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General

Interesting Times

We had always heard that self build was not only exciting but difficult and stressful, and it was living up to its reputation as we worked through all the issues of foundations and sub structure to get ready for the Timber Frame. There was a hiccup in the Beam and Block floor supply that pushed the schedule out a week but it was all looking good for B&B on the 27th March and MBC Timber Frame on the 6th April. This was a really tight  but achievable schedule, and the Internorm with windows on

Musical interlude while C19 settles down

I was due to be writing about the happy day when my SIPS kit arrived on the Island, but instead I find that I have closed up the site and reduced outgoings as much as possible because the SIPS team can't be accomodated and fed on the Island given current restrictions, and travelling the length of the country is hardly sensible conduct at this stage.   Just so there is something to see from the site, here is the beam and block floor going in. Close to 1000 blocks and 68 beams plac
  • dnb

Driveway Progress

Following the screw pile install this week we had the steel framework installed. Lovely job. Only 1 issue where 1 beam which is below current ground level was blocked by a large concrete slab that we didn't expect - solution was to fit it about 50mm higher than the rest which will be fine if we cover in concrete.    Now that's in, we can order the beam and block. Just waiting on SE to confirm a slight change to that. So probably 2-3 weeks until the area is ready for storage etc but gre
  • Adam2

We're plastered

Well it’s been an exhausting and rewarding three weeks. The plastering work started on the 25th February and finished today the 18th March. Keeping ahead of Shaun our plasterer has been a real challenge and has meant we have not had a day off.  Our internal doors arrived from Germany intact which was a welcome diversion, we've stored them safely in the garage until we get the painting done.   The heat and humidity that goes with plastering has been interesting to say the least in

Pouring Concrete and Drinking Cava

Friday was a near perfect day for concrete pouring. A little cold at first, but by the time the concrete lorries arrived it was warming up nicely. The pile caps are all tied together nicely.   The first lorry arrives. Disapointingly they didn't pump the concrete because of equipment availability. One of the snags of living on an island! The concrete was poured into the dumper, then the digger used to bucket it in to the beam. Half the long run done. Plenty of "wat
  • dnb

Lyme Park:18C Self Build Mistakes

Two weeks ago I had the pleasure of visiting Lyme Park - an Italianate Country House owned by the National Trust near Disley, Stockport - to rendezvous with an old friend. However, it is not necessarily the best idea to visit somewhere at 800ft elevation in February; it was significantly cold on a day such as the one we selected, which did wonders for the cafe trade in soup and coffee.   Lyme Park was built in the 1720s, after possession by the same family since Medieval times, when th

Tour d'horizon: countdown to the start…

I am hoping to start work on site in May, about two-months later than my original plan. Things may well slip further and I am fine if they do.   Currently, the timber frame is being designed, by a specialist frame-designer based in Herefordshire that was recommended by (and contracted via) my chosen local timber-frame company. And the frame designer has just sent me the line-and-point loads (see below), so I have in turn just sent those on to my foundations designer in Ireland so that

A creditable attempt to pour all my money into a hole in the ground...

Here goes the next stage. Building the reinforced concrete ring beam. The plan is to build the steel cages off site in a shed due to awful weather, then deliver to the site. Lots of things arriving on site! The yellow plastic takes the place of traditional shuttering. Apparently this is faster and therefore cheaper. This will help pay for the huge amount of claymaster I need. It's still a little wet out here so digging might get interesting. We're armed with pumps and a couple of diggers so
  • dnb

We have a leak

Thought I'd add this to the blog but would be very grateful for some advice.   Some construction background:  MBC timber frame, flat roof, pumped insulation in roof void.  Make up of roof is Sarnafil (hot welded) laid on a felt base, on top of 22mm OSB roof (with a slope), on top of 22mm OSB roof deck (flat - slope provided by battens to create the fall), then 400mm pumped insulation between the roof joists, air tight membrane, battens, 12mm plasterboard and skim. Roof lights

The plasterer commeth....

In my last blog entry we had done the majority of first fix and were about to tackle the lighting circuits. We had intended to do this in the conventional ring and switch runs. Reading up on our options it soon became obvious this was not the best option and that running radial circuits made much more sense. A radial approach will let us install led drivers and any automation in a central area for ease of maintenance and to allow us too upgrade with wi-fi switches at some point in the future. In

Let the piling begin

The piling crew phoned me early on Monday morning. Can we come to site on Thursday? We're going to be done earlier than planned and we don't want to waste money on the ferry. Fair enough I think - the ferries are silly money if you're moving equipment. It left me a little problem though - the site wasn't graded to the right level and I had no piling mats. They were on my weekend list so they would be ready for Monday when I was originally expecting the piling team.   So a few phone cal
  • dnb

Getting upstairs finished

Since the last entry we have completed the upstairs. This area consists of two bedrooms and an open plan play area landing.   Carpets were fitted after the Christmas break.     Lights, switches, sockets and fire alarms have now been installed.     My wife is working her way through the rooms downstairs. Painting, caulking and tidy up plastering work. We are really happy with how this is coming together.     The temporary su

Glazing, cladding and insulation

It's been a while since I last updated this, but we're slowly making progress. Since the completion of the roofing in November, we've mostly been cladding, the joiners fitted the doors and windows, we boarded the inside and last week the cellulose got blown in. It's reassuring how well the house retains the heat from a small portable heater, unlike anywhere else I've ever lived!   Bit of a delay in the cladding due to me underestimating both how much we needed and also how much we disc

Floor & roof build-ups… and onwards…

I am about a month behind the schedule in my mind. My signing-up with a timber-frame company was delayed as my favoured company moved their factory over Christmas. In the end I seriously considered no less than seven frame companies, met with five, and visited the factories of four. I have now chosen the company and will be signing on the dotted line soon. It is a local Cambridgeshire firm and represented for me the best balance between cost, their approach, and the personalities involved.

Plans completed and submitted

So, as promised, here are the plans I drew up for submission to the local council, which these days are subject to strict criteria which last time I managed to 'wing'. So the plans all have to be drawn to an approved scale, here is 1:50 at A0. Also required is a Location Plan at 1:1250 and a Block Plan at 1:500, which last time I submitted plans I used the land registry document, but you aren't allowed to do that and have to buy them in, so that added about £25 to the cost. £206 for planning per

Piling Time

As our house is on a steep hill and limited space for materials etc up top, one of the first things after demolition is to build out the new driveway. This runs out across a slope and near some trees so the best option seemed to be screw piles. After much research and calculation (is it cheaper to manage the separate parts of this vs getting a contractor for the whole job) I went ahead this week. By having an excavator on-site with the ground workers (currently building garden walls etc) it save
  • Adam2

Week 16 & 17 - Blockwork making progress

As you can see there has been some progress on site and things are looking good - not all plain sailing but as we keep telling ourselves - we are getting there. Blockwork walls are going in and we can finally get a real feel for the basement rooms and the layout. Lots of back and forth on waterproofing and insulation/ thermal break under the walls and real problems locating 100mm high Marmox blocks - these are specialist lightweight composite insulating blocks that help prevent thermal bridges a

Demolition Day

Day1: The diggers gather like vultures. The old bungalow is doomed now with only one more day of asbestos removal on the inside. The driveway can't be finished until the rain stops.   Day 2: Half the house appears to have gone! It seems there isn't much to it that isn't rotten.   Another view of of the half-a-bungalow.   Skipping a day to day 4: All the house down with the wood awaiting collection. All the asbestos roofing felt has been stripped and remo
  • dnb

Week 14 & 15

Over the long Xmas (much needed) break we turned the e pump off for a few days and even though it was not raining the level went up about a foot - so back to pumping to keep the water at bay. When the guys came back it was dry so they cracked on with more black tanking, external sheathing  and backfill - which is what the video shows. They built a French drain around the outside which is a big black perforated pipe laid in gravel, covered with geotextile membrane which allow water through,

Piling & Ground Beam Completed

Time for another blog post as we now have 50 piles completed and a nice shiny ground beam linking them all together.   The pilers took 6 days to drive the 50 bottom driven steel cased piled into situ just before Christmas, this was two blokes and a fairly shiny new looking piling rig. The rig, in its simplest form, was a 500Kg weight on a string that was capable of being raised and dropped repeatedly. It had some very fancy hydraulic outriggers and a track that could vary its width, bu

And it begins!

After years of less extreme renovation, i've decided to get back on the waggon and build the third extension on the bungalow where I live. The last few years have been really tough, some of you will know that my wife has been seriously ill, and that eventually led to her death last June, for a good while doing anything more to the house just seemed pointless, but I see it as a way to focus my energy on something positive.   After many years of having in mind to install EWI on the gable

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