pipe hidden below the patio and behind a studded wall so I needed a 1 1/4" pump. I'm confident they will do the job and the flow rate at our static head level is good and with the redundancies and monitoring I'll build in I'm very confident I can be flood free. I guess only time will tell if I've made the correct decision!

hey @pocster. qq. what HA sensor do you use on the higher pump? I'm leaning towards having built in floats on the pumps now (due to potential lack of space in the sump for 4 floats) and a separate alarm float/box. but I'd like a way to monitor if a pump is running so need a way to trigger that into my Loxone system. I was thinking a CT clamp on the power cable? but I'm sure there has to be a more elegant way!

will run it by SWMBO and see what she says exactly!

that's the thing, the 32mm pipe is very gentle bends with no joins directly from the sump to an inspection chamber where it feeds in to our RWH tank. so I'm not worried about that side of things. tbh, I'm not really worried about just using a 32mm pipe! yeah, I guess I could do something like this. I am going to put paving slabs and an ACO down in the courtyard so I could have space for a 50mm pipe that then is run up the wall but it's a bit of a bodge and we'll have to box in and make good which will cost more money whereas we really simply want to paint the concrete walls!