saveasteading

Precast stairs are great for car parks and heavy industrial use and for fire resistance. Esp if integrated with a precast structure. Last time I used them, the geometry was set so there were limitations on dimensions and the rake. They need wall or beam support at the top. If I wanted concrete stairs in a house they would be in-situ as the photo above. They will still need support at the top.

I don't what one of them is. A Civil Engineer can assess the ground and the stability of an excavation. But then there are the options and costs involved. That's a specialist contractor with the Engineering and cost knowledge ... and there may be several options. 1. Dig a big hole to work in. Build basement and fill the surrounds back in. 2. Piling on the perimeter. Temporary that comes out again. Or permanent and it becomes part of the construction. 1. Is simplest IF you have space and time. You can use a general contractor. 2. Is generally specialist and more ' big time'. Question 1. What is your ground? As in the photo referring to neighbours? Is that actually it?

Good point. It is a pain waiting, so filling one first (link near the top) is quite a good idea. Or any compromise.

The physics are (is?) indeed straight forward. From the diverter it is all gravity. All rain sticks to the dp sides and goes through the diverter until it sits full at which stage it overflows within the dp. Any more rain goes on down the dp. But if the diverter is above the tank it keeps filling the tank and water comes out of the tank top. The tank won't fill above the lower diverter. With 2 inlets I think they need to be at the same level or it will run from the higher to the lower. A link between tanks is best low down so that it works ASAP when rain arrives. Yours works only when one tank is full, but that is OK.

Perhaps mention that you might be interested if the price dropped... a lot. Please let us know if you hear it seems at asking price, and completes: it's the sort of house sale that falls through at survey.

But first think what you need to do. I've asked this formally of planners. Half a brick would never be argued against. 100mm. Also whether they considered you were cheating or it's just reality. Strangely nobody ever builds half a brick smaller.

The box simply bolts down on this.

I'm intending to use it as rainwater harvester on the barn project. Buried with pipes in and out and a pump for garden watering.. oily water for a few uses but bugs will deal with that. Otherwise it will cut up easily. Agreed , timing is important. But sod's law will kick in and cold weather require that the tank be refilled.... or just imagine the domestic pressure! I guess I can buy or hire a small pump, and find some barrels. I will diplomatically ask the plumber to reread the regulations.. atm he says the rules require it be bunded.

I think 80m isn't that far, so they might be OK. We found that the bco was relaxed and that prevailed over planning, oddly.

Multifoil does not perform as well as they suggest, esp mixed in some other construction. Note that the suppliers target homeowners not the industry. Is any used at all by house-building companies? It will add to insulation but not a lot. In your case it would be compressed which defeats the whole premise of it (gaps where the heat units bounce around and get stuck.). I'd consider it for my garden shed or an attic that needed some protection because it would be loose and it's easy. But I'd more likely use Bubble-wrap. Have fun asking the builder to explain how insulation works and how multifoil works and then to prove it.

If. Any second opinions on this? It's obv not mentioned by the tank industry. At some stage the house will be surveyed and I don't want that to be tut-tutted.

Unless you are a bricklayer who can also make a nice door, buy a fibre glass kiosk. You need proper hockeystick ducts too. The concrete base is easy diy apart from getting the ducts in the right places.... these cables are big and stiff. Thr kiosk will look the business and recognisable the electric company will be happy, and it's easy to recognise and access in perpetuity.

I would have to allow for pumping out the oil then returning it to the new tank. Was the plumbing part simple? I wouldn't need to involve the bco. Quote was well over £4k. diy more like 1.5. For a couple of days' work even slowly. I'm hoping there's nothing complex eg the boiler will suck the oil in past the tiger loop.

It feels so simple but I haven't come across any such being mentioned or advertised.

I have information. The steading phase 1 (3 bedrooms ) has been in use for a year or so. A self contained unit of 107m2 gross internal. Ufh to the ground floor and radiators 1st floor, all from an ashp. All electric, No solar or battery. The power used has been rigorously recorded from monthly bills. Nov to March inclusive we will consider to be winter. 0.19kWh /m2 /day average Cost £200 / month use winter Summer £20/month. The insulation is good but to conversion standards, not new. Also the surface area is very high compared to floor area. And it is Highlands. So for a chunky building in SE England it should be much less. So I think I may simply forecast the barn conversion use as kW/m2 x our floor area. 0.19 may be extreme as an average but a decent guide as worst case. Any thoughts or your own numbers?

Thanks @Iceverge. That's one of the pages I found. Vague. Should, might, if etc "Ask one of our approved techiicians" is their main thrust. So now I have to convince an approved technician that should / could etc do not mean the same as must. Or do it myself without the small amount of plumbing being by a proper plumber, which I'd rather it was. We are looking at the difference between a £700 tank or £1800. Plus margins. And whether on the existing stone base or a new concrete one.

Clever that! Any idea how that works? I've seen loads and always assumed it was just oversized to prevent that. Even the rainproof double skin plastic ones are said to hold 110%,

If close to the road then maybe a couple of hose lengths would suffice. otherwise you need access, turning space and lots of water. They will not agree to reversing a long way, and it becomes a risk for you if the tanker runs dry. Bin lorries won't come in. You either wheel yours all the way out, or keep them near the road. An enclosure keeps it tidy. Your surveyor appears to be guessing. Any new nearby property where you could check their planning conditions?

I can't figure out the point of that. The outer skin could be considered sacrificial I suppose. Any minor accident may only affect the outside? It ceases to be bunded at that time. So perhaps it depends on location if it is at risk or not. Anyway the reg's, read again, don't require it, but some supposed experts are reading, or assuming, otherwise. I don't want to satisfy the reg's but then have a plumber or surveyor saying it's wrong.

Honeysuckle will cover that in 2 years and not be invasive. But it will mellow anyway. Good job btw. A thought. Your overflow pipes could go left and right to water the garden.

I'm used to taking risks on such things, but based on close inspection. First thought is that a crack there is predictable and repairable BUT I'd need to know the construction of that arch. Has it stopped moving? Do you have a photo of the arch crack from inside? The first impression isn't good. Block wall formed as an arch without support then covered in mortar and render? The rafters needs a tie too. The cracks look big. Can you advise how wide they are? Could you push a coin in there? 1p ? £1? It could well be that nobody would get a mortgage. Is it otherwise a seemingly bargain price? There is an alternative. An SE could look and give a verbal assessment on the spot. Nothing in writing and no commitment. £200? You must agree that it is a non binding first opinion. That opinion could be that it's awful so walk away. Or spend £30k on remedials. Or that it needs a formal assessment at greater cost. Bottom line? It's a big risk if you aren't a building expert.

No, im not considering a brick or concrete bund ( often seen in heavy industrial settings) Some plastic tanks are decribed as bunded, but I'm pretty sure it just means 2 skins. If the inner tank mysteriously bursts, then the outer one is still there.

Our 2000 iitre, plastic oil tank is getting old. It is fading, and perhaps getting brittle after 30 years. It is about 1.5m to the boundary, with nothing near. There is no drainage or watercourse near. My reading of the building regulations is that it can be single skin on a hard base (blinded stone would be easiest). I see lots of 'advice' online saying that it "should" or " must" be bunded, double bunded, double skin (i know these all mean the same) and on concrete. The regulations do not say any of this, so the advisers would be wrong; deliberately so or mistakenly. The cost difference will be about £2k. What do you say? What I'd really like is a magic paint.

We all should try for best practice. The flooding we get isn't always caused by new housing but often is. Every rain drop adds to the risk, and mixing it with sewage is a lot worse. The simplest solution is to use a water butt. Of course use it for the garden and car washing. Preferably overflowing to a soakway, but at least delaying the flow. In extremis the tap could be left slightly open and it will drain slowly before the next downpour. If every new house had to have a barrel, the effect would be huge, and the cost tiny.