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Blogs

The Old Cow Shed

Cladding Complete, drainage in and general update

Weeks 40 to 56   So it’s been a year now since we started the build and I’m happy with our progress but perhaps more importantly I’m still enjoying it. If you have followed the blog from the beginning you might have thought this was going to be a quick build as the shell went up quick but don’t worry work is continuing as we expected at our own slower pace, we have no definite finish date but it would be nice to be in for winter next year.   The cladding is finally compl
Contemporary build in north Dorset

Week 16 - Heating, render, electric 1st fix, and... decisions, decisions

Generally a much less stressful week than last week with lots of great progress but all is not perfect - see below.   Heating Last week's drama getting the UFH pipes laid just in time for the screed pour seems like a distant memory but as there had not been time for Ken to fit the manifold and pressure test, he came on site on Sunday evening (roping in his Dad as a helper) to get that done.      Thanks Ken - and Ken's dad!  A neat job completed...  
Contemporary build in north Dorset

Week 15 - UFH, screed, and render base coat

As promised, I spared you a Week 14 blog due to our visit to Yorkshire for a wedding and catch-up with old friends.  It was lovely to do something unrelated to the house and it made us realise how all-consuming our build has become.  We will definitely try to have some more non-house time through the rest of the build.   That said, it’s back to the matter in hand:   UFH Two weeks ago the guys were battling through laying the floor insulation in preparation for laying the
Da Bungalow

If you want to get ahead, get a hat…

That was an advertising slogan from the 40’s and 50’s, which persisted in popular culture into my childhood in the 60’s (I’m a wrinkly, but not that much of a wrinkly).  And oh boy, with the recent downpours we desperately needed a hat on the house.     As kids we used to turn the phrase around - “if you want to get a hat, get a head”.  That’s what counted for humour back then.  But like all my frivolous tool purchases over the years that turn out to be really useful if not vital durin
Da Bungalow

We need to be trussed up…

Blogging: an activity where the perpetrator converts trivia into prose and in doing so reorganises their own otherwise disordered mind.  Possible side effects: perpetrator enhancing feelings of self importance; boredom amongst those reading; history being rewritten.    I find it interesting to contemplate why I don’t have quite such a burning need to blog at the mo.  I’ve always enjoyed working with wood and metal and power tools.  And that’s what I’ve been playing at for the last thre
Contemporary build in north Dorset

Week 13 - Floor insulation, electricity, battens, and… scaffold down!

Floor The main focus this week has been laying the DPM + 220mm PIR floor insulation + 50mm upstand insulation round all the walls, then the UFH perimeter expansion strips and the vapour separation layer ready for the UFH pipes.   It’s proved intricate work.  Ken our first fix plumber assisted by local builders Barry and Jordan together have been working hard to complete the task by the end of August so that the liquid screed can go down during the first week in September.  
South East Cornwall Low Energy build

Getting there, and time to sell up

Don't Panic - we're not selling what we've been building.   Back at the end of April (I thought it was longer ago than that - time either slowed down or we sped up, not sure which) SWMBO had just had a toe joint fused together to try to resolve a long period of pain following the critical infection she got over 3 years ago. We're pleased to say that it seems to have done the trick, and she has now rejoined me in getting the house ready for habitation.   I left you all with an
Contemporary build in north Dorset

Week 12 - Windows, doors, battens, roof, …and more insulation.

Very busy again this week - we were probably running at the maximum people we can have on site without contractors getting in each other’s way.  On Thursday we had the carpenters, the insulation team, a roofer and the window installation team on site, and it’s not a very big site.     Windows and doors The main highlight of the week was the arrival of the windows and external doors on Thursday together with a team of four (from Ukraine, though the windows were made in Estonia).  T
The Fun Irish (House)

August Update

Summer nearly over?!! That was quick! Weather has been brilliant though! So where are we 2 months on? Here we go:    Bathrooms are tiled and ready for plumbing the fixtures in. The plumber returned briefly and I now have a working toilet! Portaloo returned! Just no running water, well kinda! I got the water connected to the mains but it's not plumbed upstairs or anywhere yet. I put a speedfit valve on the 25mm mpde mains coming into the house so I can at least use it to fill buckets, b
Little Stud Barn

Phase 2 floor pour

Time moves on and so does the build, albeit much slower than most of the builds featured in blogs.   Over the past 4 months we have dug out, cleared and prepared our 2nd phase ready for the groundworks, as in all the stuff that goes in the ground, costs lots of money and is never to seen again.    The next wall to be replaced and the old roof to be removed. This is one of the original walls, but it only had 200mm foundation so was not saveable.    
Contemporary build in north Dorset

Week 11 - Solar PV panels.

A quieter week this week but good progress nonetheless.   The main build focus this week has been on the south-facing single pitch roof which is to be covered using in-roof solar panels with slates around the boundary, then zinc facias to match the rest of the roof.   It seems the zinc roof guys don’t do slate roofs and the slate roofers don’t do zinc, so two roofing teams required.  Fortunately, both teams have been excellent: professional, tidy, friendly and turning up when
Da Bungalow

Nearly a complete walls up….

On your marks: Get set : Wait!   Day 1 of panel erecting was rained off.  Humph.  I tried to pretend to be human again by popping into town with J for a spot of bargain hunting (for stuff we don’t need, natch) but inside I’m still a self build automaton.  My recovery won’t really start till we move in methinks.   Next day we start the day by admiring my new paddling pools. The previous week I carefully swathed the piles of panels with tarps before it rained oodles.  Good theo
Contemporary build in north Dorset

Week 10 - Membranes, cellulose, zinc roof.

A longer than usual blog - we’ve had a lot going on this week.    We definitely reached site capacity with five vans and seven contractors on-site on Thursday and Friday.   Seven pallets of cellulose bales arriving mid-week didn’t help space management either.     The whole week got fairly stressful but somehow we seem to have got through it.  Phew!   Membranes The plan was for the team from SW Insulation to fit the VCL membrane to the vaulted ceilin
North Yorkshire New Build

We have a plot!

After many years of searching, we finally have a plot!   Our offer on this plot was accepted in March 2024 and we've only just now completed. But we're excited that it's finally done and we can move forward.   Next steps:   We have an architect already and a set of draft plans. We'll be working to finalise these plans and take them to planning. The site has detailed planning permission already, so we'll just be looking to vary the design -- and not significantly so
Contemporary build in north Dorset

Week 9 - Zinc roof.

As mentioned last week, the zinc roofers asked if they could start a week early(!) and so, on Monday morning along they came - Brian and Tom from Wessex Metal Roofing in Salisbury.  The first couple of days were mainly rolling out long zinc profile sections from the back of their van, then these proceeded to be fixed on to the 18mm ply sheeting that Alan the Chippie had laid the previous week.     Three triple-glazed electric Veluxes arrived from the builders’ merchants (I f
Contemporary build in north Dorset

Week 8 - And pause... or not.

Last week our timber frame structure shot up.  This week was supposed to be the second week of a two-week frame installation but the team finished on Tuesday, having worked through the weekend.  And off they went, but not before I persuaded them to stand still for 30 seconds for a snap for posterity.  So here they are: Brandon, Jake and Callum - Great work guys!     Their early finish allowed our chippie Alan to press on with the 18mm ply required over the roof for the zinc
Da Bungalow

Still not quite to damp…

Forgive me holy Bill Dub, it has been many weeks since my last confession: and in that time I have uttered much profanity and at times, I have edged a small way towards despair.  I used to think I was good at working alone, and I sort of am when I have confidence that I have a good idea of what I am doing.  The other thing about working alone is that it’s dangerous - especially with net access and faceache marketplace.  Guess who now has a fridge freezer in the site hut (vital, darlings) and a b
Contemporary build in north Dorset

Week 7 - We have a house!

…well, the shell of a house at least.   What a crazy week.   We chose the factory-built timber frame route because we like the idea that the shell goes up within a few weeks.  But the pace of progress this week has been startling.   The frame erection team of 3 arrived at 7:30am on Monday. A big yellow crane arrived at 8:00, with the frame arriving on an artic by 9:15.  First off: a careful check shows that the frame fits the footings. Hurray!  In fact the footings were withi
Contemporary build in north Dorset

Week 6 - Scaffolding - and budgeting.

A relatively quiet week this week - the lull before the storm (hopefully not literally!)     The scaffolders arrived to put up a single-lift all around the exterior on Thursday and Friday (and Saturday morning as it turned out).  I say single-lift but there were due to be a couple of hop-ups for the gables on the south-facing roof.  However, at one end the gable is over a canopy roof which means the first lift is 2m away from where the gable will be.  We've left that one off for now -
Contemporary build in north Dorset

Week 5 - Block and beam floor.

We’ve had another very good week of progress by the groundworks team and they are pretty much done now bar some further levelling of the paddock area and one or two other minor details.  We are really pleased with their work and the Building Inspector is pleased too, thankfully, so our foundations are all signed-off 👍.   Bizarrely, it’s only now that we can submit the “Commencement Statement” for our construction to Building Control, which I duly did this week.  Also bizarrely, we are
Contemporary build in north Dorset

Week 4 - Out of the ground, just.

Great progress by the groundworks team in sweltering conditions this week - laying concrete blocks in the sun when it’s 30deg C and 80% humidity can’t be any fun at all.     Despite the heat, by the end of the week our foundation walls are in and ready for the block and beam floor this coming week.  We can really see the house take shape now, although quite a few of the foundation walls are just there to support floor beams and won’t appear as internal walls above the floor.
The Fun Irish (House)

Inside to outside to inside again

With a few hot days I decided to plunge into fixing the outside drainage. These had been marked the wrong way around on the surveyors map which carried onto the Architects drawings which made its way into the construction drawings and the groundsworker dutifully connected up as per these last year. It was only a few months ago I noticed backflow of sewage in what I thought was the storm drain and discovered the difference between 4" sewer lines and 6" storm drain lines!! Unfortunately the 4,000
Contemporary build in north Dorset

Week 3 - Drains and other hidden things

The groundworks team have been putting in the Sewage Treatment Plant and drains this week.  We’ve chosen the Klargester Biotec+ 2 STP and that arrived on schedule from Tanks Direct on Tuesday.    Also this week the concrete pads were dug and poured for five oak posts that will support overhanging roof canopies - the Building Inspector asked us to put in 1m x 1m x 1m pads which seems excessive for 150mm x 150mm oak posts taking point loads of 5-10kN but it was that or pay the SE for (p

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