ProDave

For not a great deal of money you can get an old, but perfectly good tester, e.g https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Newlec-NL175N-RCD-Tester-mint-condition/123705826588?hash=item1ccd711d1c:g:tOkAAOSwCqZcYJyV

If it is YOUR wiring then direct burying of Steel Wire Armoured is fine, but it is equally okay to put it inside a duct. I put the sections up through the foundations and into the house in a duct in case for any reason it ever had to be replaced.

My opinion of SSE Linesman testing techniques is VERY low following an incident where a care home was connected to a 3 phase generator when the power lines were down after a storm. I got called to the care home as stuff was going pop all over the place, I quickly identified incorrect wiring from the generator putting 400V on one phase so I shut the genny down and called SSE. When he got there, he started the genny, waved a volt stick about and said "what's the problem guv"?

Quite normal to have an exposed twin wall flue pipe. The room it passes through will need a CO alarm.

Surely the latest one? For the avoidance of doubt I would quote the full text of the condition you want removed.

I bought these ones. https://www.screwfix.com/p/eclipse-fire-door-ball-bearing-hinges-satin-chrome-102-x-76mm-2-pack/5532j Cheaper if you have an electricfix or plumbfix account. And it was cheaper to buy them in packs of 2 as that got me over the quantity for a cheaper price.

If you MUST have a loo down there, how about a composting one?

You should have asked your OR engineer. Normally they will free issue the grey Duct 56 ducting for their cable to be laid in. Won't you need water during the build or is there an alternative source?

I would be even more pragmatic. do you HAVE to have a WC in the basement? Everything in the thread so far has been a good reason NOT to have a WC in the basement. I woudl far sooner climb a flight of stairs when I need to go, than have all the "difficulties" with making s&!t defy gravity.

Is it possible for the forum software to superimpose a water mark on uploaded photographs?

I have 4KW (soon to be increased to 4.5) of PV. At this time of year all our generation is self used by either the house loads or DHW heating. So far since installing the immersion heater diverter I have exported just 2.9KWh. Obviously the larger PV array you install the more surplus you will have. I am not convinced about battery storage yet. Even if the electricity is free, the "cost" of the stored electricity when you factor in the capital cost and life of the battery works out at about the same as just buying it from the grid, in other words a lot of technical stuff for no gain. That I am sure will change as battery storage becomes more of a main stream product and prices will fall further. So I would be in no hurry to put that in just now but factor in the possibility later. I am going to wait a full year to see just how much of our generation we can actually self use and how much gets exported. That will tell me how much storage capacity is needed and whether it is worth it. High summer I am sure will be the time we simply can't use it all and some gets exported. Yes you will find in the winter, when you really need it, you won't get much from the PV You even have to price the install cost of the PV. For me it was only worth it by searching high and low to get the equipment at rock bottom price and self installing it. I installed 4KW for £1500 and it will be about another £150 when I add the extra 2 panels and a small inverter for them. I expect this to pay for itself in saved electricity costs in about 6 years. If I had paid typical installed costs the payback time would probably be double and I am not convinced that is good use of capital.

I think a lot would depend where the sun is. and where the view is. I am probably old fashioned but I like a view from the kitchen sink, not looking into a blank wall. If you keep it there I would shorten the wall that the sink is against at the moment and change the left hand what I think is a door to being a window so the kitchen units could wrap around in a U with the sink against that window. If the view it the other way, how about putting the kitchen to the right of the stairs?

I like the retirement house name "Dunearn" or "Dunworkin" Sometimes I think this one should have been called "Neveragain"

My guess is you will have no problem re naming the existing house, but when you try to name the new one with the old name, it will be refused as "already used"

How does changing the roof pitch make an unaffordable build, affordable?

This is where I think an UVC is a better solution. The problem with a thermal store is the temperature in the tank needs to be a lot hotter than your desired DHW temperature. If you heat it hot enough with the boier, there is not much capacity to heat it further with PV On the other hand, I can heat my UVC with my ASHP to 48 degrees, which is plenty hot enough for DHW and that still leaves a lot of scope for the excess solar PV to heat it hotter. If the PV heats it hotter then that just means it is a lot longer before the ASHP comes on again to heat it. No complicated control system other than a time clock to say when the ASHP is on and off, and a home made solar PV diverter that sends any excess to the immersion heater.

When I lived down south in Oxfordshire, in a poorly insulated 1930's house, summer overheating was a problem, and very often the outside temperature was too high to cool the house, opening the windows would just let the hot air in quicker. The only solution was a night purge, all windows wide open after dark and shut at sunrise. Up here in the Highlands, the air is rarely warm enough to cause that issue and with decent insulation, overheating is not a problem we suffer.

Why do you need FD30 doors to the bedrooms? is it 3 storey? My only FD30 door is through to the garage and I want that one to be as well sealed as I can. As well as the intumescent strips it has draught proofing strips as well on all 4 sides.

We went with 2040 by 826 everywhere. Note the 2040 height was a MISTAKE. I did not notice until AFTER I had plasterboarded and the plasterer had skimmed that the openings were that tall. If I had noticed before I would have reduced them to 1981 height. Having to choose 2040 high doors just about halves the choice of available doors.

Re mvhr routes. Fresh air into rooms should be a lot further from the door into the room, to encourage air movement rather than leave stagnant air not going anywhere. I would not put an air vent on the landing.

Bugger, I knew I should not have made all those pallets into a shed, now you have found a better use for them.

ebay is good for finding things though you probably want to find one for sale in the UK https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Weathervane-Roof-Mount-Rooster-Outdoor-Wind-Weather-Direction-Vane-Chicken-Farm/291993131677?hash=item43fc259a9d:g:AQ4AAOSw5cNYb72v

Well you could move the wall. If anyone complains you would have to apply for retrospective planning permission. If that is refused then the worst case is you would have to reduce the new wall to 1 metre high. EDIT and then put a planter on top of the wall and grow a hedge on top of the wall

who is "they" We have house names only here, as the road doesn't even have a name, let alone house numbers.

Do you really want to replace it with a section of wall? or would a fence do? You could test the water by putting up a couple of fence panels to enclose that bit and still leave the wall in place, and wait a few weeks to see if anyone says anything? If they don't then the wall could "fall down"