ProDave

My first thought is the heat requirements of your house are too high for the heat pump you have. heat load 14873kWh Lets say you need the heating on half the year, that's an average of 82kWh per day heating. That's an average, it will be a lot less in autumb and spring and a lot higher in the middle of winter. Lets take a guess that the coldest winter day it will use 150kWh of heat in a day. For a 9kW ASHP to provide that, it will need to be running over 18 hours. So it is NOT going to heat up quickly like the oil boiler did, you probably need it to come on a lot earlier to stand a chance of getting the house up to temperature.

Has this changed recently? As a developer you can (or could) contact OR directly and they would come and survey, tell you what was needed and free issue all the cable and duct that you needed for you to prepare. With the cable they supplied I had it laid so when I was ready for connection they just had to send someone to dig a hole and make a connection.

They need a site layout plan that shows the position of neighbouring properties in relation to yours, and that needs to show the position of windows on neighbouring properties so they can see if there are issues with overlooking.

A quick google finds this manual that may or may not be right for yours. https://manualzz.com/doc/26659867/installation-and-maintenance-instructions There are several parameters relating to the defrost functions. The instructions say not to adjust them, but is it worth checking they are still at the correct default values and have not got corrupted?

To fix a roof tile from that, you will be laying down on the floor of the thing leaning out and down between the railings. It will not be the most comfortable working position. Hopefully it won't take long. Before stumping £140 for that, I would have asked a roofer to quote to replace the top hard to reach tile, pointing out the solar panel issue to him. He might have had a selection of roof ladders, perhaps one that has a shorter hook so would not have touched them?

Hi and welcome. An I to guess you have a problem with a heat pump?

It looks like you don't have the ethernet socket connected yet, just a tv aerial socket and a blank. Assuming the cable is there you need the ethernet socket connecting there, and at the other end the cable fitted with an RJ45 plug and plugged into one of the ethernet sockets on the router. Someone else will have to advise what to plug into it. We used an old reconfigured BT router (in the static caravan) but it was not a seamless reconnection when you moved from one zine to another.

Have you ever used one before? Years ago I did the course to drive one at work, the bit of paper has long been lost and has probably expired anyway. When you are outside and reaching over a lot, you start to question if it really can reach that far. That's one of the things you do on the course, take it right to the extremes 2 up until the alarm sounds. Go careful, you don't want to bounce it onto the roof and break another tile (I may regret saying that)

Ask the question, WHAT would you do with the app on your phone? I suspect the answer is 99% of the time, NOTHING. About the only useful thing I can actually think of for it, would be if you go away on holiday in winter, then the day before you come back, you can remotely turn the heating on so the house is warm for your return. I look forward to others telling me what a phone app can do that a thermostat and a time clock can't.

If you scaffolded up the gable is it within reach from the end? If you try the normal ladder idea, throw a rope over the roof and secure to something the other side and clip onto that as a safety line in case the ladder slides. P.S your wifes car is not a suitable anchor for the safety line.

I am not familliar with the new forms, can you post a copy of the form or type out the specific questions you do not understand?

Here in Scotland there is no requirement to be a member of a competent persons scheme, but building control WILL check your competence and qualifications. Each time I have submitted an EIC in a new council area I can guarantee a phone call follows. It seems once they are satisfied with your competence it must be put on a list as they never check again in the same council area.

So what question(s) on the form do you want help with?

That would be just under £6000 labour at my way up north rates, and 212 points is almost certainly less than £3000 of parts

Oh I wish. SWMBO knows at least 2 people with those in their houses so they are common. We had to have something more exclusive expensive.

Howdens have the Oak version of these on sale at the moment for £49.99 plus VAT (Though described as Holdenby rather than Dordogn)

We did 18 months in a 28ft static caravan. "Character building" is the phrase people like to use. And a little un on the way. That's true Grand Designs territory then.

Howdens describe that style as "Dordogne" https://www.howdens.com/search-result?q=dordogn+door Don't see them in pre finished grey though

A lot of sinks come with a lousy bit of sticky rubber or foam as a "seal" They go in the bin. CT1 or similar. Makes non destructive removal of sink #2 almost impossible.

I have just looked up and I find my Mendip stoves Churchill is already Ecodesign compliant. It was not a feature I went looking for, but they obviously have been planning ahead for this requirement. So I now feel as an eco design stove user I am now qualified to answer the original questions: They will have poorer draw. He showed as the top of one EcoDesign stove which had a baffle very close to the flue outlet, designed as such to meet the criteria for emissions. I did notice the baffles by the flue outlet but thought nothing of it. The stove draws very nicely. They will be a lot harder to get going, partly due to the draw and partly due to the fact that the flue will heat up less (and slower). No this is a very easy stove to light, it draws very well even from cold. No problems getting the flue temperature high enough quickly. They will be much less forgiving on wood quality. All my wood is self sourced either from our own garden or scavenged. I cut it, chop it, dry it and store it myself. I have yet to find any wood that won't burn nicely or gives any other problems. So I would say you have nothing to worry about. It's a salesman trying to offload non compliant stoves before it becomes illegal to sell them or install them.

This doesn't happen with granite....... We need a picture.

Well he should be able at least to put a lid on the chamber. How are the other snags?

The climate up here does not really warrant cooling. There was one hot spell the year before last, I briefly tried cooling the floor, but being a timber floor I was concerned at (possibly unseen) condensation, and in any event that only helped to cool downstairs. To properly cool the house I concluded it would need two fan coil units one in each of the main bedrooms to introduce cooled air at a high level. Something I may implement one day.

Stamp duty is payable (or not) on the price you pay. In many cases in cheaper areas plot prices are below the threshold for paying any stamp duty.

Hi and welcome. Don't worry, when you do your next self build, we are here to help. you get most things right by house No 3. So I am told (only on house No 2)