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Blogs

Salamander Cottage

How Much? A simple list

Here it is: as accurate as I can get it. No pretense of getting it done cheaper than anyone else. Just the raw numbers and a few words to explain context if necessary (why did I buy a chain-hoist for example). Yes, you'll probably get it cheaper. That's excellent. The point is openness and telling it like it is. March 2014 Home Building and Renovation Show NEC: £100, including fuel and tickets Phone calls about £15:00 extra, and about £70:00 fuel. July 2014 Land: already owned
An Orkney Build (in ICF)

Part 9 - Roof finished

Having fitted sarking boards and roofing membrane, the next task for the joiners was to batten out the roof ready for tiling, and forming timber 'skews'.     'Skews' are a verge treatment seen widely throughout Orkney, be they lead covered, stone or formed from concrete.     Nothing especially complicated in their construction, as can be seen in the 'technical diagram' used by the joiners:     With no external block leaf, our options were a bit
Scooby Cottage renovation.

A month into the renovation.

Well, a month into our renovation project, I thought I'd post an update on the progress made so far.  Bearing in mind that we didnt plan to do much till OH retires in november, we have not been able to stop ourselves and have been there quite a lot, naturally. Starting in the lounge, this was made instantly better by the removal of the old carpet - less doggy smell now.  As the OH plans to redo all the electrics, he has been stripping most of the cabling out, leaving just a couple of working
Scooby Cottage renovation.

Moving upstairs......

I thought it was about time I added the tour of the second floor - it will not take long as its fairly small.  I hope you all like the landing colour scheme.  +We think we will keep it, as well as the mock black beams which unfortunatly fall off when pulled.  We dont think these banisters are legal - but its probably all going anyway.  those are the doors to the front two bedrooms.  Both are quite small and have lovely sliding doors.  Also painted interesting colours.  My thought is to
Salamander Cottage

Piling: talking to the contractors; (now) not so clueless of Lancaster

Ah, heart-in-mouth stuff this. The phone goes - new number - no half second when you can adjust to the person you know is on the other end because the name flashes up on the screen. Starting a phone conversation with a technical  expert, but hoping for an emotionally literate, customer-focused, technically easy to understand response is not a pleasant feeling. Add to that a mobile phone with a hiccup and a slightly distracting tomcat (Sid) who fastens himself to my leg in mid-sentence, a re
Scooby Cottage renovation.

A guided tour of the ground floor.

As the OH has had a week off work, we have been at the house everyday so things are disappearing quite quickly.  Most of the woodwork has been removed from the bedrooms and the dining room ceiling has gone, as well as the taped downlighters.  Most of the electrical cables have been removed apart from those needed.  The plan is to completely renew all the electrics but till then, we are leaving one simple power circuit to plug lights into and work from.    It was quite funny in that most of the c
An Orkney Build (in ICF)

Part 8 - Roof goes on

A busy couple of weeks for the joiners has seen us progress from poured walls to roof on. First order of business was removing some of the bracing used to secure the walls during the concrete pour;     and bolting a wall plate on ready for the roof trusses.  A laser level (you can just make it out on the earth mound in the background) was used to ensure the wall plate was level.     Using a telehandler, engineered trusses are lifted into position an
Salamander Cottage

Piling; getting quotes and comparing them fairly

Why Piles? Because we are on a spoil heap. Our house will be built on the spoil heap of what was a clay and sandstone quarry.  We are here The ridge of trees 50m to the south stand on the top of what was the old quarry face. We had a soil survey done (have a look at it here) The bore hole location map is on page 47 and the profiles are detailed on the next pages. Here's how much it cost to get this done. (Feb 2015; desk study and geophysics). Our house will stand on the site of the old
Scooby Cottage renovation.

Day one - we finally get started.

While we have been popping in to the house to have a look at things, today was the first day when we went intending to start pulling things to pieces.  tool boxes and hammers were taken in and OH went to work in the upstairs bedroom.  It's the whole width of the house at the rear with a delightful wooden cupboard housing part of the chimney breaast from the dining room and the newish boiler and pipes.  As well as antique wallpaper which you may have seen in the V&A interior design section -
The Seasalter Sharp House

1. How it all began....

J (wife of 30 years, mother of our children & gyroscope - keeps us on the level and on course) and I have always dreamed of building our own home. We had a sort of go at it at ‘millstone manor’, see below, by knocking down a single story wing and rebuilding it to two stories - we learned two lessons. Firstly we no longer think that architects 'do money'. We gave him a budget and the final bill was 3 times that. Secondly we ended up with a house too big for just the two of us now
Scooby Cottage renovation.

We have a cellar!!

I dont know why but the thought of having a cellar gives me great excitment! It has that particular smell that I remember from a student house I lived in at Crewe many years ago. It too had a cellar and smelt just the same.  However, it did get very damp and everything put down there rotted or came up covered in mould - so not an ideal comparison.  As I mentioned in the first blog post, these cottages all had them and they had a coal shute from the front garden. Ours has now been blocked of
Scooby Cottage renovation.

The start of the renovation story.

As some of you may know, we have been looking to build for several years but are finding it very hard to get a plot near here within our price range.  We have been waiting for Graven Hill since early 2013 but after more than half a dozen deadlines came and went, with never an explanation or apology, I wouldn't touch the plots with a barge pole now.  But I don't want to get too disillusioned so while we wait to find the 'ideal' plot, we were offered the chance to buy a nearby small rundown Victor
Kentish RenoExtension

It all began many years ago...

Having rented all my life, desperation set in after being gazumped, shafted and outbid in the so-called 'property game'. But it's no game if there's no fun! Finally, after getting lucky with an honest and reliable estate agent, I came across a place on the fringes of a small Kent village.The empty property was snapped up by us as soon as we laid eyes on it. Overgrown, but cared for, it dates from the early 1950s and was (is!) structurally sound. Lots of vegetation on the plot and lots
An Orkney Build (in ICF)

Part 7 - ICF up, up and away

A busy week on site has seen us transition from foundations to solid structure. First order of the day, getting prepared -  ICF blocks, braces, window formers and other equipment moved onto the slab.   Building the walls up - basically a giant lego kit!     Blockwork finished and scaffolding going up.     Although the ICF blocks interlock with each other, the walls themselves (6 blocks high) are subject to a lot of movement.  T
Tennentslager

One year and £9k later...

(I know, I know...the photos didn't paste in and I will have to do them one at a time...I'll get 'round to it I promise...managed the first dozen, more to come) Part One-Wind And Watertight For Under £6k I'm new to blogging and probably have nothing much in terms of knowledge to impart but some of you might be interested in building on a low budget so here goes. After many years on the waiting list we got offered a plot on the famous West Highland Way about 3 miles north of the startin
An Orkney Build (in ICF)

Part 6 - Foundations completed

Another week of hard work by the builders and the foundations are complete. Type 1 up-fill (only 100mm or so required) was spread then compacted down with a vibrating roller.  A final layer of quarry dust was added to finish the blinding.  In keeping with previous comments about a clean and tidy site, you can also see the digger spreading type 1 around the foundations.     Internal drains and ducts are added, DPC / Radon barrier laid and 150mm PU insulation fitted.
An Orkney Build (in ICF)

Part 5 - Foundations started

NEW ENTRY   4 weeks after we hoped to have it, our warrant was finally approved.  Another weeks delay waiting for the digger driver, but finally work has started in earnest on site.     Strip foundations were dug and concrete poured the following day.  A minor set-back during the pour, a hydraulic line split on the mixer forcing it to shut down.  An hour later after the mechanic had brought out and fitted a new line, the job was finished.     
Wee Hoose on the Croft

Where Am I Now?

I'm going to jump right to the current status on site and at some point will go back and fill in the gaps. A summary of major jobs completed to date: - access created - water and electricity on site - septic tank and 'Puraflo' secondary treatment/filtration system installed and signed off by BCO - footprint of house laid with membrane and chips - concrete footings and piers poured - Douglas Fir ring beam installed - JJI joists installed on hangers - A
An Orkney Build (in ICF)

Part 4 - Warrant delays but site clearance begins

Originally published on the old forum April 2016.   Had to happen, the lack of a building warrant has pushed our start date back. I had started the process back in November and having been encouraged to do so, handed over the submission of the warrant application to a local surveyor well versed in our chosen method of construction. Without boring you all regarding the reasons why, the application wasn't actually submitted until the end of January and there have been delays in getting
Salamander Cottage

Checklist: Preparing To Take A Planning Application To Committee.

Hesitantly, I offer this checklist because the subject matter is often deeply sensitive: there's so much at stake during the meeting and the build up to it may well have been fraught. Indeed, this blog entry is a pen-portrait of a recent Planning Committee Meeting in my area All the more need for a rational, carefully structured checklist, therefore. This list appeared originally on the ill-fated ebuild site. Each comment was referenced to multiple threads, thus adding greatly to its vali
Wee Hoose on the Croft

Part 3: Build Route

I started the project with a pretty clear idea of what I wanted: the 'contemporary vernacular' style that Skye has embraced is a modern take on traditional proportions, using simple materials to create stunning properties with clean lines that sit well in the landscape. The best known examples are those drawn by Dualchas architects, with their designs featuring on Grand Designs and in various magazines. I seriously looked into a 'Heb Homes' kit but this would have been way out of my budget.
Wee Hoose on the Croft

Part 2: The Site

This is a retrospective look at how the site was when we first started the project. Our croft is a typical long, narrow strip of land. Crofts were traditionally carved up in such a way that everybody got a share of the different bits of land- a bit of shoreline, a bit of lower good ground, and a bit of rough hill ground. In our case, the croft is 27m wide and nearly 500m in length! If nothing else it ensures plenty of work for fencing contractors. Our strip has two public roads running

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