saveasteading

That is a lot of information. Basically it comes un-slit for sliding onto new pipes and slit (but with pre-glued edges) for retrofit. and there is glue for joints and ends. I like it.

= selling price. Presumably not exactly that or we wouldn't have the acronym. I am expecting there to be a stunning view of the Surrey countryside: Rolling hills, oak woodlands. golf courses and private schools. in which case it will be worth the cost.

Yes I found it. I have used normal stuff outside, not knowing of this, and it fails in sunlight. As this would be in a dark void indoors, is Climaflex or Armaflex class O equally good. I see it is 'unsplit', which makes insulation sense, but does that make it difficult to put on the pipe?

Perhaps....but this doesn't look too bad at first sight. There are lots of cross walls to pick up the roof.

Yes, cost is secondary to bling, but if that is what is wanted it isn't too tricky. Beware: steel beams are the answer, but I have found that timber frame companies simply ignore them, but say so. So the issues are costing £5k. Delete the pretend chimney and half way there. I couldn't read it on the drawing but are the big windows all three sliding? or just the central one. That costs a lot but not within a million pound project.

A local SE will be 90% confident of what will be there, and advise on whether a complex survey is required or a few holes which he can inspect.

Clever thought, and tidy. But I am reluctant to feed this full temperature pipe within the PIR at the reduced cover that would ensue. I thought of simply putting them in the ground-floor screed but am feeling that the floor is full enough of feed pipes and distribution pipes.

That is a very good start, and you will get help here, but you probably need a biggish general builder or a PM.

Pressure already/ More money as a plumber or bricky, as I was always telling teenagers at careers days. Roe Timber from Margate. perhaps yours is too small but worth asking. You can just send a full disclosure enquiry to them....own project, here are the drawings, architect not retained, is it of interest?

For interest, what would that sell for when complete? £1M to build plus all land and all fees, and something for yourself (20%) for risk and hassle. I'm not surprised the architect is being really helpful and pragmatic. Are they anticipating a percentage of a high build cost? Test their pragmatism and tell them a build budget. Plus some incentive like they don't get paid if it goes over. It is a simple design with plenty of internal walls so can be timber frame based. That will also reduce the amount you need Surrey builders. The more that comes in the package the less you need trades and also helps speed. eg the insulation and inner walls can be included, even wired and with windows and doors fitted I have built in Surrey, and had to take Kent workers there to get a sensible price and work ethic, and Kent is hardly cheap. As my other post, get rid of fake chimney. The planners are always surprised to hear it is fake but can't justify it when smoke is bad and wasting materials is bad ....and i could list 5 more reasons. So that is £2,000 saved and just another £198,000 to find...but I think you can.

Agreed it is not to my taste either. Also the utility coming off the lounge corner. I think most families with that size of house would want a separate 'snug' room. It would be very easy to change with the l shape, and moving the utility door. and a window into that dark corner. Also. Is that a fake chimney? it doesn't appear to impinge on the bedroom above. Fibreglass chimney stack and pot on the top? Not to my taste, an expensive folly, and not remotely sustainable. You asked for comments.

Fire regs can sometimes be overlooked in the short term if there are other protections in place. For example alarms and agreement that there will be no visitors, a twice daliy sweep of fire risks. Depends on your bco but a sensible one would rather you discussed it than occupied regardless. suggest ordinary chunky doors but with intumescent tape round them...it stops air movement. Can't you get basic industrial fire doors for now?

Thanks, I didn't even know that existed. Presumably resistant to UV, water, bacteria etc. 35dia seems to be £10 for 2m , so for 2 pipes is £10/m x 35m = £350 instead of 35 x £50 = 1,750...I like it. Ours will be in the dark, so only heat effects and rodents as threats. I think we would lay mineral wool on top as a secondary insulation and that is sorted.

Ater a good dicussion with a local plumber it is pretty certain that we will be putting 2 ashp systems in to supply 2 zones, but they will both be in one area next to one plant room. The idea is that 1 big pump (15kW)would be working very hard, whereas 2 x 10 would be coasting and much more efficient. Therefore the feed from the plantroom will need long distribution pipes to the manifold. Ground floor concrete with ufh. Partial First floor is largely in the roof space with timber floor and will be big rads. There will be a convenient void between low walls and the outer wall, through which services can run, and we can insulate inside the stone wall. I think we must take the feed pipe to the first floor so that it can be insulated or we will lose too much heat in transit in the concrete floor. Is it normal or wise to use the specialist insulated pipes, or simply to use normal pipe then pipe-wrap (the superior one) then also wrap in mineral wool. This looks great but is £50/m, and it might be difficult to get round corners. Have used it previously outside from distant ashp to building but is it too much for inside? .

I have had a new basement with 1m standing water in it*. So yours is not so bad. Really, don't bother yet, if it can get soaked again, until you close the walls. Close the windows off with stud and polythene and it will not get worse. *Coming from rain and I was pleased to see that it was completely watertight. Once the envelope was completed and the pumping was done , it was 2 weeks of dehumidifier and no further problems.

It is the HSE explanation specifically for self-builders. I don't think any HSE inspector would worry especially as long as the site is safe and well managed. Insurance is another matter. Project ethos : Don't have any accidents. My broker once told me the opposite.....while taking the £15k premium.....that the chances of a successful claim were tiny, and the fee goes to fighting all claims, plus some residual risk....a and a big profit. Looking at Grenfell as an extreme example, there must be many levels of PI premium all towards the same risk, and it is being spent in court. Most small subbies have rubbish insurance cover (see small ads in the Sun) and it is very important to check it out, as it is often worthless. I had cladders once and their insurance said they were pipe fitters and 'no works above 3m'. We were at 9m. 'Nobody else has ever questioned it' he said.

Getting 20 litres out every day should make a huge difference. What is the cause of the dampness? Building works (which you can resolve with 20l/day) or groundwater seeping in which needs another solution.?

I admit I only know big jobs or my own diy. I always tried to keep trades apart however big the job. Groundworkers should not have steelworkers chasing along behind them etc. Steelworkers driving into groundworkers excavations that weren't there earlier, and groundworkers having to worry about stuff falling. It is very much easier to manage that way and the risks are much reduced. Once indoors the risks are very much lower. I recommend that to all self-builders. I worked as a specialist subcontractor on a few projects (for national companies) and they were awful: lots of procedures and signatures and stickers, but no real control and not nice sites to be on. HSE knew that and praised my readable and relevant risk assessments while criticising the main contractors' multiple folders of words. Paperwork is not the answer in itself. Common sense and thought is, but if you can't write it down, it hasn't been thought through.

PeterW, I'm not sure it is that simple. But the explanation is far from clear. https://selfbuildportal.org.uk/healthandsafety/ read all for context but The self builder acts as their own project manager, employing individual trades at different times.............the self builder will in effect become a contractor. In this case the HSE will expect self builders to demonstrate sufficient health and safety capability to meet the requirements of Part 4 of CDM 2015. Individual contractors will be expected to be able to advise the self builder on any specialist matters within their own work activities. The expectation on a self builder in this position will be on co-ordination and management , not on direct supervision of contractors on site. The self builder is entitled to expect contractors to plan, manage and monitor their own work in compliance with the CDM Regulations. So in principle the client is the Principal Contractor, and should follow the principle of putting all contractors in charge of their own works. That is how I read it anyway.

Quite right. And it is ok to say 'don't know' where contractors are not chosen yet. Then you will be on their list and they are likely to drive by at some stage, and may call in. The very worst thing you can do if and when they show up is have everyone on site denying they are in charge. The job will be stopped. There must always be someone in charge...you whenever possible and instruct someone else if you have to go out. They then have a walk about with you, and if everything is ok then that is the end. minor things get a discussion and letter, and everyone is safer. Sites are so much safer than they used to be. HSE don't want to see masses of manuals an paperwork, just a plan that everyone understands, and standards.

Well put. The Principal Contractor (note spelling) does not exist in this scenario. In any case they would ask the groundworker for their risk assessment which should be site and job specific. You can do the same. It should be easy to follow by all parties, including the site manager of any day. If they can't do that then they are no use to anyone, and will be as bad at supervision, safety and quality as they are at admin and risk assessment. It may be that their insurer demands a principal contractor., and that would say something in itself. HSE are decent folk with a tough job. All they want is safe working. No accidents means no problems for anyone. A risk assessment with method statement is an essential start.

How thick are the stone walls, and do you know if they are a single stone, or made with inner and outer layers and rubble fill? Looks nice condition from this distance. Water overflowing from RH of gutter by the looks of it. Hardly surprising with no dp, but a valley tipping in there. What area of the country are you?

Drill the holes for the screws, pump in some silicon, screw fit as normal. At the cable entry pump in silicon around the cable. You could do ore from above if it is accessible.

And if they were to choose to measure form where the ground is lower, then a bit of landscaping could resolve it. I have had such complaints/queries and it went away quickly, as it must have been a neighbour complaining but without any knowledge/figures/ clue...just higher than they liked. Planner keen to sign it off.