ProDave

You won't get a 200A supply. Your architect is not an electrician but if he designs you a house that is that poor it needs that much electricity (40KW) then sack him. If you have a 3 phase pole to work from, then consider a 3 phase supply to the house. A problem you might face being at the end of a long line is you might not get permission to install more than 16A per phase (3.68Kw) of solar PV. Up to 16A you can just install it and notify the DNO, above 16A you need prior authorisation and that is not certain and may come with costs. A 3 phase supply would let you install 16A per phase of PV or 11KW without having to seek permission. I don't understand the cloak and daggers bit, you are obviously in discussion with the vendor, so just tell him you need to know the cost of an electricity connection and get SSE to give you a quote.

Definitely get a quote from the DNO. As above, they will use concentric cable so only 2 cores and the cost of that will be less than SWA of the same conductor area. The important thing is they can use it on their network, but you can't use it after the meter for your own supply. But whoever supplies it, it will be a big cable. Have a search of the forum, I am sure somewhere, someone found a grant scheme in Scotland that will cover part of the cost of a new supply. Again that would not apply if you had the supply terminated some way away it would not cover the cost of your own cable. The only comparison I have is a local near here had to have 2 poles worth of 11KV overhead line taken down and re routed underground around his plot. That cost him about £10K. So on your measure that's £5K per pole for 3 phase 11KV underground. So a single phase 230V supply should be a lot less than "£5K per pole" One way you might get the cost down, is do a thorough and accurate estimate of your actual electricity load and you might get away with a lower rating supply, e.g if you only asked for a 12KVA supply.

Have a look at my thread about DIY solar PV Re ASHP / GSHP. For a GSHP you have to bury a lot of pipework in the ground. Even though I had my own digger at the time, I decided it was a LOT of work. then you have to fill that pipework with quite a lot of brine. I worked out the pipe and brine would cost more than the actual heat pump. An ASHP you just site close to the building and connect 2 pipes and some cables. a LOT easier and a lot cheaper. Ssomebody worked out that although a GSHP was more efficient, but the difference was small and the saving in energy over it's lifetime would never pay for the additional install costs. There is another subtle difference. A GSHP puts the works inside the house, so you might get noise problems (like having a large fridge running for a lot of the time) But an ASHP puts the works outside so far less likely to be heard inside the house.

You have the basics in mind already. Good insulation. Good air tightness (mostly attention to detail) Triple glazing is not much more than double, concentrate on finding a quality window supplier. The one you will get some discussion about is the heat pump. Most of us concluded an air source heat pump is better value. Not quite so efficient but a LOT cheaper to install and less maintenance. Also consider solar PV. That is harder to justify now without any FIT to subsidise it but a couple of us have done cheap DIY installs.

Will you live long enough?

In the past I have used gloss paint undercoat, which gives a matt finish and covers most things, them emulsion over the top.

So it's not seeing the HDD in the bios? Try manually configure rather than auto detect? I assume it came to you working with a previous HDD so the pooter works?

I take it this is not a new build but an extension? In which case with an existing mortgage you should have got the permission from the lender to start the work. This is exactly what we did with a former house, got the mortgage lenders permission, and an extra bit added to the mortgage to cover the costs of the extension. You need to talk to them ASAP to find a way to "regularise" the situation, don't just ignore it. Start with the groveling / I did not know the rules tack rather than being confrontational, and present your plan to complete the work with a realistic timetable and a realistic idea of the finished value after the work.

I did my drawings for planning, then got an architectural technician to detail it together with a structural engineer, and to produce the building regs and construction drawings.

There's a lot of "don't do this at home" chainsaw work there. I doubt his log trailer was quite road legal.

You should fill the tank with water to just above your concrete level, not necesarilly "full" Some manufacturers don't want you to fill it completely until ALL the backfilling is done. Why do you want to pour it dry? We did ours wet so we could be sure it settled and used a long stick as a poker to work it into all the nooks and cranies.

liverpool, most expensive, average plot price £817K What sort of work of fiction is that?

It was making the move (a rather long way) north that enabled us to self build. Mid you it also enabled us to get the house we really wanted rather than all we could barely afford in the over priced SE.

If you are prepared to go 20 miles out of Inverness I can show you plots for sale for about £50K It is nice to belong to an elite group.

3 port valves imho are the work of the devil. Stick to 2 port valves. My own HP has a "feature" that it turns the pumps on all by itself if it senses the water in the HP is getting near freezing. If I didn't have a bypass, then all the flow valves would be shut and it would have nowhere to circulate. Place the bypass at whatever point it furthest from the HP.

First comment, your UVC expansion vessel wants to be connected directly to it, not the other side of a service valve I only have one circulating pump for the whole ASHP in the flow from the ASHP, that serves HW and heating. the UFH manifolds have their own circulation pumps. Automatic bypass between ASHP flow and return as far away as you can get it from the ASHP before any electrical controlled valves.

No, the ramp does not have to be there. The property has to be basically safe, working heating and hot water, working kitchen, at least 1 working bathroom and WC and an electrical certificate. I hope to get the temporary habitation towards the end of this year and use that for my VAT clam. That of course means I won't be able to reclaim the VAT on anything after that, but the largest remaining purchase will be the doors and windows for the sun room, so I should still be able to get those "supply and fit" VAT free.

I too had wondered if you were Jack, in the process of getting divorced, or were his other half in the process of divorcing him. Time for a less confusing user name? I am loving the blog and the narrative.

I wondered that. A proper septic tank has a settlement chamber and the liquid flows over a weir. You would struggle to get the bits for that into an IBC without completely cutting the top off and re attaching it.

So put your planning app in. If there are any objections POINT OUT very clearly that if this is refused you WILL put them in the middle of the site where it is PD.

If it was an outside toilet, I would assume it is mostly for a pee when working in the garden and I would not expect it to get used for No 2's very often.

Composting toilet?

A better idea would be the micro treatment plants that I posted about recently. At least these look to have been "designed" rather than just a modified IBC.

Agreed. Only by sourcing the very cheapest of everything I needed could I get a DIY install down to £1500 with a predicted self usage payback of 6 years. Much more and it would not have been worth it.

The ONLY bit you NEEDED an MCS installer for was to put his MCS number on the FIT payment application form. Me and @Stones have recently registered our DIY installed systems with the DNO without any particular problem. Neither of us needed a SE for our mounting arrangements.