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Blogs

An Orkney Build (in ICF)

Part 13 - Rendering completed

A busy couple of weeks on site has seen the majority of the timber cladding finished, the rendering completed, and first fix / plaster boarding progress inside.   The render system used by my builder is made by Mapei.  Having prepared the area to be rendered (as described in the previous blog entry) a base coat :     was sprayed onto the EWI, then floated by hand to a 6 / 7mm depth finish.     Fibre mesh (which you can see at the bottom of the
Scooby Cottage renovation.

Building work starts at last.

Tuesday was the date given and, yippee, he turned up and got started.  By the end of day, the render at the top of the gable had been removed so we could see the area that was bowed out.  We were all a bit suprised to find that the actual wall was quite sound. we thought it would be fairly loose but it wasnt and the render was sound too.  So the decision was made to only remove the top 18'' which is the main part bowed out.  The cracked render would be opened up, re-rendered and I will paint the
Wee Hoose on the Croft

Itching to get finished...

Time seems to be flying past with not enough progress to show for it. Anyway, a brief update.   I got my 8ft wide triple glazed door (all 240kg of it) installed singlehandedly, showing just what you can do with a bit of patience and some levers, packers, and a bottle jack. Perhaps the reason progress is slowing down is that I find myself standing admiring the view out to the loch too often.   Nearing the end of the chipboard flooring installation, I discovered maybe the first
Scooby Cottage renovation.

Lots of Odds and Ends and decisions to make.

Well another month has passed and the OH is now only 2 months away from retiring.  He can't wait to get cracking on the house full time - no rest for the wicked. We have been doing various things, fitting in with our usual work but nothing major; we are waiting for the builder to arrive to start the outside work. the scaffolding has been up for 2 weeks and the builder should have been there at the beginning of the month but its nearly the end of Sept and no sign yet.  I have been chasing him
Tennentslager

Getting there... updated

Had a few days off so doing the prep for the shed...managed a lick of paint in the loo too Doesn't look like much but tackled a jungle of bush with a friend's Lidl petrol strimmer Job done ?   Update   Tried the Glasgow Barras (flea market) for three items I wanted for the hut. An hour of raking through junk and found nothing other than a big teapot...but without its lid. Headed over to the west end dissatisfied but looking forward to a spicy curry from M
Construction in Cornwall

It's beginning to look proper

Finally starting to feel like I'm building a house! Steel reinforcing for the retaining wall has been put in, concrete in, first Building Control inspection and first warranty inspection all passed.    Builders lockup is now on site, I'll be taking my caravan down tomorrow so we can have bacon and brew facilities.    Feels nice ice for the property to be moving upwards in direction after so long going down in the ground!   If the concrete is in am I finally out of t
  • Grosey
An Orkney Build (in ICF)

Part 12 - Progress continues

There has been progress on all fronts over the last couple of weeks, inside and out.   Taking advantage of some good weather, the joiners pushed on with the larch cladding.           We still have one wall to finish off and around the entrance door, but due to a shortage of cladding (a slight under ordering) we will not get this finished for another week or so.  It looks very crisp at the moment, but we still have various cover pieces at the co
  • Stones
God is in the Details

Sydney Street Furniture I

This is the first in a series of postings I will be making whilst on holiday in Sydney and Melbourne, mainly about architectural details which may be of interest to Buildub readers.   My favourite way to meet a new city is to do what I call a random walk, followed by a random journey back to my starting point on public transport.   I will be posting photos and descriptions of anything I find of interest, whether internal or external.   Cycle Locking Point  
Construction in Cornwall

It's Alive!

So, work has finally started! After initially thinking I had purchased a fully excavated site, 2 days and 700 tonnes later, I understand why everybody says ground works are the worst part! That is of course except for the opportunity for me to spend 2 days having a great time driving a 9 tonne dumper. ?   Slightly hairy moment when I bumped a tree, showered myself in apples, lost the use of the brakes... Spotted an apple had wedged itself under the brake pedal as I was rolling downhill
  • Grosey
An Orkney Build (in ICF)

Part 11 - Windows (at last!)

With spectacular timing, our window order went in too late to beat the summer factory close down, resulting in a 4 week delay on top of the normal 6 - 8 week delivery time.  Better late than never, our windows arrived a fortnight ago, all the way from Poland.   Having a passionate hatred of UPVC windows, we specified 3G aluminium clad timber windows.  I obtained a few quotes from different manufacturers / suppliers,  but in the end, after pushing hard on price, we went with Rationel, (
  • Stones
Our Journey North of the Border

Base Camp - finally

Our Journey North of the Border - Around August 2015, I started a blog intending to detail our experiences, as we set about securing a plot of land and planning permission ahead of our self build development. By way of a reminder and introduction, this was the first and only instalment since. Well this is it, we have finally reached a tipping point. Our retirement plans, which were no more than mere dreams and aspirations some 7 -8 years ago, have now become more focussed followin
An Orkney Build (in ICF)

Part 10 - Garage

Since the roof was finished, things have slowed down on site while we have been waiting on our windows.  There has been some activity, with the garage being progressed and some EWI fitted to the external face of the ICF walls.  Rather than tinker at the edges, the joiners have now been off site for a couple of weeks pushing on another job in readiness for returning to our site next week.  Our windows are as I type this, sitting in the delivery depot in Kirkwall awaiting delivery to site.  
Rose Lane re-build

04-Toilet Ventilation system

It has been a while since I posted and things are progressing, so expect a flurry of posts in the next few months as things are decided before we go to contract, however I have been working on some minor detailing.  I have decided that I want to extract toilet smells directly from the pan (see JSHarris blog part 32) I have 6 toilets in the house, in 3 pairs (see the plans on blog 02-The Planning Saga) so can use 3 extract runs, one to each pair, the simple bit.  I then need to work ou
Scooby Cottage renovation.

Western Distribution, Building control and too much water.

Sometimes I wonder if this building lark is the right thing to do - both myself and the OH had a disturbed sleep last night.  He was up around 3-4am, unable to sleep and around 5 it was my turn, worrying about the water in the cellar.  And we are just renovating; what will it be like if we get to do our self build - one night without sleep and I'm a very grumpy bear, how will I cope with a couple of years! Maybe I should ask how will the OH cope with a grumpy grizzly bear....   Anyway,
Scooby Cottage renovation.

The 'expert' advice.

We had our visit from our 'expert'; the ex - brother-in-law, who is an experienced renovator of old buildings as well as a building engineer to help guide us in the work that needs doing.  It was quite interesting and unexpected at times.  where to start?  Maybe the gable end.    We knew that the gable end wall needed to have the render removed and replaced as it was quite badly cracked.  we also had been told by the Surveyor that the top of the wall was bowing out slightly and needed
Sips and stones may break my bones...

Plans and an unexpected visit to another site.

Visited a site being built by Sips of Clays today, who are our choice of supplier. Had called Clays to ask a question about lead times (it's around 12 weeks) following a query from one of the builders I've asked to quote for the outer walls, roof etc. and discovered by chance that they are erecting a SIPs build about 15 miles from me -now that's not something that happens often in Northumberland so it was great to have the opportunity to go and see the work in action, and their client kindly agr
Sips and stones may break my bones...

In the beginning...

So here we are, owning a bit of field in a National Park. The plan is to build a house for less than it would cost to buy one and of course to a much higher standard, particularly where insulation is concerned. We can build in the national park because I grew up in the village (local occupancy clause on all new builds) Now in this rural area, that is do-able as market forces mean retirees and people on city wages have driven the prices up well beyond what anyone on a rural wage can afford, in fa
Wee Hoose on the Croft

Windows go in

After a few weeks away from the build, I've been back at work and in the last few days everything is seeming much closer to completion. All three windows and the back door are all in place now (not yet foamed up etc)- just the big beast patio door still to go, which weighs about a quarter of a tonne, so that one will need a bit of a squad. Fitting the back door has made a huge difference to how the house feels- I can keep the sheep out now   The other jobs I've been doing are layi

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