ProDave

Hope to get it all cleaned and sealed tomorrow and SWMBO will grout it on Sunday.

There is smoke coming from a chimney down the road from us. Someone is feeling cold and lit the stove in August (or they have elected a new Pope) We have shut the windows, no need for a night purge just now.

If I spent that much on my build, then the total cost of my house would be about twice it's market value. But I do know a self build near here that did indeed cost well in excess of it's market value.

I thought you could only have an inverter capable of exceeding your export limit if you had an "approved" device to ensure the export limit was not exceeded. My home made PV diverter would not count. If that failed, and nothing else at all in the house was consuming power, then I would export what the inverter produced. Irelevant to me as my inverter limits the power to 16A. Of course if I ever add batteries they would be "off grid" (cough)

That's the entrance hall tiles down today. This won't cost me directly, I have some electrical work to do at the tilers house on a labour exchange basis. I will try to explain the sizing issue. The largest tiles are a nominal 60cm by 40cm. Where it works out in the pattern that a 20 by 20 plus a 40 by 40 tile adjoin a 60cm tile, the problem was the 20 by 20 plus the 40 by 40 put tight together were exactly the length of the nominal 60cm tile, leaving no room for a grout gap. A lot of criticising of the "rubbish tiles" ensued today, following by a lot of trimming tiny little slivers from tiles.

It depends on what you install the batteries for and how it is designed surely? Most will install modest battery capacity in order to maximise PV self usage so store PV generation that you cannot use in real time, to be used later. But larger, particularly storage using EV vehicle batteries is all being designed to export to the grid at peak demand times. 2 completely different systems for different reasons.

Just watch that you must keep all electrics >3M from the shower tray, not just the shower head. Doable in a 5.7M utility room if you put the shower one end and the appliances at the other, but I don't think @JandD utility is big enough to allow that.

From what I see of the average rental, that is a good, tidy well kept rental garden.

As it happens I have started this. I laid the first batch of tiles on Wednesday. I then hit a problem yesterday when trying to lay out the next section, the modular tiles I have are not cut accurately and arguably cut to the wrong sizes, this results in some tiles needing a tiny sliver cut off them. At this point I have shamefully admitted defeat and my friend John the Tiler is coming today. The main advantage is he has a better tile cutter than me and a lot more patience. But I am almost ashamed at having to "get a man in"

I remember one of these "team building courses" we had to attend. We were split into groups of 3 and given 3 minutes to examine an object but we could not make notes, just look at it. We then had to go and describe the object to the others. We aparently were the first to ever get it right. Most groups just waffled "well it's sort of square and has a pointy out bit over there. But we took the approach that each of us would examine it from one side only in detail and memorise our side. Then we reproduced between us a third angle projection drawing of the object. I believe we were the first group of engineers to be sent on this course.

Stixall The clear stuff is good but avoid the white version I have not had much luck with that.

I hope you don't mean as in you hit them with a hammer?

That is an interesting idea. Kwikstage scaffold boards are rated to be "supported every 2.4M" Are any scaffold boards rated to span a 2.7M gap? Or (since you are not standing on them, just storing stuff) how much would a scaffold board bend if only supported at the ends of a 2.7M board.

Wiring would go in the battened service void between the celotex and the plasterboard. No need for conduit unless you want it.

So you want a big "platform" covering all the space above the garage door? To keep your joist sizes down can you find the roof / ceiling joists and fix hangers at mid point to help support the shelving system?

Check with building regs if you can have a bedroom door opening right at the top of the stairs. I am pretty sure this would not be allowed in Scotland without a bit more of landing space.

I think in that situation I would be building one for me, and selling the plot for someone else to build on. Then you only have CGT to consider on the plot sale. I would be a gentleman and leave the existing floor space allocation to whoever buys the plot since your self build plot would get full CIL exemption.

If you have a pumped system, the holding tank with the pump is the sample point, or in our previous pumped system the sample point was in between the septic tank and the pumping chamber. I have never seen a sample point installed in this location with a pumped system.

Damp / condensation would be my guess. How old is the house, what construction?

Well, I have found you one, but you won't like the price. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Apollo-Soteria-Dimension-Specialist-Optical-Detector-Flush-Mount-Smoke-Alarm/202601809440?epid=12029352481&hash=item2f2c024620:g:JAoAAOSwpOVca9Aa I searched for "flush smoke alarm"

I would buy them if I did not already have mine. That is the price you need to be buying them for to make DIY install viable without any FIT any more.

Okay, as a non pilot I have to ask. why take that approach? Would it have been to risky / too steep decent to take a straight approach over the trees?

I only personally use Aico. That doesn't address the low profile issue, it just ensures a good quality product. Aico do a combined heat and CO alarm that may reduce "ceiling clutter" in some rooms, but unfortunately they don't do a combined smoke and CO alarm.

I have done almost all the labour (apart from plastering and a bit of detailed joinery) since the basic shell was up. I am just I think on target to complete for £1000 per square metre. I am in year 5 of my self build and at least 1 more to go. The house is habitable and quite cosy but a long way from finished. I am self employed and only part time but very variable hours. I have not kept a count of hours worked but a lot, and a very conservative estimate suggests I have saved £30K in labour costs. Our issue is money, or rather lack of it, which is why the build is taking so long, just about at the point of building it at the rate we earn the money.

In what way is the first 3.68Kw solar PV not "DIY" then? Now the FIT has gone you are not surely thinking of an MCS install? Remember to seek DNO permission before going above 3.68Kw