ProDave

The only trouble with replacing it, is that lock will then have a different key to the rest of them.

I found on the vaulted ceilings the PB lifter was less useful than a flat ceiling. Ours was similar height, just over 4M to ridge, 45 degree pitch. What I did was screw some temporary bits of wood at the bottom to slot the bottom end of a board in, then you just have to hold the top end of the board while you get a few screws in. Then more temporary bits of timber to make the next slot for the bottom of the next board etc. Then did the same for the plasterboard. Easy job for 2 working from scaffold (Kwikstage in our case)

A self builder needs to think positive. Look at what you have achieved, rather than concentrating on what is still to do. Once you get part of it habitable and move in, that will boost your confidence and be a high point of the build.

Another vote for a DIY blower door. I made mine out of a substantial sheet of cardboard, lots of tape and an old office desk fan as the blower. You won't get a reading of air tightness but you will be able to go around and find any leaks and deal with them. Set it up so the blower extracts air so any leaks will be blowing in and be easy to find.

The question is HOW has it been built inside with bricks? If it has literally been built with brick inside, apart from being surprised the chassis has not collapsed, it is still a caravan, albeit a very heavy caravan that would not be movable on it's wheels but still be movable with a large enough crane. So over to @ToughButterCup to tell us exactly how has it been converted to a "dwellinhgouse"

A "caravan" does not need to be on wheels to fit the legal definition of a caravan. It must still be possible to move it and slinging it from a crane to pick it up is still a valid way to move it. If the bricks used to build the "house" inside it extend down onto or into the ground under the caravan then it would not be possible to move it even with a crane so it would fail the definition of a "caravan"

If this decision is allowed to stand, it will become case history, and sets a prescident that conceiling a house inside a caravan for 4 years can no longer be enforced

Just be absolutely SURE the position of the underground route you are offering is not going to be in the way of any future plans, e.g. an extension. Route it around the edge of your plot if it might be.

I am very sensitive to noise, but have no issues with ours (Mitsubishi) located in the plant room next to the main bedroom. When the MVHR is on boost, you hear some noise from the vents, but you don't run it on boost when sleeping. Ours only has manual control so you push a button to get a timed boost when showering. You mention the fan speed changing? could the issue being it is on some form of automatic control e.g. humidity and that is boosting the speed more often than you would like? I would not personally be in a hurry to have ours on automatic control.

Thanks for the update, it looks like you found some real issues that are now resolved.

Howdens ones don't. The only way you can tell is they are heavier, and have a PAPER label stuck to the top.

Check the SMALL PRINT When I tried to register mine, the DNO came straight back and told me it required prior approval and told me to disconnect it and apply for permission. that is because they had seen the model number of the inverter as TL4000 and assumed it was capable of 4kW output. It was only when I pointed them to the manufacturers certificate that stated the output was limited to 3.68kW that they were happy.

The only thing our BCO checked about fire doors was that the door to the garage had a closer.

You might have an issue registering it now if it has an old inverter. Today it has to be registered under G98, but it is likely your old inverter does not have a G98 certificate but the older spec in force at the time.

No 1, try and use all your big appliances near the middle of the day, one at a time, that's washing machine, tumble dryer and dishwasher. No 2, I have set the timing so my ASHP does not heat the DHW until 11AM, by then there should be reasonable solat PV generation. No 3, fit a solar PV diverter. I am out of date with what is on the market at the moment (I made my own). These send surplus PV to an immersion heater to heat hot water. Even if you don't "need" more hot water it is better use of it than exporting it, and will save the ASHP heating it later. I have my DHW set to be heated to 48 degrees by the ASHP that leaves plenty of headroom for surplus PV generation to heat it further. Just doing these simple measures means I self use almost all I generate, and if I were eligible for the poxy 5p payment for export, that would earn me about £5 per year.

My reading is the "dwelling" was deliberately hidden inside the caravan, so remains illegal. Reference the guy that hid a house behind a stack of hay bales, then after he thought the time was up removed the bales. It was ruled that because the dwelling had deliberately been hidden, the time limit for enforcement did not apply. Someone will no doubt find a link to that ruling and that would be my argument for suggesting the appeal decision in this case is wrong, that the "dwelling" had deliberately been hidden.

Rainfall is just measured in inches or mm (depending on your age) i.e. a parallel sided bucket here would fill up with 750mm of rain each year. It does not matter what size the bucket is.

It took us 6 1/2 years to "complete" our house. It will probably be another 2 before it is "finished"

I don't know why but that reminds me of the inside of a Tardis.

You mention aluminium frames. Is there a thermal break in the frame or not? do you have any specifications or drawings of the frame construction supplied by the manufacturer?

What openings are you talking about? All ours had to be cut to fit the sloping ceiling line of a room in roof bathroom, then the cut outs for shower controls and shower heads etc. I found it best to template it first for each panel with large sheets of cardboard. Get it right with the cardboard then mark out the actual panels.

This is a known problem. During the time we lived on site in a static caravan, the caravan was covered, but not the contents. I could not find anyone that would insure contents in a static caravan on a private site like a self build, they would only cover a caravan on a recognised caravan or mobile home site.

I think my temperature is 35 degrees. I could run it lower probably but it needs to be close to thet when it's -10 outside. Perhaps I will have another go at getting weather compensation to work and reduce the temperature when it's mild. 12 degrees outside right now. All rooms up to temperature and heating has shut off.

Another vote for wall panels, Look for "multipanel" and as a tip, I found Jewson sell them far cheaper than the "bathroom shops"

Yes I think the manifolds with a 3 port mixer are better at "drawing" the hot water in. At our old house, the heating is UFH upstairs and down and UVC for HW. I was called by the tenant to fix no heating upstairs. That fault was the useless 2 port valve head had failed, for about the third time. i replaced the head but I also observed the circulating pump was not working. But no other fault had been reported and the heating worked again with the new 2 port valve head even before I replaced the pump. So i concluded both UFH manifolds were circulating the water in on their own and the HW tank must have been working on gravity flow. P.S. replacing the pump was a mare as the the cheap pump isolating valves both leaked after changing the pump requiring a drain down to replace the isolating valves.