ProDave

Another +1 for Click Mode. Good quality, well built, versatile, reliable and cheap. What is not to like.

As it's only supporting plasterboard I would construct a false ceiling using 38mm by 89mm CLS timber supported just from the walls with a similar sized CLS fixed to both walls. That then gives you plenty of room to accommodate the wiring for the lighting changes. You could probably do it in a thinner size using metal framing, but someone else would have to advise on that, I have not used it.

I was going to ask that. A meter box is a cabinet that needs a key to open it. That does indeed seem to meet the description of an electrical enclosure. After all you can have single insulated cables and even bare terminals in a junction box with a clip on lid. I agree it is poor work and it's not as thought it would have been difficult to do it properly in the first place. But a waste of time trying to complain to the competent person schemes, history seems to show they will be quick to fine someone who uses their logo if not a member, but taking action against a member who does poor work seems incredibly rare.

That's more for an 850W system than it cost me for my original 3.68kW system. No wonder there is interest in selling this plug and play kit, it allows suppliers to charge a lot for a small system just for the users that think they are getting something special.

We were first told that 40 years ago.

Didn't spot those. Definitely lots of shoddy work.

But it is also oh so simple to put right, I would not even trouble the developer. Turn off the power to the boiler, unscrew the outer cap, push the cable further in so the sheath is completely inside and put the cover back on and tighten it. Check there is a rubber bush in there somewhere, that is what compresses to clamp it in place.

Rip it off and plasterboard. If you have ANY electrical alterations to do, your electrician will hate you for keeping the lath and plaster. Just my preference.

I have seen a video of a submerged EV still burning underwater. So that won't extinguish the blaze buy might keep it cool enough to limit the spread until it has burned all it's fuel.

I am not sure I would want batteries inside the house. IF they do go up in flames, almost impossible to extinguish so almost certain to lead to loss of building even with a long fire protection of their room. I think I would want them outside in a cage. Only a couple of days ago a huge blaze in Glasgow building collapse and main rail station closed for days. Started as a fire behind the counter in a vape which people tried to put out with extinguishers and failed then it took hold. And this is just a collection of the small batteries in vape's. I expect insurers to exclude battery fires soon if they don't already. They like a get out clause. There is a burnt out cottage near here, insurers refused to pay out because the investigation revealed the cause as a laptop computer left sitting on a bed plugged in and charging. Presumably it set fire to the bedding. They say that was negligence so not insured.

I read it as he already has a building regs completion certificate. If you don't have that I would not have mentioned it. Some of us get confused.

Why / how do you have a building completion certificate if the plasterboard is not yet on?

One of our unusual ideas was the combined downstairs WC and utility room. Quite okay by building regs but not to everyones taste having the washing machine and EX in the same room.

no basic house is 11M long plus garage.

Lets hope so.

Ours is 11M by 7M internal so not that different. Requirements vary, we did not need or want a GF bedroom for instance. Ours is 1.5 storey, you would not be allowed anything else here. It is a cut roof supported from a ridge beam. The ridge beam gets intermediate support from the walls either side of the stair well, the only supporting internal walls. Cut roof from a ridge beam gives no intrusions to the upstairs layout unlike attic trusses and dormers. And detailing it as a warm roof all the insulation and air tight layers are encapsulated above the ceiling making it easy to detail and get good.

I offer our floor plans, as your house is almost the same size and shape as ours. Context. North is up. Front of house is north facing so at the top of the plans, garden is to the south and West mainly with good views to both. We have an addition of a single storey sun room at the back and a single garage on the east end of the house with a room above it. Things we particularly like. The double aspect kitchen diner as noted before in this thread. That opens to the sun room at the back. The Lounge looks out over the garden to the back / south. The double doors from both main rooms to the entrance hall that when open make it almost one large space. Almost no space wasted with corridors and a simple un cluttered layout. There were some minor changes to the bathroom / en suite at actual build but only minor.

Our bricklayer pointed them properly (yours did not) and a coat of masonry paint finished them off.

As this is a lighting circuit, there are so many possible ways of wiring it, all perfectly correct, that it would be impossible to give advice without further information and pictures. This bit is in capitals intentionally because I have lost count of how many times I have said it, but still I need to say it again and again. BEFORE CHANGING A LIGHT FITTING OR A SWITCH, TAKE A PICTURE AND MAKE SURE YOU CAN IDENTIFY EACH AND EVERY SINGLE CORE IN SOME WAY, MARKING THEM IN SOME WAY IF NECESSARY, SO YOU CAN ALWAYS GET BACK TO HOW IT WAS BEFORE YOUR BROKE IT So lets start with pictures of what you have at the light fitting, AND pictures of what you have at the light switches. There is no "standard" of what to do with a 3 core cable where you want to use one as a neutral but none are blue. Bizarrely wiring regs don't address that. One school of thought was use the black as neutral, as black used to be the colour for neutral a long time ago. the other school of thought is don't use black as that is too confusing so use grey as the neutral. We are in the strange position now, as black, that used to be neutral is now the colour for a line cable, and blue, which used to be the colour for a line cable, is now the colour for neutral. No wonder there is confusion.

I had recorded the ventilation rates as measured by the (uncalibrated) forum anemometer. All the BCO noted was the lack of trickle vents and referred to the plans and said "oh mechanical ventilation" and that was it. I never had to show them anything.

You just need the will power not to click on the thread.

6 X 2 joists along the front (where the stairs land) and back (against a wall) with 4X2 joists spanning between then at 400mm centres. The front one had intermediate support from the half landing newel posts that go all the way to the ground. No calculations just using up left overs and "it looked right" so don't use that as evidence if your BCO needs any.

So we know you have a rubbish house with small radiators. BUT you won't even TRY running your heat pump always on for a trial period to see what is actually achievable? You don't understand the term "ON" and are worried that it will cost you £700 per month to run it. Unless you actually TRY something, you will never know, and anyone entering this Rabbit hole is wasting their time just to be told by you that you are not willing to try anything and happy to live in your ice box.

The half landing is basically another floor to the house. You use joists sized and spaced to support that floor in exactly the same way as any other floor. Usually because a half landing is small, and the span is small you don't need very big joists. Think of it as an extra small piece of floor part way between ground floor and first floor, with two small staircases one from the ground floor to the half landing and one from the half landing to the first floor. It all becomes simple then. In my case because we were not having fancy treads, the stairs were being carpeted, the half landing did not need to be built by the stair company. They just built the 2 flights of stairs, and I built the half landing to join them.

..... And ASHP's blow out cold air, they are after all locally cooling the air, that is where they get the heat from. And a GSHP will cool the ground it is extracting heat from. Conservation of energy apples.