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Blogs

caliwag

Gardens

Hello again...a recent Pinterest garden design vision of approaches...if you don't like lawns! Well you've got to pamper them and cut then 20+ times a year   https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/455074737339246882/?lp=true
caliwag

Consideration of gardens

Just caught a piece on the Today programme (about 8.45am R4. 23:4:18) . This was a brief interview with the Editor of Country Life, gardening section, Catherine Bradley-Hole who is leaving the role after 18 years. Her view suggests that there has been a generational rise in garden design and planting as much to do with the environment, health, food and general well-being often promoted by Radio 4 and TV. I am not a great gardener, but my student and teaching experience with Landscape Architect P
Our Journey North of the Border

The Build - Part 1 - The groundworks

Yes, after years of dreaming, thinking,  researching and waiting, work  finally started on our first self build project. After a couple of false starts due to the builder having to finish a job that over ran and the arrival of the better weather, we eventually broke ground on Wednesday 18th April, two days later than anticipated. Annoying yes, but then what can you do? It’s only two days and it’s important to maintain a relationship with your builder. Nonetheless, we are now ready to d
The Fun Irish (House)

Overheating

Well, finally after years of iterations of drawings in the pre-planning and planning phases we're off to the races! Before I post the final plans I was talking to the Architect today about the potential for overheating shown by the PHPP calculations. I'm going for a Passive House and my concern was rising global temperatures (during the build and more likely afterwards!). The PHPP package allows for 10% of days where the internal temps can rise over 25 degress celcius. That's a lot of days! Not
Blackmore House

......or not.

Chance meetings, research and no fear of being nosy have stood me in good stead for many years and it's proving no different with getting a house built.  The 'dig deep' thing was bothering me, mainly the thought of having to go down 2m over the entire footprint of the build and the cost of all that muckaway, as well as the risk of it all turning into a giant, muddy swimming pool during the process.  I will freely admit that up until about 10 days ago, the thought of having to get piling included
Druim nan Darach

Foundation 3 - Blockwork

Last week we poured our concrete strip foundation and we have now moved onto the block work. Monday was a day of stacking the first blocks, taking measurements and setting up lines. By the end of Monday we were all ready to start with the first course in the morning.        By the end of the Wednesday we were at:       By the end of the Thursday, a lot more blocks were delivered and we were at:     The good weather continue
God is in the Details

Sweat and Detail in Self-build

I am annoyed this morning.   Once again my washing-up water - the first hot water I have used in the kitchen today - is running warm then cold then hot. And the cold water is running warm then cold.   This probably means that the last people, who renovated the house, did not insulate the water pipes where they pass through the zone where there is underfloor heating, and the water standing in the pipes has heated up.   A small annoyance due to lack of sweat a
Druim nan Darach

Foundations 2 - The pour

Yesterday we completed the excavation of the trenches. I had a half day at work and came back to the site after lunch to get started on the pour.     I was slightly worried about the heavy concrete wagon coming down our access and over the culvert, but the driver did a great job reversing and the road passed the test with flying colours. Our digger driver than used the bucket to spread the concrete as required.     Half way through.    
Druim nan Darach

Foundations 1 - Excavations

Today we started on our foundations.    It was snowing this morning on Skye and I took this one just before the digger arrived. Our brickie had pegged out the site a few days previously.         The digger then arrived on site and the snow stopped and sun came out.         I helped to mark out the foundation tracks and then wandered up the access to do a few hours at work. n   I came back in the evening and the
Druim nan Darach

Preliminary/Design/Financing

Where it all began in 2009 on our family croft in Skye. Once we selected the site we put in outline planning for a three bedroom 1 1/2 storey house.           We then undertook the legal process of decrofting the house site to enable a future self build mortgage.  For the next few years very little happened as we needed to save money towards the project.   In 2013 we submitted a detailed planning application for a traditional 1 1/2
caliwag

The Wee House Company

Came across this earlier c/o a Homebuilding and Renovating Ad post. Fascinating outfit and based on traditional Northern vernacular...I understand that these modest houses wouldn't suit the massive collection of sofas and picture window brigade but hey what a great starter or retirement home...It's an excellent website too extending to options, interviews and videos of processes etc. Well done the team and Lady behind it all.   http://theweehousecompany.co.uk/
God is in the Details

Protect your Fence Posts with a Postsaver

A video I made whilst we were putting Postsaver protective sleeves on part of the stock of fence posts.   It is a really excellent product, which should more or less double the length of life of a fence post, and takes little more than a minute to apply once you are set up.   But make sure to buy direct from the manufacturer, because retail outlets will gouge you comparatively. The starter kits are particularly good value.   And they do trade accounts if you have a
Blackmore House

Time to dig deep

As I'm getting the roof taken off the bungalow next week, I thought that I had best get my site insurance sorted out.  When I was ringing around for quotes, every organisation asked whether the build would need piles in the foundations to which I answered in the negative as I had not heard anything to the contrary.  HOWEVER, the lack of information in one area doesn't equate to certainty in another so I contacted MBC for some information from their SE as to whether he felt, at this stage, I woul
An Orkney Build (in ICF)

Part 24 - Finishing all those little things

Having spent the summer months pottering in the garden, and generally ignoring the list of outstanding things to do inside, I finally summoned enough motivation to get things finished off.    Fortunately, the list was fairly short so once started, was completed in a reasonable timescale.     In the kitchen we tiled the splashback, fitted a decor panel underneath the bridging units (rather than having to see the underside of the units) and fitted a breakfast bar.   P
Blackmore House

Bat update

Another day, yet another little gem of learning.  I've been getting a bit worried because although I got the bat licence last week, my glacial paced architect had done nothing about getting the pre-commencement planning conditions discharged for several weeks, even though everything was in place for some time.  But that's another grumble for another day.  Anyhow, I've got to get the roof off by the end of April, which is why I was getting my proverbial knickers in a twist over the pre-commenceme
Kentish RenoExtension

When things go wrong - Concreting of UFH slab

Been a bit quiet on BH as I've been busy elsewhere - rectifying Bodgit Builder's attempt at laying my concrete floor. I started a thread about that here:      Having taken ages to lay my circa 300mm of EPS and mesh-tied UFH pipework, I was keen to get a professional in to get me back on schedule and pour a flat, level concrete floor. No top layer screed. A few local companies quoted, one stated that they could not guarantee the pipework so I didn't go for them and the others I ha
caliwag

Barn conversions

Appreciate that this is old news but the Yorkshire Post (Yorkshire's National Newspaper!) ran an encouraging article in the farming section of Saturday's paper.   https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/relaxed-barn-conversion-rules-are-economic-boost-to-rural-areas-land-valuers-say-1-9080408
Sips and stones may break my bones...

March update. Shiplap Sparrows!

I know it's shot vertically (I forgot) & the wind makes it a little hard to hear, but this is an update as regards the windows etc. Meantime, our lovely warranty people are being difficult again,asking for photographic evidence of *things they've already inspected* which are now buried or behind walls! ..... they *really* do not like SIPS!   
Our Journey North of the Border

Getting ready for the earth to move!

This is a short update and precursor to the updates that will soon follow once the ground works begin in April. Having now finally sold our house in Milton Keynes, we have made the move north to the Scottish Borders. We are renting a small flat, few miles from our building plot. At £320 per month, I was never going to win the caravan argument! We lost 7 weeks due to the initial sale /purchase of our house collapsing at the last minute. Fortunately it was sold very soon after being put back
Blackmore House

To the batmobile, Robin!

I have my bat licence!  Woohoo!   Albeit that ours was a pretty simple case (summer roost only, no breeding evidence, unoccupied building and no big trees in close proximity), I'm chuffed that we got our licence through quite speedily.  I nagged our architect yesterday about the lack of progress with discharging the planning conditions and this has rather caught him out now, as that's the only thing standing between me and having the property demolished, so time to get on with things. 
A woodland house

Initial ideas

We're at the beginning of the self build process, up in the Highlands.  We have a site that has full planning and we have quite a few ideas, so for now it's cracking on with a lot of research.  We originally acquired the land as a bit of an exercise in woodland management, specifically with the long-term aim of developing native woodland and productive timber (though we might not see it in our lifetime).  The planning is almost a bonus,  living on site will make the woodland worl easier. We

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