saveasteading

I've had this by email but it doesn't mean much to me. Ignore if it's old 'news'. Or let me know if you want me to find the whole article. BS 7671 adds battery guidance 2 hours The BSI and IET have updated the Wiring Regulations, BS 7671, with a new chapter on battery storage. Domestic solar is often supported by battery storage. The new chapter covers stationary secondary batteries, responding to the rapid growth of energy‑storage technologies and their increasing deployment both with and without solar PV systems. It sets out requirements relating to system

Cryptic.. good luck

Any blocks will be capable. When you say steel and reinforcement are you implying that the wall itself may need more support underneath?

Probably a similar amount under the building but outside could be different as more exposed to wetting, drying, trees. Depends a lots on factors we aren't party to. When pipes were clay it mattered more, and there were standard details for articulation. So just don't run at minimum grades and bed the pipes as specified and should be fine.

That's not the whole answer. The whole raft could rise of fall with ground expansion. Assuming you are using plastic pipes, they will bend to suit, but avoid minimum falls.

Some councillors don't do any work. So it is deadline time. A lawyer will usually write a letter giving notice for free or cheap, as it is easy. Or you write first... a letter by recorded delivery.... 2 weeks or else. I don't know what is next though.. an ombudsman? It will say in the council website. They will visit immediately.

There will be a head of planning and building control. Phone and explain the urgency politely. Email to get it on record and copy to both the councillor who has been put in charge of planning, and your local councillor. All these will be on the council website. It is not unreasonable for them to have staff issues so allow them ,say, 2 weeks, to offer a solution. They can subcontract to another borough council or private inspector, and they pay.

It's a double household and very big. Just based on kW/m2 that others have published, it feels right. But the teams are checking it out now.

Your lawyer could help with this. I've found Scottish lawyers to be much more helpful than English in many ways, and much cheaper. Having both plots lets you choose the better one, and consider optimising the other. And design the drains as one. Working Space during construction has a value. Remember you get your vat back. Claim it early for cashflow at the expense of some finishings vat. Can your lawyer write in that, as you are designing both, the payment for the second plot is delayed? Eg half on phase 1 completion, and the rest when you sell? Presumably the original permission is public so you can copy or alter it. Is there any reason to doubt it will get permission. Btw we looked at some awful plots in Aberdeenshire etc. Had permission and the brochures looked great. But were boggy, full of stumps and more. Have you researched why they didn't sell, why the owner hasn't kept permission alive or renewed it? Sounds odd.

If you haven't started in earnest yet... I'm thinking that the old boards will be bent and twisted especially across the width. Laying new in the same direction might cause a few lumps and edges. So I'd be thinking of a thin layer of board first. Maybe underlay will suffice. An expert may say otherwise.

It usually comes off in a few months unless the surface was clean. If it was an inappropriate marking, either offensive or misleading traffic, then it could be sprayed over in black, but that sticks even more. Avoid any solving as it may melt the asphalt. I'd spread some earth, brush it around, remove, repeat. Or pressure wash should do it easily.

So when demand is low, one of the units can turn off and the other work efficiently?

I have the strong impression that they see it clearly, hence the promotion of wind and solar. Does anyone here know how long it takes to plan and then extract oil and gas? I don't, but suspect several years. And what will the global price be then? If it drops then our own stuff won't be viable. It's not something I would invest in?

Does cascade mean 2 smaller units.? That was the original plan. Presumably a single at 15 suits 3 phase, whereas a couple of 8s are more likely single phase. If our well respected local installer hasn't ever used 3 phase, and is tied to a supplier other than the names you suggest, then the expertise may not be forthcoming.

Though we selected them separately, it turns out the solar heat pump people and M &E know each other, so there is trust. It was my suggestion to use 3 phase, simply based on the principle that big machines use 3 phase, and kndustry uses 3 phase, and that we have it available. Sparky has the same instinct. The heat pump will be big, around 14 or 15 output. It seems that most domestic heat pump installers don't know about 3 phase. They sell what they know. We've instructed them to try harder on this, but need whatever proof/ backup there might be... or the reverse logic if that is the case. Battery logic.... noted, thanks. In summary so far. Get it but don't oversize.

Isn't the grid completely private? We were discussing this a week or so ago.

We are fitting solar and intended to include a battery system sized to suit estimated use. But our electrician/plumber suggests we leave the batteries until the house is up and running, then size accordingly. I was surprised, as it will take a year until we have reliable figures, and that's a year of not getting the benefit. Plus we will not be getting in the habit of optimising. The vat reclaim entered my reasoning until I twigged that it is zero anyway. Is the electrician wary of estimating wrongly? Or wise? Or perhaps undersizing or oversizing is more than a cash issue. He also agreed we should get a 3 phase heat pump, which the solar people were resisting. On the principle that as we have 3 phase we should use it. Thoughts please,

And a £100/day labourer? My 2nd hand mixer is disappointing, esp in taking at least 20 mins to clean. So it is pointless for a small mix. The back of it somehow gathers 10mm of sand and cement so messes with the mix as well. But for quantity it's OK as long as someone else is doing the hard work.

I never use premixed bags because of cost and the likelihood that I want a different mix. But that may be false economy when I have to dispose of winded cement. But I assume that premixed bags would come cheap in quantity. I agree though that allowing for any mix would be much better, and should be included considering the high cost. Looking again at the picture, it isn't complicated and I'd settle for a slight delay between in and out. Maybe we will see this as an improved lidl or b &q version soon.

This came to me on facebook.Your own tiny concrete mixer. Pour in the ingredients and chute out a mix continuously. I have looked at this ad and video but can't guarantee it's safe. https://mudmixer.co.uk/ It would be a handy tool- hire bit of kit.

Love it. Thanks for introducing me to this term. Not in the same league as street train stopping place though.

Agreed we should advise caution, ensuring expertise where needed. And lots of research. Far too many people assume building is easy. It's been my life for 50 years. It's very few buildings, esp one-off self build, that don't need an SE.

Not wanting to do my trade out of work, but for a traditional construction you might not need one, or some elements are from tables now published for the world. And highly experienced professionals and builders know a lot. But note that even heavy structural rafts, move. They will generally move in one piece without showing distress, but drains beneath could be crushed or bent. You don't want anything ever to go wrong under a raft. Check that anyone doing design for you, initially or formally, has insurance for their decisions. ie not just contractors' insurance but for design liability. Otoh if it us a so-called structural raft sitting on insulation, then it is only as strong as the insulation.

No need for a duct, and it's difficult to get an mdpe pipe through it. Be sure to place blue warning tape half way above it.

I haven't got figures to hand, but the ground itself adds much more than that. The effect of the draught would need complex calcs and isn't considered in standard published figures that I have seen. Anyway that is just one consideration. For beam and block: useful on steep slopes. Can be manhandled to tricky areas. Not weather dependent. Against: cost Insulation can be dealt with separately.