Barney12

The point re spitting is a very valid. I’ve got the Quooker and it’s absolutely fantastic and I wouldn’t go back to a kettle. But, it does have its limitations. Two examples are: 1. it’s pretty much impossible to fill a plastic pot such as an instant porridge. The reality is that the plastic pot gets too hot to handle and hold it by the rim which doesn’t get so hot and you’ll get burnt from the splashing. 2. Filling a 4 cup tea pot (as an example) needs strong wrists. I can manage fine but my Mum in her 70’s struggles.

he’ll be adding “thermal mass”

the distinct lack of windows should keep the passive house warriors happy ? Airtightness might be an issue though.

Certainly National Parks are able to stipulate materials and sources, however they have the benefit of making their own rules! There are dozens of planning policies on the park which cover a multitude of aspects. To give just two specific examples: 1. Natural slates must only be nailed. Slate hooks are not allowed in any circumstances. 2. All windows and doors must always be 100mm recessed. There are soooo many other I could list. The sad fact is though that they are terrible at enforcing their own policies. The reality is they have minuscule resources and as a result many of the policies and conditions get ignored.

don’t go near these if you’ve plastered though. They will chip the skim like crazy. Fine for bare board.

Thats a good shout. If if you want a really great addition to your tool kit (come on who can resist more tools ?) then you won’t go far wrong with this set. Honestly they will take some serious abuse and are just too bloooomin useful. https://www.rutlands.co.uk/sp+hand-tools-nail-pullers-pry-bars-nail-pullers-japanese-claws-set-of-3-rutlands+jp1420pack3

Agreed. The trick is not to wrap/curl/tie too tightly as it’s then easier to pull down. Give yourself plenty to play with too, nothing worse than a stubby length of cable for second fix, a sparky mate of mine drives me crazy with his tiny stubs all to save a few pence on cable but make his second fix twice as hard ?

That is a good point. Whatever you do don’t use one of those adjustable hole cutters, it will end in tears. I swear by the Bosch Progressor hole saws. Nice clean cut every time.

This is how I’ve done it on my last few houses: 1. Decide on light positions and create a measured plan (distances from wall etc). 2. First fix your electrics with a decent loop of cable. 3. Board and skim/tape as normal. 4. Paint (at least down to the final coat) 5. Cut out and pull loop of cable down and wire up. And for the clever bit........ 1. Start with an empty room. 2. Mark your lighting positions out on the floor. 3. Use a vertical line (plumb) laser to show where to run your cables to. 4. Use the same points on the floor to cut out your holes. Make sure you mark the floor well (use a small screw if it’s timber) or drill a very shallow hole if it’s concrete. Both assume it’s not your finished floor Plastering will be cheaper and cleaner. Plasterers will love you for not having to navigate holes and cable.

If that header is being boarded and plastered then I'd like to see the plasterers face when they arrive on the job

I would agree. Well unless you have a Grand Designs film crew on-site. In which case your entire contingency will be spent before you've finished the foundations

Another vote for the Halfords sets. Hard to better at the price point. Just don’t buy them at full price as they’re on special vey often. Alternatively the Bahco sets are very good. I.e. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Bahco-S240-Socket-Piece-Square/dp/B0001OZHS0

Spookily yes.

P.S. I used the Enphase units. They've been bulletproof and the software/app for reporting etc is excellent.

I'd pose a question to the inverter manufacturer.

In theory there is space for a micro-inverter behind the GSE panel (the center section is cut out) and so you might get one in provided you had sufficient batten spacing to allow mounting between (with the lugs of the inverter screwed to the batten). My concern would be how hot they are going to get as there's not a huge level of ventilation behind them. Premature failure is likely to be a big issue. I've got one small array (on an outbuilding) using GSE which suffers from shading so I went for the micro inverters but they are below the insulation layer in the roof space.

Half price mains isolator at Aldi..... Bargain Isolator Particularly useful if you're trying to rush your install for BCO sign off!

I sooooo wish my system had your simplicity. Any one reading this who's at the planning stage....KIS (Keep It Simple).

Tried them by phone this morning on their main number and it goes to answerphone. That inspires confidence!

So what does block exemption give as a minimum? As another example Samsung are stating 12m parts only unless installed by one of their approved installers. Its 5 (Gen 5 units) or 7 years (in the case of the Gen 6) as standard if installed by one of their approved installers.

Ditto. Another company off the list The entire ASHP market is feeling like a closed shop!

Again buyer beware. Note this text from their website: "All Mitsubushi Ecodan products must be installed and commissioned by a Mitsubushi trained installer to comply with the Mitsubushi warranty" So in short; you're buying a £2k+ box with zero warranty. I've now emailed three suppliers of "branded" ASHP's. One replied stating "no warranty" as above. Two others simply haven't replied (which makes me think its the same answer!).

ive not had chance to call @dpmiller recommendation above. But other than that I’ve seen nothing which represents a good deal. eBay seems to be full of questionable Chinese units and overpriced second hand units.

Good summary and I agree with your thoughts. The compounding effect (good for investors and bad for buyer/tenant) and how they make it work from a legal ownership point of view are the biggies for me.

Not strictly self build but I was interested in this scheme after one of the girls at work mentioned it. https://hophomes.co.uk/ Setting aside the 5% return which for the tenant (co-owner?) could be argued as high this does seem to be quite an innovative scheme? Or am I missing something??