Carrerahill

Design it, build it, put it to use and don't worry about the DNO, just don't take the p***. Especially if you won't allow any export of your battery power. I have said it once and I will say it again, there is no DNO police.

Is this purely for fire extinguishing in your build? Without knowing more details I may be going off on a tangent, however, if for fire suppression in your own home, then sprinkler tank? We are currently building a care home in a village, the water authority has said they cannot give us the flow rate for sprinkler tank makeup, so we are specifying a 21,000 litre tank, which meets the needs of the sprinkler system within a large 2 storey care home. Do you see where I am going with this? I will also say that as the water authority cannot give a decent enough supply to continually fill the tank during use, it clearly would not be able to support a hydrant, so if a care home full of elderly, potentially immobile residents can be served by tanked water, then why can't your house?

I think I would find a friendly local structural engineer to pop out and see you, agree a cost for visit and a cost to record findings, but not necessarily present, at this stage. If anything happens you have the ability to have a before and after report detailing any structural, or other related damage. I would inform the main contractor immediately of the steps you have taken. You may also check your legal cover on your house insurance - they may help here because if your house falls down they won't be best pleased at having to cover the repairs! Photograph your home - have a means of proving things such as show a plumb line hanging adjacent to walls to prove plumb etc. (don't use a spirit level, the accuracy can be argued against easily). Submit these photos on the date taken to your SE and someone else, ideally a consultant or your insurance company or something (find someone who will agree just to receive them and file them so you can prove dates taken.

When I exposed land drain on my build it was a flat tile with a U shaped tile laid over the top. Loads of infiltration possibilities!

Depends on the board, wet, install it tight, dried out, a nail width. Most of it is bloody soaking!

I would go sarking, make sure it is decent stuff, I have had some crappy circa 15mm stuff delivered and it was very knotty and scary to walk on! Finally got a delivery of decent 22x150mm.

If you do this, get a hybrid inverter with a AC input, this can be grid, or, as I plan, a generator for the worst winter days. I know of a chap not far from Glasgow who bought a plot with no power, SPEN wanted silly money, he went off-grid, he has PV, storage and a generator, he reckons he uses about 50litres of diesel a year max and it only kicks in during the worst winter days - as PV pane efficiency increases he expects to come off the generator once he renews one of his arrays in 5-6 years.

They are not really for this purpose but will do a grand job of this, get some intumescent putty pads and fit them to the backboxes. That will seal them up and fire rate your sockets!

Would some 160mm soil pipe be about the right size? I would keep it at least the same size or bigger and just sleeve a bit over, I think I would use your big rocks and some hardcore bound up with cement to make a sort of no fines concrete around the whole lot and reinforce the bank, as you are doing, around it.

If it was me, I would hire a diamond floor saw and cut a decent channel, dig out, lay conduits, waste pipes etc... plumb it all up, test it, replace concrete. I'd go for continuous runs of plastic pipe (although I hate it and won't use it) laid in conduit in such a way you can pull through new lengths if needed in the future. Allow spare conduits too. I'd put in some 63mm smooth bore twin-wall ducting for water pipe and power: https://skyplastics.co.uk/63-50mm-black-twinwall-electric-duct-x-50-metre.html

Remember to add some power to your island!

I pointed this out too, therefore, without knowing the background, seems odd the OP is touching it. I would be making sure it looked rather dangerous, then called out the water authority!

So it is a sewer? Why are you getting this work done then?

Copper and solder the lot. It is what I did. Looks neater too and is tried and tested, real-world long term.

Well, I am trying, I have to refill the burn pit with diesel every 6 hours... I have no idea why it won't burn!

What you have will be cement asbestos, contains a very small % of white asbestos, the least deadly, there is even an HSE document detailing its handling for the DIYer. I did my garage roof after watching the professionals doing a friends, they damaged a lot of it and dragged it up their drive leaving a trail of white dust, you tell me that is safe?!? I bought disposable overalls, I bought new filters for my mask, I wore old trainers, shorts and t-shirt under the overalls and gloves and taped my ankles & wrists (already going over the top). I did it on a damp day, and I had the garden hose to soak the roof. Using a crowbar and batten I levered all the roof fasteners out and lifted each sheet down one at a time and stacked them. I then set the hose up like a shower and stripped including having a cold shower outside, bagged all my clothes and overalls. I binned the filter and washed the rest of the face mask by sitting it in warm soapy water and rinsing it multiple times. I shall not disclose my disposal method on a public forum, and for the avoidance of any doubt it was not fly tipped or disposed of in a way that would impact the tax payer or an unsuspecting person. It was acceptable, until not that long ago, to be disposed of on farms by burying, or, scattering along farm roads to act as hardcore! It still goes on.

Only blue brown, white is allowed. There is an HSE document on DIY asbestos removal.

Agreed, looks like it was not ideal!

I honestly don't know as I only did a short, 1 week trial of power monitoring functions with mine, I wanted them as safety shutdown devices, as the Shelly PM has an overload mode where if they go over specified power draw they can open the relay. What you are discussing I am going to suggest is possible, I just don't know as I didn't intend to use this function although it was interesting monitoring some circuits for a while. ESP8266 - yes. RTC not on the ones I have, but maybe some do now?

I would not put on 40-fines if you are going to put decorative gravel on it, that will impede drainage, I would just put down hardcore and compact it to within an inch of its life, then place a suitable gravel on top. That is what I did on our drive and some 4-5 years later it still looking as it should.

On the cloud or export to HA etc.

Shelly PM.

I work in the construction industry, on the design side, between all the disciplines that work together to put a building together, things are forgotten or overlooked, I really don't think this is an issue, it is a variation for you, OK maybe there should have been something included originally, but 2 people missed it, the AT and the BCO, I know BC will accept no liability as they are not "checking" drawings, but they still didn't flag the requirement at the time. So, as for a claim, it is a no from me.

Any scope to bring windows in via an opening on the first floor with plant or hoist on scaffold?

I found plenty of supplies didn't actually insist on MCS. When it came to PV I always thought MCS was a complete money making scam. I installed my own PV system, therefore not MCS accredited, if I do say so myself, my install is better than the other 2 around me. Why? Time, patience and care.