Another bit of positive news - our request to change the name of the new (replacement) house to Blackmore House has been approved. OH is pleased, but I'm still resisting on the doorbell tune.
To say I'm thrilled is an understatement. Our architect gave me a call this afternoon to say that planning permission has been granted and with no changes to what we submitted. I was fully prepared for the worst and even had a plan B in place so that we could deal with the summer bat roost in the roof of the existing bungalow before it becomes active again at the end of spring, so I can set aside that bit of scheming now.
I had some concern that the planning officer would object to
To enable BuildHub users to find things a little quicker, and in discussion with the admins, the blog has been tidied up to allow access to the links as below. Also included are the links to the useful information such as the energy usage spreadsheet to download.
The current blog has also been updated so this should allow you to see the latest content as its posted.
Blog Posts
Part Forty Six - Over-thinking things - Part Two
http://www.mayfly.eu/2017/01
So I'm currently contemplating whether to pursue my 3 year old dream to build a home or skip it and plough the money into the second hand home I just bought. To explain, the house has the site attached to it, which I now own, so at least land isn't the issue. There's going to be other moments I'm sure when I wonder if I've made the right choice but now would be a good time to call it a day. The scary thing is not knowing how much this is all going to cost. Prices for materials and labour are goi
I thought it would be timely to get a blog started on our proposed new build in north Dorset as I'm eagerly (driving me nuts) anticipating the decision on our planning permission which is due on Thursday. That said, it may well be a damp squib as little that comes out of North Dorset Council is on time, apart from the direct debit requests for council tax.
So let's deal with the proposed name of the new build as here lies something I don't talk about too much in public. If you take
So it's been months since I've updated this blog. This is because things have just been so hectic. These last few months, and probably for the next 12 at least, my life consists of going to work, coming home and working on the house then going to bed - then going to work... and repeat. Pretty much everything else has come to a halt. Very few social calls and even my hair isn't getting cut as often!
Masses has happened, but hopefully I'll get time to write it up one day.
An update, spent Autumn fixing the Pavatherm 40mm Combi to all the external walls, about 240sqm and fitting membrane and battens. Then inside fitting Rockwool flexi 140mm in the walls and 70mm behind the rafters. Very easy to cut and minimal wastage. Another 150 rolls to arrive. Fixed timber horizontals to the walls for another 70mm insulation, planning on running the 75mm MVHR around the walls and roof once I have finished the internals walls before fitting another 200mm in the roof and 50mm on
I am really hoping that this will be the penultimate blog on our renovation! The Kitchen is finished (apart from a couple of things) and the place is really starting to look nearly finished. As we aproached Christmas, we decided to have a nibbles and drinks for the neighbours on Christmas Eve, to give everyone a nose around and say hi properly. we say hello as we pass but thats usually as far as it goes. It was a good thing to do as we then had the incentive to crack on with the tiling and f
We have just submitted our dream home to planning. All being well we should have a decision in February.
Still haven't been given a date by Scottish Power...
Hello, A piece of 'legislation' I wasn't aware of.
https://www.righttobuildportal.org/?utm_source=Custom+Build+Strategy+Main+Database&utm_campaign=f0c0a00506-NOV_2017_PROFILE_1&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_c5b24ee15a-f0c0a00506-176850693
This info came on an email today, I guess via the people behind Buildit magazine and the Custom build strategy team ( NSB+RS) in Swindon.I assume that's all Castle Media!
All very interesting and poignant.
I di
We have our building warrant, FINALLY. I have a new job. The small one has started school.
MBC are here. The glorious day of the 29th August arrived, and so did the vans, carrying Brendan's crew. The sun was shining, tonnes of sand were delivered and painstakingly spread out. It's amazing how much time the MBC boys took to make sure everything was exactly level before carrying on, I found the level of care that was taken very reassuring, and of course Sean was on hand with a terribl
Greetings all...I am curious about the rise and rise of the use of bi-folds and similar devices to throw open a room to the elements. Virtually every illustrated Self/custom build appear to show bi-folds fully open. Could I ask why this is? Could members tell me how often they use them? Do you believe, in hindsight, are they such a grand idea or mere advertising puff? Surely, such huge glazed doors/windows are not very green and are net losses to a heating load.
I live in a converted, yet i
Finally!! At last there seems to be light at the end of the renovation tunnel. We had planned to have the house finished and up for sale by spring 2017 but that did not happen. Then the deadline was summer but no such luck , everything seems to take twice as long to do than planned. But at last we are nearing the finish line. The kitchen arrived at the end of October from Howdens and I thought we'd have it all fitted within a couple of weeks. Yet here we are nearing the end of November an
This was a response to a forum thread (elsewhere) and something that has been touched on in an earlier blog.
I designed a small mock coach house, at the end of a very long garden. (It was mock to the planners, and a possible nimby backlash, and their were no coaches) The site was less than 5.6m and agreement had been reached to build on the boundary thus leaving an internal width of 3.6m. Plainly there were no projections over the neighbour's land and the wall and gutters etc were d
This is a blog that I posted a while back on another forum that encourages people to look beyond prejudices fashion wth a view to exploring a pre-owned house that on first glance does not meet up with expectations and even the list of wants.
A Peter Aldington House, near Doncaster, from 1967 (arguably one of the finest Post War Architects in the UK) recently changed hands. It was sold via a bold estate agent calling themselves "The Modern House" Plainly this doesn't mean a house tha
There really is a sense that we are approaching the business end of our self build project – the thinking, reading and talking has now evolved into making firm commitments and paying deposits to secure various orders.
Ahead of our permanent move to the Borders in February 2018, [Rented accommodation] we travelled to the area in late October with the express determination to finalise matters with a local builder and to confirm the stone we are going to use, the specification for the oak car
This is the Part II roll up of a couple of earlier blog posts and forum topics which provide the groundwork and context.
Plumbing Design – Part I
Heating the Slab – an overview
Modelling the "Chunk" Heating of a Passive Slab
Another DHW / DCW / UFH design.
in summary, so far into commissioning and early use, everything is at least achieving our expectations and the house might in fact perform better than my predictions. The key des
So, after the last entry - we had a clear site, filled with many, many tonnes of compacted hardcore. All was well. No more digging, the wobbly wall hadn't fallen down, angry neighbours had been pacified with cake.
Onwards and upwards!
Well, not quite. We still didn't have our building warrant. We had applied for a staged warrant for foundations and frame, naively thinking that this would be quicker that going for the full thing. We had submitted the MBC plans, MBC engin
Aye, as a guide for design decision making, prompts and reminders if you're starting out, this is a must. I make no apologies for this recommendation, which I started using in 1979. " A Pattern Language" by Chris Alexander, Ishikawa, Silverstein and colleagues is a must...throw away the plan books and use words to explore any sketches to assist in list making of wants, desires, must-haves, dislikes etc. There's no glossy fashion shots, many black and white photos to amplify the theme. The book i
Aye, the subtitle of a book, that inspires me, by Diane Maddex called "Wright Sized Houses". Published in 2003 (about £20 on ABEbooks), this is a dissection of some of Frank Lloyd Wright's house designs over six decades. He lived from 1867 to 1959.
As the title implies, he shows how, amongst his big houses on huge spreads in the States, his tenets apply equally to small houses on conceivably restricted sites. Commenting on FLW's attitudes to entrances Ms Maddex writes "...You could
Woke up this morning in our new home! Now sat on the sofa watching tv in my new home, waiting for a full day of rugby TV to start so I can sit and sip cold beers in my new home!
Can you tell I’m pleased?!
Facts and Figures
1 year, 1 month, 14 days
(Breaking Ground to Moving in)
4 Double Bedrooms
3 Ensuite
1 Family Bathroom
1 WC
Open plan lounge kitchen diner
Utility Room
Double Garage
Workshop
