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The electrician said he preferred 4 core SWA and a separate earth. UKPN need one entry. We need One but will put in two. I've wrongly said above that the kiosk is £550 all-up. It is plus VAT. Can't find anything better though.

It will be site specific. UKPN will meet you on site to discuss. In our case it had to be within a radius of the power pole. It might equally be from a cable in the road. Then they don't want it vulnerable to vehicle impact . A real person will advise on site. I can't remember the distance (30m?) but beyond that it became a major project and cost and timescale jumped dramatically. Within it , it could go to kiosk or direct into the building.

What is cheap? we found that cheap(er) , from a known brand, was just fine. I'm talking about garages with 30+ movements a day, some HGV too, and oil spills etc.. I expect there is some rubbish too.

I fear that domestic screed will fall apart under car wheels. Some 2 part epoxies will be thick enough to take out a few mm, but they are expensive. And 5 x (or 10x) the price. I have built 5 or 6 or so big commercial garages. In some we used the epoxy paint instructed by the dealership, at huge cost, once thick enough to call a screed. It was really good. In others we used single coat paint. It worked fine but wore out at repeat tyre scrubbing points. However the client had saved a fortune and was happy to retouch when necessary, which any of the mechanic s could do.. Where else might they be hiding? a 10mm paste on top is standard, resulting from tamping, and I assume that is the case here. ie the paste rises, leaving solid concrete mix below. I'm suggesting the opposite. let it be wet for a week.

we are the opposite. we have to get our cable across the vendor's land by a deadline, and the kiosk built. So we will have a kiosk and our cable dangling inside it for a while and then get UKPN in. Or do we get our stuff wired up into the garage first? Decisions. The supply comes from a nearby pole and through a duct that the vendor (and neighbour) has had installed already. It doesn't quite reach the kiosk position and I have no idea if it is intact and appropriate. So I think we are best leaving an open trench behind the kiosk between it ( and our duct) and the existing duct. Your photos are really helpful and I may use them to show the groundworker if you don't mind. @Kelvin The 44mm hockey-sticks look just about ample there. What size of cable do you have? We will have 4 core 35mm2 SWA and a 16mm2 earth. Do you think an extra duct for the earth is prudent?

First try this. Wet the floor and put plastic over it for a week or so. There may well be cement in there which has not chemically bonded through being too wet/dry variously. Then let it dry. Next try the sealer stuff. Next I wouldn't use screed but a garage floor paint, assuming it will stick. This won't break or crack, and can be recoated if it wears off under wheels. It looks good and is easy to clean as a plus. It might be that you do all of these.

Radon barrier is just a slightly more expensive type of plastic dpm. The bolts through are of no consequence as the radon will flow out of the airbricks. The drawing saying radon barrier by specialists is far OTT. It is a roll of plastic.

So I could slide it on the end then position it for the slab pour? The flexi sounds favourite but isn't what the spec requires.

I expect it will be hard at that 5mm depth. Stones are the strength in concrete, with cement and sand gluing it together. I'd try a gallon of hardener. It will at least form a varnish on the surface that will stop dust for a while. It may permeate and harden enough for your purposes. If that works then a floor paint will seal it. Otherwise you hire a floor scraper to take that 5mm off. One further thought. The slab surface may have dried too quickly. Was it wetted or covered in the weeks after? Is it in the dry now?

You've got it anyway. Not an SE. If I understand it, ICIOB is a preliminary to MCIOB. I hadn't heard of MEWI but it promisingly states: to support the proper administration of justice and the early resolution of disputes through high-quality expert evidence from specialists Andy more specialists to be at their expense? Good luck.

How thick is this weak layer? Is it just sand and cement, with the stones below it?

Yet they are specified for the purpose and sold accordingly. 38mm for single phase and 44mm for 3 phase. My worry is that they turn up and say 'that isn't a hockey stick' and scarper.

Presumably this will be a fully qualified and independent Structural Engineer. Don't be shy about asking and getting their full details. That might be IStructE or MICE , Or FStructE or FICE for most senior. MICE would be fine, but few people know that this includes Structures. Why? SE can be used as a term without too much detail, sometimes misleadingly. eg a Building Surveyor. Also I feel they must be working as an independent consultant , not the representative of a contractor. Any SEs on here might be able to advise on the ethical position. But as a Chartered Civil Engineer, my loyalty has to be first to society/ the world at large and secondly to a client. ie it isn't like other professions where you can twist the truth to make a case for the person paying. Thus you could sensibly ask the SE what their brief is, before allowing them access. It should be quite clear, and not just 'the neighbour has asked me to look around for anything that might be a problem'. a sensible brief might be ' the neighbour thinks that the retaining wall is moving/ breaking up and asked me to look for any likely cause including on your property.' btw feel free to put up a sketch or photo, keeping it anonymous.

because, whatever the government wants, the developers and landowners can control the market.

Mains cables are quite stiff and will come off a coil with a bend. Is it straight forward to get them through a hockey stick from the trench into a kiosk? I looked at a similar kiosk nearby and it had ordinary 110mm drain pipes sticking out. UKPower (UKP) must have been ok with that. 44mm dia of an official duct worries me. We have to put in two, one for UKP in, and another for our cable out. Into our property I could use any pipe I expect., or even none? It will be a 5 core , 3 phase cable plus a separate earth. 35mm2 cores. I can't find what outer size the cable is. I'm asking because we have to lay a cable and build a kiosk. Later UK Power will do their bit and then our electrician. UKP have given us until November. Because it is a 40m run over the neighbour's land we have to do it now, and don't want to waste money on a 40m duct. OR we could fiddle the hockey stick over the cable first and cast it into the kiosk base. seems fiddly. The question at last..... So in what order should we do this? trench, cable, backfill, base with ducts, kiosk, push/pull cable into kiosk.? Trench, cable, duct onto cable, base with duct and cable already in place, kiosk, backfill? and what ducts ? OR any better suggestions please? I am allowing 2m spare into the kiosk. Wasteful I know but better than being told it is short. That will be coiled up until UKP have done their bit. BTW as previously discussed, we are getting the 35mm2 cable you all suggested, and as now confirmed by the electrician. Plus he wants a bigger kiosk than UKP minimum, because it is very tight in there. After lots of searching, thinking there must be a standard mass-produced one, at last I found it for £550 all-up. Most websites are a shambles and finding sizes and prices is difficult. How so many companies make a living doing them slower for double the price I don't know. The local Electricians' merchants says he can't get near the £600 I suggested was the target.

As @crooksey says. I have such a system. When we bought the property we assumed we would put in a treatment tank but never did. It blocked once, so had it emptied but the crucial thing was sucking out the outfall pipe. I went in the pit and saw that it could do with repair BUT then realised it is leaking and filtering at the same time. Also saw that the in and out T shape pipes ( to below the surface) were broken so sorted them. I needed building regs. A letter from thd owner confirming long yerm use satisfied them. The drainage company demanded a replacement and also went away meekly after being reminded of thd rules. In summary...plan to replace it but get a letter from the vendor to confirm hos long it has been there. Do not oversize the treatment tank. They work just fine at maximum use and very comfortably on lower use. As above....Air bubbles is better and cheaper than mechanical. I specify Marsh....others look OK too.

Except copper could have fewer joints at complex manoeuvres.....if the bending skills can be recovered. And smooth the flow.

Central Glasgow or rural Shetland, or something in-between??

as in 'cost'. some methods do not require earth removal. make sure these are considered if appropriate to your ground. all the more so when different solutions are being considered anything?

You are suggesting copper pipes with hep2o connectors? Is that also because the pipes are straight? I'm not so sure about copper looking better long term...lovely when shiny and new. Only cold at this stage. It's effectively an open space, so I will fit plenty of stopcocks and establish a protocol for cold weather. At the steading the plumber wasn't going to do what you advise. I think his logic was that indoors it doesn't matter. I've a cold tap here that runs hot for a few seconds, for that reason. It's Shocking how little is understood by some trades.

so you have a person on their knees moving across the pir on a kneeler board. Also wheelbarrows coming in over planks or boards. well crushed over blips of concrete I'd say.

Plus the man with the hose walking over it, presumably very carefully.

Good point. 2 layers with overlaps will always have gaps and movement. For a thick concrete slab the pir will certainly crush into shape. For a thin screed I would definitely still do a preload by walking on it in very big flat shoes or moving a board around. 70mm of screed will weigh about 15kN/m2. That should do the local bending and crushing.

I think PIR will crush over any lumps, and I would load it to make sure. ie a plywood walkway . but a skim of sand will help too in filling hollows. it wont need to be dead smooth. I vaguely remember treating a B and B floor by pouring an ultra thin slurry over it, using a watering can.

Yes. some people like it. Others say they do in a positive way of making the best of things. I like to stain it, whether raw pine , or cooked hardwood.