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Just accepted an offer for £285K, cash buyer, no chain, no mortgage, can complete the purchase in around 6 weeks. Looks like our strategy of pricing low and asking for offers in excess of the minimum price achieved a sale price that I suspect is higher than we'd have got by asking for a higher price and negotiating down. Just off to open a bottle of wine...

UPDATE....another BH triumph. All sorted. Plumber came yesterday. He changed waste(I muttered McAlpine at him LOL), I now have McAlpine waste and electrician is coming next week to relocate socket. Thank you superstars!

You have an X rated drill with a flexi thingy. The mind boggles as to what you are doing with that! ?

Since the last update, things have pressed on but unlike other activities, the visual impact isn’t as obvious. I have uploaded some photos but sadly they are not very exciting as you have to look hard to see the electrics - Anyway, it's a record. The upstairs has had the same treatment as the ground floor; in as much as the walls have had additional insulation fitted, wrapped in vapour barrier and had service battens fixed. The last two weeks of July has seen the plumber and electrician come to site to do their first fix. A lot of work has been undertaken and all their efforts will be covered by plaster boards. Whilst all this has been going on, the chimney has been started – the wood burning stove will arrive late September. The front and rear doors have arrived and been installed. The scaffolding has finally come down and I’m pleased to see them off site. This has allowed the stone mason to start laying the stones – a total of 177 squares will be laid in all. So far we have had 31 bags of stones delivered and we await a delivery date for the final 25 bags. Things must be heading in the right direction as we have started to order sanitary ware – a bath, 2 showers, 3 toilets, 3 basins and associated taps and traps. The plumber wanted the shower valves and basin traps on site for his first fix. We have also ordered all the oak skirting, window boards, internal doors, door linings and architraves. The oak products are due at the back end of August. The joiner has assured us the walls will be plastered boarded and plastered in time!! Thanks for reading.

Guys, the tidy site is sadly down to me - I am fortunate enough to be on site most days and happy to sweep and tidy up behind them, as my hourly rate is far cheaper than theirs!! ?

I am certainly on a number of drugs, but none of them are narcotics. Just for you, Herbert and the Sherbert: If it is Zoot Horn, we expect a piccie in a Zoot Suit with the foam monster worn like a feather boa ! Less painful than the Zoo and Thorn version, which would involve a bear and a pyracantha. We'll be on Blossom Dearie in a minute.

This company also: Quoted within 24 hours of a request on their website. Did 5 different revisions following input from @PeterW and @Nickfromwales within about 7 days Arranged to do job within 7 days of me giving them the order Turned up on time - well 10 past 9 instead of 9 o'clock from Sutton Coldfield approx an hour away Were polite and friendly - even when I was pestering them (on instruction from Nick) Were very grateful for cups of tea - never get offered them down south where most of their work is they said Cleaned up all their rubbish and were away by 1.30pm

Wiring in place for plinth 4mm foil insulation and pipe grippers placed UFH floor piping laid plenty of height available to threshold screed being poured All covered and levelled curing agent spayed on Highly recommended - 24 hours to be walked on and 16 (minimum) to floor laying. But that is planned for early September

1500 included angle I make it:

Off the top of my head: 180º - (45º - 15º) = 150º ?

I will never ever use felt for a shed roof again, Awful stuff with a hopelessly short life. I use the corrugated bitumen roofing sheets sold by B&Q and many others. One shed has had that for 10 years now and as good as new.

@Cpd Yes I am doing the roof myself, in fact the whole build so far. The Tata does work well, 4.2m sheets just doable but fitting the ridge on the first roof was a challenge as the Sikaflex sealant goes everywhere you don't want it. The eaves and verge details work well. The extended cut is the top pan overlaying a shorter piece underneath which fits next to and then extends up, under and along the window flashing. Cutting the sheets with metal blade circular saw then up stands using folding tools. The Velux apron was not sticking very well possibly due to the intense heat at the moment so will revisit with sealant and possible fixings. Where possible I trimmed the aprons to fit tight underneath the seams. Very impressed with Velux, as long as you follow the instructions. My brother helped me lift the large windows in, 69Kg. 300sq m + to fit, quite the expert now. First roof below.

The tin ridge is not something I would recomend but it fits in with my other two ridges on my adjacent buildings, I would look at replacing them all with something more durable when they all reach the end of there life,

Sure is a thing of beauty. Textbook quality. May it continue.

I wish ours was anywhere as neat as that. Wouldn't want to be paying your labour bill though!

Now why does that music sound like one of those trainspotter journeys in the Flying Scotsman? That's triggered my Zoot Music, though I need to know whether it is Zoo-Thorn or Zoot-Horn? Anyhoo, it reminds me of the swing-dance-ish song Zoot Suit Riot.

I have no idea who your joiner or TF company is but they have OCD... Never seen such a clean and tidy build, and plans stuck everywhere !!

@zoothorn has his own music although it's possibly a more acquired taste than Verve.

Hehe.. thanks for replies chaps. Very observant. I did some thinking tho: Ive put that extra batten on to bring me mm perfect with the old mortar top, some of which is still there @ front just behind this batten. The old sill was on here/ this H. So the new sill needs to be @ this H too, also bc the worktop's 27mm not 44mm like the old one (which tucked neatly under the old sill). If I continue this top line back to the frame.. Im 2mm just onto it RHS (5mm up onto it LHS.. so window's a bit on the cock). I might add a pine curved-edge sill onto the PB.. to look a bit smart n tarty. May not. I went to screwfix- gave me wrong 'red' Soudal!/ need to go back get the 'blue'.. no probs. tried to find my mortar tub ready mix.. couldn't find the sod/ need to find where I got it before/ ideal for job, for me I think, being a newbie. I need to patch the odd bit too where Ive been a numpty. Good stuff on the 'leccy box info- I'll go over this tonight. Next job I think. TP only do 30mm insulated PB, in end of week @£22 (8'x4'). trying to figure if I can get 8'x4' PB & Extratherm boards in the car. I'll see if Huw's do 27mm.. I don't want to go too 'into' the window frame if I can help it. Big thanks- zoot (weird codeine dream not of me slaying a foam godzilla.. but ross kemp chasing me at a music festival!! codeine...)

The IVT heat pumps on eBay do not have a programmer of any description, they are one part of a two part hot water system that are being sold off by Ice Energy and others online. They are pretty binary in terms of control - the temperature sensor switches off the pump when it gets to that temperature.

I think you will be lucky to build a house for £1000sqm.

Makita for me mate, try and keep up

It feels like it too - beginning to hope September is doable for moving in.

That looks like a giant leap forward! Seemed to know what they were doing.

Crap picture done on my phone....but along line of what others are saying.

Thanks @newhome each little step is one less I still have to take. Just need to pin the plumber down to a date now!! And then the plasterer! All done and dusted - they've just left. Taken plenty of photos though

Did they lay the pipes too? Looks pretty neat! Good to see things moving on for you.

Then he needs to decide on what is happening sill wise & project some levels across!

A lot of the plastic drain lids rely on a trough around the edge being filled with water to seal the lid. In this hot dry summer they might have dried out. Pour a bucket or 2 of water around the edge of each drain lid to see if that helps.

They've put some of the blue edging foam round and taped it. The pipes are extended above the floor level above so there is plenty of flexibility. They say they haven't sleeved pipes for years

Nice one. Its about as grey as my hair has gone in the last 5 years!

No, I have a TEa20, 1950. Great fun.

You need to look at the pressure drop curves for your pump at your flow rates and have a sensible margin. Too low and the pump starts to sound noisy. I might have had a memory mindfart: ours might be at 1½ bar, I will have look the next time I am sitting on the can in the downstairs loo.

I'm getting senile the longer this build goes on. Hopefully you have a Massey 35, that would definitely cure some stress.

I am in the same boat (although I do have a controller) , I think I know what I want, but not sure “regular “ plumbers and sparks “ get it “. I don’t know if it’s my age or sanility but I am having a real problem getting my head round it ?. I think I need to have a house party ? (and invite all those knowledgable people from the forum round).?. think I will go drive my tractor.

It's 65mm ish to the brick level at the door, there is then 100mm at least of frame before the actual door - They have put a collar round the stack so no problem there I don't think I don't know exactly what it is but it is a self levelling, quick drying so probably calcium sulphate I guess. I am going to keep it all indoors and raise the floor level slightly.

What sort of Washing powder do you use? There can be a problem with some Biological washing powders and the affect they have on the bacteria in the treatment plant. May not be your issue but its something to be mindful of.

https://www.diy.com/departments/roof-pro-black-super-shed-felt-l-10m-w-1000mm/1932699_BQ.prd https://www.wickes.co.uk/Iko-Black-Ultra-Durable-Super-Shed-Felt-8-x-1m/p/117668 https://www.travisperkins.co.uk/Iko-Trade-Top-Sheet-Green-1-x-10m/p/652113

I'd over-felt it with a better grade of felt. (There's a big difference in quality & price between the cheapest grade of felt and a polyester reinforced top-sheet felt)

I see in the news today that the police are investigating a missing £1.1m that the Riba say they can't account for following the redevelopment of their headquarters. My guess is they forgot to account for their own fees :-) https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/fraud-squad-investigates-riba-over-missing-1-1m-bgpnspmhx

Perhaps consider.. a)Adding more insulation to the cylinder? b)Setting the time clock so the hot water is only on first and last thing in the day?

Whilst a number of people are trying to help here, when it comes to structural elements of a build you need to obtain sound professional advice that is backed up with Professional Indemnity Insurance just in case anything goes wrong. The advice given by the forum and its members is just that - it’s advice. It does not replace an architect or structural engineers calculations and knowledge which are based on plans and factors that members may not be aware of just from looking at photographs.

It's a tricky conundrum. On the one hand there's a point of view that suggests that transparency, so all can see what's being offered, is the best way to get the highest price, rather like the situation with an auction, on the other hand there's the point of view that a lack of transparency may just attract an offer that is a lot higher than needed to secure the purchase. I honestly don't know which would be best in our situation. Neither do I know if it's reasonable to make other offers public or not (my limited experience with estate agents has been that they never say what anyone else has offered). If we get a bit over £260k, as a solid cash offer, with no faffing around with delays whilst someone gets a mortgage sorted out, then I'll be happy. Our savings pots will be topped up to back where they were before we started the new build, I had a bit of luck and sold an old watch a few months ago and made a profit of well in excess of £20k on it, It looks like my late Mother's farm is likely to sell for more than we anticipated, so my share of that will be a fair bit more than expected, plus I've done a lot of unexpected (and well paid) consultancy work this year that has brought in another £15k or so (after the tax man's had his big bite out of it...). So, all told, maximising the sale price of our old house isn't as much of a high priority as it may have been without the unexpected additional income this year.

@Cpd That is a really great job. Did you design the apertures to fit neatly within the corrugations and did you use the EDW flashing kit? I am fitting 7 Velux within a Tata Steel roof, quite challenging and takes a few windows to find the right solution but happy with the end result. It should not leak!

? We're all friggin mad mate, mad. How many people do you hear gushing about wanting to self build when they hear you are self building? And then how many actually do so? That's right: none. They are the sensible ones.

there's always https://professionalconsultantscertificate.com/ too. They'll do anything from ongoing inspection to retrospective certification with a wide range of costings.

There was an extensive and involved thread on this last year: https://forum.buildhub.org.uk/topic/2376-principal-designer-role/ And a good summary of the thread by @recoveringacademic, here: https://forum.buildhub.org.uk/topic/2514-cdm-2015-and-the-domestic-client/

There's a free PDF document of the HSE's guidance to clients, designers, contractors -- maybe you were thinking of this one?: http://bit.ly/CDM2015_guidance The one I tend to send to new contractors or clients is the easier to digest "A short guide for clients on the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015": http://bit.ly/CDM_short_guide @laurenco I would be careful to check what roles you are expected to carry out, as you might find yourself responsible as Client, Principal Contractor, and Principal Designer all in one!

This post is summary of the Principal Designer thread. The purpose of this summary is to assist members and guests decide for themselves how CDM2015 impacts their build project. The summary is offered as is and should not be interpreted as authoritative advice. As is normal in asynchronous online discussion, the thread sometimes changes its focus a little. Where those changes occur, the content has not been summarised. Discussion of this issue is particularly relevant to us because we are a self-build forum, whose members are assumed not to be professional builders, or -in relation to building- have any technical understanding or capability beyond simple DIY . To be clear, the following assumptions are made; · A client is a Domestic Client. The distinction is central to all that follows · The Domestic Client can choose to apply for VAT relief in due course, whereas a Client cannot · The Domestic Client is not engaged, or about to be engaged, in a business related to the build (because they will then be a Client, not a Domestic Client) The thread started with a question about the role of Principal Designer. The examination of that question inevitably lead to discussion about how the role related to other key aspects of the legislation. There was some reference to the history of Health and Safety legislation, but it was pointed out that over time, the general emphasis had not changed. If you qualify for Domestic Client status, then a contractor working for you carries the main responsibility for Health and Safety. It was in the detailed examination of the term ‘responsibility’ that a good deal of discussion arose. Several members agreed that the legislation was poorly drafted for our sector of the market. And in the context of a self-build forum, where many of us will be doing things for the build on our own (DIY) as well as employing contractors, it is easy to see a rich source of confusion. For example, self-builders might be tempted to become involved in the build in a way which implies technical competence and so enhanced H+S responsibility. A strong warning was given to self-builders to avoid becoming involved in technical aspects of the build to the extent that they might be considered ‘ a responsible person’. And that includes the self-builder being trained in a relevant build subject to the extent that he or she might be assumed by the courts to have more responsibility than a Domestic Client would be expected to have. Perhaps the simplest articulation of how CDM responsibilities can be operationalised was in this post (@jamiehamy) ‘… We have only used contractors for the steel frame, lifting in floor beams, ground works/drainage and electrics - and each time I've made it clear that the contractor is responsible for operating safely and I do not dictate how they complete the activities. I don't supervise on site and most certainly do not manage their work or how they work - they have a deliverable and it is their responsibility to complete that. Where required, I offer safety equipment, ask what they need me to provide to work safely and healthily, I find out if they are dependent on me for anything and let them get on with it. Maybe I should do more in writing but I choose reputable contractors and all work is fully invoiced…’ In terms of prosecution for H+S breaches, providing the Domestic Client has fulfilled their duties (not covered in detail in this summary) prosecution is highly unlikely. Domestic Clients should make sure the site is safe and secure, tidy and clear of obvious hazards. There was some discussion based on the meaning of a series of CDM-specific terms; Project Manager, PD, PC, Client, Domestic Client, Business or Business Activity, Contractor, design, designer as well as others. Please refer to the full discussion for a more detailed discussion. But it was convincingly argued (with supporting evidence, and some unevidenced dissention) that a Domestic Client cannot be either a Principal Contractor or Principal Designer. Additionally, there was some discussion of official legal documents related to CDM2015. In summary: be sure to understand the meaning of the term Domestic Client, and to maintain that status throughout the build. Any competent person with whom you have a contract to complete work on your site should be capable of working safely. Offer support to fulfill H+S requirements, but never offer advice or direct work or manage the process. If, after reading this summary you feel you need to, take care to seek advice from more than one reliable, authoritative source. Paying for advice does not guarantee its accuracy or authority. Source url forum.buildhub.org.uk/ipb/topic/2376-principal-designer-role/ Bibliography. HSE (2015), Managing health and safety in construction. Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015, HSE Books downloaded 04/05/2017 http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/priced/l153.pdf See especially Appendix 6. HSE (2015), How CDM 2015 applies to Domestic Clients Appendix 6, Figure 1, in Managing health and safety in construction. Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015. Download the flow chart (from our server) here HandSforDomesticClients.pdf HSE Construction Discussion Forum (accessed 04/05/2017)