ProDave

+1 for BPC very easy to deal with.

SSE said something equally ridiculous to me but did not bat an eyelid when presented with 75mm ducting.

Speak to your electrician first. Some don't like using the SWA as the earth, so 5 core might be better if not too much more expensive.

That is not strictly SWA. That is the 3 core version of "concentric". The outer braid is the Combined Neuitral and Earth (CNE) and the 3 cores are the 3 L phases. In the supply head the N and the E terminal are both connected to the outer conductor. That cable is ONLY to be used by the DNO for the supply from the network to the supply head. Now to answer the rest of your question, what exactly are you planning? To leave the supply head and meter in this cubicle and run a cable from there to the house? If so 35mm 4 core SWA will do using the SWA as earth, but you cannot use that cable the DNO left, it sadly has no use after the supply head and meter.

I am not against EV's but yet to be convinced they will do all our motoring needs. So likely by the end of the 20's we will have one EV between us and I will be looking for my next ICE car as a long term keep, primarily for towing. Unless by the end of the 20's someone is selling an EV that can tow 2 tons and do so with a >200 mile range. Then there is our other retirement desire, a motorhome and a lot more touring. This is now seeming like very "last gasp" stuff, something we need to do early in our retirement while we still can. Does anyone yet make an electric motorhome with a decent range? Are camp sites going to be ready for 7kW charging when you get there? All the assumptions about EV's assume everyone uses them as shopping trollies and commuting, and conveniently forget those that want to "do" something with a vehicle.

I don't know how many you want but 2 available for collection in Inverness right now, go and click and collect them quick. 20+ available for delivery if you can wait until probably Tuesday next week for the rest.

Sorry to say this will cause big problems on a sale. The structural opening through the wall would need exposing for building control to inspect. The floor, walls and ceiling would need to be brought up to current insulation levels and any work done would need exposing for inspection. The wall between the wall and the garage would need to be fireproof which usually as a minimum means 2 layers of 15mm fireline plasterboard with staggered joints. There is an argument that if you have passed the time limit for building regulations enforcement (check but I think it's about 4 years) then a buyer might accept an indemnity insurance policy instead, but it is largely down to what a lender might say about the situation. Tip if you are thinking of that solution then DO NOT contact building control about this, that would void an indemnity policy. This post is perhaps more aimed at telling others not to do this sort of work without involving BC.

So does that mean you can't build flats without off street parking any more then?

No I am an electrician, hence not afraid of dropping them down. Put them in a plastic bag to keep the paint off and you should be able to pauit around the hole without a brush.

Don't tell me they painted around them? Drop them down and you can roller all around the hole without needing a brush.

An update on this old thread. I was doing a dry run in preparation for my final BC drain test. So I start pressurising the drainage and it is pumping up nicely until it got to about 70mm and then suddenly lost all pressure. I thought I had just blown the water out of a trap so I went round and ran some water down all of them, but still it now would not pressurise. Time for some more investigation. I found it was one of the Impey drains, much as I suspected it is barely fit for purpose. On one of the trays, the bit pictured above with the O ring had popped out under pressure. Push it back and pump it up again and the same happens. This is clearly not going to impress BC if this keeps happening. So I have engineered bodged a solution, a temporary clip that exerts pressure on this part to hold it down. Drains pump up now and hold pressure. In real life, it is not going to blow out under normal operation, but as I feared from over 3 years ago, it might cause issues during a drain pressure test. No I never did get around to contacting Impey for a solution but perhaps now i will.

I wish they had come into the project earlier? I would like to have seen more about the railway sleeper retaining wall that appears to be 9 sleepers high but sat on edge not on the flat. I wonder how that works and is going to retain 2 metres or more of land so close to the house? But I loved the hands on, work it out as you go approach. And never before has the description "sharp" been so appropriate. And I liked the bus as a workshop as a way of not "building" over the sewer. One of the classic GD's I think. Oh and the obligatory new born.

When doing my water pipe, after the Water company's Toby* I then fitted 3 of my own. One feeds the standpipe, one feeds the static caravan and one feeds the house. House piped in 25mm and standpipe and caravan piped in 20mm It means i have an additional isolation point for each branch should I need it. * Toby is the term used here to describe the underground stopcock that also has provision for a water meter (not fitted here) This sort of thing https://store.jdpipes.co.uk/united-utilities-boundary-box-meter-chamber/

Yes I had forgotten about this thread. I ended up with Rationel 2G alu clad windows in the sun room. Too early to tell if I get much solar gain as this time of year the sun room is in so much shade from the trees. Winter and Spring will be the time to tell how much solar gain I get on a sunny day when the leaves are gone. The sun room has certainly not over heated yet.

Why do you want solid aluminium? Would aluminium clad timber be an alternative to look at?

A few thoughts on this. Triple glazing does not increase solar gain. Fit triple glazed windows from a good manufacture. Design the new house with an Air Source Heat Pump as primary heating. Fit solar PV to the roof and then if you need summer cooling, the ASHP will do your cooling powered mostly by your free self generated electricity. Good insulation will keep the heat out in the summer as well as keeping the heat in in the winter.

If you want £50 credit and decide to join Octopus, sign up with this link http://share.octopus.energy/light-eland-196 ?

Is the paddock a wise place for a treatment plant? Don't forget emptying, I doubt the tanker will want to drive into an unsurfaced paddock and risk getting bogged down in mud, so is there a surfaced track to get into the paddock and close enough?

If you look at the bottom of the head when you manually move the lever, it turns a quarter of a turn. That is how much the spindle on the valve needs to move freely. Sometimes you can persuade a jammed spindle to move the full amount buy turning it with a pair if pliers or a spanner where you can apply more pressure than your fingers and keep working it backwards and forwards to see if it will free up and move further.

If this is the Honeywell, you can't operate the head off the valve. the head needs to be on the valve to centre the gear mechanism. If you try and operate it off the valve it will not stay in place and the gears will disengage and appear to be faulty. The spindle on the valve head should freely turn at least a quarter of a turn so I would say yours is stuck or partially stuck. EDIT: Just viewed your videos. the head looks fine. The spindle of the valve body is not turning anywhere near enough. You need to change the valve body and since you normally buy it as a complete unit use the new head that comes with it and keep your old valve head as a spare.

The 2 times I bought one, I just bought from the caravan dealers that have their own transport wagons and delivery was included in the price. The one time i sold one, the buyer had trouble finding anyone to transport it. the 2 local companies would only deliver vans they had sold, he ended up getting a company from 100 miles away to transport it. Just phone your local dealers with a ficticious 'van and ask for a quote to deliver it from 50 miles away to your plot. Also check what "delivery" means. When mine was delivered, they unloaded it onto the road and said "there you go mate"......

Opposite with the Wickes paint. Forst coat as you apply it it looks like it is barely going to cover. Come back in half an hour and it has miraculously all whitened up and covers well.

I would recommend Wickes own brand trade white emulsion as being good, cheap, white and covers well. 2 coats on fresh plaster is plenty. Or are you looking for oil based paint for woodwork?

N0 1 oil the door mechanisms. they might have seized up. Second, some door handles have a spring built into the handle each side. If so try removing one or both springs.

Coal plant brought out of standby due to lack of wind https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-58469238