ProDave

Starting to think about fitting the bath. It's a free standing bath enclosed all round by it's own bath surround, which basically means it is a real PITA if you need to get at anything under the bath. So the plan is to avoid where possible anything that can "go wrong" under the bath, so first thing, pop up wastes are off the list. So we want a reliable sturdy bath waste fitting that does not have mechanical linkages (hence ruling out a pop up) The choices seem to be what are known "click" wastes. Something like this https://www.screwfix.com/p/sprung-bath-waste/47707 or this https://www.screwfix.com/p/mcalpine-clicker-waste-bath-trap-chrome-effect-70mm/50504 Any personal recommendations, i.e something that is not going to fall to bits? or if it does can be serviced from above? No SWMBO won't accept a plug on a chain.

My first build worked a bit like this, only I didn't use an architect, I used a local company of builders to "build me a shell" They chose the timber frame supplier, and window supplier. I was happy with the timber frame but would have preferred better windows. This time it has been all our own decisions. Surely today, you would have everything detailed? You will need that for a SAP assesment so you must know the thickness of the frame, what insulation is going in it and what quality of windows you will be using? If not, then you should. I am afraid I am not the best person to comment on architects practices. Back when we did that first house I approached architects and did not like what I found with respect to their high fees. Their fees seemed to be based on a percentage of the estimated build cost, and as if that was not bad enough, their estimated build cost was twice what it actually cost us to build it.

For the entrance hall, which will include the utility, we will almost certainly have similar slate tiles to the old house that proved to be completely bomb proof. Now matter how many times someone stomps mud in, they just scrub up nicely and look like they will last forever. In the living rooms some form of wood, with the understanding it must be UFH friendly which probably rules out Oak. This does mean a transition somewhere so careful consideration of the sub floor to ensure a step free transition,

So how does the meter know how many £ per unit to charge and how much daily standing charge, if you have changed to a different tariff with a new supplier who does not "do" smart meters so presumably cannot set the variables in the meter? At best a guestimate based on your old tariff with your old supplier? Another reason not to have one.....

To make it easy, can you read and type into the thread what the monthly readings were? And why are there two readings each month?

As a current caravan dweller I would not say it is a "low point" there are plenty of other low points but living in the caravan is not one of them. Even I am surprised that I said that. Last time around we bought the absolute cheapest wreck possible and it was very cold and the walls ran with condensation. This time around, we spent more on getting something a lot newer, in really quite good condition and a far better layout (it was the uncommon layout of this 'van that attracted us to it) The best upgrade we did to it was fit a wood burning stove. We are now hopefuly past the worst of a colder than average Highland winter. It has not frozen up. The stove keeps it comfortable and no issues with condensation except on the single glazing. For us resale value was not an issue as it is remaining as a workshop and studio when the house is finished. You would never buy any similar sized "garden outbuilding" for what we paid for this 'van, let alone one with a flushing toilet and some level of insulation. So not only is it providing our temporary home, it will become a very useful annex to the house.

Well going from the first few replies I have "solved" it. I had a rummage in the old garage amongst the rubbish stuff waiting to be upcycled and found a bit left over from an old shower riser. It was the same OD as a bit of 40mm pipe, and a snug fit inside a straight coupler. It seemed to melt ok with solvent weld cement. So that upcycled bit of plastic is now solvent welded into one side of a straight coupler, and the other end solvent welded to my now dead bit of pipe.

The housing market here went into recesion in 2008 and has never really recovered, just stagnated since, particularly for the large detached houses. When I started plot hunting a few years ago, there were lots of plots for sale as there are usually here, but none were selling. In spite of not selling, nobody dropped their prices. Before we found our plot (not actually for sale) I had looked at another, over priced. I offered what I thought was a realistic price (A bit more than we ended up paying for our eventual plot) and it was declined. 4 years later that plot is still for sale at the same price. My plumber friend bought a plot (that we had rejected as too close to a busy road) that had been on the market at least 4 years. Up here you will do really well if you self build and the house ends up worth what it cost you. Apart from 3 of us locally that have or are self building, you don't see much self building going on around here. Wind back to 2003 when we first moved here., part built houses with owners living in a static caravan were a common sight wherever you went. That just highlights how much lower demand there is for people to want to live here just now.

Yes I am looking at the DIY options. I need to have a ferret around the garage at the old house.

Looked at that option, but it runs too tight to a joist to fit the bulk of that type of fitting. I really do need a stop end that's no bigger than a 40mm solvent weld straight coupler.

Change of bathroom layout means change of drainage. I have a run of 40mm solvent weld waste that is now redundant. I can't remove it from the boss adaptor without cutting a hole in a floor board panel. So simple solution I thought, I will cap it off with a solvent weld stop end. Unless someone tells me different, nobody sells one.

Then definitely contest it. Make an appointment to meet the valuation officer on site and ask him to explain exactly how he believes it is habitable and taxable in it's current form. You should not pay waste water charges if you have a treatment plant.

Just one question. In order for them to have sent you a council tax bill, they must have valued it and assigned a council tax band to the property. What banding have they given it and is that banding reasonable? While I fully agree you should not be paying council tax now, if by chance it has been put in an unusually low band, I would just accept it and pay on the basis the long term saving is worth the short term pain. However if it's in the correct banding I would definitely fight it.

Up here, an "accessible entrance" needs to be 1 metre wide So that would leave you 5 metres to build on.

The "West Wing" extends further south than the main south elevation. This will mean the living room looses direct sunlight earlier in the day. I would "flatten out" the south elevation, though that is a radical re design. The garage is too short for a car. You need to combine the utility room to make the garage big enough and find somewhere else for the utility room.

Just to add another perspective. If you hit financial issues run out of money, don't just throw in the towel and give up. We were banking on the sale of out old house to complete the new one, but that never happened. As soon as I realised that was unlikely to happen I laid off the builder (amicably I am glad to say). Since then I have been doing all the work myself, to make what remained of the pot go as far as possible without spending it paying for labour. We are now down to just spending as we earn though some more funds should become available soon. The end result is the new house will have cost a lot less, but taken a lot longer, and when the old house eventually sells we will be better off.

That's a bit of a bugger. One way you could reduce the cost would be for the cable to come off the road into the front garden of your existing bungalow and from there across the front garden close to the road. You (or your chosen contractor) could dig the trench for that bit, and it would reduce the length of road or path to be dug up.

I did my roof with fibreglass valleys. Another cost missing from the estimates above, is stripping off some tiles to expose the valley, replacing any rotten battens, and putting the tiles back.

Hi and welcome to the forum. If you want to start a blog, you need @recoveringacademic or @PeterW to enable that for you. Otherwise just to ask questions, start a new thread in the relevant section of the forum.

Your problem is the amount of road to dig up, very expensive (I paid £1K just for the road crossing across a 3 metre wide single track road) You need to find out WHY they need to run the cable so far. If it is capacity issues ask just what rating supply they can give you from the existing infrastructure. It's not a matter of the condition od the existing cables, but their size.

Chip away from the inside to enlarge the hole. Drop a rope out through the hole. attach the face plate, with copious amounts of sealant applied. Pull rope, face plate pulls up to hole. Retain tension until sealant dried. Cut rope and push the end out.

Can you get to speak to the surveyor that made up the quote. It could be the existing cable is at full capacity? Or did you tick the wrong box and and ask for 3 phase, or an unusually high capacity supply? (I was "offered" a 12KVA supply and chose to accept that, as I just knew if I wanted more I would be hit with a cost for upgrading the local transformer)

The DL is in 2 parts now, the paper bit (that seems to last forever) and the plastic bit with your photo that needs renewing every few years. Which bit did you send off for the change of address? Would the hire firm not have accepted the other bit?

The controls are indeed different. For a system boiler you would expect a couple of motorised valves, a pump, a programmer a wiring centre and you would connect it the way you always had, and it would work. I think the trouble with heat pumps, is they are all so individual, not much cominality between makes. My own, the control box lives inside, connected to the heat pump with a 4 core cable. As well as plumbing in the usual valves and pumps, mine has a flow switch to connect (it will refuse to run if there is no flow detected) It also wants control of the immersoin heater in the HW tank, and a few other details. Nothing complicated but it needs a bit of reading of the manual and applying that.

Connecting a monoblock ASHP is really no different to connecting an outside system boiler. Most plumbers would be more confident pricing for that.