swisscheese

....the Small Patch of "green roof" we have planned is actually a roof garden for entertaining and holding drinks parties on.....seriously suggested as our motive by the Parish Council. I said "No it's not a roof garden, it's a small Green roof, there is no access to it, there is no retaining balustrade..." "What's a green roof" came the reply....I knew then it would be a long slog.....

I can only echo much of the above, this was a very frustrating process and as you say. I was naive in thinking the level of detail in the package would mean a simpler task in finding a contractor, the reality was far from that. Comparing quotes was difficult despite the level of detail we put into the tender package. Many Contractors/Builders do not come back with a price, in areas where work is plentiful some consider anything that requires more thought too much of a PITA to bother pricing as a main contractor.

Thanks, the owner of the land is the Local district council as the properties in Great Close are mostly still Council properties (sheltered accommodation bungalows, mostly elderly) and number 1 certainly still is. I can try and speak to Number 1 but they have been quite "sensitive" about the works. Is there a method to go through the district council, with regard to way leaves on council properties.

OK - what the Water Co. appear to be saying via email is: "From the information I have, supplying your property from the main in great close would involve laying the service pipe through 3rd party land, this is something we try to avoid as it can cause disputes and access issues if the pipe were to leak or any future alterations that may be needed to the supply." So it is a main, so connection could be possible, and I note the caveat "From the information I have", obviously I'm not sure where the main ends, but the Water Co seems to think a service pipe to our property would need to cross a 3rd party piece of land, I will have to go out and investigate, just seems ridiculous that we are unable to connect to the nearest Main, and instead have to cross a road and lay in excess of 40m of service pipe.

I'm hoping this is the case...but the deafening silence since asking the question makes me think they are justifying the expensive answer.

So they have so far failed to answer the question, initially the Plan was sent indicating "connection to the main", unfortunately the map supplied does not cover the area which may indicate it as a communication pipe. The fact that other communication pipes are not not on the plan makes me think it could be a main. I know where the communication pipes lay for 48/50 and they are not indicated. It's the lack of response from the water company and general unhelpfulness, lack of explanation that I find annoying, that and the obvious expense it adds closing the road.

I have had the initial contact with our water supplier and the quote for service connection has been supplied. This has been allegedly based on a site location visit, though neither I nor my wife were informed. Anyway, the map below has been supplied, I have added our plot to give an idea of where we are. The Service provider indicated the we need to attach to a main, OK. So they have provide the location map with the amended pen and cross to indicate where they want to make the connection, this is across a <7m wide road so will require closue/excavation/signage and over 30m worth or service pipe. My question back to them, so far without reply, is why can't we connect to to the main at the top of our site outside number 1, this would be no more than 10m away from our Kitchen and no road crossing. Any ideas?

I did feel for them, I think The home owner said they had budgeted 10k for services, so 40k would be a shock for anyone. I've been amazed how difficult Service providers can be to deal with and not something I was expecting. A kind of take it or leave it attitude.

Over the last couple of weeks I have had a couple of chaps out from the Piling Co. They both seemed happy enough with the "Working Platform" So today the Rig had turned up and the Piling team has arrived along with untold amounts of kit. Piling starts today. Fingers crossed. Thanks @recoveringacademic for your words of reassurance.

It's not the price of keeping the 'Y' plate Mazda on the road that blowing the budget, it's the cost of getting services on site that's killing me, but that is another story.

Thanks Ian definitely some Ammo. Like I say I cannot confirm the nature of the alleged removal of the ASHP, type of ASHP, noise etc - Just that the neighbours daughter is vociferous in her dislike of ASHP, so I know I am in for a tough ride and really need to cover the bases. The MCS installation line on the portal is insidious, and possibly misleading, I intend to seek clarity from the LPA - possibly incognito

I've been trying to contact the LAPD, confirming the Permitted development, which I think it is, it the MCS stuff in the caveats that is annoying - if it just meant "did the ASHP comply with the MCS standards" I could deal with it. I will need to do more digging!

Background: The Daughter of our future neighbour is already kicking off with regard our planned use of an ASHP. Allegedly the neighbours daughter suffers from tinnitus and was successful in having her current neighbours ASHP removed. - I cannot verify this at the moment. Indecently the planned site for our ASHP is not remotely close to her house. My understanding is that ASHP is permitted development as long as certain limits are met. What concerns me in the "limits": "Development is permitted only if the air source heat pump installation complies with the Micro generation Certification Scheme Planning Standards (MCS 020) or equivalent standards. Read more about the scheme." Does this mean I can't "self install" with the help of suitably qualified trades, and can only install by employing an MCS accredited installation firm?

Thanks @recoveringacademic You are of course right. The mat is the important thing. A table of all levels - would make this clearer for sure - something I will do. Thanks

Trying hard not to overthink this...... I have a bit of a bowl shaped site. Not a problem to level out, I have the topo survey with exact levels and contours, so I would know how much to take off. I have the drawings and the proposed levels for ground beam and the design drawings for the Pile and Beam foundation. Bearing in mind the hight of any piling mat/Crush applied what level do I excavate to with regard to the proposed top of the RingBeam. I'm getting mixed messages as to where I should level off to before adding the crush. existing - High Point 21.90 existing Low Point 21.50 Propose Top of Ringbeam 21.25 Depth of Crush, I'm lead to believe 15 + Geotextile for a 8 tonne piling will be enough (correct me if I'm wrong) Any advice gratefully accepted.

Any actual clean soil/pile spoil I can "loose" over a farmers field, he has bit of a dip in it I can fill, but I would not be able to put any of the removed mat in the field, it would contain too much rubbish, the site is fairly odd shaped/tight so I don't really have space to hold it for reuse, that is a problem.

@recoveringacademic - Yes I did spot you are using 'ground improvement columns' - these were never discussed for our project by engineers or contractors, possibly an oversight on our part, but you kind of only know what you know. - given ground conditions/trees piles were "recommended" I will check the mat calcs if they arrive- but I am also checking mat less piling solutions - smaller rigs etc and comparing prices against the cost of installing and the removing the engineered mat over what is a significant area for us.

Thanks for info, I'm currently going through much of this. background: We had the topological and soil surveys done, report, engineers loadings etc. We are on a gault clay, at about 5-6 metres we hit very dense/hard Blue Clay, the average pile length will be 8m over 39 piles. (Since when we have been waiting/haggling with Planners over material submission - another story) I had the site meeting today with the Piling Firm when the requirements were discussed. As a result I contacted a local crushed concrete guy who assured me he had provided fill of suitable granularity for Piling, though whether he has enough for my requirements I don't yet know. in excess of 100m3@0.5 for example In brief what the piling firm require is a scrape back, lay the rolled piling mat in unspecified layers to as yet an unspecified depth. Requirement for 8 tonne excavator+man to remove spoil from piling area. Estimate 3-4 days on the Job. That is all I know at the moment. I can't bear it.... oh and then most of the piling mat is scraped back and taken away.....for the excavations for a ground beam. Financial complications of piling and groundbeam.....

Piling Mat specification is a live issue for me now also! The Piling firm now also want to use a 32 tonne rig - at short notice, and because they couldn't be bothered to site visit sooner it wasn't specific on their original estimate( and it's probably what they have available and it will be quicker) The "Piling Mat" - 2 or more layers of rolled in crushed concrete is quite a big deal. Something I hadn't anticipated, I'm expecting a specification soon. Out of interest what were you specified for depth? Good luck with the test.

I've just got back to UKPower Networks and asked about Moling, after initially saying it's something they couldn't do, I then mentioned contestable works and the customer service staff spoke to a manager...they then said it's "something they would look into but it does mean that I cannot book into the 14 week lead time on the road closure so it will put it back...." - I said I have a bit of time, please let me know ASAP before check elsewhere for solutions. Out of interest who are your Moling contractors?

Just got my quote back, and for what you seem to be getting done it sounds like good value compared to mine. The real kicker is the £1500 charge for closing the road and putting out signage. Something about the road being under 7.0 meters they have to have a full road closure and stick up diversion singns etc etc... £463 for putting up signs - jeezzzz #overabarrel

I purchased the site insurance once I had a builder and ground worker committed to a date, in my own mind that's when it became a site, before that it was just a plot

Hi, This may appear a bit lazy but has anybody got/done a check list of everything needed to self install (along with a friendly electrician) a Monobloc ASHP. Just looking for a starting point. Cheers.

Yes, Frank was excellent and I couldn't recommend him highly enough, his list of qualifications and connections is incredible. The Site and Trees have a (failing application) planning history so Franks instruction was clear, do not talk to or get into a conversation with the Tree Officer or Council, he dealt with it all. It was worth it, but will get costly if I have to ask him to write a report every time I need to apply for works. The owner of the Trees was vehemently opposed to our Planning Application. She is unlikely to voluntarily apply for re-pollarding despite the recommendation from the LA Tree Officer. Prune back, ideally to the boundary to about 6m height - at this stage the reality is I just need to Prune back for clearance for plant and machinery. Thanks for your input.

No not on my plot - adjacent. pm'ing - the link - rebuttal from Frank