saveasteading

12mm indeed. The rod will probably be undersized a tad anyway. If you need to tap it through then fit a nut first, or maybe two, so that you hammer the nut and not the rod. Otherwise you damage the thread and will take ages to get it on. If you put the washer on first then that also saves undoing the nut..... but that's what I always forget.

Politics aside, ( which would encourage me to find any alternative) he seriously could do some drastic policy reversal, but I guess the worst case is having to find an alternative. Is there a satellite competitor? Politics not aside: is the article that he thinks Brits sit outside hovels, smoking pipes real?

If that was the case, then every contractor's quote would be the same. Detail and extensiveness isn't the same as accuracy.

I think my previous comments all still apply. Your internal gutters must be made for the purpose, ie not intended as external gutters. So it is a formed shape, sealed with roof membrane. And overflows

That's very promising then. I was imagining it seeping out of a contour on your slope. Get your spade going for the tests. Even if you plan to get someone else to be involved, it's worth doing these yourself and having a think first.

That sounds useful. Would I find these by googling? I'd like self cleaning gutters too please.

Thanks @ADLIan I wasn't aware of this change, which has to be a good thing. I've got part L up on my phone and it maybe isn't current the current efition, but I don't see these words in the regulation... the green background regulation I mean.

My hunch is that this hyped by the mvhr industry. If there is knowledge on mould in newbuilds then of course uI want to know. Black mould is commonest in old houses with dampness and poor insulation... ie condensation on cold surfaces. So we may have trickle vents, will have the usual wet room extractors, which draw loads of air in from adjacent rooms and of course will have opening windows and people moving around. dMEV, is an acronym I only discovered on BH last week. I've looked briefly into dMEV and am astonished at the variety and range available. I guess when things are simple and economical they aren't so much publicised. Seems ideal to me, especially when it's your own house in design and construction.

..and potentially down the slope, along the clay surface to you. Any sign of that or does it seem to go away?

Give him a heart and the useful answer will disseminate among more bh members.

We have looked at the sundries costs of getting ducts invisibly through ceilings and beams, and it's a lot. It's a big house. It's a holistic decision though. Our plan is great insulation and airtightness, ashp and ufh. Solar and batteries. Thus the cost of generated heat is low, and the value of recovered heat is also low. Ventilation? High ceilings, possibly old fashioned vents in the windows, a few extractors perhaps added later if necessary. Over decades I have found that the non radical, holistic design tends to work better than the latest fashion.

That's the answer to so many queries! I'm thinking your fill will change to clay somewhere on your slope so dig the clay there. It will probably fail but that is a start. Then we can look at options. At the bottom of your hill, what do we find? Fields or houses or what?

Aircon is bad. Design the house to avoid it. There are options. Minimising S facing glazing OR fit external roller blinds. Purge fans as required.* Curtains in theory don't help but in reality do. It doesn't cost much to extend your ashp heating upstairs, to radiators or even ufh. I'm working on options for that atm. * we have decided against heat recovery ventilation ( £12k or so is not justified) and will retrofit fans to remove excess heat if necessary. There is a risk but I am generally "lucky" with such decisions. That's according to rhe people who failed to sell me the latest 'must-have'. You don't need to heat stairs and corridors. Bedrooms are debatable. Design for the ashp heating everywhere and you get the grant.

Meaning, the water went away. But on made ground it could cause settlement or erosion. On a slope especially, it could cause issues to you or elsewhere. The solution is probably to spread the water over a large area, and distant from the house. Doing the percolation test is a few hour's work with a spade, a bucket and a tape measure when at ground level, But your made ground may be an issue. Do you have a design intention for the foundations on that ground?

It doesn't have to be. They chose the wrong consultants or contractor. Or tried to do it themselves without the skillset. It's seldom the best way but can be if there are huge unknowns or a tremendous urgency. If you said to me as a contractor " I want a 5 bedroom house over there, and to move in in 12 months" then open book is the only way. It happens.

That's not like most projects on here. Thus the fees are justifiable for the certainty. Yes so you own the risk and must have allowances for unknowns. It's not the only way... preferred yes. There are circumstances where you are dealing with unknowns. Ground conditions for example.

The quote seems silly high, although it can cost thousands to get a road crossing licence and do traffic lights etc.... then the council will rightly want the highest highway standards for the reconstruction. Percolation tests are described in the Building Regulations Document H. Please read then return with questions.

This is a generic costing and very approximate. If I was doing these for £500 then the conditions would be several pages long, and the boq would include a lot of provisional sums ( a subject for another day). P detailed boq would take many days to prepare. I was involved with this stuff as a day job so please ask for anything more specific.

Great news. Do you mind telling us the cost? I didn't know about this stuff, radweld for houses. Cynical me suspects that the housing developers are already using this on the pre-agreed units for an air test. Does anyone know? They can then apply this to all similar units. ( I know this happens and only assumed that they improved the units that the bco wanted tested.) And as this covers faulty work, the general workmanship may be allowed to fall further. I wonder if it deteriorates with time. So if buying a new house, ask which ones were tested: what chance that info is not to hand?

That sounds right to me. Piling 9m from the shaft isn't that far and might disturb the ground there. A raft will spread the load wherever it needs to go. But do ask why beam and block. It will cost thousands without need. You can't sensibly just ignore the Architect's instruction/guidance so you need them to justify or remove that design. Or get the SE to over-rule it and somehow persuade the Architect to do as instructed. Good luck, and keep us informed please.

@Nick Laslett good thinking to do the @ thing. I am set up to see what about 8 members are discussing so can miss new posts. Yes I think you are right. The purpose of beam and block is to jump over poor ground to reach foundations on poorish ground. Or it can be to overcome a slope. To build a structural raft then build a completely extra floor seems wierd. @Saints1 I'd really like to know your Architect's logic for this. Firstly on the 1% chance that there is a good reason. Secondly to understand what he doesn't understand. I've never used a structural raft because of cost and have built on bogs, fill sites and even refuse pits. On marginally soft ground I can see that a raft may be optimum. A raft is expensive in itself. That should suffice. One more thing. I have many times changed a specification from driven piles to vibro improvement. In itself that showed that the original SE wasn't up to speed on the possibilities, perhaps thinking it was expensive. It would be worth asking them if it is a possibility. The ground is compacted by inserting gravel, and then the ground can take standard construction. Not always suitable though. What is the issue with your ground being weak?

One difference. If your feet stick out from the duvet it can be uncomfortable however high the tog. But if the attic insulation is improved over say 90%of the area, the benefit will be there. ie you don't need to get technical close to the eaves, just stop a bit short.

These days we try not to load sewage with rainwater as treatment capacity is not coping. Hence these recent scandals of sewage into rivers. If well planned they don't join up. I'm surprised the planners have not made conditions. But you do have to submit your proposal to the bco. They wilI prob send it to the drainage company. I suggest you do that pronto or at least discuss. Do you have space for soakaway or pond?

But water mains supply isn't very expensive . Is it about £2/m3? Against that count the maintenance and pumping. On the current project I am designing in about 8m3 of rainwater storage for gardening and other outdoor use. @MortarThePoint. The water company will want to charge you for sewage at the same volume as bought in water. You will have to explain it to them, which might be interesting with 2 addresses.