ProDave

Yes and as we have just retired, that is a thought starting to concern us, what happens if we are no longer able to drive? BUT living in our rural idyll a big part of the attraction is we know that no large scale building will be allowed so it will remain nice.

I gave up on city life as soon as I could. Probably not helped by the fact we lived on one of the main roads into Oxford and almost constant traffic noise was my main gripe, at rush hour it would be almost stationary crawling past the house. And when a bus stopped at the bus stop outside it's throbbing engine made the single glazed windows rattle. We had a driveway often not accessible because people ignored double yellows and parked across it. Having a driveway and garage (or space to build a garage) has always been a "must have" It was only my very first shoe box house that didn't as I simply needed to buy anything I could as prices were rising so fast. House No 2 onwards achieved that. It would be good to have a bus service from our rural idle, we have one bus a day here so no choice of time and only good for a short shopping trip less than 2 hours before the return bus. No good whatsoever for someone hoping to use it to get to work.

What is missing from this conversation is WHY it is there. It is one of the many safety features of an unvented cylinder, to ensure it cannot boil. So each heat source feeding the cylinder must have a fail safe cut off. There is a theoretical fault possibility in that many heat pumps have a built in electric resistance heater for backup or boost reasons and if the controls operating that stuck on, then the cylinder could continue heating until it boiled. So the valve we are talking about will shut down that flow from the heat pump if the heat cylinder is getting too hot. It is okay to use your diverter valve, or a separate valve for that, as long as the valve is normally closed, i.e. no power to the valve and it is shut. If using your diverter valve for this function then it is wired as normal, but with the addition that the L feed to the valve also passes through the normally closed contact on the cylinder thermostat that will have been supplied with the cylinder. This will open if the cylinder is getting too hot regardless of what any other controls might be telling the valve to do. I hope that makes sense, as up to this point I have not seen mention of the cylinder thermostat.

I keep hearing that. Do you really mean the engine sump that holds the oil in the bottom of the engine? I have never heard of an engin sump rusting through. OR do you mean the sump guard, as in that usually rusty metal plate put there under the engine to protect it from knocks off roading? Mine is only 10 years old so well inside the window and I was told it was the date it was logged into the process that mattered not how old it is when any work is done.

I was wondering how it worked. If on 29th July they decide mine needs some work, I was hoping it would not go away immediately as that would be the rest of the camping season buggered. Even if they supplied another pickup as a loan vehicle it would not have the electrics and tie down points needed to use it with the demountable camper. Or had yours been for the inspection before 15th April? I keep hearing stories of the truck being away for months, which would be fine if it was after October.

Make sure the sink is there when they come to template the worktops. If I recall correctly, they took the sink with them to engineer the fittings, and of course brought it back again when they came to fit the worktops. They also had sight of the tap, that in our case had to be mounted in the worktop with the tap position aligned with the joint between full bowl and half bowl. They do this all the time, they should know what they are doing.

Yes, ours is booked in for it's "inspection" at the end of July. But my MOT tester has said he would be amazed if they think ours needs a new chassis, he says it is sound. The camper will be demounted for the inspection and any work needed I demount it for the MOT otherwise you are very limited which test stations can accommodate you. The only complications are the air assist suspension (a Toyota listed factory option) and some electrics for the camper to plug into. How long was it away for your chassis replacement?

Yes it came from Nolan at NSR, we bought it nearly 2 years ago now it, was second hand, already set up as it is. Slightly unusual as the truck was 8 years old when we got it, but the camper unit less than 2 years old. the previous owner had upgraded to a larger camper unit recently. We went to NSR to look at the concept of the demountable camper, and this one was there that ticked all our boxes (many of them didn't) and 2 weeks later we flew down again to collect it and drive it the 600 miles home.

That's the structure completed now. All that remains is to cut the excess off the top of the supporting posts, and choose then order the roof sheeting.

BC usually want to witness a pressure test with air. I doubt they would accept "it's all full of water gov" I just bought a cheap kit from Screwfix 26 years ago and it has done 2 self builds.

I wired a house that was completely clad in OSB on the inside because the owner liked the look. BC insisted on fireproof covering due to the risk of surface fire spread and they found a clear treatment that gave that protection while still looking like OSB.

Mine was a most unusual transaction. The plot was not for sale. I knew the owner and some of the history and it took years of telling him I wanted to buy it before he eventually agreed to sell it. It was my solicitor that suggested the subject to planning clause, to prevent me buying a plot I hoped to build on and then finding I could not.

If it helps we bought our plot with "subject to planning permission" clause in the offer. It was a previous building plot that had permission in 1980 but was never built on. Our solicitor who was on the ball worded it like this, so that if for some reason planning was refused we could have walked away having only incurred the cost of the planning application, and some fees for his time spent. If planning was granted there would be a binding contract. So we applied for outline permission and all parties waited until that concluded (pp was granted) and the purchase proceeded.

I would say wrong saw for the job. You want a chop saw for that. A table saw is normally used with a fence for cutting a length of timber down to a particular size. The complete lack of a guard over the blade does not inspire confidence.

I will go against the forum trend, and say that's why I avoid push fit of any sort.

Nearly there with the basic frame. Just a bit of bracing on the free end pillars then it will be time to price up and order the roof sheeting.

Just take photos of how the cable was connected to the socket BEFORE you disconnect it, then you can be sure you can re connect it the same.

Are we talking copper wire as in ADSL? Or Fibre? A picture of what's behind the socket might help.

We both have bus pass. It does not get much use. There is only ONE bus per day near us, anything else is 3 miles to the bus stop. We do use them occasionally for instance visiting another distant city where parking is difficult, but we still have to get to the bus stop, so that probably means a taxi. Now a taxi is no less polluting than driving our own car, but do I trust my car left in a public car park for several days? NO. Solve the local link, e.g with affordable (subsidised) electric taxi's and we would use the bus a lot more.

Planning usually says you must plant a hedge. Nothing about maintaining it. If it died for some mysterious reason............

Is it necessary? My phone is old and with poor battery life, even that only needs charging once a day which I do overnight. How often do you really think you need to charge your phone in the kitchen?

You mean a contactless one? Will it work? the phone will be 30mm or more from the charger base.

What do you mean by a "single storey extension with basement underneath" Looking at your picture, a single storey extension level with the existing ground floor would already be part underground (semi basement) Are you suggesting a basement below that? That would be really deep. Or some split level design (extension not necessarilly level with existing floors) A separate building well away from the house is what most people do for a drum kit.

I have Rationel Alu clad sliders at 3M wide and at nearly 10 years old no problems at all.

I had the opposite. A builder that was on the ball. I had laid the drains expecting to have the sink waste out through the wall and into a bottle gulley. He said no, lets do it properly and bring that one up inside as well.