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Admittedly it has been very dry, but I dug to holes 1m down and then a 300 * 300mm square. One of the pits was into chalk bedrock and the other was soil and very heavy flint. I saturated both holes last night and then returned this afternoon to carry out a first test as 3pm and then another at 6pm. The results are below Chalk hole : Reading 1 (342 sec) Vp = 2,3 Reading 2 (462 sec) Vp = 3.08 Flint / Soil Reading 1 (780 sec) Vp = 5.2 Reading 2 (1140 sec) Vp = 7.6 So these readings are bad news, but I am struggling to understand how neighbours on both sides have treatment plants and leech fields. Anyone have any advice here. I obviously need to raise the height of the field so that the invert is not near the chalk bedrock. It states that it cannot be < 15 for it to be suitable.

I don't think you can. Given 2 of the letters were basically templated from the main objector it doesn't make sense to go to the committee. Just hoping it's not a ruse and they know a number of the counsellors.

Clever neighbour managed to get 3 other NIMBYS to object, and reach the committee threshold of 4 objections.

The objections were only from locals. Comments such as "It's an eyesore", "it's too close to the road" The later is interesting, as it's the same footprint as the previous grant that they were all ok with 😂 All other consultees had no objections.

Aside from being told "No objection in principle" We haven't had any information from the Case Officer in relation to our planning application. Given that we are off to committee mid May, I am crossing my fingers that it's recommended for approval and that we wouldn't be going to committee if the planners were refusing it? Our relationship with the architects has soured slightly and they seem to have gone completely off the boil, so not sure about attending the committee hearing. The objections from the neighbours were very much personal and not planning policy related, so unsure whether we need to spend money getting a planning consultant to attend. Thoughts?

😂

I am somewhat confused regarding what has been proposed for the tree that is to remain on site. The diagram is below and the shaded purple area is where there used to be a concrete slab. I used an excavator last November to break all of that up. The tree survived and is in full bloom. The RPA has been calculated as 4.68 metres (see dotted circle on below diagram). But the Arboriculturalist has then stated the following CONSTRUCTION 13.7. All barrier fence and ground protection is to remain serviceable and in position for the duration of the development. No adjustments are to be made unless with the written agreement of the planning/arboricultural officer. 13.8. Temporary ground protection to be installed following removal of the building over the root area of tree 5 13.9. The project arboriculturalist will be on hand to provide arboricultural advice if it is needed. I assume that I only need to provide ground protection to the area within the 4.68m RPA zone? The reason I ask, is that I need to install a waste pipe down the side to the new drainage field.

The majority of them. One of them cannot even bare to look at us and turns his back to us, when he sees us driving down the lane 🤣

What about the GPS tracking devices, that alert you when the excavator is moved. You pay a monthly fee, but that is something I would do if I could leave it onsite before we have moved on it.

So SSEN have finally come back and quoted us £3500 to move the pole. This is obviously better than the original 25k quote, but it does stink a little as the pole really does look old and need replacing, plus once we have built the house they won't be able to get to the pole through our land to maintain it. Moving it to the boundary means that it's next to a paddock which will mean they can always access it. Suck it up or push back and argue that it's for their benefit?

As our site is not occupied and will not be until we have installed the treatment plant / drainage field / static caravan, I am struggling with how I could keep an excavator safe on site when nobody is there. The site is down a no through lane and away from prying eyes, but it is my main issue with buying one. For starters, I am not sure whether any self build policies will cover the excavator whilst on an unoccupied site? I was looking at the anti theft devices that clamp around the hydraulic shaft of the RAM. This stops the excavator from being moved. Yes, it could of course be lifted by a Hiab, but it becomes a bigger job then.

Thanks. That explains why I was told by the hire company that I could not use red diesel. Another reason to buy my own machine!

I’m thinking of getting counselling. The reach of a 1.9T Hitachi just isn’t quite enough for a 7 person Graf tank install. A 2.7T is quite a bit more and and also too big for the other tasks.

Great post. Not sure you can use red diesel anymore?

@nod gives me hope in a sea of "It's going to cost you a minimum of 2.5k/m2" negativity.

Whilst googling 300mm inspection chambers I found a huge variety of offerings and prices to match. I assume others have recently done the research / costings. If so, could you maybe post brands and links where you purchased them from? This did get me thinking that given the large community of people on this forum, whether the owners of the site have reached out to any of the large suppliers to ask whether they would offer % discount to BuildHub forum members.

I've heard that they can be sneaky too. They give you a good price on one item and then you find that you get stung on another. Having to haggle every time you need a quote wears thin after a while.

As someone who worked in the building industry many years ago and has had the displeasure of having to deal with the builders merchants random price generator, I am trying to deduce how I can avoid getting ripped off when we come to start our self build. As we are on a very tight budget, I am going to source the materials and only use trades that I have to (brickie, electrician and plasterer) most of the other trades I intend doing myself. Do people literally get their plans quantity surveyed and put the whole supply out to a single merchant, or are you better to buy stuff as you need and spend time trawling the internet and ringing around? Thanks

We are hopefully going to get a decision shortly on our PP. The LPA haven't given much away, but have mentioned no objection in principle. We know we've got to go to committee as a result of the max objection threshold having been met. Late last week we received an email regarding conditions attached to the grant 'If' planning is granted. Do these conditions get sent regardless of whether the LPA has already decided that PP is going to be refused?

I thought it might be quicker for building a 20m wall of vertically installed sleepers, but having looked into it further though, the mix / flow rate does seem to be pretty low.

They do all seem to use Quikcrete, which I think is pre mixed.

I came across the Mux Mixer on Facebook Marketplace and I did think that it looks like an interesting bit of kit. Portable & Electric Concrete Mixer | MMXR-3221 | MudMixer® Has anyone looked into these or found something similar for the UK market?

The garage is a flat roof and I want standard cavity walls for the garage as well. Plan was to also to use strip foundations.

"Has your architect dealt with the sloping floor of the garage, to cope with fuel spills, or another method such as a bund (reduced floor level) to meet compliance at the wall party to the residence?" Haha, I doubt that very much!! I wasn't aware that there did need to be a sloping floor away from the house. I was planning on doing the footings myself. It's not rocket science and I have a good laser level and would simplify matters by hiring a pump truck when they are poured. But do i actually need to have a step in them? Can they not be all one level, and it just means that there are more blocks used to come out of the ground for the garage section?

Our proposed dwelling is as below (the steps down will be where the man is). The garage floor level is 400-450mm higher than the floor level in the house and I am trying to understand how to do the required excavation / concrete pour. I was not planning on using beam and block due to the spans. As a result, is it simply the case that the outer wall of the house that adjoins the garage will have to have some sort of tanking to stop damp or should I go beam and block in the garage so that the oversite is below the dpc level of the house?