We start the week with the latest quandary: how to show the warranty surveyor enough trenches so he can confirm he’s seen 50% of them. He saw some last week and if we dug the rest of them then that would add up to enough. However, if we did that we’d have a massive issue with spoil and we would not get the concrete lorry on to pour, so it would be barrows. Apparently pumping is an option, but we’d need to close the road which is a lot of cost and a great deal of time wasted.
So,
Weeks 35 to 39
The build is close to our existing working barn and home, close enough that as a Cow Shed power and water was fed from the working barn. We have renewed the power cable and water connection so that the new build with its 7.5 kwp of solar can power the working barn. With the solar on the roof the plant room became my priority to get the CU and wiring ready for the solar installation to continue. This meant us plaster boarding in the plant room, a new plaster board li
Clearing the site…
(Last weekend I didn’t think there was enough for a blog entry. But this weekend, after a week and a half at groundworks it turns out I had more in my head to clear out than I realise, so it’s a bit longer than expected…)
After the grunt and sweat and fatigue of manual demolition it felt like one big ‘Hurry Up -Wait!’, the wait partly imposed by Steve (semi retired builder) being on holiday.
The plan was to start groundworks at the beginni
This blog post is out of order, I’ve lots of other content yet to post, but thought it important to capture in the moment.
I’ve spent the last few days preparing my en-suite floor for tiling.
cut out the 22mm p5 chipboard ready for the shower former.
plumb the 40mm shower waste to a 50mm solvent weld pipe, which was a smaller size than the 40mm solvent weld adapter I had. Turns out compression fittings are able to go from 40mm solvent weld (42mm OD) to 40mm
I took two weeks holidays to catch up on some house building work and get some material onsite. Sometimes that worked, sometimes not!!
The Plumber has already been and performed most 1st fix items and I'm centralizing everything back to central manifolds:
Should make replacing taps etc a lot easier in the future I hope!!
I was outside during the recent sunny spell and noticed my Brise Soleil doing their thing - the shadow modelling looks spot on for this time of yea
The end of our last blog entry ended thus:
Dare I add a what's next list 🙂 ?
Well, here goes ....
Plastering finished in the open plan area this coming week (by others)
Remainder of stone cladding arrives and work begins to get the most inaccessible (high) parts put up before the scaffold gets taken away - this means cladding two 7m x 2m wide walls
Plumbing pipework ready for ASHP installation
Gabion basket and pad for ASHP to be installed on
Weeks 27 to 34
Cladding
After securing our planning permission I arranged for a few samples of wood cladding from various trees and from a few different suppliers. I propped them up in the sun and watched for months as they changed colour and silvered off. We made a short list of which we liked, something with a definite grain pattern so not Poplar, not too knotty so not pine, thermally modified wood as it is less prone to shrink and swell and as it’s no longer sappy le
The trouble with allowing contingency is that when you don’t need it then it feels like time wasted. I guess it’s a bit of a drawing of breath really, much needed, but one’s natural bent (in my case anyway) is to automatically reach for my spade and start work - thinking not required.
Oddly, we aren’t in a rush, in fact, the faster we go the quicker we run out of money unless our house sells, which in this market is looking unlikely. So taking time out is a good thing, it’s jus
(There’s way too much verbage here - sorry - but it reflects the deep spring clean my head needed. Will try to make time for a demolition summary in another post which would be far more useful for others).
Each Monday morning, since we started demolition on the 17th of March, at stupid o’clock, I shuffle round the kitchen getting breakfast ready trying to assess how my body is doing, physically. Well, sort of. What actually happens is I slowly get my knees and my back working whi
The week starts with the removal of the external walls on the rear half of da bungalow. That’s the fun bit. I’m armed with two chainsaws and a reciprocating saw (aka sabre saw, for some reason). I bought the sabre saw as Steve the builder recommended one for demolition. When I bought it I knew it would be useful, but I knew my trusty chainsaws would get more done quicker and easier. It’s not easy working with someone who’s right every damn time. Sigh.
So the chainsaws re
Week 13. Or at least, my body thinks it’s week 13, whereas the calendar says it’s week 3. It’s really odd looking back on the demolition. Starting to strip tiles off seems so much longer ago than 20 days. Most odd.
The week started with a tidy up day, as Steve wasn’t there. Almost all of the wiring for da bungalow ran through the loft, and was set to be in the way so out came my new and wonderfully sharp side cutters. About 5 minutes in they went back in my pocket and were rep
Da bungalow that is, not us mortals. We carry on sweating in our hi vis.
We were pleased with how the timing worked out - planning to demolish during cooler months so all the neighbours will be wrapped up warm indoors away from the dust, plus it’s hard work so cooler temperatures help comfort. So much for that plan with our mini heat wave!
Steve took pity on me by leaving me recovery time on Monday and Tuesday. Good news from a site clearing and tidying point of view
I hadn't realised that my last entry was in Nov last year. Where has the time gone.
As with many self builds, particularly those on a DIY basis we have been very subject to weather slowing things down, not that it could be much slower.
But, in fact compared with last year we have done loads.
The NOT wall (the side of the barn that was open) is now a wall.
This wall is 16m long, with 4 lots of French door gaps.
double skin block with 150
After what feels like forever we finally started real works. We’ve done lots to the plot, tree clearance, root removal, digging out beds, planting, etc. but little to da bungalow itself.
We held off stripping out ‘til we were sure the project was viable, which was über cautious but that’s us. Selection of timber frame supplier wasn’t straightforward. It came down to a local-ish company (ETE) who supply a panelised frame for manual erection on site or stick built on site under the
Blog
So, where to start? I’d been talking to my wife about building our own house being a dream for the last 10 years or so. One day late last year, she woke up and said, “Why don’t we do it?”
So we spent a few weeks looking at plots, barns, and the like with planning but really struggled to find something in budget in the areas we wanted. At the same time, my parents had secured planning on the very barn we had our wedding reception in, and it had been on the market for
Weeks 24 to 27
Windows Installation
Choosing window style and supplier has been one of the hardest decisions. We finally decided on Aluclad wooden windows from Norrsken. It’s been a long journey and Norrsken have been with me on that journey since December 2022 to installation end of February 2025. A big thank you to Nick at the window company for sticking with me on my numerous window quotes, that took over 2 years to finalise.
Due to my architect not thin
Well, it's been a busy month. I'm taking weekly Pilates to keep my back in check and so far so good. This is the first week I've taken off without any incidents to progress the house. This is the list of what I'm managing currently just to tickle my brain in a years time!
Plumbers due to start any day - prep bathroom fixtures - a lot of boxes onsite!
Met Electrician to get quote
Electrician recommended kitchen design be finalized - booked appointment in showroom
Wen
Weeks 18 to 23
So it’s been a while since the last update, but a couple of weeks ago the scaffolding came down and we can finally see our lovey slated roof and the solar. I am very happy with the roofers who worked so hard in the cold and the wind, as we are quite exposed. Anybody in the South West looking for a roofer I would be happy to recommend them.
On the inside I have started with the insulation between the rafters. I am using Rockwool flexi slabs 140mm thick wi
I've two last major areas to details for air tightness and insulation - this post relates to one of these - a single rear Oriel Window, an architectural feature that juts out from the rear of the building and is finished externally with a metal standing seam. The plan agreed was to create a 20mm lip of metal for the window to sit against. I was right about to commence work when I noticed dampness and beads of moisture and sure enough despite the window being surrounded by a later of insulation,
Off Grid Challenges
Recently, there has been a few people talking about off grid living. This is an admirable and romantic idea, and something I would like to do myself.
Then reality kicks in.
First we must agree what we mean by off grid. To me it means not connected to main services, but usage of public services i.e. roads, domestic rubbish, healthcare, education, policing, food, clothing etc is allowed.
Basically it comes down to water, waste and power. I have come t
This is my attempt to think
As a person with diabetes, I have a higher chance of catching, and then being seriously damaged by, this thing.
How to manage contamination of the home
- Make the home a sterile - ie anything coming in is washed or wiped in such a way as to remove COVID.
- Give the virus time to become inactive.
Have 2 lots of things, and use on alternate days - eg 2 coats, 2 sets of gloves etc.
- Things
I have been developing a Ferdinand's Theory of Buildhub, which applies to everyone here, regardless of age or sex. That has to be read out with the same tones and empasis as "Herge's Adventures of Tintin". (*)
There was an Episode of Star Trek Voyager called "Tuvix" where a transporter accident (always a useful plot device) combined the officer Tuvak, and the cook Nelix into a character called Tuvix, who had a very complicated makeup job on set.
My theory is that all the
I've been out with my back for a bit but now taking Pilates classes and everything feels fine so far. Been crawling around the new attic and installing the Intello membrane and taping for air tightness lying down and in difficult positions without issue. Phew!! I've put a call into the Plumber for first fix and will see when they are next available in 2025. Once they are available I'll book the Electrician.
Updates are as follows:
Interior stud work for outside walls nearly
