Gone West

@joe90 I've never used it but Is epoxy grout porous?

This is the same detail I have on my PH slab. I put 50mm Rockwool EWI between battens then counterbattened and at the base put Bluclad cement board covered with brick slips.

Our plans changed a fair bit over the three designs, not because we wanted the changes, but because the planners forced it. We were just relieved when we finally got planning permission.

My immersion thermostat packed up a few months ago. IIRC the resistance should be around 18 ohms. Might be that and not the element.

Our starting point was that we decided we didn't want to have a heating system. We also wanted an portal timber I-beam frame, so it was a case of working out U factors for the walls and roof and playing around with wall thicknesses, insulation types and glazing in the PHPP. After many months of work we came up with a max U factor of 0.1 for walls and roof would allow us not to need a conventional heating system for our layout. It is very dependent on the climate and micro-climate where you intend to build. Even where you obtain that climate data from is something that needs careful consideration.

We've got a Fakro TG roof window with glazing g value of 0.32. Works well.

You can price your own up on this site. Still expensive though. https://www.diywardrobes.co.uk/

Thanks, that's great I'll risk it then.

Yes I'm using the existing mains and the only person checking the installation would be the BCO.

First stopcock is on my land next to the lane. The second stopcock is a metre inside my hedge which is where the water meter is. The next one is inside the house. I don't have any outside taps running off the mains water supply because I have a borehole.

@Nickfromwales Could you clarify this for me. Are you saying that the 'stopcock' where the incoming main first enters the inside of the house has to be a conventional stopcock even if there are other stopcocks on that MDPE pipe between where the MDPE pipe enters your land and your house? I was hoping to use a 'Push Fit Full Bore Lever Isolation Valve', as mentioned above, instead of a conventional stopcock.

It all depends on the installer, for me the cutting back was a major part of the job. IIRC we ended up with around 70 large bags of offcuts which we had to take to the tip. It's a great material though and very airtight.

I use the thicker 'gas' type PTFE tape so I don't have to put as many turns on.

My first floor is 22mm T&G chipboard glued and screwed to metal web joists, no squeaks.

Hi and welcome to the forum. Don't hold back with the questions there are plenty of people willing to help.

I can second those thoughts about Sennocke. I have my warranty with them and site insurance. I didn't need site insurance any longer but did want the house and contents insured as it is largely furnished. Other insurers wouldn't cover me until the house had been signed off but Sennocke covered it with unoccupied house and contents insurance which worked out half the price of the site insurance.

If I reach 94 I'll be pleased! Well possibly....

We had a problem with ants burrowing under our insulated slab. They only seem to live around the edges of the insulation and don't travel far underneath it. We used ant powder whenever we saw ant activity around the insulation and it worked a treat. They get covered in the powder and take it back to the nest and activity soon stops.

@joe90 My sewage treatment plant discharges into a reed bed and BCO was happy. Couldn't find any regulations relating to size required for a particular treatment plant so don't see why your idea shouldn't work. I like the idea of a wildlife pond serving a purpose like that.

@readiescards Looks like a neat job. Did you get much overspray?

So this is an update to the saga. I rang the local Sandwich CEF branch who told me to come in to order the Meter Board as I couldn’t do it over the phone. So I order and pay for it and am told they’ll ring me in a couple of days when it’s in. Didn’t hear anything for a week so rang them and was told their supplier would be out of stock until August so I could go in for a refund. I said I was looking at their web page and they had 63 in the main warehouse. Apparently they can’t order from their warehouse, that’s only for internet orders so why don’t I order direct from the internet (I’d already tried that before). So I rang the helpline number told them what had happened and asked if it rang true. Definitely not was the reply and I would hear from the Sandwich branch the next day. Needless to say I didn’t so I rang again and they said they would escalate the complaint. The next day I get a phone call from the Area Manager very apologetic about what had happened and I would be able to pick up the Meter Board from Sandwich in two days. I then got a call from the Sandwich branch manager again very apologetic saying they would deliver it to me as soon as it is in. It turns up the next day and the CEF delivery driver tells me that the sh1t has hit the fan and the branch and area mangers have to go to the Head Office to explain what had happened because of my complaint. All for a meter board that’s less than a tenner.

Depending on where you live it could be the difference between requiring or not requiring a conventional heating system. My house which is built to PH standards doesn't have conventional space heating because it only requires 1.14kW of heating when -10C outside. I used the PHPP as well, many years ago it cost me £135. The PHPP estimates the house will need 11kwh/m2a and has U factors for the walls, roof and floor of 0.1.

Yup, just bog standard bi-metal hole cutters from Screwfix. I've not seen Aquapanel but Hardiebacker is pretty dense stuff. They say you can score and snap it but I didn't have much luck. I ended up cutting it with a sacrificial TCT blade in the circular saw.

No problem, interesting though, thanks for the information.

I'm using this company. http://www.bambooflooringcompany.com/flooring-accessories/bamboo-profiles/stair-nosings/