ProDave

If you are going direct electric heating, then have a look at the E10 tariff. The 10 hours of cheap rate seem reasonably well distributed, the only "black spot" being the early evening. If your house is well enough insulated that the early PM cheap rate time will heat it enough that you won't need heating in the evening then it may well work out the best option. I looked at a GSHP, and even having my own digger at the time, so installation costs would be just a few gallons of diesel, it was the cost of the pipe and cost if the antifreeze to fill it that made it not seem viable. And don't forget you are supposed to change it something like every 10 years and in addition to the cost of the new antifreeze will be a disposal cost for the old. And to finally tip the cost argument, I am one of several on here that have got an ebay bargain ASHP for around £500 I do know 2 people near here with GSHP's and they do seem to work, there is no question about that, but so do ASHP's.

Reading this with interest, and sadness. The FIRST thing they need to do is scrap the rediculous need for a certain level of EPC before you can qualify for the FIT in the first place. That has stopped me getting solar PV while I have watched the FIT price plummet. (yes you may detect I am somewhat bitter about the stupid system) Why can't we have a simple bidirectional meter in every house (NOT a smart meter) and simply pay ANYONE that exports an export rate for what they actually export without the burden of FIT's, MCS approved installations, etc? WHY do we always ignore the SIMPLE solutions? Sure, then in ADDITION to that have a battery storage system that will export on demand when the local grid needs it, but please don't over burden the system with MCS installers, FIT's with rules to lock you out if you are not "perfect". We know just about the only ones to REALLY benefit with that sort of system are the MCS installers that can get away with charging a premium because they are the only ones "allowed" to install such a system. If you need an example, go and get a quote for an ASHP install from an MCS installer in order to claim the RHI, then look at the cost of the components and draw your own conclusions.

I'm confused. Your third from last picture "picture of the stairs as they are now" shows a different structure with only 1 diagonal whereas your diagram shows 2, and the front post looks new. Almost as if this is a picture of what you want to achieve, but it looks like you have what you want??????

It's normal to have the water companies stopcock close to your boundary. I asssume that is what you are having? In my case from Scottish Water's stopcock, my pipe then runs to 3 of my own underground stopcock, one to feed the static caravan, one to feed the standpipe and the third to feed the house. Your proposal sounds no different to what I have done.

Another tip someone posted on here, or was it ebuild? Before having an important discussion with SWMBO, have a discussion about something trivial. If that reveals her to be in "the wrong mood", postpone the important discussion for another time.

A wacker plate is a bit of equipment that one should buy, use, and then possibly sell on. I have already hired mine out twice and that has covered about 1/3 what it cost me.

You have to learn the art of making SWMBO choose what YOU want and still thinking it was her idea. When you have mastered that, please tell the rest of us how.

Is it going on a bit of your newly infilled and leveled garden? If so you might have a problem with the ground settling. In that situation I have put a shed base on wooden stakes (think short fence posts) driven into the ground and hammered in until they will go no more (into the underlying firm ground) Then support a timber base frame from that. then if the infilled ground settles, the shed won't move.

Yes, file that in the "101 uses for a digger" file. I pushed several fence posts straight in with the back of the bucket. You need posts cut to a point at the bottom (at least you do in our soil) To make it a 1 man job, get them started with a sledge hammer so they will at least stand up in the right position before going for the digger.

I am never happy with a floor that has detectable deflection. Can you not get underneath and add an additional beam underneath to give extra support directly under the bathroom wall (i.e at 1/3 span as you describe) I find there is slight deflection noticable on my JJI ground floor but not on my posi joisted first floor (same spans)

Don't forget the "portable building" building regs exemption. That lets you build up to just over 100 square metres without building regs (but you will need building regs for any drainage) This is actually an exemption under the Caravan's act, but it does not need to be on wheels to legally qualify as a "caravan" it must be capable of being moved, and lifting by a crane onto a low loader is an acceptable way of proving its mobility. Here is how the Highland Council interpret that regulation. I am sure other councils must have their own policy to deal with this. http://www.highland.gov.uk/downloads/file/1346/bst_018_caravans_and_mobile_homes This would probably cover all garden buildings, except ones attached to a house that may be hard to demonstrate they are moveable.

I believe up here you can cover half your garden area in permitted development garden buildings. Not sure how that applies to a croft, but normally the "garden" of a croft is decrofted?

Or just pressure test the drain run like everyone else?

That's looking good. Get yourself a sumbirsible pump and water it from the water in the stream.

Who was that forum member offering bags of PUR offcuts? We have found a use for them......

How about dig a bit deeper with the auger removing most of the spoil. What's left, compact it in situ at the bottom. Just use a post and a sledge hammer to compact the bottom.

Out of interest how much did your Newark tank cost. Them and Telford are ones I will be looking for quotes from. Can you save the delivery cost by ordering through a builders merchant, e.g. TP? I'm in no hurry so also looking at ebay.

So Peter, are you having blending valves on your UFH or doing as I am suggesting and just setting the buffer tank temperature? I looked at cheap "standard" indirect hot water tanks, but you can only draw the hot water out right at the top, with the return going back in right at the bottom. Most proper buffer tanks have the inlet and outlet part way up, but you suddenly find you have to pay a LOT more for a "buffer" tank than you do a plain ordinary hot water tank. They are much the same thing except the position of the tappings. How would a standard cheap indirect HW tank actually work as a buffer tank? my guess is not very well at all?

I am visualising a system with two pumps. One that will circulate heat from the ASHP to the buffer tank, controlled by the tank thermostat *. The second that will pump from the buffer tank to both mainifolds (each having their own 2 port valve, so only a manifold calling for heat will get water pumped to it). That second pump should circulate heat through the UFH loops in a simple "no blending valve" setup. As well as saving the cost of the manifold pump / blending valve kits for the two manifolds, it also avoids the need for an automatic bypass valve as there will never be the situation of the pump pumping with nowhere to go (which you get then the manifold is up to temperature and the blending valve has shut off) * To give the full picture of what's in my head, the ASHP pump will have a 3 port valve so it will either deliver low temperature water to the buffer tank, or higher temperature water to the DHW tank, but never be used in the mid position supplying both together.

Re the TMV, that typically adds £150 for a pump and mixing valve to each manifold. So that's £300 extra for upstairs and downstairs. . If I go the "tank regulates the temperature" route all I need is the manifolds, which are a LOT cheaper than the blending valve and pump set, and a simple single circulating pump. Remember I am on an almost non existent budget, so £300 extra spend needs a very good reason. I am keeping HW and heating completely separate so not bothered about using the heating buffer as a pre heat for DHW, that probably would not work ver well as they are some distance apart. There will be an unvented tank for DHW which will get pre heated by the heat pump on a separate cycle and topped up with an immersion.

So I'm starting to plan installing (at least part of) my heating system. I have an air source heat pump. I am having wet under floor heating upstairs in just the bathrooms, and downstairs in most rooms. Upstairs UFH is installed, downstairs will come later. I am planning a buffer tank of some sort for the heating, and this is where I need help and advice, My understanding is the heat pump will heat the buffer tank, and the UFH will take heat from the buffer tank. That seems simple. But it raises some questions: Firstly just a dumb tank or a tank with heat exchange coils? On the face of it, a dumb tank would do, but then the entire system, including the UFH loops and the tank itself would need to be filled with antifreeze or suitable inhibitor that's good to at least -10 degrees. Or just have a small "outside" circuit circulating heat from the ASHP to an input coil on the buffer tank, then the tank itself and the UFH only needs an inhibitor not antifreeze? So that's the first question, what sort of tank? Second question is control of the UFH circulation temperature. Conventional wisdom is feed hotter water than you need to the manifolds and have a blending valve on the manifold to set the flow temperature. But the blending valves seem expensive. How about a dumb UFH manifold, and simply set the temperature in the buffer tank (with a tank stat) to the desired UFH temperature? Only downside is it would not allow upstairs and downstairs UFH to run at different temperatures. Third question, how large should the buffer tank be? And last question, this will be a sealed system with inhibitor, so is it still a legionnaires risk so does it need periodic heating to a higher temperature or can it run forever at 30 degrees or whatever is required?

So no need to actually split the title and sort out the easment issue at all at the moment? If the easment issue is too much, how about just making the access strip jointly owned between the two properties?

On the one occasion we had an attempted break in (when we lived in Oxfordshire) they got as far as ripping the glazing beads off the back door but never got the glass out. Instead of logging it as an attempted break in (which I am sure is what it was) it was logged as "criminal damage"

Finish the bathroom first. Please.

Look at the size of them, they are massive.