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Blogs

Blackmore House

The name

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
Sips and stones may break my bones...

A long long time ago...

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.
South Devon Self Build

House wrapped.

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
  • Nestor
Scooby Cottage renovation.

Kitchen done but snagging galore!

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
caliwag

Local authority obligations for self build plots

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
Coffee Towers

MBC - part 1

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
caliwag

Bi fold doors

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
Scooby Cottage renovation.

Light at the end of the renovation tunnel.

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
caliwag

House on a narrow plot

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
caliwag

Seeing through Fashion

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
Our Journey North of the Border

Part 3 - A little less conversation, a bit more action!

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
The House at the Bottom of the Garden

Plumbing Design – Part II

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
  • TerryE
Coffee Towers

20 day Building Control

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
caliwag

Another book review

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
caliwag

Solutions for making a small house feel big

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
Construction in Cornwall

We’ve moved in!!!

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    
  • Grosey
caliwag

Spatial Excitement

Aye, this was a question raised on another forum, some time ago, and my thoughts. Whether 'Passive House Design should or would spawn spatially exciting architecture?' To my mind passive house design can end up with too much glass, which seems to be trend in new houses. That in itself provoked an inconclusive discussion, mainly based on heat loss versus heat gain...To be honest the jury seemed to be out on that one, without active participation of occupants to open and close external shutters an
caliwag

A great read

OK, a slightly different blog format...suggestion from aregular member...   I am moved to recommend a book by Bill Bryson, who seems to shoot from the hip as it were to inspiring effect! In fact I pick up everything he's written in the local charity shop now. Sorry Bill if you're reading this, (which is extremely unlikely I know) I did by 'At Home...a short history of private life' at full hardback price, and worth every penny!   The Book (reviewed in Guardian Weekend with a
caliwag

Two Gardeners

I mention in an earlier blog the desirability of considering the outdoor spaces and gardens at the same time as the house design.   Circulation and spatial thinking are very similar to the house layout. Making decisions about entrances and thresholds, capitalising on views and vistas, (to say nothing of orientation and overlooking/shadowing...See Survey blog) sitting places in morning and evening sun as well as dappling if you cannot stand direct sun! It's a good idea to list activitie
God is in the Details

Do Not Appeal (sometimes); apply for a Variation on a Planning Condition

There are different views about Planning Consultants, and whether they should be used.   This is a short example of a Planning Consultant offering superb advice, that most of us self-builders would perhaps not think about.   The Problem   I have just received a Planning Permission, after 3 months of engagement with the Council. It is a commercial Change of Use but the lesson applies to self-builder permssions. We received our permission, but on the last morning the

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