ProDave

I didn't see mention of a pipe? I read it as diverting a (dried up) stream presumably so it is now further from where the house is to be built.

When camping in Scotland, pick an exposed windy camping spot. I like the Western isles, lots of windy places to choose and not so many midges. Having said that the worst I can remember was a still August day on Jura. You could see the clouds of them. That's one reason we live where we do, less rain and less midges and we can hop over to the west coast in just over an hour.

For ours I had to measure the flow rate in a dry spell to confirm there was sufficient dilution.

I have been insured with Build Care via Build Store. I have just renewed it again for another year which does not seem to be a problem with them. Some have reported a refusal to renew some policies more than once or twice.

Hi and welcome. You do know SEPA will not allow drainage discharge to a dry ditch?

I don't think there is a pressure sensor. I have ran mine as low as 0.5 bar and that is not the cause for the CH14 error. I was going to come back to this thread anyway, as my latest relay mod has not cured the problem, the thing had tripped overnight with CH14 so did not come onto heat the DHW this morning. So it rather blows my noise pickup on the thermostat input theory. I really only have 2 more choices. One would be to put the thing on as mains timer to cycle the power off for 5 minutes just before each heating period. Or the other is yet another relay inside the thing to short out the flow switch whenever the pump is running. I got next to no help when I tried to get help from LG to solve it, so I could not honestly recommend this particular heat pump. It works fine when it works, but this stupid CH14 error that stops it working from time to time is just stupid. Without fail, mine trips when the unit is off so does not come on when wanted. I have never known it to trip when asked to run.

To be frank, I would now be going back to planning to get something larger than the existing building, arguing you should be able to enlarge it by at least PD limits. And then be looking at a rebuild which has the VAT benefits and will get you the building you really want. I am sure you can re use a lot like re use the roof tiles, the cladding etc.

Do you have a multimeter? If so you could measure if there is any voltage across either of those pairs.

That sort of doorbell could be used on batteries with just one pair of wires to the pushbutton, or mains powered (as in this case) by connecting a transformer. but not both together.

I would say mains powered. But not directly, there will be a transformer somewhere. One of those pairs of wires will connect to the transformer which is usually about 9V ac, and the other pair will go to the pushbutton. The transformer is often put next to the consumer unit. Find it and discnnect it and then you can remove the doorbell. But why disconnect it? what are you going to put in it's place?

Re the insurance thing. I have been working with a broker for well over a week now, trying to get an insurance quote, working on the basis that we would have the temporary habitation certificate. (I have not applied for it yet) That has proved disappointing a provisional price came back at £688 still with an outstanding question "is there a stove in the house?" so that would probably push it higher still. so I have just renewed the self build policy for another year at £555 there was no problem at all just renewing it. they did ask for an update on progress I just think they like to see it is moving forwards. So there is less of a hurry to get the temporary habitation, though I still want to do it this year and get the VAT claim in. I am presently collating and tabulating my invoices so it will be ready to go without delay.

I am really looking forward to the time we can get the windows in the sun room. Apart from a nice place to sit, part of it's objective is to catch solar gain to help heat the house. It will be nothing more high tech than if it's warmer in the sun room, we open the connecting doors to let the heat into the house. Shut them if it's too hot. We also have the natural filter than as soon as the leaves grow on the trees, we stop getting much sunlight so a natural way to reduce summer overheating. The only time we got too hot and needed some cooling was last years heat wave. That was not excess solar gain but the air temperature got too high for too long and there is only so long good insulation can keep excess heat out from that.

Perhaps you should look for a smallholding? My BIL bought one, in west Wales. It is actually the farmhouse and farm buildings left over from a farm though it only has 8 acres of land now. They don't do much with the land, keep some chickens, grow their own veg, have a couple of donkeys, the rest the rent to a neighbour who takes a cut of hay off the land and grazes cattle on it. His hobby is restoring WWII military vehicles and the barns and other outbuildings provide ample space to house them all and work on them.

You have obviously never tried selling a house in a dead market then? I have the tee shirt for that.

Not here they are not.

Is that the 3 storey Yorkshire one? I feel sorry for them, her house had been on the market for some time, and the program ended at the start of 2019 with her still needing a buyer and hoping to have completed the sale and moved into the new house by the summer. I do hope it sold before March?

Not if you time the sale for one of there regular £1 selling fee offers.

I will tag along as I am in the same boat. I have a quotation from a now disolved company and an email saying it was paid. I will submit that with my VAT claim but it won't surprise me if it is rejected. Not a lot else I can do.

Don't forget you can run cables around a wall horizontally from socket to socket or light switch to light switch in safe zones. Some electricians and a LOT of builders don't realise that is allowed. (the one time I had a stand up finger wagging argument with a joiner who was trying to stop me doing that)

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.