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Yes it's "ongoing" There is an old saying, you can have cheap, quick, or good, but you can only have TWO of those. You really won't build for under £1000 per square metre and will only get that low doing a lot yourself. Your budget is going to be tight or you are going to be busy. What's wrong with living on site in a caravan. I have done it (twice) as have many others. It's "character building" (especially in the coldest Highland winter for many years)

@Onoff hi Onoff thanks.. yes I came across the 1st clip last ev/ saw a few YT ones too. The floor still odd- I read its an after-addition, on most/ standard jobs/ IE put in afterwards. But can't see how this is feasable. Anyway I'm off to dismantle mine. Did last nogs this AM..

On our second build we spent 2 winters in a towing caravan (it was a big one right enough) and with this build we spent 7 months in a smaller one. It’s all down to how much you’re prepared to forego for what you want to end up with. In our case we wanted to know exactly how much we had to spend and selling our home prior to starting the build gave us the security of actually having the cash rather than worrying about repaying it once the new house was built as who knows how long it would take to sell the current property, self builds are stressful enough without having the added worry of that. Also renting is a waste of valuable resources. If I ever did it again it would still be the same!

double check valve

ive not had chance to call @dpmiller recommendation above. But other than that I’ve seen nothing which represents a good deal. eBay seems to be full of questionable Chinese units and overpriced second hand units.

Yasir - your budget will not come from the lenders - it will come from knowing what you are going to build, which itself comes from your design. This can be a circular process until you settle on a design that you is acceptable both from a "needs" perspective and a "I can afford that" perspective. This is a balancing act. I like to keep in mind the builders triad (at least that's what I call it) of Quality - Cost - Time. For quality don't think just Good vs Bad, but think Need vs "Would really like". Also within that triad, think which two are moderately inflexible and which one can flex most. For me the big flex is Time with cost and quality being only partially so - you can't afford to be completely rigid on any of them IMHO.

As for the trench, I don't believe such things as pea shingle are required - see photo of ours installed by our plumber 18 months ago. The depth will depend on what else you plan to put in the trench.

It is how I usually do it for the reason already stated. Not everyone agrees. One build I did, the joiner building the house just would not accept I could do that, to the point we had a stand up finger wagging argument about it. I don't normally get worked up, be he was basically trying to physically stop me drilling the studs to run my cables through. You avoid penetrating the VPL by nailing the cable clips to the sides of the battens.

When you put it back check if you are supposed to put blocking in the web of that joist.

I would chuck a chunk of 18mm ply on top of the insulation, slide your bucket across the surface quickly and stab into the screed face, then lift sweep surface and repeat.

I understand that the current SAP has improved, but we still got a pretty acceptable SAP rating. Wasn't an issue, but then again we didn't have one of these self-build mortgage requirements; we just needed to meet min Breg requirements. I didn't care about the SAP rating (so long as our BInsp was happy), just real-life performance.

I wouldn’t do anything neat until you are 99%finished scratch a trench out with a mattock and fil with a strong concrete mix set 50-75mm high round of the top with a chunk of timber, rough up with a broom to make non slip, Roberts your mothers brother. Anything pretty you put there will get trashed by the first delivery wagon. On a a different note, are you going to get you hedge in soon, stick some rabbit gaurds around them and by the time you move in you will have a nice bushy hedge. Pennies to do in the grand scheme of things but worth thousands in getting it established early.

They can - pull the white seal off and cut the tube and put it back on

B will snap, you can get a standard ramp profile but I wound be putting in a decent drain first to stop the water rather than a barrier as water will find its way through the tiniest gap.

Path edgings may not be suitable for vehicle traffic, what about kerb edgings laid on their back, gives you a “ramp” up to and holds back the gravel. I did that on a previous drive and it worked very well.

Hi Tom, welcome to the forum and good luck with your project.

I sooooo wish my system had your simplicity. Any one reading this who's at the planning stage....KIS (Keep It Simple).

I have used some of the industrial aluminium stuff where they use a machine to zip the panels together onto halters fixed to the roof deck. This was supply and fix.

Hello @Thorfun. An acre is a good size plot. There a quite a few members in Sussex. I am a developer rather than self builder. @sussexlogs has a blog of his build here. He is more hands on than most.

Wow, well done for keeping going!

Thanks joe90 it's difficult to know where to turn sometimes and so I am please to hear that ?

You are very welcome. Ian

Green Building Store have done a number of retrofits to existing properties. Their website is a pretty useful source of information, so have a look around there. Here's a link to their Technical Resources page https://www.greenbuildingstore.co.uk/technical-resource/

Not unusual - I’d want to see the existing install plus a set of plans. If you move the boiler you can soon exceed the maximum length for a 15mm gas supply pipe, so basically they will need to know that to give you a price.

In addition to the heating pay back time for an ASHP, over something simple like a Willis heater or two, there's also the value of the cooling an ASHP can provide. We find this invaluable, and I think our ASHP spends more time in cooling mode than it does in heating mode. Hard to put a value on this, but I think if we didn't have the ASHP I would have had to install another air con unit to cool the downstairs of the house, particularly during that hot spell we had a few months ago.

welcome.

Welcome to the best source of advice, inspiration and real life stories you could wish to find! I am hopefully a few months ahead of yourself. Owned the property/plot since Feb 19 and gently moving towards that new home as a goal. You are in fantastic company.

Here's a few points that may help. Our MVHR unit is very quiet, but it could be because it is very heavy and floor standing. External vents can be almost flush to the wall so not very visible. Wherever the unit is installed there should be ample space around it so changing filters and general maintenance is easy. This is a list of tips that I researched when installing our system. 1. The inlet and outlet grilles should be 3m apart to prevent cross contamination of air. 2. The inlet and outlet grilles should be high enough (2m) to prevent interference by animals or children but low enough for easy cleaning. 3. The inlet and outlet grilles should be on the same wall so they are affected equally by the wind. 4. The free flow area of the grill including insect screen should be at least as great as the cross sectional area of the duct. 5. The duct should be smooth wall to reduce air flow restriction. 6. Any ducting bends should be large radius of curvature or two 45 degree bends to reduce air flow restriction. 7. The ducting to the inlet and outlet grilles should slope downwards slightly to ensure any moisture drains to the outside.

Many congratulations @Thorfun. And welcome to Buildhub!

I would do this completely differently. Dig up the floor now, and lay a temporary timber suspended floor with the boards just screwed down. Then as you do each room you lay it's UFH pipes in one go straight to the manifold. Only when the whole lot is finished remove the timber floor and concrete / screed it. The timber floor may be there a while...... Why not make it a permanent timber floor?

http://www.totalfloorheating.com/more/on/details/00331 I've been meaning to call down to them and get an all in price for the ashp, manifolds, cylinder, ufh system etc. I will report back.

I've found a local place that does Mitsubishi 5kw ecodans for £2.2k delivered. I'm 6 months from needing to buy. http://www.totalfloorheating.com/more/on/details/00331

Hi @ykhan16 from reviewing your list you are heading in the right direction, the key is to become a sponge and soak up as much knowledge as possible. There are few here in your age bracket, I'm 33 and about 70% complete on our build on the Isle of Skye. Do you live or work close to the plot? Also look around at other lenders, other self build mortgage providers exist.

It's illegal to do it yourself, I believe. Unlike DIY electrical work, which may be just a breach of regulations that aren't law, doing work on gas pipework or appliances is a criminal offence unless you're Gas Safe registered, I think.

Just call out two gas safe engineers and compare what they say, don’t even think of doing it yourself.

Muti-finish/skim plus cement 50/50 does the same

Hi Yasir, and welcome to the crazy world of self building ? My advice would be take your time (if you can), and ensure that you settle on a design you and your family are happy with, not one the architect would like you to build. Always keep in mind, or ask how is that going to be built? how is that going to work? how much is that going to cost? Being close to your new plot is fantastic (unlike my 400 mile round trips) but I guess it could be very tempting to fall into the "just going to site, dear" trap. This forum has many aspects to it, and you can dip in and out as you deem necessary. Generally the forum structure is great, but if you are unsure, then use the search facility. One thing you will find is the use of acronyms and abbreviations peculiar to the build industry. There is a thread on what they mean Good luck

SSRs are also available with mains control, if you require, Nick.

Pun of the DAY. (will remove annoying owl later)

Plastic bag and duct tape. You can get both from Lidl/Aldi. If you take the wc out you might want to invest in a test bung. Best practice overall is have another bathroom to use then you can take forever! ?

Pretty sure that was a Witch Best Buy...

Half price mains isolator at Aldi..... Bargain Isolator Particularly useful if you're trying to rush your install for BCO sign off!

Tried them by phone this morning on their main number and it goes to answerphone. That inspires confidence!

would also be good for organ donation LOL

JFDI.... If you are planning on doing a thread on this, let me know and I’ll order some more storage for the server ....

Do you need any walk on glazing ? I think you do ...