Stones

Does your amp not have a set up function including a microphone so you can optimise sound set up (which in effect compensates for sub optimal speaker / seating placement) ?

You don't need an MCS installer to install PV. As long as you have type compliant equipment, and the grid connection is made by a competent person, i.e. a qualified electrician, you're good to go. Once installed, notify DNO. All very straight forward. The only benefit of MCS is it would allow you to claim FiT and export payments.

I bought my ASHP from here: https://www.seconrenewables.com/ Whilst the website does say trade only, they were quite happy to sell to me. That was maybe just luck of course as when I phoned to enquire, the person who answered happened to be the managing director. Just to add if you look at their trade account application, 'self build' is listed as one of the business they will deal with

£4152.55 delivered (to Orkney) for 8.5kW ASHP with coastal coating, FTC5 controller and 300l preplumb cylinder. That was in 2016 though.

The pre-plumbed cylinders are expensive, but do offer a complete package. We have a Mitsubushi Ecodan with preplumb cylinder package and it works flawlessly. Taken in the round, yes you pay more for the cylinder, but its simple and quick connections (plumbing and electrical) so you save time and energy on that side if creating your own set up. Perhaps also worth considering the peace of mind of going for something that has been designed as an all in one package- all the hard design work and testing has been done. For us, worth every penny.

+1 for the New Zealand Daisy, Griselinia and Hardy Fuscia. Escallonia another popular one here.

Do you have to inform SSE of the change in inverter?

I've just finished planting 600 or so trees as informal boundary / shelter belt. Coastal / windswept but have gone with varieties that I know grow here (having planted some last year and seeing what grows around. Soil here very poor and a lot of clay. The bulk are Alder, Hawthorne, Hazel and Willow (local variety). Also some Downy Birch, Wild Rose (Rosa Alba, Rugosa), and a handful of others such as Bird Cherry, Crab Apple and Elderberry

18mm plywood, faced in WC with plasterboard so you can get a uniform finish? Ply would give you structure. You would need to confirm BC were happy though.

Lets put it this way, to avoid knocking myself out, I have to duck when walking through standard doorways.

We have a 'Schuller' kitchen, sourced through our local Buildbase who carry it as a mainstay to compete with the two Nobilla suppliers here. Similar prices and quality as far as I could see, with Schuller having the edge for what we were looking for. The best thing about both suppliers was their ability to supply units and finishes to accommodate an extra 100mm of worktop height (our worktop sits around 1000mm high rather than standard UK 900mm).

100mm panels were Amvic supplied. It was a 150mm stainless screw and black plastic 'washer' that was used to fix them to ICF block webs, as pictured above.

My system seems to be generating 10% more than PVGIS would suggest for my location as fitted vertically (90 degrees). Had I fitted on roof / ground mounted at 45 degrees, PVGIS indicates generation would be around 20% higher. The decision to vertically mount was simply a pragmatic one. Already had a structure in place to fix the system to, didn't need scaffold/roofers etc. Yes I have lower generation (circa 250kWh p.a.) but the cost attached to getting that extra generation didn't seem worth it.

That is good to know. @DOIGAN did you by any chance take pictures showing the stripped down MVHR, removing the motor or bearing replacement to post up for future reference?

3 maps/plans here? What is owned, What has been decrofted What has been shown in the planning application For those who don't live in crofting areas, this is land subject to various rules and restrictions. Land can be 'decrofted' most commonly for house plots. These tend to restricted in size. Access to such sites can still be taken over crofting land.

We built a house on an established site 15 years ago, and had to remove about 10 large established shrubs. Rather than just destroy them, I had the digger just dig them out with as large a rootball as he could manage in one scoop. The shrubs sat, on the grass, throughout a bone dry summer before being replanted in late Autumn. All but one came back really well within a year. I neither pruned them back or watered them for the 6 -8 months they were out the ground. Well watered when replanted. As indicated above, probably not the best horticultural approach, but it worked!

@Highland girl So you have a number of issues here. First the position of the house, if you have built it in the wrong place (and you have said you and the architect pegged it out), then you have built your house otherwise than in accordance with your approved plans. How your local planning authority views this will depend on a number of factors - there is always a little give and take, but 4 metres is a material rather than non material change, and I would suggest you would be asked to reapply for planning permission to regularise the development. That may come with additional restrictions. In order to remove the development, enforcement action would have to be taken, which has appeal provision in place. The first objective will be to regularise I suspect, if the house is otherwise built in accordance with the approved plans. You could be proactive and go to the planning authority and ask how to regularise now you realise the situation, or wait for enforcement action to be initiated. I would suggest if you are intending to sell, you need to get this resolved. As to you building on land which you do not own, the position with your ex and him 'having' to sign over title, splitting sale proceeds and who gets what etc, you NEED to get professional legal advice, not rely on an online forum of non legal experts. All you are getting here are thoughts and opinions. If you have encroached onto crofting land, then you would need to get a decrofting direction for the relevant area (assuming the actual original house plot has already been decrofted).

@ProDave Well done! Is that based on internal or external footprint? Aware you have done a lot of the work yourself (and looking forward to seeing it) - have you kept a note of the number of hours spent doing that work? Would be interesting to see what the final cost per sqm would be with that factored in at say £25 per hour (or whatever figure represented a reasonable average hourly rate for getting in tradesmen to do all that work).

I spoke to him a few weeks ago. Sadly his main back up was, you guessed it, also on that domain, so he has lost it. He thinks he may have a hard back up, but hadn't gone searching for it, so at the moment, the short answer is no.

I had a similar issue when my Vent Axia was located in our cold loft (albeit insulated). I think that was part of the problem, the other being the drain (including the one at the base of the exhaust fan chamber) blocked with build up of gunk / biojelly, that caused condensate overflow onto the fan blades which in turn threw cold water into the exhaust vent chamber and all over the fan blades. I've since moved my unit into the heated envelope where it was originally meant to go and that has vastly improved things - don't seem to get mould growth now

@DOIGAN You'll be pleased to hear its relatively straightforward. Remove the duct spiggots and duct blanking plates. Take off both the back and front covers, then take off the top and side panels - the side panels slide/interlock with the top and bottom panels. You should then have access to the fans on either side which are bolted to the poly core.

As above, anti frost settings probably main culprit for pumps being on, although the default temp at which this activates can be changed in advanced settings. Circulation pumps can also be set to overun/circulate behind actual operation of the heat pump itself, again can be changed in advanced settings.

We used a similar approach (roofing membrane IIRC).

I've just checked back the photos of our build. From sole / foundation to wallhead, it took my contractors 5 days to take our build up to wall plate height, reinforce where required, brace it for the pour, and pour the concrete. That was for a total perimeter length of 79 metres. That was 3 guys on site all day, with a 4th dropping in and out. This was a team using the ICF product for all there construction work, so really, a well oiled machine. So the answer is if you have a contactor / team who know how to use the product, have lots of experience with it, it will probably fly up compared to doing it yourself (with/without help) as you don't have the experience. It will however cost you more than just doing it yourself as obviously you have to pay for the team to do the work. Time/Quality/Cost.

In your case, the local impacts - traffic, services etc would have been considered when you built it, as you went through the full process of getting PP. Probably going to be a case of wait and see what the Council does.