ProDave

In a case like this, they should have the power to grant permission with an expiry of 12 months. The builder did say it was URGENT didn't he? Then if they re apply after it has expired, refuse it because there clearly was NOT a need after all.

What took the 4 years? getting planning? or finding a buyer?

I understand the process is simply one of registering an existing system and is pretty much a formality. When we built this house in 2003 there was no requirement to register it with SEPA. I believe it is the same form we used to apply for their discharge permit for the new house, just a different box to tick.

It sounds like an Ecocent for summer use (to help cool an overheated house) would be a good thing, and something else for the winter? but that's duplicating equipment so probably not viable.

I have not heard of a blanket law requiring all septic tanks to be replaced on the sale of a property. But certainly up here, SEPA have the power to enforce a change. One of the houses in our road, the old, big house, had an old concrete septic tank (in next doors garden!!) discharging to the burn, and following a complaint and investigation, SEPA ordered them to replace it with a treatment plant, that is now located in their own garden, It seems this action is only being taken with tanks discharging to water. I have never heard of a case of a septic tank draining to land having to be upgraded. Perhaps this is ammunition to renegotiate the purchase price?

I don't want you to think I am obsessed with the things, but part of the thinking of buying a static caravan is when it's done with for habitation, it will remain and become a work space. I won't call it a "man cave" as Kathy will use part of it as a studio. 28 square metres of workspace for £4000 or £143 per square metre. you wouldn't get even a rubbish shed that big for that much. And we will keep the loo, and probably the kitchen sink working in it so you can make a brew or have a pee while working (the shower will be taken out and become a storage space) I will probably at some point fit some more insulation and wooden cladding around it, and a better roof so it looks more like a shed and less like a caravan.

Do you have any test equipment e.g a multimeter? I would want to check the earthing to that switch, and the lighting circuit in general. just because there is an earth wire connected to ths switch does not mean it hasn't fallen out somewhere else along the chain. If you can't test it yourself, get an electrician in. I don't know who fitted the metal switches and don't want to cast doubt on your ability if it was you, but the house I have been working on this week is turning into the house from hell. I started out doing an EICR and the first 3 light switches (brass) that I unscrewed had loose wires, in one of them one two screws had completely fallen out of the terminals and were sitting in the bottom of the back box. What I am saying is some DIY electricians are frankly dangerous and may have left the whole lot unsafe. If the front plate was earthed properly, I would not expect a situation where you could get a shock from it. If you do get an electrican in, tell him you want the earthing checked at ALL the metal light switches and light fittings. A normal EICR only calls for a sample to be inspected and tested, though in the case of this week's job when it became clear that the first 3 were unsatisfactory, on that house I am checking the lot.

When digging my foundations this time last year (it was wet then as well) I used a submirsible electric dirty water pump to pump the water out of the trenches. For all the complaints I have about our lousy soil, none of the trenches ever collapsed.

Mine came "pre plumbed" off site in the small bore stuff all apart from the loo.

Less chance of sag I would say?

This will be an interesing difference between the present house and the new one. The present one is reasonably well insulated but nothing startling, so once warmed up, it needs the stove to tick over at a low heat output to maintain comfort, and that's when it's burning too cold and inefficient. The new house should be a lot better insulated and air tight, so I am hoping all we will need is a short hot burn to raise the temperature a bit and then let it go out, and the house will stay warm, so probably a lot less chance of poor combustion.

Make sure there is a GOOD fall and no sags in the pipe for stagnant water to collect and freeze. then I think you will be okay. Not a great deal different to me having the same under the static caravan. I don't think the token bit of wooden screening around the bottom will do much to keeop the temperature under it above ambient.

Your sums seem right. It looks like you will need to use a neck extension on the plant. It also of course means the outlet will be that much deeper. Will that be okay for your soakaway or whateverdrainage arrangement you have? if not you may need a pumped outlet version. Why is the drain run so long? Building regs only need the plant to be 5 metres from a building (That's what the Scottish regs say, it may be different in other parts) so could the treatment plant go closer to the house? Also be aware that a lot of the manufacturers stipulate that if a neck extension is used, the entire treatment plant plus neck exrtension must be encased in concrete. If the weather is too bad for foundations, is it really okay for digging the deep hole you need for the treatment plant? I had to chose the time carefully as we have a high water table. Even waiting for a long dry spell, the hole started filling with water straight away. Another thought: Your chosen plant seems to be a "low invert" type? the one I used, a Conder ASP6, has an inlet invert depth of 760mm so would only need the small neck extension. Could a re visit of which plant you are using, together with trying to shorten the drain run, give a solution that doesn't need a neck extension? The Conder is very close to achieving that. One last thought, I am on a sloping site, so I am building up my ground levels from the original levels when I landscape the plot. In effect, the drainage slope and the invert depth of the treatment plant has set one of the "datum" points for how much I raise the ground level at that particular point and from that, the rest of the landscaping levels flow.

What could possibly go wrong?

Well at least nobody is going to drive off with it are they?

My Hermes and Interparcel also do the same rate for the Highlands. Tried either of those? We get a lot delivered by Parcelforce, always the same driver and he knows the "routine" if we are out and we just find our parcels waiting for us.

The one "issue" we have had with our stove is keeping the door clean. The manufacturer tells us it has an "air wash" system to keep the glass clean etc but the reality doesn't really bear that out. After much experimenting, the conclusion is with the primary air intake fully open and a roaring flame, it will keep the glass clear. But apart from the initial burn to get it up to temperature, we don't run it like that. As soon as you shut down the air intake, the door clouds up. So it is something we just accept now, and likely to be a similar problem in the new house.

I would agree with all of that. The specially designed leak around the window that drips down on your right foot when driving, which of course you can't move out of the way. For all their faults (and there are many) I still like them. I regretted selling my first. I don't intend to sell this one. There was a brief period a few months back when I though our pot of money might run out before I got ther house wind and watertight so I actually advertised the Landy for sale, and felt very upset when someone enquired about buying it, but thankfully he was too far away and didn't bother. Oh and my first Landrover was the only car I have ever sold for more than I bought it for, and this one is going up in value and is easily worth more than I paid for it. Here's my largest "tow" though it's actually not that heavy.

The Irish roads were indeed "interesting" you could be driving along a beautifully surfaced stretch for a couple of miles (with those EU signs along the side of the road) and suddenly, without warning, you transitioned to the "old" rough pot holed road that threatened to shake your car to bits until you slowed to third gear. I loved the "accident black spot" signs as well.

Possibly. I can get it locally from Highland Stoves at Cromarty, but I am sure they are more expensive than some of the on line suppliers. What I found is the stove is the cheap bit. Twin wall flue's are about £100 per metre, so the flue and terminals etc will cost twice the cost of the stove or more.

Re the "blackening" or darkening. Another self builderr near here has clad his garage in larch and is planning the same for parts of the house. Some of the garage has got large areas of black staining already after just 6 months rather than turning silver. He describes it as "sap staining" and is in "discussions" with the supplier about the matter. Personally I hate untreated "silver" timber, as it never weathers evenly. The small amount of timber cladding i will have on the sun rom will be treated (oiled probably) to try and keep it even and wood coloured. Just about the only house I have ever seen where it "silvered" properly and evenly was one on Grand Designs at Dungeness. It had almost no overhangs and that coupled with the windy and probably dry costal climate helped, so Stones' house on Orkney may be the same.

OP asked for a "dry" stove which I took to mean a room heater only with no water heating capability.

I have had a holiday in the south of Eire and know what you mean. Where we live is in the township of Ardross. A term I had only perviously heard used in South Africa (with a very different meaning) before I came to Scotland. Our little group of houses comprises about 10 dwellings that will probably in time rise to maybe 15 when all the available land in this group is built on. The local planning policy has a presumption agains new houses in the "hinterland" unless they fit within an established group of dwellings like ours (ours was an infill plot in that group) It is a strange concept to get so many small groups of houses compared to the south of England where there are more concentrated villages, but you soon get used to it and I quite like it. As to footpaths, one memorable occasion in Eire we were looking for a path that should have existed to climb a mountain. While we were parked in a field entrance some farmers came by driving some cattle up the road to another field. After having a chat and all that he simply offered that we leave the car parked in his field entrance and cross 2 of his fields and we would find the path. I can't see many farmers in England offering that. In Scotland we are years ahead and have the right to free access to the countryside (with a few sensible limits) so if you want to walk accross a field you can do so and generally nobody worries about you doing so. There are not so many footpaths up here as arguably they are not needed as you don't all have to stick to the same path. That does present some challenges as climbing some mountains up here, you won't find anything resembling a decent path until you are some way up and all the different approaches converge.

Springdale 3KW stove with room sealed kit, traditional look. It's what we are planning to use http://www.stovesareus.co.uk/burley-springdale-wood-burning-stove.html

That link works, but the one in your original post still says private.