Redoctober

Thanks as I don't have a clue on such matters. I just picked up the invoices!

As for the trench, I don't believe such things as pea shingle are required - see photo of ours installed by our plumber 18 months ago. The depth will depend on what else you plan to put in the trench.

I agree with @Russell griffiths about getting the hedging in now - we ordered our bare root "whips" for this time last year - Can be cheap as chips depending on size etc - We used Scotplants direct - and I have some additional ones on order for this November, just to plug the gaps. The photo below shows how well they come on - at time of photo, they had only been planted in for 8 months! Also, the rabbit guards are an absolute necessary - we lost a few whips to the hares before mine arrived!! Can't help with the drainage issue - sorry.

@CpdTheir website is https://webuildit-ltd.co.uk/

For what it is worth, we have this one installed - a 3 in 1 tap which produces water at 98c - Been in use for a year now and have had no complaints whatsoever regarding quality of tea as a result of it not being 100c. We have changed the filter as per requirements and they come in at around £40 https://www.just-perrin.co.uk/1937-perrin--rowe-polaris-3-in-1-instant-hot-water-kitchen-mixer-tap-4435-p.asp

There you go, hopefully question answered. Could you let us know what the outcome is though, as that would be a useful conclusion to this thread.?

From our experience in Scotland, we had our electrical system signed off by the electrician and were serviced with a certificate - Domestic Electrical Installation Certificate - this was sent to us via PDF and has a unique reference number. The certificate also shows the electrician as being NIC/EIC approved. Whether this is a requirement for sign off I don't know - all I can say is this is what we have. I also believe that this certificate was also required by the BC at Scottish Borders Council prior to final sign off.

@zoothorn well done - it seems the few days off the forum and chatting things through with your builder have been very beneficial. Looks like you have reached a conclusion with regards to the initial concerns, albeit not a perfect result but one you are happy to accept. Note to Mods & zoothorn - far be it from me to suggest how things are done but perhaps this thread has now run its course and any fresh concerns can be started in a new thread otherwise they may get lost in the thick of this one.

Again, worth checking as I know In Scotland PP is or certainly was required, back in 2016.

@Thedreamer The condition of that tank is just unbelievable. Lucky you had the where with all to inspect it like you did. We went for a Bio-pure and have had no problems whatsoever with it a year on [touch wood] We bought direct from webuildit-ltd.co.uk but I'm not sure as to their policy on deliveries to your part of the world.

Nail. Head me thinks. Would explain a lot of the stress being mentioned. If this is the case, lets hope he can face up to it and then start receiving and acting upon some sympathetic advice etc.

Maybe so but that is YOUR job or someone acting on your behalf if you feel you can't communicate with the builder - As I said earlier - You are beginning to answer your own concerns - If you think he won't turn up for 4 weeks due to you raising an issue with him or just asking him what his plan is, then get rid of him and get a new builder in - What is there to lose? You never know, the new builder might be able to start within a week /10 days? Who knows? As for regulating their work, there are systems in place - YOU the client and YOUR wallet!! It has been mentioned many times on here that YOU are in control and you should take control - I know what I would be doing and I think deep down you do too. You deserve to be treated better by your builder so take a stand - get your Tarp in place, sack your builder and get a new one in place. If it takes 3-4 weeks what have you lost - Nothing according to your calculations!!

You are beginning to answer your own concerns - If you think he won't turn up for 4 weeks due to you raising an issue with him or just asking him what his plan is, then get rid of him and get a new builder in - What is there to lose? You never know, the new builder might be able to start within a week /10 days? Who knows? As for regulating their work, there are systems in place - YOU the client and YOUR wallet!! It has been mentioned many times on here that YOU are in control and you should take control - I know what I would be doing and I think deep down you do too. You deserve to be treated better by your builder so take a stand - get your Tarp in place, sack your builder and get a new one in place. If it takes 3-4 weeks what have you lost - Nothing according to your calculations!!

Sounds to me as we are getting somewhere. It seems to me that you don't know what your builder is planning on doing. Which is fine, as you say he is a top bloke and therefore will deliver whatever you have asked for. Therefore, why are you worrying so much about the increased depth at this stage? Surely to allow yourself some re-assurance etc or peace of mind, call it what ever you will, the best thing to do is to actually ask him?? You never know he might surprise you and all this worry will be misplaced.

Absolutely correct. We had such a situation and I believe it to be normal practice for such builds. The brickies need space to work and also scaffolding, if erected, needs to be secured to a firm level base.

The answer I believe lies in Q2 - If the street is full of bungalows as you say, then it might be unlikely to get PP for another complete storey - you may have to compromise with a bedroom in the roof - dormer /chalet style perhaps. But as always, if you don't ask you don't get, so make some inquiries with the local Planning Office. As for the cost, it depends on what it is you are after and what it is you are wanting to create. Perhaps more details in this regard would help.

@Amateur bob We too used the services of SW and SP for our connections. We started the ball rolling via their respective websites - With regards to SW print off the forms they require you to fill in and then send them off. The forms can be daunting at first glance but believe me, we found the process for both Companies to be straight forward. Perhaps find someone who might be able to talk it through with you. If you are developing an agricultural plot I would be very surprised if there was a Mains Water unit available. We developed such a plot and our nearest water mains unit was the other side of a single track country lane. We were able to tap into that and run the pipe from there into our plot. Total cost about £900. This was due to the road having to be dug up and the contractor had to be SBC approved.

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Very interesting - just searched for ours and found it to be recorded along with stand alone car port. They must have visited whilst we were away as we had no idea this had been done until this thread prompted us to search - [Time line involved - April 2018 foundations down - moved in in Nov 2018]

@zoothorn Fair enough, I'll take that on the chin and move on. Good luck with your project.

I'm sorry but I can't help thinking that this thread some sort of wind up?! @zoothorn it seems to me [and please forgive me for being direct but I agree with many others above that the flavour of this thread is somewhat disturbing - ] that you are quite liking this attention and regardless of the sound advice being offered, you are more than happy to just crack on with the worries / concerns. You need to be mindful that peoples sympathies will soon turn if such advice being offered is being met with continual indefensible comments. For the sake of everyone trying to assist, please do what @Carrerahillhas suggested and save us for all the dramas because I can't help thinking they are self inflicted and you are not interested in changing anything. As I said earlier, this build will just lurch from one drama to another and I for one will not be investing anymore of my time in it if you don't seem to be helping yourself.

Amusing as this thread was initially and having followed it, I can't help thinking that you @zoothorn need to take some firm action with regards to your builder and the relationship you have with him otherwise your health, both physical and mental will suffer, if it hasn't already. I can't believe a builder will "bully " their client the way you are describing, if proper terms / discussions have been agreed upon. After all you are the person paying him. In basic terms building is no different to any other transaction - if you don't like it either don't pay or pay up and move on with another builder! After all, whatever it is you are doing with this builder clearly isn't working and it could only get worse as the build continues, it would seem. Failing that, ask someone you do know and trust to speak on your behalf. Surely you must have at least one person who can communicate for you - a sort of go between maybe? You are only at the foundation stage and already you are lurching from one precieved crisis to another, so, like @Russell griffiths has said - show us your plans etc so that suitable advice can be given from those on this forum. This might then provide you with more confidence etc. Otherwise it is going to be long and painful run up to Christmas!

Agreed with above comments - we put our windows into our TF before the external skin went up - Just a pointer though and I'm sure you won't make the same mistake as I did - make sure the windows protrude from the frame sufficiently as to allow the fire batons to work - I initially had them set flush - which was the mistake! See images below for how they should look.

I think I understand what it is you are asking - across our plot prior to digging out the foundations, there would have been a series of land drains about 800mm - 1000mm deep I suppose. Either way, deep enough to avoid the plough! These land drains may have been / were broken once we started digging the foundations, albeit only a short section would have been broken at any given point. We didn't repair or replace the sections that were broken. The drainage trenches were dug and filled with a bed of stones prior to being backed filled. Upon completion and what we are finding, is that any surface water penetrating the earth across the plot, is accommodated for by the remaining land drains that exist within our plot. We have found our plot to be a very well drained plot which doesn't suffer any standing water despite the good old Scottish weather! Interestingly enough though, prior to us developing the plot, there was a section that was always prone to standing water. That problem is no longer as I believe the trench we dug for the power cables took care of that little problem. I hope all this helps.

Yes they have, take a look at the drainage plan attached - D3199 - 2001B - Drainage Layout.pdf