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I forgot to add we have a proper wood burning fire place that would could utilise

All from seed (apart from the furniture, £50 on Ebay)

So a steel will have a deflection value under load and most SEng will use standard values. That’s normally L/360 which means for a 3.6m beam it can be up to 10mm. That can cause issues with jamming of bifolds so you can ask for a smaller deflection to resolve this.

Bifolds in place of what ..? You may need a non material amendment to your planning if the openings have changed. Also, you’ll need the SEng to check the lintel and steel sizes for the openings as bifolds have very tight tolerances. TBH if you just want light, add a couple of full length floor to ceiling windows - 1/10th of the price and much more practical. Bifolds are very overrated …

Who ever supplying the glass will include the U values in the quote

You could ditch the fancy wifi wall heaters and buy oil-filled portable heaters next time they're on offer in Lidl. Mine was about £40 I think for a 2kw. Add a budget electric shower (well under £100) and likewise basic undersink heater. We spent the last five years having to boil a kettle every time washed the dishes, so that one is optional. Shop around for the best priced electricity supplier and you're good to go.

Probably depends on the model no? Never seen this on ours, ~6 months old. Got the Wifi connected ones -- 90%of the motivation was so that the clocks would always be synchronised and accurate :))

Did I not say earlier that the building industry was total crap. No wonder we can't get houses built at a reasonable price.

This won't help you but mine came from stone Source in Inverness when they made the kitchen worktops, upstand, gable end and hearth for the stove.

It did cross my mind too!

My experience was different in December. The product was excellent, as was the service. One minor issue with slight blemish to one door which they sent up within a week. In terms of delivery they used to offer various delivery options but due to Covid backlog went to a different model. Everything worked out ok for me and I’m up in Aberdeen. Because of Covid they had to use two guys in two vans which inevitably impacts upon their delivery service. Delivering a kitchen is somewhat different challenge to delivering a single item and I personally cleared my diary either side of the two day window as a sensible precaution in case of delays. The delivery drivers I got were were great but in fairness I was appreciative of their hard work what with them delivering me a kitchen to me in the middle of a deadly pandemic. I bought them their lunch, but that’s just how I treat people who are face to face with the public and perhaps get grief for things that are not their fault. I would not hesitate to use DIY kitchens again / recommend them without hesitation.

Precisely the question that I asked, spent about a week investigating. I'm on a phone now, when I get back to the office I'll dig out some photos, and come back. The short answer is that gaps up to about 15mm mend themselves during the pour: the stone jams itself in the gap. Bigger gaps need a bit of old board screwing on the outside, and the pour jams itself tight in the gap there. I'll be interested to see what @Adrian Walker has to say on the matter.

So change the socket to a non switched one!!!

I think your post should be pinned.

@Adsibob in case it's any consolation, I came from a professional background. I've worked at a senior level in one of the world's largest professional services firms. I've also been responsible for project document management at one of the world's largest engineering consulancies, building everything from airports to pharmaceutical plants, oil refineries and oil platforms. I used to think I was reasonably adept at running fairly complex programmes and projects...until I decided to self build... I found that the rules we think apply to the world of work and projects don't seem to penetrate the twilight zone of construction, an industry which is by far the most dysfunctional I've ever come across. No only this, it's plagued by some weird contradictory mix of last minute, just in time, and the never never. One of my most bemusing experiences of this was when the crew turned up to install my temporary electric supply. The van turns up on time at 8am sharp. The crew come and look at the trench I've dug. Tell me it all looks fine. Then tell me they're going to have their tea and will be at it shortly. They then sit in the van for half an hour drinking tea and reading whatever red top is their flavour. Then they get changed and about an hour later kind of get to work... I won't go into the EWI ordered over a year ago last March and which is only now getting installed! Take a deep breath.....and as both @gc100 and @ToughButterCup say, it seems to be the nature of the game. * and yes, I know there are some good ones our there.

We fitted DIY Kitchens earlier this year (kitchen and utility) and this is the 3rd kitchen we have fitted from them. Generally pretty pleased with them - pre sales and design were helpful and flexible in terms of modifying units to suit. Delivery was great - turned up when they said they would and were helpful and friendly. Some of the doors were damaged (do inspect all the delivery as soon as possible as damage needs to be notified within 3 days I think) but they sorted this and sent replacements. Had a couple of iterations in getting all the doors replaced but they were great in organising this. So would give them a reasonable review - not perfect but worth it for the money. And in our experience really expensive / high quality kitchens are not worth installing. I agree that DIY Kitchens quality has gone down over the last 5 years, probably victims of their own success, but still OK. Not fitted Wickes or Magnet so have no comparison, and not sure if the Germans do the same online design / order / supply only model - I thought they were more supply and fit through local fitters / expensive showrooms??? My only other comment is that a ready assembled kitchen is the way to go - our son fitted an IKEA flatpack and assembly was an alarming amount of work and not as robust!

Let me try and clarify a few points about this- The doors that DIY use are all almost exclusively EU made. No local employment generated The hardware is mostly to exclusively Austrian. No local employment. The chipboard is locally made partly from UK grown timber and mostly imported EU grown timber. Machinery is mostly Italian or German. Handles etc are mostly EU made. Obviously the carcases are cut and assembled in the UK but I cant see how this is calling it a British kitchen. Its about as British as the new Land Rovers made in Slovakia. Having been in this kitchen game for a while the reason we have turned our focus to exclusively German products is three-fold - Quality is better. The detailing is far better. Components and chipboard is better. Finishing is better. Reliable supply. When they give us a delivery week it gets delivered that week. A week before we get a half day delivery window and it gets delivered. In 15 years of working with German suppliers we have had 2-3 deliveries that didnt make the delivery week and all due to factors out of the deivery drivers control. Competitive pricing - For the quality of product delivered the prices are sensible. Not cheap. But sensible pricing. I have tried numerous British suppliers and regretfully unless one goes to the very top end of the market (£50k+), its nothing but trouble. British manufacturers simply do not invest enough to be able to deliver.

We have a sliding flat roof light from roofmaker which opens about 3/4 of the size, its electric . Its triple glazed with a rain sensor

I appreciate the need to manage relationships, but surely paying the bill gets your seat at the table? You don't have to be mates but staying friendly is likely to yield the best results. Effective communication is key, and in my experience, much of the industry isn't very good at it, sometimes by choice, so you'll need to compensate. For what it's worth, we encountered our fair share of be!!end$ during the build, and after a while, a month's delay didn't even count as a delay. Just keep your patience, problem-solve on a daily basis, and look forward to moving in!

You will submit your plans for approval to your local authority for approval Who you choose to inspect and sign off Make no difference BC are just there to see that you follow Building Regulations Your inspector private or LA wil have no interest in the planning side You can get on with with site preparation I would hold back on creating a vehicle access and I would make sure your Cil has been agreed before doing anything If applicable

Ready for scaffold now to get to chamber joist level, been lucky with the weather this week as was showing rain all the way through but been mostly dry. Few days delay on the chamber joists due to availability I believe. Been and ordered a Charnwood burner today and planned the fire place so that’s all sorted and paid for. Bricks/ mortar dark in the pictures as looks like they had been washed down today.

Everyone’s feedback is helpful/interesting, but I feel I need to clarify a few points: 1) I have not and do not wish to fall out with my builder. I have given him the benefit of the doubt on many points and met all my side of the bargain, paying all of his invoices on time and buying a lot of supplies and ensuring they are on site when he wanted them, to the extent that I went with a £3,500 more expensive window supply contract to ensure windows were installed by the time my builder wanted them installed. 2) I am not paying peanuts. The contract is for a lot of money, even for London standards. I am well paid in my job, but this project is still costing me about 4 times my household’s gross annual salary. (I am already mortgaged to the max with 32 years left to pay. I’m only in my 40s.) There were cheaper options available, but I stayed clear. The point is this is a massive financial commitment for us and I think our builder will be getting a v. good income out of this project. 3) I have not scrimped on professional fees. So far, I have spent about £5k on an SE, £2k on a specialist surveyor to design certain bespoke parts of the build, and about £10k on architectural and project management fees. I’m also forking out money for CVC to design the MVHR. There are incredibly detailed construction drawings, plumbing plans, electrical schematics, build ups, etc. 4) I think my biggest gripe with the builder is the lack of communication. We have at least one meeting a week, often two. I try to pop in at least a third time each week. I am doing the bulk of the project management, but the architect is helping me, so the architect also attends twice a week. Only today did we find out that a cause of delay has been the posi joists. The posi spec changed about 3 months ago (we were going to do only one floor with posis, but then decided to go with two on CVC’s recommendation). At that point, it would have been helpful to know that posis were in short supply or that making this change might delay us as maybe we could have stuck to my original instinct which was that posis only needed for first floor and not second floor. Posis due to be delivered a couple of weeks ago, not coming till next week - apparently. Still doesn’t explain the extent of delays, but sh!t happens and I will accept it. It’s just rather stressful rushing, and at times paying extra, quite a lot extra, to get things the builder says he needs urgently only for the to sit on site for several weeks after arrival, sometimes months. 5) I am generally a good communicator, but I find it difficult to communicate with the builder as he gets quite defensive. I’ve resorted to prefacing everything I say with “I know this isn’t your fault,…” to try and get him to down his guard. 6) I had a very good experience with another builder some years ago on a big project, albeit one significantly simpler and cheaper than this one. We are still in touch and I wanted him to do this job, but timings didn’t work out. He was actually cheaper. I found him incredibly easy to work with and very easy going with me, whilst able to run a tight ship via his excellent foreman. Nothing seemed to stress either of them out, and they were a pleasure to work with, so whilst I am not in the trade, I do think I have some experience (this is our third project). 7) Is anyone else starting to lose my patience with suppliers using Covid as an excuse? In 2022 will people still be using the pandemic as an excuse? What about 2023? At some point businesses need to adapt.

Well despite the light evenings progress has been very limited during June. I've been working 8-6 with an hour travel each end, then with the dog to walk the horses to sort out and dinner there has just been no time. I've also been decorating in our house, which needs to be done because we have visitors in a couple of weeks. HID has been more productive, but as we have our separate roles he has been held up as well. Just outside the end of the barn when we were trying to dig out roots we hit some rubble. We thought it was a couple of stones, but it ended up being tons. The hole we started digging had lots of voids which we were worried about, particularly as this is exactly where the drainage pipes were supposed to be going so these had to be removed. Some of them were too heavy the the digger to lift so they had to be dragged. In the end we had a very large hole, but with digging out the floors we have enough to fill it, it's just hard work. One of my jobs is racking out the floors to get them more or less level, but I keep finding more rocks buried as part of the sub foundations. So, we thought, let's use the digger and dry the dumper in. Started well. What we didn't consider was that when the front goes down, the back goes up. Dumper well and truly stuck. As we didn't want to empty it to move again we ended up raising the roof with props to get the dumper out. Really stressful as I was worried we were going to pull the roof down. Not trying that again. Now we've knocked down the middle walls that are not supporting anything we wanted to start removing the corridor which is sloped as it, obviously, needs to be level. But, once we started we realised that even the lowest bit is 8+ inches thick of solid concrete. Plan B needed. We think that it will be a frame and level. I'm now hoping that the rest is as thick as it will certainly be solid and stable. We do need to remove the kerbs either side and there are some drains which we need to investigate and probably fill in. this floor is the base level from which everything will be built which means that the other corridor, which is 6" higher needs to be removed. HID is planning on hiring a cutter to do some of it which will then allow him to dig it out. So, a non productive month all in all. Hopefully July will be better, although I'm still going to be very busy at work. But, HID is currently in Slovakia for work so has to quarantine at home for 10 days. So, apart from checking emails and taking calls he plans on spending lots of time on the build (demolition). Looking at the barn in detail we still have so much to do just to take it back to basics. Then the SE will be out so the BR drawings can be finished. This building lark really is a lot of effort ? Thanks for trawling through, if you've made it this far and next update the end of July.

Do a plan for routes for new CH pipework throughout, and hide it in the voids. Continuous runs of Hepworth aka Hep2o insulated with 25mm wall Climaflex pipe insulation will bend around corners and weave in / out of studwork / other obstacles. Far reaches can be in 15mm ( servicing 5 radiators max ) and then it needs to jump up to 22mm. Several 22mm runs can be spurred off 28mm primary flow and returns but it needs a bit of thought / planning. 2 "system" boilers would ( can ) feed into a low loss header, pumped by their internal factory fitted pumps, and from the low loss header you simply pump away to the 28mm primary's. You can also have the low loss header with multiple 1" pairs of outputs which could have a domestic pump on each set of 22mm primary's. As said, it depends on the design and layout and how convoluted the pipe runs would be.

Cheers GW. Ive grown more hairs on my chest thats for sure, more confident. for eg setting my nutsack on fire with an anglegrinder is less likely now. Zh

Sewer pipe is smooth plastic with no obstructions and laid to a consistent fall on a firm bed of shingle. Flat roof are built with timber joists and OSB sheets, which can twist and sag, supported on walls that can settle, with complicated junctions, upstands, verges and outlets. Often there are trims or leadwork added at the point where the water should run off. There are a couple of flat roof puddle threads on this site at the moment.

Final bits fitted. Job done. Turned out fantastic, never thought I could have got this result, tiling especially. Do have some yellowing to the whited lower wall, damp getting thru etc, rhs of door.. but hey ho i expected this. Big thank yous to Joe, Onoff & Co for the advice. Zooter.

fair enough then

Why are you ditching your architect? The detailed technical design portion is critical in translating the design into a building!

Compared to what? What are the other quotes you’ve had?

Very, very cheap......you’ll probably pay more for a new tv for the new house......

I found someone on 'people per hour' to do mine for £800 ish if I remember correctly. He's RIBA and is in Northern Ireland so cheaper than where I am in Cambridgeshire.

It makes little difference where you are if you are in England the building regs are the same. Maybe get quotes from people based somewhere less affluent, although I am not sure where that would be. Mansfield, County Durham?

Our Architecht charged £1800 for 188m2 Five years ago and has just quoted £2200 for 210m2

Timber frame company quoted £2500 for216m2 house. Architectural technician is doing it for <£1800

Similar sized house, architect quoted £15k for BR drawings & discharge of planning conditions, this was in 2015. I did it myself, using the timber frame company's drawings plus other easily found details to satisfy BR - this worked for me as the frame design inc. SE calcs was all part of their package. If you're going for a traditional build route then does not sound crazy but as ever, get 3 quotes to see if it's comparable. What will the SE package cost?

It’s been a while since my last blog post and over the last 5 weeks the basement contractors have been busy and have finished the basement. Well, the external walls at least as we still need to build the internal walls and put the block and beam on top. It’s looking really good although it is a bit reminiscent of a prison with all the concrete and 3m high walls (not that I’ve been in many/any prisons that is, it’s just from watching movies). The groundworkers are back on-site tomorrow to carry on with fitting the external EPS insulation, backfill and the rest of the foundations for the above ground arms of our property. Here’s a sped up time-lapse video of the entire basement build. 3:40s long so it shouldn’t be too onerous to watch. We had one hiccup with the basement construction when the digger driver decided to turn the cab a bit too close to our existing house and crunch into the wall causing a massive horizontal and vertical crack. Luckily it was a room we use as a larder that is attached to the main building of our existing house but I still wasn’t happy especially when the main response I got was “well, you’re going to knock it down anyway” and “it’s only cosmetic”. Like that’s ok then ?. Anyway, they resined helibars in place to sure up the walls and, even though it doesn’t look great, I am at least happy that it won’t fall down before we knock it down. Apart from that, all is well and we’re happy with the basement and the progress so far and are looking forward to next week to see some more progress. Here are a few photos of the finished basement (although it's a lot cleaner now they've finished, I just don't have any photos since that happened! ?‍♂️). the sunken courtyard: During the basement build we had a road closure of our single track road to allow UK Power Networks and Southern Water to install our new 3-phase electricity connection and water. A road closure is a very expensive thing as the local council want their pound of flesh to pay for administration and notification of the road closure. So we had to pay for this twice. But, I managed to persuade both utility companies (actually Clancy Docwra for the water) to work under one road closure at the same time. Unbelievable and anyone I’ve ever spoken to has said “yeah, good luck with that!”. So, if anyone ever doubts that you can get utilities to work together I am proof that it’s possible. I will be getting a refund for the other road closure (that's about £2k saved thank you very much) which is a very nice bonus. UKPN came and dug the trench across the road, Clancy then put in their water main, backfilled a little and then UKPN put in their cable and then Clancy backfilled ready for Clancy to come along the next day and tarmac it. All done and dusted in 1 1/2 days. Very organised and efficient. I was suitably impressed. Here are some photos. ? water main being laid: now the electricity (in ducting): multiple utility companies working happily together (who'd have thought it?): our connected 3-phase head: Both water and electrics won't be connected until a long way down the line but at least they're in and that's another potential headache out of the way. Thanks again for reading and, until the next instalment, it’s goodbye from me.

reasonable to whom ..? You’re not a construction expert, he is. You have a legal background, he doesn’t. What is reasonable to the man on the top deck of the No38 Clapham Ombibus ..?? Interesting discussion in court where a judge would decide if you had created an unfair contract term and awarded against you on that basis. In truth, an LDs clause is only useful when you’ve got legal judgement and agreement for full and material breach of contract, and tbh that would be long in the future so isn’t it better to sit down over a cuppa and a pack of chocolate hobnobs and talk it through ..?

IMHO if you mention or threaten "liquidated damages clause" you might never finish your house

If you implement the LADs clause your are going to get into all sorts of interesting discussions about the weather, materials shortages, COVID and possible spec alterations if you have made any. The outcome of discussions will probably result in him walking off site - think carefully how you want to kick this chat off!

After more catching up with Building the Dream, I've prepared these show notes for Series 10 Episode 7 Cornwall (Falmouth). The programme was shown on More4 on 9 June 2021. The Self-builders: Sam (Inventor) & Esme. Two children (Evie May & Isla). Setting the Scene: Sept 2016 - Charlie visits to meet the self-builders & review site and plans. Plot is a very steeply sloping former quarry adjacent to owners’ workshop. Plot value of £100k. £150k build budget which Charlie thinks is “ambitious” (i.e. Building the Dream code for totally unrealistic). £350k expected value Triple storey upside down house to be built against cliff face. Charlie concerned about use of timber cladding in “damp” Cornwall so suggests they look at plastic or cement board alternatives. Also suggests opening out staircase to improve light to corridor. The Build Oct 2016 – Groundworks commence and immediately hit problems. Slope needs stabilising to support road above and £10k is spent on engineer’s fees before an acceptable scheme is signed off by highways in Sept 2017. 45 ground anchors are drilled in to 6m depth & covered with mesh. 250Te (owner says 250,000kg??) of rock is removed & 23Te of concrete is sprayed onto the mesh to complete the slope stabilisation. Apr 2018 – Foundations, blockwork & steel frame erected. Sept 2018 – Timber frame for top two floors arrives. Oct 2018 – Charlie visits. Timber frame erected. Kitchen/diner area is looking a little small so Charlie suggests a reconfiguration. Now expecting to complete in April 2019 sufficient to camp out in the build. £55k spent on groundworks & £125k overall. £37k budget remaining. The Visit to Another Self-build: Four bedroom upside down house overlooking the Somerset Levels. Built in 2012 by Graham (Architect) & Emily (Interior designer) Bisley. French oak flooring & wall cladding. Glazing above staircase. Moroccan tiling & stainless steel splashback in kitchen. Pocket door to separate off master suite (“Never used but it’s nice to have the option”). House name is Beacon View. The Build contd Feb 2019 – Windows delivered. Select copper tiles wrapped around cement board for cladding. 800 hand-made by Sam. Mar 2019 – Windows fitted. Self-fitting first fix plumbing & Earthwool insulation. Apr 2019 - £196,755 spent. £12.5k budget remaining & further £10k to be borrowed from family. Go with a budget stair – three flights for £1200. May 2019 – External rendering. First fix electrics not completed (Sam’s been working on them for 8 weeks). The “final” figures: Charlie revisits in May 2019 with the house not nearly complete. Actual build costs to date £217k with further £35kto complete. Total costs of £352k against revised expected valuation of £450-500k (2019 prices). In a post-script video, house is complete one year later. Extra Observations Timber frame was supplied by Perkins & Perry, a Cornish based timber frame supplier. Membrane used was Juta Vista Easy Trim.

Or option 4 - Buy all/most of the materials for your house, but make sure to order plenty spare... get the VAT back and use to build your garage with the spare... This is a little deceptive but arguably you would get the VAT claim on it anyway, but it would need done with the house, this just saves you planning hassle if a PD garage suits. Just a thought.

It's more that just water table - you need a geotechnical survey to the satisfaction of your SE who will be designing the basement structure. This will be a mix of desk survey (historical investigation) and onsite ground survey (this element should be zero rated for VAT as it it involves 'tools' and is materially related to the construction, per HMRC guidelines) to determine: - Ground composition : required for both structural design and also construction design, i.e. do you need retaining structures during build etc. Also required to calculate muckaway as different materials bulk up differently when out of the ground and you pay by m3 vs weight - Load bearing capability : fundamentally required to structurally design the basement, will a slab suffice, how thick etc, piles? - Soil contamination : may be requested by your LA if there is any historic likely hood. Also required to know how to dispose of the soil - needs WACS testing & classification - Water levels : required for your waterproofing design (and maybe also build strategy if water level is higher than your excavation). - Gas levels : required for your gas permeability design (membranes) The other factors for basement design will be - intended use (sleeping, living, storage, plant etc) which will drive BC requirements most obvious of which is alternative means of escape or fire suppression. - full or partial footprint : is the basement the foundation also (like ours) or do you have a hybrid approach? Is the house above designed so the SE can take the loads imposed into consideration? - insulation : our basement sits on 300mm EPS and has 200mm EPS to sides (all EPS grades calculated by the SE) so it needs no heating and is always @ 20o ambient temp by virtue of the other heat sources in it (appliances, plant, people). - light : natural light is great for basements but needs lightwells to be designed (can be structural or bolted on GRP etc). - services: will you want wet services (toilets etc) in the basement, if you you will need a sump and pump or macerator to surface level foul drainage. - ventilation: if you're having MVHR, it will need to serve basement. If not, how will you get fresh air to circulate? Note that adding a basement to a 2 story house makes it a 3 storey house and so the fire regs step up, minimum FD 30 doors to all rooms off the central stairways, possibly hire grade fireproofing. Now, that all sounds a bit intimidating but it's just more detail to contend with and the only expense you need to commit to is the survey to understand if you can build a basement within your budget. We had a full technical survey that comprised 10m probes and a few 6m cores. For one of the cores, they sleeved it, put in a gas and water monitor and capped it. Returned after 3 weeks to take measurements - no water found (and this was in October). Given basement excavation was 3.5m that gave confidence that WPC and a good drainage strategy (to a soak away 4.5m deep) would do the job. No piles required but chalk substrate meant the slab needed to be a bit heftier than ususal.

Also remember that the level changes during the year, with us there is a huge difference between now and January

Dig or drill a hole. If you are doing a basement you should do a proper geotechnical survey to establish soil type, strength cohesiveness and water table.

We have plenty it seems grow everywhere, if you're in Shropshire you're welcome to it. @daiking we moved lots of bluebells a couple of years ago. They have just come back after not appearing last year so may take a couple of years. I had a lot of shrubs off my parents for my recent 'special' lockdown birthday. My wife got me two chickens. Gardening with two chickens does not work well, they are like two dogs and follow me everywhere.....

These are three pictures spread over the last 10 years, the last one with the flowers taken just last week. It’s about a third of my garden. I make it up as I go along but every year the wildlife increases exponentially and the area becomes more and more interesting.

Back to that time of year again, when you have a large plot it’s not easy to decide what you are going to do with it all. Last year we put up a fence at the back of the house about ten metres out to divide what we wanted as garden from what is essentially a paddock, we had decking built from the house and then you step down onto what is currently rough grass , seed spread quickly last year to give the appearance of a lawn. It’s been difficult trying to plan what to do with this area but we’ve just had a couple of walls built and it’s amazing how when you decide to do something like that you then begin to form a picture in your mind about how the rest should look, it doesn’t all come to mind at once but bit by bit as you decide on one thing and get it done the next part sort of falls into place. I’m really looking forward to getting it all done before winter so that next year should be maintenance only!

Yes you need to apply to have the condition varied or removed https://www.planningportal.co.uk/info/200126/applications/60/consent_types/11

I hate it when untreated wood goes grey too. They always say on Grand Designs "and it will weather off to a beautiful silvery grey" but in reality it just goes manky and looks like a garden shed.