Leaderboard

Remember that you need to consider ventilation as well as insulation,

No price difference in the boards really. Tapered edge is all about taping, filling and sanding the joints whereas square edge would get skimmed all over

Firstly ... 200mm spacing will not heat a 1965 house unless you are significantly upgrading the wall insulation and windows etc. Maximum 150mm spacing with that sort of build. You could also just use a single manifold. No point with one per floor on a house that size, but you will need to find somewhere to put a buffer tank as a large combi will not modulate down far enough to provide low levels of heat when you are reaching the temperature set point. I can’t see how you need 9 zones across that area, even with 150mm spacing you’re only just over 500m of pipe so at best I would be looking at a single 6 port manifold on the first floor, and use actuators to control the zones not zone valves to each manifold. That will at least halve your spend on the manifolds etc and there is no issue running pipes down to the lowest loops from an upstairs manifold.

I thought I would record some of my research into plasterboard options and hopefully people can share their thoughts. Each manufacturer has their own equivalents, but I'll consider British Gypsum for ease. They have a useful selector here. Wallboard: 9.5/12.5/15 mm with area densities of 6.3/8.0/9.8 kg/m2. Available TE and SE. Thicker boards available as 900x2400, all available 900x1800. 12.5mm available 1200x3600!! Wallboard TEN: 12.5mm, 10kg/m2, TE only. SoundBloc: 12.5/15 mm, 10.6/12.6 kg/m2. Only TE. Minimum 1200x2400. "higher density core". Moisture resistant option (SoundBloc MR). SoundBloc F: 15mm, 14.1kg/m2, TE min., 1200x2400. " higher density noise insulating and fire performance core" F MultiBoard: 6/10/12.5 mm, 6.0/8.5/10.6 kg/m2. Only SE. Minimum 1200x2400. Fire and impact resistant. FireLine: 12.5/15 mm, 9.8/11.7 kg/m2. SE and TE. Minimum 900x1800. Fire resistant, moisture resistant option (FireLine MR) also available. Moisture Resistant: 12.5/15 mm, 8.6/10.1 kg/m2. SE only available 12.5mm 1200x2400, otherwise TE. "water repellent additives in the core", kitchens and bathrooms. DuraLine: Not Available. Highest 'area density' is 15mm SoundBloc F (14.1kg/m2). 15mm SoundBloc is around £12.30/sheet. Same supplier sells 12.5mm WallBoard for £6.77/sheet. 12.5mm Moisture Resistant is £10.90/sheet. 12.5mm FireBoard is £8.50/sheet. Solo installation and handling of 2 layers of 12.5mm WallBoard may be easier than 1 layer of SoundBloc and have a 27% higher 'area density' for 10% higher cost. I can't readily find costs for 9.5mm Wallboard, but two layers of that would have the same 'area density' as SoundBloc and be much lighter to handle. 12.5mm layers of Wallboard and Fireboard combine to make an 'area density' of 17.8kg/m2 which is 41% higher than SoundBloc for 24% higher cost.

It's kind of taken me 4 moths to get here, we broke ground start of January took a while to get the road and the rest of the ground built up with the stone (700 Tonnes circa!). But we have finally done the UFH, tied the mesh and then poured the concrete. UFH: Fitting the UFH was pretty straightforward to be honest. I had 1.1km of pipe to lay, and just planned it out as per the Wunda drg, I adapted a little as I went along to avoid awkward bits but it went fine. The UFH stapler was a godsend, made it Uber easy and was just great putting it into the insulation. The decoiler also a godsend, god knows how you would do it without one of those. Both well worth the purchase. I laid pipes out in concentric layout, it gives the most even heat distribution as a return is next to a feed pipe. It was fine doing it, i started with outer at 400mm centres and then turned back to leave me with 200mm spacing. Once back at the UFH manifold point I cut the pipe to confirm it wasn't burst and got a big whoosh of air (Wunda pipes come pressurised). The only mistake i made (or remember making was the lengths. I thought i had 11 100m loops, but turns out I had 10 loops at less than 100m, then 1 loop at 101m - which they supplied a 120m length for. Of course didn't realise that till the end and it was the last pipe to be laid...purely coincidentally. I took a slightly shorter route, but either that pipe was longer than 100m (I had at least 10m spare) or the length they worked out was wrong (unlikely) fortunately it worked out fine! I also used the clip track to secure them, which works well and sticks good to the insulation, doesn't do well at loops close to it but staples there sort it. I never fitted the manifold, I just used a clip track mounted high on a wee frame I built where the manifold will go. I didn't pressure test either....or pressurise for the pour, I wasn't concerned about holes as I was the only one there and I put 1000+ castles down to support the mesh to the heavy ground workers wouldn't' squash it on top. My pipes were laid on the insulation at the bottom of the concrete well away from the mesh and any chance of people drilling through them. I'm confident not pressuring will be fine during the concrete pour - those pipes are very resilient. Mesh: By Jesus - straightforward again, but f$ck me....the bloody wire tying loops. My back was dead..and i don't have any back issues, I was like Quasimodo bent over for days tying mesh together. I had a single layer on the main slab, with two layers in ring beam and three at sliders. I used maybe 1000 ties. The mesh castles worked well to support it and the hystools too to give the spacing. I defo didn't think about heights where your lap the mesh sheets as you end up 20-40 mm higher due to where triple sheets lap each other. So I have lots of spare hystools at 100mm. I had approx. 360m2 of mesh to put in, cutting it was done with stihl saw (quik cut) - made life easy. I also purchased a dewalt cordless grinder originally to do this but you would go through wheels like a maniac. So that was used for small cuts and came in handy trimming bits. The stihl saw (which i own anyway) made it easy. I did buy a set of 36" bolt cutters as someone said to use that - shit idea, mega hard and I'd have been there all day using them. They done two cuts, went back in the box and were returned to Toolstation. Rebates: I planned two flush thresholds for my sliders - I shuttered these using the 50mm packing that came with the Insulated foundation, worked ok - But i had to weight them down during the pour. Also - I worked the concrete below the long one, but forgot the short one and it left a space which I will fix this week prior to kit going up. I also done a shuttered section at my downstairs bathroom so I can fit a floor mounted shower tray. That worked fine - just need to dig it out. Concrete: We had C25/C28 Specified but just put in C35 as it was what the guys normally use. We had a lovely day for it, 14 degrees and sunny, went pretty well. We had a bit of a delay with the last part load - which was at garage, but turned out fine. We also done the pads too and just overfilled them with extra that was left, my pad heights externally to the footprint are for posts to support my canopy and ended up different heights but I just gave the kit supplier all the heights and then are cutting to suit. They are all well below the ground anyway. I wanted to power float, but I didn't manage to get it arranged and my guys didn't seem keen. I was going to do it myself, but ran the risk of doing it for the first time on my own slab and didn't want to majorly mess up what they had done as it would have been in the evening by myself. 36cube in total went in. The only issue I was left with was that the boys forgot the poker. They did the vibro screed and all areas were filled, but missing the poker meant that we missed the concrete under a slider rebate. The long one (4.6m) was fine as it floated up a little so I hurriedly spent some time moving it up and down working the concrete below it, then I added stones on top to level it off. I shoudl have done this with the short (3m) one but didn't think as it didn't float up. It's no major drama, getting some concrete this week and will fill it. It'll be a cold joint but it's at a slider with no wall attached. I added ducts for the island below the mesh to we can get power there. The day after the pour I cut a control joint and then I tried to cover it with plastic (DPM actually) but I was ill prepared and didn't have enough, so just stuck with watering it with a hose each day when I could. I did get a couple of small shrinkage cracks in the main slab where it dried too quickly (they had appeared the next morning) due to it being so sunny the day of the pour. But they are small and nothing to worry about. all in all happy. There is lots of other stuff I'm sure I forget but it always seems to elude me when I write a blog post. I also find it hard to find the time writing them - but that's self building for you! Pictures tell better stories! Lots included. I'm learning to not sweat the wee details, it's ok if things go a little pear shaped. It'll work out in the end. For now Foundations are finished and it feels good to be done here, we will backfill later and finish drains but that's in a few months. I just have DPM to fold up and attach this weekend (How do you fold up internal corners?!) prior to kit being delivered and erection starting next week. I've had two weekends off since the pour and it has been weird not being there every night and weekend. Things I learned: 1) Check all pipes lengths and lay them out first of all! 2) Buy the stapler 3) Buy the decoiler 4) Plan all your cuts out for mesh 5) Don't bother with bolt cutters 20210421_093630.mp4

Our builder was going to build our workshop for us, but is now too busy and I have decided to crack on and do it myself. I have never done anything even remotely as challenging as this - putting up shelves has been the limit of my previous DIY experience - so I am quite apprehensive. HWMBO and my son have been roped in to help, and my dad will also come along to tell me what I’m doing wrong ?... The builder has laid a reinforced concrete base, and two rows of breeze blocks around three sides as follows... I will build stud walls (2x4s at 600mm centres) up to a total height of 2.4m. First question: how do I fix the wood frame to the block wall? I was planning to build up the wall by facing it with 9mm OSB boards, then a waterproof membrane, battens, and finally shiplap cladding. The builder has advised me to put the OSB on the inside of the wall, not the outside, then to batten a membrane to the stud wall and clad on top of that. Second question: what are the advantages and disadvantages of each method? Is one better than the other? We may put insulation into the wall at this point (something wooly) or wait until the house is insulated with blown cellulose an insulate it with that. The roof will be a gently sloping apex roof (12 degrees), with a central beam and rafters, strengthened with a cross brace. I planned to put OSB on top, followed by corrugated roofing sheets, but I can’t see how I will close the gap between the top of the rafters and the top of the walls. Question three: Should I put the OSB on the inside of the ceiling instead, and then fix the roofing sheets to the top of the rafters?? I have been offered some second hand windows for it, and I think I have worked out how to build the frames for the windows, and plan to put in both large double doors at the front and a small door near the back for quick access to the freezer. Does anybody have any tips or tricks for framing and fitting windows and doors?? Any and all advice and encouragement gratefully received!!

I cut the oak trees down 10 years ago and milled them. and then made the door linings and now makeing the doors

This is a useful resource that I have just found: Stockist Guide - Construction details. It shows other makeups for ceilings and floors. Some of the other ceilings are surprising less performant than one might expect.

That’s a good plan

Tilemaster do an external self levelling compound suitable for a wearing surface. My last garage was mint but this one I caught a cold with different batches of conc needed. The flatness is still good but the finish was dog poo so sealed with that.

Slide a tile up and put a strap from batten down and round poo pipe to hold it in place. ?

15mm on ceiling never use 9.5 walls should not have plasterboard on them - use masonry and wet plaster

Here is a list of vidoes which might well help you Framing a block wall This video should help with that issue Its more complex than that. This is the video, one of a series which covers your questions Door framing's not so complex.... but its nitty gritty YooChoob's your friend. Good luck. Ian

Blog entry with photos here

Presumably there's no damp proof membrane under the slab? You'll need one under the "floor" which I would also insulate. What are the "concrete blocks", lightweight Celcon types or "dense" ones. Any idea of the kN rating of the blocks? You could drill down through the sole plate of the stud walls and resin anchor into the blocks (a lot less stressful on the blocks) or even run some stainless steel builders banding down the inside face of the stud walls and screw to the concrete slab.

A lot depends on how you use the en suite and particularly if there will often be two people there at once. I originally designed our en suite with a walk through shower, but decided it used too much space and also I didn't like the feeling I was on display if someone came into the room. One thing I really try to avoid is the design of the first layout where the WC is directly facing the door, sometimes it cannot be helped but in this design you could look straight through from the bedroom to the WC. I based the final layout on hotel bathrooms. They often separate the shower or WC so that it is easier for two people to be in the room at once. So you might want to consider that. I really like that our WC is separated from the rest of the room. I doubt you would ever use the exit from the shower next to the WC, it is too much in the corner. I would likely move the shower into the corner to free up space. If you freed up more floor space you could have a chair in the en suite. We love having somewhere to sit and get dressed, or to chat to the person in the bath,. Alternatively you could move the WC to the alcove area and put the shower where the WC is, fully hiding the WC in the corner. As to the dressing room, it looks like the distance between the two side on the second plan is only 800mm, I would probably want a minimum of 1m. Also I got 650mm deep cabinets which are a lot easier to hang things in. We do not have a door on our en suite or dressing room. It works fine, but the light can be annoying in the bedroom and it is also noisy when someone runs a bath. In the dressing room I just put the light on a very short timer, but you cannot do that in the bathroom as the light would go off while in the bath. I would probably if I did it again have a door to the en suite, but not the dressing room. If you want to face the window, why not just put the bed back against the dressing room wall, you could even move the wall forward to have more room again in the dressing room and en suite.

If you build it like my shed then stainless steel screws every 600mm through bottom bit of wood into rawplug or easier a hammerfix! Make 1st coat after battening vapour barrier ( to let moisture out but not in) Make sure external cladding hangs below documents or it will drip into the workshop.

Wow, nothing but encouragement to offer here! My builder has gone AWOL too, and I'm seriously considering pushing myself too.

Why not just use the name and address of the person who built it? On the lines of "Dear council. I built this, I dare you to come after me!"

Just use the name and address of someone else in the village?

Just discreetly take a photo, print it, and send a physical letter with no details. Even without the photo, you could just describe what's happened, as you did above. If they take no action, you've lost little.

Haven't you drowned in your leaky pit yet?

Planning rules are there for a reason. Also, what about building regulations? Presumably not applied either, and could be dangerous. There are plenty of 'something should be done about it' complainers and too few, like you, who do something for society. I'm pretty sure you can retain anonymity. I guess, if nervous, you could send an old fashioned letter with no details. It is perfectly possible that planners could routinely look at sites of refused permissions, just to make sure....I know I would if passing.

Very personal opinion but I completely dislike the "island" bed arrangement. Is that a full or part height wall behind the bed head? Personally I would have the bed pushed back against the main entrance wall and I think you will find the room feels so much more spacious with a decent space at the foot of the bed.

OSB is a floating floor layer there so you want to glue the boards together and use T&g OSB. Sheer weight will hold it down, if you’re really worried then a couple of thin beads of expanding foam will glue it to the PIR. I’d consider laminate rather than floor boards but if you use boards then just use hidden nails to secure them to the OSB.

The pipe size shouldn't impact penetration heights as you will be working off invert levels anyway ie bottom of pipe. It would only add an extra 40mm on top of the height if upsizing. Like has been said though 110 simpler all around

They aren't. They haven't noticed and no one has told them.

They can apply to build a few houses whenever they want. The only way to guarantee to be able to do it later, is to get PP now and start the development (eg foundations for one house and rebury them) after meeting the starting planning conditions. Speaking as a LL myself, imo the accommodation it is precisely your business (and imo perhaps your responsibility - depends on your views) to take an interest, because somebody renting like that, or living like that, is in a building which is not known or shown to be safe. Has it got an electrical safety certicate? What about gas? Is it suitable to be a dwelling? Or is it one of the well-known "beds in sheds"? Is the 'tenant' being exploited etc? I'm basing that view on the welfare of the person living there, rather than whether neighbours are being disturbed. If it is for eg a family member or granny, that is not particularly frowned upon. I am not sure ( @PeterW ?) whether a right to use it as accommodation can be obtained by someone living there for x years without enforcement. F

Resolving the weight issue above was down to contractor. However, we advised to remove all the PU foam that was used above and replace with Compriband. Second option was remove the sash and either take 5mm off the top of the sliding sash or take the rollers out of the sash and rebate them in further (5mm) to give the clearance required. A quick fix, is sometimes you have the guides that sit in the sash and in the track. You’ll have them at the top of each vertical section. These are plastic usually and if you remove one side at a time. You can shave them down a touch to give a little extra clearance. The issue was resolved and doors work freely and have done for 10 years.

but you have noticed! The council/planners need notifying, simple!!,!. Whilst I agree that swathes of agricultural land should not be swallowed up by houses I do feel the housing shortage is not helped by planners apposing planning on so much. We have a small piece of agricultural land near me, next to a road, terrible soil so will never produce much agriculturally but planning has been refused. Frankly it’s perfect fir a small cottage and there are so many young families who work locally who can’t afford most houses and don’t want to have to travel miles to a town to live. I think planners need to get real. Locals here complained when the local infants school closed due to diminishing numbers, if more new houses were allowed and young family’s stayed on the area, the school, shop and pub may well survive. rant over?‍♂️

In the 2 1/2 years I have had my solar PV, i have exported 283kWh. The rest I have self used. Assuming 5.5p export payment, I would have received £15.56 so far. I will let you do the maths and work out the payback time on the "MCS premium" Just get a competent electrician to install it for a lot less money, then ask your BC inspector to show you where in the building regs it states they must be installed by an MCS company.

Stage 0 Cancel science lessons in schools, don't want facts getting in the way of a good story.

I’m going to go against the grain here and say it’s better to get planning first. You could go to all this trouble of costing a project that you never get Planning for. We thought planning would be an issue because we were doing something very similar to what our immediate neighbour had done and what many others in our street have done. We don’t live in a conservation area, yet has a real rough ride with the planners. Lost two appeals and made 4 applications in total. Eventually got something really good, but completely different to our initial design. Has we costed that initial design, it would have not been very relevant to what we’ve ended up building. RIBA has standard guidance for costs per m2 to build different types of things, in different grades. I would use that as a starting point (I’m sure that’s what your architect has done). Get prices for the big ticket items like I folding/sliding doors, glazing, kitchens and appliances. Price up your bathroom suites by surveying the internet shops.

Ah.. dangti6.. can of worms here in terms of floor slab tolerances, quality and variations in level. I have attached a copy of a report that was published on the web that is very informative. It deals with floor level tolerances and flatness. A floor can be flat but not level! Many domestic contractors say a slab will be smooth.. but..! For all.. it's well worth a read if you are into ICF, basements, floor slabs etc. Page 5 onwards could save you a lot of grief. Credit is due in full to Combined Flooring Services Ltd and the author Martin Rogers. I have found this report to be a very handy reference document. Thank you Martin if you are reading this. If your slab is a structural slab then it is important to control the thickness and variation in thickness. This is where control over the level top / bottom and finish is important. Floor_level_flatness-survey.pdf

I've used Trojan t-125 on our boat for some time and found them good value for money. They're 6v deep cycle and do require regular maintenance, top up with distilled water every month. They put up with a lot of heavy use in fork lifts and golf trolleys.

Post some pictures and I'll give you my professional advice. What I'd be looking for picture wise/measurement wise, are the following. Manufacturer and model of sliding door Measurements at 3 locations from the inside threshold to the top/head (underside) on the left, middle and right (i.e. measurements within the frame) If lift and slide, when door is closed, measurement of the gap at 3 locations (left, middle, right) and the same measurement when the door is lifted (open) Does the door slide freely or does the door move freely for a bit and then become stuck and then move freely again? Does the door move freely when handle at 90 degrees but difficult at 180 degrees (lift and slide model) Level on sides (laser ideally) Level on threshold (laser ideally) Level on head (laser ideally) Measurement from corner to corner to check for squareness of frame and sash(s) Level if possible to check if the door is straight - being out 3mm/5mm can cause operational difficulties I would say, that 90% of the time it is a deflection issue or something has cause the threshold to rise at a specific spot. No one seems to take into account that as the roof is put on, other items are installed etc and over time. The building will settle, that's why tolerances are important and deflections taken into account. There could also be warping/twisting of the frame at play, which would be a manufacturer issue. It's not always as straight forward as it being an installation issue, numerous factors can be at play and generally could and should be prevented during the planning/detailing stage by asking the right questions. Which in my view, becomes a supplier (not necessarily manufacturer) issue. Irrespective of who installed the product.

Flooding is very serious in some areas, and so is taken seriously. Rain falls much faster in recent years. If there is no puddling in the garden then it is either running away, which could cause issues, or is soaking away. If it is soaking away easily then you will get a good percolation test, and can use a soakaway.. Soakaway crates also need a throttle for slow release. Either spend £1,000 or more or design a simple, but controlled, overflow.

That is about 350m of pipe so max 4 loops / zones based on 150mm spacing

Ok ... Area ..?? Is the pipe in..? Or the number of loops..?? Pumpset and Manifold here https://www.wundatrade.co.uk/shop/home/underfloor-heating-manifolds-and-pump-sets/premium-pumpsets/premium-pumpset-wilo-erp-pump/ https://www.wundatrade.co.uk/shop/home/quick-shop/wundatherm-quick-shop/manifolds-quickshop/4-port-premium-underfloor-heating-manifold-2/ None of this is rocket science and I would ask the plumber how many he has installed before ...

thanks. I believe the IC depth is due to other invert levels and then the final invert level of the STP. I also haven't a clue what the hydrophilic strip is for! I will speak to the plumber but, ultimately, will just ignore that. I understand about the long radius bend moving up to save ceiling height but that will change the penetration height for the foul pipe and that's a can of worms I don't want to open as the basement contractors are starting next week. as it's currently designed we'll lose about 500mm of ceiling height in the games room so it'll only be 2500mm high! I think we can live with that. ? point noted about the rodding point. will bear it in mind when speaking to the plumber about it all. think I've had enough of the civil engineer and the fees they charge.

Buy this and hand it to him .. https://heatingpartswarehouse.co.uk/product/willis-external-immersion-heater/ Then make sure he puts one of these in ... https://heatingpartswarehouse.co.uk/product/reflex-12lt-heating-vessel-8203300/ Then he needs to put one of these in, to fill the loop... https://heatingpartswarehouse.co.uk/product/altecnic-wras-15mm-filling-loop-kit/ That’s less than £100 of bits, and a couple of hours and some nice bits of copper to install it. Does the UFH have a pump built in ..?

If it helps, I found that the more commonplace the work the easier to cost. The more "way out" or experimental the less certainty (not that there is certainty). My experience: Example 1: Full drawings, full specification, fully costed by cost engineer and evaluated by QS. Quotes came back 27% higher. Ring round for feedback: builders all very busy and would have to engage subbies and temp staff to cover work so cost higher. Market hot. Example 2: Same but result 11% below: Contractor recently lost job he was hoping for and prepared to do the job at almost cost as long as it can be done before his team start the next big contract that they have 6 months down the line. Two different out comes. So what was wrong with the estimate? I could go on about more complicated scenarios and I'm sure other will have many fascinating examples but I hope you get my point. Finally to be 3 times over budget requires some level of unknownness (if there is such a word) : To reassure yourself, you need to analyse the reasons that happened to your friend and avoid making the same mistakes. My guess would be challenges with the groundworks or changes of plans, or the other certain spanner in the works: let's get started and we'll work out how we're going to do it when we get there. Good luck M

week 2 has finished and the perimeter of our basement has been dug down to the sandstone and it is now obvious how bloody massive this thing is going to be! it really didn't look that big on the plans.....honest! ? we were hoping for more hands and heavy plant on site this week to speed things up but Monday and Tuesday came and went and still the one man and a digger. on Wednesday a second digger came! woo-hoo! but no extra help so we now have one man and two diggers. It seems to have made him more efficient as he doesn't have to get the one digger out of a big hole to load the lorries. Anyway, here's the video of the second week. I hope you enjoy. we did get the 9.5 tonnes of steel delivered for the reinforced concrete and the waterproofing membrane so it gives me confidence that the basement contractors will be starting soon. we just need to get the hole dug and the hardcore/blinding down and the insulation down first. so not much to do then in the 4-day week next week. One thing the video doesn't show is the huge amount of sandstone that has been dug up already and it's only been half the basement. we're hoping to store it all on site and use it to build a stone wall post-build as part of the landscaping. I think it'll be amazing to have a wall built from stone dug from our own land. here's a picture of the current pile of stone excavated. And here's a small piece I have rescued and cleaned up. it is really lovely stone. Anyway, that's about it for this week. fingers crossed this rain that's here as I type doesn't do any damage to our excavations and it clears up for work to start again on Tuesday. As always, thanks for reading.

The BuildHub forum was founded by the Forum Foundation Group (FFG) in 2016, following the closure of a large UK-based self-build forum. The forum has continued to grow significantly and we currently have over 8000 registered users, and that number continues to rise daily. To date, BuildHub has been managed on a private and voluntary basis by a small group of members known as the Forum Management Group (FMG). The FMG looks after BuildHub's day-to-day running, including hosting and maintaining the forum software, moderating member posts, and managing membership applications. The FMG was originally constituted as a Members Association for the purpose of forum governance and ownership. While this was the quickest and easiest way to get the forum up and running, it has the disadvantage of not having an associated legal entity. The absence of a legal entity means that many suppliers will not contract directly with Buildhub. The result is that BuildHub contracts and assets such as forum software licences, server space, and URL ownership remain in the names of FMG members, which places a large legal burden on those members, and also involves risk to BuildHub. To address this ongoing issue, the FMG recently approved motions to: Form a Private Company Limited by Guarantee; and On an agreed date, dissolve the Members Association known as the Forum Management Group, and transfer its assets, including ownership of the forum, to the new company. To this end, Buildhub Forum Management Limited has been formed as a not-for-profit company, limited by guarantee. The company will operate the BuildHub forum website, provide a limited liability structure to own and operate the forum, and ensure that the forum software licences, server space and URL ownership are no longer subject to a single point of failure or irrecoverable circumstances. The company directors are not remunerated, and the costs for operating the forum and its support will be kept to those essential to run and operate the service. The date of handover was 30th April 2021, and this is the formal notification that it has been completed. BuildHub has always operated on a strictly non-commercial basis and will continue to do so. Advertising is not allowed and members may not offer services to other members via the public forum. This policy will remain under the new structure. Similarly, BuildHub intends to continue with its periodic donation funding model. Day-to-day operations will continue to be run by volunteers giving freely of their time and expertise in much the same way as it is now. This group will be known as the Operational Management Committee (OMC). Information about how you can get involved in the running of the forum will be posted shortly. In practice, your experience of using the BuildHub forum should be unchanged. As chair, and on behalf of the members of the now-dissolved Forum Management Group, I would like to express my thanks for your support of BuildHub since its creation. We look forward to the continued growth and improvement of BuildHub under this new and long-term sustainable structure.

it's been a bit quiet on our blog so I thought I should update it. While we've been waiting for the groundworks to start we've been busy getting the site ready. This has included getting the new entrance to the plot created, getting the sub-base for the driveway in place and then topping it off with a layer of 6F5 as a hardstanding for the construction vehicles (after the build I can then remove the top layer to reveal the, hopefully, still in good condition sub-base to put the final layer on top of. well that's the plan at least!) and putting up the site toilet. Obviously the last job was the most important. Our new entrance to the plot is over a culvert and as it's connecting to an adopted road it had to be done by an insured contractor and so I had to fork out the cash to get it done. but they did a very good job and we're very happy with it. the culvert in situ with enough concrete on top to take the lorries and cranes for the build a nice base layer of tarmac finished, which will see us through the build when they will come back and put a nicely finished top layer on. nice sand-bagging. ? once, they'd finished the entrance we moved on to the driveway and hardstanding but, first, an observation....it's funny how things don't look as big on paper as they do in real life. that's exactly the conclusion I came to after I looked at the plans and thought "that driveway isn't that big I'll just dig it out myself and save myself a fair chunk of cash" and then went on to dig it out. it was only after I'd finished the 120m2 area did I realise how big the driveway is going to be (I swear it doesn't look that big on paper!). oh well, it's done now, at least we'll have plenty of parking. maybe I can rent it out and do a 'Park and Ride' in to the local town to recoup some of the costs. ? a big hole dug and covered in Terram (or an equivalent to be exact) 100 tonnes of beautiful primary Type-3 granite aggregate all compacted by that beast of a roller. Don't really care what everyone else thinks but I think I did a darn good job for my first driveway sub-base. Sadly it all got covered by another layer of Terram and then a load of 6F5 got dumped on top and it now looks like a building site hardstanding area (which is what it is!). here's a photo of the lovely lady of the house helping out on the roller. it was a bit cold out that day. And finally we get to the most important job, the building of the site toilet. Friends of ours got it from a local freebie site and used it for their self-build, we then dismantled it, transported it to our site, erected it, put a new roof on it and plumbed in the toilet and sink to our existing STP. we think it's a very luxurious WC for site use. it's even got a couple of windows so you can watch the work progress while you're doing your business. and that's it for this blog post. we are extremely excited as tomorrow is the day we've been waiting for and the groundworks starts in earnest. They'll be on site to set up and start digging out the big hole for the basement as the basement contractors are due to start on the 3rd May so we should start to see some real progress now! finally!! thanks for reading. ?

The first week of the build is over and I've collated our time-lapse footage for the week and made a 2 minute video, hosted on Vimeo we're a little disappointed at the speed of the dig but the boss has only given us one driver to do the digging/dumping/lorry loading so a lot of his time is spent moving the spoil around. but I've been told that more hands might be on-site next week and a bigger excavator so fingers crossed that happens and we see more progress next week. The basement contractors are due in a week so they need to get moving if they want to hit that deadline! Anyway, I hope you enjoy the video.

Hi Have done the final pour today and fitted the glulam ridge beams, all went well so happy days will get the wall plates fitted tomorrow and will start the roof weekend. I PU glued the blocks for the gables so the beams could be sat in place and this worked a treat. Also managed to get the floor joist fitted this week. So good progress?

Have these pillars not disintegrated by time ?

I never cease to find you a source of amazement. And several other things too.