Leaderboard

North roof now underway. The pitch change is where the metal seam roof was supposed to be going on the lower half. Ditched due to the incompetence of Tata steel and getting generally fed up! However, I'm quite pleased with how the slate is looking. The lead flashing at the pitch change actually breaks the roof up. Holly mother of feckinuss those tripple glazed Velux dormers were heavy. 60 kg a peice

You have to learn the art of making SWMBO choose what YOU want and still thinking it was her idea. When you have mastered that, please tell the rest of us how.

Another tip someone posted on here, or was it ebuild? Before having an important discussion with SWMBO, have a discussion about something trivial. If that reveals her to be in "the wrong mood", postpone the important discussion for another time.

So, its been nearly a year since my last post and this is what we have achieved thus far. We attended the NEC show in Feb to confirm in our own mind the products / suppliers we hope to use – namely roof tiles, flooring, rainwater goods & windows and doors. Despite our best efforts to remain focused we had our heads turned by a range of wooden windows – Accoya wood – we made some enquiries and after a few weeks we received their costings - £37k for 10 windows, two French doors and 2 external doors in triple glazing. The fact that this was so over our budget, helped dismiss them from our thinking. We also made day trips to various showrooms up and down the country to cement in our own mind the type of kitchen units we would be looking to use, oak joinery and floor tiles. Five local builders were identified, all within a 20 miles radius of the plot. One was already booked up, well beyond this time next year, leaving me with just 4. All expressed an interest so they were sent the plans and associated documents in the hope that they would be able to provide a meaningful price. Three responded and personal visits were arranged in early July to discuss the details. The 4th failed to get in touch so we didn’t bother chasing. During our visit up North, in early July, the intention was to meet with the builders and discuss the finer details prior to making a decision which regards to which one we would be going with. One builder had done everything we had asked of him and presented a price within our estimates so all good so far. Unfortunately the other two had failed to anything with the papers I had sent them some months ago – “We’ll get it done in the next couple of weeks” – Yeah right! We’ll see – the problem is their failure to deal with what was a reasonable request in a reasonable time frame has left a cloud which is difficult to shift. After all, they said they would be interested in the first place. However, our visit wasn’t all in vain - It allowed us to visit two non-wooden window manufactures, one of whom we will be using – We have chosen to go with a Heritage Range from Evolution – similar to the range offered by Residence 9. Both very similar in design but the Evolution range, in particular, the Flush range, really does have the appearance of wood, which is lacking in the R9 range we believe. Both quotes came out within £100 of each other so the costings were not part of the decision making process. We also visited two quarries / stone merchants to discuss the external wall requirements. An expensive part of the project and important we choose the correct looking stone. A further meeting will be held in October. We are working to a budget of around £22k and this should be achievable – Lime mortar is a given and the beds will be 150mm, tied into the TF across a suitable cavity. We are told there will be no need for an additional rain screen such as SURECAV. We also met with a local company who will undertake the underfloor heating / DHW requirements and an independent Kitchen manufacturer who will supply and fit. There was an opportunity to visit our neighbours. An issue over previously agreed access to their septic tank needed to be ironed out. Up until we had purchased the plot of land, they were granted access by the farmer to allow the Septic Tank lorry to access their tank, across what is now our land. Through talking with neighbours we discovered a new build being developed very nearby – it just so happens that the TF Company they are using is the same as ours. We took a look and identified a new builder who I have since furnished with the appropriate details – watch this space. This was an unwritten agreement which clearly needed to end. It has been resolved because in recent times the truck has been parking on the roadside verge and the suction hose carried across the land to the tank. This practice will continue so all is good on that front. The building warrant has been issued just recently and was dealt with by the TF manufacturer. I believe I could have perhaps saved some money in this area but like most things, never having done this before or having had people around me who have, I felt I needed the comfort of having it done for me. Of course, such peace of mind comes at a price. I estimate the total cost of the following to be just South of £10K Planning plans drawn up Soil survey - Planning application – Solicitors fees - Building plans for submission to SBE – Structural Engineers report – Building warrant – So hopefully with a builder in place soon, costings and products such as the roof tiles, windows and doors, joinery, floor tiles, heating and DHW all agreed, it seems we are in a good place. Ground works will start in early 2018 ahead of the TF which is due to arrive in April 2018. I will spend the months in between contacting the Utility companies and ensuring that they are all on board with our build schedule and finalising / confirming the builder. Next update due in 6 months……………….. Paul.

Things have slowed down a bit for various reasons too boring to relate. So, I've decided to finish the Piggery myself, and let the main builder finish the house (when he decides to come back on site). In @Construction Channel's words, "How hard can it be?" The main aim is to rebuild the piggery to look (outwardly) exactly the same as it looked before, but to turn it into a useful storage and utility space. This is what the piggery used to look like but now it looks like this Just in case anyone thinks that a forum Admin is an expert, let's be clear, I haven't built anything in my life before. (Failed Woodwork at school, got thrown out of Metalwork too). But I did spend years watching my dad build bridges. (M5, M50) There are a series of challenges here Design and build the roof Make the connections for water and sparks Clad it Build and fit the doors Connect the Piggery to the house (water and sparks) Fit it out: washing machine, storage racking, sink I have never done any of this before. So, I'd be glad of your help. I'll try and keep a detailed record of what I plan to do and then compare it with what really happens. I would not have considered doing this without the experience of the generosity of BuildHub. The aim of this post is to give something back, especially to all those who do not post, to those who worry that by posting, they will be making a fool of themselves , or who are maybe a bit shy about 'getting-it-wrong'. For me and many others that's normal. Starting on the roof today. Sorting out the gables.

NO, NO and NO. Bitter and twisted about window suppliers? No not me

Went to the docs today, been given 10 days meds this time and advised to take a couple of days rest from work. So no gardening (except watering) for a few days.

You're right to steer clear of the Paslode- clipped head nails won't look right, and the striking pin will mark the wood. Ideally you want a coil nailer using full head nails. I got mine for £50 off eBay, so they don't have to be expensive, but I already had the compressor and hose. For a small job like a couple of dormers, I would probably just Estwing it...

Progress thus far: trimming the gable - a bit fiddly Durisol is hard to mark with a pencil: it's too rough for a carpenter's pencil. I found that a normal white-board marker works best and working on your own, cutting blocks you need one of those Jaws Thingies After a bit (morning) this was the result And looking at it, my heart sank. There's more than the hint of a droop in the middle of the span. I'm not fussed about it, but I am sure that I will spend the rest of my life noticing, and then wincing at it. Tooth sucking....... resulted in this From three spots in the span, this....Hmm, don't believe it. Liar, liar pants on fire. My eyes tell me to do something about it. Bearing in mind the blocks are currently empty, and will soon be filled with concrete, it's only going to get worse. Here's where the concrete goes..... We'll be putting a bit of rebar in there in line with the Technical Guidance from Durisol And this is where are up to just before lunch. Theres a bit of 3 by 3 propping up the span and a couple of battens making sure that the blocks stay where they are. What have I learned so far? Cutting individual blocks is fiddly and, on your own, quite difficult. There are two gables, so tomorrow, or whenever, on the other gable, I'm going to bolt the blocks together (with battens front and back), and make a simple wooden guide set at the correct angle for the gable. And then use a chainsaw to cut the whole lot in one go. Might just ask Debbie to standby when I do that. Durisol dust gets in yer eyes. Always use eye protection. If you get a cut from a Durisol block it takes ages to heal. The cement gets in your skin. It's just an irritant, not serious. What's next? Shuttering such that the concrete (I'll be making) doesn't leak out of the blocks too much. That means the odd bit of foam, and judicious use of shuttering where the gaps are too big. What's too big? I'll show you in a post later in this thread.

Probably cheaper to go direct to a local glass merchants. Make templates out of plywood and tell them what it's for. I think the glass should be toughened glass and have a BS Kitemark or CE mark on each pane to meet building regs. You might consider specifying Optiwhite or "low iron" glass which is slightly less green at exposed edges but costs a bit more.

Re karndean, There are some new click together vinyl planks that are an easy diy job and as a floating floor system are easy to take up when the need arises, they say its waterproof so id agree be aware the concrete will not be dry for a looong time and vinyl will trap the moisture. Having fitted karndean and the click planks i would never use karndean again , for one its impossible to remove and the prep has to be perfect. The click stuff sits on a thin underlay, quite forgiving as its about 5mm thick and works out way cheaper with arguably a better immitation of wood finnish.

So 75x100 is used as wallplate so should be widely available. C24 only relates to the grading quality - I would be happy with a 75x100 at 1.25m and then I would also look to remove the remaining posts and replace them with 50x100 with a decent 50x100 sole and top plate to ensure that it was all stable and nothing was going to move in the future.

Why I live on my own and make my own mistakes

...... for the next 18 months .....?? I'm sure you must live with a saint ...!! I've compromised and stay away from things that belong on mood boards and I'm doing structure ..!! The big issue for me is agreeing things such as socket placement and that once they are in, they are set ....!

Generally, I specced the functional, but the aesthetic sat with my partner. For example, I did not select a single colour, nor had little input on materials (fine be me). On the other hand, 100% of the services were with me. Gets interesting with things like kitchens. Went round the houses several times there, but we ended up with a solution we were both really happy with. So its back to @recoveringacademic : Listen. hard. PS What I would also say is that we respected each other's vetoes: "You're not having that! " "OK "

One technique is to turn a design based argument into a use or practicality based argument. "I prefer wooden windows" "Will you paint them every 6 years?"

I go away for cub camp and wtf?

Its also a requirement of the warranty on most tanks. Telford insist on it, although they seem to sell on the details of purchasers to a company that offer to come and do it ...

The plastic fittings are used to direct the airflow away from an area, To use them you need to screw the valve out by approx 80% and slide into the slots on the top of the valve, when commissioning the system you adjust the valve, lock with locknut and fit valve in the desired direction. Gary BPC Ventilation