ProDave

Some of us believe the real reason for smart meters is their ability for half hourly metering, i.e. to charge a different tariff for each half hour of the day. That is optional at the moment and some suppliers do offer that sort of tariff now. We fear once we all have smart meters we will be forced onto that sort of tariff which usually comes with a VERY high rate for the late afternoon / early evening period, just when you want to cook your dinner. That sort of tariff also makes it much harder to compare suppliers and switch to a better tariff. We are being "sold" smart meters on the idea they will save you money, It is NOT the smart meter that might save you money but the in room energy monitor that might save you money if you watch it like a hawk and find you have left something on that you don't need. but it is very unlikely to save you much, and you can have that sort of device with a normal meter. One has to ask if there is no real benefit for the consumer to have a smartmeter then just WHO is benefiting from them and pushing us to have them?

I had never heard of just using sand. I thought biscuit mix was the accepted norm for this type of heat spreader. You need to check if your floor can take the extra dead weight of 48mm od biscuit mix if choosing that depth. Surely you need the finished floor before boarding to do shadow gaps?

I would plug your drain pipe at the lowest IC and then fill it with water. A water filled pipe won't float. An EMPTY pipe will. That is what you don't want to happen. If you have any rocks, or spare concrete blocks kicking about, lay as many as you can on top of the currently exposed run of drain as further measures to prevent it floating should the tench fill with water. Get those pictures off to BC and get the trench refilled ASAP.

Yes my heat spreader is dry mixed sand / cement. It dries hard but does not have much strength and can snap easily hence it is often called "biscuit mix" 25mm battens are all you need with the pipes in between and 25mm if biscuit mix. Engineered flooring spans between the battens, I used 20mm thick engineered flooring. Is 15mm thick rated as a structural floor?

Is it vital these are all at home? Someone I used to do work for had a similar sort of hobby and car collection. His solution was to buy an industrial unit on an industrial estate where he had his cars and workshop.

I can't see a problem with that, the garage would be a good place for both. My panels are about 30 metres away from the inverter with no problem. Include a good sizes separate cable duct from the house to the garage for all the PV cables. If you want a solar PV diverter to put excess power into the water tank you would need one with a wireless sensor connection, several are available.

I wish one of my neighbours would offer me £10K to take a tree down.

Some taps try and inhibit this behaviour by putting a bit of gauze in the outlet, but that has the effect of making the tap appear to stop quicker, but then to drip drip drip for some time (our basin tap does that)

That looks normal to me. What you are seeing is the time taken for the water in the spout to drain down. So nothing "wrong" with it.

Why do you need many cables in the floor? The only cables in the floor (or in my case of a suspended floor, well and truly underneath the floor in conduit) is the cables to the kitchen island. I suggest you first re design the cable routes to go around the walls or up the walls to the ceiling / floor void above.

And you can't use those blocks below DPC.

If the building has not been signed off as complete then yes you can. As I say a temporary habitation certificate is not completion, it just means I am allowed to move in.

So what foundations are you planning to use? 1M deep strip foundations does not sound excessive.

I won't have had BC sign off. A temporary habitation certificate is not sign off, but it is one of the acceptable "evidence of completion" allowed for a VAT reclaim. Most of the remaining work is my sun room and I am expecting to pay someone to supply and fit the windows (the big expense) and since it is a not yet completed new build they should be able to do that zero rated. I will lose out on the VAT on any materials I buy for the sun room after the VAT claim of course.

Change to a modular timber frame and build it as a portable building under the "caravan" rules. No BC needed. And as already mentioned a lightweight structure so less of an issue for foundations. Then you can build the original size.

One more question. If I get my temporary habitation certificate. I then have 3 months so submit my claim. Can I claim for items bought in that 3 months, or can I only claim for items bought up to the date of the temporary habitation certificate?

Have you ever considered the land owner might not be bothered about the tree? We have plenty of trees. I have an ongoing gradual program of thinning them. If my neighbour said to me can I take one down for some reason. the very last thing I would want is 2 more planted in it's place. Perhaps a picture of the site and the tree might give the situation some more clarity.

Tried VLC. Still a picture of a door with nothing moving.

If you get through can you ask if they are accepting claims at the moment please?

Yes the "plan" is not quite working. The plan was to get the temporary habitation and use that for my VAT claim which just might give me enough cash to finish. I was also with the temporary habitation hoping to move onto something more like normal insurance. I have to sort that by mid May. But my dealings with an insurance broker have so far got nowhere. On the assumption that I have a temporary habitation but still have some jobs to do I have been trying to get an insurance quote. But in spite of answering the myriad of questions they have come back with, I still don't have a quote. So it looks like I will be renewing the self build policy yet again and that takes away the rush to get the temporary habitation.

To anyone else reading. To mate boards together. Take an offcut of a piece of boarding so you have a tongue or groove to slot into your open end. Then you can blat that damned hard with a hammer to drive your boards together without damaging your tongue or groove. All that will get damaged is your offcut that ends up as scrap anyway.

I give up. Right clicking and "save audio as" gives me a 23mB .MOV file. I open that with "movie player" and I see a static picture of a door. Nothing moves but there is some sound. Still no bridge.

I click the play button and the sound plays, but no video. If i right click, I get options like "play audio", "copy audio location", "email audio" So my computer thinks it's an audio clip not a video clip. Latest version of firefox.

Am I the only one not seeing a video here? Just the slider and white space above it? P.S I was hoping to see a picture of the bridge, and what it bridges over?

With CV-19 I suspect not? I am considering very shortly (days?) applying for a certificate of temporary habitation to give me "proof of completion" and submitting my VAT claim. I don't want to blow this chance, if I get the temporary habitation and don't use it for a VAT claim within 3 months, then I will have to wait until actual completion. So do i apply for the temporary habitation or wait?