ProDave

Re service cavities. Years ago they didn't bother and you just drilled the studs of the timber frame for cables, and the plasterboard went straight onto the frame. It is only now that most people (still not all) are wanting air tight houses that we fit an air tight layer and make a service void inside that. 25mm battens then 12.5mm plasterboard comfortably fits a 35mm deep back box so copes with all wiring. Even where I wanted to bring the 15mm hot and cold pipes to the kitchen down the wall, the 25mm gap was plenty (just be careful with cable routing so none have to cross the pipes). The only place I used 50nmm battens for the service void is the utility room where I wanted 22mm pipes buried comfortably.

This was a constant issue in our last house. they were always in the loft. I believe they got through the air bricks then up the cavity into the loft. Lots of rat poison was the only solution. Occasionally the cat would bring one into the house alive and lose it, that would end up dead somewhere under a kitchen unit or behind furniture, you knew about it by the smell. Oh that smell, revolting. Not seen or heard a single rodent at all in the new house. A BIG advantage of a warm roof design is there is not the tiniest ventilation hole in the loft anywhere. Oh and no cat flap, so the cat can't just bring a mouse in, and if she appears at the door, mouse in mouth, she does not get let in. Harvest time was when they started to come in having been displaced from the fields.

I take it this house does not have MVHR?

The RCD requirements are for most final circuits, and circuits buried less than 50mm deep in a wall. So you could run a submain on the surface without rcd protection, but not many people would like that, so often the easiest way is SWA buried where possible The earthed metal covering obviates the need for rcd protection just as steel conduit does.

Don't worry about the building warrant, you can extend it. £100 buys you a 9 month extension, £200 buys you a 2 year extension. The on line system to do is is somewhat clumsy to say the least and I messed it up earlier in the year and only did the 9 month extension, so early in the new year I will try again for another 2 year extension. I will try and avoid the on line system and instead print the form and post it with a covering letter making it clear it is a 2 year extension I want. Like you our financial issues are due to the inability to sell the old house when we wanted to, and we are now grinding on slowly, but now with a real prospect of eventually getting the new house finished without the sale of the old one.

But likely to be 18 months away, I doubt they would fix a price that long.

The mitigation strategy I would love to implement is buy my windows now. Unfortunately I can't yet afford them.........

The trouble with 3 phase, is things like your ASHP won't be, so you will be unlikely to get any where near 100% self usage. If you can stick to single phase, use the HP as much as possible only in the daytime, keep your use of big appliances to the daytime and one machine at a time, and then have a diverter to put excess power into water heating you should be able to use a good percentage of what you generate. If the house is well insulated it won't cool down or heat up quickly, so "allowing" the heating to go off overnight will not be noticed. Don't forget by the time you get your panels, the FIT will have closed to new entrants. So no need to pay an over inflated MCS installer price, just buy them as cheap as possible and get your electrician to connect them.

When I had my digger, I tried to get my daughter interested to have a go at driving it. She was not interested, the most she would do is sit in the cab with me occasionally, but never touched the levers.

I still have the windows and doors to buy for my sun room. Hoping they will be Rationel to match the rest, but uneasy at the cost of importing "foreign" windows Plan B, if the cost has gone through the roof, or there are logistical difficulties is choose a different make of window, the sun room while attached to the house is clad completely different, so it would not be the end of the world if it had different windows.

Why not just get a bigger, "proper" walk in greenhouse? Yes I know, less fun.

A basement is right for some, but here, with our very high water table, the cost of adding a basement in £/square metre would be more than just building a bigger house, and we have enough land that if we had wanted a bigger house we could do so.

We have been living "in" the building site for about 4 months now, but at least it is only me making the mess, and then clearing it up.

More likely the seals have stuck. I can't see the hinge mechanism seizing to the point the window will not open.

Don't forget to put a boost button got the mvhr speed in the kitchen

The rise is easy. Take the floor to floor height and divide by the number of steps. There is enough leeway in the min and max rise that you may be able for instance to choose say typically 13 or 14 stairs in a typical house. Then look at much space you have. If you want to make the stairs easier make the going longer than the minimum. In our case we simply used all the space we had and enlarged to goinf and have stairs at about a 40 degree angle.

If you are going for the "cap it off and use a bucket" solution then find out if it is 32mm or 40mm and buy the aproporiate one of these and fit to the end of the horizontal pipe 40mm https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Waste-Pipe-Cap-40mm-42mm-43mm-Stop-End-Compression-Stop-Cap-for-Bath-Shower-Sink/281996806964?hash=item41a851cb34:g:RO0AAOSwMFFbrOr4 32mm https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Waste-Pipe-Cap-32mm-34mm-36mm-Stop-End-Compression-Stop-Cap-for-Basin-Sink-Pipe/281996848267?epid=10019666338&hash=item41a8526c8b:g:bcAAAOSwCx5brOkt With the loose fit sleeved pipe as it has been done, if there was any condensate discharge, it would just have dripped onto the floor as that pipe joint would not have sealed.

I had a Welsh friend once that kept saying "I can see the one that I want"

Tell us exactly what the writing on that horizontal bit of pipe says and we can tell you what stop end will fit.

So the sleeved pipe is not even stuck / sealed with solvent weld? As suggested, take the trap off, put a bucket under and seal the end of that horizontal pipe initially with cling film and tape but as a permanent fix with a stop end.

Is it just me or is that a well and truly bodged setup with one pipe sleeved inside another? No wonder he does not want to come back.

Perhaps leave the wet trap, and just insert the waterless trap in the pipe leading out of it? A lot less messing about, and the dried out "wet" trap will do no harm left like that.

Hi and welcome A few comments meant to be constructive. Bathroom / en-suite won't work like that with shower next to bath, or it will work with a boxed in awkward to use bath. Plant an utility FAR too small. Snug lounge far too snug. Make the kitchen end of the familly room smaller to give more room for snug utility etc. A snug is essential. Once you have tried watching tv in the "family room" of an evening, competing with the noise of the fridge and dishwasher, you will be craving a quiet haven away from that. Anyone that s happy with just a family room must be a LOT more tolerant of noise than me. If space is tight, consider downstairs WC and utility all in one room. It may seem an odd concept at first but it is what we are dong. Address the offset front door, or if not possible forget the porch over it that emphasises the fact it is offset.

A garage would not require insulation, a bedroom would. So just plastering the walls would not necessarily comply with building regulations. I am sure you should have informed building control and had the work (addition if insulation etc) verified. Can your solicitor cover this with an indemnity policy, ask that question BEFORE you speak to the council as doing so may make it invalid.

The wording in building regs here is "a 100mm diameter sphere will not pass through" But even if the wires are say 90mm apart, it does not take much force to push them apart and the sphere will go through. The case I mentioned, they wove sheets of polycarbonate between the wires to make a solid barrier and got past completion. I am sure the sheets of polycarb are no longer there. So you might be able to wing it if you are determined.